It's Raining, It's Pouring

I love the rain. It really feels like fall is here now. I noticed yesterday that the leaves were beginning to accumulate under the trees at the park. The grey cloud cover feels like a giant, cozy comforter for the city. The rhythmic patter of raindrops hitting the roof and windowsills sends my soul into a deep place of calm and relaxation. It's a beautiful day.

Five Years Old

Dear Trinity,
You have always been our miracle baby. When we were unsure if we would get to have children, the Lord blessed us in a mighty and miraculous way by entrusting us with...you. I love to tell you the story of how the Lord looked around heaven, until he saw his most beautiful, sweet and precious angel. "Who needs to receive this special gift from me? Who will see what a blessing she is?" And then He saw your daddy and me and how much we desired an angel to to take of.
The day we found out you were going to join us was truly the most joyful of my life. It is one of the few times I have genuinely cried tears of joy.
So here we are, five years down the road. You continue to amaze us with your gentle and sweet spirit (except during wrestling matches and choosing clothes for the day!). We are humbled that the Lord allows us the gift of parenting you. Thank you for being patient with us (we're trying to figure out this parenting thing as we go along), for being a great sister and friend and for being so dang lovable.
Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Fall Play Day

Trinity & Connor playing with our friends, Aunika & Cash on a perfect fall day.

Third Day

Allan and I got to see Third Day in concert this weekend - thank you, Kymm!! It was really fun and something we needed (a night out, with just the two of us??). Allan and I do not really share a similiar taste in music, but we both love Third Day. They did not disappoint! They have an amazing gift, not only musically, but in bringing a large audience to a place of reverant worship. Their next album sounds really great - Allan really liked one titled, "Light at the End of the Tunnel"; "Cry Out to Jesus" is amazing (you can download it off of their site); and they have one about communion that was really beautiful. *sigh*

Pic of the Day

Is that not the cutest thing? The nephews got lice, so my brother helped up the brave factor by getting his head shaved first. What a good daddy!

Such Decadence

We order cable internet at our house (yay!), and they are attempting to lure us by throwing in three months of full cable t.v., as well. I began to visualize myself wasting the days away. The History Channel! The Discovery Channel! ESPN! But I swear to you that, no sooner than the cable man had walked out our front door, did our little, pathetic television flicker its last image. NOOOO! Now we had to live in our house, knowing there were images of battling ships, clashing football helmets and all the 80s movies we could ever desire living within the wires of the walls, but not being allowed to fulfil their t.v. destiny. So off to Costco to purchase a gigantic replacement for the remains of the set now housed on the floor of my bedroom. Man in line at the pharmacy counter: "Ohhh, I have been wanting that very set. I am so jealous!" Man on the snack aisle: "*sigh* Can you put that in my car??" And man behind me in line: "Oh, I want that!" Feeling a bit defensive at my indulgent purchase, I reply, "Our t.v. went out, and tonight is Monday Night Football, so I had to get a replacement!" Man now faces his wife: "Did you hear that?? She is buying that t.v. for her husband before Monday Night Football." "I never said you couldn't have a new t.v." "Yes, but she's buying it for him!" Over the arguing, they never even heard my whimpering reply: "My husband plays volleyball on Mondays. The Monday Night Football is for me."

Age of Consent

Today I read some good news. After much outcry, a decision made earlier this week by the Sri Lankan cabinet to to lower the age of sexual consent to thirteen (!!) was reversed. This was their logic in making the original change:

...the move to reduce it from 16 is a consequence of rising numbers of arrests of men for sexual relations with girls below that age.

OH, MY GOODNESS! It makes me truly nauseated. Sin so twists people's minds that these people actually found the solution to so many men being arrested for having sex with children was to no longer make it illegal! Oh, Lord, have mercy on us.

Today my family had the great opportunity to worship with a new church plant, Renovatus, in Clark County, Washington. Next week is their big kick-off week, so they brought friends in to pray over the ministry. Allan and I enjoyed praying for the children of their church family by name, asking the Lord to bless their journey as young missionaries. It was encouraging to us to be amongst this family of believers. They have a fresh, exciting, Spirit-led ministry that will undoubtedly thrive under the guidance of the Lord. I am proud of Kevin, Brenda, Kirk, Natalie and the others who have taken this step of faith. I pray that next week and the weeks and years to come are amazing stories of the faithfulness and grace of God for this church!

Autumn On The Horizon

Autumn is on the horizon, I can tell
By the colored leaves that fell,
While all around the land was green,
The change in the season hardly seen.

Autumn is on the horizon, I can tell,
Orchard trees are fruitless as well.
Their outstretched boughs as if in a spell
As the succulent leaves begin to pale.

Autumn is on the horizon, I can tell,
Birds not singing on the porch rail
Sensing the coming of the autumn chill,
Prepare to flock on the nearby hill.

Autumn is on the horizon, I can tell
Seeing woolly caterpillars on the boarded well,
Squirrels scurrying across the ground
Where hickory nuts now abound.

Autumn is coming soon, if one believes,
The land will be covered with a blanket of leaves.
Flowers wilting beneath the hazy sky,
No longer attracting a beautiful butterfly.

Joseph T. Renaldi

Jason to the Rescue!

Our good friend Jason Hill and several other great Northwest folks are on their way down to the Gulf region to help in clean-up efforts. Please pray for them on their journey and check out his blog, which he is keeping updated from the road: Jason's blog.

First Day of School

My little girl held my handing, skipping along the sidewalk all the way to her new school, Woodlawn Elementary. Her teacher had come to our house last week to meet Trinity, so there was lots of chatter about what Miss Aubrey would do during the day. I'm going to ask Miss Aubrey if we can go out on the playground today! There are twenty or so little munchkins in her class, some dealing with leaving mom or dad better than others. It is a great cultural mix - probably seven Hispanic, seven black and five white. Her first day of pre-k was a success; she questioned all morning about when it would be time to head to school again!

Friends

I've been thinking about my friends lately and what a gift from God good friends really are. One week recently had me connecting with many of these treasured people.

You know those friends that you don't see very often anymore, but when you are together you can pick up right where you left off? That is Scott & Laura and Tony & Jennifer for us. Our friendships go back to pre-marriage, pre-kids, pre-Boston, London & New Jersey. The inside jokes that still crack us up date back a decade or so; I look forward to laughing at those same jokes when our grandkids are running around us.

E-mail reconnected me with three buds who had incredible impact on my life from elementary school through high school graduation. Lisa, Lezlie, Kristin and I are terrible at keeping our communication current. I miss them; they make me a better person.

I called my college roommate Jeannette on a drive home when I realized that I was actually alone in the car! We filled each other in on all of our old college friends - Carolyn, Kaylene, Susan, Lori, Mandy. It's hard to believe it's been so long since our Harding days.

Moving is one of those life events that brings out the heartiest of peers! Jason & Christa moved us into our first house six years ago; they once again demonstrated their capacity to be abused by us. Ike, Kealea, Andrew, Aimee & Lanny also added their muscles to making our house our home. And a number of our PUMP friends provided meals for us that first week we were in our house.

There are many, many others who I am thankful to count as friends. If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of them! Thanks, friend. :-)

Mixed Emotions

Every place you turn these days the aftermath of the hurricane is in view - every website, blog, newspaper, magazine and news program bombards ones senses with the turmoil in the south.

In reaction to the cries that relief did not come fast enough, my brother speaks in his blog about immense world-wide suffering, some of which he sees first-hand in Africa. I have found myself feeling a similar reaction. Many of the people whom I worked with in Sri Lanka have yet to receive aid after the tsunami of last December! We are a spoiled nation. We cannot fathom that an event could take place in which our discomfort cannot immediately be relieved.

By no means am I suggesting that we accept incompetent leadership or poor planning or that any of the suffering being experienced in the south is justified or necessary. Right now, though, we need to stop all of the finger-pointing and ugly talk and spend our time as a country equally on our knees in prayer and ankle-deep in mud helping those who are hurting.

There are a lot of people who are doing just that. There are Christians all over the country who are opening their homes, their churches, their hearts, hands and wallets to be who they have been called to be. This is why we are here - to provide opportunity for God's glory to be showcased. Thank you to all who are serving in this special way.