Longing

Comforts of home ...

There are times when I long for the comfort of familiar home.  You know, those things that make life easier.  To know where to bargain shop and understand completely the words flooding my ears ... To speak and not repeat myself making sure I understand and am understood ... No time wasted when I need to purchase that specifically unique item because I know exactly where to go ... The familiarity of attending Parent teacher conference and school meetings with a vocabulary I grew up comprehending ... Sometimes it's the memory of simple things that causes this longing.  Martins potatoes rolls, sweet bologna and pretzels. In hindsight as I reflected on these sentiments, I'm convicted of the selfishness of said longings.  However, in the intimate way He loves me ... this week He faithfully carried, lead, instructed, and pushed me to let go of the safe and familiar. This world is not my home and I've been given a choice.  To live longing for the familiar comforts of home and bide my time until death or His return ... OR ... Live with an unabashed freedom that encourages others to long for the familiar comforts of our Heavenly home.

Through His passionate desire to have all of my heart, He patiently showed me the choice ...

Hebrews 11:13-16 ... All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Do I live with a longing for Heaven like I long for familiar comforts of Akron? How do I choose a Heavenly perspective when the selfishness of those familiar comforts are stripped away? Can I choose to I laugh in the face of panic when my neatly organized, perfectly calculated, specifically planned weekly grocery list for Casa VidaNet goes missing from the computer? Is it conceivably possible to not be defensive when the aforementioned purchases are not appreciated as I had hoped? How do I flick off the dust of frustration when my intentions were misunderstood? Longing for the familiar ... looking to Heaven as my home!

The intensity of His love ... This world is not my home ... Will there be pretzels in Heaven?

Life on the Mountain

It's been a whirlwind ... Late nights, intense planning, celebrating God's faithfulness ... Report card praises ... discovering a leak in the roof which lead to washing loads of curtains and costumes ... sharing Fruit with El Nido Mama's ... Haircuts, you know, normal life stuff : ) 

Praises

Our teams arrived safely in CR Thursday night ... a few detours but God guided

His leading 

Healing on unsettled stomachs

A heart connection with Jedidiah's music teacher

Prayers

Relationships in the intensity of this season

Robbie, wisdom for his parents and doctors and the best treatment choice

Martha, physical healing

Declan, healing from cold and cough

That we would long for our Heavenly home

Creativity at it's best ...
I think it's a formula one car, driver and mechanic
in our dining room!

When you need to keep neighborhood "pests"
out of your trash!

Super hero spy gear ...
Photo bomb credit, "Secret agent I"

The team that loved on our El Nido kidos

Staying connected to the Vine ... Producing His fruit

96% in Spanish and 95% in English! ...
Proud parent moment!

When 50 High Schoolers invade Casa VidaNet ...
They clean and paint the curbs!