I think I will start with a story

When it comes to grabbing an audiences attention:

Do I start with a story?

How about a joke?

My accomplishments? Umm, I stay-at-home with my kids and I haven't killed them?!

No, seriously. It is in those first few moments that I will be able to capture the attention of my audience. I have thought of some pretty funny things. Apron and gloves with a broom for the chore workshop. Recitation of scripture for the Bible workshop. Crazy hair like I had pulled it out and a messy desk behind me for the Organization workshop. Of course, all of those were dismissed. I like to look cute even when it comes to my pj's, so I am going to stick with normal and try and tantalize them with something other then the theatrical side of myself.

I moved on to a more technical side of public speaking and decided what I really needed was a good PowerPoint. Great quotes, photos, and bullet points. I pulled out my computer and when an hour passed and I had only successfully planned out five slides I decided that was going to be a complete waste of my time. Because, for real, computers break down all the time. The scarcity part of me said my laptop would crash the day of.

I moved on to thinking about speakers that I admire and love to listen to. One thing they have in common is that they are storytellers. They introduce who they are and they quickly move into a story that relates to the topic. It usually involves something that causes them to be perceived as human. As the audience laughs, relaxes, and nods their head in agreement they move on to the real reason they have taken center stage. I have gone through so many files in my mind of stories I could share and that is why I am not sleeping. All is quiet and I am laying in bed replaying all of these memories of the last ten years raising kids, and the twenty four before that being a kid. I know the one will come to me and possibly hasn't even been written yet, but i think I have decided...

I am going to start with a story.

The Simple Tradition

I went to visit my Great Gram in the mountains of NC this week. I have visited those mountains since I was about 3 or 4 years old. I hadn't planned to go this year, it just happened to work out for the kids and I to go for two nights. A short drive up Hwy 85 and then back roads through SC and NC lead me to this treasured place. At the beginning none of us knew it would hold such a place within our hearts, but it happened slow and steady. Year after year a decision to go and spend time with Gram and Grandad has now developed into a summer tradition that is carrying on to a third generation of Keyes descendants. As I have looked over the pictures and replayed the memories in my mind I have realized that the mountains and the activities we do are so simple. So simple in fact that most would be bored by the details. Here is where I have been meditating since our return. How and why do visits to a creek, hikes to waterfalls, and scoops of Kilwin's ice cream make for a solid place within my being that steadies me. Moments of sitting and listening to the sounds of the creek, while watching for the hummingbirds that Gram affectionately names every year, causes those who visit to slow down and breath. The snuggling in the evening, because of the chill that comes after sunset reminds me to hug a little more the ones that I hold so dear.  moving to the mountains for the summer is the life that they chose, and it can be found in my day to day as well. Gram and Grandad lived out their summers in a place that was beautiful, but was filled with daily routine. They ate, cleaned, played, fought and made up. It isn't that the mountains are magical, it's that the people and the times spent there are valued, treasured, and longing to be shared. Visits to their home communicated to my heart that I was important,  that the earth around us was meant to be explored, and that I was apart of something bigger then myself. Simple walks to places around that area are familiar to me as the ones I am walking with, and they have become the foundation to why I am making the decisions I do today. Ordinary moments adding up to a firm, extraordinary hold upon my heart that no one can take away. It is in me, apart of who I am, and guiding me to the important in my day to day. This ordinary life adds up and I am trying hard to make that connection in the deep places of my heart as I face the the day to day struggles within my home.
I am finding some resolve and it sounds a little like this:

Living and being engaged with those around you
Work hard and rest
Argue and forgive
Simple tasks done faithfully
Get outdoors

I am longing to do something meaningful in this life, and I am slowly coming to the realization that living well in my day to day is probably the most meaningful thing I will do. It is no small thing, its the biggest decision I will make. Thank goodness the Lord's mercies are new every morning, so that I can make it daily