Beauty of new life

Once upon a time I knew these sweet little girls. Time passed and I don't know what happened, but...they grew up! Still sweet as can be, but not so little anymore. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the baptism of my cousins Anne Elisabeth and Allison. It was so special to be there with them and see the public commitment of their heart's desire to always and only belong to God. Happy new birthday, girls!

Fly at your own risk

I was on the way back from Florida and thankfully it was a direct flight, but the flight was completely full and I got stuck next to two large men and no way to get out. The guy next to me was taking up more than his share of the seat and snored loudly the whole way. The child behind me kept kicking my seat and jerking me out of my squashed stupor, to which the parents apologized, embarrassed. Half-way through the flight I felt something tinkling down on my shoes...I was happy to discover it was only multi-colored cereal that was now getting crushed into the bold blue carpet.
As we were landing, I gazed fondly out at a city I now call home. At least I had a window.

Sand and Sun

After the week of meetings, I stole away to the quaint city of Sarasota, Florida to see my beautiful friend Cheryl. Her brother and sister-in-law were also visiting, so we shared her. We went to the beach, went kayaking, and to a lovely restaurant in the heart of this adorable town. Some say it was February...I wasn't convinced.

walk around the lake

So, I was in Orlando for these meetings and we were given an hour in the middle of the day for lunch. I didn't much care about lunch, I just wanted to be outside...to walk around and enjoy the sunshine that I hadn't seen in a great while. One day I decided to walk around the "lake" behind the hotel where the meetings were. I was there to enjoy the day and take pictures of whatever captured my fancy. I passed several homeless people and all I wanted to do was sit and talk to them...so I did. I sat down introduced myself and asked about their situation. Rick was content to just roll his cigarettes and read his book, I wished I had a great book to leave with him. John was more inclined to conversation and told me all about his recent job loss and current circumstances. He told me that they charged $1 for each night he stayed at the homeless shelter and sometimes he couldn't manage the dollar, so he had to sleep outside. I looked down at my shoes and rekoned that they likely cost more than all his worldly possessions that were now reduced to a bright blue bin at his feet. I asked if I could pray with him and he probably thought I was crazy, but he agreed. I then asked if I could contribute to his housing fund and he said he would be greatly blessed. I suppose I am a little crazy; I talk to strangers on the street and have been known to pick up hitch hikers. Maybe I am a little too trusting, but this is the very thing that gets me places others cannot go. And gives me a duty to do what I can. I looked around and saw so many fancy vehicles and a doggy day-spa, and yet all around there were people hungering to be seen. I need to do more to live simply. Let me never get so busy that I stop seeing people.

Learning to Know Less

Three weeks ago I went to sunny Florida for some job training. The class was great, but I learned the most from my classmates. Many of them had years of rich experiences and so much to share. I was the only person there in my decade, but even though I was clearly the youngest and newest on the job, they didn't act like they knew any more than I did. Like me, they were just there to learn. I was grateful for their humility and encouragement and now I have a community of people to bounce ideas off of and share with. I am thankful for all of these wonderful people.

In everything, God is pointing out spiritual lessons for me. When it comes to our relationship with God we are all at the same place, we are all here to learn and as much as we may have experienced, it pales in comparison to who God is and what He has to teach us. May I be more like this.

partridge day

Little sister is finally coming home; this makes me very happy :)

more

Luke is communicating so much more and is so fun to be with. He now understands what I am saying to him and responds. He loves to be read to and will pull a book off the shelf and climb in my lap for a good story. This week I took him for a walk to the park and he had fun walking over all the bridges and sliding down the slide. I then put him in the baby swing; while I pushed him, I sang him scripture songs. At one point I stopped singing and he looked at me and put his hands together to form the word "more" in baby sign language and said "mo" in a deliberate little voice. I smiled.

When we got home it was time for his nap, so I put him in his crib and ran my fingers through his hair while I continued to sing. He closed his eyes and I lifted my hand. Immediately he opened his eyes and without saying a word, picked up my hand and pulled it back to stroke his hair. Sometimes words are not necessary.

Being with Luke that day I heard the word "mo" a lot. It reminded me of the song by Michael W. Smith that says: More love, more power, more of You in my life.

We were created to desire more love and more of God in our lives, more of His saving grace and power. There is a God-shaped hunger in us that we try to satisfy with all manner of other things. I am hungry to know God more.

a few of my favorite things...

• knee socks
• books
• pillows
• pictures
• Handel’s Messiah
• babies
• bold colors
• handwritten letters
• flowers
• gelato
• snow
• twinkle lights
• travel
• running
• laughter
• sunshine
• bare feet
• writing
• learning
• capturing the images in my head
• honesty
• cooking
• art
• stars
• water
  
• fuzzy sweaters
• big words
• paper
• rain
• learning
• loon calls
• the ocean
• family
• fall
  
• lightning storms
• misty mornings
• berries
• wide open spaces
• sunflowers

Birthday Mom

10 days ago it was my beautiful Mum's birthday. The first birthday I can recall that was just hers. Adri made her famous carrot cake and it was beautifully trimmed with delicious crimson raspberries. Happy birthday Mom! We will continue the celebration with Elissa in a few weeks.

Howe Retreat

A couple weeks ago my parents were out of town and my sister, Adriana, and I thought it would be fun to stay over with our Uncle Tim and Aunt Lyn and be their kids for the weekend. We made a guest appearance at the wellness seminar, sang carols around the piano and were welcomed with warm hospitality. Uncle Tim built a fire for us in a cozy cabin and we snuggled down in the most comfortable bed ever. Sunday, Uncle Tim showed us some of the art of basket making, but only on a very basic level (he had already cut the tree and made the splits with a knife of his own crafting.) We were grateful to glean from the master; the weekend went by far too quickly.