Lena Jane's Baptism
February 19, 2012
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galations 3:26-29)
Isn't life truly a beautiful thing?
(Celebrating Sanctity of Life Sunday ~ January 22, 2012)
"Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die."
(Proverbs 31:8)
(I'm joining Ruth at Gracelaced today. Come and visit!)
A friend recently shared a very true statement with me.
Christmas is not OUR birthday! This profound little thought has become a family theme for us this year. We are pondering the advent conspiracy movement and re-evaluating what this season means to us. While we love the traditions and the warmth of Christmas, we have made a concerted effort to make it a less complicated and more meaningful holiday.
This "Our Twelve Days of Christmas" series I've been blogging about has highlighted some of the fun things we do as a family, and having fun together is most definitely a goal for us all during this magical time of year. And because there is so much to choose from, we have to pick what we like best.
But fun and important are not the one and the same, and while we enjoy participating in festivities and traditions we also know that they are not really all that important. Does it really matter if we sit on Santa's lap every year? Or bake the same dozen kinds of cookies? No! It doesn't!
What is important is that we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and that He was sent into this world, fully God and fully man, into the form of a sweet, newborn baby. It is HIS birthday! And this is our true gift.
So as we enjoy this special season, we have taken a step back to make it a little less harried, a little less expensive, and a little less the-same-old-thing.
You see, this leaves us more energy to focus on the Christ child, and this my friends, brings the most complete and real joy there could ever be.
Yesterday brought us a sunny break. Sandwiched between a grey week and an even greyer weekend was a glorious sunny Friday.
It reminds me that even in the midst of cloudy times, the sun is bound to come out again.
Even if it is just for one day.
(I'll take it!)
But if we walk in the light, as he as in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. I John 1:7
I recently completed a unique, six-week long course called Apples of Gold. It is a bible study and cooking class all rolled into six, extremely enjoyable Saturday morning sessions. We were a class of nine.....led and taught by a lovely panel of women who have had a bit more life experience. These faithful women mentored us, prayed for us, taught us tricks in the kitchen, how to be hospitable, and most importantly, how to be more loving wives, mothers and daughters of Christ.
We met in the home of one of these dear mentoring women, and mixed and mingled several generations in a way we (admittedly) don't do often enough. Our group included everyone from a sweet young woman who was recently engaged to a warm, wise woman who just celebrated her 60th+ anniversary...and every age and stage in between.
Through this study, I realized just how much I enjoy forming friendships with women of all ages. Age, education, location, economonic status, number of children, ages of children, working or stay-at-home...these are all "categories" that tend to guide our social circles and steer us into tidy, comfortable groups of friends who are often very similar to ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with this. Common ground is a good thing. But, might I add, that the times I have stepped outside my social comfort zone have almost always yielded a most interesting conversation, some new perspective, and a special new person in my life that wouldn't otherwise be there had I not stretched myself a bit.
So on Saturday mornings we gathered, we prayed, we talked, we laughed, we cried....and we cooked!
And I almost forgot...after all of this we ate! (Holiday Brie en Croute, Norwegian Kringla, Italian Braciole, La Fouace aux Noix or Walnut Hearth Bread, and Roasted Root Vegetables, just to name a few...)
I already miss this gathering of gals and the meals we shared around a beautifully set table. These were our special Saturday mornings, and I'm so very grateful to have been a part of them.
To those of you who went through this journey with me....you all really are Apples of Gold!
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And his truth endures to all generations
(Psalm 100)
Wishing you a very, happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!
Tonight I must end the tour. Not because we have discovered all there is to discover here in this country town - not even close! But instead because we are moving back home.
If you have been reading these posts surrounding our move, you know that we chose go through with it to be closer to Dan's job. (He had been commuting two hours a day for three years, and we wanted to see more of him!)
But throughout the process of preparing our house to sell and moving south to this rental home, Dan was contacted about a possible job with another organization. After several rounds of meetings and interviews, they offered him the job. And he took it! Well, the funny thing is that this particular organization happens to be, you guessed it, closer to the house that we had just put on the market!
So we are moving home! The house is now off the market and I am completely thrilled. We have always loved our home, and the thought of it being ours again truly warms my heart. But it is not without more than an ounce of sadness that we leave our life here - the simpler, slower, more rural life that we were slowly beginning to get used to. I loved it here for more reasons than I thought I ever would....
....the sand volleyball court that belonged to the Baptist church and was practically in our backyard....
...evening walks down to the banks of the Ohio river to watch the barges go by. Or just to throw rocks in...
...all-the-time walks to the park, library and community center complex that was right around the corner...
...this house. We fell head over heels for its history, charm and character. And we got to know it's lovely owner who is a very talented, kind, and godly woman with whom we hope to keep in touch. Oh, will we miss this cozy little place!
So there you have it. The story of our move south and the beginning of our move back home. The timing of this has been quite interesting, needless to say. Just as much as we felt led to move here, through much prayer and number crunching, we feel equally as led to move back for those very same reasons. And while it's mind boggling to wonder why a teeny-tiny chapter of our life was spent in this small country town, it's also comforting and rather fitting to be reminded that we are not the ones in control! This lesson, for me, is priceless.
As we make our journey home, we take with us a new experience and a story to tell, a new friend or two, and the sweetest little taste of country life in our mouths!
I can barely remember where I left off on this page. The initial task of preparing a house to sell has been elevated to a whole new level by our packing up and moving into a small rental property in the meantime. This, combined with the keeping up of our normal daily schedule, has launched us into craziness that we have not known until now.
We have decided to move for a variety of reasons, but probably the biggest is so we could stage our home for the sale...decorate, clean, remove furniture and de-clutter - to have the type of house that would be nearly impossible to live in, but that would look great in a magazine. Or to a potential buyer who may walk through. After all, it is their market right now. (Yikes!)
So we've moved south to a teensy-weensy river town - one that has no traffic lights, no pizza place, one corner store, one gas station, and no postal route. (Really? No postal route?) That's right - we are now the proud owners of a P.O. Box.
But ah...redemption is a great (and necessary) thing. There is a library, a playground and a post office within walking distance. The people are friendly. And it's only a few miles from where Dan works....finally!
We've only been in the rental house for a few days. It's old, charming, historic, and beautifully rehabbed. It is also very small and open and not especially conducive to a napping baby. (The girls are tired of being 'shushed.')
Although there have been moments where I am so homesick that my stomach hurts and I utter prayers that our house won't sell and we can go back home, there are also moments where I know "I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me." This, combined with knowing that the five of us are together, no matter the size of the house, is all I need to know that everything will be alright!
I have been purposely putting off writing this post, because there is no easy way to say (or even type) that we are putting our beloved house on the market. Yes, in just two weeks, there will be a 'For Sale' sign in our front yard.
As with any major life change, there are several factors that weigh into this decision. But one of the main reasons is to be closer to Dan's place of work. For almost three years now, he has driven 2 solid hours a day just to get there and back. Through rain, snow, early mornings and sometimes late nights. And we all would much rather those 10 hours a week be spent with us instead of in the car on a very long stretch of highway!
And, with any major life change, we are hanging onto an emotional pendulum that swings back and forth, back and forth, on one side bringing an utter sense of melancholy knowing that we will be leaving behind a community that we adore, but on the other, feeling a spirit of adventure and purpose and discovery. As for the people we adore - the many family and friends that are here? Although we will no longer have physical proximity to them, I am comforted in knowing that we have something far stronger in the lifelong relationships, connections, and love that we have for them all.
The tree that sits outside our bedroom window.
At this point, we are going through the crazy motions of getting a house ready to sell, but feel peace in having left the process in God's all-knowing and all-powerful hands. Maybe our house will sell quickly or maybe it won't sell at all or maybe somewhere right in the middle. He knows what is best for this little family and we trust Him completely and are fully prepared to accept His will for us.
The balloons that our dear friends and neighbors decorated our lamp post with the day we brought Hans home from the hospital.
Stay tuned (and check back) for more of this 'moving' story.
Ha! (Dan and Dave, that pun is for you :)
Our prayers are with you, people of Haiti.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Psalm 23
Meg McElwee: Growing Up Sew Liberated: Making Handmade Clothes and Projects for Your Creative Child
Anna Maria Horner: Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby
Brothers Grimm: Hans My Hedgehog: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
Robert C. O'Brien: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy)
Tsh Oxenreider: Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living
Jerry Bridges: Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate (TH1NK Reference Collection)
Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess: The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!
