Anne Needs Your Prayers!!!

Due to continued swelling and severe pain, Anne is on her way to have emergency surgery tonight. (This is the surgery which was originally scheduled for Monday.) The goal will be to remove as much of the new growth as possible as well as all dead tissue (portions of the tumor which chemo and radiation have already killed) without damaging surrounding healthy brain matter. This will eliminate a great deal of pressure on her brain, which should give her back some of the basic functions she has lost recently and also provide a cleaner, more direct path for the meds to do their work post-surgery. 

Her husband Jeff is with her. Her son Mark is flying in tomorrow, and her daughter Ally and son-in-law Nick are flying in on Wednesday.

We beg for your prayers for this entire family.

The Good List 10-16-13

10. Macy and Grace have developed a new language in which they use little more than Brian Regan quips, quotes from Sam and Cat, and things Jared and I have said that they find funny (usually in a completely different context than what we intended.) They can carry on entire conversations this way. Not gonna lie. It's pretty impressive.
9. The very "Thanksgivingish" turkey dinner I made last night, which reminded me to be thankful on a day that I was really having to work at it. 
8. Pretty amazing sunrise this morning. New mercies.

7. Watching people create art in pretty much any form. Painting, sculpting, composing, whatever. I can't even describe what it does to my heart. If I were a therapist, I would assign this activity to all of my patients. So healing and calming and inspiring.
6. When Jared makes me dinner. I love to cook and never mind doing so, but there's something sweet and special about a meal prepared by my man.
5. My Gospel Transformation Bible. Genuine leather, no less! (Jared got 2 comp copies for his contribution, one hard copy, one leather. He gave me the leather one! Feeling spoiled. ;-)

4. Gracie has her first flute lesson today. She's SO excited!
3. Sadly, Jared has officiated enough funerals since we moved to Vermont that I stopped counting. BUT this weekend, he will officiate his first wedding here in Vermont, and INDEED, this is worthy of celebration! So grateful for Chris and Rachel and the gift they are to our family, our church, and our community!
2. What is the female equivalent to the Paul/Timothy relationship? Whatever it is, I'm grateful for so many of them in my life. Sometimes I get to be Paul, but most of the time, I'm still Timothy, and the Pauls in my life are some of the most caring, wise, gracious, lovely women I've ever met. Precious to me. So grateful.
1. The resounding, lavish, gleaming kindness of God in the midst of difficulty. Over and over again these last few months, waves of grace and mercy crash into me and press me to my Rock. (I LOVE that word picture from my friend Lore!) He is everything.

Lord, Hear Our Groanings!

Will you please join me in fervent prayer for my friend Anne? An MRI yesterday indicated growth in her tumor, so much so that it is now reaching into her right frontal lobe (it originated in the left) and interrupting many of her most basic functions. Doctors have decided to discontinue all treatments immediately and perform surgery again as soon as they can in order to remove as much of the growth as possible. No details on that just yet.

I'm all out of words, but I'm grateful that God doesn't need them to hear the desperate cries of my heart.

A PSA and Some FAQs

Just a little warning for my fellow 802ers (or any of the rest of you who might travel into this area any time soon.) It has been a rough several months around here. God has been amazing, so hear me say that loud and clear, but it's a difficult season for our church and more specifically, our family. Lots of scattering. Lots of rushing. Lots of time apart and/or time in such constant activity that "together" doesn't feel so together. And so--I keep promising Macy and Grace that rest will come. I'm honest enough to tell them I'm not sure when, but I'm confident it will come. 

GET THIS. They approached me a few days ago and asked if we could put up our Christmas decorations early. (My girls!!!) Macy said, "The lights make us all so happy. Why not?" And Grace said, "I feel like we snuggle more when the Christmas lights are up." WELL. That pretty much settles that. So fair warning: There's a pretty good chance you'll see some twinkling lights through our windows toward the end of October.

Here are some FAQs we always seem to hear once the lights go up, so I'll save you some time:

Is there something wrong with you?

~Oh, for sure! But the Christmas lights help calm the voices in our heads, so we're really doing you a favor by putting them up early.

Is this some kind of protest against Halloween?

~Nope. Not at all. In fact, I'm in search of the perfect silly costume for Jared to wear on the green as the little munchkins walk over to the church from school later this month.

Do you hate Thanksgiving? Why skip it?

~No. Actually, it's one of our favorite days of the year. And we're not skipping it. We'll just enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner in the glow of candlelight and Christmas lights.

Isn't this a waste of energy?

~Can't say I've done a study of kilowatt usage, but we tend to use our Christmas lights and candles *instead of* rather than in addition to our main lights, so I'm thinking it's pretty much a wash if not a savings. (We don't get all Clark Griswold. Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Why is this so important to you?

~Two things. 1) My family (by which I mean blood relatives and brothers and sisters in Christ) is all spread out. I mean, ALL spread out. From coast to coast and even in other countries. But within my boxes of all things Christmas, there are precious reminders of so many of those people. Decorations they've given me as gifts, cards and pictures that keep us connected even though we may not have seen each other in person in years, etc. This is how I surround myself with friends and family as we lead into the holidays. 2) There is just something about the sights and smells of the lights and candles that encourage peace and calm and stillness in our house. Feels like we need that these days.

Isn't this annoying to your husband?

~Nope. In fact, we are trying to honor him with our decision. He hates the process, but he loves the finished look, so we are hoping to get everything done while he is out of town later this month. ;-)

Do you hate the people that are bothered by your decision to do this?

~Nope. Not at all. But may we respectfully suggest that perhaps you should find more important things to worry about? :-D

OK. I think that about covers it for now. Happy Fall! Happy Halloween! Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!

Things I Don't Regret

Disclaimer: I'm trying to put a positive spin on this, but you may also read between the lines that I very much regret the opposite of many things on this list, and sadly, I'm probably better at doing the opposites. (sigh) But I'm grateful for God's sanctifying work in my life, and by his grace, I'm hoping the "non-regrets" will become much more frequent occurrences.

~A good workout. To be clear, I can't say I'm always 100% motivated to begin with, but I never regret it afterwards.

~Forgiving.

~Holding a sleeping baby long after they "need" me to. 

~Staying up WAY too late (repeatedly) because I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend or sister that I didn't want to end.

~Tasting guacamole again a few years ago after a lifetime of thinking I didn't like it. (Totally addicted now.)

~Tucking my kids into bed at night. I do this literally every single night we're in the same house together. Sometimes several times a night. ;-) I wouldn't have it any other way.

~Stealing my sister's dog. I didn't even realize how much I loved that little dude until we "gave him back" for a couple days while we were away from home. Man, did I miss that little buddy! ;-)

~Listening more than I speak. And praying even more than I listen.

~Looking my children in the eyes when they are telling me their stories.

~Burning candles. (What is this weird thing we do with storing them in a closet or attic until they melt or break or lose their scent?) Light those bad boys! They are meant to be enjoyed.

~Stargazing. Especially under the Vermont sky.

~Planning surprises or giving spontaneous "just because" gifts. I LOVE seeing people react to such things.

~Forging what I feared would be difficult relationships only to learn they would become some of my favorite friendships. Isn't it just like God to do that for me?

~Putting up my Christmas tree way too early so my family can snuggle in the glow of the twinkly lights. (Hush. You do you.)

~Saying "I love you" to people I love.

~Moving to Vermont against all common sense arguments. Some of them were very smart arguments, but sometimes the way of Christ doesn't seem very smart to the world.

~Giggling to the point of tears.

~Singing in worship loud and strong with complete surrender and abandon.

~Lingering dinner parties. I'm pretty sure my heart is fullest when my home is filled with people I love talking, laughing, and sharing a meal together for hours.

~Planting a vegetable garden. I didn't have time even to consider it this year, but I never regret it when I do.

~Hurrying to the bathroom door when Grace gets up in the middle of the night so that as soon as she opens it, I'm standing right there to pick her up and carry her back to bed. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this (she's almost as tall as me), but I refuse to stop until I'm physically unable to make it happen anymore.

~Adopting our Compassion child, Lorena. We've had her for 11 years now. 

~Preserving memories. I'm pretty addicted to the whole photography/memory book situation (it's a little bit of a sickness), but when I look back at those moments, I never regret having taken the time to collect them. It's especially sweet to "happen upon" one of my girls sitting on the couch with one of my scrapbooks in her lap and a huge smile on her face. These are my love letters to them. Awesome.

~Digging into Scripture.

~Holding hands with my man while we walk. My sister makes fun of me and says this is an activity for 12-year-olds. Maybe so. I still don't regret it. ;-)

~Making super special after school treats for my sweet girls so I can watch their eyes light up when they get home.

~Giving grace. Also receiving it, which is sometimes even more difficult, but always well worth the awkward discomfort.

~Calling my parents or one of my sisters.

~Walking away from a house full of dirty dishes and laundry and a million other things that "needed to be done" so that I could look into a friend's eyes one last time before he left this earth.

~Time spent in prayer.

~Saying "YES" to Jared.

~Every single moment of walking with Christ.

The Good List 10-9-13

10. Black olive tapenade. A cracker's best friend. YUM!

9. Ginormous willow trees. There is something so sweet and gentle and inviting about them. And a little bit whimsical. Kinda like the Granddad of trees.

8. Rest. Which, in my opinion, is terribly underrated these days.
7. Macy's classes end at 2:14. Grace attends Young Scholars on Thursdays, which ends at 3:00. The distance between Macy's school and Grace's YS school requires a 45 minute drive. This is some very important math, especially when Jared is out of town. ;) Thankful.
6. Right now it's 39 degrees and brilliantly sunny at my house. In other words, the perfect fall day. (For those who know my cold-natured self, you probably think I'm crazy for enjoying 39 degrees. To that, I have to tell you that I don't know how it works, but somehow that temperature feels different here. It's certainly crisp, but it doesn't feel cold, especially when the sun is blazing. I don't know if I'm getting acclimated or if there is a perfectly logical scientific reason for this, but just thought you should know. ;-) Carry on then.)
5. The Vermont night sky. It's that special kind of dark that makes every star an exquisite display of glory.
4. We finally got some hard copies of Otherworld in the mail last week. So much fun!

3. Gracie's new adventure. She has decided to try her hand at the flute. Excited to see what happens! 

2. Macy has her first Vivace chorus performance at her school tonight. A sweet night of music is always welcome.
1. This is one of the best moments of joy I think I've ever seen. Beautiful Arabella. Daughter of our friends Heather and Joel. Gorgeousness.

The Good List 10-2-13

10. Yesterday my driver's side front window decided it was all done rolling back up. So I drove around with an open window and wild woman hair on a perfectly clear, gorgeous sunny day until we could deliver the car to our mechanic. Today the window is being fixed while it rains. Sometimes "good timing" is a really big blessing. ;-)
9. October. I love this month. Fall colors. Crisp air. The fun and sweet anticipation of upcoming holidays. Coffee and hot chocolate. Soups and stews and chili. Boots. Scarves. Hoodies. Fire pits. Snuggles. Good stuff.
8. This CD has been such a heart boost for me recently. So good.

7. I have a date with my friend Andrea to go photograph the fall foliage next week. Good times. Good times.
6. Our "calm before (and after) the storm" weekend that Jared had the forethought to plan for this weekend. Life has been a little nuts, and his schedule is about to get crazy with travel and other engagements, so he planned a little getaway to love on his family before all the separation begins. Desperately looking forward to it.
5. That this is our back yard. I hope I never get over it.

4. Celebrating back-to-back birthdays with my crazy little nephews last weekend. (Jack on Saturday, Ty on Sunday) They're growing up WAY too fast, but I'm so glad they're doing it right down the road from me these days instead of a world away in Texas.

3. Being married to someone who is so good at making me laugh. What a gift. It's fun every day, but it's especially special on the difficult days.
2. Ladies' Bible Study is back! Water to my thirsty soul. We're studying the life of John this time. Eager to dig into the word and fellowship with these special ladies.
1. Seeing this on facebook this morning from one of our most treasured friends in all the world. Made me cry.