It has been a long time in my book since last I wrote on this blog, do forgive me, my creative juices have flowing elsewhere in the last while. i am just finishing up a 6 session teaching on the life of Elijah oh what a guy he was. If i could obey, listen and have half the faith he did consistently that would be amazing, he walked into crazy situations and trusted completely. I don't want to make excuses, nor should I have to but i do have a twinge of feeling bad for not writing more often. people ask where our days go, it can be hard to recount but alas they do, there are people to see, meetings to attend (many prayer meetings lately which have been really good) things to shop for, books to read, songs to be sung, etc... As you see we are busy, not in the sense of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but in the sense of busy doing what God has asked us to do. In that vein it is a great busyness, we are all about His kingdom and being His warriors here on earth. i'm not going to promise an amazing amount of posts, although who knows maybe the creative juices will start to flow the blogger way more often... off to finish up the work on Elijah it has been a long time coming. later
etp
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Shack
Rebecca here again, well, I don't know if any of our blogs have ever been a book report and I don't necessarily think this one will be exactly that either. I just finished reading The Shack, by Wm Paul Young. This has been a highly debated book, seems people either love it or hate it. It doesn't fit within your normal religious boxes, that is for sure. Since KBC, I have felt I can read books more critically than ever before. This book captured me, read it within about a 24 hour period, simply couldn't put it down, I love books like that. Anyway, whether I agree with every line this man penned or not, there were some significant truths in this book and it really shows how God wants to meet us in the midst of our pain and how much He truly cares about us. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"...just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable strategies, doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means that I caused it or I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors. "
"Guilt'll never help you find freedom in me. The best it can do is make you try harder to conform to some ethic on the outside. I'm about the inside."
"...humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image."
"I am not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think."
My favorite:
"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly. ...pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were created to fly in the first place."
My prayer is that I will always remember that I was created to fly! Because knowing who we are in God makes us an incredible threat to the enemy! Praise God!
"...just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable strategies, doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means that I caused it or I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors. "
"Guilt'll never help you find freedom in me. The best it can do is make you try harder to conform to some ethic on the outside. I'm about the inside."
"...humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image."
"I am not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think."
My favorite:
"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly. ...pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were created to fly in the first place."
My prayer is that I will always remember that I was created to fly! Because knowing who we are in God makes us an incredible threat to the enemy! Praise God!
The Shift
Hey, it's Rebecca writing! It has been awhile since I have given my 2 cents worth so decided it was high time! :) As some of you know approximately 2 weeks ago on August 30th we had an open house. We invited our church family to come as a way to thank them for their immense generosity as well as see our house in it's "final" state (well, not perfectly final, since we just got our new couch today!) . Anyway, we also decided we would put some flyers in our neighbors' doors, just the ones who live close by, as a way we could meet the people in our village. Well, it was a glorious day, we feel like God ordained it, pretty much the only warm day for weeks, the next day it was absolutely chucking it with rain. We had 55 people come to our little cottage, 33 church family, and 22 neighborhood family. It was wonderful, we feel so blessed to have so many people around us. As I met new people that day, as I had only met 1 or 2 of the neighbors, something happened that was really cool. In the midst of meeting new people, the friends from church suddenly became familiar. I had been struggling with so much unfamiliarity around me and it seemed within a moment God changed things for me. The unfamiliar became familiar and I realized I could relax around people I didn't really know that well. Actually, since that day homesickness has not been an issue. I am content and know God has us here. No, I do not have as many close friends as I do in Indiana, those kinds of relationships take time, but I am not lonely, the Lord has given me contentment. Now, for those of you reading in Indiana, don't think that I don't miss my friends, I most certainly do! but I am glad that I am where I am supposed to be for this season.
Friday, September 12, 2008
time flies
I was picking blackberries today (as you do) and realized that I hadn't written in almost a week. It's not that i don't have anything to write or that I don't want to, sometimes it just doesn't happen. There is so much I could write about concerning our time in Overton, but that seems like a daunting task to undertake. We are very encouraged to say the least, maybe it is the honeymoon element of not being long yet, but i'd like to think that it is God at work. I do think the latter, He is amazing and is working in our lives, people that we are meeting both in and out of the church, and there is a buzz around. you know that kind of buzz when people are sick of being complacent, almost an itch to get going, try new things, meet new people. That's the buzz we are sensing, and that is encouraging. We realize that it will not always be hunky-dory (spelling?) cuz that's life, but we don't have to live under the circumstances, instead we can deal with them and use them to our advantage. I think that is some of what we're up to, listening to people, their circumstances and seeing where God is at work in their lives. He is constantly working and speaking, are we, am I listening and acting on what He says. I've been studying Elijah to prepare some talks on him as a person and his actions and Elijah obeyed, trusted and acted, he then left the rest to God. That is where we are at the moment, a great place to be, hearing, obeying (or attempting to) trusting, acting and then seeing what God is doing with our humble offering of obedience. That's sort of our life this week in a nutshell, at least a theological nutshell, have a good one
edr
edr
Saturday, September 6, 2008
one
We've been in 47 for one month, it seems more like 4 months but alas only one. I can't say the old adage that time has flown, it doesn't feel like it has, rather we have been blessed with some slow and some very fast moving days. May I take some time to list a number of facets I enjoy about living in Overton or our little cottage? I'm going to anyway since I'm the one writing this entry, so here goes...
Blackberries - I know I've been on about them before but how amazing is the fact I can stroll through the garden arrive at a patch, pick till my hearts content and it costs me nothing except the random scratch or sting from a nettle
Duck Races - I saw one once in Watkins Glen, the little rubber duckies were pummeled by rushing water, some actually made it across the finish line. The Overton duck race was not as quickly paced. A meandering, gorgeous plot of the Test River (how it's a river I'm not sure, there is more water in ditch behind Burt Hall's house) is used as the "race" course. Hundreds of little duckies each numbered are placed and then coaxed through human wave making to make it about 400 yards down stream. All the while the wooded/muddy path that goes along the river teams with people, stalls selling jewelry and cakes, with a man on a portable pa system shouting play-by-play of each race. I wish that words could explain the afternoon spent at Flashetts watching the ducks, rooting for numbers 45, 73 and 145 but in the end we didn't win any race, maybe next time we'll mentally prepare our duck better for the race
Doorknocker - These don't exist in America except maybe in New England or somewhere older, but remember I'm in England not new England and our door is 250 years young at this point. It has an impressive handle which is a huge and I mean huge knob, one can't wrap their hand around it if attempting to hold on to a grocery bag or anything else for that matter. What I really enjoy is the doorknocker, it is sort of like our 18th century version of a door bell. It doesn't work well, it's meant to forcefully strike against a metal ball that emits a loud "knock", ours doesn't forcefully move hence it doesn't emit a loud knock more of a sound when you slap a feather (as you do), needless we don't realize people at our house until they peer into the windows
mourning doves - their voice is often heard, they are ever present, much like God in a way, much like God to deposit us into this village to experience such life altering facets such as blackberries, duck races and a poorly working doorknocker.
edr of overton
Blackberries - I know I've been on about them before but how amazing is the fact I can stroll through the garden arrive at a patch, pick till my hearts content and it costs me nothing except the random scratch or sting from a nettle
Duck Races - I saw one once in Watkins Glen, the little rubber duckies were pummeled by rushing water, some actually made it across the finish line. The Overton duck race was not as quickly paced. A meandering, gorgeous plot of the Test River (how it's a river I'm not sure, there is more water in ditch behind Burt Hall's house) is used as the "race" course. Hundreds of little duckies each numbered are placed and then coaxed through human wave making to make it about 400 yards down stream. All the while the wooded/muddy path that goes along the river teams with people, stalls selling jewelry and cakes, with a man on a portable pa system shouting play-by-play of each race. I wish that words could explain the afternoon spent at Flashetts watching the ducks, rooting for numbers 45, 73 and 145 but in the end we didn't win any race, maybe next time we'll mentally prepare our duck better for the race
Doorknocker - These don't exist in America except maybe in New England or somewhere older, but remember I'm in England not new England and our door is 250 years young at this point. It has an impressive handle which is a huge and I mean huge knob, one can't wrap their hand around it if attempting to hold on to a grocery bag or anything else for that matter. What I really enjoy is the doorknocker, it is sort of like our 18th century version of a door bell. It doesn't work well, it's meant to forcefully strike against a metal ball that emits a loud "knock", ours doesn't forcefully move hence it doesn't emit a loud knock more of a sound when you slap a feather (as you do), needless we don't realize people at our house until they peer into the windows
mourning doves - their voice is often heard, they are ever present, much like God in a way, much like God to deposit us into this village to experience such life altering facets such as blackberries, duck races and a poorly working doorknocker.
edr of overton
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
some pics as requested
There have been a number of requests on our blog, but none more loudly and widely heard than "what does your house look like" Anyway we are ready to share some pics with you all since we are somewhat finished with accessorizing the place, it has been an effort and worth the effort. So here goes, do enjoy:)
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