Sometimes, when you hear about God's love week after week at camp, you, sort of, lose some perspective. The story of God's love is for these campers, right? I already know it. Right?
Well, I do. I mean, these days, I continue to be transformed by His love as I seek to follow him. I have finally decided that's it worth the work I put into it. More than worth it. And I realize, these days, that it's not a lofty and unattainable goal to pursue Christ with reckless abandon. It's actually the only appropriate response to his love.
So, when I am suddenly thrust into a deeper understanding of that love, I am instantly brought to tears. Because it really is too much. It really is.
As I make my way through Hebrews these days, here is what I am discovering. Jesus not only suffered and died for us, but he then presents us to God as if we weren't people who spit on him, mocked him, and ultimately took his life. He presents us as if he has just uncovered the most precious treasure. And here's the kicker. He feels like he has. With a flourish, he says, "Ta da!" and points to us. "Aren't they wonderful?" He is the proudest big brother.
And to think, I've spent so long wondering if he somehow resents, even a little, having to die for me. Feeling that he surely must. I have so much to learn about his love.
I guess camp isn't just for the kids.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Family Pictures!
OH BROTHER! Someone save me from the nightmare of blog design! I am done trying. This is not exactly how I want it to look, but the colors are right and everything is still in it's place. It will have to do until someone who speaks code can rescue it.
Did you notice my new fancy header? We got our family pictures in the mail today and our photographer, Darci, who I sort of met through her blog, threw that bonus in there for me. I love it!
Here is what's great about the images that Darci captured: it's the real us. I know it's downright impossible to get a photo with three small children in it where everyone is smiling and looking the right way at the same time. She managed to get some of those, though, just cause she's good like that. But, far and away, my favorites are the ones where we're just being us. And, right now, "us" is three little girls with completely different personalities whose agreeableness fluctuates from one moment to the next, and two adults holding on for dear life, and for love, and loving where that life has taken them.
Here are a few of my favorites from our photo session out at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs. Thanks, Darci!
Okay...I know it's a lot. It was really hard to restrain myself and 11 is the absolute least amount I could have possibly put in this post. Seriously...I couldn't have narrowed any more!
Did you notice my new fancy header? We got our family pictures in the mail today and our photographer, Darci, who I sort of met through her blog, threw that bonus in there for me. I love it!
Here is what's great about the images that Darci captured: it's the real us. I know it's downright impossible to get a photo with three small children in it where everyone is smiling and looking the right way at the same time. She managed to get some of those, though, just cause she's good like that. But, far and away, my favorites are the ones where we're just being us. And, right now, "us" is three little girls with completely different personalities whose agreeableness fluctuates from one moment to the next, and two adults holding on for dear life, and for love, and loving where that life has taken them.
Here are a few of my favorites from our photo session out at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs. Thanks, Darci!
Okay...I know it's a lot. It was really hard to restrain myself and 11 is the absolute least amount I could have possibly put in this post. Seriously...I couldn't have narrowed any more!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Good Eats
One thing that camp affords me the time to do is read. I read a lot anyway, but at camp, where we all share a room, quiet time for the girls means...well...quiet time for me. Time for indulging in a good book. I like it. It's not like at home where quiet time feels like the only time I have to clean the house or get dinner ready or do the gazillion other things that call my name. Here, my only job, really, is to care for my family. During quiet time, when they are otherwise engaged, I get to care for myself. And I do that, have always done that, by reading. So, soon after we got here I started reading this book:
Yeah...I know. It sounds kind of hippie, right. Well...it kind of is. Actually, Barbara Kingsolver would be irritated to hear me say that. She would argue that it is ridiculous to have negative connotations in regards to eating healthy. And, she's probably right.
I'm not really a health nut in my own mind. I like soda, I like chocolate (and not the dark kind either), and I even eat the occasional fruit snack. But, I've come to realize that in comparison to a whole lot of Americans, I am kind of a health nut. I make my own whole grain bread. I have a garden in the summer. I pick apples and can my own applesauce. And there's plenty more. But, let me just say, I've got nothing on Barbara Kingsolver.
Initially, I began this book kind of skeptically. Here's the premise. Barbara Kingsolver, along with her husband and two girls move across the country to a farm and commit to eating only local foods for one year. Daunting, but apparently doable. And then, she writes about all she learns. So, I sat down with it, my Diet Dr. Pepper and, yes, some fruit snacks and began to read. Halfway through the first chapter, I pushed both away and began to chastise myself for not snacking on walnuts and sparkling water. When I stopped reading after quiet time, I wasn't sure I would go back. Who needs more guilt in their lives? Not me.
But, I did come back. And, what I've found are some new ways of thinking. They don't have to produce guilt. I can reasonably assume that I may never live on a farm/orchard and grow 5 acres worth of my own fruits and vegetables. But, there is plenty that I can do and plenty that intrigues me enough to try it. I may not save my family completely from the evils of high fructose corn syrup (because of it's prevelance in everything we eat, it, along with soybeans[used for making hydrogentated oil] comprise about 70% of midwestern crops these days...70%...and farmers have had to go with the flow, or else risk losing their livelihoods), but I can think harder about the choices I make in the grocery store. I can choose to support my local, organic farmer, whose produce doesn't have to be shipped thousands of miles, thus losing some of it's flavor and a good deal of it's nutrition. And, I can eat seasonal fruits and vegetables instead of insisting on having anything I want at any time I want. (If you are eating raspberries in January...they came from really far away. Who knows what had to be done to those raspberries for them to survive a shipment from South of the Equator? It's not natural.)
Alright, I know I have lost some of you at this point. It's too overwhelming and probably just feels like one more thing to be concerned with in a world of concerns. I know I'm not gonna change everything about the way we eat. I just can't. It's not practical for me, with three small children, to go traipsing all over creation trying to find every organic farmer and local honey there is. But, it's made me think a little. I'm thinking more about our local farmers and how much they need our support. I'm thinking about my family and what I can do to encourage healthy eating habits. I'm thinking about the fact that while it may cost a little more in some ares to do this, which is scary, it's probably worth it. And I'm thinking about how much fun it would be to try some of this stuff. So, here's what I'm gonna try to do:
1. I will try to buy only things in season, locally, whenever possible, thus guaranteeing that they are fresher. No more grapes in April, apples in February, and Avocados in November.
2. I will buy some local, seasonal things in bulk and store them if they are storable in my cellar and can them if they are not. Tomato season will bring a great deal of work, but I think I'm up for the challenge.
3. I will try...try, to make my own mozzarella. It supposedly only takes about an hour and I really think it might be fun to see how it's done and to get to pull all that stringy goodness into long ropes of cheese and then eat it!
4. I will ask my local grocery store if any of their products come from local farms...and do my part to put pressure on the chain stores to carry more local produce.
5. I will call around and ask about buying local chicken and eggs. I WILL NOT kill and pluck my own chickens. Nope. Not gonna do it.
Whew! That seems like a lot, actually. But, I think I can do it. I'm kind of excited about it actually. Hippie chick, here I come! Oh...and I forgot #6...
6. I will, every once in a while, give myself a break and buy an avocado in November because, let's face it...I'm not that hard core. And I really like guacamole.
Yeah...I know. It sounds kind of hippie, right. Well...it kind of is. Actually, Barbara Kingsolver would be irritated to hear me say that. She would argue that it is ridiculous to have negative connotations in regards to eating healthy. And, she's probably right.
I'm not really a health nut in my own mind. I like soda, I like chocolate (and not the dark kind either), and I even eat the occasional fruit snack. But, I've come to realize that in comparison to a whole lot of Americans, I am kind of a health nut. I make my own whole grain bread. I have a garden in the summer. I pick apples and can my own applesauce. And there's plenty more. But, let me just say, I've got nothing on Barbara Kingsolver.
Initially, I began this book kind of skeptically. Here's the premise. Barbara Kingsolver, along with her husband and two girls move across the country to a farm and commit to eating only local foods for one year. Daunting, but apparently doable. And then, she writes about all she learns. So, I sat down with it, my Diet Dr. Pepper and, yes, some fruit snacks and began to read. Halfway through the first chapter, I pushed both away and began to chastise myself for not snacking on walnuts and sparkling water. When I stopped reading after quiet time, I wasn't sure I would go back. Who needs more guilt in their lives? Not me.
But, I did come back. And, what I've found are some new ways of thinking. They don't have to produce guilt. I can reasonably assume that I may never live on a farm/orchard and grow 5 acres worth of my own fruits and vegetables. But, there is plenty that I can do and plenty that intrigues me enough to try it. I may not save my family completely from the evils of high fructose corn syrup (because of it's prevelance in everything we eat, it, along with soybeans[used for making hydrogentated oil] comprise about 70% of midwestern crops these days...70%...and farmers have had to go with the flow, or else risk losing their livelihoods), but I can think harder about the choices I make in the grocery store. I can choose to support my local, organic farmer, whose produce doesn't have to be shipped thousands of miles, thus losing some of it's flavor and a good deal of it's nutrition. And, I can eat seasonal fruits and vegetables instead of insisting on having anything I want at any time I want. (If you are eating raspberries in January...they came from really far away. Who knows what had to be done to those raspberries for them to survive a shipment from South of the Equator? It's not natural.)
Alright, I know I have lost some of you at this point. It's too overwhelming and probably just feels like one more thing to be concerned with in a world of concerns. I know I'm not gonna change everything about the way we eat. I just can't. It's not practical for me, with three small children, to go traipsing all over creation trying to find every organic farmer and local honey there is. But, it's made me think a little. I'm thinking more about our local farmers and how much they need our support. I'm thinking about my family and what I can do to encourage healthy eating habits. I'm thinking about the fact that while it may cost a little more in some ares to do this, which is scary, it's probably worth it. And I'm thinking about how much fun it would be to try some of this stuff. So, here's what I'm gonna try to do:
1. I will try to buy only things in season, locally, whenever possible, thus guaranteeing that they are fresher. No more grapes in April, apples in February, and Avocados in November.
2. I will buy some local, seasonal things in bulk and store them if they are storable in my cellar and can them if they are not. Tomato season will bring a great deal of work, but I think I'm up for the challenge.
3. I will try...try, to make my own mozzarella. It supposedly only takes about an hour and I really think it might be fun to see how it's done and to get to pull all that stringy goodness into long ropes of cheese and then eat it!
4. I will ask my local grocery store if any of their products come from local farms...and do my part to put pressure on the chain stores to carry more local produce.
5. I will call around and ask about buying local chicken and eggs. I WILL NOT kill and pluck my own chickens. Nope. Not gonna do it.
Whew! That seems like a lot, actually. But, I think I can do it. I'm kind of excited about it actually. Hippie chick, here I come! Oh...and I forgot #6...
6. I will, every once in a while, give myself a break and buy an avocado in November because, let's face it...I'm not that hard core. And I really like guacamole.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
My Kids at Camp
Here are a few pictures of the kids and all that they get to enjoy at camp.
Western night is always a big favorite. And this year is no different. During western night, there is also a carnival and campers have the chance to win tickets that they use to throw pies in their leaders faces or dump water on them. And, because everything has a purpose at Young Life camp, even the crazy weird stuff that Loren is often involved in, it isn't just about getting messy. It's about leaders being willing to sacrifice comfort and some pride, as they walk around soaked and with whip cream all over themselves. And it's about not being too old, or too mature to get a little crazy. Hope kept insisting that she wanted me to throw a pie in her face so she could lick the whip cream all off. :) She chickened out at the last minute. I don't blame her.
I asked Bella if I could take a picture of her in all her cuteness and she said, "sure," all exasperated like. Then, she turned around and pulled this pose for me. Hello, Project Runway.
Okay, this isn't actually a picture of the kids. It's of me. But, Bella took this picture. I had to lean way down to actually be in it, but I think she did a pretty good job.
Uhhh....yeah....Loren's a gnome this year at camp. And in this picture...the Gnomes go country. Mmm hmmmm. That's all I really have to say about that.
Look how tan and rosy cheeked my baby already is! She is soaking up all the attention and, apparently, a little sun, too.
This one is in here because I finally captured Ava's screaming face. Imagine a very loud screeching noise coming from this face. It's a lot cuter to look at than it is to hear. :)
Hope and Bella dancing to The Fray at club. They're cool kids like that. :) They are dancing here with one of their favorite summer staff girls, Nicole. Even though Nicole works at the store and holds the keys to all things sugary and delicious, I'm pretty sure my girls just like her because she is super sweet herself and loves hanging out with them.
Who could resist taking this picture? It sort of sums up my kid's experience at camp. They are right in the middle of it all. And, here's what I really love about it. If you could read the overhead in the picture (which you could if you clicked on it and enlarged it) you would see that it's a song that says, "He loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves." And that's what camp is about. And not only are campers experiencing that love, my kids are too. What a gift!
And finally, if you've been to my house then you know that my kids sleep in a double bed. When we got to camp, they had bunk beds all set up and the girls were excited about having their own space. Hope on the top bunk and Bella on the bottom. Well, after four nights of sleeping separately, they decided last night that they missed each other and wanted to sleep together. Sweet sisters! (Also, note that I had to take many pictures to find an angle where Hope's wide open eyes...which is how she sleeps!...would not creep you all out. It is freaky. I can say that cause she's seen it in pictures and she agrees. :) )
More to come....it's only the first week!
Western night is always a big favorite. And this year is no different. During western night, there is also a carnival and campers have the chance to win tickets that they use to throw pies in their leaders faces or dump water on them. And, because everything has a purpose at Young Life camp, even the crazy weird stuff that Loren is often involved in, it isn't just about getting messy. It's about leaders being willing to sacrifice comfort and some pride, as they walk around soaked and with whip cream all over themselves. And it's about not being too old, or too mature to get a little crazy. Hope kept insisting that she wanted me to throw a pie in her face so she could lick the whip cream all off. :) She chickened out at the last minute. I don't blame her.
I asked Bella if I could take a picture of her in all her cuteness and she said, "sure," all exasperated like. Then, she turned around and pulled this pose for me. Hello, Project Runway.
Okay, this isn't actually a picture of the kids. It's of me. But, Bella took this picture. I had to lean way down to actually be in it, but I think she did a pretty good job.
Uhhh....yeah....Loren's a gnome this year at camp. And in this picture...the Gnomes go country. Mmm hmmmm. That's all I really have to say about that.
Look how tan and rosy cheeked my baby already is! She is soaking up all the attention and, apparently, a little sun, too. 
This one is in here because I finally captured Ava's screaming face. Imagine a very loud screeching noise coming from this face. It's a lot cuter to look at than it is to hear. :)
Hope and Bella dancing to The Fray at club. They're cool kids like that. :) They are dancing here with one of their favorite summer staff girls, Nicole. Even though Nicole works at the store and holds the keys to all things sugary and delicious, I'm pretty sure my girls just like her because she is super sweet herself and loves hanging out with them.
Who could resist taking this picture? It sort of sums up my kid's experience at camp. They are right in the middle of it all. And, here's what I really love about it. If you could read the overhead in the picture (which you could if you clicked on it and enlarged it) you would see that it's a song that says, "He loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves." And that's what camp is about. And not only are campers experiencing that love, my kids are too. What a gift!
And finally, if you've been to my house then you know that my kids sleep in a double bed. When we got to camp, they had bunk beds all set up and the girls were excited about having their own space. Hope on the top bunk and Bella on the bottom. Well, after four nights of sleeping separately, they decided last night that they missed each other and wanted to sleep together. Sweet sisters! (Also, note that I had to take many pictures to find an angle where Hope's wide open eyes...which is how she sleeps!...would not creep you all out. It is freaky. I can say that cause she's seen it in pictures and she agrees. :) )
More to come....it's only the first week!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The House
Sometime next month, we will be living here:
Because last month, amidst my mommy meltdowns and the craziness of wrapping up the school year, God gave us a house. There really is no other explanation than that. Here is a list of mountains he moved to get us this house.
1.) the price had to come down roughly $50,000 from when it was first listed
2.) someone had to buy our house
3.) a contract that someone put on the house right before we did had to fall through
4.) a substantial down payment needed to be made
Now, to be fair, he didn't bring the price of the house down $50,000. Technically, he brought it down $60,000. And, technically, someone didn't come and look at our house and decide to buy it. A friend and Young Life supporter actually offered to buy it from us and then keep it on the market...just because God told them to. And, anyone who knows our financial situation knows that a substantial down payment is a matter only God himself can take care of. And he did.
Twice during this whole process, I felt like God told me that this was our house. Once in a dream, and once during my prayer time. And I believed it with my whole heart. But, with others, I was cautiously optimistic. I wish I had been more bold. I wish I had declared what I knew God was doing. I feel like I have spent most of my christian life wanting God to speak powerfully to me. This time, he did. And, for the most part, I tucked it away and kept it for myself. Next time I'm gonna speak up.
I'm so thankful for his faithfulness to provide big things like houses that we could never provide for ourselves. And for his faithfulness to provide seemingly smaller things,which may not actually be smaller at all, like quiet encouragement that he hears, he knows, and he delights to give good gifts.
Because last month, amidst my mommy meltdowns and the craziness of wrapping up the school year, God gave us a house. There really is no other explanation than that. Here is a list of mountains he moved to get us this house.
1.) the price had to come down roughly $50,000 from when it was first listed
2.) someone had to buy our house
3.) a contract that someone put on the house right before we did had to fall through
4.) a substantial down payment needed to be made
Now, to be fair, he didn't bring the price of the house down $50,000. Technically, he brought it down $60,000. And, technically, someone didn't come and look at our house and decide to buy it. A friend and Young Life supporter actually offered to buy it from us and then keep it on the market...just because God told them to. And, anyone who knows our financial situation knows that a substantial down payment is a matter only God himself can take care of. And he did.
Twice during this whole process, I felt like God told me that this was our house. Once in a dream, and once during my prayer time. And I believed it with my whole heart. But, with others, I was cautiously optimistic. I wish I had been more bold. I wish I had declared what I knew God was doing. I feel like I have spent most of my christian life wanting God to speak powerfully to me. This time, he did. And, for the most part, I tucked it away and kept it for myself. Next time I'm gonna speak up.
I'm so thankful for his faithfulness to provide big things like houses that we could never provide for ourselves. And for his faithfulness to provide seemingly smaller things,which may not actually be smaller at all, like quiet encouragement that he hears, he knows, and he delights to give good gifts.
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