Erin's visit

My sister Erin has been in town visiting & it has been such a blessing. The first couple of days were rough because Andrew & I returned from Texas with bronchitis, apparently. I didn't have it as bad as he did, so he was home all week resting, reading & consuming vitamin C. After a couple of days in our little teeny tiny one-bedroom apartment, Erin was offered a place to sleep at her friends Mary & Karri's apartment & it was a good thing for all. Exposing a house (apartment) guest to bronchitis is not showing loving hospitality, methinks. :)

And so, I wondered if I'd ever see Erin again, her schedule being filled with the tons of friends she has in this place...but I did. :) Especially in the past few days we've had some really good time together. I have Wednesdays off from work (note: I am so thankful for my job, it is such a blessing, and I'm glad), and Erin & I spontaneously spent it together...it felt like a day off. No laundry, dishes, housework, etc. We visited Priscilla, a lady who formerly employed us both at the campus library. She gave me lots of papers & magazines for my artistic pleasure & I've been ripping out pages furiously to make into creative envelopes. Erin & I had a chance to go to my favorite coffee place & get real coffee (sorry Starbucks, sometimes I'd like a shape on top of my foam) plus lunch, & played Bananagrams! An amazing game, like speed Scrabble, that's what Bananagrams is. Then we went to this amazing gift shop that is a "sister store", meaning when I need a gift for any of my sisters, that's the place to find it.

Yesterday evening Andrew, Erin, Karri (one of the girls Erin's staying with) and I ate at a southern cooking restaurant... Oh my goodness. Pulled pork, collard greens, yams, beans & rice, sweet tea, all amazing. Before when we went to this restaurant, Andrew's Southern accent came out, but it didn't so much this time because I was teasing him about it, I think. I'll play it more subtle, next time.

After dinner, we went to a free outdoor play of Peter Pan. It was entertaining, but hard to follow sometimes because the wind & sound system caused the actors' lines to be lost. The little girl who played Wendy did an excellent job.

We had more dessert after the play, I admit. Well, coffee/tea/and I had something like gelato/ice cream that is vegan and safe and coconut tasting. It's was delightful.

Sometimes when relatives come to town, we go all out. Like eating a huge dinner, ordering dessert afterwards, and going out to coffee again. Why, even this morning Erin & I went to see Jamie, my dear friend who I want to keep forever (she's a treasure), over coffee. Then Erin has a friend who works at a bakery who can make leaves in the foam of a latte, so in order to see her again before Erin's departure, we visited another bakery. I got a vegan almond delight cookie, compliments of Amber, which I'll consume soon.

Restraint will be exercised soon. It's nice to have relatives in town, it's like a celebration, and a lot of coffees, meals, trinkets are purchased in those times (sometimes), and I think it's okay. Within reason. The reasonable season will begin Sunday, officially, but I'm glad Erin's been around.

Thanks, Abba. It's beautiful, this family idea that's Yours. Great idea. :)

Texas Surprise, etc.

This last Friday, Andrew & I rocketed away on another fun-filled adventure to surprise some family members by showing up last minute for cousin Heather's wedding. The best of the surprise was reserved for Sue, Andrew's mom. She had no clue we were coming & even was talking on the phone to cousin Jill, telling her everything in Texas was going well, except Andrew & Rachel weren't able to make it. Little did she know, a mere number of hours later we'd come in the door of Uncle Jeff & Aunt Yvonne's kitchen door behind her back, causing her to respond in shock/delight/tear-filled exclamations. It was so worth it. Such a blessing to surprise her! One of the highlights of life, I think. Jessica (my sister-in-law) and Jon (father-in-law, Sue's husband) even planned it so that Sue would get us to herself as she was working on Heather's wedding cake & the rest of the family was at the rehearsal.

Here's the glorious wedding cake Sue created for Heather's wedding. Isn't my mother-in-law gifted? I'm amazed.

Since returning to the Northwest, Andrew has developed a fever and my sister Erin is in town for a much anticipated visit. It's crazy in our little apartment. Andrew's fever, my newly acquired cough, and Erin's allergies all flared up last night...we were quite a group. I'm looking forward to health & more good time spent with Erin (so far we've walked, picked flowers, played Bananagrams). Andrew's fever was lower this morning & Erin & I have plans to go get coffee & bring our books along.

In other news, yesterday Andrew & other Burn Pattern band members received the official first copies of their newly recorded album! Since Andrew has been ill, I was his ambassador to pick up some of the CDs for us. Here I am with Cory at the tradeoff, at the appropriately titled Trader Joe's store. Ha ha. Irony I wasn't intending. Unfortunately, we're in front of the dairy section. :( Where's the soy? Anyway, Andrew was so thrilled to get the album. Hard work paying off. I'm proud.

prayer for the nations

In my last blog I mentioned the book Red Moon Rising, which has to do with the 24-7 Prayer Movement. Today I found these videos of key 24-7 people speaking about destiny-shaping events that are happening in the nations right now: UK's elections, President Obama attempting to bridge the gap between Muslims & Christians in the Middle East, elections in Lebanon. There will be one video for every day this week. They're short (around five minutes each) and informative and also offer ideas about how to pray. Please give them a viewing & pass on the word.

Here are the links for the first two videos (others will follow, keep checking the site this week):

http://www.youtube.com/user/247Pray

For more, you can go to the 24-7 website:

www.24-7prayer.com

Love to you!

loving now

Here's what I'm loving now: Andrew's profile. Yeah, it's pretty cute, but aged in a way, or maybe it looks that way because when he smiles or laughs there are crinkles by his eyes. Enough to make me loose my concentration. And his eyes...I'm loving his eyes right now, too. :)

Also now, I am loving re-reading books that I loved before. Among them are Red Moon Rising by Pete Greig & Dave Roberts, the story about how the 24-7 Prayer movement began in England & spread like crazy wildfire. It's arguably my favorite book & it changed my life four years ago when I read it as a soon-to-be-college sophomore. Wild, wild, stuff. We serve a wild, unpredictable God. And He's good, too.


Pause in the narrative: another Andrew thing I'm loving right now is the way he looks at me & then when I look at him, he quickly looks up & around as if he's scanning the room, then looks at me with a surprised look, hiding the fact that he was looking at me. The dear boy. :)

Back to books. The second book I'm re-reading is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which is an impressive title, don't you think? It's by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, her niece. It takes place post WWII, in England & thereabouts & it's about a lady authoress who finds something amazing to write about. Not only that, but the nearly entire book is compromised of letters. What more do you need in fiction, really? There are even allusions to Jane Austen & Oscar Wilde & the Bronte sisters! My reader's heart is won. Did I mention it's funny?

Something else I'm loving is Pixar's movie UP. Andrew took me to see it in the big theatre (what I call the non-dollar-fifty-theatre where we usually catch a show) on Tuesday. Oh, Pixar keeps amazing me with their stories & humor & I am delighted with this latest offering. It had me scared, laughing, crying, smiling... I highly recommend it. Five stars, no kidding. You know how I feel about the number five.

I also loved the downpour or rain we stepped out in after we left the theatre. We were dodging puddles to get to the car. My new shoes were drenched in the first step & I loved it. I'd been hoping & praying for rain. Loving, too, the thunderstorms we've been having. Makes me miss the Midwest.

Further things I love lately: fresh produce. Corn on the cob. Fresh grapes. This feast was the result of a run to Albertsons, where grapes were .99 a pound & I couldn't resist. There is something so satisfying in the crunch of a good grape. I still don't understand why in Japan they peel their grapes. The crunch of the skin of a good grape is too good to pass up. Good grapes!!!

We also ate corn on the cob tonight. I showed Andrew what shucking corn was & he did it with me. Made me remember being home & shucking corn on the porch step next to the driveway, on the somewhat rare occasions we had corn. Dear memory, I'm not sure why. During dinner I explained to Andrew that in my family, growing up, if we bought corn, the plans for the evening were changed...if there was already a plan for dinner, it got postponed because we were having fresh corn!!! (This story may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I like it, and that's how I feel about sweet corn. Let it be a new family tradition! Eat it when it's good!)

Loving Mark Driscoll's sermons online. He cracks me up, but also presents the Bible in a real, practical way encouraging creativity & obedience. Highly recommend www.marshillchurch.org.

All for now. Loving a lot right now. :)

Back from the Central Time Zone, and the Appreciation of Family

Photo of the outside of the Fallout Art Co-op on 2nd Street & 26th in Minneapolis where some of the 24-7 Gatherings were held. There are some cool paintings on the inside. A brick wall with evidence of having been plastered... very artsy looking, but significant because Dave Konkel (a leader for Campus America) tied that into a picture saying our prayers need to be free of facade (like the bare brick) instead of keeping up appearances, being showy (what was left of the plaster seemed silly).

My beloved sister Erin & I outside the Guthrie Theatre standing in front of a huge portrait of Tennessee Williams (I think). I love this picture! It's even symmetrical!

This, oh, this is a huge mural puzzle piece painting that was done Friday night of the conference. There were twenty-six huge puzzle pieces made of somthing like particle board with black lines on them & Erin & I received instructions to paint whatever we liked on ours, except to leave the black lines. With the pieces together, you get a beautiful, prophetic picture of Minneapolis & ministry going on there. The piece Erin & I did together is on the bottom right, part of the second & third houses on the right.

This picture was taken inside the Black Sheep, a coffee house in St. Paul. This is the latte Tom ordered; isn't it lovely? His face is in the background. Gotta love a brother with good taste in coffee...mmhmm.

Eating makes up some of the most important times of vacations, ever notice that? Here, Liz, Ian, Nina, Andrew & I were at Noodles & Company for lunch. Oh, the niece & nephew are so cute! After this we went to the park & Liz & I felt like paparazzi as we tried to capture AJ & Ian playing on the playground. It was such a fun day!

Family was the focus of this trip, in more ways than one. Of course there was the time with Erin & Liz, Tom, & the kids. It was so good to stay with Erin during the conference, a mere number of blocks away from North Central University where the conference was held. In a way I didn't expect, the word "community" was invalidated in describing what God desires the Church to be, and the word "family" became the way to describe it. The spirit of adoption is what God has for us & it is awesome. I saw this demonstrated at the 24-7 Gathering. It was SUCH a HUGE PRIVILEDGE to be there. This is something I've dreamed of being a part of for at least four years & it was sobering & humbling to be there. I felt so unworthy, yet GRATEFUL that God set it all up for Andrew & I to be there. I'm not perfect at having these new friendships I gained, treating them as family...to be honest, I justified my shyness there by thinking, "Oh, I'm a newlywed & there aren't as many married couples here; it's okay to mainly hang out with Andrew." (I've pulled that card too much, I think, when it comes to doing hard stuff these past months.)

I'm challenged to love this new family I've gained, and after spending a week amongst my biological family, I'm challenged to love them better, too. My family is so incredible and I'd be crazy not to love them more. It was so hard to leave Minnesota & I definately cried. Erin's right; it's harder leaving when there are kids involved because they grow so much inbetween our visits. Ian is three years old, almost four, and his age is so fun! I had a blast giggling with him & playing "I'm-a-gonna-get-you" & "pillow, pillow, pillow" (this means I'd grab him, throw him gently on the couch & cover him up with pillows...).

My sisters are amazing too. I'm so grateful to have them as my friends, glad to be stuck with them.

Thanks 24-7 Prayer Crew in Kansas City, thanks Erin, Tom, & Liz for your hospitality. Erin, for your understanding with the crazy conference schedule, the walks & the amazing restaurant picks. Tom, for the late night movies (Andrew explained the "Matrix" to me, I'm getting it) & French press. Liz for the book recommendations (I checked one of them out at the library today) & your exemplary life as a wife & mom.

I'm full of love for family.

Off to Minnesooota

Tomorrow my darling & I embark upon the next "fun-filled adventure" away from our stomping grounds. We're going to Minnesooota. (Try to think of a Norwegian saying that, and you'll get the sound I mean.)

We're off to see sisters, brother-in-law, nephew & niece, & also to attend a prayer event/Gathering with people across the U.S. which I expect to be amazing, growing, challenging, and nourishing. I'm hoping to catch traces of a Minnesota accent in my very chatty young nephew! I've already caught both my sisters speaking with elongated o's. Maybe I'll pick up the charming accent myself while I'm there.

Please pray for safe travels, an incredible time with others who love Jesus & people, and most of all, for amazing & fun time with family.

"Here we go, rocketing into a fun-filled adventure!"

impressed with Charlotte

This morning I finished reading "The Life of Charlotte Bronte" about the author of "Jane Eyre" and "Villete" (the only of her works I've read, the former being her most well-known & also, I hear, the namesake for my Aunt Jane, lovely). It was written by Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell, who knew Charlotte personally. I like that. I like it because this biography by someone who personally spent time with & corresponded with Charlotte. The time period is 1820s-1850s.
Going into this book, what I knew was that Charlotte was the oldest of three author sisters (the other two being Emily Bronte, author of "Wuthering Heights" and Anne Bronte, author of "Agnes Grey" & "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"), and that she & her sisters died before they reached old age. I seemed to remember that Charlotte had been married too, but didn't know whether it was a happy marriage or not...it was, but... hold of, Rachel...
I could give a whole summary, I'm trying to resist doing that, since my days of writing essays are done for now. Suffice it to say, I so admire the exceptional redemption that is revealed in the life of Charlotte, also her sister Anne, but mostly Charlotte (since this is her biography), especially in light of the pain, the pain, the PAIN, experienced in their lives. In her later years, Charlotte wrote to a friend that she tried not to hope for happiness so she wouldn't be disappointed, she felt resignation & patience were virtues for her to cultivate.
Charlotte Bronte married a man named Arthur Nicholls, & there's not much mentioned about their marriage in the book. As far as is revealed, the marriage was very happy, & there was mutual affection on both sides. Charlotte called her husband the best & kindest of husbands. It makes me so glad that a woman who'd suffered such loss & didn't expect any happiness would be blessed with a beautiful & happy marriage during the last months of her life.
Then a heart-wrenching twist: Charlotte died, only having been married for nine months, and then it was her turn to go home.
It seems cruel, a happy marriage cut short, but I can't help but see the beautiful story in it...the true story that it is. It is gratifying to me that Charlotte knew love before she died, that she was still in the blossom of newlywed love when she surrendered her spirit. I didn't get this before, but this "Life of Charlotte Bronte" is a prime example of the name of this blog... "braving the Beauty." (Lowercase "b" for braving, capital "B" for Beauty.) The road to Beauty is really hard sometimes, & bravery is hard sometimes...
The Beauty is worth the cost, I think. Beauty, make me braver.