Perspective

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
The things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
Which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as we would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If we surrender to Your will,
So that we may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen

Reinhold Niebuhr

I have extended family dealing with a difficult illness and they shared this prayer.

A wise, hope-filled perspective on this life and the next.

Raindrops are falling on my head…or is that drywall?

Last Saturday morning we were awoken at 3:30 am to a suspicious rumbling crash.  Here’s what we found…

This is our stairwell in the kitchen. That's our ceiling and insulation on the floor.

We redid our roof a couple weeks ago…and turns out there was hiddne little spot where the ridges meet that didn’t even have plywood…or flashing…yeah.  Like a water spout, pouring water onto our ceiling.

Andy with our hole...early in the morning.

Well, much thanks to Andy’s dad for helping.  The holes are fixed – both on the roof and ceiling.  Better now than mid-winter.  Still not spackled and painting, but there’s no more insulation falling on our heads.  The joys of homeownership.

But so thankful for all the ways God protects us from what could have been.

Share the Well

I was just enjoying a song and thought I would pass it along.

A couple years back, Caedmon’s call put out an album called, Share the Well.  As I understand it, the album was heavily influenced by mission work they had done, primarily in India and Ecuador (a place close to my heart).

If you’ve never heard it – get the whole album.  It’s excellent!  But for the moment, I was dancing in my desk chair to the title song, Share the Well.  (This is a link to a site where you can hear or buy it.)

I love how they use the concept of the well of water.  We have so many wells to share – physical water, financial wells, and the well of living water – Jesus Christ.

Nothing new, but music that shouldn’t be missed.  Happy Wednesday.

Food for the Soul

Zinnias from my garden

I recently asked on Facebook for some good worship music recommendations.  (I have an iTunes giftcard burning a hole in my pocket!)  I was given many good recommendations:

Hillsongs (Various folks)

Red Mountain Music (Molly Rego, AL)

Glory Revealed I & II (Christine Engert, NH)

Sovereign Grace: Psalms (Kristin Middleton, Washington, D.C.)

Kari Jobe (Eliza Olsen, GA)

Christy Nockels – formerly of Watermark (Christine Engert and Leann Morrow Ward)

I’m adding a couple of recommendations of my own – Indelible Grace (We intro’d their song – To Christ the Lord in our church this past Sunday)

Curt Vernon – Curt is from Nicholasville and has come to Haiti several times, including to lead worship for our Staff retreat this past February.  He doesn’t appear to have an album out, but has recorded a number of his songs and you can hear them on his myspace page.

I’ve just finished the Beth Moore Bible study on the Psalms of Ascent.  It has gotten me thinking about the beauty of music written very directly from scripture.  I enjoy many types of music, meaning both of diverse musical styles, as well as different lyrical approaches.  But at the moment I’m longing for some rich soul-food.  And it’s been exciting to spend some time listening to how God is speaking to His Church through “new” music.  Some with fresh lyrics, others with fresh music for words that are hundreds or thousands of years old.  There really is nothing new under the sun.  How wonderful to take a fresh look at the very familiar, only to discover enduring beauty.

It will take me a while to work through all this great music, bit by bit.  But thanks to my dear friends, near and far, for your great recommendations.  I’m excited to listen to the Spirit’s voice through these songs.

Blessings on your Monday.

All things new

Welcome home to me (actually last week).  So good to be home, except for having to keep up with housecleaning again.

I got a new haircut – thanks to Laura Braun at Euphoria Salon.  She’s good!

Pam, a coworker friend from the Mission, was kind enough to surprise me with an immersion blender she found at a Garage Sale.  This may rank in the top of the “greatest kitchen gadgets” list.  It’s AWESOME!!  I’ve already made an Asparagus Spinach soup (yum!).  And I must say, my head is spinning with all the soups, smoothies and milkshakes that I hope to make.  Thank you, Pam!

A handblender - not mine, but the same idea.

Lastly, this isn’t new, per se, but we celebrated out 5th anniversary last week.  My husband racked up some major bonus points in the process.  I flew into Louisville last Tuesday at midnight, expecting that he was driving me home.  But a couple turns later, we turned into the Crowne Plaza (yeah for Priceline!) for the night, where I found flowers, chocolates and even clothes that he had packed for me.  A complete surprise!  This meant no exhausted drive home (after a 20 hour travel day).  And we spent the day in Louisville, most importantly going to the Zoo – which I LOVE.  Not only was it a fun way to celebrate our anniversary, it also made for a nice transition back to the US.  No checking email, stressing about house cleaning or scramblign to fix supper.  Just a day to breathe.  So, cheers for my man who knew exactly what I needed!