Promise

"I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth." Genesis 9:13

I have seen lots of rainbows in the east at the front of our house, but today is the first time I have seen a rainbow in the west...

I saw this quote today...

An adventure is, by its nature, a thing that comes to us.

It is a thing that chooses us, not something we choose.

--G.K. Chesterton

Here's to adventure!

Take me back to the Caribbean...

I'm tired of packing and I'm really tired of looking at all my stuff. I have WAY too much stuff!

I found this picture amusing...

He built his own little church on a Model T--there is even a steeple!

Novena (9 Day) Prayer

Lord Jesus, the needs of your people open your heart in love for each of us. You care for us when we are lost, sympathize with us in loneliness, and comfort us in mourning; you are closest to us where we are weakest. You love us most when we love ourselves least; you forgive us most when we forgive ourselves least; and you call us to spread your love in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, your heart is moved with compassion when we are suffering, when we need your help, and when we pray for each other.

I ask you to listen to my prayer during this Novena, and grant what I ask:

Peace, Lord. I ask for You to bring peace to my heart.

Direction. Lord, please bring me direction--show me the path for me to take.

Forgiveness. Lord, give me the power to forgive--let a Spirit of forgiveness come over me.

If what I ask is not for my own good and the good of others, grant me what is best, that I may build up your kingdom of love in our world.

(Karmen, thanks for spreading the word about Sacred Space--check out the 9 day prayer at that site.)

Sweet Baby!

To My Dad...

While I was packing, I ran across this poem my Mom had tucked away in a cookbook...

My Husband of So Many Years
How good he is,
My husband of so many years;
Tears come to my eyes
When I see how crepey his neck has become,
How bravely he tries
To straighten up.
Once his jaw was hard and he stood tall
With no effort;
It is as if his body had been sabotaged
One dark night
By some unseen enemy.
I know he feels that way,
Yet, when I look at him today,
I feel far more tender toward him
Than ever I did when he was young and strong
And seemingly invulnerable.
O my dear old friend-lover,
Time-ravaged, fellow traveling,
Camouflaged boy,
Can it help you to know,
Can it help you to hear,
That not only as you were but as you are
You are to me
Inexpressibly dear.

FAITH

"Faith sees the invisible,
Believes the incredible,
And receives the impossible." Anonymous

Boy, I'm going to miss this swimmin' pool!

Our closing is July 30, so if you want to come swimming, come on over!

Breakthrough Calendar for July 7

"Courage comes as we understand that no punishment anyone might inflict on us could possibly be worse than the punishment we inflict on ourselves by living a divided life...(that) ends in the sadness of never having been one's true self." --Parker J. Palmer

Sleeping Beauty

I went into her pitch dark room, aimed my camera to where I thought she was, and this was the beautiful sight my camera caught...

Happy 4th of July!

I had to chase her down to get this dress on her--I got it on her long enough to take a picture! I don't think she was too crazy about the stickery can-can underneath the skirt.

Dress-up

K--you must be amazed that Coco was dressing up again today. It has been 8 years since you gave her that suitcase. The design possibilities are endless...

Quote for today...

"Adversity introduces us to ourselves."--Anonymous
(Wisdom on the Breakthrough calendar for today)

Yikes!

The Glass House by Philip Johnson

I have always been fascinated by this house...
"The Glass House is one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes. The house is symmetrical and sits solidly on the ground. The quarter-inch thick glass walls are supported by black steel pillars. The interior space is divided by low walnut cabinets and a brick cylinder that contains the bathroom. The cylinder and the brick floors are a polished purple hue. Philip Johnson says that when people come into his house they just shut up and look around. The Glass House is now open to the public, with tours booked many months in advance. "

Downloading pictures

I was a little surprised when I found 32 new pictures on my camera. Chloe was posing figures so she could write a book for Sophie. She had put her characters in the strangest places...

An Unusual House...

Bernardsville, New Jersey: The Bunny Lane House of noted architect Adam Kalkin is an old aircraft hangar that encloses and extends Kalkin’s original family home. The home’s front porch is now in the dining room—and the living room stands where the front yard once did.

Sweet Little Girl--Growing up so quickly!

Interesting...

Is the Gospel encrypted in the first genealogy in the Bible (Geneses 5)?

Adam-man

Seth-appointed

Enosh-mortal

Kenan-sorrow

Mahalalel-the blessed of God

Jared-shall come down

Enoch-teaching

Methuselah -his death shall bring

Lamech-despairing

Noah-comfort or rest

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow (but) the Blessed of God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort.

(Artwork by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, 1511)

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226 A.D.)

"It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned..."

I really should add another picture...

Babysitting Sophie...

Playing dress-up
"Crazy" morning hair

1970 and Now

Lori--Remember when we were in Mary's wedding? The Emporia State days feel like a lifetime ago. It was so good to see you yesterday--I wish you didn't live so far away!

I just love this new photo...

3 Grand Little Girls for Papa's Day...

(Mason, sorry I didn't get any pictures of you tonite. I'll have to take a bunch of pictures of you soon. You are so special to Papa and me! We love you more than life itself!)

Empowered to Receive Love

The Spirit reveals to us not only that God is "Abba, Father" but also that we belong to God as his beloved children. The Spirit thus restores in us the relationship from which all other relationships derive their meaning.
Abba is a very intimate word. The best translation for it is: "Daddy." The word Abba expresses trust, safety, confidence, belonging, and most of all intimacy. It does not have the connotation of authority, power, and control, that the word Father often evokes. On the contrary, Abba implies an embracing and nurturing love. This love includes and infinitely transcends all the love that comes to us from our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, spouses, and lovers. It is the gift of the Spirit.
(Lena, this one is for you, too)

Trip to the Zoo...

Empowered to Call God "Abba"

Calling God "Abba, Father" is different from giving God a familiar name. Calling God "Abba" is entering into the same intimate, fearless, trusting, and empowering relationship with God that Jesus had. That relationship is called Spirit, and that Spirit is given to us by Jesus and enables us to cry out with him, "Abba, Father."
Calling God "Abba, Father" is a cry of the heart, a prayer welling up from our innermost beings. It has nothing do with naming God but everything to do with claiming God as the source of who we are. This claim does not come from any sudden insight or acquired conviction; it is the claim that the Spirit of Jesus makes in communion with our spirits. It is the claim of love.
--Henri Nouwen

fun in the pool tonite...

Okay, I kind of had fun with Adobe photoshop:
Click on the picture and you can see how high Cody had thrown Mason:

On Marriage

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the Hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

(Kahlil Gibran, 1923)

Lil Baby is 6 months old today!

Precious one,
So small,
So sweet

Dancing in
on angel feet
Straight from Heaven's
brightest star

What a miracle
(Author Unknown)

“When religion replaces the actual experience of the living Jesus, when we lose the authority of personal knowing and rely on the authority of books, institutions, and leaders, when we let religion interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we lose the very reality that religion itself describes as ultimate.”

--Brennan Manning in The Wisdom of Tenderness

Lil' Flower & Little Boo

(June 2008)


(August 2006)

Fun day of being Zamma...

You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
--C. S. Lewis

"We all must decide: We can rely on our own spiritual striving, which turns every limitation into a hurdle to be overcome...or we can trust the grace of God, which turns every limitation into an occasion for further wonder and gratitude." --Donald McCullough
(Breakthrough calendar for June 4, 2008)

Gram-Gram's 80th birthday party

Grandkids & Great Grandkids (First family reunion for Liam!)
(Is Chloe yawning?)

Karen, Keith, Dad & Mom, Ken, & KT

Happy Birthday to you!
My precious 4 Grandbabies

On Joy and Sorrow

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
(Kahlil Gibran, 1923)

Table Rock Lake

What a beautiful place to vacation!
Brady, Aaron, Sarah on the jet ski with Alyx and Isabella in the tube
(Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see how pretty Sarah is.)
Mason, Chloe & KT on the boat.
I kept forgetting my camera, so there are very few pictures. We have some good memories to store in our hearts, though. I asked myself, "Why in the world would I go on a vacation with 7 little children?" Maybe because I love them so much--they made the time much more fun!