Make those days even better than before

"And if it is your will to call for me in my sleep, Lord, have mercy upon me, and receive my soul into your heavenly kingdom. 

But if you are pleased to add more days to my life, make those days even better than before.  Wean my mind from the love of the world and worldly vanities, and cause me more and more to talk about heaven and heavenly things. 

Perfect in me every day that good work which you have begun, to the glory of your name and the salvaiton of my sinful soul. Amen."

 

~ Lewis Bayly, Piercing Heaven

Welcome! My "why" (& the accidental October daily blogging challenge)

I love a challenge, and accidentally stumbled upon a daily blogging challenge for October.  Maybe there's a daily blogging challenge out there on the internet, but mine was internal, once I realized I had several posts lined up, and ideas kept coming, and I wondered, "Could I end up with a post a day this month?"  (It's definitely a side effect of prednisone!)

Since I left Japan, March 2011 and January 2010 are the only months I have blogged at least 30 times a month, although they weren't daily. 

What is my "why" of blogging? This blog started while I was away, alone, resting, recovering, and quiet ... with my thoughts.  It was an easy way to write without inundating my parents with random emails.  It was a way to be creative.  It was a way to record things I was learning in books I read and experiences I was having in a new place.  

In less than a month, I had written 100 posts, and wasn't sure if I would continue blogging when I went home.  It turns out, I did!  

My "why" then was twofold.  I knew that my Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) was looming in less than a year.  Historically HMA had been hard for me, as I pined for Japan while in the USA.  Having just had three weeks away in a different part of Japan, I had a fresh perspective to look and to see where I was, to be in the present.  I was already praying that I would not waste the next year, dreading my upcoming HMA, and that HMA itself would not be so miserable this time around.  

And so I blogged, in order to record what I saw.  I knew that seeing and writing would help me also to remember the ordinary things in daily life, things that would not be ordinary on HMA.  A big task of HMA is telling the story, and I knew that written stories would help jog my memory to tell the story of life on the mission field and what I saw God doing and how people back in my sending churches could pray better.  

And then my life took a totally different turn during HMA ... and I wasn't sure if I would keep blogging after that.  After each child was born, my number of posts took a drastic downturn, as there were more demands on my time.  

But, I still crave writing.  Thoughts come to me, and my mind tries to create them into interesting sentences & paragraphs.  

Now my "why" is twofold ... to record God's grace as I preserve family memories and to use (& hopefully sharpen) my creative juices.  Who knows if more or other types of writing is in my future or not, but I enjoy it for now.  Who knew I'd be up to 2,492 blog posts?!?

Whenever I tell people that I (still) blog, I almost embarrassingly add, "Probably my mom & aunt are the only ones who read it." :) I know some other friends do, too, because frequently they (you) will comment in real life on something I posted.  

If you read this, welcome!  Thanks for reading along! I hope you're encouraged by God's grace in our family's life.  I hope you smile or laugh at times.  I hope you pray for us on the hard days. ;-)  Feel free to leave a comment or message me privately and let me know what types of posts you like. 

Thankful ~ prayer

A few weeks ago I received a hand-addressed card in the mail.  If that weren't enough of a pleasant surprise, the message inside was heartwarming. 

A lady from church has taken a challenge she saw on FB to pray daily for a month for five women [love the positive influence of social media in this case!].  She was letting me know that I am in her daily prayers for this month.  WHAT a gift!  What a blessing!  What an encouragement! 

Earlier that same day, I had texted a young adult in our life whom we don't see that often anymore.  In his reply, he mentioned that he has been praying for me.  What grace ... to benefit from his prayers & to get a glimpse into God's work in his life! 

Thank you, Lord!

I wonder whom I can encourage today.

Breakfast

What do you usually eat for breakfast?  Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day!! 

Recently, in an attempt to increase my vegetable intake, I have been enjoying this delicious breakfast!

• One fried egg (one egg + one egg white) with a mini cup of Wholly Guacamole and some Everything Bagel seasoning
• an apple
• sauteed spinach
• leftover oven-roasted sweet potatoes with cranberries 

And of course some good strong hot tea!

Let me live a life of faith; let me die Thy people's death

5 While I am a pilgrim here,
let Thy love my spirit cheer;
as my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
lead me to my journey’s end.

6 Show me what I have to do;
ev'ry hour my strength renew;
let me live a life of faith;
let me die Thy people's death                                 

~ from the hymn, "Come, my soul, thy suit prepare"

 
The summer I spent in Vermont, my colleague and I found a wonderful church to attend.  And a retired pastor & his wife picked us up each Sunday to take us to church.  The wife was dying of cancer, and on our last Sunday, as we entered the church building, the husband was holding her by her elbow as she walked.  He had several dishes to return to the kitchen, from meals that people had brought them, and she wanted to keep moving, so I took her elbow and helped her down the aisle to a pew near the front. 

The service was about to begin, and the sanctuary was full, and I felt like all eyes were on us.  And I considered it a great honor to escort her into the house of the Lord ... on what ended up being her last Sunday on earth.  The following Sunday she was worshiping around the Throne.  It was a HOLY moment in my life.  

Fast forward a couple decades, and this summer I helped in summer Sunday School here at our church in the Midwest.  One Sunday when the teacher asked for prayer requests, a young girl asked prayer for her grandpa, recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we prayed for Grandpa S.  

During the summer, children in K-2 attend "big church," and we quickly learned to sit in the back.  Little Guy had a good view of Grandpa S, in his wheelchair, and on more than one Sunday gave his church artwork to Grandpa S.  

When fall started, both children were in "big church" for several weeks until there were enough children's ministry volunteers, and Little Miss was very concerned about Grandpa S. "Why he in a wheelchair?" "What wrong with his legs?" "Why he stand up to sing?" (His adult son helps him up.) "Why his hands up high?" (He's worshiping Jesus. He loves Jesus.) "He going to die?" (Yes, we all are going to die one day.")

In this day & age of livestream, I am so thankful that Mr. & Mrs. S make the effort to come to worship with their church family.  I love that my children are face-to-face with the fact that we are all on our way to heaven, and I love that they are seeing how much the saints love being in God's house! 

I also love watching Mr. S sing.  Particular phrases of hymns mean so much more when I see him singing the words.  Just last week I watched him sing with arms raised in worship:

"When with the ransomed in glory
  His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
  To sing of His love for me,"

and 

"And when I’ve breathed my final breath
I’ll have no need to fear that rest.
This hope will guide me into death.
Hallelujah for the Cross!"

May the Lord heal him and grant him many more years here on this earth to love & worship Him! But if not, what a testimony to watch him life a life of faith and prepare to die God's people's death.  

Porch pickup

Today's mom, or at least this mom, depends on porch pickup. 

Text from friend: "Did my son leave his shoes in your van before soccer practice?" "Yes, I'll put them in a bag on our porch." "Okay, we'll pick them up tomorrow."

Text to neighbor: "UPS accidentally left an Amazon package here for you." "We're out of town, but if you'll leave it on our porch, we'd appreciate it."

Post to neighborhood FB group: "I have some new-in-package IV supplies. Any animal shelters that could use them?" "My daughter can for her emergency kit. She is a vet tech." "Okay, I'll set them out on my porch."

FB Marketplace post: "Size 7/8 Spiderman costume. $8." "Is this still available? I can pick up Saturday between 9-9.30 AM." "Okay, I'll leave it on my porch."

What do you leave on your porch?

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #42

411.  a Monday morning to recover from the weekend

412.  a 4 3/4 year old who spent Sunday afternoon recovering from 3 late nights (she fell asleep before 3 pm, woke up for about 40 minutes, and then woke up again long enough to eat a bite & change into pjs, and slept til 6.45 AM!)

413.  a 7 year old's creativity with MagnaTiles

414.  a friend's generosity to bring beef stew 

415.  protection in the strong storms yesterday

416.  a babysitter and her ability to weave through our village to get here, even though there were downed trees on several streets

417.  small group after many months off

418.  protection on the wet roads there & back

419.  a repaired combine!!!

420.  our new washing machine was delivered & installed!