Quick Takes (32) and Trying to "Fear Not"

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Hello everyone!  Remember me?  It seems that I and my blog have fallen off the face of the earth.  I certainly feel like I've lost some of my readers and regular blogging groove.  And yet I still don't feel settled and ready for regular blogging again.  Perhaps it's sleep deprivation, mild depression, lack of a regular routine, being overwhelmed, or something else.  I keep hoping this will change, but so far no luck.

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We all survived the big move fairly well.  It worked really well for R and I to travel 500 miles with DH in the car over 2 days.  It gave us a chance to all leave town together, be sad together, and to spend some time cruising through the mountains (and saying goodbye to the Rockies) and reflecting back and looking ahead.  Plus, we also got to have a fun blogger meet up with this lovely blogger.  She's every bit as adventurous and outgoing in person as she is on her blog.  Thanks for making the drive to see us, M!  I survived my first solo flight with squirmy, wiggly R.  That was fun- not so much.  Thankfully, God placed understanding women in the seats next to me and gave on time flights, for my girl was awake for 5 or 6 hours straight!  DH had great driving weather and made the rest of the trip (1,500 miles) in 2 1/2 days.  That part of moving went as smoothly as we could have asked for.

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The moving company, on the other hand, left much room for improvement.  They packed us up in -9 degree temps!  Talk about chilly day.  R and I hung out upstairs in the master bath and bedroom for most of the time since it was warmest there.  She napped great in her playpen in the bathroom.  The movers did a good job packing everything up, but when it came to load the truck the next day, they did not put down any home protection as requested and got muddy footprints every where in our house (our carpeting is a light beige).  Not cool.  I even asked them at the beginning to put down floor coverings.  So, we had muddy foot prints in every single room of the house and dinged up doorframes and marks on the wall.  I was livid!  Thankfully, the moving company agreed to have carpet cleaners come in and clean it all after we had moved out.  Still, it was infuriating because we had our house so clean and taken care of to sell it and the muddy carpets could have been prevented.

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Once R and I had arrived in our new state, we got the keys to our rental house and discovered there was no fridge included!  We sold ours with our house as is customary there and I failed to get a list of all appliances included.  I assumed a fridge would be standard in a rental home.  I was not happy.  Thankfully, a family at church was getting rid of theirs, so we only had to go 3 days without a fridge!

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This weather in the South is going to take awhile to get used to.  It's been 50s and 60s all week and rainy...hardly mid-January weather like I'm used to.  I can't decide if I like it yet or just miss winter with snow.  Time will tell, I suppose.

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I'm currently waiting for the in-laws to arrive this evening; our first house guests in our new state.  Should be fun to see them and I know they're dying to see how R has grown.  Last time they saw her was her baptism at 5 weeks old!  We're also waiting for my car to arrive. That is the last piece of the moving puzzle.  We shipped it on Jan. 2nd.  Not sure why it's taking so long.

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Bible verse challenge.  On the 15th I picked another verse, but before I share which one, let me give a little background info.  Throughout the whole move process, God has continually (almost daily it seems) affirmed the move and His ability to provide what we need.  Whether it's a fridge, internet service, or even a TV, we continue to have just the right people offer what we need or don't have.  I continue to be amazed by the clarity that I seem to think He is acting with.  And the outpouring of love and support by church people has been like none that we've received before.  Maybe there really is something to southern hospitality.

All this sounds great, right?  The one thing that has crept up the most (probably Satan trying to steal my joy from the above good things) is my fear of my physical safety.  This house we are renting is old and needs updating.  The exterior doors (all 5 of them plus another to the garage) seem so old and flimsy that I feel like I could kick one in if I tried.  It's a ranch home with tons of space, which is great, but the basement creeps me out.  It walks out to a private, wooded backyard, and none of that part is visible to neighbors.  I feel like it's just a break in waiting to happen.  It's so weird to me that I can't stop thinking about someone breaking in.  The neighborhood is nice and well established, the neighbors we've met so far are nice, and there's nothing that should lead me to think it would be an area burglars would target.  But we are in a big metro area, so of course the crime is going to be higher than our previous town.  I've just never had such a strong sense of fear about someone breaking in before.  It's bizarre to me.  We have taken steps to make it more secure, but I still worry.  Maybe because I'm home all day with R, maybe because it's a new home and location, maybe because Satan wants me not to be thinking about God's goodness.

Anyways, I chose my verse to speak directly to that fear:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

It's a long one, which made me not want to do it, but I think it'll be good to have a long verse to try and turn my thoughts to things from God!

Speaking of long...this is quite the long quick takes.  Maybe I should start calling them long takes if this keeps up!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!