Friday, January 19, 2007

Day 9 and 10 - More sickliness and hazy weather.

I kind of got behind on my blogging and am clumping two days together. I'm not in AIM anymore, so I can clump when I feel like it! I intended to get out yesterday after my workout, and go back to the shopping center where I offended everyone, however I began feeling ill again. Stuffy head, runny nose. So I tried my own home remedy, Zycam AND Benedryl. It seemed to do the trick.

Today I was going to attempt the shopping center, but it is a bit of a walk, and we are having some cool and windy weather. Not quite like the winter storms making their way into Texas now. So I decided to go to the pool side cafe and have a lite lunch. I did sit outside, but had to move in a little closer to the cafe in out of the wind.

I took my book with me. I am rereading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. He is a Brazilian author, and while I have not read anything else of his I liked, I can highly recommend this book. It is in my top five favorites. Many of you know Todd Patten. I worked with Todd at the Children's Home of Lubbock and he recommended the book to me. Glad I followed his recommendation.

The story takes place in Southern Spain/Northern Africa. It is about a young shepard who meets some mysterious people who tell him he needs to find his treasure at the pyramids. As he goes along on his journey he meets an alchemist who is instrumental in helping him live out his dreams.

I wanted to read it while I was in the middle east to get an authentic feel for the story. The book I have was Todd's (Todd if you want it back, I'll be glad to send it to you.) and before that it was Andrew Moore's. It is really neat because both of them have made notes in the margin, which help me to read it from more perspectives than just my own.

There are several lines in the book that are profound. I'd like to share one with you because the past couple of days have seemed sort of hum drum here with the fog and the sickliness, and it could have not been more appropriate for me to read.

". . . and when each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their own lives every day that the sun rises."

I needed to be reminded of that. I should be thankful for every sunrise the Lord provides to me, and realize His blessings in each day!

7 comments:

Lisa said...

Very poignant thought. It can become a challenge to see the extraordinary in the mundane of everyday, when in fact it is extraordinary that we've been given another day. Makes you really want to make the most of it. I hope your crud passes so you can really enjoy your experience. I love you!

The Gearharts said...

What an amazing journey. I hope you get the most out of you detours along the way. My remedie advice is steamy showers, lots of fresh fruit and some sun. We are praying it passes quickly. Thank you for posting as much as you have.
Amy G

Anonymous said...

I've heard you reference The Alchemist before, no doubt a great read, even moreso with its history with Todd and Andrew! That's so special!

I love that quote! It conjures up a lot in my head, particulary how the view out my window can grow to be my typical... ("It's just trees") But whenever I have visitors, they remind me of how stunning nature really is and how visible God is in it.

Reminds me of a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke..."If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches."

Not that I read a lot of Rilke... but it was in an article I recently read (Looking For Christ in the Boring) & stuck with me. Here's a link if you have time to read it:
http://www.upperroom.org/methodx/thelife/articles/epiphany.asp

I had already e-mailed it to Lisa b/c it makes good use of the word 'epiphany' (of which she is a fan!).

Take great care of your body and spirit... I sound like Oprah, but I mean it! :-)

Sarah said...

Ok if you guys haven't caught Lisa's blog for today, it is AWESOME! I'm so thankful she is blogging!

Anonymous said...

Sometime last year, Rich and I were the last to leave church. It was after an evening service. There was a young woman there with her three small children still at the building. She said her husband was meeting with our mission comittee and that the family was leaving after the meeting for Mexico. They were driving through the night so that the kids would sleep and travel would be easier on them. I never knew until this blog that the Kim and Tim that we posted their magnet on our refrigerator and prayed for were friends of our Sarah. Frieda

Anonymous said...

hola sarah!

sorry, i'm a bit late responding on here. but, hey, you know me...can you send me some pre-postage stamped, pre-written letters to send back to you! ha! hope you are feeling better. lots of good advice on cold relief on here. you need to collect it and write a best-selling home remedies book - just an epiphany i had. love that you are sharing from your reading. i love it when people do that. i haven't read that one, but have put it in my mind to read ever since you mentioned it. look forward to hearing more of your insights/observations from it. i sure would love to be there instead of here with all this icy, cold, wet weather we are having. i love me a beach. ciao!

Anonymous said...

Greg made it! :-)