Updates and Ponderings

With some pictures from last weekend thrown in for the grandparents. :-)

I have been quite sick for the last week with the worst cold I've had in years, so instead of going to the family cottage for the whole weekend we went just for the day last Saturday (big family reunion that day). The pictures were all taken there. I was pretty much catatonic that day, but I think I faked it well with meds and makeup.


Last week we attended the funeral of a dear woman from church who died suddenly. It was a beautiful and very emotional service. She was a quiet woman, very unassuming, genuine, and gracious. She wasn't flamboyant or a woman who sought the spotlight at all, yet she leaves a huge hole that is felt by many. I am so glad she is in heaven with the people she loved most (her Savior Jesus, and her husband who died several years before her), but I really miss her. She was the first person who made me feel welcome at our church, years ago when I was a newlywed and didn't know anyone there. She welcomed me like a member of her own family, and I could tell she meant what she said. I have always been so grateful for that. Through the years her quiet yet confident way often encouraged me.

As I sat at her funeral I found myself wanting to be a better person. Wanting to be content in the roles God has given me to fill. Wanting to be quietly gracious and willing to serve. Lord, help me to be more like her, which was more like You.


My husband has this week and next to work at his current contract job, and then he will be done there. He has been looking hard for a new job and has a few things in the pipeline, but no interviews yet. Please pray with us for a job in God's perfect time, and for the faith we need to trust in God day by day. God knows our needs. He knows we need income to live ~ this is not a news flash for Him! So we can quietly and confidently trust that He *will* provide. But some days are easier than others.


One of the things that was hardest to deal with during our 9 month unemployment last year was feeling "stuck" in so many areas. There were so many ways in which we couldn't move forward because we didn't have the funds to get the one thing that was needed. So we have been pretty intentional the last few weeks in how we have spent our money. Knowing another period of unemployment may be coming up, a part of me has wanted to save every penny. And we have saved. But we've also made purchases that will help us not be "stuck". A new pair of good running shoes for me so I can progress in my 5K training. A huge order of wheat berries so I can bake bread and not have to buy. A new drill so my husband can more easily make home repairs. Filling the pool so the kids have a fun activity for the summer. And we have been able to purchase all the materials needed for next school year, so we won't be stuck in last years' grades! :0)

(cousins, second cousins, and third cousins!)

I am learning that money can be an idol no matter how much or how little you have. If I worship money or if I worry about money, both are drawing my attention away from Jesus. I have been meditating on Matthew 6:25-34 lately. Verse 34 states, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." One translation says, "take no thought for tomorrow". What does this mean for me, a planner by nature? Is planning and preparing bad? Of course not. Proverbs 6 tells us to consider the ant, who stores its provisions during summer when the harvest is good. Obviously preparing for lean times is wise.

But in planning or preparing for tomorrow do I sometimes miss out on the blessings of today?


Can I be so focused on "preparing" that I miss out on "being"? In the moment? Here and now? Lord, help me to live your Word. Help me to focus on what Your Word says, and not what the world says. Even conventional christian wisdom can at times be tradition and not necessarily truth. Help me to live Your Word.


And lastly, our minivan has reached the end of its long and illustrious 14 year lifespan. It let us know in a dramatic fashion that it was no longer safe to drive. We are thankful for God protecting us from a potentially dangerous trip to the cottage, finding out about our minivan the night before our trip (we drove a borrowed van that day instead). Please pray that God would either give us a replacement, or give us the means to get one. Thank you!