It's FRIDAY!! 

I took these last week at "my" office.  This is my new "home away from home".  My desk is the one further back in the photo.  My boss' desk is nearest the camera.   The flowers are from some of my students for my birthday last week. 

I'm really enjoying my new job.  It's challenging but also a lot of fun getting to know new people and new students!  I'm very thankful for the work , the experiences and the steady income.

Jim, too, is working steadily and learning a lot at the same time.  As I mentioned in my last post, we're having more opportunities for "ministry" now that we're out in the "real world".  We're happier, too!

Random Saturday Musings

You know your children are getting older when the pizza order for Friday night changes from "just cheese" pizza to "Sausage and Pepperoni" or "Canadian Bacon and Pineapple".  It's a weird thing but it made me a little sad last night on one hand, and really content on the other.  My kids are growing up!  

Exeter's Fall Festival Parade.  It's a tradition for us.  As long as I can remember (and have been in town) we've gone to "the parade".  When I was in school I marched in the parade for 10 years and my parents and grandparents (and Drug store employees) would watch from inside the drug store on the corner of Pine and E streets.  Now we grab a spot along Pine street and watch.  I still love it.  There's something about a small town tradition... the bands, the big trucks, the baton twirling groups and the street sweeper at the end (for whom we stand and cheer each time!).  They didn't have the grown men in their funny little cars this year.... how sad.
This is the first parade without Dad.  It hits me at different times.  I miss him.

 

Today I read Psalm 133: 

"How good and pleasant it is
       when brothers live together in unity!

  It is like precious oil poured on the head,
       running down on the beard,
       running down on Aaron's beard,
       down upon the collar of his robes.
 It is as if the dew of Hermon
       were falling on Mount Zion.
       For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
       even life forevermore."

I started thinking about the antithesis of this:


"How evil and unpleasant it is 
when brothers live together in disunity.
It is like rancid oil poured on the head, 
running down on the beard....
It is as if there is no dew on Hermon
as if there has been a drought on Mount Hermon.
For there the Lord does not bestow his blessing,
and there will not be life forevermore."


Oh that we could be people of God who live together in unity, for there the Lord blesses!!

Love Attracts!

I recently got an email from a good friend of ours, who happens to be a missionary in France.  She talked about some of the difficulties facing their church.  Churches have difficulties in all parts of the world.  But, then she talked about some of the good things happening.   This is what she said:

"... one of the neighbor ladies came and spoke to a church member who came to set up chairs on Saturday. She said, “During the summer, when the windows are open, I hear you singing such joyous songs. Every Sunday morning I walk to the bakery to get bread and I see all of you talking together outside. You seem so happy and content to be with each other. I was wondering if I could come.” 

She did come to the service the next day, introduced herself publically saying she was looking for “a place to pray”, and at the end of the service had tears in her eyes. She told me that the sermon was so interesting that she had taken notes and wanted to reread them during the week.  I asked if she had a Bible, and she said “No, could I borrow one? I’ll give it back!”  So I gave her a Bible and marked the page from where the sermon text was taken.  She obviously knew very little about the Bible and had no concept that it was divided into the Old and New Testaments.  She came back last week. I was the one giving the message and she asked if I could give her a copy.

            In these days when over-involvement is causing many believers to pull back from church life, it was clearly our life as a community that attracted this woman. Pray that she would come to be a disciple of Jesus and that we would know how to best walk with her in this journey. 

What struck me was what I've been talking about in other posts.  The best witness to those around us is our love for each other!  An atmosphere of love, acceptance, grace and kindness is a HUGE attraction to those around us.  On the other hand... when there are arguments and fights... when people clearly do NOT get along it is a HUGE turnoff!  Yeah, I know, I just said this same thing in a post a week or two ago.  I just thought it was interesting and timely that my friend in France would say the same thing.