The Good List 8-28-13

10. The combination of lemon and ginger. So delicious in so many recipes--cookies, drinks, soups, stir-fries. Sweet. Savory. Doesn't matter. Refreshing any which way.
9. Such a fun day last weekend strolling down memory lane in thrift stores and antique shops. Little reminders of my childhood everywhere I turned. I thought about my sisters all day long. (OH, and I found a Totally 80's trivia game for $2. SCORE!)

8. Gracie's latest art project. She even used glitter to make him have "sparkly eyes." :-D

7. Our Aldi is finally open! I'm so excited! I want all of the groceries! ALL OF THEM!
6. The Brothers K. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it, but it gripped me immediately and continues to captivate. I'm not sure I've ever read anything quite so endearing. (Thank you for the recommendation, Lore!)
5. Cooking all day when it's raining outside. One of my favorite kinds of days.

4. Having Macy serenade me on her keyboard while I cook. Perfect.

3. Friends who eagerly share their garden bounty. I took one look at our summer calendar a few months ago and realized there was no way I had time for a garden. :-/ But I'm so grateful for the fresh cherries, blueberries, corn, cucumbers, squash, zucchini and salsa we've enjoyed over the last few weeks. And I'm not too proud to say, "Please keep it coming, friends!" :-D
2. Macy and her BFF cousin Anna got to text and chat about their first days in middle school today. Anna is actually a year younger, but since middle school begins with 6th grade in Texas and 7th grade in Vermont, they get to go through this experience "together". Pretty cool.
1. A visit today with one of my favorite friends, Anne. She learned early yesterday morning that she has a rather large brain tumor behind her left eye. (Please note this is not the good part.) The *good news* is that it is operable, but because of where it is and how it is positioned, that is really about all they know about it at this point. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Won't you please pray with me that it is COMPLETELY AND UNQUESTIONABLY BENIGN and that the doctors are able to remove every single cell that is any threat whatsoever to healthy brain function. (Side note: Rather than perform a biopsy, which, as you can imagine, is extremely invasive when the brain is involved, they are going straight to surgery to remove as much of the mass as possible. This is due to the fact that even if it is benign, it is large enough to be causing pressure and damage to healthy surrounding brain tissue.) 

Anne, my friend, I am praying and praying and PRAYING for you! And I'm bringing hugs again soon!

Richard Has Cancer, but Christ Has Richard

This is our friend, Richard. More than anyone I can currently bring to mind, he lives like Psalm 31:15a ("My times are in your hand") is absolute truth. Richard has stage 4 inoperable brain cancer. A couple weeks ago, he got really bad news. His most recent MRI indicated growth in his tumor, apparently enough to cause his doctors to determine that none of his treatments are working and therefore to discontinue any further treatment. From a medical/scientific standpoint, he is out of options. His doctors have given him "a few months."

This is heartbreaking news. 

Richard has a beautiful family. A wife and 2 young children. From my earthly perspective, all I can think about is that his family needs him. His wife needs her husband. His kids need their Dad. For these reasons and so many others, I don't want him to die. No one who knows him wants that. We want to fellowship with him for years to come. We want to help him raise his children and delight in knowing he and his wife will celebrate many more anniversaries. Our church (and many others who know him) are begging God daily for a miracle. We have anointed him with oil. We have laid hands on him. We have prayed from our very guts (and continue to). We want to keep him.

More than that, though, we want God's will. Certainly we can hope that will include miraculous healing and pray for it ceaselessly, but in the midst of our pleadings, we must trust that God is sovereign and know that whatever he chooses to do with Richard's life is part of his perfect plan. Easier said than done, for sure.

But here's the thing: Of all the people involved in the life of this man and the difficult journey he's facing, he and his wife--the very ones who are suffering most acutely--are also the greatest reminders of the joy that can be found in Christ no matter the circumstances. They are one of the most radiant pictures of hope I've ever known personally, because their hope doesn't lie in what MRIs or doctors say. Their hope is fully bound up in Christ. Both of them would certainly admit they aren't looking forward to what they've been told to expect in the next few months, but they would just as quickly (and much more passionately) insist that they definitely ARE looking forward to the fact that regardless of what amount of time Richard remains here on earth, God has given him eternity with Christ. This is cause for celebration! 

Not only do Richard and Erin consistently testify to the fact that God is sovereign over their situation, even in their suffering, they know that He is also GOOD. When we are well, God is good. When we are sick, God is good. When we are happy, God is good. When we are sad, God is still good. 

As Erin says concerning Richard's final day on earth, "That will be the best day of his life!" Surely she is right, and yet, what miraculous strength it takes to truly *feel* this truth in the midst of her suffering.

Won't you join me in continuing to pray for this family? Pray for healing. Pray for strength. Pray that they will feel the presence of Christ in every moment of this journey, no matter what happens when.

What a gift to know and love this family. For as long as Richard lives on this earth, I will not stop praying for him, but I am so incredibly grateful for his and Erin's eternal security (and eternal life) in Christ!

This Temporary Mediocre Sunset

I am a glutton for sunsets. Particularly sunsets over the water. And if you can throw a mountain or two in there somewhere, yes indeed! Imagine my surprise when I realized about 2 years ago that the little lobster town in Maine we have adopted as our favorite vacation spot allows just such a vision. I didn't even know this was geographically possible, considering Maine's "east coast" position, but the coastline is just crazy and curvy and bay-ridden enough to offer this:

Just wow. Am I right? And certainly the picture does it no justice at all, so yeah. . . in person. . . seriously, WOW!

This happened last week on the very first evening of our time in Stonington. And there I stood. Taking it in. And wondering.  How *do* you effectively collect and embrace and ingest an experience like this? So brilliant and perfect and enormous and glorious and yet so fleeting.

My thoughts couldn't help but tumble into pondering the new heavens and new earth. How do we even begin to wrap our minds around this promise of all things new? NOT all new things, mind you, but all things new. All things glorious and completely devoid of anything born of sin. Will sunsets like these last forever and never become boring? Honestly, I'm sure this looks like a dull pencil drawing compared to what we'll see then. But what will it look like when Christ comes to restore this very view? 

Come to think of it, we won't even have a sun anymore. Christ will be our radiant light. !!!! Will colors we've never even imagined before glow forth from his very presence? Will they transcend our current senses? Will green be warm, blue be fragrant, pink be soft, white sound like harmony? Will all of our senses be perfectly engaged in the most enjoyable experiences at every moment? How will that work? We know it won't be boring, so will those experiences change, or will our less distracted minds be eternally thrilled with the same smell and same sights and same sounds all the time? Or will we somehow experience ALL of our favorite things simultaneously but still individually? Just what will our glorified bodies be capable of?

Try as I might, I can't begin to wrap my mind around such things. 

But this I know. These heavens--the ones displaying the temporarily dazzling hues in this picture--spoke straight to my heart of the glory of my Creator. This vision was brief, but it *was* glorious to my still merely human senses. And as Pastor Ray Ortlund commented, this was easy for God. So easy. If that's true, what will we have to look forward to? What is he "saving" for us to experience eternally in his presence?

Are y'all tracking with me here? Are you giddy with anticipation as to what lies ahead? Does your "best day ever" cause you to wonder what that day might look like when this earth is fully restored and filled with his glory?

I've been daydreaming about this quite a bit lately.

And even on my best day, I can't even imagine. But also: I CAN'T WAIT! Come, Lord Jesus! Come!

The Good List 8-7-13

10. Macy's on a cleaning kick. Let's just say it's not bothering me. ;-)
9. The chorizo cooking in my kitchen right now, causing deliciousness to waft throughout my house. YUM.
8. A thunderstorm at the end of a fun and busy day.
7. Sarah's Key, a book that was recommended to me by lots of friends for my upcoming vacation. I decided it sounded a little too sad to bring on vacation, so I read it on the plane last weekend instead. A heart-breaking, beautiful, haunting story indeed.
6. Totally diggin' these fallish temperatures and breezes lately. Not mad about it at all.
5. Fresh corn from our friends, The Carpenters. I roasted it earlier this week, and it was scrumptious with just the tiniest sprinkle of sea salt. So sweet, it didn't even need butter.
4. The inflatable water park at Camp Windemere. I have been giggling about this memory all week long:

3. The following line from Pastor Jason's introduction of Jared at Family Camp last weekend:

I love that.

2. The opportunity for Macy and Grace to travel with us last weekend. I'm so grateful to Pastor Jason for inviting us to join Jared for this event. Macy and Grace know why Dad travels so much, but I think it was really helpful for them to actually see him "at work" on this trip, loving on people and speaking about the Gospel all weekend long. He doesn't leave us to do unimportant things. I'm glad they got to see that.
1. God keeps giving us new friends across the globe. Every time we travel, I'm blown away by the people we get to meet and partner with and learn from. (And yes, I know that isn't exactly a grammatically perfect sentence, but it would sound super pretentious and weird to say "with whom we get to partner" and "from whom we get to learn", don't you think? ;-)) 

Some Anniversaries are Better than Others

Last night I reminded Macy and Grace that today is the 4-year anniversary of when they moved to Vermont. Without a split second's hesitation, Grace matter-of-factly replied, "Yeah, I don't really like that one. I like the one when you moved and we were all together again." 

Simple as that. I had no argument, and she didn't feel the need to expound any further, so that was that. ;-)

And so, along with Grace, I celebrate a bit more robustly the April anniversary that brought me to Vermont to be permanently reunited with my family. But perhaps with slightly more clarity than she cares to pursue, I see God's hand in every step of the journey that brought us here. Fragmented at first, but not without purpose. And while I hope never to repeat some aspects of that experience, I'm grateful for what God did and continues to do in and through our family, even during the difficult times.

Thanking God today for milestones and the way they speak to me. Even the ones that aren't necessarily my favorite.

The Good List 7-31-13

10. The Albany, NY airport for being one of the few who still provides free wifi. Thanks, Albany! 
9. Good warranties when you need them. It's always slightly frustrating to spend that extra $20 or $40 bucks knowing you probably won't need it, but when you DO have to use it, doesn't it always feel well worth the money?
8. Starbucks in my hand for the first time in months. Always a nice little treat.
7. My favorite way to enjoy homemade guacamole without consuming so many chips I completely negate the health benefits of the avocado. ;-)

6. Grace's very efficient packing skills. This is a small, carry-on sized suitcase, and this is the amount of space she used to pack clothes for 5 days (some of which require 2 outfits plus a swimsuit). Very efficient indeed. :-D

5. Social media. I totally get all of the negative vibes about it, and certainly it can be terribly misused, but when you need to reach lots of people quickly who are spread all across the world (like for instance for help with out of state adoption details), it is a priceless resource.
4. Last weekend we got to spend time with the Rahns, the Sathianathans, and Elder Dale and Mrs. Elder Dale. Wonderful, special people that we love more with each interaction. So grateful for their friendship.

3. We are leaving today for a family camp where Jared will be the guest speaker. So grateful that our entire family gets to enjoy this opportunity together.
2. An adoption is underway even as I type. Friends here in Vermont are on their way to Arkansas to adopt their first child. Amazing in itself, and gorgeous to see how the body of Christ came together to provide for them. (Although they've been preparing for a long time, the final details of the adoption were incredibly last minute due to the birth mother's quick decision.) Huge prayers today and ongoing for Gabe and Amanda and the baby boy they are hoping to bring home to Vermont after a couple weeks in Arkansas. Also, let's remember to pray for the birth mother and any others in her life who will be affected by this beautiful sacrifice.
1. On Sunday, our church welcomed 9 new members and celebrated 5 baptisms. And then a former member of our church, John Blanch, who pastors his own church now, baptized several as well. Sad that I had to miss it to be home with a sick kiddo, but what an amazing day!

An Open Letter to (Some) Introverts

I'm not sure what has caused the recent outcry from introverts across the world, but I am seeing multiple posts every single week--almost daily--from many who seem very unhappy with pretty much all extroverts. Some of it is quite caustic.

It's confusing to me, most significantly in the way it lumps all extroverts into the same category of those who would lump all introverts into the same category (which, of course, is pointed out as wrong, because it IS wrong, but it's wrong on both sides of the argument).

Most of them are annoyed by how they are categorized as anti-social or dysfunctional in some way since "normal society" demands that you behave as an extrovert to have any level of success in life. First, I think that's an unfair assessment. I could list hundreds of highly successful introverts who I don't believe would feel violated in their introversion (just from my personal list of friends and family). Did they get a little more tired in their efforts to meet with people and communicate in whatever ways were necessary to achieve success? Probably. But they're not angry about it. That would be no more justified than extroverts who have to be alone from time to time getting angry at everyone who isn't sitting right next to them and cheering them on.

Extroverts are not your enemy. At least, not all extroverts. And just like you don't like being lumped into whatever category you assume we all put you in (anti-social, loner, dysfunctional, etc.), we don't appreciate being viewed as obnoxious, in-your-face, over-the-top, pushy, etc. Is it fair to say we're not all like that just because we're extroverts? Just like you, God designed us the way he designed us. We didn't ask for our unique personalities any more than you did. We were born with it. But some many of us know how to be respectful of introverts. (I'm married to one!) Just keep in mind that there is no blinking light above your head indicating that you are one, so if we happen to speak to you, it isn't meant as an attack. We just didn't know. For most of us, if you give us a sign that you aren't interested in talking, we'll back off. But that doesn't mean a friendly hello or a necessary interaction for the purpose of accomplishing something that requires communication makes us evil.

I'm certain there are plenty of incredibly annoying, even hateful extroverts in the world, but let's not make their extroversion the crime. There are introverts who hide in their mother's basement and prey on children. That doesn't make you one of them. 

On behalf of extroverts everywhere, I apologize if you have been mistreated, but may I humbly suggest that your experience may have had much less to do with introversion/extroversion and much more to do with someone maybe just being a jerk? And just for the sake of argument, may I add that some of the most vile and painful words I've ever had directed at me have come from introverts who like to sit alone and attack people through their keyboards? But I know that doesn't mean you're all like them. Let's not dismiss entire categories of people from our lives based on assumption. God made us different on purpose. I don't know why--maybe just to give us more opportunities to practice grace. Just a thought.