And the hits keep on coming

Last night i found out my "Aunt" was being released from the hospital and going into Hospice. *sigh* This woman, her husband, and her kids took me and my brother in for a summer when we didn't have a place to go. The school year before this summer we had attended three different schools and lived in four different places and were about to be asked to leave the last one. That summer my "Aunt" and "Uncle" took us in. I still remember that summer with fondness. It was a great summer. "Uncle" was the Baptist Minister in the small town where they lived in the parsonage. The town had a blinking light for the four-way stop, and there was a bank on the corner. We walked everywhere and my brother and i shared in all the chores ~ which was an eye opener for us both. When it was coming to an end i begged to be allowed to stay with them but it was not to be. I am hoping to go and see her this weekend before it is too late, but i don't want to impose on my cousins in their time of grief... Lately i have been getting invites for a High School reunion. At first i was intrigued, but later i became annoyed. Not by the person who is working incredibly hard to get all of it organized, but at the school population from back then in general. When i went to that school i sat with only four other kids, three of which i am still friends with (not bad considering that was over two decades ago). For the most part we were shunned, mostly ignored, and sometimes picked on. We handled ourselves well enough (my "applesauce 'grenade'" is still fondly remembered), but we were not really a part of the whole if you get my meaning. If memory serves my nickname back then was "brainiack" as people stuck out legs to try and trip me as i read between classes. After seeing how my beloved's reunions have gone... i don't see it being worth my time. Yesterday, over at Eternal Revolution (yet another Christian Samurai themed blog) i caught wind of the samurai umbrella! LOL! That's right, the samurai umbrella! Sometimes i find out about some really cool Christian Samurai things, but this is one of those things that is just fun. I don't think i will be picking one up, but just knowing that such a thing exists made me chuckle. Such is the 'danger' of living in a free market economy i guess. Where if someone is willing to buy such a product at a price you can make some money on, people make it. For a while now i have been talking with a friend of mine about helping me sort of spruce up the "dojo" here. I finally sat down with him last night. Since i am asking him to do this from the kindness of his heart (well, he has not mentioned anything about paying him anyway), i am not expecting too much of a change, but it should look good, simple but good, when all is said and done. I am also unsure of any kind of time line. Just that i am finally working on it. If anyone has some suggestions i would welcome them, but i would ask for an example so i know what you are talking about. *grin* Lately i have been wanting to be in the middle of a really strong thunderstorm. I don't know why, but i just really have the desire to be in the middle of it, soaking wet, feeling the rumble of the thunder in my chest and the wind all around me. And i am not talking about one of those passing storms that roar in and is gone in ten minutes. One that lasts a good thirty minutes or more. Back when i had just become a Christian one of my new roommates had a sound track CD that had rain and gentle storm sounds on it. I slept like a baby when i went to bed with it on. Ok, in closing... lately it has been feeling like God has been telling me to get off the bench and do... something. I am not sure what, but... i need to continue to pray... delve into His word... and seek where He would have me go or do. That began Sunday with the sermon at the church we were visiting. The visiting pastor to the church was talking about the difference between a Christian who sits and studies all the time but doesn't do anything and one who may not know as much but is actually out in the fields getting his/her hands dirty. Then, yesterday, a sermon from Kenneth Maresco come up on my MP3 player - The Pursuit and Practice of Fellowship . Although i had listened to this sermon before it seemed to hit home on several points and i am now praying over a few specific points... we shall what God will do.