wonderful wednesday..

Morning at home- read some, walked some. Great lunch with Sha. Meant a great deal to hear her say That was helpful- as she left the car and headed back to work. I love her so and am as curious as she is to see who she has become this side of the boys. Changed everything.

A bit of a rushed afternoon, thanks to copier quirks but a great day. A little one on one with Nikki, a little choir, a little rehearsal and a little chat with Neal. Wonder...

Topped her off with DOOL with Kev. Still a little weird he goes to rehearsal somewhere else. And tonight he got Sha. Wish I could hear her sing. Thankful she felt it went well and found some joy in singing...

Really thankful about that.

Another great staff meeting this morning. Love these people. Challenges me to pour into the people I know He has placed in my life.

Kids came over for dinner-they never cease to amaze me. Seeing them grow into these people God is using to influence a core group of young people is pretty fun. They really do seem to be living out relational discipleship in about the most natural fashion I've seen. Grateful...

family famine...

Reading an update on the famine in southern Somalia I finally noticed that many are walking for hours in the heat of the sun to find food in Kenya and....Ethiopia. It struck me that my grandchildren might be among those who are hungry and displaced. How quickly the heart engages when it gets personal...it's pretty easy to donate to help...

"If I keep my eyes on God, I won’t trip over my own feet."- (Psalm 25:15 MSG)

Paraphrasing a Mark Driscoll sermon on Ephesians 2: We are on Team Jesus when we have no right to even be at the game.

Thankful for the saving work of Jesus Christ.

it's all relative...

Trees everywhere. Driving through the subdivision seeing roots where grass used to be, crossing town and seeing traffic diverted away from power lines and more fallen trees makes you shake your head and repeat phrases like you've heard on the news. We have repairable fencing and roof issues, as well as being without power for twelve hours now, but it seriously pales with the pictures and realities of places like Joplin- even the ones a month into the aftermath. So I'll manage my whine and live with my fluffy hair, thankful that a lack of flat-iron and melting ice cream is all I have to deal with today.

a courageous heart...for the glory of God...

Karen Dye interviewed Shawna a couple weeks ago for an episode on A Courageous Heart  We are grateful for the continued opportunity to share Jad and Kal with those who hear their story. As always, we pray that someone, somewhere, finds encouragement in the midst of their own difficulties and that God is honored and glorified by the testimony shared. We sure do miss our little boys and as a mom, I covet your continued prayer for Shawna as her heart continues to heal, and for John as he grieves this loss. All these months later it is still unreal to a great degree. Life sweeps us forward but their absence is felt in ever increasing measure...