painting and praying and painting...

I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize a whole week had gone by since my last post until I saw that Father's Day was the last time I signed on here....looking back I guess this week went by pretty quickly. But day to day it surely was a drag that included a lot of this:

 paint

{help from Ali B}

more paint

{help from Kim B}

MORE and MORE paint

{help from Cait and Ana}

finally...the rollers have been stashed for another time {far FAR down the road}...I've turned them in for a brush.  STILL PAINTING, but this time I'm working on loads of furniture that I've wanted painted for a long time.  Better now, since I already have a bad attitude about paint- might as well get it all in while I'm on a roll {literally...I feel like I've been rolling for EVER}

While we were painting inside, Dad and Nick donated some time with the pressure washer.  Two years of "neglect" can take a toll on a house.  No one has paid alot of attention to the little things in the house while it's been empty.  So, as you can imagine, it's in need of a hearty cleaning inside and out.  The day I wash the paintbrushes for the FINAL time I will probably trade them in for a vacuum and a bottle of bleach. 

But the end is near...I can see it!

Believe it or not, I've actually had alot of solitude while I've been painting.  Other than the days that I had help in the house I have spent alot of alone time there.  {the kids prefer to stay home with a to-do list and pack a box or two, suprisingly they don't like to paint} 

I've had alot on my mind this week while I've been painting.  Some of the typical about-to-move thoughts {deep stuff, like "where should I put the couch?"} but also, some things that have laid heavy on my heart and that I couldn't seem to shake.  So I did alot of praying.  A few issues arose that just didn't sit well with me this week....conflict.  I hate conflict, and even though I know where to take it and Who knows the details and the answers, sometimes it just hangs onto my mind like the plague.  And, so, I pray some more.  I'm praying to LOVE more and JUDGE less...praying to forgive and forget...praying to seek joy and not justification.  And, it's working.  Prayer takes my mind off my own need to be understood and makes me focus on something other than ME.  It's not always easy...frankly, it's easier to dwell on the conflict, but that solves nothing at all.  Prayer seems to be the only thing that keeps my focus where it's supposed to be.  And so I have needed to spend alot of time praying whilst I spent alot of time painting this week.

There is some kind of Divine planning in that, perhaps... 

{My grandparents had this picture hanging in their home...my sister has one now...I just happened upon it on google - reminds me so much of my grandparents and their deep commitment to praying for each of us by name daily.  I wonder what was lost by way of prayer covering on the day that they passed.  It is a great legacy they have passed on...one I can only hope to do half as consistently as they did.}

The week ahead is looking a little familiar.  I'll be getting up and painting again tomorrow...and the next day apparently.  I feel less pressure to finish this painting - it could be completed after moving day- but still...I'm sure I'll be painting, again.  I'm feeling like I need something new to pray about, though...it's a new week and I need a new focus.  So I'm shifting my thoughts in a different direction.  Something a little less heavy.  Next week at this time Nick and I will be packed up for a weeklong trip to Kentucky.  We're attending a huge youth conference with our youth group.  This is the third one of these conferences that I've been on and I'm excited to see what the Lord will do among the students we are taking.  Francis Chan is our main speaker.  I've blogged about him before and my deep respect for his ministry here.  It's an exciting week for the students, many will be convicted and changed by words of Truth.  Our students are hungry for God, and yet not all of them see that He is the answer to their empty searching.  The world is knocking hard against them and some don't even recognize it.  It'll be a refreshing week {for me, too} to leave behind responsibility and conflict and enter into an arena where thousands of teenagers have gathered for the same purpose.  Ten hours in a bus and lots of coffee will start the week off late Monday evening. 

 I can't wait...these kids are awesome!
{I'll be blogging about it here}

Until then, you can find me here

...or there

...with paintbrush in hand.

 "Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,

and my upraised hands as an evening offering."

Psalm 141:2

Happy Father's Day...

Dad...

Happy Father's Day to the one man who consistently has my back.

I love you!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed,

 and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."

Billy Graham

Summer came...

and ever since then, every minute of my day has been scheduled....

The last 36 hours looked something like this...

One last white-toothed grin on the way to the Orthodontist...again.

A little hooking up to some strange contraption

\

...and ALOT of metal later..

We have signed up for two more years of Orthodontist appointments, payment plans, and sore gums.   But this time, I can see the end in sight....she's the last, and then I plan to NEVER set foot in that office again.  {Sorry, Dr. Albright and fam, it's been great, but it'll be greater when we're outta there.}

The rest of our time has been spent running between two houses.  Painting at one and eating and sleeping in the other.  I don't know how the rich and famous keep up with multiple homes.  Perhaps they have hired help.  All I know is that right now my body is screaming at me.  After painting all day with two of my kids and two VERY generous friends {mom stopped by and went to hacking back all the overgrown bushes outside..} we managed to finish up the downstairs and get started on Emma's VERY PINK bedroom. 

 It wasn't that long ago that I was painting another room pink, but this time we went with a little darker shade just to change things up a little.  Kim and Ali went to town in her room- they're my heroes!!! 

I stayed downstairs and finished up the half bath and diningroom....

I finished up in time to race home and make dinner so that Nick could get to his softball game, which I opted out of in lieu of cleaning the kitchen, the fridge, the floor, the dishwasher, folding a pile of clothes, sweeping the porch, watering the flowers and falling into my hammock...which is where I type now. 

I'm totally beat....

which is why I can't think of anything sensible, sweet or funny to say. 

THE END

T-minus 26 hrs and counting....

I'm sitting in my favorite away-from-home corner...

I will miss this place.  I've not been here much in the last two months, but I guess I frequented the corner about once a week prior to that {Tamra at the counter confirmed that when she asked how I've been!}...it's my place to escape.  I've read, prayed, laughed, {probably cried} and had numerous amounts of coffee in this corner.

I will miss it...

This is where I sit as I type...my most favorite things surrounding me.  And, even though it's a public place, somehow it seems very private to me.  It's not quiet at all....there's background music playing, and if I wanted to listen, I could hear snippets of multiple conversations going on around me.  {Such as the cute old couple across from me who are enjoying lunch -at 10am} This morning I decided to hook up my headphones to itunes to further block out what's around me...so, as I type, The Canadian Tenors are singing "Hallelujah" to me. {check it out here} I have no idea what the song is about...I feel like I should probably investigate, but I like their sound.

Anyway...the point.  This is my last morning {mourning} here for a while. After a half day tomorrow, school is out for three months.  I can't in good conscience sit out here while the kids are at home.  AND, there are weeks of painting, packing and moving ahead of us.  So, today, I came to bid farewell to an old friend. 

As I reflect on this last school year and all that it held for my family, I see God's hand of Grace all around us.  Amidst transition and change God has been nearby satisfying, providing and nurturing us all.  His hands of protection and guidance brought Alex through his first year of college..helping him narrow down his plans for his future, cementing in him a calling for Youth Ministry He had placed on him several years ago.  He continues to provide for Alex's needs...almost NEVER in the way he hopes and almost NEVER at the rate of speed he hopes it to come...but isn't that just the way we learn to trust???  It is in the poverty of answers that we learn to still ourselves, wait and trust. 

He has been faithful to us at home also, as Nick has started driving on his own, continues to work through his high school years and is beginning to think of what to do next.  Nick has grown and matured this year in big ways....I see a young man emerging.  I'm beginning to see how a little boy with a strong will and stubborn spirit can use those same things for good.  I read Dr. Dobson's "The Strong-Willed Child" several times during Nick's early years...I finally get it!  God is slowly shaking all of "Nick" out of Nick...He's trying to fill him with Himself...and slowly, I am seeing a take-over. 

Emma has done her own share of growing up this year.  She is the typical youngest child - full of life and laughter {even amidst the moody middle school years!}...her eyes have been opened to alot of new things this year.  Not all of those things have been easy...these are truly formative years.  She sees everything around her....and is learning how to be set apart.  And it's not easy...not when the world around you is relentless in its pursuit of your heart, soul and body.  But, our Faithful God continually reminds me He is bigger, He loves her more, and He is at work in her impressionable heart.  She is beautiful...but beauty can catch us off guard.  It's been a year of whispering over and over that it is God who creates our beauty...it's not from anything our own hands have done.  It is His gift...but there is one who hounds us around every corner who wants to use it as a curse.  He is behind the world's relentless pursuit...but he is second rate to the One who holds her heart.  

SIGH....the Grace and Kindness of the Lord has been all around me this year.  More than I've realized till just now.  When I look at the past twelve years of raising my kids alone I see His touch all around us.  I am so aware of my inability to do it well...to pour in them all that I know and feel and desire for them to learn.  I lack the correct words and the correct ways to teach them.  But, I've lacked them all of my life....and will lack them until my last breath.  It is my constant reminder that on my own I cannot accomlish anything well.  Because I know my empty attempts...I can appreciate His fullness. 

At the beginning of this school year it was my plan to set aside a little time to rediscover God's plans and directions in my life...and then to go after them and end the year with a job and a paycheck.  Again I've discovered that even the best laid plans are not really in my control.  It's been a year of refreshment and discovery, and I've found some things inside me I didn't know were there.  I've discovered more of the ME I lost years ago...the ME I chose to overlook in pursuit of other things.  And, while I'd hoped for a clear map and highlighted path to follow by this point, what I've ended up with is a simple request, "Just wait, and be faithful to whatever I put in front of you today...trust Me...and be content".
 And, so...I continue to seek, search and LIVE. 
It's been a very good year...

As I've typed, my music has changed several times...ending in the one that's playing in the background just moments ago. Very fitting. We are good fodder for the Lord to show He is faithful, that's for sure!

"You're good and your faithfulness goes on and on and on and on and on...
your mercy goes on and on and on and on and on and on....
You are good...
You are good."

{Sportin vintage shades at Mommalicious after warm donuts on Saturday}

Disbanding and destroying....

So, the theme of this week is

 {FACELIFTS}

After 4 very long years of orthodontic treatment, Nick has finally been disbanded!  Since he was a toddler, he's hated posing for pictures, so I had to settle for a quick snap on my phone...I'm guessing when he sees these he might wish he had sat still and posed. 

Sorry, Nick..a mom's gotta preserve memories one way or another.

this picture is actually after the bands were off - cleaning up the nasty four year old glue....Dr. Albright pulled them off so fast I didn't even know it was done.  Shoot!  Missed a photo op.

sorry, Nick...but at least your teeth look great! 

 Nice facelift.

We've begun a facelift of another sort this week, too.  After months of getting my house ready, keeping it clean, showing it and selling it...and after purging the garage last weekend

 it is finally time to start the "fun stuff". 

I started in the kitchen...

...no more wallpaper...

more pictures to follow....these are just the ones that were on my phone.  I had several helpers this week. Thanks Jess and mom!  We're headed back there this morning after breakfast.  I learned about THIS PLACE yesterday and thought it makes a good bribing tool to start my kids day of work.  Hot, handmade donuts...I think so!  So, after The Fractured Prune indulgence, we're back for more painting and scraping.

I'm seeing the end in sight....

pretty soon we'll be looking for the best price for one of these:

Random thoughts of yesterday...

It was a good day...

I still hate doing yard sales - not much could happen to change that- but on this end of the day it was not all that bad. All in all the last two days went pretty well...sold ALOT and got to see some familiar faces...like my blogging friends Janelle, Jeane and Deanna, some former Lulu & Tutz customers, high school friends and a few unexpected new faces....

TOTALLY unexpected faces....

like this guy who set up shop across the street from us!

I laughed outloud at the kitchen window this morning when I looked out and saw this Chinese man selling Egg Rolls and Fried Rice on the street corner...

SERIOUSLY, you have no idea how funny this is...the Village of Strasburg has its first street vendor!  The guy made out better than some of the yard sales, I think.  You just have to support a guy who has the creativity to scope out the neighborhood sales and set up shop in the center of it all!  Thumbs up for the egg rolls {till about an hour later} but I've had better fried rice...but not from a street vendor.

Props to you, Egg roll man.

I also had a visit from the {old} guy down the street whom I've met on many occasions, but still doesn't remember me.  When we had the shop down the street he used to ride his little John Deere bike to the square and stop in and say hello.  At first I thought he came in to see me {I have a knack for attracting senior citizen men -story for another post}....but then I realized that every encounter is like the first to him.  {the kind of stuff the movie "Fifty First Dates" was made out of} Anyway, I met him again yesterday, chatted and said goodbye {"I'll meet you again tomorrow, dude...same time, same place, same name, same everything....just new to you"} Love something about that simple man...he's a sad soul, but lucky for him he doesn't know it....or at least he won't remember it till tomorrow.

By far, though, my most favorite encounter this weekend was with this girl...

I saw her approaching my yard sale from a distance and did a double take.  She is the spitting image of a very close friend of mine who moved to Macedonia a few years ago as a missionary.  She thinks I'm a crazy woman, but I did manage to convince her to take a picture with me so that I could post it here.

CHRISTINE- 

 Check her out!  She's shorter than you, but she looks more like you than your own sisters do!!!  She no doubt  could be your stunt double in your next major motion picture....

She made me smile...

It was a pretty good day all around.

....only because I have to...

I LOVE yard sales...I LOATHE doing them.

But the time has come, and I can't put it off any longer.  This weekend our Street is having their annual yard sale and along with the items I've purged from my house, we are selling off the contents of our shop,

 Lulu & Tutz {find us here}.  There is literally a garage FULL of stuff....and it must go away.

The next 3 days my schedule is filled with an Orthodontist appointment for my son, yard work at the new house, visiting a friend who just had surgery, attending my sister's graduation {woot woot!}, several graduation/farewell parties, and hours and hours of pricing and organizing for the yard sale.  I'm dragging my feet because I HATE what lies ahead in my garage!  But...I must liquidate!

So...

for those of you who have asked to be informed, the sale is scheduled- whether I like it or not!

Friday and Saturday, June 4 &5  8am-??

125 Miller Street

Strasburg

Meet Amena...

I was just "introduced" to this woman this morning in our Youth Sunday School.  Her name is Amena Brown and she is a very talented poet. Check out Amena here on her website, which describes her work like this: 

"As a poet, speaker, journalist, and event host Amena Brown’s words excite, ignite and inspire."

I think you'll find her inspiring and thought provoking.  There isn't really anything else to add here that could do the following words justice...she says everything my heart cries and more...ENJOY!

Dear Wisteria....

I will miss you...

You've grown so strong and healthy over the years.  Your blooms have brought beauty in the spring, and your branches have provided privacy all summer long.  I will miss sitting underneath you each morning as I read.  You are one of the many things I will miss about this house that has become our home....

You are sometimes hard to keep up with..you grow so quickly and grab hold of anything that sits nearby.  But you've lived a good life with us...

It's hard to believe you started out as small as this. 

And even harder to believe you will be dug up and discarded when your new owners arrive!  I will miss you when I drive by, straining my neck to see how the old homestead is surviving our absense.  Apparently you cause allergies, but don't take offense...you've done your job well for us.

We will miss you...

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in,

where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

~John Muir

In your stead we will inherit one of these...

she is also beauty and grows abundantly...

and one of these...

a bit overgrown from neglect, but still beauty awaiting an appreciative glance. 

I guess it's a little case of give and take...

And in the end, it's all good...

all of it.

"Good heavens, of what uncostly material is our earthly happiness composed... if we only knew it. What incomes have we not had from a flower, and how unfailing are the dividends of the seasons."

~James Russell Lowell

The new Mr. and Mrs.

I thought you might enjoy a little story..

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Lydia, who grew up in the Amish-faith community.  She came from a large family where she enjoyed a happy childhood in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.  Her family enjoyed their lifestyle of farming on Miller Street, and often visited with their "English" neighbors along the Street and throughout the community.  As the years passed and Lydia grew to become a woman and start her own family, she would often happen by a little brick house on Miller Street and watch to see how it changed and matured. She remarked to her friends and her family how much she loved that little brick home, calling it her favorite house in the town. She came to know the elderly owners of this brick home and as with so many of her other "English" neighbors, called them her friends. 

 Many years later the elderly couple of this brick home passed on and the home was occupied by a new family.  It was a younger family who wanted to give the home a new look both inside and out...and so the young family hired an Amish carpenter to add two new bedrooms and a bathroom in order to accomodate its growing children.  The children enjoyed the presence of this Amish carpenter each day as he worked, and were sorry to see him finish his project...but he did a job well done, and was on his way.   For ten years the young family went about its business, enjoying the peace of the little brick home...and the Amish carpenter went on to do what he did best.  Each continued on with the duties of life and their paths ceased to cross anymore. 

Until one day when Lydia, who had since raised all of her own children, happened along Miller Street, along her normal route to her errands.  Upon passing this little brick home she'd come to love, she was stunned speechless to see a sign announcing "FOR SALE" in its front yard.

Without a second thought, Lydia jotted down the phone number on the sign and promptly arrived home to hurridly dial that number...never even stopping to tell her husband what she had seen. Just hours later, bubbling with excitement, Lydia directed her carpenter/husband, who had in recent years left the Amish faith, down the driveway of the little brick home to view what was inside.  It was all she could do to contain her excitement as she entered the doors and immediately fell in love with what was inside.  The young family, which had now grown ten years older, immediately recognized the carpenter-husband as the very same man who had built the upstairs.  Lydia marveled over the sturdiness of the little brick house and excitedly explored her husband's handiwork...all the while remarking more than once during their visit,"I don't think I can sleep tonight!"  She opened every cupboard and closet, explored every nook and cranny, and gave her husband the secret look of approval...

....and the rest...

Is history....

THE END

{picture taken with permission and eager participation of the subjects!}

Meet the new Mr. and Mrs. who will occupy our little brick home when we are gone....

Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Zook!

"It takes wisdom to have a good family,

and it takes understanding to make it strong.

It takes knowledge to fill a home

with rare and beautiful treasures."

Proverbs 24:3 

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

WARNING: A very long blah-blah-blog post...

Where I'm blogging...

Don't laugh at me for taking this picture!  I do not personally own a laptop, so the fact that I am sitting outside on my porch in the sun blogging is a big deal to me!  {Two of my favorite things being done simultaneously!}  My parents went away for a few days and left their laptop for Emma to use for a project.  Project is done, and I have confiscated the laptop for my own enjoyment.

Dear Mom,

I may have lost your laptop.  Please forgive me if I cannot find it to return to you.  Please do not stop by my house to look for it.  There is NO WAY, NO HOW that you will find it.  It is lost for good.  Do not look on the porch for it either, you will just be wasting your time.

Sorry.

Anyway...there really was a point to my blogging this morning.  I almost lost sight of it for a minute in my momentary outdoor-blogging-bliss.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm reading a book called "Crazy Love".  I'm still working my way through it, mostly because I have to stop and mull it over for a while before moving on.  I read some things this morning that are just raking over me.  I can't shake them, but I think it will take a while for them to work their way deeply in me and settle out in understanding. 

"Do you want to SEE God more than you desire security?"

Do I? And if my answer is "yes", am I just saying it because I really mean it, or because it's the right answer to give?  Do I REALLY desire Him more than security?  In my daily pursuit of a job, am I desiring Him more than a paycheck?  Or does the paycheck bring security....and then I can feel free to See Him?  

Our feet are here on earth, and bills are part of the deal....so it's only right that I pursue a way to pay mine.  But what is the heart of my desire?  How should this play out in my life? 

"Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy.  Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers."

I'm pretty sure my life doesn't make sense to anybody {sometimes including myself}....but is it because I live by radical faith?  It should be.  Noah spent 120 years building a boat so big and unconventional in a time when no one had a clue what rain was...much less world-wide flooding!  Talk about radical!  Could I do that?  WOULD I?

"How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ - the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my family with whom I can't seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed??"

That paragraph in itself annoys me.  Because sometimes people are just plain annoying....and I feel like I have the right to point that out.  But, I don't.  Because right living requires me to see every face as the face of God Himself.  Shoot.

{Hold that thought while I take off my sweater so I don't get a crew-neck tan...}

The next part of the chapter really has me stumped as to how this falls down in my own life. 

"He expects us to treat the poor and the desperate as if they were Christ Himself"

Sometimes I think I am the poor and desperate.  But, in light of the rest of the world I live in luxury and abundance.  And, I know it.  How dare I ever have a thought of "need".  What I need to do is man-up and stop thinking I deserve better. 

I spent two weeks in Africa last summer.  I know need, I've seen it on the faces of beautiful, beautiful people.  Some of them had no clue that they were in need....because they were busy giving to others.  They give out of their abundance to those who have less.  From my perspective none of them had much of anything....but what they did have in abundance was contentment.  They were content to use what they needed and share the rest. 

So, here's my struggle today. 

What does this look like in my life?  How do I live with what I need and bless others with the overflow?  {Or maybe more accurately, how do I recognize that I even HAVE overflow?} 

The truth of the matter is that I'm about to move my family into a house that is twice the size that I need, more than I could have afforded to actually buy outright, and contains more rooms than I actually have furniture to fill.  {Which only means that I will have to buy furniture to fill up those spaces, because, heaven forbid they should remain empty.}  Granted, it's the pursuit of a thrify bargain that will actually fill those rooms eventually, but the point is...I have more than enough already. 

"As we begin to practice regular giving {to others}, we see how ludicrous it is to hold on to the abundance God has given us and merely repeat the words thank you."

"The concept of downsizing so that others might upgrade is biblical, beautiful...

and nearly unheard of."

God is challenging me to trust Him more.  To care about what others need out of my abundance instead of an empty room or two. To live with less, and to be content. 

I haven't decided if I'm going to finish reading this book...It is really undoing me.  Apparently I have alot of issues that need a good Spring cleaning. 

I was thinking this morning that I was going to look into purchasing the next book written by Francis Chan called, "Forgotten GOD". 

But when I looked up some info about it, this line

popped out at me:

"...Churches have become filled with self-focused consumers instead of Spirit-filled believers...."

Oh, wow...I can't take it!  I always figure that conviction that hurts bad feels good when it's done its work. So, I guess I'll finish Crazy Love and head to the store for Forgotten God when I'm done.  I'm already in neck deep.

What started out to be a few minutes on the porch has taken about an hour to complete...what with my need to change tanning positions and all.  The rest of my day will be spent between mowing two lawns and continuing my tanning with irritating sneaker and long short tan lines. 

Thankfully I have alot to think about...

{SOLD}

Dear Blog...

I have missed you.  I don't know why I have been away so long.  I think it has something to do with being distracted by getting my house ready to sell, maintaining the clean, keeping up with my kids schedules, looking for a job and moving Alex back home from a great year of college...all the while just living life.  Not great excuses, but they're all I have. I plan to get back on schedule now though...

because after 19 days with a For Sale sign in my front yard, tonight I signed THIS...

I'll share more about the new owners of my house later...all I can say is I'm SO excited that the new inhabitants of this house will pick up loving it right where we left off.  They will grow and nurture their family here and find joy here just as we have.

Two and a half weeks ago it was Emma's job to push the sign in the ground...

So, tonight Nick got the honor of pulling the sign OUT of the ground. 

So long, you're outta here!

There are still things to finalize and MUCH painting left to do at the new house...but step1 is done.  It was my hope, of course, from the beginning that the house would sell quickly, but in this market there are just no guarantees.  There are houses For Sale in this town that have been on the market for months and months.  But, I am completely surprised and humbled at the Lord's gracious timing for us.  As I told my kids tonight...never forget that He cares even about the little things in our life.  With so much else still unknown in my life, tonight was a reminder to me that we are not forgotten.  Not only the sale of our home, but also the details of my job search are known thoroughly by Him and each step has gone through Him first.  I need that reminder often...and He faithfully reminds me just when it is needed. 

"For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and his faithfulness continues to each generation."

Psalm 100:5

Crazy Love...

I'm reading this great book. Let me introduce you to the author...

Meet Francis Chan.

{Picture by Kevin Von Qualen}

He's an ordinary guy who had a rough start in life.  His mom died when he was born and his dad was a tough character, who to his recollection told him "I love you" once {at his step-mother's funeral} before he also died.  Alot for a young kid to carry, but somehow he didn't just make it through, he made it through in a big way.  Somehow his hardships brought him face to face w/ Christ and his outlook on his life changed.  And he began to speak, and write and preach.  I've heard him speak several times at youth conferences and he can literally silence a stadium with a crowd of several thousand teenagers. 

He's real and relevant and in love with Jesus. 

And he wrote this riveting book called "Crazy Love" that I am only 4 chapters into, but loving.  The "Love" part is God's LOVE for us, and the "Crazy" part is how unlikely and ridiculous it is that a God big enough to speak the universe into existence with a word is also personal enough to want a relationship with us.  This Crazy Love God has for us is totally undeserving on our part.  Even at our best, we're still lightyears away from being deserving of even a flicker of His attention.  And yet, He gives it..to each of us...all at the same time....uniquely meeting us right where we are.  That is some kind of crazy love.

So, if you need a reminder that someone loves you like crazy and you've forgotten that that someone also personally holds the planets in orbit and the sun at just the perfect distance from us{all the while stooping down to listen to the thoughts of your heart}, then I HIGHLY recommend this book. 

"The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair,

and just God loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing..."

Francis Chan 

For Sale By Owner

FOR SALE BY OWNER

http://strasburgcottage4sale.blogspot.com

coming soon!

Keep Calm...Carry on

One of these things is not like the others...

but unless you taste it, you'd never know...

YUMmy......

Actually, no.  Not edible at all.  But, who wouldn't enjoy patching nail holes with PINK Spackling?!  I actually almost got excited about the job...I think it must have been made by a woman-for a woman.  Men don't think about color when they do fixer-upper-projects.  They just do it. 

If I have to do the thing, I'd prefer it were cute....so why not pink spackling? 

Actually, it only stays pink for a few minutes...the clever little dabs turn white when they're dry. 

That IS my kind of product.  Fool proof.

I've been painting trim.  And when I got to this door frame outside of Emma's room, I had to gulp real big and take a deep breath {and a few pictures} before I could proceed.

We've lived here for ten years...so you can imagine that the little lines on this door frame are pretty sentimental to mom.  They mark the years of growth and age of a household growing up way too quickly.

And now they're gone...secretly hidden under a coat of white...

Our project list is slowly getting crossed off.  I think I can count on two hands the little odds and ends that still need completed.  Yesterday someone from church showed up and completed several projects it would have taken me and an expensive Plumber days to complete. 

Men are handy.  I forgot about that.

I'm looking forward to having a normal day again...the last two weeks the house has been filled with people and I have lost the sense of privacy and routine.  I'm guessing I won't see either of those things for a few months.  I'm tired already.  My body says, "No more!"...and my mind is tempted to follow. 

"My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

 and my portion forever..."

Ps. 73:26

the EAGLE has landed...

I've been MIA...ever since this guy came to town:

and left THIS in my driveway...

{only a 13 year old girl would want a photo shoot with a dumpster!}

We've spent 7 days sorting, throwing, organizing and throwing some more...I'm down to the attic and the bathroom closet today.  And I'm doing everything I can to ignore it and hope it will just go away on its own....but that's not likely to happen.

 

Yesterday I tackled my room....a virtual jungle of bedroom furniture, projects, junk and left-over business stuff.  I filled several trash bags, made garage sale piles and filled bags for Goodwill until my mom came, at which time we decided to do a little demolition of the desk and sewing area that has been here for years taking up space.  My bedroom gained about two feet in the process!  I hate that it takes moving to actually get this place in order!

It's heading towards 90 degrees here today, which means the attic is probably 100...and the longer I wait, the hotter it will be.  Ugh...

Only 2 more days with "Eagle"....not sure he can handle much more abuse from us. 

Next we're on to touch-up paint and a few other odd-job projects...

Hope the rest of you are enjoying the sun from the outside!