Invitation to the Thirsty

I am reading through the Bible this year.

It's not something I have ever endeavored to do before.

I'm such a slow reader.  So far, so good, but it's way too soon to tell.

I decided not to sweat it if I don't take in every detail.  

To not be frustrated if I don't make sense of every little thing.  

To let some of the questions hang, unanswered. (Gasp.)

Once upon a time I might have tried to connect dots that didn't go together.

I'm learning to get over that.

I have seen people take this photo before,

and have always thought I would like to give it a try.

As I am reading the Bible from a bird's eye view this year,

one thing I am enjoying is the way God's love for his people.

quite apart from their performance,

leaps off of the pages.

May you know today that the God of heaven and earth

is issuing an invitation to the thirsty

to drink deeply from his well

and be satisfied.

A psalm for winter

Ah Lord, you are the Artist.

It's never more obvious than in winter

when your attention to the most intricate of details is plain for all to see.

If, indeed, we will see.

Or can see.

But why must you test our resolve so with your sensory deprivation?

Where is your light, your warmth, your aroma?

You test not only our resolve, but our character and good sense as well.

And so often find us lacking.

Woe to us.

And also, you test our wakefulness

and watchfulness.

We are working so hard to keep our eyes open, Lord.
But it's not that easy.
There are things we would rather not see.
We are weary.

Even so, you reward our feeblest efforts to stay present

with glimpses of life

and light.

Reminding us that this is but one season.

We will put our best face on as we are able.

Sometimes we will convince ourselves and forget that we were faking it.

Then, Lord, let the joy spill over onto others.

And sometimes we won't even bother to fake it.

But our hearts will find abiding hope in knowing that underneath it all,

you are at work in us.

You are, after all, The Artist.

And we are your art.

Selah.

I just remembered...

…that I have a blog.

I always leave it pretty much alone when I go away, 

but this time I came back and kind of forgot to come back to blogging.
So that was relaxing.
We went to see family for two+ weeks at Christmas.
I am blogging about all of it right here in this post.  So hang on.

At my brother's in Charlotte, our new niece gave us an amazing cello concert,
while our nephew (her husband) played Trivia Crack with us.
Multitasking entertainment.  So good.







My brother Dave took us on a tour of the office where he and Mary work.
It's been quite a year for them at SIM.
This ebola outbreak has been close to home for them. Too close.
Heartbreaking. And then the next minute heartwarming.
They have been through the whole spectrum many times.



So it was a pleasure to meet the people they work with,
most of whom have left pieces of their hearts in other parts of the world.



We went on a fun outing and played a few games…



…before it was time to head down to our Georgia family.





And there we stayed for Christmas.



Lee's mom, Mona as we call her, was working her usual magic in the kitchen,
when the granddaughters started taking notes.
She is amazing.
I should have taken notes too, but I had a blast taking pictures instead.





I sure hope Bethany got all that.



Love.





We celebrated Jesus's birthday with cake.





The big kids played with the little kid's new toys.
Of course.
And everyone just enjoyed being together.

















After that we left for the tropics

and Grandma and Grandpa
(aka my dad and Jeannie)
in Florida.

Grandma took us on a fun river cruise.





Our gift from them was a fun adventure nearby.



We had to pull together a little extra courage for this one!









It was a blast!

We had a few more days to play in Georgia before we had to head back north.

 

 

 

These two--how is it they can go a year between visits and pick up right where they left off?

Bethany got her hair cut by our talented niece.

And then, it was New Year's Eve.

Some people watched Toy Story 3.

Some people watched Georgia Tech trounce Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.

There might have been angels singing.  I'm not certain.

They wrapped it up with about two minutes left to watch the ball drop.

Just like that, 2015 blew right in.

I hope it's been happy for you so far!