A Blessed Home

We moved into our new home in January.  With the beginnings of spring, we're getting outside more and have discovered a couple of things in the flower bed.

Inside the house we've found many miniature statues of Jesus, angels, and saints, in addition to many Sacred Heart Auto League stickers on windows.  This home was at the very least inhabited by someone religious, if not a devout follower of Jesus, and I like to think she prayed for the next family that would live in her long-time home.  In a way, I feel connected to that spry old woman who I may never meet.  God binds us together in that way, doesn't he?

It's a lovely spring day here today.  We're seeing the first sunshine we've seen since I returned from Boston.  All the rain brought on a lot of GREEN; the grass and plants are looking so lush.  It's beautiful!

This is what our back patio looks like (imagine the panorama.)

We're getting a few things started:

lettuce, carrots, zinnias.

 Some final signs of spring to share with you before signing off:

The windows are open!

The yard is in use!

Elizabeth's wearing capris!

I do hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods, city, country, or suburb today!  We're feeling ultra thankful for it here.

A Pencil and Paper Post ... Almost

If it weren't so sloppy, I'd take a good photograph and let you read what I wrote while on the plane.  But for the sake of legibility, here it is typed.

********

April 11, 2011 - in flight between Boston and Pittsburgh

My first ever laptop-of-my-very-own shipped today, so here I sit on the plane home from Boston with paper and pencil to "write out" the time there.

I can sum it all up with one word, one feeling: GRATITUDE.

I just finished another chapter in The Call about the necessity of thanks-giving.  Guiness says that calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should ever be taken for granted; everything in life must be received with gratitude. p. 206

I finished the chapter just prior to take-off, slipped into some prayer for the ladies who attended the retreat and were back into normal life again today, just wrapping up the nine-to-five.  As the plane took off, the tears came.  Now, mind you, I'm sappy and cried plenty this weekend.  Emotion can overcome me too quickly for my taste!  But, we're fearfully and wonderfully made, aren't we?  God wants me this way.

What brought the tears this time?  A deep mix of joy and sorrow: joy that God has been directing and overseeing my way, sovereignly orchestrating personal decisions and external events and circumstances to draw me nearer to Him and His people; joy that I got to see so many dear people this weekend; joy at the memories past and present that fill my mind and heart.

But I am sad.  I'm sad to leave these friends and our history behind.  I'm sad there wasn't just. a little. more time. to be together.  I'm sad that, for now, our sovereign God sees fit that we live in Pittsburgh.

But oh how we can give thanks in such joys and sorrows!  Were it not for our years in Cambridge, under the teaching at Christ the King, I would not have been there this weekend.  The spiritual growth in that place and opportunities to learn and to lead have been for me a training ground and a launching pad.  At the same time, I'm also thankful that we are near our families in Pittsburgh and have found a new church home where we're being taught, fed, and challenged.

Praise the Lord!

I was overwhelmingly humbled to stand before that room full of wonderful women and speak the gospel into their ears and hearts.

I'm awed by God's faithfulness to me as I have considered His call to more intentionally develop and use my gifts to serve the Church.  There are really not enough ways to give Him thanks.

I'm baffled that God uses us as vessels of compassion, mercy, and grace even as we struggle against our own deep-seated sins and transgressions.

I'm thankful the gospel is true.  Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.  Hallelujah!

Sweet, blog-reading friends, will you join me and give thanks today?  Look around you.  Look back. Look ahead.  Consider God's faithfulness.  Consider His call.  Open your lips to praise Him.  We improve at giving thanks as we practice giving thanks.  We're changed when we give thanks; and God gets more of the glory that He deserves.

Exalt the LORD our God
   and worship at his holy mountain,
   for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 99:9

There and Back Again

The weekend in photos, to be followed by a more reflective post that I wrote with pencil and paper on the plane as we were flying out.

McDonald's hotcakes at the airport and schoolwork on the airplane.

Reunion with friends at the end of their school day!

You can see Bjarney's excited little face in the window.

 

 Elizabeth spent the weekend with Martina and Bjarney and their parents.  I'm so thankful they were willing to have her; the girls had indescribable fun together!  Elizabeth was devastated when we had to leave.

I spent the weekend here,

doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that,

in addition to catching up with so many wonderful women over meals and other activities!*

 My friend Kit gave us some great reflection tips.

(click on the photo to read the list)

We spent the remainder of the time at the McFadden's.

 

 

Frankie and Elizabeth got to catch up;

they had not seen each other since June.

 Their dog, Maisy, knows how to chill.

We met up with the Carters to play a little too!

What a blessing the whole weekend was: seeing so many people who we dearly love, getting to use some gifts to edify the body, eating lots of delicious food, engaging in such good conversations, meditating on the gospel and service, repenting and believing the good news.  Phew, it nearly knocked me out; my sappiness was fully engaged this weekend!

Praise be to God!

*Thanks to Jenny for taking the retreat photos.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

From this beautiful city:

These are photos taken from our seat's at yesterday's game.

Come to Pittsburgh in the summer and we'll take you to a game too!

To go to this one for the weekend:

 Well technically I'll be at a conference center most of the time, but will take the T over the river a couple of times! 

Thanks for your prayers for the retreat.  I'll do my best to update not too long after getting back.

Have a great weekend!

You Know Your Team is Bad When ...

you get a note like this from a sales guy after purchasing tickets to two games:

Despite the embarrassingly large number of losing seasons, we will be at opening day tomorrow.  And we will cheer for our hometown team until they are again champs.

Right now they're 3 and 2.  We usually start the season as hopeful fans.

Maybe even the only fans ... 

LET'S GO BUCS!

What I've Been Taking Pictures Of

a favorite meal

(click for link; you can simplify by omitting the extra spices in the sauce)

my children

Flowers

(inside at a flower show)

  

What have you been photographing lately?

Calling

I'm reading Os Guiness' The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life right now, a chapter per day as he intends the reader to take it.  It's fascinating on many levels, but I'm most struck by his thorough but gentle analysis of culture, how well-read he is, and how thoughtfully he approaches faith, while calling his readers to a personal, active, real relationship with Jesus.  In short, I would recommend this book.

Some quotes:

This gives me hope, because I am far too proud.

Do we feel the wonder of being called?  It is all a gift and all of grace.Pride is the first and worst sin, so grace is most amazing when it embraces the fruits of pride rather than the fruits of gluttony or lust, when it reaches the Pharisee soul rather than the profligate Mary Magdalene, when it wins the proud person made prouder still by calling rather than the sinner feeling unworthy to be addressed.Only Grace can dissolve the hard, solitary, vaunting "I" of the sin of pride in each of us.  But the good news is that it does.  p. 123

This I thought was interesting.

When we set out in youth and choose careers for external reasons - such as the lure of the salary, the prestige or the position, or pressure from parents and peers - we are setting ourselves up for frustration later in life if the work does not equally suit us for internal reasons, namely our giftedness and calling.  "Success" may the flatter us on the outside and "significance eludes us from the inside. ... Any contradiction between our callings and our careers condemns us to be square pegs in round holes.  p. 150-151

This is a wonderful sentence.

God has called us, and we are never more ourselves than when we are fully stretched and answering.  p 151

Blogging has been put on the back burner, with the retreat coming up next weekend and all kinds of random evening activities.  I've got some posts floating around in my head, but no time to flesh them and get them written and posted.  Perhaps things will get back to normal around here next week.  In the meantime, I may have to just post pictures of my kids and things we've been up to!  Those are "easy" posts.

If you would pray for the womens retreat at which I'll be speaking next Saturday and Sunday, I'd appreciate it, specifically around 10am and 7pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday.  Pray for open hearts to hear the gospel and that I wouldn't talk too fast!

Ooooh, maybe when I get back I'll give you a summary of the talks!  Here are the titles:

• Jesus the Servant: Our Lord and Savior
• Jesus the Servant: Our Example
• Jesus the Servant: Empowering and Equipping Us

Peace to you today friends.  May God enable you to see how the gospel applies to whatever situation in which you find yourself.  I'm trying to learn how to do this myself.  :)