On Wrapping Up Another Year

Friends, it's a wrap!

In more ways than one, June feels like the end of the year for our family. With school wrapping up and the ministry year at church wrapping up as well, it's very much a time of entering into a season of rest.

As I sit here tonight, on the eve of the last day of school for my boy... my girl has been off school already since last Friday when her exams wrapped up, I am reflecting on just how packed this year was for our family in terms of our everyday family life, work, school and ministry involvement... and this quote comes to mind:

O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.

~ Phillips Brooks. "Going up to Jerusalem", Sermons (1886), p. 330.

In a lot of ways, God's grace showed up big time for us this year!

In reality, not just this year... but throughout the life of this family! As we celebrated our family's 19th birthday yesterday {a.k.a. our wedding anniversary, but we like to call it our family's birthday because we love including our kids in the celebration of this day}, we couldn't help but look back and be amazed at how far God has brought us!

You may kiss this bride!

Moments after being pronounced as husband and wife.

Last night, as we watched our wedding video... I couldn't help but see two very young newlyweds who hadn't the slightest clue where or how far God would take them in their journey of becoming a family.

Today, 19 years later... my heart absolutely overflows with joy and thankfulness when I look back and see how absolutely beautiful God's grace is.

How He's taken two broken people... and made a them into a family that seeks to live out Micah 6:8 each day, believing that compassion is a command, an act of worship... our song of thanks to Him!

Taken by my girl last night at our celebration dinner! ♥

Oh how He loves...

So relentlessly and so extravagantly. Each day He still so graciously shows us how to live more radically, how His upside-down economy works, how our hearts should break for the things that break His.

Just today, we read about a fellow Compassion Advocate who sponsors 76 children all by herself! Yes, you read that right... 76 children!!! She has cut personal spending to zero, just spending for basic necessities, but doesn't feel like she's depriving herself or that it's a sacrifice because... in her own words, "These kids are more of a blessing to me than I could ever be to them!"

Wow! What an inspiration!!! I just love God-stories like this! It inspires our family to do more, to be more, to love more... to be more like Jesus!

We have a long way to go...

I can't even imagine cutting personal spending to $0! Truth be told, I can't even imagine not being able to buy a treat at Starbucks once in a while. But with God leading the way, it's a journey that will be well-worth the trek! Seeing as to how far He has led us these past 19 years, I am excited to see what the next 19 holds!

In his book What's So Amazing About Grace?, Philip Yancey writes:

The Christian knows to serve the weak not because they deserve it but because God extended his love to us when we deserved the opposite. Christ came down from heaven, and whenever his disciples entertained dreams of prestige and power he reminded them that the greatest is the one who serves. The ladder of power reaches up, the ladder of grace reaches down.

The world thirsts for grace. When grace descends, the world falls silent before it.

Oh, may we reach down, way down... just as the ladder of grace reaches down.

So, as this school year and ministry year wraps up... 
Yes, I am definitely looking forward to the rest and the slower life that the summer months will bring. But, I am more looking forward to what's in store after that, to all that God has prepared in advance for our family to do, as we continue to seek to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him!

Happy Summer, friends!!!

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...

~ Hebrews 10:23-24.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

June Grace-Gifts

Is it seriously the last Monday in June already?
Summer is here... my girl is off school and my boy has a few more days left! I am very much looking forward to the slower pace of life that the summer months bring.

We have a few renovations to get done around the house, some of which have already been done this past week! Aside from that, we have a week of planned holidays in August... and the rest of the time, it's whatever goes! Ahhhh, bliss!

June was a super busy month for us... in fact, this school year was an exceptionally busy one for us! The month came with many, many, many good things... things to celebrate and things to be thankful for! Our God truly is great and He truly is always good. I am physically exhausted, but it is a good kind of exhaustion... one that comes with this deep sense of fulfillment... a heart that feels full! I am definitely looking forward to a summer of mostly rest. :)

So... why don't I just let the following photos and the 1,000 Gifts list that follows give you a glimpse of our family's life this past month...

Letters from our sponsor children... there's likely one from each of them!
We need to sit down soon and write reply letters! :)

Birthday card from my boy. Swag apparently means I'm cool. I'll take that! ;-)

My girl painted this for my birthday. Why the word beloved? Read this. :)

Birthday card from my girl. I am blessed!

Newly discovered lunch item... green smoothies!!!

Colourful fruits and veggies for my green smoothie! Yum!

Hubby makes pancakes and waffles!

Birthday cupcakes to celebrate family birthdays!!!

This little guy was sponsored by a friend of mine after I posted his child pack
on social media. God never fails to make me smile! ♥♥♥

Compassion Canada rated "A" overall... ranking in the top 10 of
Canada's top 100 charities. Our family is proud to be advocating
for such an awesome organization!

My lilac tree gloriously flowers... the only one doing so on the entire street!

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who sustains us with His grace... these are the things I am thankful for these past three weeks... #2971 - #3002:

:: Celebrating many birthdays and anniversaries in my immediate family.

:: My boy became an official Advocate for Compassion Canada on the same day he was baptized!!!

:: Hubby baptizing our boy! So precious... such a special moment!

:: High tea with my sister.

:: Celebrating being another year older.

:: Connecting with old friends and sharing stories about living on-mission!

:: A fun Sunday afternoon at our church picnic.

:: A sandwich run for the homeless folks in our city.

:: Meeting Roger.

:: Landscaping our side yard.

:: Shopping for gifts for the six Filipino children we sponsor for education through an organization started by my childhood classmates... and, my friend who is so graciously taking these gifts to the Philippines for me!

:: Baking birthday cupcakes.

:: 60+ Compassion children sponsored at a Compassion Sunday event at a church right here in our neighbourhood. Humbled to have been part of the initial seed-planting... resulting in the Pastor being intrigued with Compassion's ministry resulting in these 60+ sponsorships!!! God continues to knock my socks off in terms of our family's advocacy for Compassion. So awesome! :)

:: Renovations being done here at our house without too much hassle... great contractors and beautiful work!

:: Shopping for gifts for our Compassion LDP student... so thankful for the opportunity to be able to send her something!

:: CSA pickups have started again at our local farm! Love the drive out to the country!

:: Our whole family volunteering at Wonderjam for Compassion Canada.

:: Wrapping up the ministry year at church... grateful to be part of such an amazing leadership team!

:: My summer garden.

:: Sunshine and some hot summer weather!

:: Productive work days... getting my work done in time despite of this busy month!

Hello Monday and hello Summer!

When I realize that it is not God who is in my debt, but it is I who am in His great debt, then doesn't all become gift? ~ Ann Voskamp.

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

The Day We Met Roger

I've been waiting quite a few days now...
... to tell a very special story. It's the story of the day we met Roger. It's a story that I will remember, quite possibly, for the rest of my life... a story that I will come back to over and over again when I need some inspiration.

Shane Claiborne wrote this quote in his book, Irresistible Revolution...

When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world.

This past Tuesday, June 11... my hubby, my boy and I were indeed truly blessed to have had a small glimpse of this reality.

To give you some background, my boy and I were supposed to stay home that night and let hubby drive my girl to worship band practice downtown. At the last minute, we decided to tag along because it was a nice evening and we thought we would go for a walk downtown while we waited for my girl.

I think it was a nudge from God that brought us all downtown that night! 

So, why wait a few days before telling you this story?

Well, because I want you to hear the story directly from my boy as this encounter with Roger has had a very deep impact on him. I asked him if he would like to be a "guest blogger" right here on the blog and he graciously agreed! Writing is one of his least favourite things to do, so I know that he really wanted to share this story in his own words when he said yes. :) 

So, here's the story... in his very own words:

On Tuesday, June 11th I had an experience that I will never forget. My family and I drove downtown to drop off my sister for church band practice.

We went for a walk as we waited for her and sometime later, we strolled over to the grocery store, just down the street. Right when we were about to enter the store, a homeless man popped out of nowhere! He asked if we would buy him a bite to eat, we agreed.

He was amazed and overwhelmed that we would buy him a couple bananas, a bottle of juice and a sandwich. About ten minutes later, we exited the store with two bananas and a serving of orange juice. But, we could not find a sandwich anywhere in the entire store.

We gave him the bananas and juice and explained that we could not find a sandwich. He said, “That’s fine.” But, we told him we would go across the street with him, to the coffee shop, in order to get him a sandwich.

Now in even more awe he exclaimed, “You would really do that?!?” Now full of joy he shouted to a lady exiting the store saying, “They are going to buy me a sandwich!”

Very quickly, he introduced himself as Roger. This name has been embedded in my brain and I won’t ever forget it.

He traveled across the street with us. Before he and my father went into the coffee shop, he told me (he only wanted to talk to me, not to my parents) a story and had a lesson for me. He said, “When I was fifteen years old, my parents went out and they never came back.”

Roger's mother was killed and his father was in a coma for four months. At 4am, the cops were at his door and in Roger’s own words, “Then that was it.”

So, the lesson he gave me was... once your parents are gone, they’re gone and they are not coming back. His main point for me is this... to love my parents and take care of them while they are still here.

Roger repetitively told me, “Hug and kiss your parents every night, and adore them.” Then he went inside and returned joyfully with some type of a bacon sandwich.

Afterwards, he said goodbye and we all received big hugs from him. Lastly, we parted ways giving him and us new light. This experience is unforgettable for me. It has changed me and the only way to describe it is, it was from God.   

What a heart-warming story!
Don't you just love an awesome story like this? I do!

So, I want to go back and address that Shane Claiborne quote...

When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world.

Our family's wealthy world collided with Roger's poverty that night and the resulting powerful fusion truly did change the world, making it a better place.

Roger learned that there are still people who would actually take the time to buy a homeless person a meal and not just throw meager coins into a cup. {Side note: When we offered to buy him a meal, he must have been begging for quite a while already as it was way past dinner time. In his cup were a few coins, not even adding up to $2 in my estimation. As he realized that we were going to buy him a meal, he said, "I'm done begging for the night. Begging was so that I could have dinner."}

My boy learned to cherish and appreciate family with a little bit more gusto. {Side note: Roger also told him a few more things to keep in mind, such as to stay in school and to never quit.}

Hubby and I were reminded that we serve a truly awesome God, one who relentlessly pursues us and one who is always good.

And... I learned that lingering to chat with a homeless person after buying him a meal is actually quite awesome and getting a hug from a homeless person is actually not that scary after all. Actually, it was quite heart-warming... kind of like talking to and getting a hug straight from Jesus himself!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

A Fun Post {for a special day}

Today is a special day...
And I am offering up endless thanks for God's grace in my life... for the gift of yet another year to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the One who loves me with extravagance!

"A-I-M-E-E." Loved one.

God is always good and I am always loved and eucharisteo has made me my truest self, "full of grace." Doesn't eucharisteo rename all God's children their truest name:

"Loved one."

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

I find it fitting to be writing this fun blog post today, as I celebrate being another year older. Fellow Compassion Advocate and blogger, Jill, from the blog Compassion Family, has nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award.

The word liebster is the German word for beloved or dearest one. Not only does my name, Aimee, literally mean loved one... practicing eucharisteo, the counting grace-gifts, these past couple of years has enabled me to live out the truest meaning of my name. It is also how God sees us all to be... His beloved ones!

So, here's what I'm supposed to do with this Liebster Blog Award...

1. Post 11 random facts about myself.
2. Answer 11 questions that Jill has asked.
3. Create 11 questions for my blog nominees.
4. Nominate fellow bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Without further ado, here we go...

11 Random Facts About Myself:

:: I am a recovering perfectionist. I still have my moments, but I am much better than I was... say, 10 years ago! That's progress, right? ;)

:: I am an introvert. While I really don't mind being around people, I need my alone time in order to re-charge. Actually, I really honestly do like being around people... like having Home Church here at our house every week or serving with others in the community... just not the whole day, every day! :)  

:: I went to architecture school, but I do not practice the profession. I now work in marketing because it allows me to be home for my family.

:: I do not like olives. Really, I've tried to "like" them... I just don't find them palatable.

:: I do not like driving. I just came to this realization myself these past few years. Good thing I am married to someone who absolutely loves to drive! I think being a passenger is so much more fun and relaxing! He doesn't think so. ;)

:: I didn't like sports before getting married but decided I would learn to love them because my hubby is a huge sports fan. I still don't quite like watching hockey but you can now hear me cheering during the NBA and NFL playoff seasons. Go Spurs!!! :)

:: I can't wait to ditch my socks each year when the weather starts to get just a tad bit warmer. I love it in years when I can do this as early as March! Sadly, it wasn't the case this year.

:: I now drink my coffee without sugar. Just with cream. It's so absolutely yummy. Why didn't I try this earlier?!?

:: I don't actually like cooking. I only cook because my family has to eat... but you wouldn't know it from the food that comes out of my kitchen because I actually cook up some pretty delicious meals. I guess it's my creative side kicking in... the benefits of attending architecture school, I suppose. ;)

:: I didn't think I could get used to reading an eBook, but I now absolutely love my Kindle app on the iPad. I am still a die-hard, stay-with-the-basics kind of girl when it comes to my calendar. I still *love* writing in my Day-Timer. :) 

:: I love my sleep. I am not a happy camper when I don't get enough sleep.

11 Questions From Jill:

1. Why do you blog?

This is the main reason why I write: "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." (Psalm 9:1).

2. What is your favorite Bible verse?

Right now, it would be Micah 6:6-8 ~ "With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I recently wrote about these verses and how they prompt me and guide me to serve others. Check out the blog post here.

3. What are your hobbies?

Reading and gardening! :)

4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would visit all of our sponsor children and correspondent children... I would head back to the Philippines in a heartbeat, then visit Haiti, Tanzania, Guatemala, Honduras, Burkina Faso and Malawi.

5. Share a special memory with us.

My boy got baptized this week! What an awesome birthday present for me! :)

6. What do you want to be remembered for?

That I lived my one life well... loving God with all my heart, my soul and my strength... following Jesus and loving the least of these brothers and sisters of mine.

7. Who is the most important person in your life?

Hands down, Jesus. But if we're talking people here on earth... I would have to name three... my hubby, my girl and my little man! ♥ 

8. List the guests from your dream dinner party.

In no particular order and only a few of them... because this introvert wouldn't be able to keep up and soak in all the conversation: Jesus, Katie Davis, Ann Voskamp, Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, Mother Teresa. 

9. If you could live in any era, when would you choose to live?

I think I might like to try and live in the era when things were simpler... farming and growing my own food, before processed food ever existed, before instant communication existed. The simpler life. Mind you, I think I might get bored pretty quickly and would want to hurry back into this technology-filled life once again.

10. Do you have a favorite musician (singer, group)?

Not really. I don't have a favourite. I pretty much love all worship songs. I guess nothing too loud and crazy. :)

11. What would you do with 1 million dollars?

I think hubby and I would move our family to a third world country and start a ministry there helping to alleviate extreme poverty.

11 Questions For My Blog Nominees:

1. Who or what inspires you to write?

2. Share an unforgettable moment.

3. What is your favourite comfort food?

4. Do you prefer winter or summer? Why?

5. Do you prefer the city or the country? Why?

6. If money isn't an issue, what would you rather be doing?

7. What books are you reading right now?

8. Are you an early bird or a night owl? And what do you like to do when you find yourself the only one awake in your house? 

9. What makes you tick?

10. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

11. What is your earliest memory?

My Nominees:

Judy @ Passionate For Compassion

Ingrid @ reading HIS kids

Vilma @ writerteacher

Deborah @ A Different Drum

Teresa @ Our Adoption Journey

Diana @ whenhippostalk

Stephanie @ This Kind Handyman And I

Have a GREAT weekend, friends...

Live life fully as God's beloved... He is jealous for you and He loves you extravagantly!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

My Boy's Baptism {Photos and Videos}

Last night was a special night...

As my Facebook posts, Twitter and Instagram feeds have already indicated, it was a special moment, a God-writing-His-heart moment... because... my boy got baptized!!! It was made even more special because hubby had the awesome privilege of baptizing him. We are so thankful for a faith family that not only allows, but celebrates, for this to happen.

Every moment is a message from The Word-God who can't stop writing His heart.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

This mama's heart is beyond overjoyed...
As my boy came to the decision to obey Jesus' command and be baptized, my heart filled with great joy and happiness and thanksgiving, in awe of God's amazing grace and His extravagant love which are so very evident in my boy's life.

Please allow this proud mama to share some photos and videos...

A prayer to start the evening.

My boy and my sister.

The baptism candidates and our Youth Pastor.

My boy sharing his testimony.

His testimony...

Worship time.

Our church is part of the Brethren In Christ denomination and we practice what is more commonly known as triune baptism...

The accepted {baptism} mode for The Brethren in Christ Church is a forward kneeling immersion as a sign of humble obedience. As Christ bowed his head in death, so a believer kneels or bows in submission to God. The three immersions are done in honor of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Source: BIC Canada website.

The baptism, starting with my boy's good friend reading him a verse from the Bible.

The baptism...

My man and my not-so-little-anymore man! ♥

Family photo.

With our Lead Pastor.

With our Youth Pastor.

It was truly a memorable night!
... one that will absolutely stay in my heart and my memory bank forever! There truly is "no greater joy than to hear {see} that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4)"

Since my boy was born, I've always prayed the verse from Acts 13:22 over him... that he would grow up to be "a man after God's own heart, doing everything God wants him to do." It is with great joy and thanksgiving that I can say this today... I now see in my boy a young man who has matured into one who truly is after God's own heart.

To celebrate that, and because he is such a gadgets-and-tools kind of guy, we got him an engraved Victorinox tool as a baptism gift... this gift was hubby's brilliant idea and I totally admit that he aced me on this one! :)

And, as I thought about what verse to highlight for him on this very special day, my heart rested on the beautiful words from Romans 12:1-2...

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Finally, I just have to post this photo from my Instagram feed... because I just *love* my boy's expressions, the pensive and reflective mood before being immersed and the joyous smile upon coming out of the water, that these shots were able to capture... ♥♥♥

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

June, A Month of Celebrations

Is it seriously June already?
Sigh! Life has been just sooooo busy lately... as evidenced by the silence on this blog. I've missed blogging... yet can't seem to find the time to sit down and blog at all.

Many good things are happening... and June is a month of celebrations for my side of the family! There are multiple birthdays, one of which is mine... and multiple wedding anniversaries, one of which is hubby's and mine... yet this busy-ness has me looking around searching for my celebration mood. I seem to have misplaced it somehow!

Honestly, I am feeling like I want June to just zoom by... forget all the celebrations that come with it... so that Summer will be here already... so that life will slow down just a tad bit... so that we, okay... so that *I* can catch my breath. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? Does anyone else identify with me? Anyone?!?

But... I am determined!
Determined to slow down and smell the roses. Determined to not let the special moments in June pass by without celebrating and giving thanks... because, there is much to celebrate and much to give thanks for! Yes, friends... so, so, so much! 

For starters... my boy is getting baptized this coming Wednesday during our church's year-end pool party for the youth group. This mama is beyond ecstatic... beyond overjoyed... that he has come to this decision all on his own... and that he has requested that hubby be the one to baptize him! We are so thankful to be part of a faith family that allows for this to happen!

I am so looking forward to Wednesday. I'll be sharing photos and videos, for sure! My boy has even prepared a short blurb to share during the baptism, words that bring tears to this mama's eyes every time he practices saying them. Just so very heart-felt and genuinely his! I tell ya... I am one proud mama!!! 

So, to get myself into my celebration mood...
I've been counting gifts... yes, hunting for grace-gifts amid my busy-ness... choosing to feel joy in the messy... looking for beauty in the chaos!

And God is sooooo very good to me. During these last two weeks, as I sat down to work each day at my desk... a quote from Ann Voskamp's God in the Moment desk calendar greeted me. Each quote has been a balm to this frenzied and anxious soul.

Here are a few of them, interspersed with grace-gift photos from my Instagram feed from these last couple of weeks...

Thanksgiving makes time. 

Really? Give thanks and get time? Give thanks... slow time down with all my attention... and my basket of not-enough-time multiplies into more than enough time.

The real problem of life is never a lack of time.
The real problem of life - in my life - is lack of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving creates abundance; and the miracle of multiplying happens when I give thanks - take the just one loaf, say it is enough and give thanks... and He miraculously makes it more than.

When my soul doth magnify, my time doth magnify... I redeem time from neglect and apathy and inattentiveness when I swell with thanks and weigh the moment down and it's giving thanks to God for this moment that multiplies the moments, time made enough.

I am thank-full. I am time-full. 

Gratitude invites me to the here grandeur, to the embrace of I AM, to come multiply my little time into enough time and the glory of now. 

More work? More stuff? More stress? I can feel my pulse quicken fierce. Entering fully into the moment can overwhelm, river running wild. I will forget, and again, and again, but today I do remember. I breathe and I reel and I hold my ground and my tongue in this torrent coming down. I've staked my claim to the miracle. I know the way to the promised land. 

I preach to me. The skin's tugged hard by rush of time and I say it aloud in current pounding past, words I need like water, "Calm. Haste makes waste. Life is not an emergency. Life is brief, it is fleeting, but it is not an emergency." 

I can always give thanks because an all powerful God always has all these things - all things - always under control. I breathe deep and He preaches to me, soothing the time-frenzied soul with the grace river in whisper.

Life is not an emergency. Life is eucharisteo. 

Life is so urgent it necessitates living slow. It's only the amateurs - and that I have been and it's been ugly - who think slow and urgent are contradictory, opposite poles. 

I can feel time's current in my blood ease... meander, is this what the life experts know?

That in Christ, urgent means slow. 

For a moment, longer, I hold life - and I hold it mindfully... attentively... thankfully. Life at its fullest is this sensitive, detonating, sphere, and it can be carried only in the hands of the steady and unhurried... a bubble held in awe.

I think of the strangers walking briskly, blithely along to Emmaus, oblivious to the God skin before their eyes. Only in the slowing, the sitting down at the table, when His hands held the bread and the thanks fell from His tongue, do the open-eyed, the wide-eyed, see the Face they face. 

I sit down at the table.

My drained empty body has stopped and my soul has caught up and if I give thanks here, who might I recognize? It takes a full twenty minutes after your stomach is full for your brain to register satiation. How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full?

The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction. The body and soul can synchronize.

I don't reach forward and I don't reach back and I weigh the moment down with full attention here.

Life is dessert - too brief to hurry. You don't wolf it down.

"Wherever you are, be all there," is only possible in the posture of eucharisteo. I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks and see God.

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who sustains us with His grace... these are the things I am thankful for these three weeks... #2938 - #2970:

:: Delivering food to an inner-city ministry.

:: Purging and cleaning and de-cluttering

:: Acupuncture treatments.

:: Exercising more and eating better... to alleviate a health concern.

:: Our trusty 16-year-old Subaru being towed away. It served us so well!

:: Picking up our new car, another Subaru... one God found for us!

:: Planting veggies and annuals in the garden!

:: Working on a garden bed in our side yard with my girl. ♥

:: Family get-togethers.

:: My boy attending baptism class.

:: Starbucks with my girl.

:: Sunday night worship & baptisms with our church family at The Attic.

:: Great ministry year-end meeting with our Lead Pastor. I am thankful for his leadership.

:: Morning coffee with my sister and her friend, chatting about being missional families! ♥

:: A new month --- celebrations in June!

:: An awesome Leadership Team at church, so thankful to be a part of it! Great example of the Body of Christ working in unity together to advance His Kingdom.

:: A much-needed haircut!

Hello Monday and hello June!

Here are some thoughts from 2 Peter 1:5-8 (The Message), encouraging words.. great words to live by. They were part of our teaching at church yesterday.

So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!