Make a Pretty Place

Virginia’s in the middle of what they’re 

(whoever “they” are) calling a blizzard. 

 From the looks of it, they’re actually right this time! 

 It’s finally Winter. 

I’m not anti-winter, but I’m guessing winter moments

 happen to all of us to some degree – those times where 

you crave something extra pretty and fresh and new. 

Somehow winter makes me want to change things up.  

I don’t know why – maybe a psychiatrist could tell me.

There’s an inherent desire in us that longs for the beautiful. 

 And it’s a good longing. 

  (I just re-read this post from 2013 with quotes on beauty.)

Decorating and having beauty in my home is something

 I would say I certainly enjoy, but it’s not my 

priority in life or the in budget for that matter. 

I don’t follow lots of home and decorating blogs, although I 

could let myself get swallowed up in them – all the creativity and

 beauty appeals to me somewhere deep inside.

  Actually, there’s only one blog that I follow, and it’s called

 “Nesting Place – it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.  

What this lady named Myquillin says, makes sense to me.  

Her style is not perfect, and doesn’t have to be done immediately, 

but it has beauty in spite of that.

I agree with “The Nester”, that decorating with something big,

 and even bold, makes a great impact.

 (Read her thoughts here.)  

But what about those days (or weeks, or years) where all your energy

 has gone into cleaning up after a toddler?  

Or there’s not a cent extra in the budget for something “big”?

  Or your health prevents you from even dreaming up

 anything new and big because it’s entirely too overwhelming? 

That was me a few years ago with Lyme Disease. 

The effect of the disease on the brain is not pretty.

  But there were still sparks of creativity now and then. 

That’s when I put this little group of Cacti in our kitchen window. 

I could handle finding some bricks and a board

 and arranging some tiny pots of succulents.  

This window had been a disaster.

 The sill is well below the table that’s in front of it,

 and creates a sort of pit.  

A perfect pit for stuffing used bread bags and such into.  

Not good.  

It didn’t take a lot of effort or money 

(thanks to you dear friends who’ve shared plants with me!)

 to change things up, and I’ve been enjoying

 this collection ever since. 

 It’s a little spot for beauty.

The pottery vase was made by my father-in-law when he was in high school.  Very awesome! 

 So I’d encourage you, even if you aren’t able to accomplish 

something big right now, 

at least do something small.  

Make a little place for something new and beautiful.  

And then ENJOY it!

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him 

the name that is above every name, 

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father."

 Philippians 2:9-11

Bits and Pieces of Summer

This summer’s been unique.  But good.  Life goes on at a pace I can’t seem to keep up with, but I’m trying my best to grab hold of what is good and rejoice in the Giver! 

We started out by saying goodbye to our “daughter” of the past 3 ½ years.  It was bittersweet.  We miss her, but at the same time are so happy to see her choosing to help others by being a cook at the Fairplay Wilderness Boy’s camp in South Carolina.  We did some special things as a family before moving her south.  

 Ever have a zebra or ostrich’s head inside your car?  The Virginia Safari Park was quite an experience!  It’s a drive through zoo on 180 acres near Lexington, with over 1000 animals roaming “free” in a very happy environment.  They’re extremely friendly due to the fact that visitors can feed them right from their vehicles.  We all loved it!

The other big change was in our church building location.  Our church group, Koinonia Christian Church, is relatively small, and we’ve been renting a community center in downtown Charlottesville for about 3 ½ years.  We found out, with about two months of notice, that this building was being sold, and we wouldn’t be able to rent the place any more.  Well now there’s a challenge – in two month’s time find a place to hold at least a hundred people for services and space for seven Sunday school classes to include the kid’s ministry.  It needs to be in the city or very nearby so we can still bring the kids from town with the bus.  Oh, and there has to be a somewhat functional kitchen and place to feed all these people dinner.  Did I mention that we can’t afford a high price tag?   In Charlottesville that doesn’t work out so well!  We were praying!  And trusting the same God who has been working miracles since the beginning of time.  There was a peace. 

The gym where we met in town.

 And now for the story.  I get goose bumps sitting here typing this.  We had two Sundays left to use the community center building in town.  No leads for another location were working out at all.  One evening my husband Nathan got a voicemail message from a man named Bruce who’d been attending our church for the past few months.  Bruce said he may have a lead for a building.  

He was getting gas at Sam’s Club when he asked a random fellow customer about a sign on his car.  As they proceeded to have a conversation, the stranger mentioned a building just out of town that was owned by Christian Aid Mission.  It had recently been vacated by a church group who’d built a new facility.   The place was not in great shape, but it might be a possibility. Another random note:  this Christian Aid Mission president is our close neighbor and we already knew her.

Here are Bruce and our pastor, Robert, discussing things after Sunday dinner.

Delicious Sunday dinner.

Kids doing kid things on one of the last Sundays at the community center.

 Nathan got a tour of the possible new location and came home with the details -- we were beyond excited.  There was a large sanctuary area, a sound room, a nursery, plenty of Sunday school rooms and a commercial kitchen to boot!!!  Now, lest this all sound too glorious, let me mention that it’s an old building.  There have been no apparent renovations in at least 20 years.  Most of the A.C. units didn’t work.  The carpet was stained and filthy.  The place smelled from sitting empty.  Cleaning the place would be a HUGE task!

Hard at work in the very grimy kitchen.

You know you've got two great pastors when they're the ones installing a new toilet.

When we got the news that we could rent for at least one month at a very reasonable price, we were happy.  We were having our last service in the community center in just a few days!  Our work was cut out for us.  People came and scrubbed.  And scrubbed. And cleaned carpets.  And cleaned them again.  And fixed things.  And fixed more things.  Finally the place was looking (and smelling) better! 

We had our first service here on the sixth of July with hopes of staying at least a year.  It was a service of rejoicing and praising God!  He proves Himself again and again to work through ways we would not invent.  He is worthy of our trust and our praise and our very lives!

First service in the new building.

Learning how to run the range.  We are loving the large kitchen space where we are not so cramped!

Once again the summer and all of its activities has taken a toll on me.  Here’s one of my To Do lists for the day.  Only it’s a To Possibly Do list.  I’m learning not to overcommit and to be more flexible. Lately I’ve had more “bad” days than “good” days with my Lyme journey.  (Therefore you may have noticed a lack of blog posts here.  Creativity has waned, and energy is at a premium and is spent on other things!)  Taking meds and more meds and herbs and more herbs gets tiring.  Headaches, fatigue, and brain fog make a person slow down.  But there is humor even in that – asking your husband for yogurt when you mean lotion, telling your daughter that her elbow is dirty when you mean her chin – stuff like that.  The human brain is walking a thin line sometimes!  I actually think the Lyme and Babesia (or something similar) may be in remission though.   If you’d like more details, ask me.  I find the body, medicine, and disease details fascinating, but I realize that other people might not. ;)

Meet Susan and Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia.  Our girls attended a local VBS since our church didn’t have one with the building move and all.  They loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe theme, making new friends, and a dress up day at the finish!

I’m enjoying the garden more than ever.  

Going to the grocery store and completely bypassing

 the fruit and produce section is a great thing!

Cassia is working on no training wheels this summer.

  Thank you Grandpa, for catching her when she falls!

Take time to enjoy (and even notice) the little things. 

This Praying Mantis is having bumble bee for lunch.

  Tasty!!!

Happy Summer to all of you!!!  

And go find a freeze pop or two to share

 with someone you love!

“Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, 

because of your love and faithfulness.”

Psalm 115:1

Alive and Powerful

Twenty Christmases ago I received my first “grown up” Bible.  A lot has happened in those twenty years.  And this little Bible has been there in all of it.  As a young teen, not understanding a lot, but catching glimpses of how alive it is.  As an older teen, wanting so much to find direction for my future.  Through the pain of hard times in relationships.  Through a miscarriage and the beginning of the next frightening pregnancy.  In the midst of intense hurt in a struggling church.  And even now still journeying through Lyme disease.  

 There are verses that are connected in my mind to these certain times of life.  These verses are God’s personal promises to me and I hold them dear!  Many of them are marked, and when I page through my Bible I see them and am reminded of God’s everlasting faithfulness.  Twice I’ve gotten a new Bible, but I always come back to this little green one with my history.  Back to these pages that have felt my tears of guilt, pain, and joy.

In the beginning its cover was dark blue.  When the cover got worn and was tearing, I covered it with piece of green leather cut from a thrift store skirt.  It has been green now for about half its life.  When all the pages came loose in one big chunk, I replaced the fabric at the spine and glued it back together. 

 This Bible has been packed into my gigantic green army bag on lots of canoeing trips, skiing trips, and has spent a summer in Northwestern Ontario in the bush and on Indian reservations.  Mostly though, it has just been on the little table beside my bed or rocking chair.

This Bible has had comfort in my most painful moments, hope when everything seems hopeless, and promise when everything seems so dark.  Mostly though, it has just been constant.  Constant through normal life.  Through the ordinary days. 

These Words of God are True and Alive.  Some days I feel this more than others.  Some days I don’t even pick it up and read.  But no matter where I am or what I am doing, the Author, the Living Word is there, unchanging.  Full of love and redemption, truth and power.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. 

It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit,

 between joint and marrow.

 It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Hebrews 4:12

Just Summer

It’s summer.  When my weeks fly by like days. 

When we spend more time with family and friends. 

When hours and hours are spent outside. 

Hours in the garden, hours in any sort of water that might be available,

hours having picnics and swatting mosquitoes. 

And my housework makes a serious decline. (It’s really bad!)

Maybe I don’t need to explain why I haven’t posted here in two weeks?!

I’m throwing some random pictures in here of life.

 Just little bits of the last couple of weeks of our summer.

 It’s been good.

 Picking yummy peaches.

  Girl fun with friends on a waterslide I found for six bucks at Family Dollar.

I’m enjoying the Garden so much this year! 

Last year when Lyme had me down I was barely able to keep up with life,

and anything I did took so much effort – this summer

I’m thoroughly enjoying having more energy!

Okra on the stalk.

 Green beans – the Whole Long Row.

 We got to spend time with a brother from Liberia, Africa. 

(Here he's helping to do beans at my in-laws.) 

God is real and God is good!  

His story of miracles in escaping his country during

The brutal civil war in the 90’s is amazing. 

 Now he has opportunity to live here in the USA,

but chooses instead to serve suffering people in Africa.  

It was a privilege just to hear him

preach on Sunday morning at our church talking about 

hindrances to true Christianity. 

He’s for real!

 My man driving the family to church on Sunday morning.

The girls and their cousin pulled all the carrots in the garden and 

got a whole five gallon bucket full.  

Washing carrots equals more water fun!

This week is Vacation Bible School in the city of Charlottesville. 

This is my girls class.

 Blackberries!!!  

My father-in-law’s plants have been yielding 3 ½ to five gallons every other day! 

So huge and delicious, and they come without thorns. J

 This little nest we found tucked in the blackberry row.

  

Another trip to Lexington to see my Lyme Dr.  

So glad for a car that gets great fuel milage! ;)

 I’m on yet another different antibiotic – I’ve been on antibiotics

 for over eight months now. 

It’s hard to believe.

 I feel like we are getting somewhere even though I still have some bad days!

My girls and I spent two days and one night canoeing the Rapidan River

with my four sisters-in-law (they are the best ever!), Sheralyn, and my two nieces!

 This was the first time overnighting on the river for the kids and they loved it!

Our Sleeping quarters. 

photo credit: Bethany

 Morning hot chocolate.

photo credit: Bethany

Supper – Sooo delicious!

photo credit: Bethany

The dam and mill on the river in my hometown of Rapidan.

photo credit: Bethany

"Exalt the LORD our God; 

worship at his footstool! 

Holy is he!"

Psalms 99:5