Bees Bees Buzzing Everywhere

Dear Hannah, Sarah and Ashley,
I can finally say we have honey in the bee hive! This news signaled the scrambling of my parents to order all kinds of tools we need like one of those funny white bee suits and a machine for extracting the honey. However, it will be another month before we can actually extract the honey. On that note, I thought I would share some...

Honeybee Fun Facts:
* life expectancy of 38 days
* the queen bee must lay two to three thousand eggs each day
* worker bees go through 6 stages of development and responsibility: cleaner, nurse, storer, repairer, guard and finally scout
* each bee contributes a distinct glandular secretion to the honey according to the function it performs
* each new job a bee performs is signaled by a change in its body chemistry
* bees have milk glands in the front of their brain which they use to feed the larvae
* the guard bee has 1,200 scent organs on its antennae which it uses to pick out any intruders among the thousands that belong to its hive

Pretty cool, right! God really put in a lot of thought about each animal and their function!

Well, Independence Day is approaching and I don't know what I'm going to do because my parents are going out of town, so it will just be my brother and I:( I will just cook some patriotic, scrumptious food if nothing else:D My go-to solution! Last weekend we finally put our boat out on the lake, and it was magnificent to behold the beautiful mountains all around us and feel the wind in my face again. Also, my brother got his wisdom teeth removed, and I had fun watching soup dribble down his chin like a baby because it was still numb.. ha ha:)

I was at the home of the lawyer I'm working for, staining some shelving units of his, and this song came to mind that I learned during my gap year:

Come, let us worship the King of Kings
The creator of all things
Let your song arise to Him
Come and bless the Lord our King

Lord, my heart and voice I raise
To praise your wondrous name
And with confidence I come
To approach your heavenly throne

Come and fill this place with your glory
Come and captivate our gaze
Come and fill us with your fire
That the world might know your Name

For you are God
And you're worthy to be praised
And you are good
For your love will never end
The great I Am
You are faithful in all of your ways

My challenge this summer has been managing all of my free time. All of the projects I may have previously mentioned, or the books I said I was reading are creeping along at a snail's pace because of this frustrating habit:(

Love,
Geneva:)

We licked our plates clean..

Hello my friends,
I hope very much that you are all well, that your summers are full of peace and rest, and God's abundant blessings!

This week has been full of so many delightful pleasures! I was only needed two days this week at work, so I was given a lot of free time. Oh how marvelous it was! My sister and I started the week off by gallivanting off the paths of the arboretum near our house. We had decided to go tree climbing and made for ourselves a goal which turned out to be a tree that was beyond our skill. After scrambling through thicket bushes to the base of the tree, we realized that the nearest branches were actually much further in reality than what we could see from a distance. We each took turns standing on the others' shoulders in an effort to scramble up the tree, but all attempts failed, usually with both of us collapsing on the bushes which so closely surrounded us. No matter. We hiked on through the woods, spirits only temporarily dampened, read some poetry, sprawled on low tree branches, and ran through wild-flower covered fields.

Yet the greater adventure of the week was on Wednesday night. It was the night of the wildest storm Chicagoland has seen in many a long year. Tornado sirens were buzzing, the wind roaring, the rain and hail pounding. But the lightening! The Lightening was the most magnificent thing I have ever seen!! This was also the night of Mucca Pazza. MUCCA PAZZA. A circus punk marching band which we had planned to drive into the city to see. We waited out the worst of the storm, and with my dad's agreement that truly, "when your young, sometimes you have to do foolish things," we pulled out of the driveway headed for Lincoln Hall.

Flash flooding made the traffic horrendously slow, and at one point everyone was forced off of the main drag to find alternate routes into the city. What should have taken 45-50 minutes ended up taking 2 and 1/2 hours! But, we made it just as Mucca Pazza'a opener was finishing up and the drive was one of the most memorable I think I shall ever have. I wish dearly I had a camera with me that could have captured some of what we saw! Don't worry--nothing frightening! (though the lightening was at times so). The tornado warnings had just been cleared as we set off on our adventure, so there was no danger of that. I can't adequately describe what we saw.. there was lightening that flashed in gnarled knots across the entire sky in one flash. There were black walls of clouds and to the west, the setting sun covered the sky with brilliant, glowing gold. There was a rainbow and rain that looked like silver. Pockets of the city was out of power, but damage, thankfully, was at a very low minimum.

The concert was incredible!!! There was about thirty of them, with three cheerleaders who took turns spurring the audience on to dance. The whole group started out by come through the side and into the crowd marching and blowing away. At some points it was just chaotic! But amazingly so! I was quite speechless with wonder and excitement. The entire thing was brilliant! I should like very much to see them again.

As for the rest of the week, there was an incredible bonfire with friends, my brother visiting from Arizona! and many hours hunkered over my drafting table. And NOW, this next week I am eagerly awaiting.. CORNERSTONE!! Hurrahh! Hurray!

Well, I think now I need to get to bed! Goooood-night dear friends, sleep tight! May the LORD shine upon you and bless you!

Love, love, love
Sarah

P.s.
It was my brother's birthday cake--that was what we licked from our plates.. :)

But Oh, I know my Guide

Hello You Three,

Right now I am in my living room, on a Saturday afternoon, and the windows are open. It is 78 degrees in here, and 88 degrees out there. I am listening to the Beatles. Ten minutes ago I drove back on the scooter from a babysitting job in a nearby neighborhood, where I hung out with a baby for 6 hours. It was a good way to start my weekend, for sure.

I must say, I had such a grand time with Ashley the other night. We met up at Square One (how awesome that we have ALL been there!) and had iced coffees and it was so good. We were sitting outside and eventually all these crazy teenagers accumulated in front of the cafe in the gathering dusk. It was a bit loud and smoky, but I liked that there were SO many people out that night. Lancaster has really been surprising me lately, with its liveliness. So Ashley, thank you for hanging out, because it was so encouraging, and to Sarah and Genny, I wish you could have joined us! Soon enough.

Last time I wrote was quite a bit before my sister's wedding and we were all getting ready for that... and now it has been a week since the grand event, and we are just getting over it. It was so tiring because of the magnitude of this event, and how much fun we all had. I don't think anybody expected it to go quite so well as it did. We were, and are, so thankful to Jesus. Katie and Ben couldn't have asked for a better wedding day. I think it was especially fun for the obvious reason that everyone involved was family and friends of mine, since I was sister-of-the-bride. So there were all these lovely people in town, and we had a very celebratory weekend with them.

Last Friday night was the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. We had delicious food at our friend's house in the countryside. After that party I thought "ah, well, too bad the weekend's over..." and then realized that this was just the beginning! The actual wedding day was very, very long (up at 6:30, to the church at 8 to start getting ready with the other bridesmaids and Katie!) but I had a really fun time. Being in the wedding party is so good. We got special clothes, people cheered for us, we got to eat dinner first... and being right there with the bride and groom all day is very special, too. I think that was the best part. The wedding had really amazing music in it, and when we were all up front, and then the doors opened and Katie walked out on my dad's arm, it was one of the most beautiful moments in my life. The music swelled and everyone stood up and we all started crying in happiness. (I have tears in my eyes now, just writing about it.) The reception was really relaxed, and we had very tasty Vietnamese food. The best part of the day was the walk through the city to the second reception (yes, a second reception!) We all trailed behind Ben and Katie, and as we walked people honked their horns and yelled and waved from their front porches at us, and we all cheered back. It was awesome to share our joy with the neighborhood. At the second place we danced for 3 hours. What a triumph! Praise the Lord.

So that was a very good day, and a huge blessing to my whole family. We have sort of been recuperating since then, but I have ben getting some things done and starting to settle into this summer. I've had a hard time being content with not working this summer, for a few reasons. But I really think that the Lord is teaching me a lot through this: about learning to trust in Him for what I fill my days with, an learning to just BE, and appreciating and enjoying the ample time I have right now to do what I like to do. And I am really starting to get it, I think. (Talking to Ashley helped me- thanks, dear!) I am not always super happy, but I think this summer more than any other I have my eyes fixed on Jesus. There is a hymn that I like a lot, and this verse tells how I am doing:

I do not ask to see the way
My feet will have to tread;
But only that my soul may feed
Upon the living Bread.
'Tis better far that I should walk
By faith close to His side;
I may not know the way I go, But oh, I know my Guide.

So that, my girls, is what's up with me... I am thinking of you all so often. Sarah, my heart really hurts for your situation with friends and not knowing what to say to them. I am praying for you. And I can't wait to see you in Illinois! Genny, I am so glad you are doing well and I am thinking of you because we have sort of similar summers, I think! I'll be praying for your time at home and all the things you are learning and accomplishing. Ashley, you and your nannying, trampolining, Philly-ing are in my prayers too! It's awesome to live near you and I can't wait till the day we go to bouncefunplex or just hang out again anywhere, really.

LOVE to you all, my good good friends!!

These are some pictures from the wedding.

1) the bridesmaids & katie

2) the sidewalk saunter to the dance party

3) me eliza claire & jon being silly

Hot HOt hOt

When I look back over this week, I picture myself driving around in the heat of the day with no AC, but enough rosy cheeks and sweaty pits lol. We are having unusually hot weather considering it is not even summer yet! With the humidity it easily gets into the 90's now. I haven't been up to much, just getting in a few work hours every day doing this and that. The Honey Do Service came to my boss's house to give an estimate for a bunch of projects, from plumbing for a clawfoot tub to a kitchen backsplash to a new roof! This lawyer is associated with nursing home abuse cases, and it is truly heartbreaking to hear about the helpless victims who are being taken advantage of. A high school friend organized a girls summer bible study, which began yesterday. It's an interesting mix of girls that I don't normally hang out with, but I think it will be good. We will be studying the Beth Moore study called "Breaking Free." Beth Moore is quite the firecracker if I may say. In my free time I'm starting my second sewing project of the summer, another dress. I made a dress for a wedding a few weeks ago, and had I known how frustrating the construction was going to be I probably would not have gone through with it (I only had four days to complete it). I have a lot to learn but I think sewing is a hobby that I can see myself being dedicated to, which is refreshing. Now I've found a really beautiful green linen that I just have to make something with! In my other spare time I'm reading two books, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," about the history relation between Israel and Lebanon and the horrific tragedies I didn't know about, and "Come Be My Light," which is a compilation of personal writings of Mother Teresa. Both have been very thought-provoking, especially considering the prospects of war in the Middle East. I am just realizing how much we need to be on our knees praying for God's people--apparently there is a lot of fear in Israel because of threats from Iran and all that's going on. Of course I'm still struggling to have a prayer life. I love you girls:)

My dear friends,

How I have enjoyed reading all of your posts! I am so thrilled for all of you, and miss you dearly especially now as I am finding the adjustment from Gordon back to IL a rockier one than I had expected. Being so immersed in the honest Christian community of Gordon and coming back to the dark lack of God in most of my friendships home have made me realize how naive I can be. This morning, I'm afraid was terribly discouraging, and yet, I know that God is keeping me close in His hand--despite my failings. I met with a dear childhood friend today and watched as she laughingly told me of her walk down an ever darkening path. What could I do? What could I say?? She was so desperate for affirmation, for respect and love from me. I sat there, nodding and smiling while feeling a horrible gloom fall over our conversation. Should I have rebuked her? Should I have put my foot down and told her all that she was doing to herself? I didn't know. I still don't know. Right now I just want to wrap her in my arms and cry my heart out. But, I know that God is good and that in the midst of the darkness He was there and working in some mysterious way. Oh how truly great He is! I couldn't imagine life without His presence. How empty. How purposeless. Perhaps that is the reason I am finding it so difficult to spend time with my friends. There is so much I want to say to them, I want to ease their pain so very much, but they don't seem to care and I don't know what to do.

Despite this, being home and with my family has really been encouraging and delightful. My sister and I took a bike ride at sunset last evening. We played we were on motorboats instead of bicycles like we did when we were little. We refueled by riding through puddles, and stopped by a nearby park to swing. It was one of those delicious summer evenings--the air saturated with water and warm, but not hot.
At night, when I get back home from work, I like to turn on some music and paint or work on some little project. I'm just finishing up a painting that's new and I'm excited because I've never done anything like it before. It was inspired by my dad and a conversation we had about community. He reminded me of a beautiful verse in Acts about people meeting together with purpose and heart.
My brother Michael will be visiting in about a week! We are all eagerly awaiting his arrival and are planning a day at the beach in New Buffalo. We have our usual rituals of Oink's ice cream and Frisbee in the water. Also, I'm hoping to drive down to cornerstone for a day or possibly two! It isn't for sure yet since I still have to sort some things out with my boss. I would LOVE to see MeWithoutYou, but more than that, I would really love to see YOU Hannah Jeane! :)

Well, dear dear ones, thank you so very much for your precious friendship. I love you so!

You are all in my prayers,
Sarah

Groundhog in the Grass

There is a groundhog right outside of my door, chewing on the grass. A minute ago it scampered across our patio and now it is having a nice afternoon snack right before my eyes. That information is not important at all, except maybe it explains the fact that today is a day for sitting, noticing, listening, and catching up on things that I have not had the time to do all week long. .Today is Friday and I am so thankful for the weekend's activities.

It is the most beautiful of days. The weather is perfect: 78 degrees, no humidity, a bit of cloud coverage and the most wonderful breeze. (not too much of a breeze though, enough that you feel it, but not so much that you couldn't play ultimate frisbee. :) ) We turned off the air conditioning and opened up the windows; (and the doors!) I love it.

...As you can maybe tell already I do not have that much to share, haha! I just thought that it has been about a week since the last post and since I was the first one to post, I thought maybe it was my turn again. So here goes, a random report on what I have been up to in no particular order.

This summer has been wonderful my friends. Already it has been filled with such marvelous times with friends both new and old, good conversation, lots of laughter, time spent outside, delicious food, and glorious weather. Last Saturday Hannah and I both ran in a 5 mile race through Lancaster City and it was spectacular. (I didn't know she was running it and it was such a wonderful surprise to see her!) I was a little worried because I thought the race was only a 5K and only found out it was 5 miles only when I returned from La Vida. haha Fortunately La Vida prepared me well and the race was not nearly as hard as I thought it might be. In fact, it was such a joy to run it! What a friendly and encouraging time as all of the little Lancaster people stood on their porches waving and cheering you on as though they knew you personally. It was really quite beautiful. It made me want to run in more road races. Maybe we should look for some road races up at Gordon to run in! That would be swell!

So this week has been filled to the brim with so many random activities. My older sister Leah and I have been doing some "landscaping" this week which has been going fairly well. We do it every morning from 8-12 for these people who are such a mystery to me. (The wife was vacationing in Africa, the husband is a lawyer, they have a "playhouse" for their children that has furniture inside of it and Claude Monet paintings on the wall! AND a loft! they have a pool that they aren't opening because no one swims in it.. they have a daughter at Harvard, a few beach houses, one with an elevator, etc.) My brother found them on craigslist (they were searching for someone to mow their grass) so we have been mowing their grass for a while now but never have we done anything else. This summer they were looking for some people to help out with some basic landscaping so my dad volunteered my sister and I which I am actually quite thankful for even if sometimes it feels long and tiring. Their yard alone is HUGE and takes about 12 hours to mow so you can only imagine how many flower beds they have! They said we could easily weed 20-30 hours a week, craziness! It's a really bizarre setting to me; somedays I feel like a little servant girl. haha (but then I remember how much they are paying me to weed and I no longer feel like one.) There is another older couple there who weed with us and their names are Fred and Ethel; they are 75 and 78 and SO dear. It is a pleasure talking with them; they have been working on this property for 20 years! It's actually a really nice blessing to work there and get to be outside. After La Vida all I wanted to do was be outside and now I get paid to be outside! Hurray!

So I weed in the mornings :) and then the rest of my days have been spent picking strawberries, catching up with friends, baking, hanging out in Lancaster, playing outside, etc. This was my last week before my babysitting job officially begins so I have been trying to soak up the afternoons as much as possible! Beginning Monday I will be babysitting until 4 everyday.

One of my favorite "events" (haha) that happened this week was GAME NIGHT on Monday. My friend Laura had a bunch of people over and we played whiffle ball! (as well as ping pong when it got dark) It was quite hilarious because Laura and I ended up being the only girls for a while so I was feeling rather intimidated knowing how bad my hand eye coordination is and all of that. BUT IT WAS SO FUN! And guess what my friends? I was dubbed MVP hahahaha I do not really know how that happened or how I was able to hit and catch the ball, but it sure made for a delightful evening. The weather was perfect and the sunset was breath-taking, such a sweet summer night.

Tonight we are meeting to play kickball and tomorrow I am going to the bouncefunplex with some people so it should be a good weekend! I start working at Rita's tomorrow morning and then babysitting begins Monday. If you think of it, you can pray that I would balance my time well, friends. Summer has been filled to the brim with many lovely activities and people but I keep forgetting to make time for just me and God, forgetting to make time for listening and noticing and being- all things that I need to do. I fear that things will only get busier as my other jobs begin and I have to make wise decisions as far as how I will use my time. I do not want to miss anything that God might have for me this summer; I want to be fully in tune with the Holy Spirit.

OH MY GOODNESS I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS!

----> This past weekend Zach came home to visit (he is working in New York for the summer) and guess what he brought home for me??

A BICYCLE-BUILT-FOR-TWO!!!!!!

I could not even believe it. Overjoyed, that is how I felt. I have wanted one for quite some time now but never really thought I would have one. The first time riding it was so fun I could not stop laughing. Zach and I rode it to church on Sunday which was quite the experience. (I was really proud of us for riding there and back... although we did have to stop and walk it up large hills once on the way there and once on the way back for it doesn't have any gears so hills are KILLER. When we got home my mom said "I think those bikes are only for boardwalks and flat roads" haha) I have it at least for the summer, Zach might take it back to New York with him in the fall but I guess he hasn't decided yet.. if he doesn't take it back, I am going to do my best to get it to Gordon and we can go on the best of adventures! Oh my goodness you girls would love it. It's red and lovely and has the COOLEST horn :) (AND a bell!) Maybe if I feel like taking the time later I will post a picture or something.

Ok.. this has gone on long enough. I need to go shower. I'm still pretty dirty from crawling around in the weeds today.

You all remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Much much love,

ashley

p.s. i'm glad we're doing this blog!

Go, go, go, said the bird

Hello, girls.

This is a bit delayed- forgive me- but I am really delighted to be writing to you all right now. It is a slow and summery air-conditioned- sort of afternoon. I am at my house, in the library (the front room of our house with all the books in it; temporarily my bedroom, I'll explain later) and a few siblings are nearby working on various projects.

It has been a week since the last day of La Vida, and I think it is safe to say that I have not remotely gotten over it. I feel like I used to after high school choir tours- one week of traveling, singing and adventuring with my best friends- after which I always felt so lost and disquieted. We used to call it 'tour withdraw'. Well, I suppose I have La Vida Withdraw.

And honestly, my friends, it is humbling to admit such a thing. I always presume to think I am so adaptable and strong to as not be affected by short term trips or experiences. But that is a wrong presumption for sure. Gah, I don't even know where to begin. Should I describe the trip itself? The people I got to know? What God is teaching me through it? How summer is going? I have no idea. We'll see what happens. I have decided not to apologize for rambling on this blog, because the length of my posts will nearly always lend itself to it, but simultaneously I see no harm in it as I have not yet learned how to describe HUGE things in few words. Huge words shall have to suffice.

But I will say: I love you girls; thanks for reading.

I know. I will start with describing how I was feeling going into the trip. Ok, let's go. The last week in the dorm, while very special and sweet and fun, was emotionally draining for a number of reasons. Anticipation filled me; I felt a vast presence of what was to come, but knowing so little about La Vida gave me a subtle anxiety too. The thing was, I was too on-task to really notice, packing, talking, goodbye-ing, planning, buying, calling, that when Sunday May 17th came- the day before trip- I was in a state similar to that of a bowl of Jell-o left out in the sun. That is how I felt. But without the awareness of why I was feeling so emotionally dead and gone. We had to be out of Fulton by noon, but trip wasn't till the next day. And as any amount of the "homeless" feeling gives me such great sadness, without a dorm to go back to, my brain was just not doing well. It only added great insult to gaping injury that my darling ukulele was stolen from me moments before I was going to take it into safekeeping. Yes, Sunday afternoon I felt at my wits' end; I'm sure that I made quite a pathetic picture, lying facedown on the quad for lack of a better private place to bemoan my sad luck.

(At this point I have not even begun to write about La Vida, but I think I am setting my story up like this because of the contrast of how VERY different things were only a few days later.)

So we stayed in MacInnis that night, the Monday-La-Vida peeps. I called my house and had a very comforting conversation with my mom and dad and younger sister. They empathized completely about my stolen uke and how broken-hearted I was, and I prayed and listened to Bob Dylan and felt a lot better. The Lord was so good to me. In a strange but not entirely bad sequence of events the evening ended by a few of us watching "The Importance of Being Earnast" on Netflix . Hm.

So the next day we faced the inevitable. Arriving at Jenks with trashbags of stuff and hearing who our teams were, I think everyone involved felt better, but the start of the La Vida experience is a slow one. I immediately liked my group of people (later on I came to the surprising realization that with the exception of one person, I had met every single person before!) We did a good bit of logistical work, getting things around and putting them in large backpacks and learning each others' names. Later we camped in the woods for the first time (Gordon Woods, yeah baby!) and that first day ended up being a bit of a prototype for all the others. We had packing, lunch, setting up camp, a journaling time, dinner, clean-up, and we hung out together, finding it fit to go to bed when the sun did.

And the next few days we acclimated our civilized selves to living in the wilderness...it seems so odd to have been with those people, but before I really got to know them. Memories of the first few days are extremely surreal. But even though we didn't know one another, we did get along so swimmingly, and quickly learned to be very encouraging, which was the theme of our trip. This encouragement was wonderful to have during the ropes course (very new to some of us) and the rock climb once we got to the Adirondacks.

And for the next 8 days, things continued. It might be best to skip a play-by-play of my experience in order to say that it was just really good. There had been a number of lessons that the holy spirit was teaching me, some of which came full circle or were emphasized by my time with these new people and experiences. One of them was the power of God's word. We all spoke, sang, yelled, verses of scripture to each other, so often that it blew me away. It was amazing to set our hearts on things above and experience the joy and strength of the Word. I memorized most of Psalm 25 on La Vida, which even now helps me straighten my thoughts onto Jesus.

Another lesson was that of being a servant leader. Both of these words have been popping up into my life lately; both words also scare me. After hesitatingly praying/thinking about it for a few months, Jesus gave me an opportunity to seek out what this is and try to be it on my leader day. I was both challenged and encouraged by how that day went. At any rate it gave me a lot to think about in terms of R.A.ing next year.

Another lesson was learning how to just BE. This is a huge one for me, because I am never, I mean never, content to be "unproductive", I suppose. On La Vida, especially during solo time, there is nothing to work on: no people to call, or homework to do, or dishes to wash- and so I was very humbled and intrigued by this way of living. If God exists, it's ok to just live and not always be scurrying about. He commands us to be still, after all... all this is very challenging to me, not only because I am task-oriented, but also because I find much of my worth in what I can achieve. So yeah, this is a big and hard lesson for me to learn. Crazily enough, the Lord sent this lesson at just a time when I need it most. This summer I am really not working all that much. Oh girls, this is very humbling for me. When people ask what I'm up to, it always gives me great pleasure to say just what I have been doing, the money I'm making, the papers I'm writing. And to have to admit that I need a summer of rest because this year just tired me out so much is so hard for me.

And this is the summer that I have now begun. I am babysitting, and trying to get a bit of cash, but I am not focusing on working this summer. It is so strange to say! When I returned to Lancaster I had so much immediate affirmation from everyone about the wisdom in resting and reflecting and processing in the 11 weeks I have at home. But this summer I will be doing different things, I think. Playing the 20 pianos that are stashed about our magical city and beckon to be played by old and young, rich and poor, black and white people alike; traveling to Illinois with everyone I know; watching as many kids as possible because I realized that I get the most joy from being with them; reading for once; helping with/being in my sister's wedding; running; trying to come up with a floor theme...

Like I said, I am at my family's wonderful city home in Lancaster, and for the first time in quite a while all seven of us are living in the same house. Katie is getting married next Saturday, so in the hustle and bustle of wedding plans we've all had an exciting start to the summer. This includes her living in the room that is technically mine for the summer: the basement. (Sounds nasty, sort of is. But it's also great somehow.) Anyways, I am roomless, but not really: Dad, Mom and Eliza kindly made a room for me in the library, so I get to chill in the nicest room in the house till the basement is free again. All my regrettably monstrous amount of possesions that I brought back from Gordon are stacked in the corner in an array of boxes. Oh, and on that note, I am reading three books:

A Walk in the Woods- Bill Bryson

A Pattern Language- Christopher Alexander

The Brothers Karamazov (!)- Fyodor Dostoevsky

Well ladies, I love you all so much. I will try and remember to keep you in my prayers very often, and I really hope the Lord gives you rest and peace this summer. He is holding your hand.

"The Word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it" (Deuteronomy 30:14)

Yours,

HJ

Hey y'all!!!!! This blog was such a good idea because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts so far! I'd like to think this post will be as catchy as the Jay Sean playing in the background, but it's going to be very random, reflecting the randomness of my summer so far:D Prior to sitting down to writing this, I was doing the dinner dishes to the beat of top 40 hits such as Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" and Justin Beiber in the background. I attempted some suave dance moves in between the sink and the dishwasher, but I probably just looked really clumsy. (My parents were at a funeral while all of this was happening). One of my favorite things to do lately has been laying on the floor and cuddling with my dog:) She goes along with it for a minute or so before she starts squirming, BUT if I give her a nice neck scratch or belly rub while cuddling, then she'll just lay there gazing into my eyes as if she's in heaven. We call her the ADD dog because the smallest noise will break her attention span.

Since I've been home for almost three weeks now, all of the graduation festivities have died down, and it's only my brother and I and my parents. My brother had his end-of-the-year choral performance, which was 50's theme, and they sang songs like "We Go Together" (from Grease) and "Purple People Eater!" It was so exciting for us to see my brother really getting into the music and having such a good time; I think I was tapping my foot the whole time! Let's see, one day I went to a ballet performance, one day I went to a tea party, kayaking/boating on a lake, hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains, AND I planned and hosted a birthday dinner for a good friend from high school. I like to think that you guys inspired me to plan this because of the sense of community/friendship I have gotten from you all. These were all friends I hadn't seen for two years, but it was just like high school, which is good and bad:)

As for the summer job, I was supposed to work for a lawyer as a kind of assistant, but I'm not sure that he is very dependable. In the meantime, my parents have temporarily "hired" me to plan our vacation out west. I figure it's a good learning experience. I've also been helping my mom with our big gardening project, which has totally transformed our backyard into a nice edible landscape. I have enjoyed reaping the benefits of the crops and society class, from my new-found understanding of the value of the soil to my greater appreciation for plants in general. I'm sure you guys can testify to how La Vida reinforces this in how you are living in such intimacy with nature out in the solitude of the mountains. There is something about nature that draws you into greater intimacy with Jesus Christ, and particularly in experiencing an inexplicable joy and peace of mind that overflows in abundance:)

Ashley, I am so encouraged by how you have been transformed through the La Vida experience, and how both you and Sarah are focused on living each day very intentionally this summer. I aspire to follow your examples, as I am learning how to be more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and not so much my own agenda. I am in full agreement with you, Sarah, that the key is letting the Holy Spirit speak. I have a great opportunity to share with my friend Montana, who, after returning from studying Italian at a convent in Italy, wants to become a nun, possibly. I'm not quite sure she is serious, but I hope we can have more intentional conversations about this, with the Holy Spirit's guidance. I love you Ashley, Sarah and Hannah dearly, and I look forward to hearing more about La Vida and all of your crazy summer adventures, as well as prayer needs too.

~Genny