New Challenges - Old Words

I went to the church's womans retreat as I do much years this last weekend and was very challenged about my practice and habit of quiet time. Its interesting how this seemingly simple thing is so difficult for many long time believers, you would think we would have sorted this out long ago and yet the more we talked about it the more we saw how most of us struggled and did not have a good habit of it. So we have agreed to do a 50 day challenge of spending time in the word and in prayer each day for 50 days. Its been great already as the group decided to start yesterday and I already almost excuses it away and would have put it off and "just started tomorrow" but we all started together to there I was finishing my first days quiet time at 11:55pm. Nothing like sneaking in under the wire.

But last night as I was about to get started on the new book I picked up a few months ago, John: a Study of the beloved disciple by Beth Moore,  I was going to take a Bible to bed with me, and I wanted to leave my study bible by the couch were I like it and my small one in the bag I take to work, so I went to the family bookshelf's in the living room where all the family bibles are kept. What a discovery, I have not looked though them in so many years, and what I found lines up so very well with my Heritage of Grace theme. I loved the pages I found so much I took some pictures of them.
This was my Mother Mothers bible, from 1941

 This one I am unsure about, but it has the date 1893 and I love the writing in it.

Here is my Fathers Bible, in the front page he has written "bought after my conversion Klostermuhle June 1972" He has also written "remember Medulin" which I looked up and is a place in Croatia which I know is were he made the decision to follow Christ, as the side of a lake, just as the many disciples, came to follow Him. and as you can clearly see the reference to Easter which is an interesting choice, I wonder what he was thinking when he wrote that.

This is the inside of that same bible from my Dad after his conversion. I love seeing his writing in the margins, you can see faintly all the other pages writing also, and his handwriting is exactly the same, I would know it anywhere.

This last one of my Mothers Bible and all the notes she has in the front, ranging from 1974 to 1990. The first says in her clear unmistakable "Mother writing" "Either this book will keep me away from the devil or the devil will keep me away from this book" And another from 1982 the year I was born " the bible is only boring to those who disobey it or don't claim its promises."

What wonderful quotes she had in her bible, the same one she clearly carried well over 20 years. From the time of her wedding until long after we moved countries and she was home schooled three school ages kids, through each birth and many other hardships.  

There are many other wonderful books on the shelfs some from family members who had the word now on this shelf in their own hand and never claimed it as there own. Its been there through the generations, some grasping it for dear life and other laying it aside and not making it theres, but through it all its been there and available to any and all who might come and seek comfort in its pages. May I learn the lessons of the past and seek this book as my parents have all these years. 

Random pictures

I thought my hubby might like to see my desk now that I have it all the way I like. So maybe some of you might like to see too. Here you go. Yes thats two computers. I am being a guinea pig for the new windows 7u computers on the right but still need the other for a few things that 7 isn't running yet, so I have two at once, I'm a girl we can multi-task.  

I also have to add that on the left is a great pictures I have as my current desktop of lilacs Brian took, isn't it beautiful, and the others you can't see are pictures from our time in Europe. The two small ones over the phone are of Brian. And the framed thing has "Begin each day with a grateful heart" written in it which I like right above my screen where I can't forget. I also have a screw driver in my pen older, and for the more IT related of you I have an empty desk behind me thats no decorated with about 10 computers is various stages of repair and pieces. Its not work a picture. 

Brian took this last night and I thought it was super cute. 

He also often insists on taking pictures of me, most get deleted right away from my insisting but this wasn't half bad so I thought I would put it up for kicks. 

Day by Day Thanks

211. Looking forward to spending the weekend with Godly woman in a beautiful place
212. New lives coming this Summer, so many pregnant woman this year!
213. Flowers! Just bought an orchid for my desk!
214. Road trips with the girls and great tunes!
215. Pictures of my man up in my cube!
216. People being nice to me

217. Gods word each day
218. A blog that forces me to have to remember what I am thankful for
219. A job
220. Lastly praise for a great interview for my husband! Be wanted is a really great thing!

Hospitality

I have been asked to do a Summer lecture to womans at my church on hospitality. This is my "spiritual gift" and has shown up on my tests as such sense I was a child, so its a big topic for me. I love being able to bless people though small things in relationship. I recenly came accross this post that I loved, the many ways she talks about being able to express this command from God, becasue weather we are good at it or have the "gift" of it or not, the fact is we are all comanded to do it. Peter 4:9, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint,”. In fact if you look at the context it is mentioned directly after the command to love one another.
I am so blessed because my husband also loves to be hospitable, and when sometimes I shy anyway and think of the empty frig and the messy house he gently reminds me that we still have more than most and we can share what we do have.
Recently he was helping a local mission organization with a weekend project and some people were coming in for the weekend to the area to help. Now I have to insert here that we live in my parents basement while my husband finishes school, and the "bedroom" is a room divider away from the "living room". Wonderfully I do have a kitchen so the rest doesn't matter because I can still cook! Back to my story, he wanted to know if we could host someone for the weekend, we have maybe 750 square feet full of furniture and all sorts and no extra room or guest room so I wasn't jumping at the chance. And then he said they had planned to sleep on the floor of the missionary offices, so I said absolutely, we have very little but its better than the office floor! So we had this sweet college student come and he was so grateful to every little thing we did, and a joy to have and I was so glad I had not said no, even though there were tons of reasons why I could have.
I truly feel its 90% being open and willing and looking for opportunity's and being obedient even what its not convenient.
Well I plan to do some more reading on the subject and you will likely hear more about it, I am very excited the topic will be discussed this Summer!

Spring has Sprung!

Spring is here in Seattle, and it is marvolus, the colors alone! We got a new camera, the final one this time I think and my husband took lots of close ups all weekend testing the camera and I just love the result. The colors and details just make me amazed! Gods creativity is soming is it not!








































Lilac's above are my very favorite! I love the season when they come out!


206. Sunny days followed with rainy days, always keeps you guessing and never gets boring!

207. Beautiful Sundays relaxing in the shade of a blooming tree.
208. Mondays come and I have my prayer meetings to look forward to!
209. A wonderful weekend with woman from my church at our womans retreat coming up!
210. A great free fun time at the football game with some friends old and new. Free food, free parking, and great seats what a blessing!

More Thanks

196. Wonderful trip away with my man
197. Wonderful ladies of faith, they bless me so much!
198. Beautiful cherry trees blooming everywhere
199. Diamonds!
200. His encouragement every day
201. A job to go to
202. Food on the table
203. Dear friends for dinner
204. Knowledgeable Doctors tender care and brilliance!
205. Sunny Spring Days, and the rainy ones too!

New Things

I am struck by how much language makes your world work or not. I know this well by bring overseas of course and even in England when you come across diffident dialects and things when people speak the same language and can hardly understand one another. (I just listened to Journeys in English by Bill Bryson and it was fascinating on the topic)
But as much as I know all these things it sticks me again as I sit here in my new position as a member of the I T department. Now I know how to use computers, I am decently quick at picking things up and figuring them but which I assume is why they hired me. But unlike many of them I have no experience doing it for a living per say and did not learn any of it officially but all of it just by doing or by needing something and figuring it out. Which means I know what I am doing to at least a certen extent but I have no idea how to tell you what I am doing. Or in fact when someone tells me how to do something I maybe get every word in three because they are speaking another dialect if you will. I know what they mean but don't know I do because I didn't understand what they said. Its not the end of the world and I will slowly learn the vocabulary but it is interesting what a difference it makes to the smoothness of ones day, how well you do or don't understand one another.
Anyway for both reasons have been thinking on language some and wanted to mention some.

186. A great deal on a hotel for 2 nights this weekend to celebrate 5 years ago tomorrow the wedding that changed my life for the better forever.
187. On that note a wonderful husband who I am thankful for every day, lest he ever forget, I should tell him so more.
188. For the mystery piece of jewelry that he has been tormenting me with hanging from my bedroom ceiling just waiting for this day to be unwrapped! What a lucky girls I am
189. For a steady job to pay for a few nights at a hotel, and maybe even a meal out! What a queen I am!
190. For Gods faithfulness and goodness in all things even when itys His time frame and not my own, He is good
191. For Him letting me be a part of the ministry He is doing, for being obedient to Him even when there is pressure to quit for good reasons, Thank you Lord for letting me be a part of your story. You can do it all without me but letting me the  imperfect one I am be able to be a part of it is amazing to me!
192. For the woman I "minister" to who always end up encouraging and ministering to me all the more, for each one wanting to be more in Gods story each day!
193. For rain through the sun, for growing new things and Spring
194. For learning new things each and every day!
195. For snow in April.

Blessings

Its been ages and I have missed writing! I was training someone to take over my old job and not am now in my third week of a new job so things have been very busy!
Easter has come and gone and what a blessing it was. Its amazing how people can become your family. I am forever reminded that family can come in so many ways! Through birth certainty but also through marriage which for me is a wonderful blessing and I am so grateful for that. And through the good taste in my brothers in picking loverly sister for me when they married! Wasn't that nice of them, but they did pick wonderful woman and what a blessing that is! And for kindred spirits, those wonderful people in life you meet and think you must have known forever, and the wonderful people in life you have known forever but maybe haven't seen is just as long. That instant sense of friendship, and closeness is and can only be from God I am sure! Thank you Lord for it! What a blessing and for an Easter to share with those who are not my birth family and some that were.