Alas

Alas, I have found that Blogger is the blog host for me.

Please see my new (old) blog here: http://www.consecratedlife.blogspot.com

Furniture

Since getting back to camp, I have been semi-faithful with garage-saling. You wouldn’t BELIEVE the finds I have gotten. Shannon’s brother is pulling a trailer of my stuff to Colorado, and I do not have a lot of personal belongings. We will be filling up the trailer with furniture. God really blessed me with a lot of random finds at sales I was not planning on going to.

Rocking chair for our bedroom to be painted white – $15

Dresser for our bedroom to be painted white – $20

Coffee table for the living room – $2!!!!

My favorite find – a beautiful madison oak dining room table and four chairs for $90. AMAZING!!!

And…because we all love Jonah, and I happen to have a picture of him from last night…

Introducing…

My new nephew, Oliver Tristan, was born on Tuesday morning, weighing 8 lbs., 11.2 ounces.

Flying

I have been flying all over the place lately. Flying used to be terribly exciting, but it has sort of disintegrated into a “means of travel” for me. That doesn’t mean that my flights have been uneventful, however. I thought that I should share a couple of the things I have encountered.

1. Do you speak English?
I chose the window seat because I didn’t know that I would have to get up. But I REALLY had to get up. There were two seats next to me; in the middle sat a lady, and in the aisle seat sat her son (I think). From what I could figure, they were from India, and I am not sure if they spoke English or not. I was not wearing a watch, and of course, my cell phone was off, so I did not know what time it was. We had been flying for quite some time, and as I said, I REALLY needed to get up and use the restroom. I figured that I would just hold out and wait until we arrived. Then, the pilot announced what time we would land, and I saw from the watch on the lady next to me that it would be another hour. I couldn’t wait that long. So, I meekly asked the woman if I could get out for a minute. She gave me a blank stare. I wasn’t sure if she spoke English, but I apologized profusely to her and her son, and eventually they let me out. They didn’t speak a word, though. When I got back, she was standing up in the aisle, and let me back in again. Once more, I apologized profusely and thanked them, but they didn’t say a word.

2. A Penny!
I was sitting in the aisle seat, and a steward walked by. He noticed a penny on the floor, and said something to the extent of, “Hey! A Penny! Do you want a penny?” I took it and slipped it into the front pocket of my backpack.

3. Where does a bird go to cash his check?
On my flight into Burbank, the little girls in front of me were fairly animated. They made up this joke: “Where does a bird go to cash his check?” “To a bird bank!” Ha. Wow.

4. Southwest Glares
Southwest Airlines does not assign seats. You get a letter (A-C) and a number (1-….something) when you check in. You can check in online up to twenty-four hours before your flight. When they board the plane, you line up by letter and number (“Now boarding letter A, numbers 1-30,” etc.); thus, the early bird catches the worm. Usually, you hear someone say, “It doesn’t really matter!” when people get confused. Deep down, though, it must matter, because when someone is in the wrong place, you see the “Southwest Glare” from other passengers. It means, “I stayed home from my granddaughter’s ballet recital to print this boarding pass, and I am going to be the 27th person on this flight or else!”

5. Feet
I was calmly sitting in my seat on a plane when lo and behold, The Foot popped out at me under my seat. I wasn’t sure if it was a boy foot or a girl foot, but it was a bare foot in a sandal, which just isn’t nice to see that close. I adjusted so that I wasn’t touching The Foot, and the flight continued. A few minutes later, The Foot appeared again, only this time, it was to my right, where my right hand would be if I relaxed it. This time, I noticed that it really wasn’t a very nice foot; however, I would point out that no foot is really a nice foot unless it is under age four.

I could think of more stories, but The Foot tops them all, and I learned in English class that you are supposed to order things like that from worst to best. Therefore, this is the end.

The End.

I’m Off Again!

http://aimee-weaver.blogspot.com/2009/04/funny-flight-rap.html

I’m leaving again. I hope I get that guy for my flight attendant.

Wedding Shower

Wedding Shower

Hello, World!

My blog has become terribly impersonal as of late. I refuse to be (if I can help it…conditional refusals are wonderful, no?) one of those people who quit blogging after they get married, so here’s a post to counteract my recent lack of personal sharing.

I am doing well – very well, in fact. I haven’t had a whole lot to do this past week, so it’s been a nice time to relax and rest up for the next three months before the wedding. I like to think while I work, so I was able to do some of that – as you can see from previous posts, I shampooed the living room and front room carpets (plus the stairs and some furniture). I feel like I must have done some other work, too, but I can’t remember what it is at this moment. I have been sewing pillows for the apartment – that has been fun. (You can see one of the two matching pillows in a previous post, as well.) I traced a couple of those tree-like things on the fabric onto some off-white cloth and am working on embroidering it. I hope it turns out nice. I got some thin brown cording to go around it in a pillow. I’ll post a picture of the completed project once I finish.

I have been thinking a lot, too. God is good to me. In the last month or so, I’ve been flipping back and forth between being super excited to get married and move to Colorado and being sad to leave NY and family and friends and, well, everything familiar. But, I think familiarity is overrated. Nothing ever really stays the same forever, anyhow. One of my “theme verses” right now is Joshua 1:9 which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” I woke up with that verse in my head one morning after having a a day particularly dedicated to being sad about leaving home. I very much have felt the presence of the Lord with me lately. It makes me tear up to think about. I almost feel that He is/will very literally carry me into this next season of life. I am looking forward to it. I almost feel a sort of separation from any earthly attachments, as if life is about so much more than a sense of security. That is very true, actually. It hasn’t been working to comfort myself with things like, “Once I get there, I know I will be fine,” or “I won’t miss everything so much after awhile.” That’s true, but it helps me so much more to look at my past, look at where He has brought me, and know that He – not anyone else (though He has used people; mostly my parents) – has been the one guiding me and leading me, and He will continue to do that. He promises that He doesn’t “change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17), and He will be faithful to that promise.

My mom and I will be going out to visit Shannon for a while at the end of the month. I am really looking forward to that – not only will it be nice to see the apartment, the area, and things like that, I can’t wait to see Shannon again! This will probably be the last time I see him before the wedding in August (though if we get desperate, we might squeeze in a weekend at some point…), so we are going to treasure every minute! My mom is really nice to be coming…

Another thing I have been doing lately is playing piano accompaniment for a local elementary school’s spring concert. A girl from my church is directing it (a group of about 100 kids), and she asked me to play for her. I’ve been going twice a week to practice; this Tuesday and Thursday are the concerts. I think they will go well; the kids do a really good job. Beth is a great choir director. The concert theme is “going green,” so all the songs have a “green” theme – “My Planet, Your Planet,” “It’s Easy Bein’ Green,” and “Let’s Clean Up Our World” being on the list. Really, though, the music is fun.

Next month, I get to go stay with Martha for awhile when she has the baby. I am really looking forward to that. I’m glad I get to get in some early bonding time with another nephew. Though, I must say, I am really looking forward to having kids of my own. Shannon and I would not complain if we had a baby by next summer…but, of course, that’s up to God! As much as I would love to have a baby right away, I would also love having time as a couple, so I’m good with anything!

I don’t have much else interesting to write about, unless of course you want to hear about my “engagement syndrome.” I have been such an airhead lately – or, as Dad says, one step away from being an airhead. In all the years I have been driving, I never locked my keys in the car once. In the last month and a half, I’ve done it THREE TIMES! Three times! Today, I accidentally forgot to halve the butter in the rhubarb crisp I made. It wasn’t really crisp, it was more like, well, rhubarb syrup. Anyway, I’ve been making lots of little mistakes like that, and everyone is chocking it up to “engagement syndrome,” or something like that. Three more months to go, and I sincerely hope it goes away after that. I’m blonde enough on my own without outside forces!

Pillow

I’ve wanted to make a pillow for a long time, and today I finally did it. Thank you to Mom and Hannah and Martha for their kind advice. Don’t you think it will look good in Shannon and my apartment?

All in a day’s work…

…Rug Doctoring!

Also, here is the dessert I made last night – only 131 calories per serving.

Ducklings

I went with Jessica on Sunday afternoon to pick up her new pet ducks. She got them from Farm and Tractor Supply, as well as other “ingredients” for their housing. Here she is holding the box of six happy ducklings.

Jessica also got this pet baby rabbit from a friend. I named him Pinecone.

It’s a Girl!

I got to go with Naomi, Paul, and Jonah to their baby’s sonogram yesterday morning.

IT’S A GIRL!!!

It was so fun to see her wiggling around with her hands up by her face.

Jonah, all ready to go

Waiting at the hospital

Looking at Baby Girl’s picture

Our pre-birthday party to celebrate Baby Girl

Happy

Isn’t she cute?

Partying

Jonah partied with Farmer Tad on the floor.

Tuesday Morning

A Night Out

Mom, Dad, Kyle, and I went over to Naomi and Paul’s house this weekend. We had a lovely picnic by the lake (sorry, no photos…I didn’t realize that I had my camera with me until later), went to a free jazz concert at the university, and stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Wedding Preparations

Mom discovered these lovely branches on the side of the road. Yes, the wedding has turned us into garbage pickers. We plan on cutting the branches we got today (or rather, Paul will cut them) into four-inch lengths, slice into their centers, and they will be a sort of base for our table numbers. Anyway, we were feeling quite “lumberjack-ish” as we ventured out with our saw.

Mom was better at it than I was.



Mom has been working on making the table numbers out of sticks and things – some from the florist and some from the side of the road!

Aren’t they nice?


Supplies

Easter

Sorry – it’s a little blurry, but you can see the banner my mom made hanging in the front of the church.

Yummy Appetizers

Pretty table

The Easter basket that Naomi made for me

The weird-looking butter lamb; tell me, why the flag and ribbon??

Yummy food cooking

Alleluia!

Jonah finally woke up from his nap!

Looking handsome in his Easter finery

We matched!

“They won’t give me any chocolate, so I eat my hands.”

Looking at Dad and Grandpa

Playing – I look like I’m about to hit him on the head, but really I was about to restart his toy.

Easter dinner?

I love this photo; it looks like everyone is disturbed by the Easter bunny.

You Have Been Good, by Scott Krippayne

If I never get to see another rainbow
Or share another laugh with a friend
If I never stand barefoot by the ocean
Or get to kiss my child goodnight again

If I never have another prayer that’s answered
Or have another blessing come my way
If this is all I know of heaven’s kindness
Father, I would still have to say

You have been good
You have been good
And I am in wonder how could it be
You have been good
You have been good
So many ways You’ve been good to me

You’ve shown me mercy upon mercy
Grace upon grace, time after time
And I know all too well what I’m deserving
Yet, You are still so patient and kind

You have been good
You have been good
And I am in wonder how could it be

You have been good
You’ve been so good
In so many ways You’ve been good to me

If suddenly it all were ended
And your blessings disppear
Looking back over a lifetime
The evidence is clear

You have been good
You have been good
And I am in wonder how could it be

You have been good
You have been good
In so many ways You’ve been good to me

You have been good
You have been good
And I am in wonder how could it be

You have been good
You have been good
In so many ways You’ve been good to me

In so many ways You’ve been good to me

Yay!!

Luke 2:5A

“Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged…”

Engaged!!

Text Rich

Happy Thursday! For some reason, it feels like Monday to me today, but I think my mind is a little foggy right now. The arrival of spring has brought with it lovely things called “allergens,” and my head isn’t quite at its sharpest today because of them. I actually feel fairly miserable, but I will attempt to make a cohesive post, regardless.

I finally finished working on dishcloths. Check out all thirteen of them…

I like my towels, too, but there’s only one completed so far. I need to work on that.

I’ve been keeping busy with other things at home and away from home. I spent Tuesday night at Naomi’s house, taking care of Jonah so she could get some stuff done around the house. Yesterday morning, I was supposed to play piano at the morning Lent service at our church, but I was having so much fun at Naomi’s that she let me babysit and she played for me. I’d never babysat Jonah for that long before (I don’t think Naomi’s ever left him that long, either), but he was fabulous. He woke up from a nap around 10, and Naomi left shortly after. He was fairly fussy until 10:45, when I decided to feed him fifteen minutes earlier than he was supposed to eat. After that, he was acting a little sleepy, even though he shouldn’t have been sleepy yet. I decided to try to put him to sleep, and he did so with hardly any fuss. He slept and slept and slept for nearly an hour and a half, and woke up fifteen minutes or so before Naomi got home. Jonah is just getting sweeter and cuter every day, if that’s possible. I took some great pictures of him playing in his crib yesterday morning, but I forgot my camera at Naomi’s house, so I’ll have to post them some other time.

Shannon got in a car accident on his way to church last Sunday. He wasn’t hurt, but his car is wrecked. Thankfully, he has good insurance, and won’t have to pay anything out of pocket for the accident. Apparently, God is wanting him to have everything fresh and new in CO – new job, new apartment, new car, etc. I am so glad that he wasn’t hurt too badly – just a few cuts and bruises – and I’m so glad the insurance is covering everything. It could have been a lot worse. He is coming out to visit a week from tomorrow – hooray! If all goes well, he should have a new car by that time, so he can get to the airport.

I’m trying to work on being productive and enthusiastic during the day, even though I stay up late talking on the phone at night, and consequently get up late. I think that God is trying to teach me to just take one day at a time and relax, though…especially now when I’m not feeling well.

I was reading Psalm 23 the other night, and discovered a beautiful analogy. The second half of verse 2 says, “He leads me beside still waters.” The footnote in my Bible mentioned that the shepherd leads his sheep by still waters because fast-flowing waters scare them. I was thinking about the “still water blessings” in my life, and realizing that I stand in them and splash around and get scared because I think they are fast-flowing waters. If I’d just stand still, I’d be able to see that they were still, and be refreshed and encouraged by them. The changes in my life right now and all the different things I am experiencing are gifts of still waters from God, and I feel like God is trying to tell me to stand still and “taste and see that the Lord is good.” That meant so much to me; I love when the Lord shows me new things from passages I’ve read over and over before.

I’ve also been thinking lately about Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” I read an article in Naomi’s Word magazine the other day that was saying that anything other than the Word of God is not something we should put our trust in. I have this problem where I always want to “wrap my mind around” things, to take time and adjust to various changes or situations, but God doesn’t always allow time for that. I don’t think it’s always wrong – God does sometimes allow for seasons of rest and adjustment – but sometimes He doesn’t, and it’s not our call to get upset about it. “Lean not on your own understanding.” I think that means that when for whatever reason, God is allowing life to move fast, and exciting things are happening, we should just hold on, trust in His wisdom, and enjoy it! So often, I almost view life’s blessings as the “deep dark valley” or something equally depressing, when they’re wonderful and exciting gifts! We like to compare our lives to others and get upset about the “grass being greener” for other people, but if we compare our lives to that of Christ’s, we sure have it easy. Anyway, I’m losing my train of thought here, but you get the idea!

Well, I think I’ll go take my shower, have some lunch, and get something done. I have to run a few errands this afternoon. I ordered a bathing suit from Lands End online, and it’s not what I expected it to be, so I’m going to try to return the top at Sears and order a new one online. I’m excessively pleased with their customer service. I got a suit from them last year, and even though I don’t swim very often, the hem of the skirt was coming unraveled. I mailed it in, and they gave me a gift card with a full refund of the suit from last year. Now if I can just get this one right, I’ll have a new suit that will last me awhile at very little cost.

Wow, this is a long post – but you guys are the ones who told me to go ahead and post text again.

Three Days and Counting…

…I haven’t eaten any wheat, dairy, meat, or sugar. Believe me, giving all of that up is easy, but giving up coffee is the hardest part. Instead of coffee and eggs or something like that for breakfast, I eat this….

Visit with Naomi, Paul, and Jonah

Mom and Dad were out of town this week, so I spent a few nights at Naomi, Paul, and Jonah’s house. It was great to spend time with them, and see Jonah’s smile whenever he was up to it.

Just Plain Dumb

I lead the “college age” Bible study at my church. Last week, we started the ten-week r12 True Spirituality Bible study by Chip Ingram.

We’ll be doing the second study on Sunday afternoon. I watched it today to prepare for Sunday, and all I could think of was this song:

Chip Ingram spoke on the first few verses of Romans 12, where we are told to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. He also spoke on Jesus’ parable where He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the man who found a pearl of great price in a field, and sold everything he had to buy it. Chip gave two examples of this parable in a modern-day setting where people sold everything they had for 1)an estate containing guns and gold coins from the Civil War and 2)a painting no one knew was really a Picasso original. He asked if anyone felt remorse for those people…”Oh, it’s so sad they had to sell their houses and cars!” Um…no. They’re filthy rich now! It’s the same concept when we give everything we have/are for Christ. It’s just plain dumb not to!

Anyway, that session was really encouraging to me, and I hope it goes well on Sunday.

I’m off to get dressed (I know – it’s the middle of the afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas! Isn’t that terrible?! If it’s any consolation, I knit while I was working on the Bible study.) and pick up Dad at the airport. I also need to put together some meatloaf quick so that I can pop it in the oven when we get back, and I have to run a fun errand on the way to the airport.

It’s nice to post text again. I’m out of practice.

My Day

In which I explain and share some photos

Sarah was visiting me this week, and while we were talking last night, I finally figured out why I haven’t been posting on my blog. It made my eyes a little wet when I finally figured it out, mostly because it doesn’t affect just my blog, it affects my relationships with my friends, too.

Relationships are a give-and-take type of thing, emotionally. Especially since I’m a girl, that emotional part is pretty important. You know, sharing of thoughts and feelings – those sorts of things. Well, for the last six or seven months, my thoughts and feelings have mostly revolved around a certain someone who shall be nameless. Ha -like I can keep that nameless. In the last few weeks, that has only increased more. This, of course, is a wonderful thing, and I am happier than I have ever been in my life.

Problem: My blog has always been filled with my thoughts and emotions, and I honestly feel kind of “annoying” posting about all of that. Most of my friends are single, and I have been in that state up until recently, and I know how annoying it is when suddenly all people talk about is “the guy.” I always promised myself that I would NOT be one of those people. However, when that is where a good share of my thoughts and emotions are, what do I post about?

Soloosh: Photos?

Ha. Just kidding. I don’t have a soloosh. That was just an explanation.

Anyway, I may or may not start posting more of my thoughts and emotions on my blog, but feel free to ignore them completely if I do.

I did want to post some photos from Sarah’s visit, though. We had a great time relaxing, talking, shopping (our consignment shop had a $1 sale on their white and tan tags), and eating. We ate a lot, actually. Oh, and we sewed coasters.

Visiting Grandma in Arizona

Well, I thought I’d be original and actually post something!

In January, I went to Phoenix, Arizona to visit my grandma for nine days. We had a wonderful time enjoying beautiful weather, the Botanical Gardens, the craft sale in Grandma’s trailer park, and visiting with other residents.

The craft sale building

I bought an embroidery pattern for tea towels from this lady.

Grandma and I got a new shower curtain, towels, and a bath mat for her bathroom. Here is the “before” photo.

“After”

Park entertainment – Ken Shepski crooning to the ladies

Part of the blown glass exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in Scottsdale (yes, I drove there – are you proud?)

Grandma posing

Me posing

Cacti on the mountain

Grandma and I posing together

Rose

Great Uncle Leal, Grandma, and Beverly

Ridiculous prices at the fruit and vegetable market – those strawberries were only ninety-nine cents!

There were multiple birds in the Phoenix airport. It was so funny.

Sunday Morning

Praise Him in the morning
For tall and lofty trees
And praise Him in the evening
For children on their knees
Oh and praise Him in the noon day
For gentle birds that sing
Oh praise Him all ye people
Praise the King

And praise Him for a peaceful porch
And rocking chairs that sway
Praise Him for the rolling hills
Where children laugh and play
Oh and praise Him for the wandering soul
That never lost their way
Oh praise Him all ye people
Praise the King

Chorus:
Praise the King
Praise the King
Let it ring
Praise the King
Praise the King
Praise the King
Let it ring
Praise the King

And praise Him for the blood that fell
And bloomed a rose that day
And praise Him that He suffered through the guilt, the grief, the shame
Oh and praise Him that His tender love will still forgive today
Oh praise Him all ye people praise the King

(chorus)

-Praise the King
by Cindy Morgan

A Taste of New Year’s…

…a.k.a., I don’t have the patience to upload a zillion more pictures right now.

Christmas in Illinois

Cooking on Christmas Eve

I took this picture specifically for my blog. Please guess what food item is in this bowl.

Opening gifts on Christmas morning

The mittens I made for Shannon (and the choppers) fit perfectly. Needless to say, I was relieved. They looked huge while I was knitting them. I guess his hands are huge.

Shannon and I flew to Buffalo on the 26th. Our first flight was over the weight limit, so we volunteered to take a later flight. It wasn’t a bad deal at all – they bought us lunch and gave us each $300 of vouchers. Anyway, I thought these snowplows were very interesting. I busied myself taking pictures of them while we waited for our flight.

Waiting

Year In Review

Per my tradition, I must go over the past year month by month, and post pictures of the highlights. Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list, as I don’t have pictures of every event.

I had iTunes on while I was working on posting these pictures, and one of the songs that came on was “God is Watching Over You,” by Phil Joel. That was my unofficial “theme song” for 2008.

He sees you down by the water line
Know what you’re thinking all the time
He sees the rising of the waves
When the tide starts rolling in
He lets you know it’s gonna be o.k.

He sees you dancing in the moonlight
His arms around you hold ya tight
And if those clouds should start to break
He’ll be standing out in the rain with you
And though it’s hard to believe
He believes in you

God is watching over you
As always
You are loved
Whatever you go through
He’s right beside you
God is watching over you
As always
And if you think He’ll ever leave you
You better think again

Painted in the sky a rainbow to remind you
Nothing that is broken
Cannot be made new
He knows when ya feel so far away
He’s gonna keep the night light on
He’s waiting there to receive you

You are loved
Wherever you go

Through fire, through wind and through rain
Yesterday, today and tomorrow the same
Nothing here can take this love
Nothing you could do will break this love
Climb a tree, gonna reach so high
Swing low sweet chariot
It’s time to fly
He sees you down by the water line

Every word in that song was true this past year.  I laugh a little bit when I read those lyrics now – especially the part about the rainbow.  This is going to sound a little strange, but on several different particularly difficult days this past year, I saw rainbows in the sky.

God was certainly faithful to me in 2008. Why do I ever fear the certainty of that? It’s only six days into 2009, but I already feel as if I were taking each day a little nervously, wondering what on earth is going to happen.  I can honestly say that I have never felt so excited, anxious, terrified, while looking into a new year.  It was good to look back over the past year, and recognize God’s faithfulness.

I got a gift card to Borders for Christmas, and I used part of it to buy Streams in the Desert, a devotional book.  This particular part really blessed me, especially looking into this coming year…

“We ‘have never been this way before,’ but the Lord Jesus has.  It is all untraveled and unknown ground to us, but He knows it all through personal experience.  He knows the steep places that take our breath away, the rocky paths that make our feet ache, the hot and shadeless stretches that bring us to exhaustion, and the rushing rivers that we have to cross–Jesus has gone through it all before us.  As John 4:6 shows, ‘Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down.’  He was battered by every possible torrent, but all the floodwaters coming against Him never quenched His love.  Jesus was made a perfect leader by the things He suffered.  ‘He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).  Think of that when you are tempted to question the gentleness of His leading.  He remembers all the time and will never make you take even one step beyond what your feet are able to endure.  Never mind if you think you are unable to take another step, for either He will strengthen you to make you able, or He will call a sudden halt, and you will not have to take it at all.”   Frances Ridley Havergal

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in 2008, and may He allow me to love and trust Him more in 2009.

January

Getting my wisdom teeth out

Spending time in Texas with Micah, Emma, and Sebastian

February

Norway!!!

My nineteenth birthday

March

Martha’s wedding shower

Individual visits with MEAJASO before Martha moved away

April

Volunteering at the FLN Sharathon with Sarah

Martha and Joel’s wedding

May

Working at the Joni and Friends’ Philadelphia office

Being with my “sisters”

June

Joni and Friends Retreats week one….

…and two

July

Reminiscing about old times with Julia

Sarah’s visit and our Super Fun Sarah Trip

August

MEAJASO reunion

Bittersweet times in Illinois

Being in Texas for the birth of my wonderful nephew Thomas

September

Getting to see Shannon in Texas

Spending time with Micah, Emma, Sebastian, and Thomas in Texas

October

An unexpected visit to see Martha and Joel in L.A.

Joanna’s wedding

Celebrating Halloween with Debbie

November

Shannon’s visit to my house

Thanksgiving with Hannah, Todd, Sam, Naomi, Paul, and Jonah

December

Visiting Martha and Joel in L.A.

Celebrating Christmas with Mom and Dad at Applebee’s

Snow Day

Christmas presents ready

Packing

Out the upstairs window

Getting deeper…

It’s still snowing tonight. The storm warning goes until 7 A.M. tomorrow.

Here is Mom wrapping presents next to the pointsettia that she got for one dollar. She is very proud of it.

We’re having a great big exciting snowstorm today.  It would be more fun it I hadn’t been scheduled to fly out to Shannon’s house tonight, but it’s still beautiful.  Better luck with the flights tomorrow…

New Bedroom Wall Colors

The Light of the World

It’s Advent season!  Yes, and we only have one more candle to light before Christmas arrives.  Unlike the other eleven months of the year (*note sarcasm), December has/is finding me jogging all over what I will affectionately call “my backyard,” also known as the entire United States.  I saw the first candle lit in my own home church in New York, the second Sunday I was at Martha and Joel’s wonderful church in LA, the third I was still there (hooray!  I love their church!), and the fourth will find me en route to Illinois to spend Christmas with Shannon and his family (I would carry the fourth candle with me through the airport, but I think TSA would have something to say about that…).

Despite all of this running around (or perhaps because of it), I feel more anticipation than ever for the coming of the Christ.  God has given me a theme, or shall I say, a word that is following me around, no matter what state I am in.

Light.

Compared to other people’s lives, I will admit that my life doesn’t have a whole lot of darkness.  However, being a “daughter of Eve” brings me my fair share.  Sure – a little uncertainty about the future, a little pain and hurt – but more than that, the last few months have been sanctifying to me.  I will be honest; being “in a relationship,” though wonderful and beautiful, is sanctifying.  I’ve had thoughts like “Wow, I’m prideful!” or “Wow, I need to be more considerate!” go through my head many times, and that’s…yeah…sanctifying.

But Christ has come!  And He is light!

“Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon

you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the

earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

The Gentiles shall come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.”

-Isaiah 60:1-3

Into the darkness of my uncertainty, into the darkness of my confusion (which sometimes always is very frustrating), into the darkness of my pain, into the darkness of the fact that I can’t fix other people’s pain, and into the darkness that is my own sin and wretchedness, comes the Christ child, the Light of the world, in whom is no darkness at all.

Mom and I attended our church school’s Christmas program tonight.  While we were waiting for it to begin, I was reading the service of evening prayer, part of which is also known as the Service of Light.  I wanted to share part of it here; it was yet another way that God reminded me of the Light He brings into my darkness.

“Jesus Christ is the Light of the world,

the light no darkness can overcome.

Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,

and the day is almost over.

Let your light scatter the darkness

and illumine your Church.

“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ; may his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation and we, your creatures, glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.”

“Let my prayer rise before you as incense; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.  O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly; hear my voice when I cry to you.  Let me prayer rise before you as incense; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.  Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, and guard the door of my lips.  Let not my heart incline to any evil thing; let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers.  but my eyes are turned to you, O God; in you I take refuge.  Strip me not of my life.  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.  Let my prayer rise before you as incense; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

“O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments; and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever.”

“Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet undrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

“Amen.”

So, this Advent season, as I hop about the country, I look with expectancy to the coming of the Christ child, the Light in my darkness.  I praise Him for His presence with me this season, and echo the words in the Advent hymns I read.

“O Lord of light, who made the stars,

O Dawn, by whom we see the say,

O Christ, redeemer of the world:

Come now and listen as we pray!”

(O Lord of Light, Who Made the Stars, by Melvin Farrell)

“Hark!  A thrilling voice is sounding!

‘Christ is near,’ we hear it say.

‘Cast away the works of darkness,

All you children of the day!’”

(“Hark!  A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding,” by Edward Caswall)

“The King shall come when morning dawns

And light and beauty brings.

Hail, Christ the Lord!  Your people pray:

Come quickly King of kings.”

(“The King Shall Come,” by John Brownlie)

Hello world!

Welcome to my brand new blog.

*bows dramatically*