Marking time by seven Saturdays, #9

Today I'm enjoying a beautiful, SUNNY morning, my third cup of tea, and the benefits of Mucinex, while I battle this change-of-seasons congestion.

Last Saturday I woke up in Indianapolis for day three of the True Woman '12 conference, my heart full from ~ and convicted by ~ the messages (which you can listen to or download for FREE).

Two Saturdays ago I was two days post-op and hanging low.

Three Saturdays ago our Sunday School teachers kicked-off the year with an informative and expectant meeting.

Four Saturdays ago we drove up to the lake for a refreshing weekend getaway.

Five Saturdays ago a friend and I took time to sit and catch up around her kitchen table.

Six Saturdays ago we ate lunch at Chick-fil-A in Tennessee with my sister and her husband.

Seven Saturdays ago we drove up to Chicago for a family wedding-cum-reunion, day 9 of ten days of company!

Six Saturdays from now, where will we be? What will we be doing? What will have happened in the intervening weeks?

I do not know,

So teach me to number my days
that I may get a heart of wisdom.
Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love,
that I may rejoice and be glad all my days.
Let the favor of the Lord my God be upon me,
and establish the work of my hands upon me;
yes, establish the work of my hands!

(adapted from Psalm 90.12-17)

Marking time by seven Saturdays
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #2
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #3
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #4
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #5
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #6
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #7 
Marking time by seven Saturdays, #8

Saving postage

I mailed my mom another letter last week in a pre-addressed envelope with a wedding stamp on it.

Two and a half years ago, in the throes of wedding planning, a friend offered to help me.  I knew I needed help addressing invitations, and she was glad to do so.

The problem was that we met halfway (a couple hours' drive for both of us), and I wasn't ready.  So, while I got my ducks in order, I set her to work putting stamps on the envelopes.

My lack of organization extended even to the number of invitations I had ordered, and there was a surplus.  So, to this day I have dozens of little RSVP envelopes that have self-stick stamps on them.  If they were lick-and-stick stamps, I could steam them off.

Conveniently, the address is my parents' address, so I can white-out my name and write theirs in.

Inconveniently, the postage rate has increased, but I just add a penny stamp.

Most inconveniently, though, the envelopes are itty-bitty.

Wonder how many penny stamps I'll be adding by the time I'm using the last envelope in my stash. :)

True Woman '12

Are you looking for soul-searching, hard-hitting messages to rekindle your love for God and lead you to repentance?

At True Woman '12 in Indianapolis last weekend, I heard Joni, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Priscilla Shirer, Janet Parshall, and others.  Each one of their messages combined into a powerful and unrelenting pursuit by the Holy Spirit, as He no doubt convicted thousands of hearts hour after hour. 

As I review my notes, I hope to share some of the gleanings here.  In the meantime, you can listen or watch all of the messages and breakout sessions here for FREE!

If you can only watch one, I recommend Joni's on forgiveness. 

My second highest recommendation goes to Elyse Fitzpatrick's breakout session: Because He Loves Me. 

Accepting imperfection

The reason we struggle with imperfection is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel. ~ Steve Furtick

Reading this on Facebook the other day reminded me of one of the hard, ugly parts of our wilderness wandering as we searched for a church.  Each time we walked into a new church, all I could see was the Sunday morning "show."  Everyone looked good.  Everyone fit in, had friends to talk with, and knew what was coming next in the service.

I only saw everyone else's "highlight reel," while I knew all about my "behind-the-scenes". 

I was living without community (in essence), not just on Sunday mornings when I was the outsider, but Monday through Saturday as well.  While God is faithful, being church-less is not the way we were created to live and is not good for one's spiritual health.  And so I walked into those "perfect" churches with a chip already on my shoulder. 

Once we decided on a church, it took me several weeks to begin seeing past the "bodies in the pews" to the "faces in the pews," and then months more to start matching names with faces and get a feel for individuals. 

Even in my first group experience in our new church, I only could see the "highlight reels."  It was a lapse of maturity for me not to realize that all the other people had "behind-the-scenes" as well.  Getting involved in a new church where we knew no one brought out all the worst of my insecurities! 

Gradually I've learned of the struggles of various individuals in our new church and I've remembered the truth that "we're more alike than we are different!"  I'm becoming more free in sharing my own "behind-the-scenes" and trying to create a safe space of community where others feel free to share their "behind-the-scenes" as well.

(Of course, the goal is not to move from comparing my "behind-the-scenes" with others' "highlight reels," just so I can now compare my "behind-the-scenes" with others' "behind-the-scenes."  What a pity that would be!  The goal is to stop comparing ourselves with others and move our sights beyond all that to the glorious cross of Christ, which is the only thing that holds the power to create true community!)

I believe it was God's timing that on the day I read the opening quote of this post I also read this quote in an article by Tsh of Simple Mom:

"if you wait for perfection, you’ll never jump into community."

Amen! and Amen! and Amen!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 4, #40

411.  having crops to harvest in this year of record drought

412.  a new scone mix 

413.  the morning Jim left at 6.30 AM to deliver grain (harvested until 10 PM the night before) to the elevator as soon as it opened ... and encouraged me to keep sleeping

414.  the sweetness and restorative power of the next two hours of sleep

415.  my comforting friend, Father Brown and ~ as the back cover puts it so well ~ his "quiet wit and compassion" (I have the 797 page book, but could not find it on Amazon)

416.  giving myself grace to rest and recover ~ truly a gift!

417.  the fact that I had "accidentally" done some freezer cooking three weeks ago -- two crockpot recipes of chicken and a pan of lasagna -- all in the freezer "for such a time as this!"

418.  gorgeous fall weather!!! (I cannot say that enough!)

419.  answered prayer in the form of not just good, but excellent, communication with my doctor at my post-op visit

420.  three days at the True Woman conference with five others from our church

Teach the younger women

I had a rather random conversation with an "older" Christian woman who is able to keep a conversation going, and she jumped from topic to topic, at one point landing on the subject of marriage.

"There were times I would have left my husband in a heartbeat.  I didn't love him, and I couldn't stand to even be in the same room with him.  But I knew God hates divorce, and I said to the Lord, 'I'll stay, but you're going to have to help me do it.  I'll stay because of you, Lord, not because of him.'"  

I think that's what God means when His Word says the older women are to teach the younger women. I don't think it means a formulaic lecture or a certain curriculum, but rather a heartfelt and real description of life being hard and how God proves himself faithful and gives power to choose obedience.

A friend recently wrote on her blog:

Thank you, Jesus, that [my husband and children and life overseas are] the main way you humble me, check my sin, expose my dirt and draw me closer to you.  Thank you that life is hard, but so, so sweet, too. 

That is the message we need to teach the younger women!  

Fifth in line ~ we wish!

In the old days, apparently a couple who wanted to adopt just went to an orphanage and either was given a child or put on a list, and if they were number five on the list, that meant they were fifth in line. 

Times have changed.

As I understand it, in international adoption, there comes a point at which the adopting parents do receive a number or a date or something, which means that they are officially "in line," and they slowly work (and wait) their way to the beginning of the line/list.

In private adoptions in the U.S. these days, there is no list.  And, by extension, there is no guarantee.  There does not even seem to be a good answer to the question, "What's the average wait?"

Private adoptions are birth parent-driven, which means that the birth parents look at profiles of waiting parents and select the couple they want to raise their child.

Translated, this means that a couple could be home-study approved and in the waiting "pool of profiles" (not a numbered waiting list) for a year or two or more, before being selected, if they are ever selected. 

Or a couple could be home-study approved and their profile added to the pool, and then be selected on the very next day.

A couple might be tempted to create a winning profile (in hopes of having their profile stand out), but there is no winning profile, other than the one that accurately reflects who the couple is.

I have heard of birth parents who selected a couple based on a photo of a dog in their profile, because the birth mom's best friend growing up had a dog just like that!  Or a photo of the couple on vacation reminded her of a special vacation she had with her dad.  There's no formula to create a profile that guarantees one will be chosen. 

It seems so very random ... if one did not place one's hope completely in the sovereign Lord of the universe who "determines the number of the stars; [and] gives to all of them their names," and who determines the allotted periods of life for all mankind and the boundaries of our dwelling place.