Week 13: Tenant's Agreement

To our newest tenant:

Welcome to your new home! We know that you may feel your arrival to be somewhat sudden and unexpected, however do know we have been awaiting your arrival with great anticipation and for quite some time! Just to let you know, here are how the next few months and years will most likely play out.

Agreements of your stay:

You are happily welcome to fully reside in your current situation for the next six months. All your food will be provided right to you, and we understand your warmth and comfort are amply covered. That said, after six months, if you have not by your own volition decided to move out due to the cramped space, you will be evicted. Neither process will be easy we hear, but certainly well worth it.

No need to worry however! You will have all the warmth, comfort, love, and food available to you in your next home. You'll spend plenty of time in our arms as you get used to things such as light and noise, and we'll be sure to take care of your every need, and most likely some of your wants as well. We anticipate a great deal of cooing and laughing!

This arrangement will last in various forms for the next eighteen years as you continue to grow and develop. After that, you will be encouraged to go build your own life in a location out from under our roof.

There need not be any concern however, because for the rest of your life you will have a firm and steady place in our hearts, minds, and prayers. You will be loved unconditionally and treasured for the gift from God that you are. This is our agreement and promise to you.

We can't wait to officially meet you in six months little Bundle (also you will get a new name at some point!), and we are so glad you are here.

Gratefulness

Today there was a shooting in a nearby neighborhood. Family - no worries for our safety - it appears to be domestic/gang related and there is no threat to the community, although they are still looking for those who shot the man.

Jon and I had briefly looked at apartments in that community, however no one was in the office at the time so we passed it by. We walk through the neighborhood on the way to the park and I see loads of kids getting into the bus from that neighborhood nearly every day.

It's sobering to both realize how close violence can be and at the same time how far away it is 99.9% of the time. Once I heard I called Jon immediately, to hear his voice and know he's okay, and also grateful that the chance of him being killed outside our home is nigh near impossible.

I'm grateful tonight to know we sleep every night to the sound of our fan blowing and cars driving by, never gun shots or screams. That I can walk out to my car safely and soundly, that we lock our doors more out of habit than actual need, and that the policemen are only a phone call away. Our country has an amazing infrastructure, and I'm grateful for that.

Tonight we'll be praying for families and the policemen who will certainly still be busy once we go asleep.

Yay mawwiage!

Sometimes I look over and Sara is just staring at me with a big grin and enamoredness pouring out of her eyes. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'll take it.

Keeping the Forest Wet

I may have blogged about this analogy before, but it is worth blogging about again!

During our pre-marital counseling at some point or another, we were told to always keep our "forest" "wet" - aka, keep our relationship always saturated with encouragement, trust, and support, even when we don't really "need" encouragement, trust, or support. That way, when the "lightning" of life strikes - conflict and hard times, the forest is so wet it won't go ablaze; the relationship will be able to sustain the numerous strikes being thrown its way.

We have taken that to heart over this past year and have consistently (not always admittedly) made sure to keep our relationship a safe and welcome place for the other person, where we can be encouraged. It has been sappy and, for many, perhaps somewhat nauseating to be around us, however we have been determined to practice this "wetting" of the forest.

These past few weeks we now are beginning to see what our counselors were talking about- life's storms come. Between loosing Ticky-Tacky, travel through several states, a cell phone debacle to end all cell phone debacles, a crisis in a close friend's life, and the many other things life has thrown our way in the past few weeks, our relationship has not gone up in flames.

I know without a doubt that it is the Lord holding us together to Him through His grace and mercy that He has displayed to us through each other over the past few years. That said, I'm so much more committed to making sure the "lulls" in life are used to prepare for the "storms," through continued encouragement and strengthening of each other through words and quality time. With the hustle and bustle that has been the past month, it has been hard to sneak in quality "us" time, but we have had reserves to draw upon that have kept us from smoldering.

So, I write this as a reminder to my future self to keep pursuing and strengthening our relationship, to you all to encourage you in your relationships, and to Jon for all his compassion, encouragement, and hugs which have been in abundance for the past few weeks!

Churching II

The other thing that's stuck with me since church this past Sunday was seeing a family file in a few rows ahead of us as the service was starting. As they got to their seats, the young girl (I'd say elementary-school-age) quickly climbed up onto the chair to be picked up by her daddy. And as she overlooked the congregation from that vantage point leaning her weight onto her father who was holding her up, with her arms wrapped around his neck, she had a huge, cute grin covering the bottom half of her face. She later did the same with her mommy. She looked so happy to be in her parents' arms.

I look forward to when Sara & I can be in the same position as those parents. What a blessing!

Charlevoix: Day 6

This was our last full day in Charlevoix, and was absolutely brilliant!!!

Day begin: Driving to Boyne City to have a fare-well lunch with auntie, uncle todd, and uncle tim. It was delicious, at a semi-european restaraunt. A good breakfast with good people is always a great way to start the day!

Mid-morning: "Exhausted" from the early rise, drive, and delicious food, we napped all morning :o) I love vacation.

Noonish: Arising slowly from a blissful nap, we meandered our way down-stairs, grabbed some snacks, and hopped on the kayak! It was the most wonderful trip! We made a map of it, where you can see where we went and what we did. (obviously, click on the blue line to see it)...

   Starting out: Paddled our way into round lake, passing through a sailing school and having to dodge young sailors! We padded our way around a small island, which was most peaceful and a fun place to take a kayak, as boats cannot go through there (it's too shallow).

 Next we went under the Charlevoix Bridge, and out to lake michigan! This was my first time being on, what feels like, open waters, and it was a wonderful freeing feeling. We eventually padded our boat onto the beach,  pulled it up onto shore, and ate some snacks. It was a fun adventurous feeling!

 When we left, the current and wind were in our favor, and we made it back to round lake in good time. We stopped by the pontoon boat that serves food in the summer, called "A Girl, and Guy, and a Grill" - now run by a brother and sister who use it as their summer job! Very impressive, and so much fun! We bought smoothies, which although they were over-priced, tasted wonderful after such a long paddle. We went back to the island, meandered very slowly (think "lazy river") around the island, sipping our smoothies, and then popped back out onto Lake Charlevoix. By this time we were quite tired, and went directly back to the home.

It was the most delightful trip, and was definitely worth hauling the kayak up here!

Evening: We went to the Dairy Grille, a mandatory pilgrimage for all who vacation in Charlevoix. We grabbed some DELICIOUS olive burgers (they even made mine without a bun!), and brought it back home to the grandparents, and ate dinner with them. (Don't worry, we brought them food too!) The day ended with some cleaning and rummaging around for our kayak car carrier. We got to bed on time, satisfied with a wonderful vacation in beautiful Charlevoix.

Addendum

As a PS to Sara's post, I have to say that it was quite a blessing that the one rainy day came when we had to recover from sunburns! Today, as Sara is still recovering some, has been mostly cloudy (hence not conducive to spending tons of time on the lake), with the Sun breaking through every once in a while. Good transition, Lord. Thank you!

This Day In History

Today marks a full 1095 days since I first met Sara! Of course, besides being 2 full weeks + a weekend before the 1111 day marker, 1095 is exactly thrice the number of days God gives us in a common (non leap) year.

On July 15, 2008, soon after I arrived at the Dalbys' home for our regular C3 meeting, a beautiful redhead entered the abode. She wore a Heidelberg University T-shirt, reminding me of a high school trip with great memories to that old German city on the Neckar River, where I'd fly back to in a heartbeat. Introductions were made, pointing out that we both spoke German, so in such speech did our first conversation happen. It was pretty exciting to have a new, fun, kind friend with whom to practice and maintain that language. It was very nice of Josh to be accompanied by his sister that week.
After the Bible study, as people were filtering out, a game of Cash was initiated, and my new "German friend" and I partnered up, with very decent results. It was a lot of fun!

I was completely oblivious to what was later to come, in what ways this cute lady would impact and bless my life, just in the few short years to follow. I can only imagine how Sara will continue to bless my life in the decades to come!

Yay marriage

As the evening was winding down, I was sitting at my desk going through the day's emails and Facebook updates after playing LearnedLeague (can you guess how many of the 13 colonies were named after an Englishman who was not a member of the nobility?), I realized that my dear Sara was on her computer too. So I unplugged my dear Claude (that's my MacBook) and picked up my wireless mouse to walk down the hallway and plop myself down on the living room floor. Like that I could be with my wife as we finish the day.

'Cause I love her very much like that.

That's all. I was thinking that and decided to share.

Just one of those days...

Today I have some thoughts, most likely because it was a less-than-favorable day, and you - our adoring blog followers - read whatever I write! and I need to vent.

My neck has increased movement, and although it hurts in some directions, I was still able to work.  So I went. Only to have a blurry day (muscle relaxers work...), have my car hit in the parking lot with no note (damage over the left wheel), and then came back home for a lovely nap. I needed it! Unfortunately the medication is doing it's job, so I'm stumbling around the house in a pleasant haze, frustrated by all the work I can see that needs to get done, that I don't have the energy to do. Oh well. Worse things have happened.

I've also instituted an internal policy for net-book - no downloading programs. I briefly dabbled in using the email program that comes with the computer, only to realize that this machine slows down incredibly when you download 3000 messages from your gmail folder. Instead I'll be using all the functionalities that Web 2.0 can provide, instead of relying on computer programs. I'm excited.

The rain is steadily pouring outside! It sounds beautiful.