The Seen and the Unseen

I've reference MM here often. And this post in particular was poignant. I have so many wonderful memories of museums, nature centers and nature study during my childhood years. I was also blessed to live at the edge of 60 acres of woodlands and creeks, part of which my grandfather or PawPaw as we call him, rented to tend various animals and to plant large gardens. It was mine to roam. Mine to observe, to learn about and from nature in all it forms. It provided me a place and a way to learn to listen carefully to and understand the poetry of Robert Frost and find that others could express what I knew and felt but had not the words for. Above all, I was its child to teach about the seen and the unseen and how they both are the creation and expression, and a delight-filled gift, of a strong, loving Father.

Joy in the Journey and Jesus Let Us Come To Know You

There was no Joy in [my] Journey. There was anything but. These songs came during what was in my life, a period of time that was soul-crushingly difficult. Over the course of a year I lost a lifelong young friend to ovarian cancer, dealt with my husband's brain surgery and partial hearing loss, wrestled with marital difficulties, and then after a head-on collision faced almost four months of bed-rest in order to keep my younger daughter alive, well, and in the womb. After the collision I remember bewilderingly, hopelessly asking God, "What are You doing?". That's when I began to learn that what I longed for and still do is to see His face.

Jesus let us come to know you
Let us see you face to face
Touch us, hold us, use us, mold us
Only let us live in you Jesus draw us every nearer
Hold us in your loving arms
Wrap us in your gentle presence
And when the end comes bring us home

Answers may come but what I wanted and still do is to simply see His face.  And knowing that I will  is what teaches me that there is Joy in the Journey.

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...

Veteran's Day 2009

Thanks Daddy, Pawpaw, and all the uncles and great-uncles that served. Thanks to all veterans who have ever served. And thanks to those who are serving or preparing to serve. Someday we will know the true extent of the sacrifice and service you have provided and are providing us.

Fencing

My dad arrived this weekend to watch my younger daughter participate in her first fencing tournament. He came appropriately dressed to *fence*.


Needless to say we realized that our wires got crossed.

He came bearing gifts as well.


A girl is never too old to be wowed or spoiled by her daddy.