There and Back Again—A Larson's Tale – March 25, 2008

 

 

"His [Elrond's] house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley." This statement, made by one Mr. Bilbo Baggins, accurately told of the wonders of Elrond's little haven of rest in The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.

I now have my own Rivendell. It occurred to me that like the fabled hideaway in the story my Rivendell also is a good place for quiet conversation, good food, good friends, reading a good book (there are lots of these!) or just having a quiet moment of thinking.

Elrond (Greg) and I have wonderful conversations that energize me and I leave Imladris with the gifts of fresh ideas and a new outlook on life; this has never failed to be true.

I go to Hesston in the hopes of being an encouragement to my friends as well, and to just enjoy their company, but I come away being the one encouraged.

This year we came away with more than we bargained for…

The Holmes have three wonderful daughters with distinctive and wondrous personalities and each one is fascinating to interact with and observe. Greg and Kelly do a superb job of raising those girls, they are a role model for other parents, and they have given us much good advice for our own children.

We picked up a plethora of new "Grace-isms" which I am sure Kelly and Greg will just shudder about but we are still laughing! She is so funny! Great blessings to all! "Not fair!" LOL! It is so hard not to laugh at times!

I also picked up a tremendous life lesson from this little girl:

Have what you want but want what you have…

I don't know the entire story but the gist of it goes like this:

Gracie and my daughter, Alyssa were outside playing and somehow (this is the fuzzy part) Grace was really excited about her dog Rosie Cotton. She hugged the dog and said, "I wish I had a dog like her!" (paraphrase) Alyssa said to Grace, "Grace, she is your dog!" And Gracie, in all of her four year old wisdom, said, "YEA!" Have what you want but want what you have… from the mouths of babes…

This was a great gift! Live life the way God intended. Enjoy what you have and don't fret about what you don't…it's not that important!

This year we also left with a new game: Settlers of Catan. What a cool game! They happened to get a duplicate for Christmas and they were not able to return it so they donated to the Fellowship of the Larsons. We will enjoy time with this game!

We were blessed to be a part of Greg's church this weekend also and Friday night the youth pastor, John, sang during the Good Friday service. What a terrific voice! I would have liked to talk with him but it did not work out that I could this weekend. He has been a great blessing to Greg and to Garden Community Church. (By the way, I know how to drive there by myself now! Long story not for this missive!)

When at last we pack up and head back out into the real world I leave as Frodo and his eight companions left in the "Fellowship of the Ring", with gifts beyond wonder, peace and a new view on the issues of life.

We had a precious time this weekend and though it is just an annual trip it is satisfying and renewing! We always take away much more than we give.

 

In case any of you are confused here is the final equation:

Hesston, Ks = Rivendell = Imladris J

Until next time, so long and fare thee well good travelers! May you also find your Rivendell!

A Haven Update

Here are a couple of pictures of my haven! It is almost done. We have a busy week so I won't be able to put too much time into the finishing but I would say 12-15 hours of work would do it.

A Journey’s End – March 8, 2008

I am getting closer. I had hoped to reach my destination long ago but I am now in sight of the end. The work on my office is almost completed.

I was thinking about this the other day and I couldn't remember when the idea first came into being. I have wanted my own space for forever but the reality that is my office space is a memory I can't recall.

I don't have pictures at the moment but I will once it is completed.

This past week I was able to get the last of the drywall put up and the joints mudded. I have had to put three coats on the walls to cover them properly and if it were scrutinized by someone of a professional background I'm sure it would not pass, in fact I fully expect some constructive criticism from my father who will be coming over Wednesday of this next week. Nevertheless, when all is said and done I will have my little haven and I fully intend to begin to write in earnest. I have been toying with a few ideas that will go into my first story.

I want to take the pieces that I have developed so far, spread them out and see if any of the parts that would fit together into a storyline that is not currently there. This is the exciting part of writing for me: Creation!

Once the office is completed and I begin writing I will start using this blog for its originally intended purpose: keeping you up to date with any progress I make.

Speaking of creativity, Alyssa has her play this next week thus the main reason for my folks visiting. They will come over Wednesday and dad will help me to finish the office, Lord willing. We will attend the play Thursday night and mom and dad will leave Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, Mike and Betty will come over and we will do the whole thing over again with the exception of the work in the office.

I am excited about writing and can't wait to have my office completed!

As I have said before, I don't what will happen with my writing but it would be a lie to say that it doesn't matter to me because it does.

I would love to get published. In fact I would love to become prolific in my writing. I will say that if I could even complete a novel and even if it never gets out the front door, I will have a great sense of satisfaction just having completed it. I am ready to roll!

 

Good-bye for now!