To Have or Not to Have

We don't have the Internet at home. I know that is hard to imagine for some people, but we live in the country...enough out of town that we would have to get dial-up (not happening) or satellite internet, which is pretty expensive. We didn't really have a computer until a few months ago, anyway. Now we do have a laptop, but we really don't even have the time to get online at home. It seems that the evening flies by, so we don't need to waste more time by messing around online. There are times it would be nice; I have to wait until I can get my lapotop somewhere with wireless internet to download new podcasts and bank statements. But I just can't get past the fact that, even without watching TV, we can't get the stuff done that we need to do. Why add internet to the mix? It doesn't seem to make sense. So for now we'll be without it. Which means I don't get to blog very often, and I wish I did. But a lot of the things that are going on in my life are not bloggable anyway. God is doing a lot in my heart, and I share it with a select few that I do life with. For now that's all I'm comfortable doing.

I still miss Melanie. I wanted to keep the last post at the top of my page...there's something about that shaving cream everywhere that just screams Melanie.

Stories of Shaving Cream and Friendship

This is Melanie. She likes shaving cream. She is eating it, and I am spraying it in her mouth.

Melanie does crazy things like eat shaving cream, throw cheeseballs, and in general try to find trouble wherever she might be. She also does crazy things like love the unlovable, move out of a lovely home into a camper, and in general does her best to follow God with abandon.

Melanie has taught me a lot in our friendship. More than anyone else I have ever known, Melanie has taught me that people matter more than things. She holds her stuff loosely, and she gives and gives beyond what might seem "sensible" to others. She gives money, time, talents, and she gives of her beautiful, loving heart, even when she's in danger of running out of herself.

Melanie has walked with me through some of the hardest days of my life. I have tried to walk with her through some of hers as well. Melanie is moving, and I am so happy for her. This will be a great adventure for Melanie and her family. God has given them such a heart to love others, and I know He will expand that even more as they grow and minister in a new place.

I will miss her desperately, miss stopping at her house to chat, kissing and hugging, tickling and laughing with her kids, and dropping off Junior Mints when the mood strikes. I will miss coffee with her and dinner for our birthdays. I will miss crying and laughing over pretty much anything. But God has taken Melanie on an amazing journey, and this move is going to draw her closer to Him. I know it is. So I will pray for Melanie and her family and for God to keep using them and to bless them with love and laughter wherever they go.

Save a place for me, because I can't wait to come visit you in our new home. And thanks for selling us your house, Mel. Even though I don't know what to do with it sometimes, there is something special about living where you lived and mowing the grass you mowed. I'm happy to walk the ground you walked on, my dear friend. I'll take care of it until you come back to visit.