a benediction for your homecoming

May the love of the Father

the tenderness of the Son

and the presence of the Spirit

gladden your heart

and bring peace to your soul

this day and all days, Amen.

May God the Father

prepare your journey

Jesus the Son

guide your footsteps

The Spirit of Life

strengthen your body

The Three in One

watch over you

on every road 

that you may follow.

a long awaited day....

hardly able to contain the excitement on the sidewalk.... 

WHOOHOOO!!! 

happy tears :) 

WELCOME HOME!!!

It's a banner day indeed.... 

WELCOME HOME!!!

Bless us, most loving provident God,

may this coming home be a re-creation and experience of hospitality and hope.

May all who enter this home, may all who walk through these doors

know and feel your love and presence.

Keeping watch on our going out and our coming in,

no one is stranger, all are guest; no one is alien, all are friend.

May the life celebrated in each room in this house

give delight and honor and reverence to you.

Amen

-Jan Craven

extraordinary

As you reflect back on your last year in Malawi, 

may you be reminded of the EXTRAORDINARY things God has done.... 

we can hardly wait to celebrate your homecoming!!!! 

waiting game...

As you are stuck in Blantyre and trying to get home, our prayer for you is for patience and a big exhale.....  Sending our love as you are waiting (and trying not to scream.) 

joyful host to our homecoming....

I found this prayer about homecoming and thought it was beautiful.... Know that we are so excited to see you soon!! (I just heard the news from Erica that your flight has been delayed.... UGGG... so sorry! We are praying for patience, perspective and grace to abound...) 

"Gentle Shepherd ... King of Love, we come to You as we are, not as we pretend to be. The truth is, God, that when we lift our heads above our path, we all too often discover ourselves lost in a maze of choices. We confess from the very beginning of this worship that we are lost... Were it not for You, O great seeker of our souls, patient parent to our childhood, joyful host to our homecoming; Were it not for You, O Lord, we would be lost forever. But, because of You, there is room for us at the great Love Feast. Gentle Shepherd ... King of Love, seek and find us as we are, not as we pretend. Be patient with us, and teach us how to wait. May the echoes of Your celebration reverberate in our midst this hour, transforming our worship from a mournful plea to a joyful song. Gentle Shepherd ... King of Love, lead us. Amen."  http://www.myredeemerlives.com/prayers.html

And in light of the prayer above about us begin given room at the table for the feast, here are pictures from communion at small group on Sunday. Gotta love that the animals were all welcome. We sure are an inclusive bunch. 

What is Enough?

Yesterday our power went out for about 6 hours and Taylor was kind of frustrated that we could not go about our normal routine. I reminded him that on most days you all have lived with this kind of uncertainty without knowing when you would have power or water.  I imagine that your perspective of "enough" as this quote talks about below has been forever changed and we want that to rub off on us all when you get home....

"The wisdom of the few, struggling trees on the Plains, and the vast spaces around them, are a continual reminder that my life is cluttered by comparison. At home, an abundance of books and papers overlays the heavy furniture I inherited from my grandparents. A perfectly simple room, with one perfect object to meditate on, remains a dream until I step outside, onto the Plains. A tree. A butte. The sunrise. It always makes me wonder: What is enough? Are there enough trees here? As always, it seems that the more I can distinguish between my true needs and my wants, the more I am shocked to realize how little is enough." -Kathleen Norris The Cloister Walk 

a few smiles from yesterday morning 

when Eva and Anna babysat for Greta and Riley. 

roses are red

Roses are red

Violets are blue

We had our annual rose garden picnic last night to celebrate the last day of school 

and we can hardly wait to see YOU! 

 goofy faces.... ( I love Dave's) 

comic relief

The fact that I just googled "crutches rental" might let you know how my legs are doing today....

OUCH!  Can't wait to see you all even if I am limping as I run to you on Sunday and you wonder if it is me or an old woman hobbling toward you.... I am laughing right now typing this (and also clearly procrastinating on work I should be doing!) 

watering

Taylor made a comment that he wished we could have a big garden and I explained that it was a lot of work (and we just have a tricky yard with a lot of shade in some places).  I told him about what a beautiful job you do on your garden, Bill, and how you are such an amazing artist with colors and textures in your yard.  The daily care and attention make it thrive.  What we water grows.... 

You all have watered and cared for your "garden" there in Malawi (at the hospital, at school, at your church, and with all the relationships you have built.) It has been a wonderful work of art and we stand in awe of what God has done through you... 

giving thanks that this little blog has been a way to water our friendship over the miles... 

I cannot wait to see you all this weekend!!! (and I cannot believe I am typing that!) 

Avoiding Stairs and the Princess Bride

This quote sums up the Light at the End of the Tunnel training and the race yesterday so perfectly: 

"It is only through hardship, through discouragement, through exhaustion, that we learn to draw on the power of God’s Spirit within us.  It is only when we come to the end of our own strength, and even then refuse to give up, that we discover God’s strength.  “When we are weak, then we are strong”… Hardships make us bitter… or better. They lead us to breakdown…or to breakthrough. If we don’t give up at that breaking point when we feel we’ve reached the end of our own resources, we find a new aliveness, the life of the risen Christ rising within us."  

–Brian McLaren We Make the Road By Walking

Here is what my training plan says for today: 

Taylor was very kind to help me down the stairs as I walked him to the bus.

Though I am hobbling around like an old lady today and am reminded of Westley in Princess Bride when he is "mostly dead" and is stumbling through the castle in his attempt to rescue Buttercup, 

my heart is definitely filled to the brim with gratitude today! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yokQ0_8__ts

I wrote this blog post for Anna on May 26 with the Princess Bride theme... 

Giving thanks for the miracle that was given! :) 

May 26, 2015 

I thought about this hilarious couple from Princess Bride today.... with all my aches and pains over the last few weeks, I feel like it will take a miracle to pull off this marathon. 

But I'm holding on to hope and I know that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel! 

Praying for you, Anna, that you will find that light along the way 

and that you will pray for miracles with hope and trust in God (and a little bit of pixie dust). :) 

http://annasbakersdozen.blogspot.com/2015/05/it-would-take-miracle.html

the Light at the End of the Tunnel

  

I love that I got to talk to you all this morning just a bit before I started to run... 

best headlamp ever through the tunnel - thank you friend!!! 

about 2 miles through the tunnel - so cool!! 

This is really one of the most beautiful trails I've ever run on... WOW is just about all I can say... and even though my calves and hamstrings were tight and screaming at me from right out of the tunnel until the finish line, these stunning views kept me going and I am so grateful for the huge gift of grace and grit that God gave to me today... It was so obvious to me that I was dependent on His strength every step of the way.  

home stretch 

Anna crossed the finish line with me hand in hand...

such relief to be done and so happy to be with my girl... 

Whoohoooo!!!! Done in 3:39!! 

I knew that Anna and Jason would be at the finish and I was counting the miles at the end until I saw them.  (I also kept thinking that the amount of time that I pushed in labor to get Anna here was about the same amount of time that I was running this marathon....so I figured I could gut this race out just like the labor.... )  Best motivation ever to see their smiles at the finish! 

Anna brought fairy wings to the finish :) 

I love this girl! 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFApMIqyMCM

After the race, I gave Anna of my headphones and we listened to the song "Thank you, Baby."  I got a little teary thinking about how I was so grateful to be able to run even with the aches and pains I've had in the last 6 weeks of training and also today in the race.   The song only has one line in it-- "All I wanna say is "Thank you baby'."  (sung 11 times through and then the word Baby sung 51 times!)

My heart is full of gratitude for the gift of today....

and I am a bit giddy knowing that you all will be home in less than a week.... 

a light REALLY is at the end of the tunnel!