We met our next door neighbors the day we moved in with the help of their 8 and 10 year old boys that were very excited about kids moving in next door. That was Saturday. By Tuesday, we were attending the 8 year old's birthday party! Yeah, on Sunday, we were shopping for birthday presents in Target. Too funny. It's been a great blessing getting to know the M. family. The kids either play over at our house or at the M.s' house. We have visited two great churches in a weeks time. Today we visited the M.s church. Yes, they are Christians! God has been very gracious to us. We found out the other neighbors on the other side of the street go to that church too. It was a great church and I think we will visit again.
Last Sunday, we visited Rolling Hills Church. The kids are doing Awanas there now on Thursday nights. Greg played on Mrs. M's soccer team last night. Indoor soccer. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to play.
So the kids are adjusting very well to Oregon so far. We are currently trying to wrap up the search for our piano and violin teachers. We have a short list of teachers who have made the "cut" thus far and we will be meeting a few more this week and hopefully be able to firm things up and get the kids going again with their music. I am so grateful for my sweet, talented, and insightful sister-in-law, Kayla, for helping me with this painstaking process!
Our home here is small, but comfortable and has everything we need. Downtown LO is within walking distance which is really cool. It is really a neat thing to learn to live with less...less stuff, less people, less familiarity....even less worldly security. I can't say I really love that last part, but it is what it is and I know God is doing something in the midst of it all. It's not as if we are the only one's dealing with uncertainty....but more on that later.
This is why I put "Traveling Light" as the first song on the player this week. It's fitting. Enjoy.
'Til next time....
LYMYWY (love you, miss you , want you),
Kara
Hip, hip, hooray for great neighbors and new friends and adventures! We're thinking of you and praying for you. Needless to say, between Wachovia and gas, things are rather nuts here, but God is good!
ReplyDeleteWendy
Glad things are going well for you guys. The Lord has really been blessing you all, with great people surronding you. I miss you bunches and think of so often. Do you have the same email address? Luv Ingrid
ReplyDeleteHi Kara,
ReplyDeleteIt is me again...and though I understand your being cautious about me (Diane from Salem) I can't help but check in and see how God is working in your life. It seems as though you are having to deal with things as we did when we moved here 25 yrs ago...a job in hand and we were excited...only to arrive and have the job end and no 'security' in sight. You will be blessed as you wait on Gods revelation of His plan for your family... He is a good and faithful Father and you will look back on this time as one of 'persevering in the faith' that results in rejoicing.
In Christ, Diane of Salem
Am excited for the exciting details :) Am praying for the rest :}
ReplyDeletemuch love & many prayers,
-t-
So good to see a new addition to the blog! Thanks (again) for keeping all who love you updated on your lives.
ReplyDeleteLiving with less reliance on things, square footage, and, yes, wordly security, is a very good thing. It is not an easy thing, but it is good nonetheless. I had the terrible misfortune of having a colleague, having just returned from Atlanta, GA, tell me, "The trip was fun, but it was so awful seeing all those homeless black people all over the place. It was just disgusting." Needless to say, my heart broke - not only for her obvious prejudice, but for her lack of empathy and compassion for another human being. It is only by the great grace of our Lord that any of us are not in the same situation. Not one of us even deserve a roof over our heads, food to eat, and the excess of clothing we have. I pray my colleague and friend will find compassion for others, and a thankfulness to the Lord for the great provision with which He has blessed her. I pray God continually humbles me in the midst of my undeserved blessings, yet continues to show me (as he's showing you and yours) how to want less and be able to give more. You might be interested that some friends of ours recently left our church with their young son, Jedidiah, and baby-on-the-way, to join a community in the outskirts of Chicago. It is a Christian community and is called Reba Place (www.rebaplacefellowship.org), and is a place Christians go to live in community and serve those in need around them. I love the idea. It is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA, and everything I've seen looks great. Our friends, Josh and Candace, hope to live there a while, serve and learn, and then begin their own community elsewhere. I applaud them and hope to learn from their journey. I knew you would be interested, Kara. Here is their blog:(http://wakeupdate.blogspot.com/).
Sorry to ramble on so long, but your talk of living with less worldly security encouraged me to share with you about some Christians in the U.S. who are making great sacrifices and changes in their lifestyles to serve others. Of course, we don't have to give everything and go, as they are. But we can make a difference in our own little corners of the world - and encourage each other to always do more, give more, and use/rely on less.
Much love,
Kayla
Diane,
ReplyDeleteI was just checking comments and noticed yours. Thanks for the encouragement and also for the church recommendations earlier. I will check them out. It is raining right now. I'm not terribly fond of rain, so I am praying that God will give me the grace to embrace it! Well, off to school the kids!
Kara
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to check out your friends blog when I get a chance. That really sounds neat! And you are so right about how it is good to live with less. Not only is the Lord showing us and teaching us things in the 'now', but I think this time, this season is going to shape our future as well.
My love to you,
Kara
Hi Kara,
ReplyDeleteOh I know the struggle you will have 'embracing' the rain. I grew up in Southern California and we moved up here when my sons were 3mnts, 18mnths and 3 1/2 yrs ..I knew no one. It was a hard adjustment. We left the church I grew up in and it took us a long time to find a church we called home. The rain was probably my biggest adjustment. I'd like to say it was easy but it wasn't. But I can honestly say that what God has shown us in the years since has been nothing short of wonderful. . .although it took many years before I could say that.
God desires to sanctify us and He knows what that will take. I would do it again...and that is saying a lot.
If you are home schooling I wanted to say that Hillcrest chapel is full of mothers that have or still are homeschooling. There are also some who have their kids in Christian schools if you need any questions answered.
I don't know if you have family here or friends. I have a 27 yr old daughter that has remained in our home. God has not seen fit to bring a husband her way yet. She has been a nanny for five years but the past two years she has just been serving young mothers and the elderly in the church. It has been a blessing to see God use her and to see her grow in wisdom and love for God. I say all this to extend some 'help' if you find you need a helper. We attend Hillcrest and so she has become very familiar with the Portland area as that is where most our friends live. Here is her blog:
http://melindacmorris.blogspot.com/ She has been really busy this summer ...is, as we speak, on her way home from Washington after spending a week with a homeschooling Mom of 5 whose husband is out of town.
I know God will bless you as you and your husband seek His face in all you do. I hope you don't mind my 'peeking in' and reading about His faithfulness.
In Christ, Diane