It's a foggy morning on our Fall City hill, and I like the way it seems to blanket our house, cozy and quiet. Soon I will head out to spend the day downtown with Heidi (and co.): first, a trip back to the bakery for the first time since my last day of work; second, lunch with Jana (including an introduction to Jonas!). I look forward to going back and seeing many familiar and dear faces again.
Yesterday was cooking and quilting day; the weekend holds music practice and a wedding; then Sunday is a travel day. Since the beginning of April, I've visited Thetis Island, Balingen/Germany, and Stehekin; next on the agenda is Waco, TX where Mom and I will visit with Jeff and Melissa and help them move into their new apartment. I love the richness and the freedom of this little season of my life. The amazing fellowship both at home and on each of my trips fills me up with inspiration and encouragement and joy; there is ample opportunity for creativity of many varieties; I have been running regularly (with Mom, which is very companionable) for the first time in ages; I have tasks enough to keep me productive, and free time enough to let me be spontaneous. I am enjoying every moment here and also looking forward to my next adventure:
Being a nanny in Germany for six months. I love little children, and Germany is becoming more and more familiar and beloved. It's definitely a job and a family God has led me to, and I am eager to meet them and enter into life in that home.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I Sing for Joy
This morning when I read the Word, I felt too comfortable. The well-worn routine of opening the blue leather covers of my Bible, delicate leaves slipping between my fingers, and turning to words made familiar by years of reading and hearing seemed more like a rut than a life-giving action.
So after I read a Psalm, I slipped to the floor, to my knees, and asked God to make the Word alive in me. I searched for something specific in the words I had just read, something I could ask God to do in me, something practical. The verse that I landed on was Psalm 92:4: "I sing for joy at the works of your hands." I asked God to show me His works throughout the day before me, and to enable me to sing for joy, cultivating a grateful heart instead of a complaining heart, or one that was too caught up in the details of tomorrow to enjoy today.
And now, as the day draws to a close, I can say I was not disappointed. My heart has been singing today -- for many beautiful works of the Lord, large and small. My favorite one is this:
This cold spring morning, in a lull between rain showers, Mom and I went out for a run in the woods. The living garment of green worn by the forest at this time of year is a glorious work of God's hands, and it would have been hard not to sing for joy in the midst of such vibrancy, encroaching to the very stones we ran on. As Mom and I drew in lungfuls of sharp, fresh air and feasted our eyes on the verdant green, we prayed aloud together. And suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the songs of joy dancing in my heart for the beauty of the woods and of the morning, for a dose of health and strength for both Mom and me so we could run side by side, and most especially for God's gracious work of a sweet and holy and intimate relationship with a fellow sojourner along God's Way, my own mother.
"It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts!"
So after I read a Psalm, I slipped to the floor, to my knees, and asked God to make the Word alive in me. I searched for something specific in the words I had just read, something I could ask God to do in me, something practical. The verse that I landed on was Psalm 92:4: "I sing for joy at the works of your hands." I asked God to show me His works throughout the day before me, and to enable me to sing for joy, cultivating a grateful heart instead of a complaining heart, or one that was too caught up in the details of tomorrow to enjoy today.
And now, as the day draws to a close, I can say I was not disappointed. My heart has been singing today -- for many beautiful works of the Lord, large and small. My favorite one is this:
This cold spring morning, in a lull between rain showers, Mom and I went out for a run in the woods. The living garment of green worn by the forest at this time of year is a glorious work of God's hands, and it would have been hard not to sing for joy in the midst of such vibrancy, encroaching to the very stones we ran on. As Mom and I drew in lungfuls of sharp, fresh air and feasted our eyes on the verdant green, we prayed aloud together. And suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the songs of joy dancing in my heart for the beauty of the woods and of the morning, for a dose of health and strength for both Mom and me so we could run side by side, and most especially for God's gracious work of a sweet and holy and intimate relationship with a fellow sojourner along God's Way, my own mother.
"It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts!"
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Germany
I don't know how to put into words the gift of the time I spent in Germany with my dear friends Melanie,
Bernhard, and Joshua Hausser.So, for now, a few photos will have to suffice. Perhaps I will yet receive an inspiration, but I'm afraid that once I started writing about all of our conversations and delicious Swabian meals and adventures hither and yon I might never quit. Their fellowship is sweet and their friendship is a true gift!
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