Seeking Him

More Harry Potter Fun

You scored as Hermione Granger, You're one intelligent witch, but you have a hard time believing it and require constant reassurance. You are a very supportive friend who would do anything and everything to help her friends out. Hermione Granger 85% Albus Dumbledore 80% Draco Malfoy 75% Remus Lupin 70% Ron Weasley 60% Sirius Black 55% Harry Potter 50% Severus Snape 35% Ginny Weasley 30% Lord Voldemort 25% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

Deep in Wizard World

4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon  Took possession of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

7:00 p.m.  Tuesday evening   Reluctantly finished the book.  It was AWESOME!!!

In between, I think I participated in feeding my family once or twice, spent $200 at Walmart buying mission trip supplies and did 4 loads of laundry.  Other than that, I pretty much sat in the green chair in my family room with a book and frequently, a dog in my lap.  Now that the book is finished, I guess I better go fold all that laundry!

In my opinion, being truly and deeply immersed in a great book is a little slice of heaven.  It reminded me of summers when I was a little girl and my mom would wander by me occasionally and say "why don't you put that book down for a while and go play?"  I would generally say "one more chapter" or "5 more minutes" and crawl back within the pages of my story.  I love that I have the freedom right now in my life to take a day off to do nothing but read.  Bless my sweet husband!  Usually I feel too guilty to read all day while my husband works hard for a living, but we only have 2 books and 4 people who want to read it!  I think it was a selfless act on my part to get that book read so that I can pass it on, don't you?  :-)

I wish I could discuss the book more fully, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else.  Suffice it to say, it was all I hoped it would be.  A great end to a great series!  I look forward to re-reading the whole series from the first to the last book.  I am grateful that my kids love to read as much as we do...what a fun thing for us to share.  My first-born, the only other one to have finished the book in our house, thinks we should have a Book Club when we are all finished with the book.  I can't wait!

Harry Potter has arrived!

Here is a picture of our house for the last couple of days; since Saturday mid-day to be precise.

We discovered after HP5, that we needed more than 1 book...mom and dad had to wait too long for their turn!  With HP6 and now with HP7, we pre-ordered 2 books from Amazon and then sat by the door all day waiting.  I was in the backyard, petting my flowers, when the mail came on Saturday.  This is what I found when I came inside.

Here is what happened to the rest of the mail that day:

  What fun!  There is nothing like opening a new book that you KNOW is going to be fantastic.  The girls have been reading non-stop since Saturday, with only occasional breaks.  The big one is taking less breaks, so I think she will probably finish it today.  I will be standing over her shoulder ready to grab it the minute she finishes!  In fact, yesterday I told my little one to go read when I saw her taking a break...."hurry up, finish that book!"  Now, if I can just keep them from telling me how it ends before I get my hands on it!

Summer Update

We have been away from home a lot this summer and still have a couple of trips to go.  So far, all of our trips have involved extended family or our church family.  What a blessing to take time out from our busy year round schedule to spend time with people we love!  We have been to Texas to see the grandparents and Steve's siblings (this picture is the girls with their cousins on their dad's side,) first born has been to camp with her church family and we have been to the beach with all of my side of the family.  This last trip was quite an adventure as we had 27 of us in two houses at the beach; 14 adults and 13 children, my girls the oldest. 

Here are a couple  of pictures from the last trip:

Aren't we adorable in our khaki and white?

We went to North Topsail Island, NC and we had a great time.  Most of them traveled from Texas.  While we were there, we celebrated my sister's 40th birthday....finally, someone joined me in the fabulous forties!  It was great to have lots of extended time to catch up with everyone and to get to know my cousins better as adults.  As I have said here before, my sister and brother and their spouses, along with my mom and dad, are all people with whom I would want to spend vacations even if I wasn't related to them.  Having my aunt, uncle, cousins and their families made it even more special.  It was truly a vacation that I will remember forever.  Perfect in every way.

I have spoken here before about my feelings about the beach (and more specifically here.)  It is my favorite place on earth and usually I try to get lots of quiet time to soak in the power that the salt air and the sound of the waves invoke in me.  Because I was there with so many people that I love...people with whom I never get enough time...I was reluctant to take that time alone.  I felt torn between my desire to walk with God on the beach and my pull towards a few more moments with my precious ones.  In our house alone, we had 15 of my favorite people in the world! Because I mostly chose to be with my loved ones, I left the beach on this trip feeling like I had not quite harvested all that the sea had to offer me this time.  Luckily, we are going back to the beach in late August with a slightly smaller crowd.  Perhaps I will have the opportunity for a few more reflective moments.  Or perhaps I will again choose to cherish the moments with those whom I am blessed to share that beach house.  Or maybe I will do better at finding a balance between the two.  There is indeed a season for everything...

The next trip we are looking forward to is a mission trip to Colcord, WV in the next few weeks.  My two daughters and I will be joining 37 others from our church.  It will be my first mission trip since my own years in youth group.  In my 20s, I was too self-absorbed, in my 30s, too busy with little children.  While I am still self-absorbed and busy :-), now is definitely the time.  There is evidence that mission work is a great cure for self-absorption and busyness...I hear our cell phones won't work there! I am excited about sharing this experience with my girls and I know it will be a special time of connecting with them and my church family, as well as the people we will be serving.  We were commissioned as missionaries being "sent out" this morning in church and, when many from our congregation laid hands on us to pray, tears filled my eyes.  It is a powerful experience to have someone lay hands on you and pray and it always makes me cry....hmmm, I wonder why that is?  A topic for further exploration perhaps.

This week, I want to talk more here about my thoughts about this upcoming mission trip.  I look forward to processing some thoughts "out loud" and getting your feedback.  In the meantime, I would ask that you pray for our team.  Pray for me and my girls; that God would prepare our hearts...make them servant hearts...as we work on packing our bags and work tools. 

And for those of you who have been complaining to me about my lack of blogging this summer, I promise to do better in the next few days!

Welcome Katie!!

My precious friend, Katie, who I love for many reasons...not the least of which that she loves my flowers and shares her flowers...has started a new blog.  It is, like her, fabulous!  Check it out at Watching the Flowers Grow.

Tender Heart

My first born is away at camp this week.  She went to this camp last year; her first time away from home for a whole week.  Because she was away for the first time last year, I started a tradition of writing her a note for each day she was gone with strict instructions NOT to open them all at once.  She LOVED it, so I did it again this year.  Because the week is meant to be all about her getting closer to God, I include different scripture verses in each note.  Her roommates from last year were amazed that one day, the scripture that I referenced was the same scripture that their speaker had mentioned.  Glory!  I love it when God shows off in tiny ways that are just for you!

Anyway, Sunday evening I had the pleasure of sitting, with my bible on my lap, searching for words to share with my precious one while she was away.  My words of love and encouragement and, more importantly, God's Words of love and encouragement.  As I flipped through the pages of my bible, I smiled at the many verses that I had underlined and the notes that I had written in the margins.  Yes, I do write in my bible...it is a history of my Father and I's journey together.  I picked several verses to share with my baby girl that I thought might bless her....sometimes I just went with the one that jumped out at me as I browsed. 

For some reason, I had trouble falling asleep later that night.  As I lay awake, I thought about my experience earlier that evening and expressed my gratitude to God for His Word found within the pages of that book.  I thought about how I am changed when I spend time in God's Word and I thought about the different reasons that I don't spend that time as often as I should.  How can I describe the way that I am different after time spent reading God's Word?  I guess the best word I can find is that I am more tender.  My heart...my spirit...is more tender, more porous, more open.  I am softer in spirit....less brittle.  More flexible, pliable, moldable.  Ready to notice God at work, ready to see His glory.  Open to His leading, quiet enough to hear His voice.

I don't really understand how it works that way and I know there are some days that I read the bible and it doesn't connect.  Some days, it just seems like an ancient history book.  But other times, I find God there in those pages and I am changed in subtle ways that I can only see looking backwards at my journey.  I guess my point is that I am learning that just showing up and opening this Book matters...even if I don't experience a "burning bush" moment everytime.  Some times a word or verse does jump out at me and I know God means it just for me.  Other times however, it is not the words themselves that tenderize my heart.  It is more a deep sense of realization...a KNOWING....that this same God, the God speaking to Abraham, Jacob, David and Peter, is with little me in the quiet of a sleepless night and is with my firstborn in the mountains of North Carolina.

I was listening, as I often do, to Nichole Nordeman while I was exercising today.  This song makes me cry everytime I hear it and I think speaks to both the bigness AND the smallness of my God.  The God that never changes, but continues to change me.

Small Enough

oh, great god, be small enough to hear me now
there were times when i was crying
from the dark of daniel's den
and i have asked you once or twice
if you would part the sea again
but tonight i do not need a fiery pillar in the sky
just wanna know you're gonna hold me if i start to cry
oh, great god, be small enough to hear me now

oh, great god, be close enough to feel you now
there have been moments when i could not
face goliath on my own
and how could i forget we've marched around
our share of jerichos
but i will not be setting out a fleece for you tonight
just wanna know that everything will be alright
oh great god, be close enough to feel you now

all praise and all honor be
to the god of ancient mysteries
whose every sign and wonder turn the pages of our history
but tonight my heart is heavy
and i cannot keep from whispering this prayer
"are you there?"

and i know you could leave writing on the wall
thats just for me
or send wisdom while i'm sleeping,
like in soloman's sweet dreams
but i don't need the strength of samson
or a chariot in the end
just want to know that you still know how many hairs
are on my head
oh great god, be small enough to hear me now

July Flowers and Friends

I have some thoughts for a new post brewing, but thought I would just post some garden pictures for tonight.  We are enjoying our summer and July is generally the peak month for my garden.  If you are a fellow flower or butterfly lover, click on the individual pictures for a larger version.  Enjoy!