Daily Biscuit

Take a bite of the Daily~Biscuit



From Gooddogbaddog:



From the day I was born until the age of nineteen I moved only once. I don't recall it all that well because I was less than one year old when it happened. But, then I or various configurations of 'we' moved nineteen times since.



On Monday I posted the Daily~Biscuit and then headed for Michigan to begin the process of moving Mom back to her orginal home in Canada from her now former home with Vic. Vic died suddenly on April 2nd. They shared a passonate and soul sharp two years and five months together when Vic suddenly left the earth household behind, dieing suddenly on April 2nd.



It was more than a physical move. It took in the whole scope of her, of me, of us. (That's too big to describe here and it may be something that I will have a go at my other site.



I got back and put in a day of work and at the end of it I find my mind is still, on the move.





1. Talk about moving. The good the bad and the dogly.



2. Focus down on one move and tell us why that one stands out to you.



3. Is there a move that has had a specific and lasting spiritual impact on you?





As ever, choose one or more of these and have at it.



#1 - I was blessed to grow up and live in the same childhood home until I moved out of the house when I was 18 to go to college. I lived at that house in Hinckley, OH for 18 years and graduated from the same school district, Highland Local Schools, that I started Kindergarten in. Many don't have that blessing. I did. Stability for a young one is great and it should be something all parents strive for.



After I moved out to attend college, as most students do, it's moving in the dorms and out of the dorms. It's moving back in the dorms and back out. Then it's moving into my first apartment, then it's moving into my second apartment. Then I invested in a house and stayed there a couple of years until I moved again to Traverse City, MI. Moved into a rental first, then bought a house. Only stayed there a year and moved to another rental house in IA. Bought a house in Marshalltown, IA and stayed three years until God moved me to TN. (I'll expand on that in the following questions) Since moving to TN in January of 2000, I have moved a total of 4 times! I HATE MOVING! I am pretty settled now...I think.



Moving is hard work! It is very physically draining. Packing and unpacking. Moving heavy furniture and trying not to scratch the "good stuff". I was lucky on a couple of moves to have professional movers, wow...THAT is the way to do it. Unfortunately, I've done the last 4 moves and it was not fun. I wouldn't have made it without Katie's help either...that and help from my pastors'.



The day we moved into this house was a very HOT July day. Katie, bless her heart, did 85% of the packing and organizing and moving. I was DOG tired (threw that in for Owen) and she was too...probably moreso. Then I made her drive the HUGE (because U-Haul didn't have a smaller truck available) 18 wheeler size truck from Selmer to Humboldt...about 50 miles. LOL She's such a trooper. Actually, she's a mom. Mom's are amazing...they are like energizer bunnies! Well, we pulled in the driveway of this house at around 1 AM. Mind you, we got the truck the day before, and it had to be back in a day or we face extra charges. We had to unload that thing. We had worked since early in the morning, over 14 hours, packing and loading the truck all day long. We were both exhausted. So physically drained that we could barely move. We had to move. We had to get the refrigerator off the truck and into the house because we had perishables. It was too funny. We strapped that fridge on the appliance dolly and we both attempted to push it forward toward the ramp out of the truck down onto the drive. We both gave a "heave ho" and didn't move that thing one lousy inch. We had NO energy at all. It was gone. We both kind of laughed because we put so much effort into it and NOTHING happened! LOL So, we prayed. We asked God to give us strength to get that fridge off the truck. With faith and perserverance we counted "1 - 2 - 3 go!" and got that refridgerator out of the truck, down the ramp, another 20 feet down the walkway, up the 3 steps to the porch, up the little step in through the front door, across the living room floor (the long way because of doorway restrictions) and into it's resting place in the kitchen. Plugged that baby in and filled her with food. God even answers the "little" prayers.



I've learned some things from my moving experiences of the past few years. I got smart this last time. I figured if I didn't open a box since my first move, I must not really need what was in it. I managed to make a profit by selling old albums, cassettes, books, and even an old "beater" trumpet on Ebay. I LOVE Ebay! Yep, put that old trumpet on Ebay for $4.99 and it sold for $250! Turns out it was a vintage horn made in 1913. I've run out of stuff to sell, so I haven't been to active in the auctions...but Ebay makes moving easier!



#2 and #3 - The move that stands out the most (beside my move to MI which was my first move away from my home, and I bawled and bawled all the way there) was my move to TN. To where I live now. It was a total God thing. (I'll give a run down here...but, for more details check out my testimony and/or my friends page.) I was studying God's Word and also doing an in depth study by Henry Blackaby called "Experiencing God". Wow! Awesome study...highly recommend it! Anyway, in it I was learning how to listen for God to speak. To watch God at work and join Him. He was speaking to me, He was directing my paths and I was following like my dog following the scent of an apple. (Yes, my dog loves apples! He doesn't beg for meat...he begs for fruit!) I was convicted about my financial status and was able to work and get that all under control. There were circumstances in my life that were leading me to move out of the house I was sharing with a long time friend. I was convicted about some things at work. It became very apparent that God was pointing me into a new direction, but it was scary. Very scary. I never really had lived by myself. I have always had a roommate and wasn't sure if I could be independent. I was learning to be dependent on my Lord. Boy, did I learn quick! I soon quit my job, left First Baptist Church of Marshalltown, where I had been discipled by awesome mentors in the faith for those early steps in my walk, and headed for Selmer, TN.



Tennessee became my new home...and it has been an adjustment. God has used my time in TN for His Great Purpose, yet He hasn't told me what it is yet! LOL He has put me in some situations that have taught me a lot about trusting in Him and forgiveness. I'm still learning the patience. I moved to TN totally on faith, and in a very short while, 4 days, I had a job. In less than a year I had a new church home and bought a house as a person living debt free. (except for the house, a car, and unfortunately that loan to fix the major water problem in the house).



Now for the comedy relief. Moving day in January of 2000. I had Chuck, my truck, on a tow dolly behind a U-Haul. I unloaded Chuck, then had to disconnect the tow dolly from the U-Haul truck. I had tied Whyzer, my dog, to the tow dolly with his lead because he was in unfamiliar territory and I didn't want him running off. I disengaged the tow dolly from the ball on the back of the truck and Katie asked if I needed any help. I told her "no, I got it".



Her drive was on a hill. Not a major hill, but it descended at a shallow angle. When I lifted up the tow dolly off the ball I turned around to "steer" it to the side of the drive. Well, I miscalculated how heavy that thing was and how much the pull would be. Katie could tell this better because she saw it all happen...she says it was as if it all happened in slow motion.



Well, the tow dolly started pulling ME down the drive! It was moving very slow and I kept trying to pull back and keep it stationary. That wasn't going to happen. Eventually it pulled me down onto my knees, yet I kept attempting to hang on and keep it under control. In my mind I started envisioning a runaway tow dolly going out into the traffic at the end of the drive! It was situation critical! So, in an all out attempt to save the world from disaster, I flopped down onto my stomach to create drag. It worked! The dolly dragged me a few feet until it settled just off the side of the drive. I stood up and brushed my self off while Katie was trying to stifle a laugh. She asked "are you okay?" and I said "gee, I almost gave myself a masectomy!" and she busted out with a very hearty laugh that lasted for days every time the story was brought up. We both laughed so much we couldn't even share the story without cracking up and ending up in tears. People just thought we were nuts. Little did they know! LOL



It wasn't until after that whole episode that Katie reminded me that Whyzer had still been tied to the dolly! She said "he just pranced right along side like he was out for a joywalk!" LOL



The incident is forever etched in our memories as "The Belly Drag".