Today, I told the world that I am going to India.

Today I cried like a proud mama.

Today, I learned how to let go.

Today, I serenaded the Creator of the Universe.

Today, someone told me that they want to be the best brother to me that I ever had.

Three Days

Three days.
Three days until Hokey Pokey ice cream, Tim Tams, L&P, and fish 'n chips.
Three days until lamburgers.
Three days until grilled cheeses again become toasties and and ketchup becomes tomato sauce. 
Three days until I see nothing but pure countryside and winding 2 lane roads.
Three days until all the farm animals I see are sheep.
Three days until I am never more than an hour from the seaside.
Three days until all humidity disappears.
Three days until rugby trumps football.
Three days until I can hear a haka.
Three days until I can order a proper flat white.
Three days until I have to specify Kiwi-fruit, Kiwi-bird, and just straight-up Kiwi people.
Three days until water drains and swirls the opposite way.
Three days until I drive on the left side of the road.
Three days until I again speak in metric terms, converting Celcius and Kilometers and Kilograms.
Three days until I am once again surrounded by a constant community of lovers of Christ.
Three days until I am in the land of Brooke Fraser, Flight of the Conchords, and Lorde.
Three days until I dream once again of being Lucy Pevensie forever living in Narnia.
Three days until I return to Middle Earth.


Three days until I come home.

Feelin'

I'm a feeler.
Which means I feel a whole heck of a lot more than I think.
And I think a lot.
I think it's one of those girl things, but it's a strong possibility that it's one of those Hannah things, that I can manage to lay awake for hours at nighttime, thinking, contemplating, praying, but when heavy emotion hits, in a moment, all my brain cells and thoughts fly straight out of my ears like an angry swarm of bees and I all I can seem to do is act on how I feel.
It can be a gift at times, when I choose joy, it can fill me all the way up and I seem a little silly with how happy I get! Seeing a dear friend, finding beauty in creation, hearing a song that just fills your soul with music - that's when I love being a feeler.
Sometimes, though, the simplest thing can happen to me or around me and it's like the world is caving in around me. I'm serious. Someone gets doesn't smile back at me when I take their coffee order or I drop my banana - these things can reduce me to tears! Ever seen that one episode of New Girl when it's Jess' time of the month and she is interviewing for a new job and then she sees a picture of a puppy in a cup and falls apart? 
Guys, it happens in real life.
Yesterday, my dad laughed so heartily at one of my stories that I actually had to hold back tears. And not tears of laughter. It was just so beautiful. *tears*
I had a guy friend ask how we girls could even possibly feel so much - and I automatically thought of Hermione's retort "Well just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon!"

Now guys, I do believe you have feelings. I'm not man-bashing or trying to stereotype here, but, for some reason, God created women to feel stronger than men. We were taken from the rib, to protect the heart, to understand it, to feel the reflection of God's emotions. 
I imagine how fiercely I love people, how much my hurt can penetrate my heart, all these things, and then realize how much deeper God loves. I imagine the sting of a friend who blows me off and realize how much stronger is the wound He receives when I ignore Him. I imagine the joy I find in a simple purple flower, a small gift He gives me on an ordinary day and how much more joy wells up in Him when I merely whisper His name. 

And that's when I know, even when I can't feel Him. Those times when even my emotions run out and I feel so dry, I know that God is there and He does hear because He does feel and He gave it to me.