this weekend

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
(Isaiah 52:7)

Later (when I'm not at work) I'll post more about my weekend with the missionaries in Indianapolis.

here in this place

Being in my church choir means I get to sing a lot of lovely music, and sometimes some pretty dumb music too. Each one of us has songs we just groan over - some of the lowest on my list are "God of Eve & God of Mary"/"God of Adam, God of Joseph" and the second verse of "Dust and Ashes." There's also just a whole category of overused, done-to-death music from the 60's and 70's. "Gather Us In" is one of them, and Marty Haugen, who wrote it, is absolutely despised in some circles. Personally, "Gather" doesn't bother me much, although I could definitely sing it in my sleep. But this Monday, singing at a funeral at my church, I was struck by the fourth verse:

Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven, light years away,
but here in this place, the new light is shining;
now is the Kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in - and hold us forever,
gather us in - and make us your own.
Gather us in - all peoples together,
fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

Now perhaps my taste for liturgical music has been warped by too many years in the choir, but I got choked up singing this! Maybe just because it was an emotional event, but I think maybe because of the words too. Try reading it without hearing the tune in your head. (I know, it's almost impossible.) I think there are some good ideas here.

Anyway ... um ... no conclusion to this post ... just wanted to share.

last night at soccer

Said to me by the biggest guy (and one of the more talented guys) on the field, as I, half as tall, ran around him time after time: "Oh man, can't you go guard someone else?"

when a stranger calls

Wednesday night, at a quarter after midnight, the phone rang and jolted me out of sleep and into the creeps. I fumbled for my glasses and the lamp; got up and pulled on a robe; and went cautiously downstairs to check the caller ID. "Private Number," it said.

Now, logically, it was a wrong number and nothing to worry about. But logic is not my forte in the middle of the night when I am alone in the house, and all I could think about was these books I would read as a kid where the thieves call the house to see if anyone is home before they break in. Normally the heroine would thwart the intruders, with the aid of her fellow fifth-graders and a friendly policeman. But all my friends were asleep and all the policemen I know were off-duty.

But, the reason I was alone in the house to begin with was that Dan & Anne were in California, where it was three hours earlier. So I called Dan's cell phone. Dan gamely played along and made small talk with groggy creeped-out me until I felt safe enough to go back to bed. ("We'll invest in a pit bull," he said.) I have no idea how long it took me to get back to sleep, but I woke up Thursday morning sore from my muscles being stress-tight all night.

I figured I was done with that creepy feeling, though, since Laura was scheduled to get back from Minnesota last night (yes, we have a new person in household!) and I would no longer be alone in the house. But before she arrived, as I was puttering around the house, I noticed a pair of sunglasses sitting on the back porch table that were definitely not there yesterday morning. So someone was on our back porch yesterday ... I managed to sleep through the night pretty well, but I am really looking forward to Dan and Anne's return, when I will feel totally safe again!

surveyor's eye

This evening I was sitting at a table with a ruler and pencil, meticulously laying out the design for a poem I am copying out for a gift.

My father, a surveyor, died thirteen years ago today. I've always figured I didn't inherit his surveyor's eye. Give me a yard and ask me how wide it is, I have no idea. I have no concept of large spaces, and distances. But you can definitely find me hunched over a piece of paper, measuring out the inches and eighths of inches and even the sixteenths ...

But it occurred to me this evening that you could actually find my dad doing the same thing. Once the wide open spaces were measured, he'd go to his drafting table with his cool triangular rulers and draw it all out. He had this great graph paper that I would steal sheets of to make multicolor designs when I was a little girl.

I only remember Dad's drafting table from when I was little. In later years he must have done most of his drafting at the office. So my image of him, as a worker, was standing out in the woods somewhere with a couple other guys, using three-legged instruments to capture the topography. Not something I comprehend much. But I can understand a pencil and a ruler, and he used those too, and I am my father's daughter.

put me in, coach

Today at the beach I played volleyball with my friends. For me this is momentous! It's been almost a year since I started playing soccer, and that's been a joy, but I have still shied away from other sports. But today it was mostly my soccer friends that I was playing with, so I felt safe enough to try it. And of course I was terrible, but I had fun and I didn't turn the game into a total disaster. So now I have another sport that I can play without crying ;) But what really impressed me was what kind and encouraging friends I have. Sarah, knowing what it took for me to go out there, told me in the middle of the game, "I am so proud of you right now." Daniel took the time to explain all the rules so I wasn't so lost. (The ball kind of sailed over our heads a few times while he was explaining, but that was OK.) Kyle showed me how to serve and I actually got the ball over the net twice in a row!

Some of you reading this might not be familiar with this concept, but in PoP we sometimes talk about a friend "being Christ" to us. Which basically means, that person brought into everyday reality the love that Christ has for us - they put it into action. With that in mind ...

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I can play any sport in the world through Sarah, Daniel & Kyle who strengthen me.

Wedding Day

I woke up to sunshine in the east-facing guest room. Courtney would have a beautiful wedding day. The bride herself pushed open the door and sprinted to the spare closet. "Sorry," she whispered. "I have to get my veil."

"Have fun getting your hair done," I murmured, half-asleep.

After she left I lay in bed just being amazed at what was about to happen. My little niece was getting married. I am only six and a half years older than Courtney, but that's old enough for me to remember her mom's pregnancy, and her baptism, and the way she followed me around like a puppy when I was nine years old. Visiting at my house for holidays, she used to push me to one end of a hallway, then return to the other end, and then run full force down the length of it and slam into my legs with a hug. I remember when she was nine and I stopped thinking of her as just a kid and started thinking of her as just a little younger. She is still so young, though, and this morning I was awed at the thought that she was about to pledge her eighteen-year-old self to Joe.

Not that Joe isn't a decent guy to pledge her life to. I've just gotten to know him a bit this week and am entirely pleased with the way he treats her and the way he fits into the family. He is easygoing and laid-back, sweet and funny, and they looked so comfortable together this week, it was a joy to see.

I could tell you all the details of today - the wedding and reception were beautiful, the day was crazy but everything eventually worked - but I wanted to share with you my experience of this wedding. And as beautiful as everything was today, what I will remember is that moment of sunshine thinking about these two young people, about their innocent and bold and courageous and simple love for each other, and knowing that God had already joined them, and praying that no one will ever separate them.