Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Sigh




A year ago today we were headed to North Carolina for our 30th anniversary celebration.  I wrote about it here.  Sigh. 

We had my nieces over last week.  It’s so fun to see them growing up (they are 10 and 12) but I miss those little girls. 



Sigh.  However, some things never change… like baking cookies!

And making stuff…


Our oldest just got back from a short vacation in Palm Springs, which is where our girls grew up.  On the way to the airport yesterday she drove past our old house and texted me the photo on the bottom below.


I couldn’t find a straight shot of the house when we lived there but the top is how it looked for most of our 17 years there.  (I think I was trying to make it look as much like Oregon as I could and pretend I didn't live in the desert.)  I guess this landscaping makes sense with the drought conditions in California.  And solar panels on the roof are a wonderful addition.  But I could never have loved all the rock and lack of green.  Sigh.


Facetime and Skyping with my kids is second-best to in-person but I’m sure thankful for it!!  I miss this little one!


Just think… next month we will have TWO little girls to kiss!!!!  Sigh.

For the last three years, my friend Patti and I have had the privilege of having a group of 20-something young women come to my house every other Wednesday night to get to know God better through His word. Sometimes we had dinner but always we talked, prayed and shared a lot of life together.  Our group has morphed and changed since that first meeting in January of 2012.  We’ve had mostly Christ-followers but not exclusively.  There were Catholics, New Agers, unchurched, homeschooled, married, single, living with boyfriends and PK’s.  I will confess that it has been the most challenging small group I’ve ever led, mostly because I struggled with their inconsistency (which says more about me than it does about them).  But it has also been the most rewarding as I’ve watched God work in their lives, despite, above and beyond my expectations.  I have learned that I don’t have very much to do with the work God is doing in them but I sure was blessed to a front row seat. 

Last Wednesday marked our last time together as life changes and life’s busy-ness made it obvious that our group was coming to an end.  Sigh.

Which reminds me of something I heard yesterday from Timothy Keller…


I loved this for many reasons but the biggest is because I am a sigh-er.  Not always out loud but often in my heart.  When I watch the news, I sigh.  When I’m frustrated, I sigh.  When I can’t figure out a solution to something, I sigh.  When another driver does something dumb, I sigh.  What if I took every one of those sigh-inducing circumstances, as well as things like I wrote about above, straight to my Father in prayer?  Keller warned that if we don’t, the Enemy will use them against us.

I know from experience that this is true… he creates worry, fear, cynicism and hopelessness in me when I don't do anything with them but sigh.  Why would I choose that?

Turn my sighs to prayers.  Help me do this, Lord!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Links I Liked

Permanent Marker Floor Art
@wherecoolthingshappen.com
I would like to be brave enough to do this.


Words for a Homesick Heart
@jenniferdukeslee.com
In those letters from home, Mom would remind me of who I was and what I was made of…  Well guess what?  That’s what the Holy Scriptures do.  St. Augustine said it like this:  “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”


Why Women Rock
@thehouseofhendrix.com
Women don’t mind each other’s dirt.  We crave the authenticity of it… There is no greater privilege than when a friend welcomes you in just as she is… and just as you are.


Every Platform an Altar
@thehighcalling.org
No one is meant to stand on platforms.  Sure, everyone’s got a platform under them… and the movers and shakers would have us thinking that a platform is what elevates you.  But the only call on a Christian is to build every platform into the shape of an altar, to shape every platform into the form of sacrificial service. 

 
Cool and Creative Bookmarks for Bookworms
@boredpanda.com
Saw this linked on one of Ann’s Saturday posts.  Love these.


Amazon Will Deliver 25,000 Items to Your Doorstep in 2 Hours
@clarkhoward.com
What’s next?  The only thing I can think of is that we will simply think of something and it will appear on our coffee table, I-Dream-of-Jeannie-style.  But I don’t know how they’ll handle charging our credit cards.  We are a spoiled, impatient bunch aren’t we?


We Were All Born to Ask This Question
@weareTHATfamily.com
I stood in the center of that room and thought, my children haven't complained once.  They haven't asked for anything.  They didn't think of themselves while they worked hour after hour... My family is at its best - our absolute best - when we are doing something for someone else.


Friday, April 3, 2015

Glorious Day

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day



Glorious Day by Hall, John Mark / Bleecker, Michael
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