The Intentional Life

I don't know too many people personally that have gone to war for me. Although I do have some family members who have served in the armed forces. Cousins. Uncles. Grandpa. My dad. I think that is that one that strikes me the most.  Even though my dad didn't know me yet as he signed up to go fight a war. To leave family and security behind. To trade it for nightmarish reminders and medical affliction that still plague him today. I don't know all the reasons behind why he signed up.  But I believe he was wanting to see freedom for others who did not have it.  Freedom that he enjoyed here in America. He went, along with many, many others to fight a controversial war. I don't know many details.  As one could guess, my dad doesn't share too many of the stories of his time oversees in uniform.  But that's OK.  I've seen him suffer physically over the last 30+ years to know that all things were not pleasant. My dad was expos...

 Our good friends in Zambia, Erik and Carrie, work closely with single mothers on their strawberry farm that they run.  Yesterday, they put out a plea for help.  To help these women have decent roofs over their heads and their childrens'.   Below is portions on their request: "Boss, can I have this piece of plastic?"  "Sir, are you going to use that cardboard box?" I can tell rainy season is right around the corner.  Every year, the ladies on the farm start patching up their roofs for rainy season.  And every year, I give them what the farm can spare so they can stay dry.  In the 4-5 months of rainy season, our area of Zambia will get OVER 3 FEET of rain.  We need it to get through the other months of hot, dry weather.  But, it presents some pretty big challenges for our workers. In addition to the natural  increase in malaria in rainy season, they deal with wet houses.  Their roofs are a collection of tin sheets, a...

It's no secret around here that October is my favorite month. It does not contain my birthday or anniversary.  But it contains the season I love the most.  Autumn: it appeals to all the senses. In the midst of enjoying the beautiful fall weather and colors and smells and sounds, we managed to pack a lot into the 31 days. And thankfully I had my camera out to catch quite a bit of it along the way...  Though we had a few dips into freezing temperatures, we also had some pretty warm days.  Managed to make it through the month without having to fire up the furnace or woodstove.  But the warm weather confused a few things and our crab apple started blooming again.  Don't know what that means for next spring.  Owen did another season of Fall Baseball  Enjoyed the way morning light comes in the side door window  Got together for the Annual Columbus Day weekend bash. A few birthdays were celebrated as well. ...

It was one of those picturesque fall afternoons. The sky was that delightful shade of happy blue. A slight breeze, the warm sun. It was the perfect time for an adventure walk. So, with clip boards in hand, we started out. They paused every few 100 feet of so to add to their map.  Drawing details to make it just right. We snaked and wound through the subdivisions.  One leading to another. Eventually coming to a cul-de-sac.  Having no choice but to turn around. So we followed the sidewalk, looking for clues on where to turn, consulting the map. The bright red tree, the creek, the fire hydrant, the house with ten cars (a party!) Object lesson: some things can be good markers, truths that will stand the test of time and be truth to let you know where to turn (i.e. the creek, the fire hydrant) And some things will change.  Some things you can't always reply on to be there, or to be the truth.  You can't depend on them to be accurat...

Up at 4:45 AM. Half a cup of coffee and a banana. Double, then triple check, to make sure all running essentials are accounted for. 6AM parking (on the street - free on Sundays - score!) 6:30 Bagel and Orange Juice, private bathrooms, heated tent - all thanks to the friends and family who helped up raise enough money to be a part of the VIP experience! 7AM stretches and jumps to shake out the jitters 7:30 start. I've said before how much I enjoy this race in Columbus and all the reasons why I do. A weekend away for Paul and I, getting back to where we lived when we first were married. Experiencing Columbus in the fall is the best time to experience Columbus The whole race is a great symbol of our earthly race, pushing through to the finish.  As an excerpt from 2010, when I ran my first half states: Training for a big race has quite the correlation of running the race of life spiritually speaking. Both take discipline, perseverance, and reme...

The baby that made me a mother turned 9 today. He requested the family favorite of Cabbage, Bacon, and Noodles for supper and an Angel Food Cake for dessert because "it will be easy for you to make, mom." His cake was topped with various numbers that added up to 9 because I didn't have actual candles...oops. When asked what he wanted to do for the evening:  "take a walk because I know mom likes to do that and play Mario Kart because I know that's what dad likes."  Owen, it's a joy to watch how you approach life.  Always asking "how" and "why."  You've got a knack for numbers and can get lost in a 500 page novel for hours.  Your scripture memory abilities put me to shame.  You are the big brother to your sisters.  You are always watching out for them.  Sometimes this is helpful...sometimes it is not.  But I know this is born out of your desire to follow the rules and you appreciate when others follow the rules, to...

Whoosh. That was the sound of September flying by. We got into the groove of school.  And started up some new things:  ballet for the girls, Cub Scouts for Owen, announcing sporting events (soccer and volleyball) for Paul, and me just making sure everyone is fed and where they are supposed to be. It's put a special kind of pace into life, but so far we're just dipping the toes into things, knowing we want to keep family, not events, first. Speaking of family, we had opportunities to spend time with both sides of ours. A Birthday Party/Slumber Party with my family. A Race-Running/ Camp Fire Weekend with Paul's. Fall was welcomed with open arms.  The cooler, crisp air.  Deep blue skies.  And hints of colors in the trees. September was full.  Full and good. Maddie joined the lost tooth club!  She was so scared and worried about the pain that would happen when her tooth would come out.  But it ended up falling out while she...