The Intentional Life

The saga continues. Like a bad joke that keeps coming up. Paul and I were going to leave on a much anticipated weekend getaway with dear friends that we hadn't seen in more than a decade. We were T-minus 30 minutes from departure when I heard that gut-wrenching sound: Rushing water. Above my head. And then I saw it. Running down the wall, a waterfall in the doorway. Yep.  We have had yet another busted pipe.  You cannot make this stuff up. Thankfully, oh, my praise the Lord, thankfully, I was in the exact same place as the leak when the pipe busted.  I had a moment of complete shock as I stared at the water falling from the ceiling, but then made a rush to the water pump and turned the sucker off. Thankfully, I was there to turn it off and the water damage is minimal. Thankfully, I was there, because originally I wasn't supposed to be. Originally I was supposed to be on a field trip with Maddie, with none of us coming home until 45 minutes after the time

And everything in time and under heaven Finally falls asleep Wrapped in blankets white, all creation Shivers underneath And I notice you When branches crack And in my breath on frosted glass Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter You are Winter And everything that's new has breavely surfaced Teaching us to breathe What was frozen through is newly purposed Turning all things green So it is with You And how You make me new With every season's change And so it will be  As you are recreating me Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring from Nichole Nordeman's "Every Season" Listen to the whole song here .

Earlier this week in family devotions we asked the kids to pick a number between 1 and 150. Hannah was the first to call out with "147!" So we read Psalm 147.  And it worked quite well with our present time (of course it did, isn't that how His Word works!?)   He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.   He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.   He hurls down hail like pebbles.   Who can withstand his icy blast?   He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up the breezes and the waters flow. It's cold out there today - one of the coldest this year.  But take heart!  He will soon 'send his word' and it will all melt - Spring is coming soon!

"When I graduated, I decided to donate a year to Plan Escalon in order to continue helping. And this experience [of giving back] has impacted my life a lot. " -- Nester, Honduras Graduate & Volunteer Nester is just one of hundreds of students who have been given the opportunity to obtain an education at the Plan Escalon School in Honduras. An education that serves as a springboard, launching them into a hopeful future where cycles of poverty can be overcome and generations can be changed and empowered. As Nester mentioned, for many there is little chance to obtain an education and direction for the future. Through their schooling and exposure to the Gospel of Christ at Plan Escalon, students like Nester have "caught the vision." The vision of finding needs, meeting needs and changing a nation. Over 30% of each graduating class have caught this vision and desired to donate a year after they graduate to the Life in Action program, paying it forward to

Snow.  Although not quite like last winter..thankfully. Cold.  But not quite the Polar Vortex of 2014....thankfully. We were able to fill January with a few snow days spent crafting and snowman building. Evening dance parties help keep the cabin fever at bay. And birthdays.  Celebrating at home for Paul's 33rd year. And joining with family for a round of January/February birthdays. I must admit, January, I was holding my breath.  Partly expecting to have another end to the month, like the one you handed us last year.  But mercifully, you passed on by and led us uneventfully into February. Thank you, January, for your snow and cold and winteriness.  I'm enjoying you a bit more now that I have a husband who gets to stay home on snow days. But not enough to make you more than 31 days long.  You are splendid for just that amount of time .  See you next year. Glad to see old friends over the last few days of winter break Hannah's car. 

You've been anticipating this day for the last 8 months or so. Asking, hoping, that this time when you asked me my answer would be "tomorrow" instead of weeks, months away. But it finally came.  And as you noted this evening at supper, "being 5 doesn't feel very different than 4." Sorry to break it to you, Madeline, but the change doesn't happen overnight.  It's gradual. Just like you are not the same person you were when you turned 4 last year, you will not be the same a year from now. The time seems to go so slowly for you right now.  It feels like days last forever, years for an eternity. But those days won't always creep by.  Soon enough those days, years will fly by so quick it will leave you gaping.  Wondering where it went. That is where I am now.  Looking at you.  5 years have already gone by. Our youngest.  Our baby. You know what it is like to try to keep up with older siblings, putting up with the bossiness