FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH!?!

YIKES! Friday the Thirteenth has never held so much significance for me as this one will. On this day, just 72 hours from now, a big ole shipping container will be brought to our house and strangers will begin to load up beds, photo albums, books, toys, and family heirlooms to begin their long and perilous journey to our new home in Manzini, Swaziland.

In the meantime, we still have packing to do. A lot of packing.

I'm gonna be real here, I am feeling anxious about this. Ask me to throw a party for a hundred folks or organize a ministry event requiring scores of volunteers and I'm fine. Ask me to pack up a house and I want to just curl up in a ball with my dark chocolate and iPhone.

We need your help.

If you live locally and come help, it would be so amazing. I will do a jig, ply you with good food, and name my first Swazi cat after you. Even one hour would be such a big help. I need folks who can take the stuff that we're deciding we're keeping and wrap in bubble wrap or just fit in the shipping bins in an efficient way. It is as easy as that but it just all takes a lot of time. We have been working on it for months but we are down to packing up last big chunk of stuff. We've got kids who still need mama to do stuff and neighbors who knock on the door and still need sweet, not-crazed ministers to give them a meal, drive them to AA on a rainy night, or just pray for them. Again, even an hour or two of donated time would be such a help.

But if you aren't local but if you are and your schedule just won't allow you to come help, then please pray. Seriously. Pray.

Pray for folks who can help to come and help and pray that I won't get overwhelmed, lonely, stressed out, and start feeling sorry for myself. Pray for all of us that we'll just keep our eyes on God as our provider and not turn on each other. It is easy during times like this to start snapping and stressing and yelling and blaming. Pray that we'll trust in the Lord and seek ways to feed our spirit and keep the joy alive. Pray that I won't get all poor-me-this-is-lonely-and-doesn't-feel-like-Christmas. I mean it. Happy Pollyanna Elysa is hard to find during tasks like this. It has gotta be HIS Spirit because mine is just ready for this to be over.

Enough of the raining on your Christmas parade.

Love to you all and praying that you'll also find the joy and provision of the season and not just the stress and tiredness.