Hello / Good-bye November

Well November came and went. Fast. And I was busy. When I haven't blogged in awhile it means one of two things:
1. I am busy
2. My life is boring.

My life is never boring. Thank God.

I hate that I haven't blogged as there have been so many entries I wanted to share. Posts about the happenings and posts about how God continues to be amazing. So here goes. Here was our November in a quick review........

Lauren came home A LOT in the last part of Oct and November. There was fall break, Halloween, and her birthday. Oh, yeah. So on 11/19/10 she turned 19. Her last year as a teenager. Don't even get me started......

See Lauren Birthday Pix HERE



Lauren was Cleopatra for Halloween.
See more pix HERE











Home improvement is almost done! We are sooooooooo close. But it has been an interesting "you get what you pay for" kinda ride. Just because your contractor is a Christian doesn't mean he is "gifted" in quality work.

But nevermind that. I will post pics of the "completed house" soon. Danny and I are very blessed to make this home so just the way we wanted.






We've done a Bowl-A-Thon with the mentally challenged adults group. The young lady I meet with was on our team and she was sooo good. Me? I was excellent at getting my bowling ball right in the gutter. Often.





I had a dinner party that pretty much failed. Apparently sit down dinner parties are a thing of the past. We cleaned. I bought salmon. Set the table with napkins holders and wine glasses. Invited two couples from our Sunday school class --- one we knew well (couple A) and the other we didn't know (couple B). That was the whole point, to have an opportunity to get to know couple B. Well, couple B called 15 minutes before the get together started to cancel as their babysitter "fell through." Must go confess my bitterness yet again.

Thanksgiving was spent with the Dulin village in Md. I had FRIED turkey for the first time in my life and I am here to say it was DELICIOUS!!

Michael and Cory were there. Was great to see them both. Wish I had pics to post.....

On our way back to NC, I got a quick visit with Diane R, who is one of my favorite human beings in the entire universe.

I ended up getting a sore throat and cold from someone and have been sick since Friday. Sad that it takes me being sick to finally blog.

And on one last note. I was too sick to go to church on Sunday. It was communion Sunday and when my husband came home he confessed, "I'm sorry I murdered you last week."
Imagine that. Me making anyone mad enough it would drive them to murder me in their hearts.
Oh, I love my perfect confessing he murdered me husband!!

A Happy Event

I love weddings. Good weddings where the bride and groom are overflowing with love and with Jesus.

This past weekend a couple in our Sunday School class, Dave and Yolanda got married. His first, her second. We met them about a year ago, and back then they were just checking out the whole Christian marriage thing.

Yolanda was severely hurt and betrayed by her first husband. She was understandably reluctant about getting married again.

Dave, after being raised in the church, spent years "enjoying" the life of a bachelor and had a preteen daughter to show for it.

This is a gorgeous couple, that's obvious. But the best part about their story is where Christ has brought them from. There was a time Dave would barely speak in Sunday School class. And now, during his vows he was a "mini-Danny" promising to lay down his life for his new bride like Christ loves the church. His vows were all about Christ being the center and the source.

Danny and I cried.

And I remember when Yolanda during one of our classes last year said that she was not "comfortable and didn't like the idea of submission and the man being head of the household." I also remember the day seeing the light bulb go on when she understood the biblical concept and embraced it as the protection and blessing it was intended.

Her vows? Her vows were all about coming beside Dave to support him, and walking behind him when he leads. She was a bride who understood the safest and most blessed place to be was in the arms of a man who understood the magnitude of his responsibilities to honor Christ first as a husband.

Danny and I cried.

We love this couple. This is a couple we have pursued and come along side. Separately Danny and I have encouraged them. We were honored and humbled when they asked us to be one of the couples that would participate in the Bouquet of Love segment of the ceremony. Several months ago when they approached us, they said "Because we respect your marriage and the way you love each other, you have been an example for us." We, along with about 4 other couples, surrounded Dave and Yolanda as a physical reminder that we were all committed to them in prayer and their marriage. That's what its all about.

We are so happy for them. We are so blessed to see how Christ, in his timing has transformed these individuals and this couple. We were so blessed to witness all the love and all the ways they chose to honor Christ on their special day.

I love weddings. Good weddings where the bride and groom are overflowing with love and with Jesus.

I wish I could marry Danny all over again!

Was Martha Asian?

I have been accused in the past by certain friends that I have perfection tendencies. I have never thought of myself that way, but recently I am wondering if it might not be true. I use to think my desire for declutter, organization and general neatness to be something of an Asian trait, but now I am seeing the "Martha, not Mary" syndrome creeping into my life. Okay, creeping is not the right word. Its basically an ugly monster that attacks me daily.

It has been interesting to watch my friends over the years who have had the time and resources to focus on their homes and decorating, etc. I use to think I was so "blessed" that I wasn't enslaved to weekends of Home Depot trips or a constant state of an unfinished house. I, unlike my friends, was actually living life and enjoying my home. I liked my home neat, but I had no time, money, or husband to help me with home improvement and so it was just not something on my radar.

"Judge not, lest ye be judged." Oh yeah. I am up to my eyeballs in paint swatches and decorating ideas and it doesn't end. Our "remodeling" is essentially done and our house is pretty much put back together. I can't say it was a terrific experience and it was a time of spiritual challenge.

I learned that I am more like Martha (not because I am Asian) than Mary. Shocking.
I found out that if I didn't take the time to intentionally be like Mary, my Martha tendencies would never be satisfied. The things to do and the lists of tasks never really end.

The battles were mental and emotional. The lie was staring me in the face: "Once your house is in that 'perfect' condition, once its finally all done, then, THEN you'll have peace and be happy."

Ooooooh. Ugly, ugly lie.

My joy and my peace should not be challenged by ANY house or the condition of it. Joy and peace don't mean I have to LIKE the condition of my house, but it should not determine the quality of my life, especially in light of eternity.

I also struggled with our contractor. Danny and I like him a lot, personally. He is currently in seminary and loves Jesus. He was recently layed off and our project was the perfect timing for him (he was in the home improvement industry anyway).

Although 80% of the work done was wonderful, there was the 20% that was not. That 20% took an additional 3 weeks and extra $$$$. It required our contractor to bring in another subcontractor to finish and by then I was in the state of asking, "How am I suppose to look like Jesus in all this?"

The irony of course, is that Jesus was an excellent carpenter.

By now our contractor was losing money on our project because of the snags he'd run into and yet his "fixes" were not acceptable. I wanted to be angry at him and see him as the enemy ruining my house, my life. Yeah, I just equated my house to my life. How quickly we begin to be owned by the things we own.

The result was good. Mostly because I have a godly husband who is so intent on taking care of me and reminding me, "Its not the end of the world. These things can be fixed. I will talk to him."

Poor Martha. She needed a Danny.

As for me and my house? Well, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. There's plenty of remodeling and decorating needing to be done in my heart.