Merry Christmas from Florida

Snowman in the Sarasota beach.

From left to right: Christie, Sara, me, Mom (Roxy), Peter, Dad (Orin)

Mom loved the picture coasters Sara made for her.

Homeschool reunion Christmas masquerade party (wow, how many adjectives did I need to use to describe the party?)

The end of the Macy's Light Show:


A snippet of the Comcast Christmas Show:

Christmastime in Philly

Friday night brought a dozen girlfriends over to make earring holders from picture frames. This is Hannah and me with some of our frames. It was a great night of AMAZING food, a variety of Christmas music (everyone brought a CD) and most of us walked away with some Christmas gifts.


Shelly and I headed downtown Saturday morning to see the Macy's light show and the Charles Dickens village. We also did a little Christmas shopping. Shelly needed to run home for family events and so I went around downtown by myself. I love being downtown by myself. A friend told me of the new Comcast Christmas Show and so I checked it out. Wow. I'll try to figure out how to post some of the videos of the show.

Thanksgiving in Washington DC

• Amazing food. Some of it was nontraditional or at least very different from what I'm used to.
• Shopping on Black Friday. Becca is the only person I could shop with on that day. The crowds aren't as bad when we're laughing, trying on clothes and eating along the way.
  
• Dancing the night away with girls at an Irish Pub.
  
• President Bush flew over the highway as we drove into the district. Becca told me that you know that it's the President when there are three helicopters in the air. He has two decoys, everyone else has one decoy.
  
• Thanksgiving photos
  

A friend of mine sent me an email this week reminding me of good things about Winter. I was so thankful to read the list she has about her love for Winter. Be encouraged:

-getting to wear scarves (I love scarves!)
-drinking hot chocolate or apple cider
-wearing fun coats/jackets & sweaters
-Thanksgiving dinner
-time w/ family
-seeing the snow as its falling or just after it's fallen
-huddling on the couch under my fleece blanket
-eating yummy soups
-Sara's wedding (this winter only!)
-sledding/tubing/skiing
-crawling into flannel sheets
-CHRISTMAS!!! (lots associated w/ this...wrapping gifts, decorating the
house, Christmas music, going caroling, etc.)
-etc...anything to add?

And then there's Carter...

I get to hang out with this little guy 8 hours a week. I LOVE it! He was only 8 weeks old when I started watching him. Taking care of babies and kids all day brings smiles to my face and joy in my heart.

Could I get off the merry-go-round? Please?!

Autumn has peaked in Philly

I forgot how much I love the intense colors. I've thought about and reflected on why I love and yet fear Autumn. The leaves are so beautiful and yet their turning is an indication that Winter is around the corner. I hold my breath and brace myself for the season I like least. It's hard for me to truly enjoy the few weeks of Fall because I'm dreading the Winter. I don't want to live like that. Help me enjoy the moments.

Life is a process and full of seasons. There are many beautiful Autumns, cold Winters, beautiful Springs and warm Summers. As Winter comes to Philly, I find my heart entering into Winter. God is working on my heart in huge ways. Boy, it's painful and hard. I wish I could fast forward this Winter and be in the Spring. And yet, I appreciate the Spring so much more after an especially cold and hard winter. I'm thankful for the parallels I can find between my life and the nature seasons God gives us.

Well, I must admit that I love this book. I just finished "reading" it on tape. I was able to relate to Bridget a lot more than I realized or would care to admit. I found myself laughing out loud in the car as I listened. The movie is on tonight. Renee Zellweger completely embodies the character of Bridget Jones. Colin Firth is brilliant, of course. The way he looks at her is quite amazing.

The Phillies are the World Series Champions!

Philly has been buzzing with the excitement this whole week. It's been so fun to be a part of it all. I joined in with all the honking as I drove home tonight. My dad and I chatted tonight just after the Phillies won the World Series. He said that I was in Philly the last time they won. It was 1980 and I was about 6 months old and my dad was a teaching assistant at Temple. Crazy things happened on Broad Street the night they won. He remembers that his students didn't show up for class for days after the Phillies won the World Series. I don't remember their win in 1980 but I'll sure remember this win 28 years later!

We're in the World Series after 15 years!

Philly is buzzing with excitement. The next week will be so energizing... even if I'm not a regular baseball fan. :-)

Rain in Chatty
I woke up to the pitter-patter of rain. Oh how glorious! Meg and I sat on her porch and drank coffee and talked for a long time as the rain fell. Then we went to Becky's discounted shoes and both found cute shoes!

Endings

by Janine Anderson

I hate endings. I'm bad at them—horrible actually. Beginnings, now there's something I can sink my teeth into. Beginnings are beautiful, fresh, teeming with life and possibility. Middles are for obedient muddling, the holding patterns of the "known," but endings…Endings are unnatural, awkward, painful and downright wrong.

Think about it. You only want something to end when it's undesirable. We long for bad things to end. But, we long for the good things in life to never end, and when they do we experience loss.

Actually, I don't know that endings were part of the original design. I think they are largely a consequence of the fall. The original breaking of perfect, trusting fellowship with the Father was the first and worst ending, and we feel the ripple effects throughout our consequently broken pilgrimage.

I'm not even a fan of the so-called good endings, like having just earned my Master's degree. I find myself grieving the loss of classes and classmates, lectures and papers, reading and learning in semester-long rhythms—that whole school-student- professor-campus thing. I will miss it.

I long to accomplish the goal without losing the season. I long not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But the baby has graduated, and full-time work she must. So, school ends, a beloved season passes, as all things flesh and fallen are wont to do. But, we carry this eternity in our hearts that nothing good should end, that there's a wrongness about endings that eternal beings were not designed for.

And good endings like graduating are just the tip of the ending-iceberg. There's the end of a cherished friendship, the end of a romantic relationship, and the mother of all endings—DEATH.

Enter Jesus: Jesus ultimately silenced the bitterness of endings when He hung there and died, saying, "It is finished." It is finished. All death and endings are swallowed up by life, and even the endings we so desperately experience are somehow wrapped into His finished work that we walk out and work out in our anguished and fallen, yet redeemed state.

Finishing is very different from ending. I daresay that finishing is an opposite of ending. And while often listed as synonyms, even Webster makes a clear distinction: "the end" is the limit or conclusion, whereas, "to finish" is to complete or perfect.

Finishing a paper or a project garners the sweet fulfillment of accomplishment, as does any job well done. Fine wines are described as having, "a crisp, clean, finish," not a crisp, clean ending. No one would dare disgrace the finish line of a race, by calling it the "ending line."

And yet, the end of Jesus' life on earth signaled the beginning of our hope against death and endings. By His crucifixion, Jesus plays a cruel trick on death making it His instrument to bring about true life. He turns all endings into mini-death surrenders to His life-giving Lordship, because it is indeed finished. And we rise with Him in His resurrection life, of using even us in His global mission of putting things to rights.

"Death, you have no more sting!" Someday, all will be rightfully eternal; the fullest fullness will be fully realized. For now, we groan purposefully; hopeful and confident in His finished work that puts all endings to death, and rights all that is wrong—gradually, patiently, eventually.

May your endings of all kinds draw you closer to Him because of His loving, life-giving sacrifice, as you follow Him into the good fight, finishing your course, and keeping the faith in His end without end. Amen.

Rain on Spiderweb

It rained all weekend in Philly. Since I've been under the weather (pardon the pun) it was a perfect weekend to relax and be inside.

Gifts

A friend of mine lost his wife to cancer a month ago. His blog has been a constant encouragement to me. Yesterday he blogged about God's gifts to us. All of life is a gift from God; it is "something planned for us, not designed by us. Something received, not earned. Something shaped by HIM, the Giver of every perfect gift." The last 6 months have brought many different things in my life. Some have been hard, some have been wonderful, some have been clear and others confusing. Through it all, do I trust that God is in charge? I falter so, so often. Do I believe and trust that He works all things out for our best and His glory? Psalm 62 has been a comfort to me.

My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him... He alone is my rock and
my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken...Find rest,
O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock,
my refuge... Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.

Home Sweet Home

After a wonderful summer full of traveling it's good to be home. The red flowers (I forgot what kind they are) are still blooming and greet me as I walk up the stairs. My roommates (Rach in the white and Casey in the red) have started grad school at Westminster Seminary. We've all been traveling so much this summer, it hardly feels like we're roommates. I'm excited about getting into a rhythm of life together.


We spent Sunday afternoon laying in the sun- the last of it before fall and winter come. We read, slept and talked. It was the perfect beginning for the week.

Abby Hunter and I are good friends and had lots of fun together while I was in Vienna. She let me use her scooter throughout the week. We had some girl time as we watched Little House on the Prairie. That TV series is a wonderful classic.

Schombrunn Castle is on the agenda for this afternoon. I have the afternoon off so I'm going to put on running clothes and take my bus pass and the Hunter's extra cell phone and head to this beautiful, historical castle.

Netflix has an extensive movie selection. Recently I've been going putting my childhood favorites in my queue. This week I watched the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder. I love the creativity in this movie and the good lessons of honesty, unselfishness and love it brings out. I think I will give the Johnny Depp one a chance.

Batman: Incredible

London

On our day off some of our team (Julien's and Jessica) went to central London. We saw Westminster Abbey first then Coventry Gardens for lunch. Then to the National Gallery & Trafalgar's Square. We took the tube to the Tower of London and walked around. For more pictures go here.

During LEAP we sang many wonderful songs. The one that went right to my heart is below:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Mini Florida/ Atlanta Vacation: June 13- 18

Sara's graduation from cosmetology school.

Linde's in pink. Yes, we're all summers.

Our beach.

Cousin Eric in ATL.

Friend from college & admissions: Pam

I also saw my college roommate, Sara, and another friend (her current roomie), Janna. It was wonderful to take a break from Philly and be with friends and family. More pictures here.

Roomies: Casey and Rachel

After a rain there came a beautiful rainbow. This is from our new front door!

A shot from the sun room into the living and dining room. The couch and table are from the person before us. As of right now, we don't have any couches or tables. We ate lazania on the floor last night. Fun adventures!

10-10-10

Rachel and I ran the Broad Street run on Sunday. It was TEN miles. The race went well. The last two miles were hard to push through but Rach challenged me and we finished strong. It was exhilarating to run with 22,000 other people! I'm so sore though- I can barely walk.

You can click here to see a picture slide show from the newspaper.

Philly skyline in the background.

Broad Street is the straightest street in Philly. The race is from the start to the end of Broad Street. It runs through many different kinds of neighborhoods.

We averaged TEN minutes per mile.

The finish line was the Navy Yard near all the stadiums.
That night we went to TENth Presbyterian for church.
It was a day of 10's.

Running

Spring is here in Philadelphia. It makes my heart so happy. Running is a gift from God to me. Erik Liddle said it perfectly, "when I run I feel God's pleasure." When I run I think, dream, pray and let my mind wander. A run will aways do me good if I'm happy, sad or moody.

My favorite place to run in the city is Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River. All the trees are in bloom. I'm not a sure all the names of the trees but I know some are cherry, weeping willows, lily trees and dogwood. I can't describe the beauty.

A few friends and I are training for the Broad Street 10 mile run. Last week I brought my camera on one of my runs to try to capture the beauty along the river. Below are a few of my shots. You can see more on my flickr page.

Good Friday

I went to my church's Good Friday service. The church was dark and solemn, a few candles were light at the front of the church. We sang hymns about Christ's death. At the end of the service, we were given the opportunity to be prayed for by the elders and anointed with oil. We left the church quietly and in the dark.

This service was so powerful to me. The service didn't end on a happy note, it ended in the reality of Christ's death. He died a terrible death for me, for my sins. What amazing love. The Gospel is too good to be true and yet it is true. Easter Sunday was much more special for me because of the reality of Good Friday. The contrast of the two days was vivid. Thank you, God, for sending your only son to die for us. Thank you for raising him from the dead so that we can live in freedom and live forever with You. This is good news!

Lunar Eclipse

A friend called me late tonight and said a Lunar Eclipse was happening as we talked. I had no idea. The next full Lunar eclipse won't happen until 2010. In the words of Emily Haymes' a Lunar eclipse is "the only time the Earth sees its own shadow."

Covenant comes to Philly

Last week three girls from Covenant came to be assessed to join the Kenya team for a year. They were approved- no surprise there! I loved hanging out with them. We had dinner in Manayunk and then met with up with my roomie- Rachel- to see 27 Dresses.

Still Sick

It's been a week of being under the weather. It's kind of a bummer but it's forcing me to rest. WHM has the day off tomorrow so that means one more day of low key activities. I look forward to catching up on emails and phone calls and getting back to life soon.

Donovan...

Many of you know Dr. Donovan Graham. He taught at Covenant College for many years and was the school's chaplain for his last few years. He is now a missionary in Ireland with World Harvest Mission. He and Wilma travel to our fields to do missionary care. I am always blessed by their friendship. They were at the team leaders' retreat this past week. He's been trying for the last two years to get me to call him "Donovan" instead of "Dr. Graham." It's been hard but I think I'm now comfortable calling him "Donovan."

Austria... is magnificent! Where we have been staying for the team leaders' retreat is absolutely beautiful! We had a day of skiing. I know I'll barely be able to walk tomorrow.

View from our room














Jamie & David- two of the three childminders for the missionary kids this week. They are apprentices in Spain with World Harvest.