final indiana update - number 3

when i was in indiana i got to go to the theater twice! if you know me well, you know that this is one of the more exciting things in my life. i love theater. the first time was at beef & boards with a group from my home church. it was a riot. the second time was at the red barn theater. i've added a few pictures, because just as the name suggests - this theater is in fact in a barn in the middle of the country. it is definitely one of the coolest places i know to see live shows.

towards the end of my time i had an event for my supporters who lived near burlington. it was a "dessert" thank you party. we had some non-sweets as well, but mostly it gave me a chance to thank people and bake, bake, bake! rachel and mom gave me a ton of help with the food prep and it was a blast. here's some of the yummy-ness.

white chocolate spice cake bites


red velvet cake bites


lemon berry puffs


white chocolate hazelnut tarts


salad tartlets


chocolate marshmallow brownies


the spread

genesis 29

i have always been drawn to the story of leah and rachel. as a child i remember being stunned at the nerve of laban, cheating jacob from his "princess." i, being a child under the influence of disney princessdom and being the best friend of a rachel, always sided with rachel - as if, somehow, i believed that leah deserved her fate as the "ugly sister." because, after all, shouldn't beautiful rachel get everything? she was the one that jacob desired. he never asked for weak eyed leah.

and then as i got older, my heart broke a little for leah. poor leah, played like a pawn by her father. unloved by her husband. yet i always skipped forward into the story where she and rachel got petty in their child bearing turf war.

tonight, though, i noticed a nugget. a little gem in the story of leah. something from before babies started flying out from every corner of the household from every woman in the household.

leah had four sons, right in a row. the first three she names respectively - he has seen my misery (or see, a son), he hears, and attached. each son she responds with the hope that her husband will now love her for each son she provides him. she hopes in what she cannot change.

but then her fourth. she named him praise. Judah. she said quite simply, "this time i will praise the Lord." for all the times later that she didn't get it, for this moment - leah got it. somewhere she learned that her hope was in the Lord. that she couldn't change her circumstances, she couldn't make her husband love her and her sons would never fill that void, but she could praise the Lord. because the Lord saw her.

how many paths do i try to take - my reubens, simeons, and levis - trying to make my own happiness happen? instead let me find real joy in Judah - in praise. let me wake up each morning saying the words of leah, "this time i will praise the Lord." let me face each trial saying, "this time i will praise the Lord." and let me face each joy saying, "this time i will praise the Lord."

indiana trip part 2

one of the main purposes of my trip was to do a vbs at one of my main supporting churches - main street christian church in russiaville. i had a blast with the kids, teaching them about what i do and about kid's just like them in missionary families all over the world. all the nervousness i would have the night before left as soon as the kids entered the room. i will say though, that it probably was a measure of nervous energy and cherry coke that got me through the rapid pace of vbs.

my classroom set up and empty

my classroom with me in it

my classroom full of the "almost kindergarteners" group - i had pre-k through 6th graders every day, 20 minutes for each age group. it was very busy and very fun.

i got to speak at the church the sunday following the vbs - i rushed through my 5 minutes very nervously because all i could think of was the fact that i was speaking during the sunday school hour for 45 minutes. i had never had a 45 minute slot to share before - so i was nervous! yet, somewhere in the midst of my sharing in that sunday school, God stepped in and peace came over me. i had one of those beautiful moments where i felt like God was teaching even me as i shared. i was in awe of what He had been doing in my life in ways that i hadn't thought of before. it's a weird thing to have new things revealed to you as you are the one doing the speaking - so i can only say it was a God thing. pretty cool, huh?

all the other kiddos

or, my time in indiana part 1.

i decided, based on the length of time since my last update and how much went on during my time, this would be a multi-parter. i will do my best to make it not mind-numbingly boring by using lots of pictures. :-)

aunt abby & sydney

sweet sydney who turned 12 yesterday!

nicholas with his twister game face and attempt of a smile through the pain of the game.

sweet ethan played the spinner.

ethan giving a sweet grin.


ethan lending cousin gigi a hand at king's island.

though not technically their aunt, my cousin justin's kids are niece and nephew in my heart. handsome aidan and little lily.

lily giving my hat a try.

making up for the months of january through august that i missed of her life.

they love each other to bits!

niece lily and another little one who calls me aunt abby - my friend kaleena's adorable little girl mckynzye!

i love love love these kids!!

niece Gigi

got to reacquaint myself with my niece yesterday. she hasn't seen me since christmas and at 3 she was a little wary of me at the beginning - a first for her and i. usually she warms up pretty instantly to me. but after a bit of time we were having a blast.

i got to chase her around with my new-to-me DSLR camera. usually she balks at having her picture taken and won't smile, but we made it a game and i just kept my finger on the button and i think i got some cuteness!!

isn't she a doll!?

she's always on the move.

now i just have to see sydney, nicholas, ethan, aidan and lillian. love these nieces and nephews!

slept in heaven

today my friend sarah and i went to the mall's chick fil-a for our weekly chicken biscuit brunch and mutual processing session. both of us have had a lot to digest lately in our ministry and personal lives. it's been a great little half hour escape once a week that often helps me focus in everything else.

now, because of our frequency to this chick fil-a, they really know us there. several of the workers know our exact orders. (in fact last week my friend megan went to pick me up lunch because i had a meeting run late and when she told them my order it the worker laughed and said "that's not for you is it? it's for your friend with blonde hair, right?" so funny...and a little embarrassing!)

today one of the workers commented to me, "i wish every customer was like you guys. you just look like you slept in Heaven. you always smile and are so nice. so many people come in and are grumpy and rude to us." i thought at the irony of someone commenting that i looked like i had slept in Heaven - me, the girl who never sleeps through the night. yet i do feel at peace. so while i didn't sleep in Heaven last night, i can always sleep with the hope of heaven and know that's God's love and joy is mine to share with others. sarah and i felt humbled by this and determined to make a greater effort to love and get to know our chick fil-a workers. so when we got our customary cherry coke refills we introduced ourselves by name and learned his name (jared). it's a small step to loving my neighbors in this city better. and i pray that they will see Heaven in my countenance more often.

a whole "herd" of us at cow appreciation day on the 10th. jared is in the background behind the counter.

today

sometimes i wait to post because i want something profound to say. so i post when i have some random burst of inspiration.

that doesn't seem to happen to often.

other times God is teaching me lessons, but i just don't know how to share them.

and still other times i want to share wonderful house-y type tips like my stay-at-home mom friends, but the past month hasn't been spent doing those things. and the reality is that isn't the crux of my daytime.

i've had an wonderful summer with friends. many of them new. and most of them are now gone. i am thankful and heavy hearted all at the same time.

today i am thankful that God keeps bringing me more wonderful friends since i live in a world where friends are always leaving to go extraordinarily far away.

today i am thankful for the flowers on my desk - bought from kate at the farmer's market. the color of them takes my breath away every time i look up. good job God.

today i am thankful for friends who love truth.

today i am thankful for supporters who encourage me and help me all along this crazy walk i'm on.

today i'm thankful for the baby who knows my name and waits for my car to pull into the drive with a huge smile on her face.

today my heart is heavy with all those i'm missing and thankful for all i've got.