a much needed update
we've called san francisco home for 7 years now.
our daughter has been in our forever family for 2 years.
we're entering the teenage years and realizing we've got just a handful of summers left before high school graduation.
so we spent the month of june away from "normalville" (as i have coined our san francisco life) and reappeared in july feeling refreshed and renewed.
that's a lot of "re" happening, but so it goes when we take a break from the normal.
ONE life to live {an only God story}
A tweet one Sunday afternoon, particularly caught Ben’s attention. He reached out to the writer and they met over coffee. {common to meet over coffee} Ben got to know Alan Clayton’s story. Alan comes and goes across the pond between his homeland of Ireland, the United States, and Asia for business. {common} When he’s here in San Francisco, he comes to Epic.{becoming more common} He’s come over to our home for dinner. He’s a part of a small group. {Note: No matter how long or short your stay in a place, plug into a church community and small group.}
adenoids {an only God story}
why did the chocolate chip cookie go to the doctor? because he was feeling crummy.
that's all that asher remembered before he dozed off and skipped into lala land while the doctor removed his adenoid.
ben and i took turns sitting with him in the recovery room, patiently waiting for him to wake up. a sweet nurse stayed by his side for a better part of an hour taking notes and ready to take care of him when he woke. ben was walking around outside with kavita for she was uncomfortable in the recovery room.
i had nothing to do but wait. asher rested peacefully. so when the nurse looked up, why not engage in some conversation?
only God stories
"let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man."
Proverbs 3:3-4
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."
Jeremiah 31.3
i'm convinced that when we encounter Jesus and are awakened to the reality of His supernatural love for us, we choose to live in such a way that makes much of Him.
Who is Welcomed Here?
a door is symbolic of entry. shut.
closed.
open.
is a knock required?
and when the door is opened up, what happens?
an open door is symbolic of a welcome.
come on in.
How will America gather for Thanksgiving this year?
How will America gather for Thanksgiving this year? How did America first gather? In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims gathered with the Massasoit Indians to celebrate the harvest. It wasn't anything purchased from the grocery store, but what was hunted and grown and greatly prepared after much sacrifice and hard work. It was a union of what had been taught and what has been learned. It was a friendship forged.
It was the white man who had come to America. It was the white man who was accustom to celebrating the bounty called a harvest festival. It was the local Native Americans who taught the white man how to plant and grow and reap in a new world. Together they gathered. It was the local Native Americans that made room. That welcomed. Like any relationship, I can only imagine the beauty and the mess that unfolded. To share the land. To learn from each other. To be patient. To let love win despite the differences or trials.