I'm seeing orange

I have just come from the first main session at the Orange Conference--wow, Reggie Joiner brought a powerful message on what our main focus must be--treating the prodigals the way the loving Father treats his own son.  Steve Fee led worship, Lanny Donahoe did his usual shenanigan's, Sue Miller did a nice piece on volunteers in the church, and all in all it was a great end to a long, but fun day.  Last night and all day today I worked registration and was at the desk where attendees could update/change their breakout sessions.  I really like getting to meet all the people and think this was a good fit for me because I actually could speak semi intelligently about the content of most of the breakouts.  I sort of felt like a guidance counselor helping student drop and add classes.  Eating dinner in the same room with a ton of other volunteers and well-known worship leaders is a nice perk too.  Also got to reconnect with several people who were there last year--I love this stuff!

I am staying at a hotel very close to the conference, thank you Edgar, and the room is really nice, but the bed is the toughest, lumpiest, most uncomfortable bed I have experienced in a long time.  I was up a lot last night and am hooping my state of near exhaustion tonight will allow me to simply pass out and not notice the lumps!

The only down side to all of this is I do miss my family.  Rachel called tonight and chatted my ear off about her adventures in Jamaica and tried to catch me up on the latest HS drama--I love that kid.  I barely got in a word and didn't even get a chance to tell her I met a couple who were on her Africa trip last year.  I really appreciate Anita taking good care of Ryan and hope to speak with Edgar tomorrow.

Time to sleep, tomorrow will be another long day.

Empty Nest

No, I am not referring to the birds, they are still here and we have seen one egg, but I think she laid more.  I am talking about our home.  It is 7:45 am, Ryan is at school and Edgar and Rachel are on their way to Jamaica.  Edgar's dear uncle Keble died last week.  He was an incredible man who served Jamaica for decades in politics, revolutionized the coffee industry there, survived being a POW, and was a dear man whom we dearly loved.  The country is honoring him with a State funeral and Edgar and Rach are attending and representing the family.  Rachel met him on her only other trip to JA when she was 2 years old and we were there celebrating his 75th birthday.

So my little nest is empty for at least a few hours and in addition to processing and packing coffee orders alone, Amanda has finals this week, I am tackling Ryan's room.  I convinced Edgar to help me rearrange it some last night and today I need to go through all his stuff--eek.  The new arrangement will be much better and it will satisfy my need to 'spring clean'--well, maybe I still need to tackle the pantry, but not today!

I have had Chris Tomlin's, "How Can I Keep from Singing" in my head for the last few days.  The words are so good and the tune very catchy.  He starts by saying 'there is an endless song echos in my soul. . . "  If you have not heard it, the chorus is:

             How can I keep from singing Your praise?

How can I ever say enough?

How amazing is your love.

How can I help from shouting Your name?

I know am loved by a King

And it makes my heart want to sing!

What more can I say?  What more could we want?  This day I hope you truly know that you are loved by The king!

More nest pictures

The nest is almost finished--didn't they do a great job?!  We are tip toeing around the foyer area as to not disturb the mother bird.

No shaken birdie syndrome

One of the things I love to do is to change out some of my decorations inside the house with the change of season or holidays.  I mean, why only decorate for Christmas?  Of course I don't go all out but I change a few nick knacks and table decorations.  I have also added putting a wreath on the front door since we moved to Georgia.  A few months ago I saw a metal basket in a catalog and really liked it.  My dear friend, Billie, gave me one for Christmas and I put some silk flowers and hung it on the front door.  Just before Easter I found a bouquet of wild flowers so I got a couple and put in the basket--looks quite nice I think.

When I came home a few days ago I noticed there were a couple of birds on the front porch flying around and chirping like crazy.  I thought, "hmm, I wonder if they are making a nest up in the ceiling?"  So I looked around on the porch and didn't see a nest so I dismissed it.  Then a few days later I was in the house and saw birds on the porch again.  This time I stood and watched and noticed they were flying near my metal basket.  After they flew away I moved in to get a closer look and there was the beginnings of a nest!   Seems the birds liked my flowers, too!

So now I need to make a sign asking everyone to avoid the front porch and especially front door for a few weeks.  I think the birds are house finches, and I am really pleased that they have chosen to nest with us.  Because the door is glass we will be able to see them from the inside, but must be careful not to frighten mama bird away once she lays her eggs.  

I was able to snap a few pics while the birds were away gathering more twigs.  Isn't it amazing how birds, bees, and spiders build such intricate homes--our God is so creative! (Ok blogspot is having trouble uploading images right now--I will try to add photos later)

We do hope you will come visit us, we love to have company--but come through the garage door if you please, we don't want any 'shaken birdie eggs!"

Prom Pics

Many year ago when I was homeschooling Rachel, she began telling me that someday she really wanted to go to public school.  When I asked 'why' she replied, "so that I can go to prom".  Since those days she has attended private school and almost 2 years of public school.  Last night the purpose of her educational quest was fulfilled:  she went to prom!  Actually the whole day was spent in preparation for the blessed event, but she went with her boyfriend and a couple of other kids from school.  They had a great time, came home early and all was well.  These are a few photos.

Whirlwind Trip

Well it is spring break for the kiddos and so we decided to take a little road trip; we went to Greensboro.  In the past when we have 'gone back' (we used to live there) the trip seemed long and we left wishing we could have seen more people, not this time.  For some reason the trip moved along-we did stop in Taccoa Falls to check out a potential college for Rachel.  The falls were awesome and the college is promising, we will see.  Both kids were able to see several of their friends in Greensboro; Rachel and I even got in a few innings at the Greensboro Grasshoppers opening night baseball game.  (Yes, they named the baseball team after an insect--folks, you gotta know that NC is famous for basketball not baseball!)  We all ate our way through town trying to hit as many of our favorite restaurants as possible and even spent time seeing many of our former colleagues and church friends.  

The main reason for our trip was to meet with a painter and house stager to prepare our house for selling.  Our renter will be leaving soon and it is time to get our house spruced up on put on the market.  I think I had forgotten how pretty our old neighborhood was!  The really exciting news is that we all agreed that with a little work we can finish enclosing the closet in the basement and then we will have a second master suite and a 5 bedroom, 3.5  bathroom house! If any of  you know someone who is looking to move to NC, Greensboro is a great town and in about a month we will have a super house deal!!

Driving home last night I found myself very aware of the white lines on the road.  I know they are always there, but with trucks whizzing by and dark curvy roads, I was comforted by simple white lines on the edge of the road.  It reminded me how important it is to have boundaries. We don't often welcome boundaries, but in reality they not only provide limits- but freedom.  I remember learning in college some great advice: never accept a job that doesn't have a job description-if the employer doesn't have one, you write one and present it to the employer for approval prior to signing on.  It is very freeing to know exactly what is expected of you rather than spending time creatively trying to meet expectations only to learn your understanding of the job is not what your employer had in mind!

Studies show that young children will tend to stay in one area of an unfenced yard, but use the whole yard if there is a fence.  Certainly the white lines on the road prevented us from straying into areas that were unsafe and provided guidance and freedom within those limits to get us home safely.  It is too bad that we often view God's rules as restrictions to limit our freedom, when in reality, when we know the limits (and the truth) it will set us free!

  

I wonder

We have enjoyed a few very busy days with extended family and although tiring, very enjoyable.  In the middle of all this I received two unrelated phone calls from people with whom I had professional relationships in the past.  The first was from the young man who was my ministry assistant in the last church where I served as Children's Minister. He and I worked very hard to create relevant environments for the children and found that we had much in common regarding creativity and desire to worship and serve.  He has been working full time in the restaurant management field and called to ask about our church and say that he is ready for a change in his life.  As Edgar and I are praying about moving our coffee business from our home to a location where we could roast, pack and ship, and sell retail, we have also considered a small coffee shop but quite frankly don't want to be tied down to having a shop to run.  Of course if our friend decides to move to town he will need a job and that might be a great fit.  Can't help but wonder what God might be up to, . . . hmmmm.

Then I got a phone call from a lady who lives in GA and is a Montessori teacher who is involved with helping small churches open preschools as a ministry to grow their church.  She is working with a new church school and of course setting it up with a Montessori curriculum.  One of the most rewarding things I have ever done is train teachers in the implementation of Montessori education on the Infant and Toddler level.  The course is so informative and practical for educators and parents.  She wanted to talk with me about the possibility of training some Infant and Toddler teachers for her new school.  Can't help but wonder what God might be up to, . . . hmmmm.

Lastly we have been working with Ryan's school and a local psychologist to best evaluate him and support and assist him with his learning.  We had a appointment last week and the Dr. had more questions than answers.  We thought we were on a pretty clear path, but now feel we need to gather more info before we make any final decisions.  Of course we want to be careful to not put him through too many tests as is it very taxing.  So we have personal  knowledge, observations, evaluations, and screenings that all play a part in the puzzle, but right now all the information is very inconclusive, can't help but wonder what God might be up to, ...hmmm.

What we do know is that God is faithful and His mercies are new every morning.  As for what our future hold, that is unsure, but we know that He knows and we trust Him.