Simple Pleasures

This morning I went to a local farmer's market for the second time. I have grown to love the place. Its just a tent in the middle of a parking lot and different tables set up containing produce from a farm near by. They bring in the produce daily, so its fresh and the variety of fruits and vegetables change each time you go. The workers there are nice, and the lady who served me today was just a dear. Plus, they are much less pricey than the grocery store. Very reasonable. I walked out today with apples, plumbs, tomatoes, a green pepper and a red onion and $10 less in my pocket. Unfortunately, the close at the end of October, so I only have a few more weeks to take advantage of them.

Earlier this afternoon, Andrew called me to quote the AWANA verses he has been working on for tonight. He did a great job. Word perfect, in fact! I was extremely encouraged by the words he spoke and the progression of the thought.
Romans 3:10 "As, it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"
Psalms 130:3 "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
II Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift."
By the time he got to the last verse, I was struck by the simplicity of it. What a wonderful, or to borrow the word of Paul, "unspeakable", gift we have been given by God! Its time to take pleasure in it.

IF

IF today is the day of salvation, if tomorrow may never come and if life is equally uncertain, how can we eat, drink and be merry when those who live with us, work with us, walk with us and love us are unprepared for eternity because they are unprepared for time?

IF Jesus called His disciples to be fishers of men, who gave us the right to be satisfied with making fish tackle or pointing the way to the fishing banks instead of going ourselves to cast out the net until it be filled?

IF Jesus Himself went seeking the lost, if Paul the Apostle was in agony because of his kinsmen, according to the flesh, who knew not Christ, why should we not consider it worthwhile to go out after the lost until they are found?

IF I wish to be approved at the last, then let me remember that no intellectual superiority, no eloquence in preaching, no absorption in the business, no shrinking temperament or no spirit of timidity can take the place of or be an excuse for my not making an honest, sincere, prayerful effort to win others to Christ.

-J. Wilbur Chapman, taken from Fishing for Men, by Richard A. Seymour

Fellowship and Football, Fawns and Frisbee

Drew back in August pre-broken arm and following bright orange cast.

Yesterday Calvary Bible Chapel gathered for its annual picnic. Without a doubt, being gathered around food for relaxation holds the best memories with my chapel family here. On these occasions, at least one game of ultimate frisbee is always in order. We played twice yesterday. My team won the first time and then after changing up teams, my new team lost....I am not to found of losing, but it could be worse. Besides, its all for fun anyways, right?
The Schroeders neighbors have started to raise dear to breed. (If you have never heard of that before, do not worry, you are not the only one!) So they have this huge concentration-camp looking pen in their back feild. The onwer invited some of us over to see them. We fed them pears, petted them, and one thought that I made a great salt lick. Pretty sweet, right? I mean, can you so that you have ever petted a dear outside a petting zoo? Well, a live one?!
Some other news that I do not care to much about but used as bragging rights yesterday; the Atlanta Falcons triumphed over the Detroit Lions. Yup. Made me pretty proud.

Flips

There have been many flips in my life and the life of my family recently. I had a grand time with them when I went back to Georgia for a couple of weeks at the beginning of August. If I had to rate them, this was probably the best trip back. Many times, it seems like there is always so much to do, to pack into the few short days that I am back in Augusta. And that list of things to do, people see, places to go, never gets fully accomplished. This time I just enjoyed the time I had. Especially with the siblings. My mom always told me and Ashlyn when we would fight, "Friends may come and go, but sisters are forever." My siblings, especially the youngest ones, change so much each time I come back. They change physically, emotionally, they have new thoughts and ideas, new experiences and friends to share....most of these things totally unpredictable. So, I have learned to try and keep up while I can. :)
One day we went to this amazing bouncy place...I have no idea what the name is. The whole place is blown up items you can play on....a slide, a moon walk, an obstacle course, and a few other things. Its pretty cheap and people over eighteen get in for free :) The afternoon we went we were the only ones there is it was especially fun. [As a side note, if you are not a competitive person, or do not like being around competitive people, do not spend too much time with my family, with the exception of Caroline....she a sweetheart. We are SUPER competitive and love it.] The picture above is Sarah doing a slip on the moon-walk thing. It took a few times, but this one was really impressive.
Another flip happened in our family this past weekend. Drew was on a go-kart out at a friends house and it flipped....right onto his arm. Yup. Broken. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, depending on your perspective, he broke the arm that he does not write with. He seems to be having a good attitude about it, but tends to be in pain when it comes time for doing the not-so-fun tasks in life. Imagine that. I am hoping to get a picture of him with his orange cast, and will share it if I do.
Another flip has been a bit of a role reversal for me and my mom. For years, about 12 of them, she was in charge of my education. She was always there to answer my questions and help me with any problems that I had. Now, however, she is enrolled in a distance learning course offered by the Ezekiel Project. One of my jobs here is to handle a bit of the administrative things that go on with that. So, I give her tests, send her books, answer her questions, and am available if she ever needs help. Its a bit strange, but I love it and enjoy seeing her get excited about learning.
So things change, people change, and that means roles and relationships flip around, and sometimes that is not easy, especially when I have to change, but its a part of life and a part of growing. So if things have been flipping, keep it up.

Two of the Loveliest Ladies I Know

My sisters! They take comfort in the fact that "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is FLEETING, but the woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

New York Tomorrow...

So tomorrow we, The Ezekiel Project, are leaving for New York to do tow weeks long seminars there. Nothing else compares to open-air in New York City, so I am pretty excited. From New York, Christina and I will be heading down to Georgia for a couple of weeks during the first part of August. I am looking forward to seeing people, especially my family. Thanks for your prayers. Hope to see many of you, my faithful readers (Mom, Sarah, Grandpa and Grandma). Addios!

Still Alive, and Well too, Thank You

As is the case with all my summers, this one has been on the go busy and looks different than what I thought at the beginning of the summer. Lessons have been learned that I never realized I needed to learn, but am so grateful for. Grateful that the Lord works in spite of me, that even when things do not go the way I thought they should or would, none of it has taken the Lord by surprise. Grateful that the Lord is all-sufficient, one who is there, ready and waiting, even when I think that something can be done myself. Nothing dramatic or earth-shattering has happened, but the Lord keeps putting me in places where the only thing I can do is hold my hands, admit "I do not know!", and pray. What the Lord has taught is that He wants this in every aspect of my life....for me to realize that the only place I can go, the only thing I can do, is cry to Him, trusting Him with whatever it is. Not an easy thing. My pride, my struggle for independence, completely opposes the reality of my need to allow Christ to override in everything. How I wish that I would understand and apply this truth that is so clearly laid out in scripture, without having to be brought face to face with it on a daily basis. Its a daily, hourly, and sometimes momently, battle. And one that is not very pretty. But this too brings me back to gratefulness. Gratefulness because the Lord defines love, showering it on me all the time. "...love suffers long..." He sees me as worth the trouble, worth the patience, worth the work, worth the love, that He has poured into me, constantly brining me closer to Himself. That is something I know how to respond to! His long sufferingness, spurs me on to surrender. Surrender of my independence, of self-sufficiency, of myself. Wasn't that my struggle in the first place?! Ahh, yes, the Lord knows what He is doing! Praise Him!

Ireland

Just a few pictures of the couple hundred I took. Learned a lot, especially about myself, while I was there. Mainly how my Americaness. I had such a hard time understanding all the different accents. :) The country is beautiful! I would love to go and am thankful for the blessing to visit there for the short time I did!