Swept Away

Ahh! Leavenworth!

James took me away for a couple days before he has to drive to Bozeman while I wait here with the kids for the sale of our home. It was a wonderful getaway.

How much would you pay?

Before

After

Hardwood floors, freshly painted, nice landscaping, some new appliances, New roof, new doors, forced heat and air, lodge stove, fenced back yard, enclosed shop area.

What would you pay?

I wonder how much it costs to move an entire house to Montana?

While I'm asking questions... why do we wait until we are selling to make our homes look so good? Why do we put things off so long?

I'm enjoying it while I can.

Big Picture Friday

Had to get away from boxes, paint, and work for awhile. James took me to Summer Falls. Autumn was coming.

The Mystery That Once Was Hidden...

I'm so glad I get to tell you now!!
I was about to burst!
Many of you already know, but there are some yet who don't.

Let me begin this way...
Long ago a vision was born in the heart of a man who had no hair on his chest.
There were days when the vision burned brightly, and days when it blurred.
As the man grew older and chest hair began to grow, the vison sometimes seemed distant -
A hazed desire, an ellusive dream.
Still the chest hair flourished, and years turned into a decade.
Then out of Heaven a sound was heard ~ the ring of a cell phone.
The hairy chested man answered the call.
Life would change forever. The dream was given breath!

There you have it! That was my secret! I'm so glad I got that out of my system.

We're MOVING! Bozeman, MT. Full time ministry, Baby! Yeah!
We're so excited!
Please be praying for us, and if I don't post often don't give up on me!
God is so incredible. James may go into more detail on his blog - I don't want to spoil it for you. Click on ADVANCING on the side bar!
WOO HOO! Rejoice with us! WOO HOO!

I Have a Secret

I can't tell you. It wouldn't be a secret. But, ohhhh, I really want to! It's big, biG, bIG!!! You would squeal with glee and clap your hands if you knew. I dare not even whisper it yet ~ but soon, I promise!

Tagged by The Queen

Queen Shenaynay over at the Beehive tagged us with the 5 thing meme. Here Goes:

5 Things in My Refrigerator~
White Cranberry Peach juice (organic)
Master's Tonic (a Winky Pratney lifesaver)
No less than 8 different kinds of cheese (Pooh has his honey, we have our cheese)
Fresh batches of homemade pico de gayo & guac (nearly gone)
10 tomatoes fresh picked from the garden


5 Things in My Closet~
6 Purses (seasonal accents)
1 cashmere sweater (I'm hoping to build a collection - you have to start somewhere!)
8 pair of shoes (we just rotated the summer flops out for the winter loafers)
Treasure box from my childhood (driftwood, snail shells, a locket, photos, etc...)
books (stacked, piled, standing, catawompas)

5 Things in My Purse/Backpack~
My favorite pen ( a lovely little number from the Doubletree Hotel)
Rosebud Salve
three sets of keys on Korean keychains
My Jackie-O sunglasses
nail clippers

5 Things in My Car~
emergency kit (never used- unopened in the 5 years it has been with me)
Phone book
on audio: James Taylor collection, Scott Kripayne, MP3's of Jackson Brown, Leeland, a Tim Keller sermon, and Mercy Me
Local latte stand punchcards
Ibuprofen (James' stash for his rotater cuff injury)

The Difference

Sometimes it amazes me how God gets my attention.

I found myself amongst strangers this week.

I had never met any of them before, never spoke to them, typed them an email

or had them post to my blog.

We were, in every sense, foreigners.

I was in their midst for around 4 days. In that period of time I determined

in my own heart to give each one of them what I had of God and

recieve from them what God had for me.

I found myself enjoying each interaction. I saw my heart strings being knit

to theirs. Laughter bubbled. Tears flowed unashamedly. Talk was incessant.

My last day surrounded by them, a passage was quoted, a point made. "We want to leave our mark. Our ability to leave our mark only becomes

attainable when we live for a larger story." Dan Nagel

"The biggest lie I have tried to overcome is that this life is about me." Donald Miller ~ Blue like Jazz

The reason why 'life' was breathed into the occasions and

moments was simply that. Life was given

breathing space.

God left His mark on me.

Bon Anniversaire!

Today is After-thought's 1st birthday.

Thank you to all of you who have become my friends through the

blogosphere and have helped me grow

as a child of God through both your comments

and your posts. What was begun reluctantly

has become a joy and delight.

Thanks for stopping by to 'listen' in on God's thoughts

in my head.

Cheers!

The Big Picture

~Morning Glories ~ Outside my back door. When I first get up

they are still asleep, so I watch them

nearly every morning as they unfurl.

It's one of the little ways God blesses me.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

We just sent our Host son back to Korea. There were so many wonderful moments, and we came to dearly love him. Letting him go was difficult. I hope to see him again someday. I hope he experienced the love of God and family and friends, and that he will never forget us. I know we won't forget him.



The smiles for photos were followed by hugs and consolation. Goodbye Sang-hun. Anyonghi-ka-seo.

So Near and Yet So Far

This is Losiah. Our friends and fellow worship pastors from Riverside,CA are anxiously awaiting the day they can bring him home. They have been in a long process of adopting from Korea. This weekend they are having a special fundraiser to bring the reality of holding him a little closer. If you click the picture it will link you to Heather's blog post about it. She also has a blog dedicated to only this adoption ~ to Losiah - Hand Picked. Even if you can do nothing more than Pray, pray, pray... I know she would like to hear that you are. If you can do more, then let me assure you of the love and adoration this little guy will receive through your gift to bring him home! Thanks everyone!

We Going Party, Samba, Fiesta...

Sing it Mr. Ritchie...


What a great day!

The Big Picture

The Sunrise of Moses Coulee

Behold He comes, riding on the clouds, shining like the sun...

The Big Picture

~Inmates~ Our Korean Ambassadors

experience what it's like

behind bars.

(Our local museum's Pioneer town lock-up)

Wait for me...

We spend much of our lives waiting. Waiting in line, at a traffic light, wait on God, waiting for dinner, waiting for the workday to end ... If we are honest with ourselves, we are waiting on something or someone every hour of the day. It is often a difficult thing for our American microwave mentality to allow us to do. Waiting indicates that something isn't quite right, that there is something missing, that this is not the way it should be, it's a postponement of what you want, need or desire.
That said, I have to go away for a few days. I have Korean teenagers about to take over my life for the next 10 days or so. I doubt I will be blogging much. Wait for me... I promise to return soon. I know you all SOOO look forward to reading my blog that this will be a terrible tedium for you. But don't be passive in your waiting. Tell me about life, tell me you are praying... drop me a comment about your daily doings.
I want to hear Brian's thoughts on being a new daddy - again; How Heather's days are as she waits for Losiah & her new home; What happened in Lolo and Minnesota, Shari?; How goes the battle, Amy?; all of you who have become my friends through this strange world of the boggosphere... and those whom I have just begun to know...
See you in 11 days!

The Big Picture

Toeses are Roses
Nothing says summer like polished pink sandy toes!

Korean Kodak Moments

Top to bottom:

With Mayor Ro and our host families.

Face of the grave guardian at the site of the Would-be King.

Tae-Kwon-do time!

Tofer doing side kicks.

Me, hugging my host girls from last summer.

Sitting down to lunch!

Shield mold for molten bronze from Jossun Dynasty.

Loaded on the bus heading for the airport & home!

Reunited, and It Feels So Good!

I don't have much to say right now other than "I'm HOME!" , and "we had a great trip!" I wrote 2 articles for our local paper while I was there that will give you some idea of what we did and how much we enjoyed ourselves. You can read them HERE and HERE. I'm gonna go sleep and try to readjust to the 16 hour difference. I'll post again soon. It's so good to be back. Sweet dreams!

Does She Ever Stay Home?

Believe me, I'm getting tired too! Tofer and I leave for South Korea in 2.5 hours. I'm packed, I've had a cup of coffee, showered, and prayed... yet I'm not excited to be off once again. I love Korea, I'm so glad Tof gets to come with me this time, I can't wait to see my friends and eat the food, but home with all its accoutrements is where my heart is right now. I miss weeding my gardens - can you believe it? (and they miss me weeding them too! I feel like I'm in the Munsters when I drive up!)
I covet your prayers. There are 10 of us going for 12 days. I'll try to post while I'm there, but no guarentees... so I'll say "anyonghi kaseo" (goodbye for now).

Touching Time

Isn’t the idea of time fascinating?
We can't touch time, or smell it. Yet it is utterly inescapable.
Everyday living is a constant encounter engaging our senses. To be able to sense the intangible, is perhaps the highest form of awareness; and time invites and intrigues us to do just so.
I seem to have passed on my fascination of understanding what lies behind us to our youngest daughter. She is just about to turn 13. She has a dream of becoming a Biblical Archaeologist.
Most people are bored by history. But for Minda and me, it seems to bring something alive inside of us. An insatiable hunger to understand the forgotten or unknown of bygone eras. Understanding requires that we take a history. The limits and the gifts of being able to know include the gift of knowing how much we do not know. And there is so much that remains a mystery. Understanding brings with it a humbleness. How can one be proud if there is an underlying sense that there is always more to learn? Life is bounded by death, & understanding is hemmed in by the vast unknown, yet both are limitless. Where in that is there margin for the finiteness of pride?
Minda was given a gift this week. She and I touched time. My mom sent us off on a dinosaur dig. 3 days of rock and dirt that came out of storybooks. We found bones imbedded and were in awe of the nearly total mystery these enormous creatures are to us. We touched time, and it touched us.
Thanks, Mom, Bob, Don, Terri, and Bosco. It was amazing. You can read what the newspaper wrote about us here.



Can you dig it?
Femur and either Tibia or Fibula that are pedestaled, masked and prepared to be extracted.

The Big Picture

~Lake Pleasant, Washington~

Fab 4th

BBQ'n with our Soul Brotha & Sista. Givin' a little Glory to God. Gettin' our Home Boy back. An' Celebratin' it all with some Freedom & Liberty Bling Bling. Swhat I'm talkin' 'bout!