It's been almost a month since I've written. Sick germs invaded our house and we passed them around from one person to another for weeks, but FINALLY we are all well at the same time. Sadly enough, my "new thing" experiment was forced to go into hibernation while the case of the sick blahs took over, but it's time to resurrect. It's so easy to lose sight of life-changing revelation when you're not actively walking it out every day. It's exciting to embrace a new truth or idea when the flashy sparkle is still on the revelation, but when the glamor fades, somehow we forget how important the truth was and we're back to our old ways. That's when it's hard to choose to walk something out. I'm learning that there is really an enemy who prowls around like a lion searching for new revelation to devour. But I really believe that this whole attempt to cultivate wonder is something the Lord wants to fight for in my life and in our lives.

My mom said something yesterday that changed how I look at every day. We were talking about life and how sometimes we just accept that there are seasons of dry spells where dullness takes over and everything seems lifeless. She said, "You know, God has a river that never stops flowing. His mercies are new every day." He doesn't stop flowing, but somehow we stop receiving. There is not a day that goes by where we can't draw from the continual stream of life flowing from Him. We are swimming in that River that never stops flowing. We are connected to that vine that never stops giving life. We are plugged in to the socket of Heaven that never has a power outage. There isn't a day that goes by where we can't experience the wonder of who He is and who we are in Him and in the earth. I'm the only one who limits my experience.

All of this is to say that I feel like the Lord gave me this experiment to break out of the regular patterns of life that have a hold on me. To show me there is more than we can ask or imagine. To give courage to try new things and break off fear of failure. To realize that He is limitless. And really just to have fun. God is so fun, and we hardly ever recognize it. I'm so ready to have fun. So here I go again. I'm trying something new every day from now till the end of the year. Anybody want to join me?

I never thought I would start a blog. Ever. I always wondered who had the time and discipline to sit in front of a computer to chronicle the events of the day to an unknown and unseen audience. I've always preferred face-to-face communication. (Just ask my husband or anyone who attempts to get in touch with me by phone...they clock in more minutes talking to my voicemail than to me.)

Here's the honest truth about how I stepped over the cliff into the scary realm of blogging. It all started about a week ago when I watched Breakfast at Tiffanys for the first time. It's one of those movies that supposedly everyone has watched...everyone but me. My curiosity got the better of me that rainy afternoon, and soon I was swirled up in the hum of Moon River and the charm of Audrey Hepburn. Remember the part where Holly Golightly and her fellow (whatever his name is) decide to spend the day doing things they've never done before? That's where the story begins.

Stephen is presently in Australia, suffering for the Lord in the beautiful town of Sydney. He'll be slaving there for 2 and a half weeks while I'm at home, feeling like I'm being devoured by the hungry beast called normality. The day I dropped him off at the airport, I realized how much I wanted to be boarding that plane with him. I was craving a break from familiarity, the sense of adventure that makes you realize how big the world God created is and how much you have to discover. So in an attempt satiate my longing for a new experience, I decided on the car ride home that I was going to take my inspiration from Audrey Hepburn and do something I've never done before every day Stephen was away, right in my own lovely hometown.

It turns out that this was the best decision I've made in a long time. I had no idea how caught up in the cycle of familiar I had become. I had slowly been lulled into the pattern of staying the swing of things, keeping to a schedule, taking the same roads to the same places, eating the same foods, wearing the same pair of shoes over and over and over and over and OVER again. Wow.

My decision to ambush the routine, the familiar, to be proactive in my battle against all that hinders wonder is off to a slow but steady start. So far, the things I've done to break away from my routine haven't really been a big deal (I've eaten dinner at my neighbors' house, taken Evangelyn to a pet store, etc.), but I can already tell that the world is already opening up to me again like a scroll...bigger and wider than I've seen it in a long time. I've realized how little time adults actually give to experience wonder. My precious one-year-old has taught me more about the beauty of wonder than anyone. Everything is new to her; everything is an experience to be savored, a lesson to be learned...whether it's a button to push, an object to bang, a new face to behold, she's full of wonder, awaiting what happens next.

I've decided to extend my experiment and attempt to cultivate wonder in my life by doing something new every day for a year. This blog (which is actually my "new thing" of the day today since I realized it was 9pm, my daughter was asleep in bed, and I had very few other options of getting in a last-minute new experience other than running around outside naked...which I actually did last night) will be about my adventures in breaking out of the rut of the mundane into the wondrous world of wonder...everyday for a year.