Forties Top 40, #25

#25:  Having fun while time flies.

My first decade lasted a lifetime.

My second decade lasted half a lifetime.

My third decade?  Right, a third of my life.

The fourth a fourth. 

  

My forties have only lasted a fifth of my life.

No wonder time flies faster with each year that passes!

I don't mind much that time seems to be going faster and faster.

Something good is always on the horizon.

And the light at the end of the tunnel?

It never seems as far away as it once did.

Time is certainly flying.  The next decade is bound to be the fastest yet.

That's OK.  I intend to enjoy every bit of it as much as I possibly can.

Off the Clock

After I turned off the meter on the mom taxi for the day,

I ventured out one last time to head for the hills.

The golden hills

in the evening's sweet light.

The sun disappeared

and the moon took its place.

I'll rest well.

Quarterly Top 5

Ashley at Ramblings and Photos is the one who coordinates Sunday Scavenger Hunt, which I love. She is also collaborating with friends to offer Quarterly Top 5 Photos. They have some great prizes that they are giving away to random entrants. Plus, there are always some fun photos that either I never managed to get posted, or that deserve an encore. Anyone is welcome to join the fun.

Here we go!

Ben bought Bethany a Nerf gun for her birthday, and one for himself too.  

They've had so much fun playing with them this week

  If you are Ben's teammate, you know the first face you will see in the dugout 

with a high five after you score is Ben's.  He is a great guy to have on your side.

I don't think I've posted any of Bethany's softball photos this year.  It's hard to choose one, 

but here she is, true to form, playing with a smile on her face.  She is a lot of fun to watch!

She also spends a lot of time with the other baseball sisters,

or in this case, the softball daughters.

 And here are both of my boys--I love this spot where these hills converge!

Glimpses of Summer II

Summer around here has a well established pattern.  I've talked about it several times now.  There is Summer I and there is Summer II.  Summer I is packed full of activities, and Summer II is for doing whatever we want or nothing at all if we want. It is so predictable, I could use a post that I wrote exactly a year ago and just say ditto.  This year has its own variations on the theme, but the fact remains, Summer I is exhausting!

I probably SHOULD just say ditto, and let it go at that, because this is the week we lose our minds.  Every. year.  We took brain dead to a whole new level this week.  So much that it reached beyond maddening to laughable.  We were going separate directions and pretty much constantly had the wrong things in the wrong car.  Etcetera. What's good?  Lee and I were equally absentminded, so we were very supportive of each other.  As were the kids.

This week our pastor announced his resignation.  Very sad--but happy in that he leaves our church family in great health with much hope on the horizon, rather than leaving in defeat over some contentious issue.  I told him it's really not a good time, because it's Summer I and I only have the capacity for matters of the calendar--not matters of the heart.  He said he's going anyway.

 

BUT.

This week we also had a glimpse or two of Summer II.  

The lazy days of summer.  

I'm so looking forward to it.

And because I'm better at pondering than logistics, 

it got me thinking of the study we did on the book "Surprised By Hope".  

We are living summer here, and it is so good.  

But the best is yet to come.  

Jesus came to establish and announce that the Kingdom of God is here.

It IS!

As his followers, we see glimpses of it wherever we look,

wherever we allow it to take hold in our lives...

...but the best is yet to come.

Until then, we are back at it, 

the busy, busy days of Summer I.

Back to the work of announcing the Kingdom of God.

Summer is here, after all,

and so is the Kingdom.

A little raggy goodness...

...awaited the birthday girl this morning.

Happy birthday, Bethany!

Mirror, mirror

You know that feeling

of meeting yourself coming and going?

It turns out it can be a good thing.

Just when all of the busyness

of the school year ended

I had a girls night with Bethany and her friend

to celebrate.

Such a fun way to unwind!

(A mind dump of a post, masquerading as) Forties Top 40, #28-26

#28:  Vacation Bible School.

In 2007 I accidentally agreed to direct VBS.

It was a sports theme, and my sports crazy son was 7.

We hadn't had VBS for a few years.

How could I refuse?

Thankfully, I am no longer the director.

Just sort of the assistant director.

And photographer.

Can I just say that photographing all over the church and outside

on sunny days and rainy days is a challenge with the white balance and exposure? 

Whew.  Gotta learn to get it right in the camera before next year.
(And Becky, if you read this, it is not self-criticism. ;-)
Merely my next challenge.)

See that pregnant mama over there on the left?

She is our youth minister.  She selected and demonstrated that game.

She did not return.  

The least she could have done is come back for family night
with her new adorable little family member, don't you think??

#27:  Kids singing about Jesus.

Gets me every time.

#26:  The beauty of the Body of Christ.

All ages, colors, shapes and sizes.

Every single week I am humbled and moved

by the people around me.

Our God is faithful.  He IS amazing.

He writes his story over and over again

in the lives of his people,

each time with different twists and turns.

How beautiful and profound that we can join each other's stories.