Faithfully Following

Arbor Hills Yearly Recap

2012-01-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

The story behind the pictures is here, but here are the three pictures together for the fun of it.

January 2009

January 2011

January 2012

Two Favorite Booths

2012-01-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

We're at the Cedarville University Missions Week and I just couldn't resist taking a photo of my two favorite booths! :)
www.lightsys.org
www.gfa.org

Family Caroling at Christmas

2012-01-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

All of us siblings were home for Christmas for the first time in 4 years. With siblings and spouses and a new fiancee and grandkids, the house was packed full for the weekend! Thirteen people and one bathroom! It actually worked out fairly well for the short time we were all home. We took time one late afternoon to go caroling as a family -- it takes three vehicles to fit all the car seats and adults! Grabbed this quick snapshot as we left Aunt Rita and Uncle Jerome's house. Love my family!

"We would have eaten them."

2012-01-12T08:39:00.001-07:00

Childhood story from missions speaker...

So my friend and I had a magnifying glass and we were excited! What do you think we did? Ants. We found and roasted ant after ant. Now, we we weren't missionaries yet, so we didn't know to do with those roasted ants. If we would have had cross-cultural training that early, we would have eaten them.

Pacific Sea Nettle :)

2012-01-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

This Kansas Girl

2012-01-05T10:16:00.001-07:00

...isn't used to seeing things this big in the water!

P.S. The fish hiding by the rock in the lower left corner is bigger than your head. The whale shark that is visible quite clearly in the entire middle of the photo is 25+ feet long...

Christmas: Unique Gifts

2012-01-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

This Christmas was a Christmas of unique and special gifts. If I were Ellie C., I would have taken creative pictures of those unique gifts and posted them here on my blog. But I didn't. Those gifts are in Colorado and I'm in Georgia and I should be home to take those pictures in February. But I just had to share a few stories...

Some of the gifts were related to the miscarriages we've gone through this year. My sister had our babies' names engraved on angel ornaments for us. A "Baby's First Christmas - 2011" ornament was added by my mother. And Mr. Amazing gifted me with a beautiful "Mother and Child" necklace. (This I wear all the time. I'll have to take it off long enough to snap an Ellie-picture...) Each of those gifts was enough to make me tear up as they reminded me of our two little ones already waiting for their mother and father in heaven.

Some gifts were just fun. My older sister and brother-in-law dropped a couple crates in our laps. The contents? Rappelling/climbing harnesses and equipment! Wow - talk about a fun loan! Oh, and a gift that caused me the most laughter was the baby "owner's manual" from my other brother-in-law. "This baby is surprisingly similar to other appliances you may already own. Like a video-cassette recorder, the baby's head will require frequent cleanings for optimum performance..." And my sister-in-law gave me chocolate syrup and peanut butter. That's perfect!

And my brother's gift to me? My foley fork. For those people who don't know, a Foley Fork is a kitchen utensil from years gone by. I loved mine - handed down from my grandmother. But when I lost it 18 months ago at a rented beach house in North Carolina, I was devastated. So... when my brother presented me with a Foley Fork at Christmas this year - I was thrilled. But I was even more thrilled to realize that it was not just A Foley Fork. It was MY Foley Fork. My Foley Fork that was lost in NC. My brother and his (now) fianceé had stopped by that beach house a year later, knocked on the door, talked to the current renters, went through the kitchen drawers, and manged to find my foley fork. And then saved it until Christmas. :)

Now I realize that this post "should" be about God. About God's gift to us of Jesus Christ. About how Christmas is not about gifts. And if you read the surface, you may think it's all about my gifts and what I got. But these gifts and their givers have really been a reminder to me of who God is. That He knows my innermost secrets, my longings, my hurts. He remembers what I talked to him about ten months ago and He cherishes my heart. He knows my pain and reaches out to touch it. He redeems lost situations. He likes to make me smile. God knows me - more intimately and permanently than I can ever comprehend.

Thank you, God. And thank you, family, for reminding me of those things.

"Go Rest!" = Blog about Mr. Amazing

2011-12-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

I was curled up next to my Mr. Amazing on the couch, thinking about the dishes in the kitchen that needed to be washed. Two days worth. I had just been rinsing and stacking, so it didn't look like there were that many, but there were. (Granted, we had been having some easy meals, but still....)

I started to get up when Mr. A said, "You stay here and rest. I'll go wash the dishes."

"But there are two days worth!!!" I protested.

"I heard you say that. I'll take care of them. You rest."

I sighed happily..."I love you too," I said. :)

So here I am, curled up with my laptop and a glass of chocolate milk and a peanut butter sandwich. And blogging about my wonderful Mr. A. :)

Wednesday night, we had a Christmas Dinner with our church small group. Greg brought his keyboard and Bob (small group leader) pulled out his guitar and they jammed away while the rest of us sang. I wish I would have snapped a picture -- they had such fun playing off of each other and jamming together! Patti (Bob's wife) and I were talking today about seeing and loving that aspect of our husbands. They come so alive when they're playing their music. :)

Mr. A has been loving on me all day today - lunch date at Palmer Park, visit with friends, comforting me after I woke up from a bad dream during my nap, talking about anything and everything, and now scrubbing my dishes!

I love you, my wonderful!

Not from today. Photo from an April stop at Palmer Park. I can't wear those jeans any more. :)

House update!

2011-12-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

In this post, I shared that we're in the process of signing a contract on a house offer and asked for prayer for logistics. We had signed the offer and overnighted it to the property manager in another state. We were hoping to have it back yesterday/today. When we hadn't seen it, our realtor emailed the property manager asking for an update. He got a "out of office" auto-reply in response. Apparently the property manager was out of the office this last week. *sigh*

PLEASE continue to pray for God to work out the house details and the timing for our upcoming Christmas/ministry trip. My siblings start arriving in Kansas on Thursday and I'd really like to see them! THANK YOU!

The downstairs "Guest Suite" that is just waiting to house our visitors. :)

Mr. Amazing Stole My Chocolate

2011-12-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

"Thank you, thank you, thank you for stealing my chocolate! You're so wonderful!"

How often do you get to say those words to your spouse and best friend? And mean it?!?

I mean, seriously! Greg stole the chocolate that rightfully belonged to me. There's no other word for it. There's no disputing the facts or changing the situation. He stole my chocolate and I was overjoyed! He loves me so much and it was so thoughtful of him to steal that chocolate from me!

What? You want an explanation? Okay....

It was a white elephant gift exchange with our church small group. Person #1 picked their gift and discovered chocolate covered cherries, thin mint patties, and dark chocolate Hershey pieces. Oh. my. yum! So when my turn arrived, I promptly stole those luscious chocolates from Person #1 and sent that person "fishing" for a new gift.

Greg's turn arrived three people later. He promptly stole my chocolates. And I was both surprised and delighted! The version of white elephant gift exchange we were playing only allowed for two steals. After that, it couldn't be stolen again. So... since I stole it once and Greg stole it the second time, it had to stay with Greg. No one else could grab it. So now the boxes (and bag) of chocolates sit in my living room, ready to be consumed with a smile. :) I'll take a picture of them tomorrow when it's light.

So thank you, Mr. Amazing, for stealing my chocolates so wonderfully! That was perfect!

House - God's Hands - Prayers requested!

2011-12-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hi supporters,
I'm so glad I have you here praying for us. Can I give you a specific? We're in the process of signing a contract on a house. The property manager is out of state, so all papers have to be mailed back and forth.

We hope to leave next Thurs/Fri for KS for Christmas and then on to a multi-week ministry road trip.

Can you PRAY that we can get the inspections and appraisals done before we leave? Right now, logistics look dubious. It would take everything falling in just the right place at just the right time with just the right people to make it work. Praise God - our God can make those things happen!

THANK YOU!!!

View of Pike's Peak from the back yard - beautiful!

2011 Travels

2011-12-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

I was mapping out how many miles Greg and I traveled for LightSys this year. Only a mere 16,658 or so... Here's a rough overview of our 2011 travels. Darker blue lines mean we traveled that route more than once. Dear God, thank you for a wonderful husband who does a great job of keeping our van running!

Prayers to be Heard (Random Thoughts on 2 Chron 6)

2011-12-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like crying out to God, asking Him to hear you?

Enter 2 Chronicles chapter 6. Solomon's 13 verse introduction and 28 verse invocation at the dedication of the temple.

I was reading through this chapter, being slightly bored at Solomon's repetitiveness. Then I decided to pay attention to the repetitiveness.

And it's all about asking God to hear.

For example, in v19, Solomon asks God to "have respect" to his prayers and supplication. Then he defines his supplication: 1) that God would hear his prayer, 2) that God's eyes would be upon the temple, 3) that God would hear the prayer that Solomon was praying about the temple, 4) that God would hear his supplications of Solomon and of the people of Israel, and 5) that when God hears, He would forgive.

The next 22 verses continue on a similar theme...

If Israel is being beaten by an enemy and they turn and confess and pray; hear and forgive and restore.
If the rain is withheld because of sin and the people pray and confess and turn; hear, forgive, and restore.
If a stranger seeks God at the temple; hear and answer for the sake of your name and this temple.

...and so it continues, Solomon reminding God of His (God's) promises, greatness, and stature and asking for Him to hear the prayers that are offered that day.

No profound thoughts from my end; just contemplating and percolating. But still, it's a good reminder that's okay to remind God of His promises and to ask God to hear me. Solomon did.

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to host my parents and my youngest sister for Thanksgiving in Colorado this year. We enjoyed visiting the Peterson Air Force Base Air and Space Museum, playing Pente, having a Mother-Daughter shopping trip, eating Daddy's biscuits and gravy, eating Thanksgiving meal, praying, and fellowshipping! We didn't take many pictures, but here's a few...

Sisters inside a Lockheed Constellation at the museum.

At a local park...

And the family (saying good-bye at the Long's home where the KS crew was house-sitting during the week)

Dear Susan, Thanks for the new shirts. Yes, they make me look pregnant. :)

Today is my Due Date

2011-11-26T23:16:00.001-07:00

Today is my baby's due date.

Wait, you say. I'm confused! Didn't you just announce this month? Aren't you due in the spring sometime?

Yes, and yes. But I've had two due dates this year already. And this is part of my story...

It was a year ago November that I got pregnant. We discovered the first week of December, danced excitedly around our little trailer, and eagerly counted down the days until we could announce. After a flawless prenatal visit at 8 1/2 wks, we announced to our families at Christmas.

12 wks arrived and I was still happily pregnant. My pants were getting snug and I had the usual symptoms. We were on the road, traveling to college missions weeks and daydreaming about how we would announce the news on facebook. :)

It would be nice if we could hear the heartbeat before we announce, we thought. But we were 1,000 miles away from our doctor and not due back in KS for another three weeks. A few phone calls later netted a Crisis Pregnancy Center near our host home that was willing to do a quick ultrasound (u/s) for us. YAY!

When the tech started the u/s, a small, fuzzy dot appeared on the screen. I was puzzled -- That's not what the baby should look like! The tech asked how far along we were.

"12 weeks," I replied.

"No, I'm seeing a 6wk baby. Your dates are probably off."

The tech thought she could see a heartbeat, but we couldn't see it. We left the office, shattered and confused. What was really happening? If we were really off on our dates, that would mean I wasn't pregnant yet at our first prenatal apt and we knew that wasn't true.

The next morning, my pregnancy symptoms were abruptly gone. The day after that, I started bleeding. We traveled on to our next destination (another college missions week). Two days into the stay at our new host home, I miscarried. That evening, I had the opportunity to share with a group of college students about God's faithfulness even when our dreams come crashing down around us. I blogged that night, although no one would have known from the blog post that a very personal dream had just crashed down around me.

Our doctor called it a "missed miscarriage." The baby had stopped growing, but the body hadn't gotten the message and continued to give me pregnancy symptoms for weeks. We buried the tissue in my parents' garden, near where my mother's miscarried boy had been buried 20+ years ago.

Weeks passed. We finished our road trip, packed up our KS home, and moved to Colorado in March. A week after our move, we found out I was pregnant again.

This time, we held our silence - not even telling our families. The weeks crept by as we waited to see what would happen. I was scared to bond with this unborn child. Afraid even to pray for her after I had prayed with such fervency and faith for the last one. Angry with God for having taken the last baby. Anxious in the waiting. (Yes, the baby was the "project" referred to in the post.) Gradually, my heart opened to love this little life and we began to get excited.

10 wks arrived. We met with a midwife who offered to check for the baby's heartbeat for us. But before we could do that, I discovered I was bleeding. The u/s showed a familiar sight--a 6wk old fetus. Not 10wks. 6wks. No heartbeat and the miscarriage was starting.

I miscarried on Mother's Day and wrote this post.

A co-worker thoughtfully assembled a cross for us. We buried the tissue in a mountainous area and set aside a weekend to grieve our two little buds that would never fully bloom.

The journey continued. We wondered if we would ever have a little one to hold in our arms. My finger traced the pregnant stomach of the Willow Tree "Cherish" figurine in gift stores and my heart ached, despairing that it would ever be me. We researched and waited, hoping (and fearing) each month that I would be pregnant again.

Sure enough, a couple months later, we had yet a third positive pregnancy test. I cried. I wasn't sure I could walk this path again. We immediately told our families so they could be praying. This time, I was determined to love the baby from the beginning. After all, I didn't know how many days I was going to have with the baby. Our local midwife and KS doctor worked together to get me extra progesterone during the early weeks of pregnancy in case that was the problem. But still, I worried. I struggled with issues of WHY, faith, belief, answers to prayer, and God's love for me.

At 8 1/2 weeks, we stopped by the midwife's office for a quick u/s. With bated breath, we watched as the picture began to show up on the screen. There was a baby. But it was bigger than the previous two u/s pictures. And it moved. And it had a heartbeat. And I cried for joy.

We knew we weren't out of the woods. But a 10wk visit with the midwife brought the sweet sound of a baby's healthy heartbeat. We traveled off to Seattle for a month and stopped by the midwife's office again as soon as we were back.

14wks. And there was the healthy heartbeat - still there!

Now we're 21wks and the baby is busy kicking. How I cherish that feeling, that reassurance that my baby is still alive. My tummy is growing and I'm wearing maternity clothes. And I'm still in awe that (Lord willing) we may really get to keep this baby.

But I am learning much from this journey. I'm learning about the pain that couples go through as they suffer miscarriage, late-term loss, or early infant loss. I'm learning about the roller coaster of hope and devastation that couples struggling with infertility experience. I'm learning that it's okay to grieve, even when the grieving is for someone that you've never met. I'm learning about faith, strength, hope, and belief.

I'm learning that God is good. It's not my circumstances or prayers-that-work-out-the-way-I-want-them-to that makes God good. It is God's character. God makes God good. And nothing I do or experience or question will change that.

So yes, Baby #2 was due today. And I miss her. Just like I miss Baby #1.

But this is not a mourning post. Perhaps in a sense, but it's more the telling of a story. The story of our journey. A story to open your eyes to other people's journeys. A story to encourage others who are going through a miscarriage. A story to reach out to those "happy young couples" who are silently struggling with infertility. A story to say, "I know a small piece of your pain." A story to remind you, my reader, to cherish the moments you have with your family, your friends, your little ones. Whether our loved ones are born or unborn, tomorrow is not promised.

But finally, this is a post to say: I know that my Redeemer lives. I wrote this post in the middle of miscarrying Baby #2 and how true it is. Despite the pain, the times I don't understand, and the times I don't know how or what to believe, I know that my God reigns. I know He works all things for His glory. I know He brings life to all situations. And how thankful I am for that promise of life.

Friends, Friends, Friends

2011-11-26T21:37:00.001-07:00

This post is really, really, really belated, but for the fun of it...

When Mr. Amazing and I drove back from Seattle at the end of September, we detoured through Oregon so I could meet several friends that I had only emailed with or talked with via computer. Include a random stop in Utah and we had a ton of fun!

Stop #1: Mt. Saint Helens. That missing top/gaping hole in the mountain just flabbergasts me!

Stop #2: Meeting a LightSys volunteer that I had worked with via phone and email. (And she is SUCH a blessing to me and the ministry!) She wonderfully packed a last minute picnic supper for us and we had great fellowship with her and her children.

Stop #3: An overnight stay with gracious hosts Aaron and Lindsay and their three blessings. In conversation, they recalled Greg's last visit in Jan '09. Greg had seemed distracted, caught up in thought, and often sighed. We did the math and realized the cause: it was the day before Greg asked me about pursing a relationship. So yes - he had a lot on his mind! (So glad I said yes!) We had a good laugh over the memories! Thanks for your hospitality, Aaron and Lindsay!

Stop #4: A quick detour by old friends (people I actually HAD met before). So great to see and visit with the Dawes! (Their daughter Jen is a good friend at GFA.) They graciously loaded us up with Hanson soda and Sunchips on our way out. :)

Stop #5: Bend, OR so I could meet the chairman of the LightSys board and his wife. I had talked with him via phone and computer, but hadn't met them yet. Again, gracious hosts and much fun!

Stop #6: Ogden, UT for a late lunch. We randomly rendezvoused with college friend Angelynn and friends for a quick lunch. So good to see her and her brothers again after 9+ years (and meet her boyfriend Ben)!

And then came the end of the trip. We stopped for a rest day at Arches National Park in Utah (see Greg's amazing post) and then traveled on home to Colorado. SO blessed to be a part of the family of Christ and to have so many people rooting for us, praying for us, and encouraging us -- thank you!

Trips, Friends, and Weddings

2011-11-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Another road trip! This time from Colorado to Indiana to Michigan to Indiana to St. Louis to Colorado. But we're still on the "Indiana" part of the trip. We'll leave for St. Louis tomorrow. The purpose of the trip: share about Missions IT opportunities with students at Taylor University and at Calvin College and then attend a friend's wedding.

In between busy schedules, we got our newsletters sent out with the news to "Celebrate!"

We missed pictures of our time at Taylor U. with the students. :(

We did get to see friends and supporters while we were en route to Michigan.

Friends that we played air hockey with. My worthy opponent scored the game ending goal!

And... friends put us up at the Essenhaus Inn for our 2nd Anniversary. It was delightful!

The quilt and handicraft shops were (genuine) old farm buildings.

And you could go up inside the silo!

And look out the top!

On the nearby streets, there was lots of traffic - both 4 wheeled and 4 legged!

Then up to Calvin College to talk to students there!

Then back to Indiana for a wedding!
Us and the bride and groom!

And with good friends (eh?)

And finally, just for you, dear readers, the only picture that comes anywhere close to showing the tiny bit of a baby bump that (if you can imagine really well) I might have...

Tomorrow - HOME! Well, at least heading that general direction. :)

Rejoicing!

2011-11-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Morning Sun on Pikes Peak

2011-10-31T07:26:00.001-06:00

Annual Make Uncle Bob Happy Day

2011-10-13T22:19:00.019-06:00

It's here again and I almost missed it! A day heralded with balloons, poetry, special phone calls, and accolades. What day is it? Annual Make Uncle Bob Happy Day, of course!

And what is the history behind this illustrious day? I'm glad you asked! Let's explore together!

It all started with a mouse. A computer mouse, that is. Bob M. (lovingly referred to as "Uncle Bob" by the younger GFA staff) had been using that simple mouse for years, but was deciding that a mouse with a scroll wheel might be useful. So he emailed the office HelpDesk.

From: Bob M
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 2:37 PM
To: HelpDesk
Subject: Annual make Uncle Bob happy day!

Did you know that was today? Well, OK.
...
Anyway, whenever possible, I would like a new mouse for my computer, if I can get one with a wheel instead of a little clicker. That would be great.

Thanks.
Bob

There you have it. It was Annual Make Uncle Bob Happy Day. Far be it from the HelpDesk or Uncle Bob's faithful department to forget such an important day (even if they didn't know it existed before then).

So that was the start of Annual Make Uncle Bob Happy Day. The observance of this day was eventually moved to the 2nd Thursday of each October. And each year, his appreciative staff and friends take this opportunity to tell him how grateful they are for him and, well... make him happy! :)

And yes, Uncle Bob got his mouse. :)

We love you, Uncle Bob!

A few of Uncle Bob's friends...

And in memory of Bonzi the Wonder Dog...

Blog Post Postponed

2011-10-04T22:58:00.000-06:00

I was going to write a nice, long blog (with pictures - don't worry!) about our trip, but then I got distracted and now it's bedtime. So here are just a few pics instead.

As we traveled from Seattle back to Colorado, we spent one night at City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho. The campground was COMPLETELY full. And yes, we know this because we checked every single one of the 60 some campsites. After looking at the map of campsites one more time, we realized that we had missed checking #59 and #60. Stopping back by, we found out that #59 was occupied, but #60 was open! Hurrah! We think we found (well, God saved us) one of the best sites in the park. About 500ft away from the parking area and other campsites, it was rimmed with rocks and quiet (except for the noisy cows in the nearby pasture).

So... a few pics of those rocks... Lots of fun rocks to climb on... :)

I know! Let's get a picture!

Whoops! Try 2!

Yay! We made it!

Wait - How's That Formatted?

2011-09-23T16:51:00.000-06:00

If you've ever mailed a letter overseas, you know that their addresses are not always formatted the same way ours are. And if you're constantly mailing things to offices, employees, and donors in multiple countries, those mailing differences can get pretty confusing pretty quickly!

It seems when you finally get the format right for Denmark, a package for Chile comes along and you're stuck desperately trying to remember what THEIR preferred address format is.

And then the next question -- How do you get your computer to PRINT the address in the right format?

Enter Greg's new work of art. A specially designed screen to let the mission organization's mailing department set up each country to use a precise address format.

You can click on the picture to see it better. But the mailing staff can set up each country's address format to look exactly the way it needs to look. Hurrah for tools that make things more efficient! And hurrah for amazing programmer (who just happens to be my husband)! :)

This screen shot is part of the Kardia software -- ministry finance and management software that is being developed by LightSys for mission organizations to use free of charge.

Bugs Bunny Bread

2011-09-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

I keep trying to find this recipie for myself, so I'll just post it here so I can find it. (Do you know how many times I've stopped by my blog to find the recipie for Mint Stick Brownies?)

This is a recipie for what my family calls "Bugs Bunny Bread." I'm sure we should just call it "Carrot Bread" or something boring like that since it's not a Looney Tunes product. :) You can name it that in your cookbook. My older sister made it for 4-H competition. And I did. And each one of my successive siblings. And it always gets top ribbons. So here we go:

Bugs Bunny Bread

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom only of one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.

In large bowl, beat brown sugar, granulated sugar and oil 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together whole wheat flour, soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir into bowl mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in carrots, raisins and pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan.

Cool completely on wire rack.

ENJOY!!!

Travel Update

2011-09-22T17:26:00.001-06:00

Hi blog readers!
For those of you who know we're road, this an update!
For those of you who don't know we're on the road - guess what!?! We're on the road!

Just before our trip, we had a great time fellowshipping with supporters who were traveling through Colorado Springs.

In reference to the trip, I told them, "It's just a short three week trip and we only have one major stop. So it's not that big of a deal."

I forget that when a trip includes driving 3,094 miles through 6 states over 3 weeks, most people don't define it as "not that big of a deal."

We camped in Idaho on our way out to Seattle and had a beautiful, full moon over Lake Walcott.

Then drove the rest of the way to Seattle. We're here working on the Kardia software project for Action International Ministries. (English for the newcomers: LightSys is creating financial software for ACTION.) The last BIG piece is being put into place this week and Greg has been HARD at work.

We're seeing more computer screens these days than beautiful lakes. And yes, Seattle has been giving us cloudy, rainy weather (with a couple sunny days tucked in!).

Pray:
* For strength and focus as we pour ourselves into this project for the next week. Lots of things still to do.
* For God to go before us.
* For the database cutover to go smoothly. (What? Yes, I know you don't understand what that means. It's okay. God does.)

Praise:
* Safe travels to Washington!
* Wonderful host home!
* Good work on the project so far!
* Good fellowship time with a missionary back from the Philippines. I so enjoy hearing what God is doing on the field! The Gospel is going forth -- and that's why we do what we do!

(Random note: When the missionary asked what our roles were, I said: "You know those reports you get each month that let you know how much financial support has come in? And give you your donor updates? We write the software that sends you those reports!" We got a big thank you! after that. :)

Okay, a little, tiny, ultra-cute "thank you" in the form of a keychain. :) A reminder to pray for those we serve.

Where Our Healthcare Dollars Go

2011-09-09T17:01:00.000-06:00

Do you know what your healthcare dollars pay for? Each month, you send off your monthly premium (or watch it get deducted from your bank account), but do you know what it pays for? What are you supporting with that?

I know. Well, I don't know what YOUR healthcare dollars pay for. But I know what OURS pay for. Last month, it helped cover baby delivery costs for a young Christian couple in Colorado. This month, it's going towards hip surgery for a mom who works at LeTourneau University. And our extra funds are helping a 13 year old girl fight ovarian cancer in Texas.

Each month, Greg and I eagerly await the arrival of the Samaritan Ministries newsletter to see what our assigned "need" for the month is. This month, we were excited (and amazed) to find out that we were sending our gift off to a family that has hosted us numerous times on our road trips!

And I just thought that was cool! One more way that we get to bear each others burdens as brothers and sisters in Christ. And isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

If you're Christian and you're wondering about affordable options for medical expenses, I would encourage you to check out Samaritan Ministries. We love it! Whether we're sharing in someone's expenses or they are sharing in ours, it's been a blessing all the way around!

No, I didn't get paid to write this post. I simply got so excited this month when we discovered that we personally knew the people we were helping that I had to write. This was just too fun!

Too Heavy

2011-09-08T19:09:00.001-06:00

A friend was asking, "WHY???" today in regards to one of those situations where no one really knows the answer. Why didn't God change things? Why didn't God reach in and intervene? He could have! Why didn't He? I don't have those answers any better than anyone else, but it did remind me of this Corrie ten Boom story that I appreciate.

Corrie had just asked her father a hard question.

He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor.

"Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said.

I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.

"It's too heavy," I said.

"Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you." (The Hiding Place (Bantam, Reissue Edition, 1984) 26-27)

Trust or BELIEVE?

2011-09-06T22:30:00.000-06:00

Recently, I've found myself caught between trusting and believing.

I know. That sounds like the same thing. But I'll explain. I find myself caught between "simply trusting God" and "believing God for specific things."

Does that make more sense?

I've been thinking about this quandary in my mind as my "Presbyterian roots" vs my "charismatic church upbringing." I realize that's a narrow stereotype or something not-too-correct, so just have grace with me.

Simply trusting God: This is the time where I say, I know God can work miracles and do above and beyond what I can think or imagine. He works all things together for His glory. Let's pray and ask the Lord to work and trust Him in however He chooses to work.

Believing God for specific things: This is where I "pray, believing" God for a certain outcome to a situation. I find verses and stretch my faith muscles and don't doubt or wonder, because "he that doubts doesn't receive anything from the Lord."

But I find myself getting legalistic with the "believing" option. It becomes performance based for me. If I do everything right, I get what I prayed for. If I don't get what I prayed for, I must not have believed enough or prayed the right things. Or maybe that one evening when I doubted if it was going to happen, that messed everything up.

Pastor Jay shared this in his weekly church email: When we believe, deep down, that God's blessing depends on how well we're behaving, we wither and groan under the heavy burden of self-reliance.

I'm thankful I have a husband who reminds me that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of the two extremes I've created.

And thankful for God, who always shows us the truth. I think I'll curl up with a cup of tea and my Bible and talk to Him. :)

Chronicles: I Drive a Miata and Get a Jump Start at the Grocery Store

2011-09-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

Today's plan was simple: Stop by RFam's house north of town and do laundry while Greg works on the van. Today's actual activity - not so simple!

10:00am - Test and discover that the mifi (our internet device) is still dead. (It died last night and required 2 hrs on the phone with tech support.)

10:05 - Decide to setup appt at local Sprint store so I don't have to wait forever when I drop off the mifi for diagnosis.

10:06 - Realize I can't look up their phone number without the internet. Oops.

10:07 - Call Sprint's main line from my phone's memory. Impress the Sprint agent that I know the device ID number, store zip code, and other vital information from memory. Get agent to schedule appt for me.

10:30 - Get van loaded up with laundry and van maintenance supplies.

11:00 - Load up with Greg and head to Sprint shop.

11:15 - Drop off mifi. Explain that it's dead. Again. Please fix.

11:30 - Stop by WalMart to pick up 5 gallons of distilled water for van work. Add 1 gallon of milk for us. And 4 Totino's pizzas. For lunch.

12:05 - Arrive at RFam's house. Realize that we've had pizza for meals 3 times in the previous 2 days.

12:10 - Start laundry and visit with Mrs. RFam! Greg starts on van work.

12:20 - Convince Mrs. RFam that I can pick up groceries for her in the afternoon while she's swamped with other projects.

12:23 - Get grocery list from Mrs. RFam and keys to their white Miata convertible! ooohhh!!!! :)

12:28 - Mrs. RFam mentions on her way out the door that the Miata hasn't been driven in the last year. Hmm...

12:30 - Call Sprint store to check mifi status. Dead. They're ordering a new one for us. This will be device #4 in 60 days.

[Insert hour of laundry and Sprint phone calls.]

1:30 - Decide to get lunch with Carl's fast food coupons. Realize Greg is working on the van (duh!).

1:35 - Decide to take RFam's bike. Move moving boxes to get to bike.

1:37 - Discover bike's flat tire. oops - tires!

1:38 - Dig through stuff in van and retrieve bike pump. Air up tires.

1:45 - Ride to Carl's - wow! riding a bike is fun!

1:55 - With food, ride back. Wait - this is all uphill! Why did I ever think riding a bike was fun?!?!

[insert laundry time]

3:15 - Decide to take Miata to get groceries. Realize battery is dead.

3:20 - Greg removes van battery and carries it over to the Miata. Jump start successful!

3:25 - Realize back left tire of Miata is flat.

3:26 - Find bike pump again. Pump up car tire.

3:40 - Arrive at grocery store. Park. Turn off car. Attempt to restart it. Nada.

3:42 - Get groceries anyway.

4:15 - Put groceries in car. Try to start car again. Nada.

4:16 - Random stranger offers me their cart. I tell them I need a jump, not a cart.

4:17 - Said random stranger pulls out their jumper cables and donor vehicle maneuvers into position.

4:18 - I find the hood release and then realize: the battery is not under the hood.

4:20 - Battery found in trunk. Donor SUV repositioned. Car jumped successfully.

So... I return to the RFam's house with the groceries, pack up the laundry, pile in the van (maintenance done!) to head home. Drop off RFam babysitter. Attend apartment picnic. Go to Sprint store and get dead mifi device. Find out we'll have internet again on Tuesday. Return home and fold laundry.

So why am I blogging? 'Cause we decided to go to McDonald's internet cafe and catch up on email. And blog. :)

Sorry this is so long. When my brain is working, I'll clean it up. In the meantime, laugh! :)

Book Lover's Joy

2011-08-12T14:53:00.000-06:00

I got to go inside a bookmobile for the first time today! After reading about them in books when I was growing up, it's always been a wish of mine to visit one. Hurrah! No, I didn't check any books out. But I did enjoy just sitting on their steps and reading!

My Binary Cake

2011-08-08T16:18:00.000-06:00

Yep - this picture tells you how old I am. Thanks to Mr. Amazing, the LightSys interns, and the ICTA gang for song, fun, and clothespins!

Outside Our Front Door

2011-08-01T18:41:00.001-06:00

What We Wish We Could Send To Kansas

2011-07-24T16:09:00.000-06:00

(both the rain and the green)

Sweet!

2011-07-19T15:29:00.001-06:00

A quick shot of a bee along the Mt. Elbert trail. He was busy moving all over the place, so I just napped this one quick photo.
You never hear a bee say, 'Look at me! I'm the busiest bee around.' He's got a job to do and until he's through he's buzzing all over town.

For My Sisters

2011-07-18T10:00:00.003-06:00

Tiny blueish-purplish flowers found along the Mt. Elbert trail. Photo taken in honor of my sisters who enjoy all things lavender.
I love you!

King of the Mountain

2011-07-14T10:46:00.000-06:00

Spied this marmot while we were climbing Mt. Elbert on Independence Day. Or, should I say, he spied us. He was camped out on top of a pile of rocks, watching all the hikers going by. Elevation: about 13,000ft.

Climbing Around

2011-07-11T22:35:00.000-06:00

My internet connection is about to die. Maybe that will encourage me toward brevity. Or maybe not. :P

Just had to do a fun blog update. It seems we've been climbing around a bit recently. Independence Day weekend we decided to climb Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado. We didn't summit, but did make it up to 13,800+ feet!

The views were beautiful!

Oh, and today? Today we went rock climbing at Garden of the Gods! Thanks to a deal site and a friend who gave us money "to do something you wouldn't ordinarily do," we donned climbing harnesses, shoes, and helmets and clambered up the heights.

I loved it!!! It seems like the rocks call out to me, "Climb me! There's a tiny little handhold right here... can you climb me?" So it was FUN FUN FUN to get to climb up the rock face and know that you were hooked into a rope in case you slipped.

What's more fun than climbing around on rocks? Climbing around on rocks with friends! Mr. Amazing was there and I simply adore having fun with Mr. Amazing. And (bonus!) got to hang out with our friend Beth!

This week's spiritual lesson? "Let patience have her perfect work in you" (James 1) and climbing mountains (and life) one step at a time. Patient perseverance in God's strength.

Here we keep climbing!

Seattle Subjects

2011-06-13T05:00:00.002-06:00

We had a great time here in Seattle working with Action International Ministries. The trip has been short -- about 10 days -- but seeing the staff and hearing the stories from the field are always encouraging. One of ACTION's missionaries was through the office on furlough during our visit. She shared her work and expanding vision of training national pastors and churches in India to reach out to India's disabled community. So fun to see how God uses so many parts of the body!

A few picture highlights from the trip:

Tulips for me from Mr. Amazing!

Yummy shish kabobs with friends.

Lovely evening view from our (host home) bathroom window

Interns getting a tour of a mission organization's server room.

An unexpected opportunity for tea and scones with friends. :)

Rattlesnake Ridge Hike

2011-06-11T00:38:00.000-06:00

We'd been looking forward to a hike in the mountains around Seattle and the beautiful, sunny weather on Memorial Day weekend provided just the excuse. We stopped by Trader Joe's to grab cheese and summer sausage and then headed for a 2 mile hike up Rattlesnake Ridge to the lookout point. Elevation gain on the hike: 1100+ feet.

Enjoying the view at a rest break along the way.

We had a fun hike, but we weren't the only ones who thought it would be a fun hike...

The crowds at the 2 mile lookout point.

Once you got past the people, the views were beautiful!

We hiked another quarter mile and found another lookout spot with fewer people. Enjoyed lunch there and beautiful scenery.

The earth is the Lord's

and the fullness thereof;

The world, and all who dwell therein.

Psalm 24:1

Camping in May

2011-06-09T00:13:00.001-06:00

Greg and I took a weekend in May to get away and rest. Here's a few fun fotos from that trip.

Setting up our new hammock. (Thanks for the Christmas gift, C, J, and S!)

View of Mr. Amazing (and my feet) from the comfy hammock

The ground squirrel that wanted food. :) He didn't get any.

Taking time to talk and pray by the creek

Signs of new life in spring - little buds. :)

Little buds all budded out

Two little buds that didn't make it all the way. :(

Both of us enjoying the hammock. Praise God for rest and rejuvenation!

Busy Locks

2011-05-31T00:03:00.001-06:00

Stopped by the Ballard Locks today and found them to be quite busy as boaters came home from the three day weekend. Over 100 boats went through the lock at one time.

More were lined up to come through with the next group.

Most of the boats were pleasure boats, but there was a large tug boat in the group.

I liked the colors in this pic, captured as one of the tug boatmen was waiting for the locks.

Road Trip!!!

2011-05-28T09:54:00.000-06:00

We are on our way!

to Seattle!

with three interns! (SJ is hiding in the back making faces.)

But it's hard to get the camera right when you're shooting it from the dash of the van.

But here we go!!!

Wash, pizza, keys - you name it!

2011-05-26T00:56:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it was a crazy afternoon. We've got three interns with us at our Colorado Springs office and we're getting ready to travel to Seattle for two weeks. And yes, the interns are coming with us.

Plan: Dorinda would pack in the afternoon and then show back up at the office by 7pm with Little Ceasar's Hot & Ready pizzas for supper and the movie War Games.

4:00pm. Clean the van and swap stuff in and out of the storage unit. Busy!
5:00pm. Remember that I need to run a load of laundry or the intern crashing on our couch tonight won't have a clean towel.
5:15pm Finally get around to checking the apartment washing machines. They are all busy.

6:15pm. Washing machines are available. Load started. Search for more camping stuff in storage unit.
6:45pm. Time to put load in dryer. Find problem: no more quarters.
6:47pm. Drape clothing (and towel) over various pieces of furniture in the apartment.
6:50pm. Jump in van and drive the mile to Little Ceaser's
6:54pm. Attempt to place order for pizzas and find out from employee that the store is already closed for the evening.
6:55pm. Mumble, "That's nice to know" and stumble in shock from the store. WHAT PIZZA PLACE CLOSES BEFORE 7PM?!?!?!

7:10pm. Arrive at Safeway to purchase Totino's pizzas on sale. Yay for backup idea!
7:11pm. Page through coupons to find Tontino's coupons. Victory!
7:12pm. Lock van and shut doors. Touch jean pockets. Frantically check pockets and peer through van windows.
7:13pm. Call Mr. Amazing to let Him know that Mrs. Amazing locked the keys in the van.
7:15pm. Mr. Amazing starts walking to the van with the extra set of keys. Praise God that Safeway is only a mile from the office.
7:24pm. Use coupons skills and tips from Springs Bargains to pick up Tontino's pizzas for $0.75 each and a free box of Popsicles. Yes!
7:33pm. Mr. Amazing arrives with keys. We drive back to the office.

So then the rest of the evening went almost as planned. Pizzas, a movie, a few random youtube videos, and a quick visit with wonderful friends when we dropped the interns off at their host home.

I have to admit, I mostly laughed over the pizza and locking my keys in the car incident. It was one of those times where if you don't laugh, you'll cry. And I'd much rather laugh. And Mr. Amazing kept reminding me that "it's okay." I appreciated that.

Anyway - I hope your day went a bit more smoothly than mine. But perhaps you can get a chuckle out of mine too. I'm sleepy. Off to bed...

Happy Mother's Day, Mother!

2011-05-08T21:37:00.001-06:00

To my wonderful Mother (from your wonderful daughter). Thanks for your love and your patience and your joy and your grace and your laughter and your determination. And for our special love and conversations shared this year. And thanks for putting up with your sassy, wonderful, loveable daughter. :) I am so proud of you and will always love you!

Goodbye for Now (for Mothers and Daughters)

2011-05-08T21:29:00.001-06:00

To my family, who lost a grandmother. To my friends Sharon and Michelle, who lost their mothers. And to my friends Loreena and Lacie and Sarah, who have lost little ones. And to so many others not mentioned here. Aren't you glad we have a time when we get to see our loved ones again? Thinking about you on this Mother's Day. And praying, sorrowing, and rejoicing with you!

I can't believe that you're really gone now
Seems like it's all just a dream.
How can it be that the world would go on
When something has died within me?

Leaves will turn, my heart will burn with colors of you
Snow will fall, but I'll recall your warmth
Summer wind, breathing in your memory
I'll miss you

But there will be a time when I'll see your face
And I'll hear your voice and there we will laugh again.
And there will come a day when I'll hold you close
No more tears to cry, 'cause we'll have forever
But I'll say goodbye for now.

"Goodbye for Now" by Kathy Troccoli

Practical Update - Interns Coming!

2011-05-05T23:38:00.000-06:00

Hi everybody!

I know things have been quiet on here. I keep forgetting to pull out my camera and the blogs I read tell me that no one wants to read a blog that doesn't have pictures. So then I feel guilty. And I don't post. And sure enough - nobody reads the things I don't post. Hmm....

A couple quick practical updates... let's try bullet points. :)

We have three college interns coming to work with us here at LightSys this summer!
Our interns are... a Dutch student from Canada, an MK from Kenya, and a Californian. Lots of cultural exchange here this summer!
The first intern arrives in 10 days (assuming his visa arrives on time)! Wow - soon!
Mr. Amazing and I have now been in CO home for 5 consecutive weeks! Woo-hoo! We haven't been in one place that long since September of last year. 3 weeks has been average.
Hurrah for taking time this weekend to refocus and regroup before the interns arrive and the summer road trip starts! Pray for rejuvenation and rest for us!!!
Praise God for housing for the all the students while they are here! He's provided so wonderfully!

Okay - that's enough updates for right now. I'm off to sleep. Yes, s...l..e...e..p.....

"By Gracious Powers"

2011-05-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
And confidently waiting come what may,
We know that God is with us night and morning,
And never fails to greet us each new day.

Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
Oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation
For which, O Lord, You taught us to prepare.

And when this cup you give is filled to brimming
With bitter sorrow, hard to understand,
We take it thankfully and without trembling,
Out of so good and so beloved a hand.

Yet when again in this same world you give us
The joy we had, the brightness of your sun,
We shall remember all the days we lived through
And our whole life shall then be yours alone.

a poem/hymn by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

He is Good

2011-05-05T00:57:00.000-06:00

I say: the Lord is my portion; therefore, I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait on Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:24-26

Before It Was Time

2011-05-04T00:59:00.001-06:00

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

Copyright by Third Day

Song Week :)

2011-05-03T22:03:00.000-06:00

I'm hence declaring this week "song week" for the blog. :) Just my heart expressed in song. The joys, the challenges, the hopes, and the reminders of truth.

Our God will reign forever
And all the world will know His name
Everyone together sing the song of the redeemed

I know that my Redeemer lives
And now I stand on what He did
My Savior, my Savior lives
Every day a brand new chance to say
Jesus, You are the only way
My Savior, my Savior lives

This week has been challenging in many ways -- and we're only two days into it! But this is the song that has been circling in my head. I know that my Redeemer lives. And I know that He REIGNS from heaven and that He has a mighty plan and all the nations will see it and know His name. And I cling to that. He reigns!

Copyright by the Desperation Band at New Life Church

Random Post Office Meeting

2011-04-27T23:45:00.000-06:00

I was standing in line at the post office today to mail a letter. The young man in front of me was clutching a greeting card that had been mailed to him and I couldn't help but overhear pieces of what he told the clerk. "My mom mailed... sliced open... money gone... I don't think there's anything you can do, but I thought I'd ask..."

While he waited for a supervisor, we ended up chatting briefly. He's 20 (or so) and just moved away across the country -- leaving home for the first time and now missing his family (and 9 siblings). The first 6 weeks in Colorado had not been kind to him -- a roommate who stole his savings, side-swiped by a passing car, finding a new place to live, and now this -- the money in the Easter card his mother had mailed him was stolen.

I asked about spiritual beliefs and he shared that he had been attending a prominent church here in the area, but had been having a hard time really connecting with people. "But I'm in church, right? And that's what matters?" he said/asked with a resigned air.

"Ah," I said, "going to church is part of it, but we're designed to live life in community. We're designed to live life with people in such a way that they can see in us and encourage us and challenge us and remind us of God's truth and even call us on things when they see things in our life that don't line up with the Word of God. We need those people - those connections! We need people who will remind us that God is trustworthy and that God is faithful and remind us of those verses and help us stand on them."

After we parted our ways -- me to visit the grocery store for 33 cent avacados and him to talk to the supervisor at the post office -- I realized that I had been preaching to myself. And boy, did it feel good!

My verse to stand on: The Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people. Yes, the Lord will bless His people with peace! Psalm 29:11

Chosen Personality Not Available

2011-04-25T18:19:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had one of these days?

This printer error message made me think of last Friday. I woke up with a headache and in a bad mood and stressed and worrying over almost anything and upset with God. I knew I didn't want to be like that, but I couldn't seem to fight it off. I cried in the shower, burst into tears when my husband said he liked me, and generally moped. What was I upset with God over? That Jesus had to die. That there wasn't another way.

It was Good Friday. That was a good thing to be contemplating and valuing. Too often I go through life not realizing the vastness of the decision God made to take the punishment of death for sin upon Himself. Or not comprehending the price that Christ had to pay. Or understanding how heart-wrenching (if such sentiments can be applied) for God to watch His Son die. I see things differently this year, but I still can't fully comprehend.

On Friday? Greg took me out to Garden of the Gods to climb on some rocks and get some fresh air and get my attention off of ME. Then we stopped by a Good Friday service and watched as young people testified of their devotion to the Lord and followed Him in baptism. Such cause for rejoicing! And then we ended the evening with communion - that physical reminder of God's forgiveness for us. For ME! All my sins are washed away! And yes, my attitude got better. (Thank you for not just putting up with me on Friday, Greg, but also for embracing and loving me!)

I was talking to a friend yesterday, reminding myself through conversation with her that God's promises never change. His truth and the faith that He gives are two of our primary tools in fighting discouragement (AND bad moods!).

And the error message above? The "Chosen Personality Not Available" message?Oh, that's a real error alright! I snapped that photo this afternoon when trying to print to the office's color printer. Gotta love a printer with multiple personality disorder!

Our New Place

2011-04-05T16:00:00.010-06:00

Mother has been after me to post a view from our back door, so here's a few pics in general of our new place. We live in a 26 unit, u-shaped apartment building, two stories. We're in the base of the "U" on the first floor. The courtyard of our building used to have a swimming pool, but they converted it to a garden (with a fountain) in more recent years and many of the residents love to help keep the flowers beautiful in the summer.

Our front door

With the "Rejoice" sign that my sister sent me as a housewarming gift in 2004. :)

Courtyard in the early morning. (The view from our front door.)

The fountain with the wise old owl (with glasses!)

The cross in the walkway

And finally... the view from our back patio door.

Yep! That's Pike's Peak in the background. For a Kansas girl, it's a little strange to see the mountains every morning. I keep saying with wonder in my voice, "Those are my mountains..."

Or this morning, "Good morning, mountains! And Good morning, God! Thanks for making the mountains!" :)

Am I Trusting in the Waiting?

2011-04-05T00:13:00.001-06:00

I've been working on a lot of projects recently and have multiple balls in the air at one time. It's been busy: working with references and applications for LightSys summer interns, trying to connect other interns with other mission organizations, talking to IT professionals who are feeling a calling/interest to missions IT, networking and partnering with like-minded organizations and people.

Recently it seems like my life has been partially composed of waiting for phone calls and emails to be returned and praying, "Lord, how do I answer this one?!?" And waiting. :)

Do you ever find your self anxiously waiting? I was this evening, wondering how a couple of projects were going to turn out. Was God going to work them out the way that I wanted them worked out? Or were they going to work out not-so-well in my eyes?

And I started thinking of my parents. They've been farming ever since I was born.

(Photo by cousin Stephen)

And each year, Dad does his best to plant and fertilize the crops. He works hard - working the fields at the best time and planting the seed at the best time. And each year, the final outcome is determined by the Lord.

Talk about uncertainty! Will it rain enough? Will it rain too much? Will we get a late freeze that will damage the wheat crop? Will we get a hail storm the week before harvest that will wipe out the crop (and our income for the year)? But year after year, Dad simply trusts God.

And sometimes the crops do fail. And sometimes they fail multiple years in a row. But the peace is still there if we are trusting God.

I was reminded of Psalm 4:7-8: You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that the crops flourished. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

God is the only one who can truly make us rest and dwell in safety. Am I trusting Him to work things for His glory? Am I believing that He will do it?

How do you remind yourself to trust God?

Never Give Me a Mic

2011-04-04T16:00:00.001-06:00

Was it at our wedding? Or just after we were engaged? Pastor Mike made some kind of comment about the dangers of giving Dorinda a microphone. And those of you who know me know that's about right! The quote came up again yesterday. :)

We visited another church in town yesterday, seeking to see where the Lord would have us plug in with a church family. (You can pray for this for us.) The church was small enough that they introduced visitors as part of the morning service. Since we didn't have someone to announce us, Greg patted me on the back and said, "Go for it, honey." So I did.

I stood up in the row and introduced us saying that we were new in town, so they could all invite us over for supper... er, umm, I mean, come to our place for lunch!

Quote the pastor, "You fit right in!"

And what happened after the service? We got invited out to lunch! A couple in the church makes it a weekly habit to invite someone home with them for lunch and well, we got picked this time! "Sometimes we have a hard time finding people, but you just volunteered yourselves!" And we got another future invite from someone else!

We climbed in our van to head to our lunch host's home and Greg chuckled and said, "Oh, Dorinda."

"You know not to give me a mic!" I teasingly protested.

"You didn't have a mic!" said Greg. "In fact, you didn't need a mic!"

I'm so glad my husband loves me!!!!! :)

P.S. During the ensuing lunch conversation, we discovered that our hosts were good ol' Sterling College graduates. The husband had roomed in Kilborne next door to my uncle! He remembered my uncle. Apparently my uncle and roommates smashed a watermelon on our new friend's dorm room floor...

Three Weeks - Here We Stay!

2011-04-03T22:05:00.001-06:00

My blogging streak abruptly ended with the trip to Kansas for my Grandmother's funeral. Greg and I were thrilled to get to spend time with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and brother as they flew from VA to CO where we picked them up to make the drive. They were gracious with the planning and the long hours -- we just wished we could have somehow prevented the six hour layover they had at DFW on their way here!!!

Unfortunately, I have been horrible at taking pictures recently and the only photos I have of the entire weekend are a few blurred snapshots. But it was the first time all of us siblings and spouses had been together since Greg and I's wedding. AK took photos for us, so hopefully we'll get to see those soon!

"Grandpa" and Susan's little boy. :)

Too much technology! Two siblings, two laptops, one tablet, one android!

BULLETIN: I am no longer the tallest or the heaviest Gates sibling. My brother now takes that honor! It took a carpenter's level to determine the height answer, but he does have an eighth of an inch on me. WTG, SCG!

Three weeks. I realized today that Greg and I have not been in one place for longer than three weeks since September. No wonder we're tired!!! There are members of our team that travel 6-9 months at a time and I have great respect for them! But then they take at least three months to recoup at home after the trip.

So here's to more than three weeks in one place! Can we make it?

(Home Sweet Home)

Friendship Tea and Conversations with Grandma

2011-03-29T22:50:00.000-06:00

To my family, friends, supporters, and readers -

Thank you for your support, comments, prayers, and emails during the last five days. Greg and I picked up my brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece at the airport on Saturday and made the 9 hour drive to my parent's home on Sunday. Grandmother's funeral was on Monday afternoon and we were blessed to be there for it. We were also thankful that the chaplain officiating the service shared the Gospel message as part of the service. We got back home to Colorado this evening. The Virginia part of the family fly home tomorrow.

The family was invited to email the chaplain with memories of Grandma. This is what I wrote and he shared it as part of the funeral service.

One of my special memories happened about 3-4 years ago when I was driving home one weekend from Dallas. It was almost midnight when I drove past Grandmother's house in the country, but I saw her kitchen light on and saw her face at the window. So I spontaneously turned into her drive.

She was surprised to see me, but as usual, invited me to have a cup of tea. So there we were -- Grandmother and I at midnight -- sitting at her kitchen table, sipping friendship tea, and talking like friends. :) While I have had many visits over a cup of friendship tea around Grandmother's kitchen table, this was special. It was just the two of us. We shared from our hearts about many things: how much she missed Grandpa, what God was doing on the mission field in Asia, and the burden on her heart for people in her family and in the community that didn't have a personal relationship with the Lord.

"They tell me they know God, and I'm sure they do. But they haven't made Jesus Lord of their life."

One of the times [the Hospice chaplain] stopped by to see Grandmother (when she was still at my parent's home), she was extremely anxious. I was there too, that day, and [he] tried to console her by saying that she would see all her family in heaven. And Grandmother kept shaking her head and refusing to be consoled. Perhaps she was just being anxious, as she often was, but I also was remembering that conversation I had had with Grandmother 1-2 years before where she so concerned about family members that were "good" people, but weren't living their lives with Christ as the Lord and Savior. And that was important to her.

Also at the time, my cousin Eric was finding his way back to the Lord and had been talking to Grandmother about the idea of seeking to glorify God in everything we do. Said Grandmother to me, "I told him that's what some of us do every day." :)

But I will always cherish the memory of that visit and so many other cookie and tea visits over the years.

Celebrating Life!

2011-03-24T19:59:00.000-06:00

My Grandmother passed away this afternoon after battling ill health for the last two years. She's celebrating and we're celebrating with her! Grandma had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior when she was a young girl and asked Him to forgive her sins and live within her. She's now in heaven with Jesus and I'm sure she's dancing with joy!

One favorite memory: driving from Dallas to KS late one night. It was just before midnight when I drove past Grandma's house. I saw her face at the kitchen window and impulsively turned into her driveway. We sat down with a cup of tea and talked heart to heart for the next hour about God and missions and family and broken people who needed Christ. I've always treasured that conversation. :)

Here's a few pictures from the last three years...

Singing Hymns :) - March 2007

Grandson's Graduation - May 2007

On the porch of the old farmhouse - August 2008

With her children - November 2008

With her brother - February 2009

At my wedding - November 2009

Thanksgiving 2010

Last Tuesday, just before we left for Colorado. Grandma was smiling for the camera. :)

And she prayed with us that day - thanking God for sending His son to this earth and thanking God for His goodness. For truly, He is good.

And that's what Grandma wanted people to know.

Moving Days

2011-03-23T23:12:00.000-06:00

I know what the blog looked like. Road trip, road trip, road trip,
s-i-l-e-n-c-e, NEW PLACE! I think everyone knew that we'd been praying about a new HQ location for LightSys for the last two years, but the time of prayer and board recommendation in Dec/Jan went almost un-mentioned.

(Visiting supporters during the road trip.)

Colorado Springs has become our new home. Greg and I and summer interns will headquarter here and our other staff will stop through on road trips. (Note: the address for donations will remain in GA for the time -- no change there!!!) We've been blessed with an adorable apartment, a shared office with ministry partners, and the love and encouragement of spiritual mentors here in the area.

This is permanent (well, until the Lord changes things...). We are changing our drivers licenses, getting new tags for the van, and praying about buying a house. And we might only travel 30% of the year instead of 70% of the year! (We'll see...)

But here's a few moving pics for you! :)

The living room in Kansas while I was packing. I should have snapped another photo after the boxes were stacked ceiling high!

Greg and the moving truck. We reserved a 16' truck and they ended up charging us for a 10' truck and giving us a 24' truck! Talk about room - we almost could have put our van inside instead of driving the van to CO!

Our moving crew after loading the truck. Thanks, Dennis and Kent and L and Mother and Dad! Yes, that's the truck fully loaded. Ever seen a moving truck so empty?

The moving truck and the Kansas sunset. Greg and I (and my sister L) left for Colorado the next morning with the van. My parents followed the next day with the moving truck.

Getting to say good-bye to Grandma Grace before we left. She's smiling for the picture. :) And she prayed with us. It was a good good-bye.

Blessing in the Kitchen

2011-03-22T23:23:00.000-06:00

My husband is in the kitchen. Washing my dishes for me! So thankful!!!

Here's my new kitchen:

Well, that's the clean version of it. After making eggs and sausage for supper, hard cooking eggs, mixing and assembling two casseroles, and mincing 6 cups of cooked chicken meat for freezing, the kitchen looked a little messier than that. Okay, much messier.

But my Mr. Amazing knew I was exhausted and even though he was exhausted too (after fixing multiple software bugs this evening), he shoed me off to the couch to rest while he washed dishes. I just about cried!

Guess I'd better get busy with my resting. :) Thanks, Mr. Amazing!!!

Kansas Sunset

2011-03-21T23:47:00.000-06:00

As a youngster, I didn't realize how privileged I was to grow up on the west side of a small town. But when travels would bring me back home, I loved to stand in our yard and watch the last of the light flood across the plains. This picture, taken the evening before we left for Colorado, captured my sister L and her kitten.

Earthquake and Tsunami Prayers

2011-03-20T22:39:00.000-06:00

Greg and I started visiting churches in our new town today. We thoroughly enjoyed the teaching and worship at Rocky Mountain Calvary this morning. We stopped by The Springs Church this evening and found ourselves in the middle of a missions prayer meeting! It was so good to join with others in interceding for the world. The lady who sat down next to me was from Japan. Yurika and I ended up talking quite a bit.

In 1995, I spent 10 weeks in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan and I have a second cousin who still lives there. (Niigata is the prefecture/state just west of where the nuclear plants are having problems.) At left -- a sixteen year old Dorinda with two Japanese friends. :) So Japan has really been on my heart!

I've enjoyed following The Takameter - a blog by Asian Access missionaries in Japan. I don't know this family personally, but they are "friends of friends." The husband is in Sendai with a relief team. Sue (the wife) is home sick with the kids! Stop by their blog to find out how to pray for them and others!

Looking for ways to give? Consider giving through the Asian Access ministry. They are partnering with over 1200 churches throughout Japan and have teams on the ground in the worst affected areas.

A picture from The Takameter -- a darling baby that was supplied with diapers by the Asian Access relief team! :) You can read the story in this blogpost.

More fun pics tomorrow, but I had to share these things tonight.

Prayer Requests:
* For Yurika's brother in Tokyo. He needs to know the Lord.
* For healing, grace, and protection for Sue T. while her husband is away with the relief team for two weeks. She's taking care of the kids AND just came down with the flu!
* For safety for the relief teams as they minister.
*For the Japanese people to be open to the Gospel and for the teams to share effectively!

Nesting in a New Place

2011-03-19T23:42:00.000-06:00

Almost every time we get "home" from a road trip, I get the urge to cook. Bread, cookies, homemade chicken broth - you name it! Maybe it's my way of feeling at home.

And this time I have a new place to nest in! The last month has been busy as we've moved to a new home (more info in the upcoming posts). But today was our first unscheduled day in our new apartment. So I had to celebrate by cooking. :)

This evening, I had multiple things going.

3lbs of hamburger browning for tacos and casseroles (to be frozen)

Bubble Pizza in the oven (for supper)

A "Welcome to Our New House" cookie for Greg. Oh, and I was testing my crockpot to see if it boiled on low and at what temperature since we're at 5,000 feet or so.

My kitchen was busy. :)

Was Philip Jealous?

2011-02-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's a bit of a contemplative evening here. We're in Grand Rapids, Michigan to share about the IT need in missions at Calvin College. Greg and I have a house to ourselves for three days (thanks to a prof on sabbatical) which has been a blessing. Don't get me wrong, we love our host families, but sometimes having your own place is nice too!

So. Contemplative evening. The quiet sounds of typing and pages turning are broken only by the buzzing of a large fly who is mesmerized by my reading light. It's February. There should be no large fly. Whatever.

Do you ever get jealous of someone else's work? Even if it is good, God-appointed work?

I had an opportunity to do that today when we found out that another mission organization was on Calvin's campus recruiting IT interns. And I suppose I could have gotten jealous. But I really (honestly!) didn't. I've been trying to find out the IT intern needs for other mission orgs so I can help recruit interns for them! So here was perfect opportunity to find out how I could help this org! After all, it's a really BIG harvest field and just ONE Big Boss.

I was reading in Acts 8 today. Philip left Jerusalem and started preaching the Gospel in Samaria. He was the first person to preach that message to the Samaritans. And what a response! The people "with one accord gave heed to those things Philip spoke...and there was great joy in that city."

Then comes verse 14. The disciples in Jerusalem hear about it and they send Peter and John down. Can you imagine what Philip could have felt?

"Wait - this is my ministry! Why are you sending P&J down? I don't need them butting in! Aren't I good enough?"

But I don't think he did. Instead of clinging to his own ministry, he was flexible with what the Lord wanted to do.

Hanging on would have built walls between him and the disciples. It could have caused bitterness that would have greatly hindered his relationship with God and his ministry.

But letting go allowed him to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit and hear from God for the next assignment. Because he chose to humbly serve in unity, he was in right relationship with God to hear "go talk to that Ethiopian."

Which decisions are you making?

P.S. Cool video! Did you know that Wycliffe is using the same software used for Avatar to produce the Scripture in sign language?

Ingredients for a Perfect Road Trip

2011-02-09T05:00:00.002-07:00

Ah... the small delights of a good road trip!

Dark Chocolate M&M's

Beautiful Blue Skies

and Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre: The Chronicles of Narnia

What more could one ask for? *contented sigh*

Photos taken during mid-January road trip with much joy!

The Chronicles of the Amazings

2011-02-07T05:00:00.003-07:00

Just thought I'd include a few of our picture adventures from the last couple months. Enjoy! :)

We were in Atlanta for Christmas. Mom B. made me my own ornament for the Christmas tree.

My niece gave us a stuffed dog for Christmas to travel with us. Here is "Lee" visiting some goats at our stop in Tennesse.

Mr. Amazing: Everyone's Favorite Uncle

Hey Rach! See and be jealous! Okay... be excited! Lunch with a friend at the original Chick-fil-a. Too bad the flash hid the signage. (Did you know they serve hamburgers here? Shh... don't tell the cows!)

Fixing an almost-dead laptop at the Cedarville University Missions Week. Ornery laptop!

I really need to capture more cool pictures from our stops along the way. But here's our picnic lunch at Arbor Hills in Texas. Yay for Sonic!

Life on the road is fun. But it is also hard. But capturing the fun moments in between and remembering WHY we do what is do is what keeps us going. Praise God!

Supper on the Go: Coil, Nalgene, Tacos

2011-02-06T01:08:00.002-07:00

How to make soft tacos without stopping the van:

1. Have all the ingredients ready ahead of time and in an ice chest in the van. If you leave the ingredients at the house, it won't work too well.

2. Find your handy Nalgene bottle. Make sure it is at least 1/2 full of water.

3. Insert immersion coil into water. Hold it so it doesn't touch the sides of the Nalgene. We don't know if it will melt the Nalgene and we haven't decided to find out.

4. Plug immersion coil plug into inverter.

5. Hold the coil in the water until the water is very hot.

6. Unplug the coil. Wait a moment and remove from water. Don't burn yourself.

7. Insert plastic bag of cold taco meat into Nalgene. Try to make sure the plastic bag doesn't have holes in it before you immerse it in the hot water. Close the lid on the Nalgene to keep things hot.

8. Wrap your tortilla around the Nalgene while the meat is heating up. This makes the tortilla nice and soft. Unless your tortillas were purchased three months ago and have been riding around in your van. Then there is no way to make the tortillas pliable. They will just crumble. And make a mess for the driver.

9. Remove meat from the Nalgene. If your plastic bag had a hole, uh-oh. Now you get to try to drain your water-logged, taco flavored meat as you drive down the road. Heavy blue shop towels work well for this. Use 3 or 4.

10. Assemble the taco ingredients. If it is dark while you are doing all this, try opening up the mirror on the passenger side sun visor. It often has a little light on it.

11. Eat soft taco! Clean up mess afterward. Dustbusters come in handy to get the taco meat and cheese pieces that slip past the paper towel and into the depths of the seat. If your dustbuster is in the back of the van, you're out of luck. Just use your fingers and hope you get it all before it gets smeared into your jeans and the van seat. Food smeared into your pants is not a good thing when you're meeting a host family.

12. Praise God that you didn't have to pay for fast food! Press on through the snow and reach your destination.

Photos are stock photos since it was too dark to take pictures...

Sisters and Snow

2011-02-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

Snow and cold! The entire Central Plains and Midwest got hit by the record cold temperatures and snow. Mr. Amazing and I were thankful that we weren't following Plan A which had us driving to Indiana this week. And we scrapped Plan B as well. We decided that -4 degrees as a high in Colorado Springs was a bit colder than we wanted to be, so postponed that trip. Instead, we hibernated for a week at "home" in Kansas.

Saturday the 29th. Location: Nature preserve in Plano, TX. Temperature: 72 deg. Much rejoicing in wearing short sleeves.

Tuesday the 1st. Location: On the road outside of Attica, KS. Temperature: 9 deg. Much snow drifting (really cool!)

Tuesday. Returning "home" to the trailer. Much snow drifted against our door!

Wednesday the 2nd. Location: Our yard. Temperature 19 degrees. Much snow fun.

Much sister fun.

Much thanks, sister, for much, much fun!

Photos: Two Years Later

2011-02-03T20:26:00.001-07:00

Two years ago. The Saturday after LeTourneau University's Missions Emphasis Week. Greg and I and my family went to Arbor Hills. Greg had just gotten my dad's permission to court me and we were all nervous and excited and just getting to know each other. We snapped a group picture at the observation tower.

That was a nice picture. (Love you Mother, Daddy, and L!) But the pictures soon got cropped to this:

Fast forward one engagement, one wedding, twenty-four months, and two LeTourneau University Missions Weeks. This year. The Saturday after LETU's Missions Emphasis Week. Greg and I found ourselves back at Arbor Hills. So of course we had to stop by and the observation tower and take a picture. :)

Same observation tower, same two people, two years later. Wow - God has taught us so much and brought us through so much already! I can hardly wait to see what the coming years will bring. Happy (belated) Anniversary, Mr. Amazing! Thanks for pursuing me and teaching me about God's relentless love for us. You have no idea how much I admire you for that. Thank you.

Okay... mushiness over. Regular posts resume soon. :)

God's Faithfulness

2011-01-26T22:46:00.027-07:00

It's been way too long since I posted. We've hit the road and been to Tennessee, Ohio, back to Atlanta, and now we're in Longview, TX at the LeTourneau University Missions Emphasis Week. Greg got to share in a class this morning and had some interest in internships from students afterwards. Praise God! That's what we've been praying for -- three interns to work with us this summer.

It's been a stretching day for me in a variety of ways. But this evening ended well. God gave me the strength to share with two dorm wings this evening at their joint devotion session. I had been reading Stephen's speech to the Pharisees in the book of Acts (right before his stoning) and was caught by the similarities in the patriarchs. Abraham, Moses, Joseph... they all had ideas/dreams/visions of what they wanted to do or what God was going to do through them. Yet for each of them, it sure didn't happen very quickly. They went through many things that might have made them doubt the promises and faithfulness of God.

We challenged the students to hold their own dreams loosely before the Lord and seek Him first instead of just pursuing their dream on their own. (Ex: Moses - trying to free the Israelites by his own strength and words and power. But God had a different plan.) But we also challenged them to hold TIGHT to those things that God has promised or asked them to believe in, even when the path looks different than they expect. (Ex: Joseph serving God whole-heartedly as a slave or in prison when the dreams God had given him said that people would be bowing down to him.)

We stayed for an hour and a half after the meeting -- sharing with the students and praying with them. Praise God for his strength and work in our lives!

What dreams do you have in your life?

God-sized Dreams

2011-01-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

I was poking through my Google Reader this evening and came across this quote on a blog I follow:

God-sized dreams give glory to Him, not us. God is up to something big when he plants his dreams in our hearts, and it’s so much bigger than us. If we were able to achieve our calling in our own strength, we would readily take and receive the glory.

But when we stand at the base of an impossible mountain, shaking in our boots, knowing full well our legs could never carry us to the summit, we are forced to rely on God and praise him for every step he enables us to take along the way.

Hmm... good stuff. :) A reminder that God-sized dreams are not always comfortable and not always logistically obtainable. We have to keep depending on Him -- and that can be a really hard place to be in.

Snow for Christmas

2010-12-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

We actually traveled "home" for Christmas this year. Yes, we celebrated Christmas at our real address. We had fellowship and Christmas carols last night with Mr. Amazing's sister and her family. Lots of fun playing with the nieces and getting up-ended as they "knocked you over!" Christmas Day has been quiet with Mr. Amazing, Mom and Dad B. and the new book they got me for Christmas.

Thanks for praying for my tooth. By the grace of God, a wonderful dentist in Dallas, an amazing staff at Pratt Family Practice, and great friends at my local pharmacy, I was able to pick up antibiotics before we left for Atlanta! That's kept things from getting any worse and then I have an apt on Monday.

My verse for Christmas this year has been in Isaiah 7. "Behold, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

It's been a season about believing the Lord. Ahaz, to whom this promise was given, was a prime example of NOT believing God, even after God had promised. Yet God was still faithful to His promises. God's been teaching me and enabling me to believe His promises too. :)

To top off the Christmas fun, guess what?!? It's snowing!!! Yep, this Kansas girl came to Georgia for Christmas and they're treating me to gorgeous snowfall! Thanks, Georgia!

(eating snowflakes)

Praise and Prayer!

2010-12-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks for praying with us! We've had some really good times of prayer and waiting upon the Lord in the last several days. We don't have a definite answer on some of the things, but there is a renewed sense of peace that God will answer.

In the meantime, we've got several more adventures that popped up. We're prepping for a two month road trip and leaving tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've got a tooth that's fired up an infection in my lower jaw in the last two days. My mouth/throat are swelling and it's getting a bit painful to swallow. And since I react rather badly to some antibiotics and since my dentist is 300 miles away and we aren't planning on being through there for another month... yeah, we need to figure a couple of things out. Or rather, we need God (who has already figured things out) to guide us in this and provide some answers. And some healing.

On the joyous side of things, we took time from our crazy van packing to sing Christmas carols with my Grandmother this evening at the nursing home. Several of my aunts and uncles were there along with my parents, two of my sisters, a brother-in-law, and an adorable niece! C took pictures. I'll have to get some from her. :) As we were wrapping up, one of the nurse aides stopped by to see if we wanted any hot chocolate or anything! She said some of the other residents had even turned off their TVs just to listen to us sing. :) It was a good evening in the midst of stressful events.

Thanksgiving (a little late)

2010-12-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

When Thanksgiving arrived this year, Greg and I were just pulling into our KS home from a month of road-tripping. We were tired! So where did we end up having Thanksgiving dinner? At the nursing home! :) We joined Grandmother Gates for a surprisingly delicious Thanksgiving meal there at the care center where she lives. And with the Christmas music playing in the background, we felt like we were celebrating two holidays at once! We love you, Grandma!

We did it!

2010-12-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yay! Newsletters are all stuffed, labeled, and stamped! Thanks, Mother and L! And I added personal notes to them and sealed them last night. Now to get them to the post office! Boy, it feels good to get that out of the way!

Thanks for all your prayers!!!

I Did it!

2010-12-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so God helped me with it big time after I prayed. Address labels printed for the December newsletters to go out! Yay!!!

Time to Focus

2010-12-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

We've got a big week that we're starting here at our house -- lots of ministry decisions that we're believing God to direct us in, a two month road trip starting next week, and a myriad of details as we prep for doing missions mobilizations at colleges in Jan/Feb. To help myself focus and watch my time this week, I'm signing off Facebook and my blog reader. (Honestly, it's easier to sign off FB than the blogs I read, but both can be time distractions.) I may drop a blog post myself here or there with praises or prayer requests, but if you have anything urgent that needs to be communicated to me, email me. (My yahoo address is at the side if you don't have my other address.) Will you pray for us? Pray for spiritual protection for us, for time to spend seeking the Lord, and for rest. We've been having trouble sleeping recently for no discernible reason. Thanks!

Praise for today: Praise God for a local business that let us use their printer to print out our December newsletter! Finding a printer has been a matter of prayer for some days, but now we are thankful for the stack of newsletters on my table waiting to be printed!

Encouraging verses for today from Psalm 9:
But the Lord abides for ever... He is a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee. For Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee!

SO not creative!

2010-12-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

Okay. I admit. I'm blogging because I'm procrastinating. I've got a bad case of writer's block on our Christmas letter, so I figured I'd come unblock my writer's block on my blog instead. You know, it's amazing how fast I can get creative on a Christmas letter when I'm procrastinating something else. I guess I just need to find something else to procrastinate. I think the problem is that I've procrastinated everything for so long that I'm feeling slightly guilty about 75% of the things I should be working on.

I made a list for today! I got three out of the six things done. But one of them got really complicated and I would really like to un-complicate it. Unfortunately, I think me trying to un-complicate it is going to complicate it further. I think the correct answer is: pray. I keep being like King Ahaz and trying to do things in my own power when God says, "wait and I'll take care of it." Wait? You're kidding, right, Lord? I have to wait?

Here is the first intro to the Christmas letter, but I thought maybe it was too long, so I scrapped it. But it does speak to what I've been learning from the Lord. Enjoy!

I was glancing through Isaiah (ch 7) several weeks ago when I came across the story of King Ahaz when the country he was ruling (Judah) was being attacked by Israel. He had plans to do things his own way (hire the Assyrians to fight off Israel for him), but God sent the prophet Isaiah with a message and then God personally spoke to King Ahaz saying, “Look! It's going to be okay! Ask me – I'll give you a sign, any sign!” (Dorinda's paraphrase) King Ahaz (determined to do things his own way) said, “Uh--no!” And God gave him a sign anyway – the familiar promise that we remember each Christmas.

Isaiah 7:14: “The Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and she will call his name Immanuel – God with us.”

What a beautiful promise God has given us! As this new year approaches, may we purpose anew to be dependent on the Lord (and remember His promises and provision!) instead of depending on our own ways and understanding.

Domesticity: Day 2

2010-12-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

It's been another day of partial domesticity here. Started a lentil recipie (thanks to my favorite crock pot lady) for supper. Started browning hamburger for soft tacos for lunch and became an over-achiever. Took 1 lb and mixed up and shaped two dozen meatballs for a later meal. Froze those. Browned 3 1/2 lbs of hamburger. Froze 2 lbs of the browned hamburger in 1lb containers for later use. Turned 1 1/2 lbs into taco meat. Dishes all done! Now I just need to work on those emails I'm procrastinating instead of plotting Christmas baking... :P

Random picture of the day: Greg and I at Four Corners during our recent trip!

Contemplative Catch-Up

2010-12-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

Wow - my blogging tends to go in spurts! And I've been feeling way too guilty (and slightly too busy) to catch up. Until this evening. Now my contemplative mood is getting the better of my guilt.

Yes, it's a cold evening here in Kansas. But I've been baking, so the house feels a little warmer than usual and we have a WoodWick candle burning merrily (since we don't have a fireplace). We've been settling back in from our November-long road trip and today was my first grocery shopping day since being back (and between meals and holiday baking plans, I bought lots of groceries!). Grocery shopping led to a feeling of domesticity, so I made pizza for supper. I doubled my crust recipie, so now I have three extra batches of pizza dough in the freezer for next time. (Thank God for my Bosch mixer to do the kneading for me - I was too tired.) And we used up leftover Thanksgiving ham for the pizza topping!

Grocery shopping gets interesting when you're home for 5 weeks, gone for 6 weeks, home for 6 weeks, gone for 15 weeks, home for 8 weeks, gone for 4 weeks, home for 4 weeks, gone for 9 weeks. Our freezer likes to freezer-burn meat in about 5 days, so I don't stockpile meat or other frozen goods on sale like I would otherwise. I did pick up quite a supply this week. Hopefully we'll make it through most of it before we leave on our next road trip at the end of the month.

Last road trip summary: 2 weeks in Colorado Springs for LightSys business, 1 week hiking the Grand Canyon for our anniversary (see picture!), 3 days visiting supporters, and 4 days helping friends in Colorado Springs move into the new house! All in all, a great trip! But I was worn out and ready to be home at the end of it!

Next road trip: To Atlanta to see Greg's family for Christmas and then off on our "college tour" to share with college students about the urgency of the lost world and the need for computer people in missions. Cedarville, Taylor, LeTourneau, and Calvin are all on the list. Does your college have a missions week and a computer department? Let us know and we'll see about stopping by!

Now: Off to my Bible reading! God's been poking at me on this. Being on the road can wreak havoc on "routine." God's Word - my foundation! Hurrah!

Here's a few Grand Canyon hiking pics for you...

Us and our packs just before hiking down into the canyon! We're still clean!

Sunrise at Plateau Point on Day 6 of our hiking trip

Filtering water for drinking at Monument Creek

Hanging out at the bottom of the canyon on our anniversary!

Face Recognition

2010-11-17T00:00:00.002-07:00

Pumpkins at the State Fair

I use Picasa on my computer to help keep track of all of my pictures (like my pictures of pumpkins at the Kansas State Fair). It even stores information for the photos that are on my external drive (which isn't connected all the time). But as soon as I plug it in - poof! It displays those photos and the tags and all the info. That's really impressed me!

Picasa also does a good job on recognizing faces automatically so I can simply add a name. But sometimes it does too good of a job!

Hmm... what do you think Mr. Pumpkin Man should be named?

One (Amazing) Year

2010-11-14T05:00:00.072-07:00

I'm actually not at my computer. I'm off with my husband today for our anniversary.

Wait! What was that I just typed? "Our anniversary"?!? Wow! Having been single for so many years, it is really kind of strange to think of me having a wedding anniversary. This first year has flown by! We've spent 30+ weeks on the road and traveled through 26 states. We've been hosted by at least 17 different families as we've traveled, consumed 20+ pounds of trail mix (our favorite snack), and eaten way too many McChickens!

Inevitably, some people hear about our traveling lifestyle and say, "Wow! You and your husband get to travel all the time! You must have an amazing marriage!" We laugh and assure them that we do enjoy life on the road, but it doesn't mean that everything is automatically perfect. :) In fact, as much as we love our host families (you guys are wonderful!!!), perpetually living your lives out of someone's guest room can be a very stretching experience!

But Greg, this year has been amazing! Sure, I drive you crazy some times and I'll never admit it, but there are even a few times that you've driven me crazy. :P But I'm so thankful for you and so blessed that God brought us together! I think about those times you've looked me in the eyes and reminded me of God's truth. Of the times we've grabbed hands and danced and twirled as we did on the day of our wedding. Of the times when you've hugged me and held me when I've been on the road too long and am yearning for friends and "home." Of the times when I'm washing dishes and you pull out your guitar and start singing praise songs. Of that time when I was finishing the pizza and you held the ice pack to my leg because I had burned my leg on the oven door. Of how you let me grab your arm and almost climb into your lap when we watch a scary movie! Of how you still love me, even when we've been backpacking and I haven't showered in five days! And most of all, I love watching your face and the pure joy in your expression when you've got your hands upraised, worshiping the Lord with your whole heart!

I love you, Greg Beeley! And I'm so glad I get to spend my life serving the Lord with you! Thanks for being my partner in this dance of life!

Photo by Lovin Photography

Hiking Photos

2010-11-12T00:41:00.001-07:00

Just a few photos from a quick hike we did during our Colorado Springs visit...

Trail Mix. Our favorite snack food!

Today's dichotomy: a pair of trekking poles and a cell phone!

And us. Silly sun!

Our Temporary Commute

2010-11-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

We've been living and working in Colorado Springs for the last two weeks, so I thought I would share a few pictures...

Here's the view on our morning commute. :)

And here's the view in the evening...

The pedestrian (umm... or is it a quad-estrian?) that carefully looked before crossing the road in front of me.

Oh, and I don't have a picture of this, but there's an inch of snow on the ground here now. First snow of the season for us!

"I Feel it is an Important Question"

2010-11-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Found in a letter written from my great-aunt to her father (my great-grandfather), dated April 10, 1944.

Walter wants us to be engaged. He asked me a few weeks ago. I have not promised. I have considered the question seriously. I feel it is an important question and that it should not be answered too hastily. I know that Walter loves me a great deal. I have enjoyed having his friendship. It seems to me that such an offer of true love from a good man should be considered of very great value.

And later (April 17th of the same year) is the happy answer:

So much fun! Thanks for digging through the boxes and sharing the memories, Mother!

Shocking!!!

2010-11-03T15:21:00.000-06:00

Yep! I've been shocking my husband all day today! And a good chunk of the past week. And today, I paused to give him a quick peck on the cheek as I passed where he was working and sure enough, I shocked him again! I guess that's just one of the downsides of having a beautiful view of the mountains out your office space. Colorado is lovely, but the dry air creates quite the static electricity problem! An almost each time I reach for my husband, I give him a nice static shock!

So now I pause and touch the metal on his desk and then wait for him to remove his hands from his laptop and then reach out and touch his hand. And then I can give him a quick kiss! I love you, Greg!

A New Carrier for my Christmas Gift?

2010-11-02T13:25:00.000-06:00

Dear Mother and Daddy,
Thanks so much for the Christmas gift you gave me three years ago. Although I always hope I don't have to use it, it has been useful once again.

Greg and I visited New Life Church here in Colorado Springs on Sunday. We chatted with people at the Guest Information Center afterward and then headed back out to the van. As we walked through the parking lot, we heard someone calling to their friend, "Hey! Do you have jumper cables?"

"Sorry, but no!" the answer came back.

Your Christmas gift of extra long, extra high-quality jumper cables (purchased at Anthony Famers Co-op) came to mind and we spoke up. "Umm... we have jumper cables if you need them..."

Next thing we knew, Greg had the van pulled up next to the sports car and we were digging through our packed van hatch to find the jumper cables. We got the car hooked up and started and then stopped to chat with the people who were riding in the vehicle. They looked vaguely familiar. "Hey, aren't you guys up on stage?" we asked. Yep, it was members of the worship team!

"So how long have you guys been coming to New Life?" they asked.

It was fun seeing the looks on their faces when we told them this was basically our first time. :)

Upon chatting further with them, we found out one of the guys was from Wichita and had cousins that went to Sterling. After I got back to my computer, I found out that same guy had worked at Perfect Peace with one of my homeschool friends. Small world! And lots of fun!

However, when I was getting the jumper cables out of their store-bought bag, the zipper broke. So, Mother, maybe you could cut up one of your denim tablecloths and make me a new bag for my Christmas gift? Like Daddy's jumper cable bag! :)

With love,
Your wonderful daughter!

Good Busy Week

2010-10-31T23:03:00.000-06:00

It's been a good, busy week here in Colorado Springs. We've been meeting lots of people and working on lots of LightSys projects and we've got a wonderful host family! Thursday evening we had supper with a friend who I had prayed with over the phone, but had never met. Friday evening we stopped by The Mill - the twenty-somethings ministry of New Life Church. We got to share a little bit about LightSys with their leadership team and then join them for prayer before the services started. They blew us away with their friendliness and genuineness.

Praise - after the prayer time with the leadership team, a girl came over to us all excited.

"I never thought about missions using computers! I'm a software developer at [major server company] and I've always wanted to be able to help missions with my IT skills, but no one could ever tell me how. This is so exciting!"

I love seeing the lights come on in people's eyes!

Saturday, we took time to go for a quick backpacking hike. We're getting ready for a big backpacking trip in the future, so thought we'd use the mountains and elevation to help get ourselves in shape. Somehow, our area of KS just doesn't work as well for elevation training... Then lunch with friends and back to the host home to rest.

We went to New Life Church with our host family this morning, enjoyed lunch with them and then swung back to the house to make dump cake before joining new friends at a local house church this evening! It's been a FULL day!

And this week is going to be a FULL week. We're preparing for upcoming LightSys meetings, meeting new people, and getting all our regular work done too! Pray for focus, wisdom, and strength!!!

And to finish with a picture: here's a photo of us resting along our hike on Saturday. It's good to get away and be quiet sometimes. :)

Here we go again!

2010-10-26T23:27:00.000-06:00

It's almost routine. I walked into the bedroom with my stuff, dropped the Double Bubble duffel bag and its contents in the corner, stacked my backpack next to it, and then set my suitcase up against the wall so I could open it whenever I needed to. And it felt so normal. Yep, if you haven't figured it out, we're on the road again!

We'd been praying about where/when our next trip would be and when God opened up to the doors for us to spend some time with a partner ministry in Colorado, we stepped into the opportunity! Today was a travel day from KS to CO, but we also got to have supper with a college friend of mine, Patty, in Pueblo, CO. I hadn't seen her since '99 maybe, so it was great to see her again and reminisce over common professors, crazy forensics meets, amazing friends, and laughable memories.

There are a few "oops, I need to get used to that again" things.

1) Time zone! Greg adjusted the clock in the van as we trekked today, but neither of us changed our watches. That came back to bite us as we were visiting with Patty over supper. I glanced at my watch and saw it that was 7:30 - a full half hour after our target leaving time! How did it get so late so quickly?!? So we quickly wrapped up the conversation, gave each other farewell hugs, and headed out to our cars. We watched Patty drive off and then happened to glance at the clock in the car as we pulled away. WHAT??? It's only 6:30??? You're kidding!

2) Quiet time habits! Usually about this time of night in KS, I brush my teeth and curl up in my blue recliner with my Bible, my Operation World, and my YWAM prayer diary. Now without my blue chair and without my regular household chore routines, I get to make sure I set up new routines so I don't stop spending time with the Lord. I just about forgot this evening.

Guess I'd better pull out my books and get busy before my eyes fail me. :)

Simple Joys...

2010-10-23T19:33:00.000-06:00

...like sharing a root beer float at the local soda fountain with Mr. Amazing. I like you, Greg!

Procrastinating!

2010-10-15T10:31:00.000-06:00

So I wasn't going to blog about this, but then my friend over at Compost blogged about procrastination. She had been procrastinating a particular task for quite some time, but once she started into it, it went quite smoothly and quickly. She was done in half an hour. Then she had to ask what we had procrastinated recently and what helped us get it accomplished.

My mind instantly jumped to expense reports. They're probably the number one thing I procrastinate. I have procrastinated them non-stop for the last 13 years. And I always dread them.

The current process is fairly simple: Fill out the form (easy). Print it. Sign it. Scan form and receipt. Email files to correct person. Done. The first time I did them, I got the forms completed, but it took me 2 hours alone to get the printer to work. The second time, I was doing three sets at once and kept getting the digital versions of the receipts and forms mixed up.

This time: I was sure I had been dreading it for no reason. One form. Two receipts. I decided to tackle it instead of procrastinating it. Fill out form, print, sign, digital photo of it and receipts (no scanner), email files to person. Done. YAY!

Until the receiving person noticed an oops! I had typed in one of the numbers wrong. About $20 wrong. I would need to fix the digital form. Which I had not saved in an editable format. Oops. So I quickly repopulated the form, printed it, signed it, and snapped the photo. But when I went to upload the photo from my camera to the computer, the computer wouldn't recognize the memory in the camera! It had worked that morning, but I had switched memory cards since then. I decided to blame the memory card and switched back to the old card. Took another picture, only to find out the computer still wouldn't recognize it. (Oh, and about then, the camera low battery light started blinking.) After needless fretting, a laptop restart was all that was needed to get both memory cards/camera working. (And the camera battery lasted until I got the photos uploaded - PTL!)

Then it was easy to finish it up and get it emailed in. But it still reinforced my irrational, internal fear that expense forms will eat my entire life (or at least a couple hours) if I let them.

So what did I learn now that I'm thinking about it? Perhaps God wanted me to work my attitude and not allow myself to get frustrated because of circumstances. Maybe it was an opportunity for me to work on rejoicing instead of grumbling and muttering and fretting. Perhaps a lesson on depending on the Lord to help me with the project instead of deciding, "I'm going to man up and get this done!" and ultimately working in my own strength. Maybe I need to learn to control my fears and thoughts ("This expense report project is going to be horrible!") and trust the Lord for His guidance. God's been trying to teach me about trusting instead of fearing, but I hadn't thought it about it applying in this type of situation.

Yep, maybe I did have lots to learn after all. Thanks, LAH, for making me think through them.

Flashback to Not So Perfect

2010-10-14T20:59:00.000-06:00

Greg and I visited Glacier National Park in July and took this beautiful, serene picture.

Here's the picture taken just before that picture:

That's me. Waving at you. Because I didn't get the timer on the camera set correctly. Yup. I'm not perfect. Just in case you didn't know. But don't tell.

Just thought I'd make you smile this evening. :)

Every Minute Counts!

2010-10-13T18:35:00.001-06:00

"Do you have to be so intense?"

A friend of mine who works in missions was asked this question recently. His reply: "A soul is perishing every second. Yes - we have to make every minute count!"

I had to ask myself how I'm supposed to make every minute count -- especially on those days when I'm not directly doing missions-support work. What about cleaning the house and errands days? Does the speed of which I do the dishes really affect eternity? As I contemplated, a few thoughts wandered through... Haven't you been saying you don't have enough time to spend in prayer for missionaries and the mission field? That you would like to spend more time in prayer for the unreached? Using your time wisely gives you a few more minutes in the evening if you'll take advantage of them.

So I keep thinking about that. How many minutes do I spend doing other things? How can I use my time I do have to pray? (I've hung a world map in my bathroom and started praying systematically for countries. Then I look up that evening's country in my Operation World book.) And sometimes I'm more successful than others at using my time wisely and praying.

What are some ways that you have found to pray during the day or to make your time count for eternity?

It's a Monday!

2010-10-11T09:50:00.000-06:00

It's a Monday morning and I have so many things to be thankful for! I've got a snug little "home" that keeps me safe from thunderstorms and hail (like the stuff we got yesterday), a wonderful family (including a brother-in-law who is having his "39th" birthday today), errands to run (and God-provided finances to get needed supplies), my Mr. Amazing (who loves me relentlessly and reminds me of God's truths), and the great privilege of helping reach the world for Christ (and LightSys on-line prayer meeting this afternoon)!

I've been a little scattered the last couple weeks and haven't been getting things done very well. So hopefully we'll do a bit better this week. :) You can pray for focus and deliberateness and follow-through for me. Oh, and wisdom! Wisdom is a good thing

Fun picture for the day: Greg and I working "remotely" last Mon/Tues. :)

That Stinkin' Armadillo

2010-10-07T16:06:00.002-06:00

A while back I posted this post about armadillos being able to jump three feet in the air. It was really a lead in to this post which I kept neglecting to write. So here's my armadillo story (although it has nothing to do with armadillos being able to jump three feet in the air).

Greg and I live in a mobile home on the same property as a yellow house that is for sale. I was mowing around the house one day when I spotted something in the window well. Yuck! It was a dead armadillo! So... I became the armadillo removal crew. (I figured I would take the job instead of Greg since I don't have a sense of smell and I figured the dead animal stank.)

So I poked it, found it stiff as a board, and then used my ever-handy farm pliers to pick it up by the tail [omit description of maggots and bones] and deposit it in a bag.

Then the bag went in the trash can to be picked up by the garbage man. (Like the pic below, except it was in the trash can.)

Then the next day, I walked outside (dressed all cute to go downtown) and saw a piece of trash floating through our front yard. WHAT??? I checked around the back of the house. Yep, the trash can had been tipped over and the bags of trash chewed open and strewn across the yard. Apparently, the armadillo was attracting attention.

The Culprit. The neighbor dog who likes to jump his fence.

I cleaned up the trash and went to town. Wait. That sounds too simple. I changed clothes and then picked up the pieces of trash bit by bit and put them in a new trash bag which I painstakingly double-bagged and returned to the trash can. I also moved the armadillo from inside the trashcan to outside the trashcan (see pic above). That way the dog could nose at the stinky armadillo without upsetting the entire trash can. Then I went to town.

I came back from town with our groceries and noticed a piece of trash floating through our front yard. OH, NO!!!! Oh, yes... This time Mr. Amazing was busy picking up all the trash that was once again strewn across the yard. I staked out the neighbors house until they got home. Then I introduced myself, presented them with fresh baked cookies, and let them know their dog was getting out.

The next day, he knocked over our trash can again (sigh). We moved our trash can into the garage. The day after that, we saw him shredding trash from his own trash can. The day after that, the fence was fixed.

The day after that, our trashman Mike brought us a new trashcan. This one has a lid! I wanted to snap a picture of our trashman and the new trash can for my blog. But I forgot. :( I'll learn.

Oh - and was the dog after the armadillo? No, I think he was just after mischief. He left the bag with the armadillo completely alone! Silly dog!

Siblings: Christmas is Coming!

2010-10-07T15:49:00.000-06:00

Hey siblings! We officially drew names out of a hat so you know who to get a gift for this Christmas. Email coming soon! :)

I Remember Forgetting That

2010-10-06T18:02:00.000-06:00

1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

A student in the GFA School of Discipleship reminded me through a recent blog post of what sometimes happen after we ask God to forgive us. From the blog:

...often we go before God and ask Him “How can You love me when I have done this sin?” ...God just looks at us and says “Why are you bringing that up again? I distinctly remember forgetting that.”

I worked with this discipleship program for over 4 years and even though I don't get to be there in person any more, I love to read about what the students are learning. You can read more student reflections for yourself here: http://disciple365.org/.

But praise God we don't have to be in a discipleship program for God to be teaching us! What has God been teaching you recently?

Blogging from a Tent

2010-10-04T22:20:00.000-06:00

Is this allowed? I guess it is, 'cause I'm doing it. I'm in my tent. Sitting on my sleeping bag. And I'm blogging. I'm going to crawl in my sleeping bag soon because it is cold out here. Too bad I didn't pack my flannel pajamas. But they take up more space in my backpack. And they weigh more. But they don't weigh anything close to the amount that trail mix weighs. That stuff is heavy! And yummy. Do you know how much of that stuff I'm going to be toting around when we hike the Grand Canyon next month? Lots. We eat it like crazy. I pack jerky links and things, but do we eat them? No. We're addicted to GORP. I think it's the M&M's. :)

We hiked out to the lake this evening with our backpacks and got here just in time for LightSys prayer meeting online. So we pulled out our computers and our mobile internet and hooked up to prayer meeting. :) Then we ate supper and set up the tent and now we're cozily inside and working and blogging. Tomorrow morning, we'll get up and have oatmeal and get some more work done. Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty too - although a bit warmer.

I like my small town. And my backpack. And my husband.
What do you like?

Random Writings - Completed!

2010-09-30T20:43:00.000-06:00

Recently, I posted a narrative that I had written several years back and never finished. I had stopped mid-sentence - just before quoting the illustrious Diane DeFranco-Kling. I invited my readers to come up with an ending and one of my friends did! Emily knew me from our days as part of GFA's School of Discipleship and composed this ending. Thankfully, she said I could share it with you. Here's the original post.

Staring at the eight inch gap between my fingers and my toes, I was reminded of Diane's words in Mime and Stage Movement. . .

"In the act of miming, the goal is to fill in the empty spaces and imagine what you and your audience can't see. . .and make it real for them."

I thought it was kinda random that I was reminded of that particular piece of miming advice at that particular moment. Perhaps my subconscious was trying to imagine that the space between my fingers and the tips of my shoes wasn't there. But, glancing at my watch and at the gathering clouds, I saw that I didn't have much time to think about it. So, I got back up and huffed back to the apartment.

Still a little grumpy that my "count-your-blessings" exercise (along with my morning jog) had met with less than success, I sat down with my Bible for morning devotions, fully intending to complain to Jesus at least a little.

The reading for the day was from Hebrews 11. As I was half-heartedly reading through the chapter (still thinking about Kansas), I came to verses 13-15: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised, they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. . .If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

I sat there for a few moments, letting the verses echo through my mind. "If they had been thinking of the country they had left...longing for a better country....God is not ashamed to be called their God...." Obviously, God had been reading my thoughts.

I can take a hint.

So, I'll keep running here in Texas. Fixing my eyes on Jesus.

Reaching out and touching what I can't see--eternity.

Imagining when the space between me and heaven won't be there anymore.

Longing for a better country--one even better than Kansas.

Camping, laptops, and a calf

2010-09-28T11:20:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here at the illustrious Anthony Lake with my laptop and our mobile internet. We hiked out here last night and camped and then are doing office from here this morning. I wish I would have brought lunch supplies! Oh, and a baby calf is out here too. I don't know who it belongs to, but apparently, it decided to see the wide, wide world. It's been hanging out around the play equipment a lot. Maybe it's looking for friends. :)

Random Writings

2010-09-20T22:56:00.002-06:00

I was searching through old files today and found this narrative I had started writing in my early days in TX. If you're looking for a short, entertaining blog post - skip this one! I don't mind! It's long and wordy and a narrative. It's true, but long and boring and not really profitable.

The funny thing? At the end of this, I start to quote Diane DeFranco-Kling and then never finish writing the narrative. And I have no idea what quote of Diane's I might have been thinking about. No idea. The only clue I have is that the file is titled "Pain and Promise." Hmm... ideas?

There was no light yet when I awoke at five this morning. Noises from the kitchen registered on my ears even before I shoved my feet into my silky slippers. I emerged from my room to find Rach getting ice for her 7-Up. "I've been throwing up all night," she moaned as she returned to the cold tile floor of the bathroom.

Ter padded out of her room and fixed hot Indian tea in the wee morning hours. We sat in silence, sipping our tea from dainty, yard-sale tea cups. The moments fled too quickly and Ter left to shower.

Remembering the weather report of showers for today, I opened the door of the apartment. The air was warm and moist with a hint of a breeze. A thought lingered in my mind... "Why not?" I finally asked myself.

When I opened the door again, it was with my long-forgotten, worn-out running shoes on my feet. I carefully closed the door behind me and stepped into a light jog down the open corridor and onto the concrete driveway.

I jogged the perimeter of the apartment complex, weaving between cars and parking lots, smiling at the early morning dog-walkers, and thinking about Kansas. In Kansas, thought I, I would be running into the sunrise instead of staring at the smog. In Kansas, I would be running on a dirt road instead of killing my knees on this concrete creation. In Kansas, I would be watching the deer and the blue herons instead of dodging early-morning commuters. In Kansas, I thought...

My forehead crinkled in sudden thought. In Kansas, I woud not be enjoying a 64 degree run in t-shirt and shorts at the end of December. In Kansas, the dogs would be nipping at my heels instead of yapping from the end of their owner's leash. In Kansas, I thought as my out-of-shape lungs started to protest, my route would never circle around back to my house in less than a four mile run.

I stretched out on the grass beside my apartment building and eased my fingertips towards the tips of my running shoes. Staring at the eight inch gap between my fingers and my toes, I was reminded of Diane's words in Mime and Stage Movement

...end of story. How would you end it? :)

[Edit 9/30/10: One of my friends wrote an ending. Read it here.]