Baby Flies Coop, Empties Nest

That was some moment...

giving our baby away.

Below are 5 wonders that filled one young girls dream for motherhood...

...which in turn developed into so much more

To come full circle and back where we started 32 years ago.

New Status:  Empty Nested
* oh boy *

Deeply Loved

I wear these cloth fibre bangles every day to remind me.

And I'm reading a book called Deeply Loved by Keri Wyatt Kent.

Through many recent conversations, I have discovered 

I am SO not alone with these fears and doubts of mine.  

Keri's book is subtitled 

"40 ways in 40 days to experience the heart of Jesus"...from page 2

Augustine asserted, "God loves each of us like an only child."

You may not believe that.  Or perhaps, you do believe it 

on an intellectual or theological level, but you don't feel it.

You have never, or perhaps only rarely, 

experienced that deep love.

But what if he was right?

******

This is my much needed Advent 'activity'.

Abram, an unbeliever??

If you have ever felt unworthy or unqualified to believe that God will fulfill great purposes in your life, please allow me to introduce you to Abram. What you may not know about him is that at the time of his dramatic call from the Lord, he is living in idolatry. Abram is not yet worshiping the one true God; he is following many "little g" gods along with the rest of his family (see Joshua 24:2). He does not know the Creator of the universe, who is about to unleash his power into his destiny. In short, when our story begins, Abram is an unbeliever.

ACK!  What are you saying?

Believing God | Today's Christian Woman

I was first drawn to this article because of something that has occupied my thoughts for most of the summer.  I've been sifting through the things I'll call core values or beliefs and attempting to measure my commitment to them.  Weird stuff...and disturbing too.
Like Occupy Washington, this is no welcome squatter of my personal space.

Let's cut to the chase here.
Perhaps what I have identified as core values or beliefs could more accurately be called ideals or ideas.  Some (of which I used to apply as the irrevocable Law of the Medes & Persians) have since become utterly irrelevant.
Ouch.
Age, circumstance and children have a way of bringing these things to bear.
My beloved and I knew we'd be growing up with our kids but the degree to which it would be necessary (!) is still so shocking.

Back to the article:
Abram wasn't singled out for this privilege because of his greatness.  On the contrary.
He got a new name, a new identity, and a newly assigned life when God called him into covenant.
Abrahams claim to fame according to Hebrews Hall of Faithers in chapter eleven, is not that he believed in God but that he believed God.

Do you understand the difference?

The song that pops to mind (and you just know there is ALWAYS a song) is Trust and Obey~
"for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey".
I've been singing this song since I was a toddler for crying out loud.   I should have stayed that age.
Developing into responsible adulthood too often becomes code for:  I've got it figured out.  I can do this myself.

And here's the other thing I have to keep learning over and over again:
STOP MAKING HEROES OUT OF BIBLE FIGURES and evaluating their performance as if it were something to be measured by.   They are merely examples of God reaching down into messy lives with a mercy and grace and love that defies understanding.

It isn't about them or you or me.
It's about GOD the Creator who made us, shapes us, calls us and carries us.  24/7 without exception.

I have just discovered the newest release of Sally Lloyd Jones:   Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing
If I told you it was for my grandkids, it'd be a half-truth.  No.  I buy them by the boxload;  to help me get back to basics, to wrap my head around simple bible truths and to stop COMPLICATING things!
Faith 101 if you will.
Hit the link and browse through this masterpiece with me.  It truly does make your heart sing and your eyes brim over at the reality of belonging to Him and becoming more and more aware of His never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.
Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing Video

The Bible:  HIS story (with divine fingerprints tracing all the others of the Bible) combined with Sally's gift of storytelling, brings home a beauty barring none.

How I spent August

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Fathers & Sons

This is son Joey.  He is a great uncle who is now also a daddy!

This compact little bundle pictured below, so cozy and warm within, sure took his time emerging from the womb.  

But emerge he did.  As it so invariably happens.  When it was his time.

Beckett Alexander is the newest man-child in the family.

A beautiful first born son to our second born son and his wife.

Friends and Family swarmed in, delighted to hear the details of this life-altering experience.

And life altering it is.

We are all changed again, in ways yet to be measured and defined.

I watch my beloved with this bundle and remember a time long ago (was it truly so long ago?)
In my minds eye, I see this staid and stoic man dancing around a delivery room with his own man-child in arms.
A feeling monumental stirs inside me but resists words.
Ppft! Hate it when that happens.

Little Beckett Alexander with the big hands and feet? ~ ~ It is a great privilege to welcome you to our world.  You are here with us according to a grand plan and purpose of God.

As grandmother, I am now supposedly old and wise enough to wait patiently for this to unfold.
If I default in my penchant of ploughing headlong, may it be in the area of prayer.
In the stillness and beauty of this summer morning reflection, I earnestly desire that it may be so.

The Meaning of Marriage Tim and Kathy Keller

A new book by Timothy and Kathy Keller subtitled:

Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God

First discovered at our favourite online spot of spiritual encouragement and refreshment: Haven Today with Charles Morris.

Check it out.  You will surely discover with us, a host of topics, speakers, music and resources that truly inspire a resting place (a haven!) in your daily routine.

Conversely, you may watch the Keller's promo video above and get it straight from the authors.

Based on a nine-week series of sermons on marriage and preached to a congregation of thousands, the majority of whom were single!  

It has since been the most listened to set of sermons ever produced by Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.

We live in a culture which is almost relentless in its attack against marriage and family as divinely instituted.  This shouldn't surprise us but it should make us forge our defense weapons with a bit more resolve and dare I say it, commitment?

The Newest Mr. & Mrs. in our family

Photo credits to Amy of Asher Images, family photographer extraordinaire.

Used without permission (sheepish grin)

Our baby girl is off on a honeymoon with her new husband.  Of course with her new husband.
"Honeymoon".
Why that term strikes me as strange now is interesting. 
I never thought about it twice when I ventured on my own, nor when we delighted in seeing four other married children embark on theirs.

Google defines it thus:
One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him. He shall be exempt for one year for the sake of his family, to bring joy to the wife he has married.”
Originally "honeymoon" simply described the period just after the wedding when things are at their sweetest; it is assumed to wane in a month. The earliest term for this in English was hony moone, which was recorded as early as 1546.


... a period of time when things are at their sweetest ~ assumed to wane in a month. 


Harrumph!


Not to worry.  Many marriage veterans including us, have and will continue to mentor our little newlyweds regarding this profound mystery as it has been called, to pray for them, walk the road with them, offer counsel when requested and perhaps otherwise :),  to enjoy this blessing with them and finally, get them reading  SACRED MARRIAGE.  
(a gem of a book/devotional we discovered only two years ago and heartily endorse to everyone regardless of where they show up on the marriage spectrum). 


We eagerly anticipate their return for a variety of reasons:

• to hear about the marvels of their meanderings of NYC ~ if it is  even possible to meander in such a place.
• to witness ones children establish a new family home of their own and finally...
• to have this infernal publication ban of their wedding photos lifted once and for all so that we might share the occasion with you!