tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166895782024-03-07T03:53:44.657-05:00hidden gloryWe are glorious beings. Yet the glory is hidden. Beneath sin, failings, and simply the frailty that comes with being human.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-85600807087863800142008-04-22T11:54:00.001-04:002008-04-22T11:55:43.441-04:00my blog has movedMy new blog address is: http://heathernelson.wordpress.com/<br /><br />I'll be posting there from now on. Thanks for visiting ...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-45514670627710734942008-04-14T13:50:00.003-04:002008-04-14T13:53:55.382-04:00an article worth readingI just discovered this amazing article on the Burnside Writers Collective about the importance of love and what keeps us from it.<br /><br />Check it out -- I had to pass it on: <a href="http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/general/2008/04/have_you_loved_well.php">"Have you loved well?"</a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-61680706590241469682008-04-06T20:26:00.002-04:002008-04-06T21:31:52.153-04:00life in the PsalmsI've been reading through the Bible again, this time in large sections rather than detailed exegesis. I wanted to be able to get a bird's eye view of the themes. To not lose the elements of literature that I can too easily miss when looking at minutiae. Seminary was a great experience on many levels, but it was also easy to lose the awe of God and his Word for the academic study I engaged in.<br /><br />So I got to the Psalms last week. And I decided I would read ten at a time. (except for the longest one, Psalm 119) I wasn't sure how this would be. But what I'm gleaning is the broad range of patterns for conversing with God the various psalmists set for us. It's quite amazing how one psalmist in one psalm (or throughout several) can range from dire distress crying for relief to joy and rejoicing at God's evident goodness, from asking for vengeance for his enemies to pleading for help from their overpowering strength. In the Psalms, I find the words for every emotional state I could be in. There are ones of deep despair (try Psalm 88) as well as ones full of rejoicing (like Psalm 104) and many that are a mix of both (Psalms 42, 57).<br /><br />The Psalms can give my heart words to express to God when my own run dry. They meet me when I'm sad, but they don't leave me there. They bring me to a place of rejoicing because of trusting in the steadfast love of God that's truer than my emotions.<br /><br />Read them if it's your first time or your 100th. You'll find life in these poems of the heart. <br /><br />A sampling of my favorites this time around:<br /><blockquote>Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. (86:4)<br />Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,<br /> who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.<br /> They rejoice in your name all day long ... (89:15-16)<br />Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,<br /> who daily bears our burdens. (68:19)<br />The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;<br /> where morning dawns, where evening fades,<br /> you call forth songs of joy. (65:8)<br /></blockquote>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-35718554302610032712008-03-11T22:50:00.002-04:002008-12-11T18:12:50.306-05:00fun things about FebruaryWow...it's been awhile since I've posted. Instead of my usual bemoaning during this time of year when I begin to feel like winter has out-stayed its welcome, I wanted to report that there were actually fun things that happened in February. Since I do a lot of counseling during the week, I like to think of these things as categories of "therapy" (ha, ha). Therapy that is perhaps "out of the box." But practices that, nonetheless, can be refreshing to a woman who tends to pour herself into work and ministry at the expense of good soul-care and relationships with people I love.<br /><br />Without further ado, I introduce my new therapy method #1: IKEA therapy -- Seth and I practiced this with great delight in being able to get rid of his bachelor-esque TV cabinet in exchange for a new one. We actually had fun putting the furniture together (I call it "adult Legos"). And we added this beautiful wine cabinet below as well:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQ9ciq2TXArwDj0aEdrzTO4aaTWizSFYMM62Jr1D1F3lNNSK9UZdifc9ugsyMnVdHHrQFtKdJuTSetFl-KikGZrr0qY5Qps95o8g-GbAMCzeDYk5oGtI67YW_j63cScfCeHIQQQ/s1600-h/glass+cabinet+from+IKEA.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQ9ciq2TXArwDj0aEdrzTO4aaTWizSFYMM62Jr1D1F3lNNSK9UZdifc9ugsyMnVdHHrQFtKdJuTSetFl-KikGZrr0qY5Qps95o8g-GbAMCzeDYk5oGtI67YW_j63cScfCeHIQQQ/s320/glass+cabinet+from+IKEA.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176682914330883874" border="0" /></a><br />And now, the therapy that ALL who live in wintry climates already practice, or at least strive to: #2: beach therapy. Nothing does the soul and body better than taking a flight to Ft. Lauderdale to visit a good friend and soak up the sunshine. Although it was only a couple weeks ago, it already seems too far away!!<br /><br />My first journal entry shows the immediate success of such practice: "I sit on a white sand beach under a sunny, brilliant blue sky as turquoise waves crash in front of me. And I am SO thankful to you, Lord, that you sent me away to be refreshed in a land of eternal summer with a good friend."<br /><br />And a spontaneous poem came out as well:<br />Palm trees in paradise<br />Instant spring<br />Warmth -- from the inside out<br />Joys of old friendship<br />Resurrection life<br />Returning to refreshment<br />And rest. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw8KVhzE-goiD-Cx101RwoRqj21YOxDtqafhAXZ5wnaB0juvbO7XfL_1J7Esvdl90XHO7S-y14hZpvWJF-HLtpqs6DZPmM2baZXmXloCVeqw32fFzHiW7gz1A6k6zWCZel09hOg/s1600-h/Visiting+Nan+in+Fla+03.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw8KVhzE-goiD-Cx101RwoRqj21YOxDtqafhAXZ5wnaB0juvbO7XfL_1J7Esvdl90XHO7S-y14hZpvWJF-HLtpqs6DZPmM2baZXmXloCVeqw32fFzHiW7gz1A6k6zWCZel09hOg/s320/Visiting+Nan+in+Fla+03.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176682935805720386" border="0" /></a>Thanks again, Nan & Pete, for hosting me!! I would say beach therapy has been quite successful.<br /><br />Seriously, an article (in Discipleship Journal by Ben Patterson) that I read about TRUE everlasting Joy, found not in a place or in new furniture, sums up what I long to practice every day: "...the joys of a day were signpost to Joy, to the good and gracious God ... The reason I loved that day was because it was a little like the God who gave it."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ9Lq6NK9raLVB5s11YkKhpJB3UKjp3cM5bh1y499cJAd6t2dAa8ZNX3lVhUnBtV050z5DLLDasVHrJhRKxaIef4ESt_0IqcBgvt2jnD_7cwYPGtmOkr0zml9ytxWRXRAqbRclw/s1600-h/Visiting+Nan+in+Fla+07.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ9Lq6NK9raLVB5s11YkKhpJB3UKjp3cM5bh1y499cJAd6t2dAa8ZNX3lVhUnBtV050z5DLLDasVHrJhRKxaIef4ESt_0IqcBgvt2jnD_7cwYPGtmOkr0zml9ytxWRXRAqbRclw/s320/Visiting+Nan+in+Fla+07.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176682922920818482" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-22280359591991788142008-02-14T17:25:00.003-05:002008-02-14T17:33:23.236-05:00happy valentine's day!I'm reading (and writing my way through) a new book, "The Writer's Way" by Sara Maitland. I'm only a couple chapters in, but I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to brush up on their writing. One of the first exercises she suggests is doing free writing associated with a color. Since today is Valentine's day, I chose pink. And here's a poem that came out of it. It's quite rough and both deep and cheesy at parts ... but I think that's how life is! You have to laugh and you have to cry.<br /><br />So anyway ... here it is. And happy Valentine's day! Know that you're loved and celebrate that. Laugh (and cry if you need to) at my lil' poem. Seth and I are off to a Flyers game (the Philadelphia hockey team) and we'll be doing a romantic dinner tomorrow night. His night, her night ... ha, ha!<br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "GoudyOlSt BT";">Pink … it makes me think<br />Of a ribbon reminding me of breast cancer<br />That my mother survived<br />And the roses with which my husband pursued me<br />And won me over with his charm<br />Real charm<br />Sunsets<br />Baby girls<br />Future daughters?<br />Valentine’s day candy hearts<br />Whose messages I wanted to live by<br />But whose taste I could never stand<br />Pink…<o:p></o:p></span></p>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-81658759495273502152008-01-26T15:36:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:12:50.718-05:00january in reviewSo it has been a fast January. Not quite as fast as December, but nearly so. I guess it goes quicker when life picks up the pace! I think I got myself in trouble for all of the times I said in December, "Oh, let's do that in January. I'll get to it then."<br /><br />Church planning meetings, counseling center influx of intakes (blame it on my own theory of the combination of post-Christmas blues/New Year's resolutions/family issues that resurfaced through holiday gatherings), more ministry crises than usual ... Let's just say it makes me all the more thankful for this Saturday of no definite plans except dinner with good friends. Rest is such a crucial part of what's needed for us as humans who grow tired and weary quite easily.<br /><br />Highlights of this month were a visit from my Dad a couple weeks ago. He was here on business, so Seth and I met him for dinner at Maggiano's -- see picture below. We had a great time!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwRmNRLCiGyfPlVhcO_eQQlcCzQXg_a10bc4SBcQF33NhrZGu3cRwSC-oDCv8NqngiW5ypKr4MPyoXiNSTU2mGgKrLZd0jyAqAsq_uxk46-CJ0JbZbpGPfDOHpp-4Z2iVBNHvyw/s1600-h/IMG_2145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwRmNRLCiGyfPlVhcO_eQQlcCzQXg_a10bc4SBcQF33NhrZGu3cRwSC-oDCv8NqngiW5ypKr4MPyoXiNSTU2mGgKrLZd0jyAqAsq_uxk46-CJ0JbZbpGPfDOHpp-4Z2iVBNHvyw/s320/IMG_2145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159887868306399410" border="0" /></a>Another highlight continues to be our church, and especially celebrating our one year anniversary on January 6. The luncheon afterwards was amazing -- some of the best food I've ever had. We were overjoyed and surprised when pictures made it to the front page of the local community newspaper, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Chestnut Hill Local. </span>What a celebration of God's work from beginning to end!<br /><br />One of the fun gatherings this month was a baby shower for two mothers-to-be expecting their babies within the month. We had a great turn-out and such a wonderful time together. Here are some pictures below:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxGuoE7kqgmWvVWHvq_YUrJevxwDC9x1HKfKOAk6u5gYjNCeKtetogUUHZu_tZ8MWujpuKDjLpj97ssW7dUz-RHIovh7iCQcd6oQx8zhMPqDFtPpZhe2IQ2ACobaiejPkhUH5uQ/s1600-h/IMG_2182.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxGuoE7kqgmWvVWHvq_YUrJevxwDC9x1HKfKOAk6u5gYjNCeKtetogUUHZu_tZ8MWujpuKDjLpj97ssW7dUz-RHIovh7iCQcd6oQx8zhMPqDFtPpZhe2IQ2ACobaiejPkhUH5uQ/s320/IMG_2182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159887876896334018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-Akw-VmCQac799Aoql5FCtioQZF_qGDzRI7rAH5jRUMOf25lUkWSgMTGb8tsBCEtR6ibecFcMpJUdXFYn5ZFPoDqB75hw2MXkaHY3-zZDWvxi-19iDfGbEQOGFKiTT_AGJVtCQ/s1600-h/IMG_2180.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-Akw-VmCQac799Aoql5FCtioQZF_qGDzRI7rAH5jRUMOf25lUkWSgMTGb8tsBCEtR6ibecFcMpJUdXFYn5ZFPoDqB75hw2MXkaHY3-zZDWvxi-19iDfGbEQOGFKiTT_AGJVtCQ/s320/IMG_2180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159887881191301330" border="0" /></a><br />So...that's January in a nutshell. One other accomplishment that can't go un-celebrated is the capture of a mouse who had grown a bit too comfortable in our apartment. He welcomed us home when we got back from Christmas by scampering across the foyer, and he continued to let his presence be known through waking us up at night with the sound of his late-night snacking on something loud in our trashcan. Not to mention the trail of evidence we would discover the next morning ... chocolate cookies eaten through, a plant dug up, plastic bags chewed through ...! Ugh ... what a nuisance! We were thankful to finally trap him ... hopefully no friends of his will show up. So far, so good. We'll keep it that way.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-31188493814155100132008-01-09T19:39:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:12:51.425-05:00New Year's ritualsA new year has arrived! And with it usually comes a new slew of guilt for the resolutions I didn't seem to get to last year. But actually, that's not the case since I have purposely stopped making many New Year's resolutions because of my propensity to feel guilty so easily. I forget that my righteousness and my identity isn't equated with my ability to keep laws I make for myself. Like go to the gym daily or to try to get up earlier every day or to eat only healthy food or to learn how to enjoy winter. The truth is that I can't keep up with my own laws.<br /><br />Much less those God requires of us. And so I begin this new year thankful afresh that it's not about my ability to keep laws, but it's Christ's righteousness for me. It's Christ being brutally torn apart on the cross to turn away God's wrath that I rightly deserve because of sin -- this is where I get my righteousness and my identity. It's his life for mine. I was reminded of this last night through a Bible study on Galatians that Seth led. Again my heart was renewed by the gospel: the fact that I can do nothing but Christ did everything. And once again I fell in love with the beautiful truth of Galatians 2:20 - 21<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.</blockquote><br /><br />So instead of New Year's resolutions, I fall back on the ritual of taking the New Year as an opportunity to renew my hope in who Christ is and to ask Him to do the unimaginable in the year to come.<br /><br />On a totally different note -- my last few days at home, I used the New Year as an excuse to finally start cleaning out my stuff that remains in "my" closet at my parents' home. And besides the 5' wide Amy Grant poster from the 90s, the funniest thing I found was a writing composition I wrote in 4th grade, at age 9. Read it and laugh:<br /><blockquote><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My brothers are big pests. My littlest brother, Bryan wrecks everything. Two or three weeks ago, I made up a lego house and a lego car to go with it. Guess what Bryan did? He was in the room where I had my legoes and wrecked it. I was so mad at him I could have kicked him to the moon! That's just one story, but he's done several other things. My other brother, Jonathan, is a big pest too. He is always minding my business.</span></blockquote><br /><br />And there the composition abruptly ends. Probably for the best of everyone. The more ironic thing is that my grade was a "Good!" with a smiley face. What was that teacher thinking?<br /><br />I am quite thankful that I grew up to now LOVE spending time with my two "pesty" brothers. And that they grew beyond the "wrecking" stage of things as well. And that our family has grown, through Jonathan's marriage to Nicole which adds a sister to our family, too -- what I've always wanted. We had so much fun over Christmas break together in South Carolina, celebrating Christmas "re-loaded" (4 days after Christmas) and New Year's Eve and having many late night chats in between. I only wish we all lived closer and that our time together as a family was more often than twice a year! It gives me a taste of Heaven ... when eternity will be adequate to enjoy relationships as they were meant to be.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJOeG0HtIEuj65YacWFWGPGnUrj2FE-INwX5CqtwQo7rJNVDq8zRSO9LBxZuEb0sXJaj9Ktnt86Rov9fq7JZTpz2LL_pdfbFQI084TCqoueh4yaPqtPw16owrOsxREhyphenhyphenQzlGItw/s1600-h/IMG_2140.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJOeG0HtIEuj65YacWFWGPGnUrj2FE-INwX5CqtwQo7rJNVDq8zRSO9LBxZuEb0sXJaj9Ktnt86Rov9fq7JZTpz2LL_pdfbFQI084TCqoueh4yaPqtPw16owrOsxREhyphenhyphenQzlGItw/s320/IMG_2140.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153647503459530466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbJoZI2jGIjM98Em8_p3IjgkC48l4-jU7LR8D1gYn58CK4-4c8zZli98cc0Jy0mrZLGqBHYM9T1gaN9NZaA9u1JCuBJvl4PX0irbVpd3hcX-ST9LpBz7taRo000Jf3-zrSR35BQ/s1600-h/cropped.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbJoZI2jGIjM98Em8_p3IjgkC48l4-jU7LR8D1gYn58CK4-4c8zZli98cc0Jy0mrZLGqBHYM9T1gaN9NZaA9u1JCuBJvl4PX0irbVpd3hcX-ST9LpBz7taRo000Jf3-zrSR35BQ/s320/cropped.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153647499164563154" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-87914387320145678412007-12-10T12:43:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:12:51.654-05:00'tis the season ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9ZDPRcBkFI7E3_KBkMXvT8ddDOKhNbqHlg8QQDjGJfscZrRMz5J8B7NMz7aBVr3ReLygpZjki6UooJrJAFB1GzgkOuYdhwwFn46m86c6R-5bHnmnco9FPrV9TyBsacpHPdAg5Q/s1600-h/Christmas+decorating+07.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9ZDPRcBkFI7E3_KBkMXvT8ddDOKhNbqHlg8QQDjGJfscZrRMz5J8B7NMz7aBVr3ReLygpZjki6UooJrJAFB1GzgkOuYdhwwFn46m86c6R-5bHnmnco9FPrV9TyBsacpHPdAg5Q/s320/Christmas+decorating+07.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142403143151328674" border="0" /></a>How would you complete that phrase? "Tis the season ... " To fight crowds in hopes of finding the perfect gifts for that relative who has everything? To make sure you get your Christmas cards out in time? To fill your schedule with holiday parties? To forget what all of this is about: celebrating, giving and receiving gifts, singing carols, decorating your home, attending parties, going to special services and events?<br /><br />Every year it seems that I fight the same thing -- missing Christmas for the hustle and bustle surrounding it. Yet this year has been slightly different. Yes, it's busy. (six Christmas parties in one week!) Yes, I have braved the crowded shops and malls to purchase gifts (and still have a few remaining to buy). We haven't done Christmas cards -- but I want to and plan on at least doing an email Christmas update. So what is different?<br /><br />A bit more time to reflect. Just a bit. No final exams for the first time in three years has allowed for more time to enjoy this season. To slow down, to remember, to reflect.<br /><br />At one of the parties of the past week, I was talking to someone about her dinner group that she's a part of. She made the offhand comment, "It's so great to meet monthly because that way I don't have to try to keep up with each person individually." And for a second, I absolutely agreed with her. It makes sense to my mind that seems programmed to seek efficiency. But is that really love? Or is that viewing people as one more task, obligation, duty?<br /><br />And imagine if God had decided on the efficient route of salvation. I don't think it would have involved God becoming a human baby, born in a dingy stable amidst animals. I don't think it would have meant that Jesus was poor. He could have suddenly appeared in all His glory to be the King of the world, abolishing poverty, sickness and sorrow in an instant and calling all people to follow His reign. Because He's God, He could have also made all people's hearts turn toward Him instantaneously.<br /><br />But He chose instead a path of "inefficiency" as we might label it today. He was born to the poor; His birth announcement came not to the highest officials of the land but to shepherds on the nightwatch. He had to be fully human (while remaining fully God) so He could offer full salvation. The promise of redemption and hope to "a people dwelling in darkness" (from a prophecy in Isaiah 9). And this path ended in excruciating suffering at the cross. Suffering never fits with my definition of efficient.<br /><br />My challenge as I pause to reflect at moments this year is to remember Christ's birth -- to reflect on this great salvation, this amazing miracle, that came to the humblest and the poorest. To take a break from my efficient goals and actually love the people around me by taking time to enter into their lives wherever they are. This is the mystery of the incarnation.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-38754040350480361122007-11-18T21:32:00.001-05:002008-12-11T18:12:52.184-05:00a tribute to the Carreras<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBR2yvq7wE6HI8e1kDGHpsNIyE1DRx7UlgQ1eTwBKoFWp6dEhvGhtE5dwR9Wt0okZe-pWeodF9g-kwbQy17sXzPY4YMFWkTATZ0pfyI3vGJ9molgMIPRZ8B5EE3hYdmR9JlbBN8g/s1600-h/IMG_1901.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBR2yvq7wE6HI8e1kDGHpsNIyE1DRx7UlgQ1eTwBKoFWp6dEhvGhtE5dwR9Wt0okZe-pWeodF9g-kwbQy17sXzPY4YMFWkTATZ0pfyI3vGJ9molgMIPRZ8B5EE3hYdmR9JlbBN8g/s320/IMG_1901.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134375377956209618" border="0" /></a>I just spoke with Mrs. Carrera (fka Katherine Oliver) on the phone. They only just arrived back from their honeymoon. And so I definitely want to give a tribute and some reflections on their wedding weekend celebration. Here they are at their fab. rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's (truly appropriate pick for his Italian family). Aren't they a beautiful couple? Truly. His dark and handsome with her blond and glamorous ... they'll have some cute kids one day!!<br /><br />And what's even more beautiful is their inner character that is even more stunning. Both gave much glory to God for bringing them together at the right time. The character of Christ radiates through them both as well. They are truly a perfect match for one another. Each bringing out new things in the other. I've seen it and witnessed it through their relationship.<br /><br />It was a wonderful weekend of celebration, from the bridesmaids' shower on Thursday evening to the moment they pulled out of the Vinings Club en route to their honeymoon. There was much joy -- many reminders of the gift that marriage is meant to be. I loved celebrating this with Seth and also with my parents who came down from South Carolina. Funny bit of trivia: Katherine's father and my Dad were actually fraternity brothers at Furman Univ. and were also groomsmen in each other's weddings! It's a small world, after all ...<br /><br />And so it was only fitting for us both to become instant friends when we met during high school at a summer camp and to keep up over the years since -- though we've never lived in the same city. She has been such an encouragement to me to keep turning to Christ. I feel as if we're always discovering new insights about our life in Christ when we talk. And her passionate love for Christ is always a challenge to me ... me who can be so rational about God sometimes, to the detriment of passion.<br /><br />So now I "raise my glass" as I did a week ago<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdzggeoZA16yVHHPbEe63vIeN-qA3ebug_fi_k691KpaOIU9ATI4zGKpAfe3iWKgA9Zt9YFvuE2-3Dp9m82bAMjdfZHTxeIDYGJJttHA44891CC_OyT5hQx99oHnAxINQ2ExXUg/s1600-h/IMG_1922.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdzggeoZA16yVHHPbEe63vIeN-qA3ebug_fi_k691KpaOIU9ATI4zGKpAfe3iWKgA9Zt9YFvuE2-3Dp9m82bAMjdfZHTxeIDYGJJttHA44891CC_OyT5hQx99oHnAxINQ2ExXUg/s320/IMG_1922.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134374360048960402" border="0" /></a> Saturday to Mr. and Mrs. Carrera as they embark on the adventure of marriage. There are deep waters, heights of joy, and the hope of ever-increasing love in the mystery called marriage. As they keep Christ central, they will find the wisdom to navigate it all.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-15258783863436146962007-11-06T23:21:00.001-05:002008-12-11T18:12:52.733-05:00a pumpkin fall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5hY_KUWphh1QZlUmYbkkClBIQ4shFtxzVfYUlnNcAqwK7RafYSqbEzmjd_ysnwSX_DygmKJjKdAbRxV8dYiLN_iJC0K5D-NYuz3OVJU5aaAG4TQwVVqrFYn88Oj8JY-bG5I-OQ/s1600-h/Solebury+Orchards+22.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5hY_KUWphh1QZlUmYbkkClBIQ4shFtxzVfYUlnNcAqwK7RafYSqbEzmjd_ysnwSX_DygmKJjKdAbRxV8dYiLN_iJC0K5D-NYuz3OVJU5aaAG4TQwVVqrFYn88Oj8JY-bG5I-OQ/s320/Solebury+Orchards+22.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129949904451653618" border="0" /></a>Have you seen "the pain of the mundane" for long enough? As I was perusing my blog, I realized it might be time for something else. Like a newer post. And one that lists my favorite things about fall. With some pictures. <br /><br />Let's start with pumpkins. I really am loving pumpkins this fall. They're just so cheerful. And the pumpkin-scented candle from Yankee Candle Co. smells wonderful. And of course the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks is a favorite staple of the season. Who doesn't love them? And pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie ... oh my.<br /><br />Also apple picking -- which is what these pictures are from. We went to Solebury Orchards with my parents-in-law about a month ago, and it was the perfect day for it. And what better thing to do after apple picking than to (attempt) to bake an apple pie? Which is, yes, another favorite aspect of fall.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tZoMpRhqwO6QK60dCQ2TGZOuHa0y7DsmSklEH9Ueh4KiGVOEMZbdt0cg_AQgGDanKrv9pN1Mw5J6kKycbPdVEfAZMp8l45eoyZvVh5D2stHIsTfGR5sdfYukAbDV6ALlrx3Rbg/s1600-h/Solebury+Orchards+17.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tZoMpRhqwO6QK60dCQ2TGZOuHa0y7DsmSklEH9Ueh4KiGVOEMZbdt0cg_AQgGDanKrv9pN1Mw5J6kKycbPdVEfAZMp8l45eoyZvVh5D2stHIsTfGR5sdfYukAbDV6ALlrx3Rbg/s320/Solebury+Orchards+17.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129949517904596930" border="0" /></a>What else do I love? The brilliant leaves. The chilled air that's not yet bitterly wintry but rather crisp and fresh. Even now that the time has changed and it gets dark so early, it makes the evenings feel cozier.<br /><br />Probably what I like the most is the fact that I am enjoying and appreciating fall this year. Instead of years past when I would dread it because it meant winter was on its way. No doubt that winter is well on its way this year, but I am in a good place. With a husband I love, in two jobs I enjoy, a church we feel refreshed by, and learning contentment because of Christ.<br /><br />In the past month, I've cried as I heard the testimony of a new believer who joined our church. And I've celebrated with the other 50 founding members of <a href="http://cresheimvalleychurch.org">Cresheim Valley Church</a><br />I have found refreshment in God's Word through a weekend women's conference I attended (Women in the Word) and through studying it, discussing it, and being encouraged by it with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Both through my responsibilities (privileges!) at Chelten Baptist and Cresheim Valley Church and through friends.<br /><br />It's been a good month. And did I mention how much I'm looking forward to my best friend's wedding this weekend? Nothing like sharing in the joy of another ... in the celebration of a marriage. And getting a front row seat as her matron of honor! There will be reflections and pictures to follow, I'm sure.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-6862704220120136092007-10-18T22:12:00.000-04:002007-10-18T22:38:51.275-04:00the pain of the mundaneFollowing such a beautiful post is the other reality of life: the glory we reflect and seek is often buried under the mundane annoyances of each day. The glory isn't always (or often?) so obvious as when beholding a beautiful newborn or an oceanic landscape. It is found in relationship, yet our relationships can never escape the strain we put on them. We seek in another human what we can only know through a redeemed relationship with our Creator through Christ.<br /><br />And we seek this most intensely from the relationships closest to us. A spouse, a parent, children, a best friend. ... The list goes on. Yet these relationships always expose (1) our need for a Redeemer due to our own lovelessness and (2) our unfulfilled desire for a divine, eternal love. The book I've been savoring lately<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mystery of Marriage (by Mike Mason)</span>, starts here: "For one of the most profound ways in which the Lord touches us, and teaches us about Himself and His own essential otherness, is through the very limits He has placed upon our relationships."<br /><br />It's been a hard week. Not because of any extenuating circumstances, but just because of the pain of the mundane. Today holds two great examples -- bookends to an ok day in between -- but left me resentful at either end. This morning, when I finally sat down and was attempting to quiet my busy heart before the Lord in His Word, that was the exact moment (i kid you not) when the lawn mowers started at our apartment complex. Not just the lawn mowers, but also the weed eaters and who knows whatever else kind of LOUD machine they could find to use at 8:15 this morning. We live on the courtyard -- which means the noise reverbates and is amplified. Ugh. I was beyond annoyed. Actually livid at these workers who dared to disrupt my silence. (and to be honest, God my Father who I believe is in control of even details like this -- couldn't He have rearranged things a bit??)<br /><br />Catch the irony as I relay to you what I was trying to read amidst the noise (again from this amazing book <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mystery of Marriage</span>): "Other people, let's face it, confront us directly with the reality of love or hate that is in our hearts...that is why everyone bears a secret resentment toward everyone else, simply for being alive. We resent everyone for revealing so accurately and so openly and so painfully the depth of our own lovelessness."<br /><br />Ouch.<br /><br />I illustrated this truth (sad to say) a second time today as well. I went to library to return some books and to check out two novels by Penelope Lively (great author -- I just finished her book "Consequences"). As I was checking out, the librarian informed me that I had a $7 fee. For two videos that we had returned late. (they charge $1/day -- a rip off!!) And, no, she informed me, they don't take credit cards. And, unfortunately, since it was over $5, I could not check out my books.<br /><br />I was livid.<br /><br />At her? Sort of. But even more so at the way this interaction revealed my loveless heart. I wanted to give her hateful glances (and I think I did...) and make her pay for getting in my way.<br />And I probably won't even see her again. Why so resentful?<br /><br />It's the pain of the mundane. It gets me. It makes me struggle to believe that God's good, He's a Father, He's working all for good for me His daughter. His beloved. His glory reigns in the earth -- in people, in His creation. But I am so blind too often.<br /><br />So at the end of today, this is my public confessional. And desire for repentance. To turn away from my self-centered desires that make people my enemies and be restored to my Creator and to His people as those He calls me to love. To ask Him for love as I'm desperately aware of my lovelessness...instead of resenting those who remind me of my need.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-20864037053872350542007-10-08T21:54:00.001-04:002008-12-11T18:12:54.220-05:00beautiful life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOTlONq5-gpOW6unX-fb9XgaLOzsWeMZF3pF2JdKjm7VbmjUxw2CaTVY3tEt2HcVDkUROZeEUDFkNePL5vRYIQ9LuuXK9cghA_Hv4SzVUgpSTCdoeAhS-EP0g6f8-piecNofk_A/s1600-h/IMG_1777.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOTlONq5-gpOW6unX-fb9XgaLOzsWeMZF3pF2JdKjm7VbmjUxw2CaTVY3tEt2HcVDkUROZeEUDFkNePL5vRYIQ9LuuXK9cghA_Hv4SzVUgpSTCdoeAhS-EP0g6f8-piecNofk_A/s320/IMG_1777.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119151723303307122" border="0" /></a>Tonight Seth and I went to the hospital to welcome our friends' new baby into the world. As I held this little warm cuddly bundle in my arms, I was amazed anew by the beauty of creation as reflected through a newborn. She really is a beautiful baby. Her parents are so proud (as well they should be!). And also tired ... she was just born at 2:00 am this morning. I don't think I've ever held a baby this new. It really was a worshipful moment for me. I was in awe that our big, splendid God would "knit together," as the psalmist says, this tiny creation to reflect His glory. What must our God be like? That He chooses to put His image into each little human! All of you who are parents know this wonder magnified 100s of times over as you hold this baby who is yours. So...that's my tribute to little Aiyla Altman. Here's a picture of her:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFetqZfi-9BxBdWcdAM64-enU4KvbV7kzJhYvGVaAgNXT5AoQrGJCya0bkV3-opP0h6pqTbH40AmS_1M8_7ufpHsL-iMv2H9It2ltb52cHKd8haJQuX-TTcmrJkIL11IdPbj-MVA/s1600-h/IMG_1805.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFetqZfi-9BxBdWcdAM64-enU4KvbV7kzJhYvGVaAgNXT5AoQrGJCya0bkV3-opP0h6pqTbH40AmS_1M8_7ufpHsL-iMv2H9It2ltb52cHKd8haJQuX-TTcmrJkIL11IdPbj-MVA/s320/IMG_1805.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119151731893241730" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a good few days of getting doses of beauty ... Seth and I had a last-minute opportunity to get away to a friend's oceanfront home at Long Beach Island, New Jersey, for a few days this past weekend. What a refreshment it was for us to just be there ... to wake up to the sounds of the ocean and the occasional squawk of a seagull ... to walk 50 yards and be on the beach with the sand between our toes. It was a renewal for us as we worshiped the God of glory so evident in His creation and as we rested in His love for His children and our love for one another. (the latter impossible truly without the former!) As I journaled, I wished that there was a way to bottle up the day to be opened "as needed" in the winter to come. I do dread it ... but am SO thankful for the very rare summer-like warm days October has held so far ... and so I will ask for grace to endure winter when it gets here. And enjoy this beauty while it lasts.<br /><br />Glory -- seen both in the magnificent things of creation like an ocean and in miraculous tiny newborn babies. What a God we have that He would hide His majestic glory in such fragile little creatures! And display it so magnificently in an ocean.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtN4FrmW1tpc7iC7MDXJUWue0k2mejJC2QC1IclbycM1y5U16rb3JLiT_Yr82fOT7tvp8QeQgGf1tTOb5uXKeKQFJ4-Md2cjIJVuDNVgWLJAwE7a85ousmPCvBbDWegiwUvbpjag/s1600-h/IMG_1783.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtN4FrmW1tpc7iC7MDXJUWue0k2mejJC2QC1IclbycM1y5U16rb3JLiT_Yr82fOT7tvp8QeQgGf1tTOb5uXKeKQFJ4-Md2cjIJVuDNVgWLJAwE7a85ousmPCvBbDWegiwUvbpjag/s320/IMG_1783.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119151740483176338" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDey6E-K-Prjxh3Sh_j0fD3qwHNJehuWT10MQbASCXyRvs3IhrknDfyepRgqyBg13TKZljcANpUxyKGvgw1d_fBCP3m2F2VguhqPvi8siY75xqveWxf_zlvAnKWUoOfS3PGnHNQ/s1600-h/IMG_1786.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDey6E-K-Prjxh3Sh_j0fD3qwHNJehuWT10MQbASCXyRvs3IhrknDfyepRgqyBg13TKZljcANpUxyKGvgw1d_fBCP3m2F2VguhqPvi8siY75xqveWxf_zlvAnKWUoOfS3PGnHNQ/s320/IMG_1786.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119151744778143650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFetqZfi-9BxBdWcdAM64-enU4KvbV7kzJhYvGVaAgNXT5AoQrGJCya0bkV3-opP0h6pqTbH40AmS_1M8_7ufpHsL-iMv2H9It2ltb52cHKd8haJQuX-TTcmrJkIL11IdPbj-MVA/s1600-h/IMG_1805.JPG"><br /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-39691665067011181552007-09-14T13:38:00.001-04:002008-12-11T18:12:55.121-05:00a gym and the Church<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYYPeKSa1HtkYUaME2DrZbYG2QIkFH1V62jDN3G2N8GxeZ9rXI-FRerM10iha_8chyphenhyphenB-32XJrhCFApdLvUUr959LlNqQIZPidB7z9zvs8bJqxA8ZSCE79mmUeI_1xEPEtE9vdXw/s1600-h/j0405144.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYYPeKSa1HtkYUaME2DrZbYG2QIkFH1V62jDN3G2N8GxeZ9rXI-FRerM10iha_8chyphenhyphenB-32XJrhCFApdLvUUr959LlNqQIZPidB7z9zvs8bJqxA8ZSCE79mmUeI_1xEPEtE9vdXw/s320/j0405144.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110115915441593746" border="0" /></a>I have a gym membership that I had not used for at least 4.5 months until last Wednesday. I intended to. I really did. But I also go to one of those corporate “image-oriented” type gyms. Great for its breadth of equipment and quality of fitness classes offered, but amazingly intimidating for someone who hated the mandatory phys. ed. classes in middle and high school. I just have never really enjoyed physical fitness. It’s not been an area I ever excelled at, and so at some point I decided to stop trying. I’d rather read a book, write a poem, drink coffee, even go to the dentist. Really. And every time I enter my high-tech super-glossy gym, I feel like I’m in middle school P.E. again. Where everyone is staring at me, picking my physique apart (do any of us have a body we 100% accept?), or at least looking down at me because I haven’t invested a small life fortune in getting “cool” athletic gear. <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I overcame my fear and walked in, silencing the imaginary voices sneering at me or the voice in my head condemning me for not being there for so long. And it felt good, once I bee-lined it to my Elliptical machine, sweated for the 25’ish minutes, and arrived safely back in my car. One of the reasons I had not been to the gym in so long is that I felt like I was out of shape. (how ironic, I know) So after walking for a few weeks, I felt more up to facing THE GYM.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>It made me wonder if that’s what church is like for some people. Especially corporate, well-organized, high-image-conscious churches where everyone seems to have it together. People feel as if they must first “get it together” spiritually before coming to church. How ironic, isn’t it?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But is it? Do we who represent the Church universal help portray this image? Especially people like me who have been attending church since I was born. And so I know all the right answers, the right lingo, the right uniform. But I don’t naturally think about the person contemplating church who might have been abused by a church leader as a child and now hates anything God-related. Or the person whose “Christian” parents gave rules and law without grace.<span style=""> </span>I think they would be even more reluctant to enter a church than I was to enter the gym. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88spGm8U_0398QFWPUDG63r7yXLOQaY8IR_9_oAXt9UfGUWHukAh9dJzO-alZaTQicDCe-tmVWLUFTowqOfMoBoC6QUdux93AhojzutTHI8QosKHWK7owQQY87IzZj-tCUH4VOg/s1600-h/j0409751.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88spGm8U_0398QFWPUDG63r7yXLOQaY8IR_9_oAXt9UfGUWHukAh9dJzO-alZaTQicDCe-tmVWLUFTowqOfMoBoC6QUdux93AhojzutTHI8QosKHWK7owQQY87IzZj-tCUH4VOg/s320/j0409751.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110117392910343586" border="0" /></a>What are we doing to welcome in strangers? To help present to them the Christ who says “Come, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” [not “Come and I will give you more things to do and rules to follow”]. To alleviate well-placed fears and insecurities about what to say, what to wear, and whether they want to have anything to do with Christians after a bad experience. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I don’t know, but I’m wrestling with it as part of a new church plant seeking to welcome in the stranger, the neighbor, the unbeliever, the nominal Christian. Grace must permeate everything we do. The way we greet them at the door, have a genuine conversation with them afterwards, and seek to follow up through building a relationship. They need to see it in the way WE interact with one another. No back-biting, gossip, chronic complaining, fake pleasantries. You can tell if love is genuine and real.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>And isn’t that what Jesus said? “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) </p>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-5885172273770182892007-09-11T20:17:00.000-04:002007-09-11T20:25:25.781-04:00rememberingI can't let today go by without remembering. Especially now that I live so close to all three hits: New York City, DC, and mid-PA. I heard about the memorial services being performed at each place, and I wish I had gone to remember.<br /><br />Here's my poetic tribute instead.<br /><br />"remembering 9/11"<br /><br />Before:<br />innocence,<br />naivety,<br />impenetrable defense,<br />children playing happily in the streets,<br />businessmen going about their routines,<br />the Big Apple buzzing with activity<br />Unaware<br /><br />Until<br />the unthinkable occurred<br />we were attacked by terrorists<br />Here.<br />Not "over there"<br />the towers fell<br />our proud self-confidence with them<br /><span style="font-family: "BernhardMod BT";"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "BernhardMod BT";"></span><span style="font-family: "BernhardMod BT";"></span><br />After:<br />suspicion,<br />paranoia,<br />the fear of attack,<br />danger lurks on every corner<br />wives grieve, children fear<br />that today he might disappear<br />terror enters the American dream<br />National security?<br />Now exposed as a myth<span style="font-family: "BernhardMod BT";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />(or a political ideal).Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-88796990108519263592007-08-31T09:11:00.000-04:002007-08-31T09:35:06.323-04:00to care ... and not to careI've just finished reading the best chapter on caring that I've ever come across. It was so good that I had to take it just tiny bits at a time so as to truly savor it. And to pray that it would sink in as I'm very much in a full-time vocation of caring as a counselor. These are some of my favorite excerpts from Eugene Peterson's chapter "Teach us to care, and not to care" (title from T.S. Eliot's prayer) in his book <a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/product-exec/product_id/1595/nm/Subversive_Spirituality">Subversive Spirituality.</a><br /><br />Read and enjoy ... and be challenged.<br /><br /><blockquote>We begin with a realization of our poverty: We do not know how to care. What we have been prayerlessly engaged in and glibly calling care, is not care. It is pity, it is sentimentality, it is do-goodism ... Caring, noble and commendable as it seems, is initiated by a condition that can, and often does, twist it into something ugly and destructive. That condition is need. ... But there is another element in this scenario that is frequently missed and when missed, silently and invisibly squeezes all the cure out of care. The element is sin. ... We learn how to use the conditions of need as leverage in getting our own way. ... We are created to be open. To be open to God, to open out towards our neighbors. We can only be whole and healthy in so far as we do this. When we are in need, when first-hand experience documents our inability to be whole beings on our own, the first thing that can happen is that we will become more authentically human. Need rips gashes in our self-containment and opens us to the neighbor. Need blows holes in our roofed-in self-sufficiency and opens us to God. But not necessarily. ... If unwary, the person providing care is co-opted into feeding selfishness, which is to say, sin.</blockquote><br /><br />So is it clear that we who desire to help those in need have a dilemma? We are called to care -- to enter in to another's pain and suffering -- but how to do so in a way that doesn't merely rehabilitate the person's self-centered sufficiency? We must realize that God has gotten to this person before us. He is already at work, and our work of caring is to join him in his. Read on...<br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>When care is restored to our lives in its true and proper context, the presence and action of God, our caring then becomes an extension of our prayer, instead of just being tacked on to our caring. When this happens, our caring is detached from the controlling context of sin-twisted needs, self-serving ploys, this cultural-spiritual wasteland that Eliot describes so well, the wasteland that drains all the cure out of care. ... What God has done and is doing is far more significant that anything you or anyone else will ever do. What God has spoken and is speaking is far more important than anything you or anyone else will ever say. ... caring must begin with a sense of adoration and wonder. If we do not begin in adoration, we begin too small. If we begin by formulating a problem, by identifying a need, by tackling a necessary job, by launching a program, we reduce the reality that is before us to what we can do or get others to do.</blockquote><br /><br />So, God, help us to bow in worship before we attempt to care for another. To ask You what You are already doing, and to have wisdom and strength to enter in to Your work of caring truly. To see the glory hidden behind the pain and beyond the suffering. Amen?<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><br /></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-14778393120004959872007-08-23T21:30:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:12:58.677-05:00best beach vacation ever<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vnPq05x1Lpy2L1wNPD9KuyeoQt3YUCNYW28vk4Y8cs_q7B7M1-AbPDMnOPM7ZCU9yCxi_KvMwlOPHw2EV2gBjW91lnwN9ZSKFc426cuYg6eVSHJWKy-rfQH2rCSHCRpDOpQgRw/s1600-h/IMG_1617.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vnPq05x1Lpy2L1wNPD9KuyeoQt3YUCNYW28vk4Y8cs_q7B7M1-AbPDMnOPM7ZCU9yCxi_KvMwlOPHw2EV2gBjW91lnwN9ZSKFc426cuYg6eVSHJWKy-rfQH2rCSHCRpDOpQgRw/s320/IMG_1617.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102079593744493602" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a few weeks since Seth and I returned from vacation with my family at Kiawah Island, SC. It truly was probably the closest to a perfect vacation I've ever been on: days filled with sunshine, waves, sand, reading novels [I highly recommend <span style="font-style: italic;">Marley and Me</span>], soaking up rays on the beach; evenings full of good dinners where you linger over an intriguing conversation and a glass of wine; followed by laughter and games and hilarious family stories. Like when we all started recounting our version of the worst vacation ever: a trip to the Boundary Waters when it rained for four days straight and it took us six hours to canoe to a plot of land with the highest per capita mosquito population in the nation (maybe the world). We learned a few things as a family: (1) we are not campers (2) that was a once in a lifetime experience (3) bad vacations make hilarious stories later (4) hotel beds are highly underrated after four days in the wilderness.<br /><br />I guess after reflection on our worst vacation ever, it made me think that this past week at the beach probably earned the distinction of our best vacation ever. The time I spend with my parents and siblings is even more precious now that they live so far away. It sweetens the moments somehow. Enriches them. We've also grown up and matured and brought new people into the Davis family. And so that multiplies the joy and the laughter we now share.<br /><br />Favorite things about vacation:<br />(1) Good family time free from conflicts and full of rich conversation<br />(2) The familiar beauty of the South Carolina beach at Kiawah: wide & unpopulated beaches, warm seawater, wildlife (alligators, ibis, deer, even a little "Bambi")<br />(3) Delicious meals every night, complete with dessert (thanks, Mom!)<br />(4) Wine and Baileys every night (thanks, Dad!)<br />(5) Games galore<br />(6) Side-splitting laughter ... thanks, J & B :)<br />(7) Bike rides into the sunset<br />(8) The IBC Root Beer "Burp-Off"<br />(9) R E L A X A T I O N<br />(10) Immersion into the Creator's beauty through a geographical place and hearts alive with the Spirit<br /><br />The only part that wasn't perfect is that it ended. I have a feeling that I tasted Heaven this week. But of course Heaven will be much better -- an eternal "family reunion" at the most beautiful place imaginable ... all overshadowed by the wonder and ecstasy of face-to-face worship of our Creator.<br /><br />A few pictures so that you, too, can imagine you were there...<br /><br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;">The "Davis siblings" plus their dates/mates :)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZwzYdbK6iWpU7ONnp0BnBSdZmr1Lar6H3AzQkSrOlHeTY7vSRnM8dzjJzdUDeASCgICAcGWWs6OGZfCtYDCy-cB0P10Zexv01zvFC9aVa05BI5sLyRRnqA82BWS8sxaT1cdlIA/s1600-h/IMG_1680.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZwzYdbK6iWpU7ONnp0BnBSdZmr1Lar6H3AzQkSrOlHeTY7vSRnM8dzjJzdUDeASCgICAcGWWs6OGZfCtYDCy-cB0P10Zexv01zvFC9aVa05BI5sLyRRnqA82BWS8sxaT1cdlIA/s320/IMG_1680.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102081139932720290" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The generous hosts of the week: my parents<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hFC9GWxDkH7gnVykNRd0_MIxc-1qHaQqyhB4jC7sgPhwc-YnlGXYUNmIEhAdts4O21wp8OTBV5QPKtROUBR8hCBWaUzc_yIz1ZTcaYtMTPwobSWl69Ot2B0BOHY1IQyrEHxtIQ/s1600-h/IMG_1678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hFC9GWxDkH7gnVykNRd0_MIxc-1qHaQqyhB4jC7sgPhwc-YnlGXYUNmIEhAdts4O21wp8OTBV5QPKtROUBR8hCBWaUzc_yIz1ZTcaYtMTPwobSWl69Ot2B0BOHY1IQyrEHxtIQ/s320/IMG_1678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102081144227687602" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kite-flying became one of our favorite beach pastimes<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiRHPNSOZgTDzh8um2vGGb9y5yhHnh0hujlY1zeWGkaLjkdcHNZwyLje_PSzDTuXQiRYIzsKkyn4P6v_ImVfpOWjbwoEaBAh8c3Tk_HW1q7Y7XtCJF9rrDhY_43o-stsWuHXaGQ/s1600-h/IMG_1694.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiRHPNSOZgTDzh8um2vGGb9y5yhHnh0hujlY1zeWGkaLjkdcHNZwyLje_PSzDTuXQiRYIzsKkyn4P6v_ImVfpOWjbwoEaBAh8c3Tk_HW1q7Y7XtCJF9rrDhY_43o-stsWuHXaGQ/s320/IMG_1694.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102081152817622226" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcPskcAFiv5-uK5SPe7ukWgRnLlVO35VgOHYp1dMzjYLbLBf3c9OnQjm-tmigiQ76pbXO-ykVu5KsOEwAAYsXJK9CL5KOrYKV6KcHFCksTQ0c9ml-hjqe21DtqFKgcVnxD4_lDw/s1600-h/IMG_1655.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcPskcAFiv5-uK5SPe7ukWgRnLlVO35VgOHYp1dMzjYLbLBf3c9OnQjm-tmigiQ76pbXO-ykVu5KsOEwAAYsXJK9CL5KOrYKV6KcHFCksTQ0c9ml-hjqe21DtqFKgcVnxD4_lDw/s320/IMG_1655.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102080444148018258" border="0" /></a><br />Me & Bryan with our goofy faces...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoF_nzxBPLuHbPbmuIzfKL9mHwErOWVUZUpq_gztyKwqeKm4ALcLOyDM7LSyP2e4U4YYBCGnfHQfsap0S2b-_9Jadp-KjiFj1oQQkNllWBYWP76hXNqOcdUVLLsvk2goYzpgbjuw/s1600-h/IMG_1662.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoF_nzxBPLuHbPbmuIzfKL9mHwErOWVUZUpq_gztyKwqeKm4ALcLOyDM7LSyP2e4U4YYBCGnfHQfsap0S2b-_9Jadp-KjiFj1oQQkNllWBYWP76hXNqOcdUVLLsvk2goYzpgbjuw/s320/IMG_1662.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102080452737952882" border="0" /></a><br />The model-esque couple: Bryan and his girlfriend Ashleigh<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3k9iJH1Vwl7Q749HuDqde_79D0pmj9wHe0_fGYUgsN0SqtrbmzcJnX62N1YUAbmb5XlBrfBjBc5Qt2m7UbGfLGKrpurt7bpx2xRkkDZ5m72S6CAFLy2ihyphenhyphenTkID2PsUweKRs10Q/s1600-h/IMG_1665.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3k9iJH1Vwl7Q749HuDqde_79D0pmj9wHe0_fGYUgsN0SqtrbmzcJnX62N1YUAbmb5XlBrfBjBc5Qt2m7UbGfLGKrpurt7bpx2xRkkDZ5m72S6CAFLy2ihyphenhyphenTkID2PsUweKRs10Q/s320/IMG_1665.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102080457032920194" border="0" /></a><br />The newlyweds: Nicole & Jonathan -- 2 months and counting...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tHubCCJxXadQPLpoGNYJfKwk2BAVfvub1Mhu7Qb38u97rM1vVhMEao1JF9yp7M7K-aiR2sW8CdJPIiMTROpV-Q5AwfSKjgXDS91dwZzp5_JZhsMCP2_B8h98_dYkKsNVufwKxg/s1600-h/IMG_1666.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tHubCCJxXadQPLpoGNYJfKwk2BAVfvub1Mhu7Qb38u97rM1vVhMEao1JF9yp7M7K-aiR2sW8CdJPIiMTROpV-Q5AwfSKjgXDS91dwZzp5_JZhsMCP2_B8h98_dYkKsNVufwKxg/s320/IMG_1666.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102086250943802594" border="0" /></a><br />Seth and I -- the "old" newlywed couple of the trip<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9w8xjR5qFd2Ry99Y4f9ljWMERKBO-ddeHgPSM3OMmKzmLA6N7bZcq2ckC69xqa6W9XolPSO6edhgi2dHZDspheUA6qR5lu3JnVBRYCWuw9EgLnmgz3irJIPYhc6hYbuPG6BviDQ/s1600-h/IMG_1664.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9w8xjR5qFd2Ry99Y4f9ljWMERKBO-ddeHgPSM3OMmKzmLA6N7bZcq2ckC69xqa6W9XolPSO6edhgi2dHZDspheUA6qR5lu3JnVBRYCWuw9EgLnmgz3irJIPYhc6hYbuPG6BviDQ/s320/IMG_1664.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102080461327887506" border="0" /></a><br />Sunset at the marsh<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9qwSpTV3Gga_mnW5TR5BtQ1ED4edbEnGrFlBcxzKdHMSH1bGlKh9WKFLyhQi9ItbUztPnynlwYZy00YES-fCDmKX5dhJ6Bdw65VN42-M7peekgrXTCBEpGGGQMeSyNCd3c_Duw/s1600-h/IMG_1597.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9qwSpTV3Gga_mnW5TR5BtQ1ED4edbEnGrFlBcxzKdHMSH1bGlKh9WKFLyhQi9ItbUztPnynlwYZy00YES-fCDmKX5dhJ6Bdw65VN42-M7peekgrXTCBEpGGGQMeSyNCd3c_Duw/s320/IMG_1597.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102079580859591698" border="0" /></a><br />Jonathan and Seth playing pool<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWac8JN8_VlHQDGLgeRgBXHP0jaJ7-_ugR-MRx_vqjXpFN_7yBazdz9hdPBNxQHCZydAiqY-TiWnvgQS6Xc1099O1MQqhuekdmK07SbrV3R-ZFHcIuV1y2u2oM5x-r7Wu8QPgig/s1600-h/IMG_1646.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWac8JN8_VlHQDGLgeRgBXHP0jaJ7-_ugR-MRx_vqjXpFN_7yBazdz9hdPBNxQHCZydAiqY-TiWnvgQS6Xc1099O1MQqhuekdmK07SbrV3R-ZFHcIuV1y2u2oM5x-r7Wu8QPgig/s320/IMG_1646.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102079598039460914" border="0" /></a><br />Sisters! (-in-law) Heather & Nicole<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQEpJmnzm9BGUUAPVjqhuKwixUG2GLWxY7efiMuiQRXbGUHC63AZEN1psAqvd3vzrVSix5iEcnBShoO8JqXS6UK4xxx7CRmLplnD8fsqsnt4chL2U321z0NRGbZVVvPESl5YBog/s1600-h/IMG_1647.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQEpJmnzm9BGUUAPVjqhuKwixUG2GLWxY7efiMuiQRXbGUHC63AZEN1psAqvd3vzrVSix5iEcnBShoO8JqXS6UK4xxx7CRmLplnD8fsqsnt4chL2U321z0NRGbZVVvPESl5YBog/s320/IMG_1647.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102079606629395522" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-79254991397292811682007-07-03T21:09:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:01.401-05:00Summer CollageEnjoy some pictures from this summer so far. Seth and I are enjoying this different pace of life -- where free time actually IS free (from studying), the sun doesn't set till late, and the weather invites us outdoors. Philly seems to come alive in the summer.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">what else ... but the Irish-American festival in Philadelphia. it (sort of) reminded me of the lovely summer days I spent in Ireland in years past. Except for all the gaudy green clovers everywhere. The Irish would have l</span><span style="font-style: italic;">aughed.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNutmA1CEqtkHtD3GMp8C66NP15PjZiLlAbs-s2pTXh_6zXbU-VXuRhrZXkHmYbN1nwgBkY6BlvEmfqoKXdg82kNZ1aKbrz-6YEjtcvjUSHP9tgvyrYnMTN9x3j5xCRASQaagXYg/s1600-h/Irish+American+festival+5.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNutmA1CEqtkHtD3GMp8C66NP15PjZiLlAbs-s2pTXh_6zXbU-VXuRhrZXkHmYbN1nwgBkY6BlvEmfqoKXdg82kNZ1aKbrz-6YEjtcvjUSHP9tgvyrYnMTN9x3j5xCRASQaagXYg/s320/Irish+American+festival+5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083159299225001826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Seth enjoying the Phillies-Mets game we went to see last weekend. They played horribly, but it was a beautiful afternoon and the Philadelphia spirit was contagious.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6Lz5Uk75EAKr4-l__ND8CVHKXaYSt43-q0F3whv_J7kgI1UypLuh232PHENp5YGKTO9zhSsrsiJDvBlBN2JdxX0PkQUD9WVOjFKHvRyt2QD93C2qapBua4YIqA7n1w51N9w3jg/s1600-h/Phillies+v.+Mets+game+07.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6Lz5Uk75EAKr4-l__ND8CVHKXaYSt43-q0F3whv_J7kgI1UypLuh232PHENp5YGKTO9zhSsrsiJDvBlBN2JdxX0PkQUD9WVOjFKHvRyt2QD93C2qapBua4YIqA7n1w51N9w3jg/s320/Phillies+v.+Mets+game+07.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083159307814936434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRlex87qpMdsfwjmkbbf1TTuy_ZOzQdrl1TeW5cccWZC12HpQ05pxHT0wvSRgJJSxuS3rJmrT3oCcbfoKEF5eoDdBiD335nneXVyh7Kp6vHOPvymM6TCPOD6GjRjxKkmew5PclQ/s1600-h/Phillies+v.+Mets+game+02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRlex87qpMdsfwjmkbbf1TTuy_ZOzQdrl1TeW5cccWZC12HpQ05pxHT0wvSRgJJSxuS3rJmrT3oCcbfoKEF5eoDdBiD335nneXVyh7Kp6vHOPvymM6TCPOD6GjRjxKkmew5PclQ/s320/Phillies+v.+Mets+game+02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083159320699838338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Longwood Gardens --one of the most beautiful places I have visited. My favorite was the conservatory (below). And the fountain show was fun as well! </span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2qLZb9T8xhjPxJl8l_JzZZjg2TDMgyPD7Ws34StRLy32y-EW5q4rRbFLApIBWOsGstK1z0u36LY9DUQy3ZkQbUu2hpcToPlMIeTF0pTyRaJyzNH4VOP1eAHPqjkX-ZBRzU_flA/s1600-h/Longwood+Gardens+17.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2qLZb9T8xhjPxJl8l_JzZZjg2TDMgyPD7Ws34StRLy32y-EW5q4rRbFLApIBWOsGstK1z0u36LY9DUQy3ZkQbUu2hpcToPlMIeTF0pTyRaJyzNH4VOP1eAHPqjkX-ZBRzU_flA/s320/Longwood+Gardens+17.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083160884067934098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHE_TQWsfyzmgl94wgXqiY-qbd0sF25u6i1hcc__1SK7EwFzFtwjjJwlLDFgbjn5ee2dabImCYMZM-Zo34PBzqpVZWAsLSHpQwnUfc4UkEvbSS0FI5PfyboNGNxP8jeBVvPXxG2w/s1600-h/Longwood+Gardens+31.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHE_TQWsfyzmgl94wgXqiY-qbd0sF25u6i1hcc__1SK7EwFzFtwjjJwlLDFgbjn5ee2dabImCYMZM-Zo34PBzqpVZWAsLSHpQwnUfc4UkEvbSS0FI5PfyboNGNxP8jeBVvPXxG2w/s320/Longwood+Gardens+31.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083158607735267090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dinner with my parents in May at The City Tavern. A fitting historical experience for us all. </span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1imABC6qQolhG5hcsqmR7fmAT4fa1ajTpStDbuvFJPf6_weDvic92hTV0YOAVDidp0pWG86osdvKEL0ijcSRi2fSgDCh8qoEM_Wi3ShcjFryUKVhHWdX7TKliqEDLaJD1o8LMg/s1600-h/The+City+Tavern+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1imABC6qQolhG5hcsqmR7fmAT4fa1ajTpStDbuvFJPf6_weDvic92hTV0YOAVDidp0pWG86osdvKEL0ijcSRi2fSgDCh8qoEM_Wi3ShcjFryUKVhHWdX7TKliqEDLaJD1o8LMg/s320/The+City+Tavern+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083158612030234402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Seth and I had fun revisiting the place where it all began ... the Bay Bridge where he proposed to me in Central Park, NYC. We had to take another picture here! </span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdWwdDanKkoK29JD0PHvLKKwLM9vLi21eeUEyAZ73sb_3QSOjsRQewKWj-Cs5z6XZo5XIM6SE4urUDUaCBZcq-jKUM-cScUCksxTN6swTrxu7oeUL2fMrz77OACUIKEOsBlqi1A/s1600-h/Central+Park+5.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdWwdDanKkoK29JD0PHvLKKwLM9vLi21eeUEyAZ73sb_3QSOjsRQewKWj-Cs5z6XZo5XIM6SE4urUDUaCBZcq-jKUM-cScUCksxTN6swTrxu7oeUL2fMrz77OACUIKEOsBlqi1A/s320/Central+Park+5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083158616325201714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dinner at Portofino, an authentic Italian restuaurant in the city, around the corner from the Philadelphia Ballet. We loved it!</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOSQzlc8vL_23dH6vStuYHwEa8z4ceXJWN5bEvOOy0NvsJ2g-R_ZZ8ZJBz0rmaB3CjK7KYlHKnaiCTb29jrEpQChEhSgnUERK0eTGun0k8bWWqURDJh_FcKaTdrf9BQ0jTLU7tA/s1600-h/Philadelphia+Ballet+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOSQzlc8vL_23dH6vStuYHwEa8z4ceXJWN5bEvOOy0NvsJ2g-R_ZZ8ZJBz0rmaB3CjK7KYlHKnaiCTb29jrEpQChEhSgnUERK0eTGun0k8bWWqURDJh_FcKaTdrf9BQ0jTLU7tA/s320/Philadelphia+Ballet+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083158624915136322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A fun evening with our friend, Julie, down in Philadelphia. Here we are at Penns Landing. </span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88AMWpjHqz-z5t2eYmHNA20tJtK8QxjD35z6wHbNf3ZSZ6xQZTg-M7dM9HZNNW4nLgE6B21LI_OHMmNVql7UyiGqU2FYpNRDl3mIVmWNTkvXkfN0nB6knIa436z-t8JeKea0Unw/s1600-h/Julie+and+Heather.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88AMWpjHqz-z5t2eYmHNA20tJtK8QxjD35z6wHbNf3ZSZ6xQZTg-M7dM9HZNNW4nLgE6B21LI_OHMmNVql7UyiGqU2FYpNRDl3mIVmWNTkvXkfN0nB6knIa436z-t8JeKea0Unw/s320/Julie+and+Heather.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083158629210103634" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-3228459720341926802007-06-28T22:42:00.000-04:002007-06-28T23:00:31.292-04:00poems<p>I found these poems ... and thought i'd post a few for the reading. </p>They speak of a journey, from a high school girl bright-eyed about life to a woman in her 20s who knows a deeper joy because of suffering. Some of them were written in the "in-between" -- before the morning dawned, at the darkest hour of night. And yet I believe that especially here there was good happening within me. Not because I am good, but because I belong to One who promises to turn even bad into good for me. For a greater glory. His ... and mine.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy these few. More to come, if the populace demands it. :)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Morning Mist" (senior year of high school -- 1997)</span><br />Morning mist<br />like a blanket of gossamer<br />Mysterious<br />Making all in its touch vague.<br />The world is different:<br />What was a beaten trail<br />Now is an unfamiliar path.<br />It is peace and calm<br />And comfort:<br />God's Hand still rests on the earth.<br />O beautiful mist, full of unknowns--<br />What lies behind the bend?<br />It's perfect trust in a God<br />Who sees through the morning mist.<br />He will guide and direct through all of life's opaque.</blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"A Winter's Glory" (1.16.99 -- sophomore year at Wheaton College)</span><br />Oh, the brilliance -- oh, how glorious!<br />Is the flaming winter sky.<br />Bare limbs silhouetted<br />Against the bright glory<br />Of a winter's sky.<br /><br />The sun has set--<br />But has not died.<br />The clouds-'though plain themselves-<br />Reflect the sunset's glory.<br />They tell the story,<br />For minutes after the sun's death<br />Beyond horizon's edge.<br /><br />The snow reflecting the stillness;<br />Black lines against the brilliance;<br />Purple, pink streaks in the blue.<br />The sun gone.<br />But the glory grows greater each moment.<br /><br />Ah-most glorious Creator!<br />You are too marvelous!<br />Let me not forget this jewel of glory<br />Found beyond the bitter gloom<br />I had thought would hold the winter.<br />May many more delightful sunsets<br />Remind me of whose glory I seek.</blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"wounded" (2002)</span><br />I surrender it to You--<br />I try to take it back:<br />I fall under the weight of a burden<br /> not meant for me to bear alone.<br />What will heal this bitterly festering wound?<br />Not my gossip nor my envy;<br />No amount of journaling or words.<br />It's too deep.<br />You've noticed and You know.<br />A rugged, blood-stained piece of wood<br />Pierces deep<br />Into my heart,<br />Into His hands.<br />Justice?<br />Finished.<br />Guilt?<br />Removed.<br />Love?<br />Immeasurably unending.</blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Spring 2005"</span><br />Spring, you invite me<br />Into your freshness with each new green<br />turquoise blue sky like the inside of<br />a dyed Easter egg.<br />New beckons me into the sunset of twilight<br />Greets me in the first rays streaming<br />into my window.<br /><br />Could my heart live here--in your spring?<br />Eternal newness, all scars and wounds erased<br />Disappearing like the cold winds of winter<br />Bitterness melting away with the snow--<br />Or is its beauty too abrasive<br /> for my calloused cradle of dreams?<br /><br />I can't live here. Or can I?<br />It means I must live again.<br />Laugh again.<br />Breathe again--break out of academia's cocoon.<br />Throw my head back; soak it up;<br />be revived.</blockquote>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-48576716712344004782007-06-12T23:00:00.001-04:002008-12-11T18:13:01.649-05:00the enchantment of Sleeping Beauty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnZV9oDokHaidDnyxQLO5du7p-steT_U4QS1LdX-6RwN767AZmrxKFqx9lITofvEpB-BvX7T1PFnNdFvQipFjUP6iZ1rId469VumDNipJiIGegMvqFyDe5_NnzkqWFS27lF765Q/s1600-h/Sleeping+Beauty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnZV9oDokHaidDnyxQLO5du7p-steT_U4QS1LdX-6RwN767AZmrxKFqx9lITofvEpB-BvX7T1PFnNdFvQipFjUP6iZ1rId469VumDNipJiIGegMvqFyDe5_NnzkqWFS27lF765Q/s320/Sleeping+Beauty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075380309700300002" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">The story is a classic: A beautiful princess is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger and fall into a deep sleep. Pennsylvania Ballet’s mammoth production, with choreography by Marius Petipa, explores the romantic, humorous and suspenseful tale featuring three magical fairies and a valiant Prince who vows to rescue his beloved from the evil spell. Join us for the spectacular adventure, performed to the famous Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky score — his first major success in ballet composition!</blockquote><br />Thus describes the Pennsylvania Ballet's production of "Sleeping Beauty" which we went to as a gift from Seth for my birthday last week. And it was all that it promised to be ... and more. I loved the way dance, story, and music intertwined to produce an experience that was, pardon the pun, enchanting. <br /><br />There is something about each of those elements that calls us to a transcendent Beauty in and of itself: the sounds of a live orchestra performance, the elegant simplicity of ballet, and the proven worth of a classic fairytale. Put them all together, and I'm absolutely sure that it was my favorite performance I've attended. Thank you to my amazing husband for the perfect gift!<br /><br />It certainly helps to capture my imagination because my secret dream is to become a professional ballerina if counseling doesn't work out. Now what's truly humorous about that is I've never taken a ballet class in my life. Maybe now that I'm finished with my degree this is a way I can spend my free time...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-26347471861748608242007-06-06T23:24:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:02.018-05:00whirlwindYes, I think that's what the past month has been. And it's been good. But what to do when it finally stops?? It's just too easy to try to keep up the crazy pace. And life seems to be very conducive to being filled with activities, even now that the month of weddings and graduations is finished.<br /><br />But I think God wants more for his people than busyness. I've been reading a book by Fenelon, called "The Seeking Heart" for the past few weeks. (thanks to my brother for giving me this gift) It convicts me to slow down...to stop...to be in the moment.<br /><br />"Be still and know that I am God," begins Psalm 46:10, and it finishes with the glorious promise, "I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth." In my stillness it allows me to see how much God is at work -- quite independent from my scurrying around trying to get everything "important" done.<br /><br />So listen with me to this sentence in Fenelon's book, and do what needs to be done as a result: "How can you hear God speak, in His soft and tender way, when your hurried thoughts create a whirlwind?"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsN9aQ1SrPtMl1AlLwGyfhr5Ba1QoStDE1Uhjii0On8VM3NlogRFqcwAk0b8WZrFi0OfmWJZM5DGI2q691p5tELdI5UTFO_2PuZ7_9CjLfAHrXDK5ZtSB57CU0Q3oDGRPWDAMxQ/s1600-h/j0400958.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsN9aQ1SrPtMl1AlLwGyfhr5Ba1QoStDE1Uhjii0On8VM3NlogRFqcwAk0b8WZrFi0OfmWJZM5DGI2q691p5tELdI5UTFO_2PuZ7_9CjLfAHrXDK5ZtSB57CU0Q3oDGRPWDAMxQ/s320/j0400958.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073162040696294610" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-54150207825675264402007-05-21T12:43:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:02.336-05:003 weddings and a graduationWhew. It's been such a full three weeks! A very fun and joyful three weddings that I had a "front-row seat" to as a bridesmaid. It really is beautiful to watch God bring two people together as husband and wife and to witness this celebration of their marriage covenant. As I've been in these weddings, it's great to see how each wedding really represented the couple getting married and reflected their unique personalities.<br /><br />Like Nathan and Erica Kurcsak -- who began their ceremony on May 5th by singing a worship song together. What a great way to set the tone of worship together! And it's a picture of how I know God has already used them -- to lead many to worship Christ through their relationship. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTo7cSCog4Cpe1Jad1Vu1CGoeo9ix2PyjlfAHSV_7ElbXcwZWJDAtqt_pQa8Z5KrqBz-ZX0ulAwu7G_rDtCG7QehfSe3liiI_eYf9gmwhXM43trcQzQzQbi_zcCoTcbiFqcbZkA/s1600-h/Nathan+%26+Erica%27s+wedding+23.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTo7cSCog4Cpe1Jad1Vu1CGoeo9ix2PyjlfAHSV_7ElbXcwZWJDAtqt_pQa8Z5KrqBz-ZX0ulAwu7G_rDtCG7QehfSe3liiI_eYf9gmwhXM43trcQzQzQbi_zcCoTcbiFqcbZkA/s320/Nathan+%26+Erica%27s+wedding+23.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067056768610290482" border="0"></a><br /><br />And then Mark and Susan Clark whose weekend and wedding on May 12th was full of the joy of Christ that they reflect together so well! In fact, there was even some spontaneous laughter during their vows which I think is such a picture of the freedom Christ has given them to love fully -- making the most serious commitment you can make to another person with confidence in the One whose faithfulness they trust. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKR1-g5Ptqd4BqaiXbkumhUgWegz91_ab7qh6eDtfNRdWJCLKAEiOqeWRMu_TLhwHJCWZc1OmlyQA_R1WKAXB4vTXKWEvDl_vETj6FCa7jNVfxBZo61rpf_EhWBw0uIVaIz9amA/s1600-h/Susan+%26+Mark%27s+wedding+29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKR1-g5Ptqd4BqaiXbkumhUgWegz91_ab7qh6eDtfNRdWJCLKAEiOqeWRMu_TLhwHJCWZc1OmlyQA_R1WKAXB4vTXKWEvDl_vETj6FCa7jNVfxBZo61rpf_EhWBw0uIVaIz9amA/s320/Susan+%26+Mark%27s+wedding+29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067057803697408834" border="0"></a><br />And last, but certainly far from least, was the wedding on May 19th of Jonathan and Nicole Davis. In fact, since it was so recent ... and I haven't uploaded pictures yet ... I'm just going to have to write about theirs in a future posting. It really was beautiful to watch God bring these two together, and to see their solemnity as they made their vows to one another. Their relationship speaks so deeply of the loyalty and faithfulness that only Christ can give between two people. <br /><br />So...three weddings. And now in three days, my graduation from Westminster. Which will certainly be a celebration of a different type. It still hasn't sunk in yet. But I'm sure it will as I walk across the stage to receive my Master's diploma on Thursday. <br /><br />May has become from beginning to end the month of celebrations!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-47710082807469066592007-05-10T11:50:00.000-04:002007-05-10T12:50:54.224-04:00FinishedAs I ended my last final of my last class in my last semester, I reflected (a bit) on the fact that I am FINISHED. <br /><br />Finished with three years of a Master's program in Biblical counseling at Westminster Seminary. (www.wts.edu)<br /><br />...with 56 hours of class<br /><br />...with 6 semesters and 2 winter terms<br /><br />...with over 18 finals<br /><br />...with dozens of papers<br /><br />...and 1000's of dollars<br /><br />But the true cost of this all -- is priceless. When I think about the friendships I've made, what of Christ I have learned, how my own heart has been changed, and the hope of future opportunities to love people and bring the hope of the gospel into their lives. <br /><br />In many ways, I guess I'm just beginning. Stay posted for more graduation reflections to come...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-33469007858903873272007-05-01T17:15:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:02.708-05:00Happy 25th Birthday, Jonathan!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-AIybCE1QHO0JIFFgaor3e3ePro8G7TDcOMTrcUOuV1yELtCGJizLPRgS994tamc5B2Y47IuzwPzRUYYOkI5hmQMhSKcriLKrSR54FHu95HdQVOvfEGDzMcCGwczRl6-Bot6Lw/s1600-h/07260037.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-AIybCE1QHO0JIFFgaor3e3ePro8G7TDcOMTrcUOuV1yELtCGJizLPRgS994tamc5B2Y47IuzwPzRUYYOkI5hmQMhSKcriLKrSR54FHu95HdQVOvfEGDzMcCGwczRl6-Bot6Lw/s320/07260037.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059704274107116514" border="0" /></a>This is one of the last pictures I have where my "little" brother Jonathan is actually shorter than me. In honor of his birthday today, this post is for him!<br /><br />One of my first memories is one of delight and joy when my parents told me as a two year old that I was going to be a big sister. I remember being so excited to meet this new sibling in the hospital. And probably begging my parents over and over again to hold him (which they rarely allowed, due to their wisdom!). Until Bryan came along, I would usually force him to play whatever girlish game I was playing and he usually coerced without a fight. He's always been much more laid-back than his older, bossier sister. And I know that I took advantage of that too much when we were younger!<br /><br />Even though he is my younger brother, Jonathan was quite an example for me as we grew up and I entered the tumultuous years of adolescence. He had wrestled with his faith in Christ at a young age when he would stay up late talking to Mom and Dad about very deep, hard questions. He was always pretty mature for his age. I often discounted this or tried to brush it off. However, spiritually he really was an example to me and encouraged me to really pursue God even when it seemed too difficult or irrelevant. His steadfast faith has continued to this day and has grown through many trials.<br /><br />It has been a true joy to see the way that we have become good friends as we've both grown up. We've asked each other for advice, prayed with and for each other, and kept in touch throughout the college years and now post-college. It's only fitting that each of our weddings would be within 9 months of one another! I'm thrilled that God has brought such an amazing woman into his life as his bride, and that we'll celebrate their marriage in less than a month.<br /><br />So...HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY, Jonathan! And thanks for all the ways you've encouraged me in Christ as my brother throughout the years. I<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoMTuooAhpzFcCGCr4FEb2Z_io3g1-HOfRhGoHUC3WwPHUneMvRLABpcn8POvIZ4E6P6H4e8JeBLxhPPY3cpmv9EFUU72MJw-WsF6Xco2_1TsIKRJiOdy7RxdCQWbfZ5D9c3XNw/s1600-h/IMG_0990.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoMTuooAhpzFcCGCr4FEb2Z_io3g1-HOfRhGoHUC3WwPHUneMvRLABpcn8POvIZ4E6P6H4e8JeBLxhPPY3cpmv9EFUU72MJw-WsF6Xco2_1TsIKRJiOdy7RxdCQWbfZ5D9c3XNw/s320/IMG_0990.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059728274384366594" border="0" /></a> look forward to many fun vacations with our families in the years to come. And we'll see you at the wedding to your beautiful bride in less than 3 weeks!!!!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-47887301779113772622007-04-20T22:44:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:04.921-05:00the glories of GREEN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswXG3JwaQ5prWJ_LUADigF3I-k1tZZzxxMS_32aNvUs6bkB5CiGQxvQJks5BaZ8sbOeraZ5qGdIdGXRPw2j8skK7-VAbtfZ7I1pLzTppT1kcg-LEhhuURNPejdz0Naqxu3SvLfQ/s1600-h/IMG_1144.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswXG3JwaQ5prWJ_LUADigF3I-k1tZZzxxMS_32aNvUs6bkB5CiGQxvQJks5BaZ8sbOeraZ5qGdIdGXRPw2j8skK7-VAbtfZ7I1pLzTppT1kcg-LEhhuURNPejdz0Naqxu3SvLfQ/s320/IMG_1144.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055707456757918850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAIZXQV9upcXwGgW4kzr2jxxlua53biEs1fCC_zD7u6XlXMVmTp75lza9x0B0YApuuweQKI1Q4l2kAGG-ZnVTrUGwsiUwaJQJ-_ymFwOOVMcFhjOZFYecfkO0lc4rJnVi_SuzpA/s1600-h/IMG_1142.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAIZXQV9upcXwGgW4kzr2jxxlua53biEs1fCC_zD7u6XlXMVmTp75lza9x0B0YApuuweQKI1Q4l2kAGG-ZnVTrUGwsiUwaJQJ-_ymFwOOVMcFhjOZFYecfkO0lc4rJnVi_SuzpA/s320/IMG_1142.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055707439578049634" border="0" /></a>To many of you who are privileged to live in a place where spring is already in full bloom, you probably won't understand the beauty of these pictures. I'll give you the story behind it so that you can more fully appreciate how truly glorious GREEN can be.<br /><br />Imagine two weary travelers who pull on their winter sweaters on yet another cold, gray morning in Philadelphia. One in particular hates to still be shivering when it's April and beyond Easter. She thinks that she should be wearing her white sandals and pastel-colored clothes now. But the first time she really got them out was in anticipation of this weekend trip to her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. To these winter-dreary travelers, they are desperately in need of spring. There are little signs of it here and there: daffodils, forsythia, pink-blossoming trees. But no green leaves to speak of.<br /><br />Imagine their wonder, joy and amazement when, after a brief four hour flight, they awake to find themselves in the land of green. The sun is shining so brightly that they need their sunglasses; its warmth invites them to shed their sweaters; and most of all the GREEN dazzles their eyes. The leaves are back! So rarely do you have the chance to experience both winter and spring in one day that it's easy to forget how absolutely glorious spring can be. Its wonder is not lost on these two travelers.<br /><br />Imagine what's even more refreshing: the joy of seeing my family after four months; of celebrating with my "little" brother and my soon-to-be sister-in-law as they anticipate their wedding; of sharing a cup of Ginger Peach tea and heart-warming conversation on a Sunday afternoon with a good friend who will also be wed soon; of all that is familiar about home and parents and the church I grew up in.<br /><br />Needless to say, I think I feel more alive after this past weekend. We still await the green leaves to blossom here, but we have gotten a taste of the vitality to come.<br /><br />A few pics from the weekend...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlySdthDvbJW2zgQuc9G-AYitjKrArcY8tkqYK0diXqMDGtBr4c4NPuan_PhMDw2ojssPv_5XUay9JJeUHRhSFWEHA2aUJnlhIHx8-KHdNBRIWvqF48Zok2jSasnQfz-BmM3r8zg/s1600-h/IMG_1154.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlySdthDvbJW2zgQuc9G-AYitjKrArcY8tkqYK0diXqMDGtBr4c4NPuan_PhMDw2ojssPv_5XUay9JJeUHRhSFWEHA2aUJnlhIHx8-KHdNBRIWvqF48Zok2jSasnQfz-BmM3r8zg/s320/IMG_1154.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055707461052886162" border="0" /></a>Nicole and Jonathan opening up my parents' shower gift to them: a pancake griddle so they can carry on the famous Davis Saturday morning tradition of pancakes<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgHT63nKndZ59uPHpDKGgtOWt7Q43-wM3jedFYGjSxCFIDzHDlL0LoJTlu5lHQCMX8wBp8sIv6k6dO3pV_gs3NGG54n1GbS8xa_LHyfqNPOek1vGfT_5mq8Pc1gblDf85JjVx3w/s1600-h/IMG_1155.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgHT63nKndZ59uPHpDKGgtOWt7Q43-wM3jedFYGjSxCFIDzHDlL0LoJTlu5lHQCMX8wBp8sIv6k6dO3pV_gs3NGG54n1GbS8xa_LHyfqNPOek1vGfT_5mq8Pc1gblDf85JjVx3w/s320/IMG_1155.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055707465347853474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />My cousin Jillian and I in our Sunday morning best. She was our flower girl in our wedding. And she's growing so fast!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6qt3-YqfZHSQnsd8_6HAzTpOaYb0Xns9zL3P9YsQeyz_hLFCRc19mIHutqvBbjxM80tqoVcO1r16AFFcmryUiqKwPnsRuAzwg4mxB59I-STjg9DgqKlnKthdhye1ySOfmZQk4w/s1600-h/IMG_1157.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6qt3-YqfZHSQnsd8_6HAzTpOaYb0Xns9zL3P9YsQeyz_hLFCRc19mIHutqvBbjxM80tqoVcO1r16AFFcmryUiqKwPnsRuAzwg4mxB59I-STjg9DgqKlnKthdhye1ySOfmZQk4w/s320/IMG_1157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055707671506283698" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br />Seth with Jillian and her little brother, Logan. Doesn't he look like a natural? :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16689578.post-78699179267805228862007-04-09T19:27:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:13:05.986-05:00A Joyful Easter: it is well with my soul<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHQjOOsYC6TB3n4PXdkzhB3ebZe5h5aazTH2qOEod78T5D0ZsO8ygRTdfjwEVGJyOVBHbjGIiAQii0DUZQcJdNDn94nwf_47MGVlLCyESuvwJMmGfl4Xzm9pmApBMCLZW11OTVw/s1600-h/IMG_1141.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHQjOOsYC6TB3n4PXdkzhB3ebZe5h5aazTH2qOEod78T5D0ZsO8ygRTdfjwEVGJyOVBHbjGIiAQii0DUZQcJdNDn94nwf_47MGVlLCyESuvwJMmGfl4Xzm9pmApBMCLZW11OTVw/s320/IMG_1141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051575803285268274" border="0" /></a> As we ended our Good Friday service at church with this hymn, it resonated with my soul. This is the joy of Good Friday and Easter Sunday: regardless of what life brings, how tempting sin becomes, and the kind of suffering I experience (and those close to me) IT IS WELL with my soul. Because of Christ...His death in my place, His resurrection guaranteeing there is life after death. Below are two verses of this familiar hymn. And below that are various snapshots from our Easter celebration. (including my first ever attempt at a Southern Easter tradition of "Hot cross buns" and pictures of our Easter breakfast with Seth's parents, Fred & Joan) <br /><pre>Refrain:<br /> It is well with my soul,<br /> it is well, it is well with my soul.<br /><br />2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,<br /> let this blest assurance control,<br /> that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,<br /> and hath shed his own blood for my soul.<br /> (Refrain)<br /><br />3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!<br /> My sin, not in part but the whole,<br /> is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,<br /> praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!<br /> (Refrain)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREQjRU-e3Cdh657oVcbNXxexZo3PPOzGOOZRDnbZd2V9pifarPyvrR0x1k-jxF33D9HPoZ2dt6mCiWRrUau9Hi_iZzdxfpqHGvjVjVKm7qAe4U0Hhqlhy7sg7tA2ZTMdKGkBR6w/s1600-h/IMG_1131.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREQjRU-e3Cdh657oVcbNXxexZo3PPOzGOOZRDnbZd2V9pifarPyvrR0x1k-jxF33D9HPoZ2dt6mCiWRrUau9Hi_iZzdxfpqHGvjVjVKm7qAe4U0Hhqlhy7sg7tA2ZTMdKGkBR6w/s320/IMG_1131.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051575786105399058" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhef5u5C7lMiy7OlKr75-VA5L65BEEjhY-2n_S7RBDdkzmGg-CEe-IjRTMxcf2XmHRH94BY0eM9FxJ1u2YtOB_OFmO-tVmndx0UYQ5rOqBKVk8wNS3twxLGujnQe0OIoljoJ4QOQg/s1600-h/IMG_1132.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhef5u5C7lMiy7OlKr75-VA5L65BEEjhY-2n_S7RBDdkzmGg-CEe-IjRTMxcf2XmHRH94BY0eM9FxJ1u2YtOB_OFmO-tVmndx0UYQ5rOqBKVk8wNS3twxLGujnQe0OIoljoJ4QOQg/s320/IMG_1132.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051575794695333666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA18fcbsY-ntThIquPxQYkxJXnmRlpUi1om3FqewILVrVXwWQQWB1IM6_p9r4DMLgrmYv12uoJr_hmVEcfJwEokKWHIkDr9h8Luw1c4ckNdI-el5c5bECLBP21mvwtpe6BqJloKA/s1600-h/IMG_1130.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA18fcbsY-ntThIquPxQYkxJXnmRlpUi1om3FqewILVrVXwWQQWB1IM6_p9r4DMLgrmYv12uoJr_hmVEcfJwEokKWHIkDr9h8Luw1c4ckNdI-el5c5bECLBP21mvwtpe6BqJloKA/s320/IMG_1130.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051575777515464450" border="0" /></a><br /></pre>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921848150380193433noreply@blogger.com0