1. NEW HOUSE, starting moving my things in last night, it's gorgeous, it's 100 years old and it's the perfect fit for us! Picked out paint colors today and can't wait to get started , still in search of the perfect duvet cover and a new dresser and desk... decided NOT to take the ones I've had at my parent's house for my entire life, they're HUGE and heavy and if I can be allowed a moment of silly, girly thoughts - they just don't match the new place! SO, that being said, I'm loving every minute of this slow and steady move, no rush - just making it my new home one day at a time!
2. WVA 2010... was simply awesome :) It feels like a huge blur in some ways but it was wonderful - I can't believe I waited so long to go back! God has great timing and a sense of humor and both came into play last week in every detail of every day. My project team was awesome and special-ops was intense. Seeing God's hand at work in every moment we spent with the previous host families who have become and family friends over the years was such a blessing. We painted enough at our project that I'm not thrilled about painting more in my house BUT... never the less, YAY for Mary's house now being a beautiful green with white trim and for things going so smoothly and safely! Camp life was uh... a little tougher than in previous years, pretty sure most of the staff would have liked to throw us out of our butt after night one BUT, we managed to make amends ... I really think that Satan's foothold this year was in our relationships, particularly at camp, in the past its has been an attack on our teams safety and health on the site, in car accidents, medical emergencies, etc... this year I really saw him step in and disrupt our relationships with those in charge and our attitudes as a result. It attacked our pride, our reputation, our witness and our personal and internal struggle to maintain a level of respect that was needed...On the other end of things though, the SPC team was amazing, I was so proud to see the love and excitement and willingness to do ANYTHING that every team member displayed, it was a huge but perfect team this summer and the results were beautiful in every aspect - from the work done on someone's home to the fellowship and conversations and laughter in our daily car rides <3
3. So my time with the team was cut short on Friday when Grandpa passed away, it was definitely the curve ball of the week for me personally... but as it turns out it was also the most intense time spiritually for me as well... From the moment I watched my little brother start to cry my heart became putty and I had no choice but to allow myself to melt into God's hand and let him carry me through the weekend... You should know that I don't grieve nicely, I was CRANKY, I hate to cry and I don't like to appear vulnerable, I also like a fair amount of personal space *which i hadn't had for over a week already, which was fine and I enjoyed being with everyone on the team but once we were back at Grandpa's house...yikes*... I like to step back and be alone to deal with things and then reappear with my game face on... but instead of being able to do any of those things, I was SURROUNDED by people, constantly, even my own family started to make me crazy, and you would THINK that on a few hundred acres I would be able to find solitude - but I also couldn't find the will to get up and GO, to walk out to the barn or hike into the hills and just rest... I kind of wish I had taken one more walk through the fields and down the dirt road by the pond and the barn - but it felt so FINAL and I don't think it truly is, I plan to take another walk through there in time... Anyways, scene set with a messy me and an emotional family all around... Friday night was a blur of tears, Saturday was spent with my uncle and cousins - shopping, oddly enough - and then the first REAL big family dinner together we've had, maybe EVER... that was mind blowing (as was the hardcore wva style buffet we attacked...;)). There was something about being there together, all of us, no excuses, we all just came together and it was GOOD. That evening was spent at the cousins house just TALKING about our lives, our individual walks with the Lord, ministry, and encouraging one another... visited the cousin's church the next morning and the high from the week in Fairmont was kept up still! It's a small church but the people are incredibly real and sweet. Sunday night was Grandpa's viewing, talk about exhausting... My mother is a champ for standing up there all night and greeting every one of the 300+ people who came to pay their respects and shower us with sweet stories and memories... The preacher was 91 1/2 years old and he had married my grandparents 58 years ago, officiated at my grandma's funeral 17 years ago and now was still living to be there for Grandpa's passing - how ridiculous is that?! It was crazy to think that even at 91 the Lord wasn't done with him and had work for him to do before he passed on... Guess he hadn't arrived in Rome yet! (Ps PLEASE go read through Acts, yes the WHOLE THING... it goes with the Rome comment which came from me hearing the sermon at summit church with the cousins this weekend... amazing how everything was intertwined on this trip!!!) Monday was the funeral, it was somewhat easier for me after having seen everything the night before... Pretty sure laughing at a funeral is looked down upon but that didn't stop us from laughing on the front row when the music came on (we're terrible grandchildren ;)). Some of our dearest friends from home came up for the funeral, that was surreal, having someone who in my mind goes with my life here suddenly appear in the kitchen at the farm serving my great aunt a drink and laughing with my cousins...? Amazing, the body of Christ truly comes together in mysterious ways, it's a bond that is like family... whether it's bickering at camp on our project with people who have become like family and as a result get treated like siblings and the rebound back to normalcy within minutes or the way someone who drove 5 hours through the mountains to be with my family can serve my blood family and make an impression... it just makes me sit back and say WoW.
There's something to be said too for the vulnerability that I saw in everyone at Grandpa's... an ability to let down the normal guards we have and to see my uncle cry for the first time in my life, to hear my mom say, "I don't know how to say goodbye to my daddy..." to see my dad seem so unsure of what to do to help when he always has a plan of action, to feel my little cousins throw their arms around me and make me promise I'm coming back to see them again soon, to see how RAW and real Christ is to my family and to see how much people needed him in the community we were in... it's too much to try to comprehend all at once... the way our precious friends surrounded my siblings and myself when we were told we'd lost our Grandfather, even the stupid hill Z suggested we walk up, eveything about it was flawless and in God's plan for the trip, and if nothing else, he has shown me I not only have an amazing family in my church (not that I didn't know that, but it feels refreshed and renewed) but that my blood is rallying together finally and realizing we NEED one another and that our most common ground is not our blood but our love for the Lord... what more could we ask for?! I feel like I've left out so many details... I was reminded today to remember to write down the things that weren't a fuzzy blur from the last 2 weeks and I guess it sort of spilled out here tonight, but that works too - it's here as a testimony of how good and gracious and generous the Lord has been in a time that could have been miserable and sorrow filled but instead was a 12-day shower of mercy and love... hallelujah for that. I miss my Grandpa, I always will... my uncle said something this weekend along the lines of "every family tree has nuts... ours just happens to be tossing out rotten fruit..." and as I recall that I can't help noting how much GOOD fruit blossomed this weekend in every single person that we interacted with... so with that being said, whatever's in front of me help me to sing hallelujah... because if He can bring me through a time of grief with this much joy - imagine what He can do with the better days!
Disclaimer... scattered thoughts, lack of spell check and anything else that may not make sense should be ignored ;)
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| Just a snapshot of some of the work in Fairmont ... |
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