Message to my blogging friends

Hi all,

I have been a terrible blogger lately, and I'm afraid it's not going to get any better in the foreseeable future. There are so many posts that I haven't been able to read, or comment on. And so many people have blessed me by leaving comments on my blog, and I haven't been able to reply to those either. I am so dreadfully sorry. I love you all and you're in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I pray everything is going well for you, and that you're healthy and happy.

Many blessings,
Mel

Life Goes On, and Adventures in Reading

It has been a particularly hectic, busy, difficult, draining season lately. Praise God, He is faithful on a daily basis to remind me of His presence and care, and to reassure me that this difficult season will end, and a fresh season of peace will take its place (at least for a while). Until then, the little reminders from God are a lifeline for me. Many of them come from the blogs and comments of my good blogging friends, Joseph, Fred, Danielle, Laura, Donna, Katrena and Pastor Eric, to name a few (and not in any particular order). Many come from my family and friends, and some come straight from God's Spirit. This rose, which I discovered in Katrena's photos today, whispered God's peace to my spirit. It was much needed.


Recently I finished reading the book "The Unthinkable" and that same day I started reading the next book on my list "The Leader in Me" by Stephen Covey. It's so inspiring and thought-provoking, I'm having a hard time putting it down. In fact, my love for reading books has been recently rekindled, which is part of the reason I'm not posting as regularly as I used to. If you could see all of the sticky-notes that pepper the pages of the books I've read recently, you'd laugh. All of those sticky-notes represent quotes or paragraphs or excerpts that I would like to post on my blog, or explore in more detail. I have to laugh at myself. :)

Snapshots

The other day Megan had a band concert. She plays the trumpet. Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out that we took of her with the trumpet in her hand. But here she is sitting in her seat, smiling sweetly.

While we were waiting for the band to be ready to play, Linnea wanted to show me something in her locker. She did not, however, want me to take any pictures of her messy locker. But I couldn't pass up posting this cute picture, because it captures Linnea's flare for the dramatic, and Rebecca's curiosity about "big girl" things. Like middle-school lockers.

Meet Marcelle the pig. Marcelle is actually a French vending machine from the early 1900's. I met him the other day while "running errands" on the 1st floor of the building where I work. He's on loan from one of the customers that frequents the first floor of City Hall.

Linnea took quilting as a class her last trimester this year, her 8th grade year. Here's a picture of her proudly holding up her lovely quilt for all to see.

A few days ago when I came home from work, my mom and the little ones, Michael and Rebecca, were anxiously waiting to show me their triumph for the day--a lovely tent made out of our swing set and several blankets, sheets and towels pinned or sewn together. It took quite a long time to build, and everyone enjoyed playing in it and resting in it, including our Pomeranian, Shiloh.

My Dad, and my Trip to St. Al's

Here are some pictures from my dad's birthday (Megan made the cake), which we celebrated on May 28th... And some pictures from the inside of St. Al's, and a cute little marmot I met on my way there. :)

Our Surprise Welcome Home

We got home from our trip to Florida at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20th. The house was dark and quiet, and we assumed everyone was in bed. A few seconds after we walked in the door, however, we were greatly surprised when the lights came on and my mom and all of the kids jumped out from behind the couch shouting, "Welcome home!!" Megan made this beautiful welcome home sign for us, and mom picked a couple of branches from our Dogwood tree to put on the table, festively decorating the place in a cheerful homecoming celebration. I took these pictures the next day, when there was daylight. I wish I would have thought to put the dogwood branches in the sunlight... They would have looked prettier on camera that way. But you get the idea, anyway.

I finished reading "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and managed to actually get some excerpts from it posted on my blog, "Echoes." Can you believe it? :) Then, a few days ago I started reading "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why" by Amanda Ripley. It's extremely fascinating. It's a non-fiction book, but it reads like fiction. I can't put it down.

"Above All Things I Believe in Love"

1 Cor. 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

I’m telling you, the truth of God’s Kingdom is spread far and wide, and appears in the most unlikely of places… Look at this interchange from and early scene of the movie “Moulin Rouge”:

“Do you believe in freedom?”

“Yes.”

“Beauty?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Truth, love?”

“Love? Above all things I believe in love. Love is like oxygen.”

* * * *
Like I said… God’s message is everywhere, even in the most unlikely of places.

(I took this picture early in the morning recently in the Valley Park 'n Ride lot)

Thank God for Movies!

I'm in the middle of a massive project of filing away 6 months worth of paperwork. Previous to this, I took 2 months worth of cardboard to the recycling facility, which was also in itself a major project.

The reason I say "Thank God for Movies" is because this particular movie is helping me get through this extremely tedious filing project. As I'm filing, I'm playing this movie (which I dearly love) on the DVD Drive in my PC. I took a break from filing to post this post because something in the movie spoke to me.

Near the beginning of the movie, there's a scene where the main character is filling in for an actor who has passed out. The main character begins to sing "The Hills are Alive" from the movie "The Sound of Music," and his skillful singing and the beautiful music serve to bring order out of chaos.

This spoke to me, because this is how God so many times brings order out of chaos in my life... Through music. I love the music in "Moulin Rouge" which is why I love the movie itself. There are many things I don't like about the movie, but what I love about it far overshadows those things. So I say again, "Thank God for Movies." :)

Thank God for my Husband!

(This is a picture of some of our famous Spokane Lilacs, which I took while walking along the river the other day, heading towards another cathedral in town to check it out.)

Anyone who's been reading this blog for any length of time knows how much I want to be able to take care of my home and yard, and how miserably I fail at being able to do that. Well, Keith was home on Thursday night, and I was, too, unexpectedly, because praise practice was cancelled. He made a long list of everything that needed to be done (vacuum, sweep and mop, clean the bathrooms, etc) and assigned a task or tasks to everyone in the house (except for my mom and the little kids).

(I encountered these lovely cheery little daisies while on my way to another cathedral at lunch the other day, the same day I took the picture of the lilacs.)

The cleaning streak lasted... Friday night and all day Saturday, we worked our tails of and accomplished so much! My bathroom has never been so clean, not since the house was built, probably. A large portion of my time was spent looking for a tool in my husbands tool chest in the garage. After much searching, I finally found a socket wrench that would fit the nuts on the shower door handles, so I could take them off to be able to clean off the hard water stains that have graced the doors since many years before we moved in, I'm sure. Anyway, it's gleaming now, and hopefully we'll be able to stay more on top of it now.

Michael and Rebecca were keeping me company while I was working in the yard the other day, and I was able to snag this cut photo of the two of them. I hope they'll always get along at least as well as they do now, or better. Unfortunately, they've been fighting more lately, taking after the example set by their older siblings. Sometimes I retreat to my room to get away from the constant state of world war III, which my friends tell me is normal, but which drives me crazy none the less. Most of the time I just tattle on them to my husband and he takes care of the problem, for that situation at least. Like I said, thank God for my husband!

Here's a picture of one of the towers of St. Al's, another cathedral in the area. I had mentioned to a friend that I'd gone to Lourdes Cathedral, and they said that was a beautiful church, but that St. Al's should definitely be visited, too. So the next day I ventured out to go there, and snapped this photo as I was coming up on the church from behind it. One thing I love about Catholic churches is that they provide a comfortable way to kneel and pray.

Here's my daughter, Linnea, who will be turning 14 next month. My, how time flies!

Today I have a whole room full of paperwork to sort and try to get put in the proper places. I also have some home courses in insurance continuing education that I need to get through. I'm not looking forward to this very much, but it needs to be done. I'm hoping to get through all of this today and tomorrow, but we shall see.

God is good!

It's Great to be Home!

It's always fun to go on vacation, but for me, coming home from vacation is still one of the best parts. This is a picture of the fountain in front of the hotel we stayed at, the Ritz Carlton on Key Biscayne Island in Florida.

One of the best things about the trip was the bed, which had a feather bed topper, soft cotton sheets and a down comforter. One night I slept for 8 hours straight without moving or waking up once. That very rarely happens to me, so when it does, it's cause for celebration! :) These are the four books I took with me, since I couldn't pick just one. I read the short stories of Wendell Berry on our flight to Florida, and read 200 or so pages of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" on the flight back to Spokane. I'm hoping to post some great quotes from the book on my blog Echoes sometime in the near future.

On Tuesday we went on a tour of the Everglades, which included a stop at a winery called Schnebly's where they make all of their wine using tropical fruit grown locally. They do not use any grapes in their wine, and I have to say, it was the only wine I've ever tasted that I actually half-way liked.

When we arrived at the winery, it was pouring down rain, but when we got on the bus to head back to the hotel, this is what the sky looked like. I love cloudy/sunny skies and rain washed earth, and couldn't take enough pictures of the scene.

This is the center piece from Tuesday night's dinner, which was fantastic and beautiful.

We met several amazing couples on the trip. One couple from Louisiana has been married 28 years. The wife told me she and her husband are constantly telling other couples that even though raising a family and staying together is difficult in this day and age, it does get easier after the kids are grown, and it's worth it to hang in there through the challenging times.

Another couple we met, from Texas, has been married 44 years. They don't have children, but they have 3 dogs. We chatted with them at dinner on Monday night, and in spite of a 20 or 30-year age difference, we all saw eye-to-eye on most of what we talked about. Things such as raising children who know how to work hard, be considerate, and respect their elders, as well as how to work and run a business ethically and honestly.

Finally we met a couple from Montana. The husband sings in a Southern Gospel choir that tours around, and I'm hoping that our church will invite his group to visit. We greatly enjoyed talking to this Christian couple about God and oh-so-many other things.

I pray that God will richly touch and bless all of the people we met there.

A Little Vacation

Keith and I are heading to Florida tonight. We'll be back late Wednesday night. I hope to bring back pictures and blog post fuel. All of you, my blogging friends, are in my thoughts and prayers always. I don't know what I'd do without you. :)

(photo from Katrena)

Lunchtime Encounter with God

Yesterday at lunch I went to Lourdes Cathedral to pray. I never even realized it was there, just a few blocks from my work, until a few days ago. There is a service that takes place there at noon every day, and I was in the sanctuary while that noon-hour service was going on. I can’t even begin to describe how full my heart was—so full that it literally overflowed in tears of joy and awe and repentance. The room was full of quiet, profound reverence. The stained glass windows with the sun shining through them were beyond breathtaking. I don’t remember the last time I felt the presence of God so powerfully or so deeply. I can’t wait to go back! (This time it’ll be with a stash of Kleenex in my pocket…)

(Photo from Katrena)

These are a couple of photos I took while I was at the cathedral. They don't do the windows justice, though.

Our Beautiful Blue Planet

I downloaded Google Earth so I could follow the progress of certain freshwater well projects through Charity Water. It’s one of the most amazing feats of electronic achievement I’ve ever seen! My husband has been having a great time exploring with it, too. He even found our house. You can zoom in really close—close enough to see the cars in the driveway and the pool in the back yard. Talk about having the whole world at your fingertips! It’s a map-lover’s paradise! J

(Phto From the Inernet)

Books, Books and More Books

Tuesday night I was blessed to be able to go to the Spokane Valley Library—twice! The first time I went it was just me and my mom, because I knew she needed to get out of the house for a bit. We found several delightful picture books to take home to read to the kids, as well as a couple of DVD’s, one of which was “War Photographer.” The second time I went, it was just me and Linnea, and together we ended up getting three bags full of books. To coin a phrase of Pastor Eric’s, “My reading eyes are bigger than my reading stomach.” For sure.

I was nearing the end of the book “A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McLaren at that time, and wanted to check out some of the books that he references in it. One of the books I checked out is “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. It’s a non-fiction book about some portions of American history as told form a Native American perspective. I’m only about 4 pages into it, and I’ve been near tears a few times already. The atrocities that have been committed by people of my own race and religion (in God’s name, no less!!) absolutely take my breath away and cause my heart to physically hurt. My father-in-law, my mom’s boyfriend and one of my best friends from high school are both Native American, so this book is especially meaningful to me. May God use it to open my eyes and humble my heart.

(This photo is also from Katrena)

Birthday Bookmarks

One of my favorite things to do used to be giving out little goodies to people on their birthdays. I had a basket at work and a basket at church that I tried to keep stocked with candy bars, gum, stickers, cool pens, and other little trinkets that I thought people would like. Then, on or near their birthday, they’d get to pick something out of the basket as a special treat. Because of our financial situation, I’m unable to keep up the ministry of the birthday basket, and have been trying to think of other things I can do to recognize people’s birthdays in a tangible way.

Just recently, I decided to try making bookmarks for people. I have a 2009 desk calendar that has a different Thomas Kincaid picture on each page. So instead of throwing the pages away when the day is over, I’ve been cutting out the pictures, and combining them with colorful paper, birthday greetings, and inspirational verses or quotes to make bookmarks that hopefully will be pretty durable. So far the few people I’ve given them to have seemed to like them, and I hope that God will use this little ministry to bring glory to His name.

(first photo from Katrena)

Here's a photo of four of the bookmarks I've made so far. I took the picture before I wrote and posted the post, but had no way at that time to get the photo off my camera.

War Photographer

Keith and I watched this movie last night about James Nachtwey, a photographer who has dedicated his life and career to capturing the horrors and suffering of war on film, in order to draw the attention of the world to the futility of war and the cause of peace. The words "God," "Jesus," "Christian," and "church" were not mentioned even once the entire time (that I can recall), and yet the message of Jesus whispered loudly to my spirit the entire time.

This man has endured and witnessed unspeakable horrors. He has sacrificed having a wife and family of his own. He has been sick with horrible diseases, and has been injured five separate times. In the film there are several instances when he's in areas where he has to completely cover his face because of sulfur in the air, or because of airborne chemicals being used as weapons.

My prayers go out to this man, and I deeply thank God for him and for the way he is ushering in God's Kingdom of Peace in such quiet but powerful ways.

Unplugged

I’ve been feeling a little frazzled lately. I need to take some time to get my priorities in order and to let my thoughts and feelings settle for a while. Or maybe, I need to let some of them settle, and some of them come to the surface and be expressed and exposed to the light of day. Anyway, I’m going to spend a few days in good old fashioned paper and hands-on therapy. (The Bible and good books and solid human interaction.) To all of my blogging friends, I love you, and I’ll see you in a few days. J

(photo from an email a friend sent)

Springtime Refreshment

I've been having a great time taking pictures. (Thanks to my friends Joseph and Katrena for the inspiration.) This is a picture of the Spokane River from the Post Street Bridge.

This is one of the blooming bushes outside the public safety complex.

This is my back yard and yes, that is an actual teeter totter. Michael and Rebecca balance each other out surprisingly well in spite of the 2-year age difference.

This is the weeping cherry tree in my back yard, which is in full bloom, next to a couple of our evergreen bushes, which are not doing quite so well.

There's my little monkey, Stephen, enjoying one of the Maple trees in our front yard.

This tree outside the public safety complex is one of many flowering trees on that particular street. They don't stay flowery for very long, so I'm grateful that God blessed us with a sunny day on a day that I had my camera as well as time on my lunch hour to do some spur-of-the-moment photography.

This budding bush is near City Hall where I work, and the bridge in the background is the Monroe Street Bridge, which is a huge part of the official City of Spokane icon.

These little marmots decided to investigate what I was doing. So I decided to make the most of the moment and snap their picture. Aren't they cute?

Here's another shot of the river, which is swollen with spring run-off.

Here's Rebecca, enjoying the warm spring weather with me.

There are links on the right side of this blog page now. One of them is a link to Katrena's photos, which are gorgeous, and a link to mine, some of which are decent, but most of which are just ho-hum. But that's okay. I'm having fun exploring and experimenting. :)

A Friendly Hippo in a Bathing Suit

One of my jobs at work is to put together the agendas for the Monday night City Council Meetings. I put together a draft, my boss makes changes to it, I update the agenda with her changes, and then I print the corrected version out and give it to another person in the office who checks to make sure I’ve made all the changes, and that neither myself nor my boss missed anything important. When I get it completely right, which isn’t very often, the person who does the second proof puts a sticker on the front page of the agenda. Currently the stickers she’s using are stickers of happy, friendly-looking purple cartoon hippos in bathing suits… It’s amazing just how motivating those cute little stickers are to me, and how much harder I work at making sure the agenda is as perfect as possible in an effort to earn that coveted sticker. It’s the little things…