Looking back......

is hard not to do.

  A few days ago Sarah Grace and I went to North Carolina for a quick weekend trip.  This trip was a bit more relaxed than the one Samuel and I took about a month earlier.  The weather was wonderful.  The air was crisp and the skies were sunny for the most part.  It felt warmer than Oregon has been feeling.  

I woke up the first morning we were there to find my little girl asleep in her bed with her scrapbook opened above her head.  She had pulled out little cards and pictures from her former life and the sun was pouring through her windows upon the whole scene and yet she slept soundly for lack of anything louder than a bird chirping outside her window.  

I made my way downstairs into my bright, happy kitchen noticing how the little plant clipping Monica had given us had finally formed roots inside the little vase that had become its home months ago.   I wondered how we will ever get it to Portland.  I remembered how there had been so many beautiful flowers on that kitchen table and so many precious friends gathered around it.  There were Lincoln Logs scattered all over the family room floor as SG had pulled them out the night before to build one of her creations like she used to love to do.   I used to get frustrated sometimes at the mess those Lincoln Logs would make.   The street was quiet outside.  I knew Sarah Grace would want to ride her bike in the cul-de-sac when she woke up.  She had been talking about it. 

 When Samuel and I came a month ago, all his neighborhood friends came over and they tromped through the woods all day, sliding down the "cliff", disciphering "indian" writings on trees, and collecting precious "crystals".  They came back all muddy, full of the smell of little boys playing.  I fussed at them for tracking dirt into the house.  Samuel entertained them with his piano playing and they all wanted to come with him to Mrs. Abercrombie's house (his old piano teacher), so he could show her all he has learned in Portland.  ( These were his friends who loved him and admired him and left posters on our door for him and made special arrangements to be around that weekend so they could play with him. ) They wanted to see him play for Mrs. Abercrombie.

This past trip, when Sarah Grace and I went to church, we were greeted with the love of people who knew us.  A few knew we would be there, and others were surprised to see us but either way they all made room for us.  In the church service SG sat next to Makenzie at the other end of the pew from where I was sitting.  You can do that there, let your kid sit a few people away and know the grown ups she is sitting next to will watch out for her.  She stood up on the pew during praise and worship time and belted out her songs to God.  She loves to praise Him that way.  She clapped during a more upbeat song.  It made me smile.  She and Makenzie had a great time singing and drawing together during the service, but at the closing song, SG reached her hand out in back of her to grab the hand of her friend Anabelle, who was sitting directly behind her.  All three girls held hands and sang together.  It was sweet and it was sad.  I wished SG could grow up with those girls.  I looked around at the other children of my friends and felt a tinge of resentment that I would not be able to watch them grow up, but would just become some strange lady that randomly appears in their lives from time to time commenting about how big and grown they have become.  

That Sunday afternoon, back at the house, the doorbell rang.  It was Mark.  He is the owner of Hershey.  Hershey is the toy poodle the kids used to play with and Mark and Tracy (who have no kids) would let Samuel and Sarah Grace walk him.  Mark and Tracy would hang out and chat with me or Greg or both of us while the kids would play with Hershey.  After we moved, Hershey would pull at his leash to come to our door.  I think he liked the kids as much as they liked him.  When I opened the door, Mark handed me a framed picture of Hershey to give to the kids.  He told me to call him later and he would bring Hershey over to play with Sarah Grace.  

Kirsten was hanging out with us at the house and when I closed the door she commented about how it was no wonder this was such a hard place to leave...with so many people caring for us...even a dog. 

 

Julianna and SG were pretty much inseparable the whole weekend.  We pulled Julianna out of school early Monday and the girls rode bikes and played until it was time to go to the airport.  The tears came after I bid farewell to Elaine (Julianna's mom, and my friend).  I had to get going at that point...we had a plane to catch and all.  I kept running around the house from room to room making sure everything was just so, making a check-list for Greg for the next month when he would be there to meet the movers.  I think it was really just an excuse to be in the house longer.  In each of its rooms.  Allowing the memories to fill my senses.  I knew the exercise had become fruitless and it was time to go.

The house is sold.  I will not be going back.  A month ago, I dedicated it to the Lord as a memorial stone....like the stones the Israelites would erect as memorials to God's faithfulness.  The reason it is so hard to leave is because of how good life was there.  It is sad to leave it, but it is also cause to be thankful to the One who made it so good.  I will not forget what He did for us there.

I prayed for the new family that would live there.  I asked that He would bless their home.  I decided to leave the same scripture on the chalk board (which will be staying with the house...the buyers asked for it) that I wrote on it as we began on this strange journey so many months ago:

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure."

Psalm 16:5

Today, the sun is shining in Portland.  Not wimpy sunshine that comes and goes, but full-on sun, unwavering and undisturbed by any cloud of any sort.  It's a perfect day to take a run through the evergreens.  The kids and I will be lacing up our shoes and heading out shortly.

The Lord is faithful.

LYMYWY,

Kara

 

Book Reviews Two for One!

 

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore:

My sister-in-love (and law) Kayla emailed me this book recommendation several weeks ago.  She was pretty insistent I read it.  I am so glad I did.  It is a truly inspiring story of how two men from completely different worlds break into each other's lives.

The main characters are the authors themselves.  This is a true story.  Denver Moore grew up a poor black boy in Louisiana sharecropping. The reader gets an open-eyed look at what amounted to nothing more than modern-day slavery.  You are plunged into his world and you will not quickly forget what you learn there.  How this impacts and molds his future is for you to find out. Read the book.

Ron Hall shares his rags-to-riches recollections.  Born into a lower middle-class family, Hall eventually becomes a world-class art dealer with some hard work and a lot of good fortune.  In contrast to Denver's plank lumber shotgun shack in Louisiana, Ron Hall hobnobs with some of the world's wealthiest while abiding among the opulent elite of Fort Worth, Texas. How these two characters' lives become forever intwined?  You'll need to read the book.

So there is hardship, sadness, faith and doubt for two men from either side of the track, a heroine that rescues them both, and a God Whose love endures..."forever".

I really don't want to say much more about it.  It was one of those that I laughed and I cried.  I learned more than I wanted to know, but that's a good thing.  I am too often content to pretend like I have enough problems of my own, so that I can easily convince myself I have no time or energy to deal with "other" people's problems.  Especially people who have problems I cannot at all relate to.  In fact, if I am honest, I usually pass judgement on those "other" kinds of people and their problems.  After reading this book, I found out I am the type of person that needs to know "how" a person got into whatever mess they are in.  That interest trumps my desire to show unconditional love and grace.  I think I've been getting those things backwards.  

So how did I get all of that from this book?  You'll have to read it to find out!

When You Rise Up:  A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling by R.C. Sproul Jr.:

This was another book that was recommended to me....with some reservations.  I have read a few books on homeschooling and this was, by far, not my favorite.  I have not read anything else by R.C. Sproul Jr., so I will try not to make any sweeping judgments.  

So let's get down to the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good:  

This is a great book for people that are already homeschooling their children, but just need a heavy dose of extra encouragement.  The author reminds of us our spiritual duties to our kids and how that relates to their at-home education.  We are reminded that as Christian parents our first goal is not to produce little Einsteins but rather disciples of Christ.   We can never allow ourselves to flip-flop in our priorities where our children's spiritual nurture is concerned.  This is a great reminder.  If you don't homeschool, you may not realize how incredibly tempting it is to feel that we (homeschoolers) must produce the best and the brightest AND the most spiritual children in our communities.  We have eschewed the help of the state and insisted on doing the whole thing ourselves.  It can, at times, feel like....pressure.   Mr. Sproul Jr. reminds us that it is our God-given right, privilege, and duty to raise our kids in this way and that for whatever God calls, He equips.

The bad:  There were a lot of words in this book.  It's actually not a long book at all, but at times, it felt the author was going on tangents.    If you do not subscribe to the notion that homeschooling is an incontrovertible duty for all Christian parents, then you will have some trouble with this book.  As a homeschooler, I do not believe this is the only way to raise godly kids.  There are probably some kids that go to school at public or private school who would do much better at home.  There are some homeschooled kids that would do better in a 'school' setting.  Mr. Sproul Jr. would not agree with me on this.

The ugly:  Yes, there is some ugly.  In this book, Mr. Sproul Jr. does quite a bit of condescending.  He certainly condescends to parents who have not chosen to homeschool, but even those that do are pretty much painted as....idiots.  In some parts, he ends up coming across as just another mean Calvinist.  Now, there are many, many reformed values I hold dear to my heart.  I am not trying to pick on Calvinists......BUT, there is this weird thing going on in the reformed camp (at least in a lot of the literature).  If you don't fully agree with them, you are somehow stupid and in grave theological error.  There is no room for differences.  Wow, I hesitate to even write this, as there are many reformed writers that I have been so blessed by.  This is just a generalization to be sure, but it seems for many of these writers that so emphatically embrace the "doctrines of grace", they have not been so transformed by grace that it just oozes out of them.  Tangent:  When I first learned about grace, I thought the more you knew about it, the more you studied it, the more God's grace would ooze out of you.  That's not true!  Some of the most humble, grace-aware, transformed, Spirit-filled people I know have never even heard of the "doctrines of grace".

That being said, if you have a problem with Calvinists, this book won't help you like them any better. 

If you are not yet a homeschooler but you saw this book listed on my blog and decided to purchase it to explore homeschooling as a possibility (sorry Doug), just read it with a grain of salt.  He really does say some good things, but you just have to have a bit of a thick skin while reading it.  :)

LYMYWY,

Kara

Happy Birthday Kara!

Today is Kara's 35th birthday, and although I can't claim originality in this idea of sharing best wishes to her on this blog (see her Oct. 9 entry to me), I can claim it's appropriateness though, given our new and extended miles from most of our friends & family and how great of an idea she had. Plus, I'm not the most creative type, so...I'll borrow from her cleaverness. ;>)

First and foremost, for those who know Kara at all, we know of her deep and sincere heart for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This aspect of her life was one of the very first obvious things to me when I first met her some 15+ years ago. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of the many things I love most about her. Her heart and love for God is seen evidently through each of the fruits of the Spirit I see in her daily: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. I honestly couldn't pick any one of the nine over any of the others to be more describing of Kara.

The very next thing that comes to my mind about Kara is how great of a mother she is to our two great kids, Samuel and Sarah Grace. Although we are always trying to figure out this parenting thing, Kara has always amazed me with her never-ending devotion towards consistently seeking to not only provide them with the best home, education and opportunities, but even more so in providing them with the best mother she can be ("working" on herself, just as much, if not more, than she "works" on them). Samuel and Sarah Grace will probably never know how great of a mother she is...but I do, and I thank God daily for that. She has sacrificed so much for them and me - but counts it all a joy. She is the consummate mother - she loves them (and me) so much and so unconditionally.

Kara is also my best friend. My favorite times are when we are doing something together. We may not enjoy all of the same hobbies (knitting, reading and singing for her; soccer, chess and football for me), but she actively and regularly supports and encourages me in everything I set out to do - whether it's really trivial or not. And as you can only assume from a best friend, she is my absolute biggest encourager when I'm struggling with anything. Whether it's been the recent job uncertainties I've faced or another long losing streak in chess ;>). The other neat thing about being her best friend, is seeing what a great friend she is to others - which I know many of you can attest.

In addition to being such an amazing wife, mother and friend, she is also so talented in so many other areas. One of her passions is singing. Although she may not be the most talented/gifted singer (but she is good!), the combination of her talent along with her obvious heart for singing and passion to lead others in worship is unmistakable. She also enjoys sharing her passion with children by leading them in this at church as well.

In addition to all of these things about Kara I love, there are so many others as well. First of all, and obvious to most, is that she puts up with and loves me. That in itself deserves a lot of recognition. Secondly, is the way that she deals with her own struggles (Celiac for one). She's the last to complain about such hardships that she must deal with on a daily basis, and it's almost easy to forget she has her own problems (while she's helping us with our own). And finally, I must say, she's definitely one of the smartest people I've ever met. If it had been her desire, she easily could've been and done anything career-wise she would've liked to have done and been extremely successful. That being said, she did exactly just that - she is in fact the most amazing friend, wife and mother there could be.

We love you Kara!
Greg, Samuel & Sarah Grace

Samuel's AT-TE Walker

This is the largest Lego set Samuel has done yet.  It's also his favorite.  Thanks Aunt Kayla and Uncle Jason!

Wanna see what we do when we're bored?

We made a Christmas video.  We did it for a "contest" between our family and Dale and Kirsten's.  We had a lot of fun making it with our family and the family next door.   So here it is....but before you hit PLAY,  make sure you have your speakers up and then scroll down to the very bottom of the blog to the music player and click on the PAUSE button, so that you will only hear the music in the video.

Well, I hope that brought some smiles to your day!  

LYMYWY,

Kara

Addendum to Arctic Blast....

Here are some more pics for your viewing enjoyment!  The dog in the pics is Sadie, the dog-next-door.  She is sweet and a faithful running companion!  The other pics are from Halloween when Samuel and Sarah Grace dressed up as Superman and Supergirl.  I have also included a couple of pics from the Awana grand prix where Samuel's car, 'Spike' won second place for speed and Sarah Grace's car "Ocean on Wheels",  won first place for design.  The kids totally designed the cars themselves and both cars excelled at what their designers had in mind.  It was a fun day.

Kara

The Arctic Blast and other happenings....

There is currently about eight inches of snow on the ground outside our house.  All of this winter weather started exactly one week ago with a storm that caused churches and schools to be cancelled for the following week.  Just when the ice and snow had thawed, we got hit with another storm.  This one, it seems, is even worse than the first.  There is a layer of ice about 1/4-1/2 inch thick laying on top of all of the snow that came before it.   The town of Lake Oswego has pretty much shut down.  

Church was cancelled for the second Sunday in a row, so our next-door and across-the-street neighbors all joined at our house for an impromptu worship service led by Miguel (our super nice, very talented next-door neighbor).   We sang songs and read some Advent scriptures and prayed.  After that, Miguel declared he was feeling cabin-feverish and so we all joined him in walking to Starbucks.  Starbucks didn't have any electricity, so they were closed as was just about every other business except for Albertsons.  So we went there and picked up some items to add to the Carne Asada dinner that Colleen is making for all of us tonight.   Colleen, for those of you who don't know, is Miguel's wife and my best friend in Oregon :)!

Greg and Sarah Grace decided they wanted burgers for lunch and so they walked back to the store (which trust me, is no easy task right now).  As I started writing this the snow has started falling again and it's coming down pretty heavily.  I just heard a terrible cracking sound followed by a loud thud and opened up the door to hear some guys walking and talking about how unbelievable this weather is and how they had better be careful what trees they walk under.  Apparently, a sizable limb just fell off of a tree in my driveway!  I will be glad when Greg and SG are back here safe and sound.  

Aside from the weather, we have  just been busy getting ready for Christmas.  We took the kids to see Santa a week ago this past Saturday.  That was at a local rec. center and was a lot of fun.  We have done shopping and we got a tree and decorated it with homemade decorations (since all of our Christmas stuff is in Charlotte).   In many ways, this Christmas has been "simplified" a lot, and you know what?  It's great!  I am missing my family back east pretty sorely right now, but I am also overcome by a deep sense of gratitude for all I have and for how God has so tenderly cared for us these past few months.

Greg is still playing indoor soccer for two teams.   Some of you know, I had taken up running after we moved here.  I have been sidelined for the last month though due to injuries.  I am hopeful to get back to it soon by starting with a steady walking regimen and move back into the running slowly.  

We are getting somewhat active in our church.  I am slated to sing on Christmas Eve in a trio and with the worship team and Greg has been asked to help with communion.  I am also planning (after much prayer) to lead children's worship in the new year.  

We will be sharing Christmas Eve dinner with a couple of other families from our church.  Christmas Day we will enjoy just the four of us being together.   

If I fail to write again soon, I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

LYMYWY,

Kara