Where is home? As the eternal question asks, is it where the heart is? Is it where you have to be because of work? Is it where you grew up, but left behind? Or is it somewhere in our imaginations…a place that we all long for, but can never quite seem to be fully satisfied with, on earth.

We buy or rent a house…after a while it seems like “old hat.” Been there, done that….what’s around the corner, on the other side of the wall? Does a vacation take care of the wanderlust in each of us, or does it spur us to want to continue the search for “home.” For some, home is where they grew up, went to school, made friends. And even if most of their friends move away, they still consider their plot of land and four walls to be “home.” Nothing wrong with that.

For others, “home” is truly wherever they hang their hat….can be for many years, can be for only a few. They get to know some folks, and keep in touch with them after they move out of the area, via internet or phone. They fix up or decorate each new place with vim and vigor, but when they leave it looks as if they have never quite been there. It’s quite interesting to see how each of us views “home.”

Some people need to be near water….be it a lake in the mountains, or an actual seaside place. Others can do just fine in the plains, or the desert, or on a farm. But each of us does need to be in a certain environment to feel more “at home.” Have you ever noticed that when you visit a friend in a cabin or house in the mountains, they will have a picture, almost always, of the beach, hanging somewhere in their home? The same goes for the beach folks…somewhere you will find, even if it’s in the bathroom, a print or photo of the mountains. This is what makes me wonder about human nature…are we really forever wanderers on this planet, until we finally go to our “true home,” which is, of course, Heaven. Finding “Heaven on earth” is very difficult, and I think that’s why we long to, or do, dust off our shoes sometimes and “move on.”

Sometimes it is only a vacation we need, just to recharge and come back refreshed, to enjoy our lives. Other times it is a wake-up call that we need to find a new job, a new place, or a better way of living. Life affords opportunities for those things to happen, especially during these times, when so much is in flux. But the strangest part of all is, when things are in “flux,” we feel we need “home” more than ever….

Go Home,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2011 Jennifer Avalon

There is some doubt as to whether there is “more intelligent life out there,” among scholars and laymen. I personally am in the middle on the subject. I hope there IS, because at the rate we are going on this planet, we may need a spaceship to climb onto and soar away into the atmosphere! I am more inclined to think that because God made us, He also created the Aliens, or Beings, perhaps to help “keep an eye on us” at times, when we are doing truly potentially harmful stuff…like inventing atom bombs, and such. They say that spacecraft appear over areas where potentially dubious experiments are occuring, and also where mankind is in major conflicts, or about to be. Why? Are they watching over us, observing our latest moves? Or are they simply a figment of multi- millions of folk’s imaginations?

Some feel that even the subject of Aliens is anti-Christian. I do find it interesting that recently the Pope declared Aliens our “Celestial Brothers and Sisters,” or something to that effect. What does he know? I take that to mean that “They” are here to possibly help, not harm. Also, that because they inhabit the same universe as us, they must be part of God’s Creation.

God created the Universe, and everything in it, according to us as Christians. If that’s the case, then we must take all of that, the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” as part of God’s Plan. I think what is difficult for some of us to handle is, how could a species be more “intelligent” than us, by being able to manufacture spaceships and the like with materials we haven’t even invented yet, according to some of the articles I have come across. How is that possible, we say? How could anyone be brighter than us?

If you were able to have a “Bird’s Eye View” of this planet, what do you suppose you would really think? If you could see all the conflicts at once, and yes, all the good deeds too, how would they balance out? If you cared, wouldn’t you keep an eye? If you didn’t, wouldn’t you never even bother to look down?

Just thoughts on a controversial subject…something to get your mind off the evening news!!

May the Force Be With You:)

love,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2011 Jennifer Avalon

 This week we look forward to the start of a new year, untouched, like a slate that is unmarked and clean, just waiting for us to paint our thoughts and impressions onto it. Many of us will start to compile a list of New Year resolutions…setting goals for 2011. For a lot of us, by the end of January many of those goals start to unravel, and we become discouraged, wondering why we should continue on the course that looked so bright at the beginning.

I think if we approach the New Year with a different perspective and keep a symbol or image in our minds it may be easier to stay focused and navigate the road ahead. I approach the New Year as a builder, a person who sees a piece of land, and the possibilities that can come forth. I look at the formulation of my goals, hopes, and dreams as a house…a beautiful shining building that by the end of the year I can be proud of. A builder needs tools, not just hammers and nails but Faith, encouragement, conviction and the belief that when you put your mind to it, anything is possible.

In January we start the foundation…we make sure it is strong and has the potential to hold what we place upon it. We make sure there are no cracks. Each proceeding month we add to our house…floor by floor we put in the plumbing, the electrical wiring, the heating system, etc. Sometimes we make mistakes, one room may not be wired right, so we go back, repair the damage and continue on. By the Spring, we see that our house is off the ground and rising. The contributions we have made to our house are beginning to show. People pass by and are amazed how fast the house is starting to come together…but little do they see the problems that we encountered to get to our level. So on we go, each day building brick by brick with the sky above us…and with each brick a feeling of accomplishment comes over us and a better understanding of the mistakes we have made so that we try not to make them again. God looks down and sees a person trying to push forward with a house of meaning and purpose. A badly built house with a weak foundation won’t stand very long…but a good house can last forever. God understands how hard it is to built good houses.

By the Fall, our floors are completed, and we are about to add our roof. We want a roof that will not leak, that can take the elements. If we have done all our work and done it well, by the end of the year we will be standing in front of a house amazed that we were able to accomplish this once monumental task. We look at each brick and floor and see a story. We see the set-backs and the over comings. It is possible to build a good house, God willing, with the right tools, and determination…All things are possible.

Good Luck with your house,

love, Jennifer Avalon

© 2011 Jennifer Avalon