fri. sept 01

10:28am

You probably noticed....I didn't do a single update in August.  Actually, I hardly remember the month of August because it went so fast.  The summer was a good one with many great opportunities, but I'm not ready to settle into a routine of sorts. 

You'll notice that there will be no September Highlights - I didn't submit anything this month, and therefore you have nothing to read.  :o)  I had planned on uploading some pictures of Eugenia's wedding, but that, too, has taken longer than anticipated.  So for now, updates are sparce, but as things calm down and get in order I hope to have more soon.

Blessings to you!

thurs. july 20

3:09pm

August Highlights is up.

wed. july 5

8:48am

Fragments of Faith is updated - look around.

fri. june 30
10:42am

wed. june 28
3:57pm

Pretty sure I blew something good to the wayside in the last week or two.  I love being smacked with humility when I, only for a moment, leave caution mode to explore something exciting and seemingly hopeful.  You'd think I'd learn after the 4th, 5th, perhaps even the 6th time of setting my hopes on something ridiculously out of reach.  I rest my case and shall return to the only place I am safe - burried in His arms.  No where else.  And if I dare to leave again, then I deserve the humiliation.   

Wed. June 28

12:38pm

It's one of those days that seems so full yet I feel so empty.  I don't know how to fully explain it.  What I can explain is that I'm tired, weary, and weak but can't afford to be.  I could take a day off to gain strength and stamina or to catch up with my mess at home, but that's a gain that I can't afford in the life of the office.

Reminder to self:  forget what is behind, strain toward what is ahead and press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Fri. June 02 
                                                    1:18pm

       The beauty of simplicity is that it…is so simple.

        I was realizing this week how simple I’ve become.  Our world deprives itself of simple pleasures anymore.  It needs more of this, and bigger that, and faster this, and easier that, and louder of the other thing…it’s so much, it sometimes seems that people don’t even know what real life is like.

            Having once been in the world, I recognize that I used to be in that trap.  But due to the various circumstances that I’ve been dealt through the years, I now thirst for simplicity.  It’s something I’ve thought about quite a bit over the past week.  I recognized that I am easily entertained with the simplest that life has to offer me…  I gaze in awe out my kitchen window at the rabbits that take their time hopping from one blade of grass to the next.  I drive down the road and marvel at the beauty found in the painting of the sky.  I sit out at the farm and revel in the silence only found on the farm.  I watch with protection over the neighbor kids as they fearlessly ride their bicycles and dig in the dirt, laughing and giggling amongst themselves.  The best motion pictures are thunderstorms of flashing lightening, booming thunder, and soft raindrops.  The best times in life are simply being with friends – entertaining one another instead of paying for someone or something else to do it for us.  The best meals are those home cooked and shared in the company of friends and family – those dearest in your life.

            People complain that those things are boring.  Old fashioned.  “So ten minutes ago.”  And maybe they are.  But I see a lot more than that – God reveals himself to me when I have to pull over in order to capture the sunset on camera.  When I’m washing dishes – God places His hand on my shoulder as I smile at the rabbit outside my window.  When young ones enjoy life on a simple bicycle ride, God reminds me of the eternal life He’s given me…and when the child takes a fall and wounds himself, I’m reminded of the scars Jesus bears because of me.

            I’m not boring.  Old fashioned.  Or “so ten minutes ago” (well, maybe sometimes).  I do enjoy the opportunities that the entertainment world offers us on occasion.  I do appreciate things faster and stronger…but deep inside, I’m boarding the simple train.

            Simplicity…humbling, breath-taking, beautiful, simple.