Hello everyone. Grab yourself a cup of iced tea. Better yet make it a cup of ice cream. I tell you this last month has been quite something. As most of you know by now, we have found a buyer for the house in CT. It was shortly after I wrote my last blog about waiting that we got the call that someone had put a bid in. Wow, that was great. Everything has been going so wonderfully smoothly that it can only be a God thing. We are so grateful and excited. That said, we are on overdrive. Tom and the kids are up there as much as he can be, while working still at Home Depot. My brother-in-law, Doug, and my father-in-law were up there the other week, slaving and sweating alongside of us.
Doug on the top floor (look we aren't
going to fall to our death)
Last week the kids and Tom went up to finish the front wall. It looks so like a house it is almost mind boggling. At this point I am packing, boxing up things and taking them up there. Sean is up there during the week, this being his first week as a payed apprentice. Meanwhile, I drove up to VT with boxes and other stuff. And I mean stuff! Who would have thunk we have so much junk. We are counting down the days now until we are done in CT. Boy that is something else.
I don't want to be presumptive but I kind of feel like the Israelites leaving Egypt. At church we started talking about Joshua (the name translates to Savior, just to make sure you know that, just ask Tasha and Sean. They will tell you I have a thing for that. Very funny.) So, I have just been reading that book again and boy, those Israelites really tried God's patience. He promised them rest! And they bickered and wanted to return to Egypt. In the book of Hebrews it talks about that rest. It is not a place, a thing, but very simply Christ. He promises to provide us rest, and peace that goes beyond understanding. It is not a good work we do, or living like good people, but it is simply coming to Him, admitting the fact that really we want to be in charge of everything (making us gods, really and therefore sinning) and laying that down at His feet. And then we are moved by the Holy Spirit to live our life the way He directs it. That is simple beauty.
It was really hot there
So my adventure is so different than I thought it would be. Here I thought that to have an adventure, I had to do great things for God and mankind; to go and fight giants at least. No, that is not what God really wants from me. All He wants is for me to live my life in that rest, that promise land, that Christ provided for peace. Is is easy? No! Not in the beginning, because the weeds grow so quickly. When we got to the property the first time this summer the weeds were everywhere. The grass was up to my knees and our poor raised beds were overgrown with ferns. Once the Israelites entered the promised land, there was a lot of work for them to do. I feel like that right now. I don't know what lies around the corner, but God sure does. That is the real adventure. To live with the peace that no matter what, God has my back, because He sees the end product and my whole adventure is for me to live my life in total relationship with Him through Christ. That is very life altering, because when things don't go my way (and they often don't and will continue to not) what is my reaction going to be? Will it be that I fret and fear (I am putting myself in charge again) or will I simply say, all right, what is next? We will see how I do. So far I have not been doing too bad. I have a pretty good example to follow. One is Christ, of course, and then Tom is very good at that. I am to be strong and of good courage for God is with me wherever I go! Yahoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chiseling the corner
in the sun :(
In the meantime I won't panic about the boxes of packing I still have to do, along with making the bazillion cans of strawberry jam, while driving up and down to VT in one day. Incidentally it was 97-98 degrees yesterday in Springfield, MA, as I was driving through at four thirty. I had to stop to get a fribble!!! Can you blame me? It was a lot better after that. Once I got past Amherst and that neck of the woods the going was as smooth as the fribble (chocolate of course). The car practically drove itself. I think it was inspired by my singing. I had to go through Sean's CD stash to grab a good singing CD. By the way, Sean, can I borrow a CD? (At least I didn't have to march around the walls of Jericho and fight the inhabitants)
Leaving must not have been easy for the Israelites. They had good jobs (go with me on this one) and homes. Following Moses meant living in uncertainty and in tents. Not having bathroom facilities or other modern conveniences. And even when they got to the promised land the going was pretty tough. But God was with them! Leaving is not going to be easy, I already know that. But we are only 2.5 hours away from here and you are all invited to pop in on us. We hope the place will be a place for people to come and be renewed (once we have a bathroom and walls and windows and a roof, to name a few). Send smoke signals since we won't have phone service to begin with except our cell phones and well, they only work if the wind blows down from the north and the sun is at a certain angle, while you are balancing on your right toe holding a hemlock branch two inches above your right ear (make sure it is the right ear, it won't work on the left).
