hannah, sarah, and genny, HELLO!
oh my dear sisters, I have just returned from the most wonderful of weeks. my heart is tired and worn...but not a bad and exhaustive kind of tired. a tiredness that has stemmed from a week filled with such perfect moments, such beautiful and lovely things -- the kind of tired that makes me feel that i could fall asleep simply drowned in contentment, and then wake up with eyes fresh and strength renewed.
before i talk about myself however, let me again tell each of you how i enjoy reading about your summer adventures! it fills me with such gladness to hear what God is teaching you, what bliss and fun he has blessed you with...but not only this, it is encouraging to me to see a blog filled with such authenticity and raw emotion. thank you for continuing to share both struggles and triumphs. it is really so beautiful and i am so so thankful to be a tiny part of each of your lives! and how incredibly wonderful it is to hear of lessons learned and new insights! oh friends sometimes life is so delightful it does not seem fair. thank you for being such blessings to me. thank you for revealing the heart of God to me more clearly.
(sometimes i do not like to use proper capitalization, please bear with me. haha) so about 2 hours ago i returned from a week at fenwick island delaware, a true vacation if i have ever had one. God's timing is so wonderful. typically i do not take off a whole week in the summer because of the need to earn money and also the hassle it is to ask off repeatedly. this summer however the sweet family i am nannying for planned a trip to mexico for almost all of the very same days that i would need off for our family vacation! thus, i did not feel bad at all leaving (for i don't mind asking off at rita's --- haha, i'm planning on quitting there at the end of July, HURRAH!) so last saturday we set off for the beach on a rainy day. i like being a passenger in the rain.
in the past (specifically when i was a bit younger) a whole week at the beach has felt like a long time to me. i would quickly grow weary of sitting in the sun all day and often times i felt rather lazy. although to some extent this is still true... this week was more wonderful than i could have hoped. (i think when i grow up, a whole week at the beach will not be my first choice for a family vacation, but rather camping or hiking or canoeing or road-tripping or something haha but for now i am trying to enjoy it as much as possible for i know that someday i will miss these family vacations and time spent on the beach..) anyway, this week was exactly what i needed. a rest, a break, a time of renewal. mmmmmmm.
my friend Ashley (so many name sisters i have! haha) came along with us and a few other families from our church were also visiting the same beach so it was a splendid time of really fun community.
every morning save two, ashley and i rode the tandem bike to the beach! it was about 4 miles one way so it was a really nice ride and a decent work out. (unfortunately i have been slacking in the running 3-4 times a week goal...) i loved riding the bike to the beach. it made me wish my home/lifestyle was more conducive for bike riding. (i think i may bring the tandem up to school, in which case we can go on so many adventures!!!) one day on the ride home we got caught in the most glorious summer rain. we were as wet as dogs when we got home but i loved every second of it.
our days at the beach were filled with wave jumping, sea shell finding, paddle ball, ultimate frisbee, corn hole (is that a lancaster game? or do you guys know what that is? haha), more paddle ball, lots of reading, people watching, etc. one day on the beach a friend of ours taught me some more knitting techniques! i am now in the process of knitting a dish cloth with a butterfly on it. it is quite time consuming but i figure it will help me to be more patient. haha (but seriously...) in the evenings it was just so wonderful to hang out with my family. one night we had a campfire on the beach and played a game of football. my other favorite night consisted of flying my brother's stunt kite on the beach at night! we lined it with glow sticks and it was simply magical. unfortunately our cameras could not capture the event, but believe me it was a marvelous sight. the sky was clear, the stars bright, the wind brisk enough for sweatshirts! ( sweatshirts in the summer are one of my favorite things.) ... etc.
one of the things i was most thankful for on the trip was the time to read, to write, to think, to pray, to learn, to sit, to be. it was so refreshing (and convicting) to spend time in God's precious word and be reminded of my need for him, my need for humility, for gentleness, for words of kindness rather than careless talk seasoned with sarcasm. i was reminded that "the only good that is in me, is Jesus," reminded that i come before God with nothing but a heart full of longing and need for him to make me whole... i am nothing on my own. (this my friends is a humbling realization!) standing on the edge of the ocean, watching the waves tumble and stumble over one another time and time again also reminded me of both God's faithfulness and his power. it reminded me again how tiny and insignificant i am. how powerful God is and howinsane it is that he sees me, cares for me, knows my thoughts and wants to know what wonders in the hallways of my mind...
(sigh) i suppose i should wrap this up. i wish i could invite you all over for dinner right now and talk with you so much more. soon enough though, soon enough we will be sharing in fellowship once again. and so for now i will leave you with two passages, one a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness, and another the prayer of my heart as of late...
"Let me understand the teaching of your precepts;
then i will meditate on your wonders.
My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me through your law...
Turn my heart toward your statutes,
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things (!) "
Pslams 119: 27-29, 36-37
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
they will wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."
Psalms 102: 25-27
if you would, pray that i would have a deep desire for God, so deep that i would not even consider going one day without hanging out with him and listening to his thoughts and desires for me. pray also that i will be patient, humble, dependent on God 100%, and self-disciplined (i too am struggling with this! although it is a struggle, it is comforting knowing that i can relate to you girls even far away!) and one more thing, although this is long and involved and deserves a lot more than the few sentences i will give it. haha please pray for my relationship with my friend jeremy. i think i have at least mentioned this to each of you. we have been hanging out a ton this summer and i am really thankful for the friendship that has developed. at times it really seems like something more is desired and i want so badly to be wise with my actions and decisions. with going back to school in less than a month i do not know that anything more than a friend is what i am looking for right now, but sometimes i just don't know. so you could pray for wisdom and guidance, a clear head and a patient heart :) thanks dear ones.
Oh!
Post Script: At the beach I was finally able to finish reading East of Eden, have you read it girls? It is packed oh so full of goodness and thought provoking characters. It's long, but so very worthwhile. And after I finally turned the last page in that delicious novel, I read Fantastic Mr. Fox! What hilarious brilliance! I want to see the movie now. I finally can check off some books from my summer reading list, hurrah!
----> and just for kicks, here are 4 photos that sum up my summer a bit. sparklers, a ferris wheel, petting zoo and water melon :) haha this first photo with the llama is of two of the kids i babysit daily: grayson and kelsea, the other little girl in the photos is my cousin, or perhaps a cousin once removed, or some sort of relative of mine :) her name is riley and she is the CUTEST. enjoy!
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