Jordan

        I'm baking cookies today which makes me think of my brother Jordan. I sure do miss that boy. He is two years younger than me and we are best friends. When we were younger we liked to think we could pass for twins. Then he got tall and everyone thought he was the older one which bugged me. Our old house had hardwood floors through the living room and dining room. He used to throw me over his shoulder and spin around till we were good and dizzy and then put me down, which meant I went sliding across the smooth floors. Good times.
     When we were really little, we shared a bedroom. When we got older, our bedrooms were always just down the hall. We went to the same small, local Bible college. Then we moved to the same town together to finish our degrees. We stayed in separate dorms but still spent a lot of our time together. One night I had just gone to bed when I heard a knock on my door. He had run out of toothpaste and wanted mine. When my love and I got married Jordan stood up as my Man of Honor.
    A little over a year ago he got a job far away in another state and that was the first time we really had to say goodbye. We had never spent more than five months apart and that only happened once when I went on a mission trip.
      But just like that, growing up took us apart, at least geographically. And on this beautiful sunny Friday,  I wish he could come over and have some cookies. Brothers are good things!

Proverbs 17:17
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

God's Will

      I often struggle with knowing just exactly what God's will is. All to often, I get some idea in my head of what that might be based solely on a feeling I have. (My husband, bless his soul, is patiently helping me learn and understand that feelings are fine and dandy but not always solid foundation material) Anyway, one thing that my love has been helping me to see is that God's word clearly maps out what His will is.
     So, in my reading I have been on the lookout for "God's will" verses. There are a lot of them.

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

God's Will: Rejoice in Him. Pray to Him. Give thanks to Him. 

Micah 6:8
" He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?"

God's Will: Justice, Kindness, Humbleness.  

1 Timothy 6:11
"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

God's Will: That we seek righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness with our lives. 

James 1:27
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

God's Will: Take care of orphans and widows and keep yourself pure.

2 Corinthians 13:11
" Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

God's Will: Rejoice, seek restoration, comfort each other,  don't argue,  and let peace reign.

Titus 3:1-2
"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people."

God's Will:  Respectful and obedient to those in authority, prepared to do good, speak kindness not evil, don't argue, be gentle and courteous.

 Happy Wednesday!

The Kitchen Remodel

        Luke and I bought our first home this fall and we have really enjoyed it. One thing that we knew we wanted to do when we moved in was take down a wall between the kitchen and a living room to make more of an open floor plan. Well this past week we have been living knee deep in sheet rock dust and sunny yellow paint. Today we had a head count of 19 for Sunday dinner to break in our new kitchen/dining room/living space. We love it.

The kitchen as it was when we bought the house. It felt huge compared to the apartment.

Time for demolition. This is the room on the other side of the kitchen wall. It was the music room.

A giant hole and a giant mess.

Luke had to do some rewiring.

                              And a lot of mudding.

                                And then came the paint.

I've wanted a yellow kitchen for awhile now. 

       The finished product(minus a few pictures on the wall and some trim)

     We hope to work on the flooring in the future. But we are loving our big, open, sunny, space.
                 Happy Sunday!

“Afterwards, they always had tea in the kitchen, much the nicest room in the house.”
~Flora Thompson

The Legacy of Music

      I love music. Listening to it and playing it, though I definitely don't play as much as I should. Music has been a gift in my life. Literally and figuratively. As a kid, my piano lessons were a gift. My grandparents gave me my guitar and my other grandparents have said that I can have their piano now that my love and I have a house of our own.  
      I had a wonderful piano teacher growing up. She is the one who played the music for my wedding. My college choir director/music theory teacher was also awesome. Those years in choir were great and I missed it terribly when I was done. I have many fond memories of choir tours. Such a wonderful combination of music and friends.
      I am now teaching piano lessons myself, and it is sometimes crazy to think back all those years to my first lessons. Now the role is reversed and I sit in the chair by the piano bench, writing out practice notes in a spiral notebook much like my teacher did for me.
     

Happy Friday. 
     


 “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”
~Victor Hugo

Romans 12:12

Romans 12:12
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

      This was the verse of the week in my classroom this past week. We read it every single day but it wasn't till Thursday that it really hit me. Some days are bad days, we struggle with fear, or doubt or whatever and life isn't easy. But then there are those days that just feel hopeful. Joy comes easier and the sun shines brightly in your heart and mind. Now because of The One who gave His life for ours, we can have hope every single day(even if we don't particularly feel it) and we need to remember that and rejoice in it. But on those days when hope seems a little more tangible don't forget to soak it in, store it up and rejoice in it.
      The next part of the verse says to be patient in tribulation. Patience isn't my strongest point and when I am neck deep in struggling with something I often wish that God would just snap His fingers and make it all better, but He tells me to be patient in it. He will pull me through.
     Then, it says to be constant in prayer. This is something that I have started working on a little bit more lately. Talk with The One who gave you the hope and who will get you through the tribulation.
     Some days will be good. Hope will shine. Rejoice. Some days will be hard. Troubles will try to drag you under and suffocate you. Be patient in them, remember the hope you so clearly had when you were rejoicing. And, through it all, keep talking to Jesus. He loves you. Happy Saturday.

Back in the Day Part 2

       When I was a kid my family lived in Kenya for a time.  Every few months we would go to Kalacha, Kenya for a missionary conference. It was smack in the desert and ironically enough, it was there that we got our fill of swimming, something I loved immensely!(The station had a large, above ground, water tank.)
         I was onced robbed by a monkey. We were in a restaurant and a window was open. Poor unsuspecting me was sitting there eating my food when suddenly a furry arm reached around my shoulder and snatched the bread off my plate.
         In church one Sunday I remember not being too comfortable sitting in front of the station's doctor. I was concerned that he might decide to give me a shot right there in the pew. It was in that same church that the men always sat on one side and the woman on the other. My family however, always sat together on the men's side.
      Some afternoons, we would have Club. One of the single missionary ladies would have all the missionary kids on the station to her house and have fun activities for us to do. I remember showing up one afternoon and another kid came out and announced that we were going to do body tracing. I wasn't sure that sounded like a good idea. It turned out fine.

(Me, Lydia, and Jordan in our Land Rover, LC)

"Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming!" ~Joseph B. Wirthlin

The Time the Driveway Became a Lake

It's mud boot season!!!

It is the third day of absolutely beautiful springiness around here. Today our driveway became a lake of sorts.

Soak up the sunshine. Splash through the puddles. Have a Happy Tuesday!

"Sometimes a good puddle is all you need." ~Unknown

"Sometimes you just have to jump in a mud puddle because it's there. Never get so old that you forget about having fun." ~Tom Giaquinto 

The Sunday When Spring Came

      Today was beautiful. The sun was shining and the air was warm. It was one of those March days that says, "I am Spring and I am here!" We celebrated the loveliness in several different ways this afternoon.

Music in the driveway soaking up the vitamin D.

Ice Skating on mushy ice.

And a walk on the lake.

It's still light out there. Enjoy the Spring!!!


“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?”~Neltje Blanchan

Strawberry Pie

This summer I was given some beautiful, juicy strawberries from a friends garden.

I put them away in the freezer and today they became something delicious.

Happy Friday!

“You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.”~Charlie Chaplin

Back in the Day

   When I was little, we lived in Kenya. My dad was a pilot flying for AIM(Africa Inland Mission) We lived on a mountain which was technically an inactive volcano. We couldn't play in the tall grass because of snakes. We had a land rover. We called it LC. I remember when we would go down country one of the roads was a cliff on one side and drop of on the other. For some reason, I figured it would be safer sitting on the side of the truck furthest from the drop off.
     As a pilot, my dad's job was to fly medical staff around. His plane was a Cessna. Sometimes when we were at the hanger he would let us sit up on the wing and once when I was flying with him he let me sit in the co-pilot seat and pretend to fly. In the afternoons, he would fly over our house and we would run out to see him tip his wings at us. He was waving hi.
    

(My Dad Rohn, holding my brother Jordan. My Mom AmyJo, holding my brother Jesse. My sister Lydia is the girl on the left and I'm on the right)


“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.”~L.M Montgomery

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”~Karl Lagerfeld

The Brat That Is My Mind

     I have been thinking lately about how my brain, is at times, rather like a young child throwing a temper tantrum. Kids have been known to throw down some good kicking, screaming, whining and complaining, tantrums. (Sorry to my dear parents for when I had my moments) Now I am not a parent, but I am a teacher and I have been around my fair share of kids to know that temper tantrums will come and when they do, the big person in charge needs to deal with it. Kids need to be taught that temper tantrums are not the appropriate response to any situation. Through discipline, a firm hand, and redirection, children have to be taught how to behave.
     Now, I said that my brain has its moments of being like that bratty kid. What I mean by that is when I allow worry, fear, or anxiety to take hold in my mind it starts to grow and kick, and scream, and whine, complain and generally throw a temper tantrum. Just like you can't let a kid throw a temper tantrum and get his way, you can't let your mind throw a tantrum. You can't let the fear have its way.
       People frequently talk about how one has to guard one's mind and keep it pure. However, I think we also need to guard our minds from doubts and fears. Really, each of us has a different bratty kid in our brains that we have to discipline, train and show the right way to go.
        I was discussing this whole concept with my love the other day and he mentioned how just like a parent can't give up even when he is worn out and tired of dealing with the tantrum, so we can't give up and quit dealing with the struggles of our minds, even if we are tired and feel like we are getting nowhere.
        I have spent way to much of my life giving in to the bratty, fear that throws tantrums in my brain. And because of that, the behavior has gotten worse. So now, I am working on dealing with it. It is tiring. Sometimes it screams so loud and I can't hear anything else. But, I really want to get to that place where the brat that is my mind becomes the well disciplined little brain that I have control of. Happy Thursday!

 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
^"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."
 
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”~Mahatma Gandhi