Auntie: Standing in the Gap

It's been awhile. . .

2010-01-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted and this post is going to deal with the joys and struggles of being an Auntie.

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to walk with a niece through the heartache of losing a boyfriend. What was really hard for me to hear was just how much she wanted to be loved. How much she was willing to take all the blame on her. How much she was willing to beg to be taken back. It seared my heart and I ache for her and I still ache for her to know just how valuable and worthwhile she is in herself to God.

Yesterday I got to be around a family while they worked over a family health crisis. I was able to watch one of my niece's step in to help and pass it on - the "auntiness" that I have shown her which was passed on to me by Sharon Livingston. God really uses people. It's nice to know that the grace that was passed on to me by Sharon. . .that I passed on to the niece. . .that she passes on. . .can be somewhat of a heritage.

Psalms and Songs

2009-03-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Dearest - the weekend was relaxing and a time to reflect.

I was thinking about King David in quiet times last night. He wrote fantastic psalms and songs. As I sing my own praise songs to You, I think how stupid people may think it is. Yet, I think back to a shepherd boy with his sheep - camping out singing praises to his creator. You led him from pastures to Goliath.

His songs of praise soothed a king's trouble soul. As he ran from the same king - my mind takes me to him, once again, camping outside. Fearing for his life, hiding in caves, he offered praise. He had a lot of friends and help with him, but ultimately, what mattered most was his relationship with You. Battered down, hiding and protected under the shelter of Your wing - he sang songs of praise, fear and despondency. He was honest and open with his words.

Thank you for examples from long ago - that encourage me to offer up my prayers and praise. For tonight's study - open my hears and heart to understand words from across the table. Set a guard over my lips. Draw us out to be courageous and open. Prepare our way to make the study sweet and inviting. Love, Me

Quiet Prayers 2/27/2009

2009-02-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

To my Beloved - the weekend is coming up. So many people with needs - two retreats and a friend melting down.

With ears tuned to Your Spirit, I ask You to let me know how to pray, how to speak and what actions are required.

Thank you for longer days - for bright sunshine one day after snow. As we walk through this day, let me dance for you with You. It's nice to be with and enjoy your company.

For this weekend coming up, give me courage to speak truth kindly and honorably. Don't let me forget how kind and loving You've been to/with me as I struggled through dark days. Let me be your hands, feet and mouth as I walk through hard dark days with family and friends.

I love you and look forward to our weekend - Me.

Pursuing God

2009-02-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. Mostly because the stuff I write down is a bit mundane. But, I felt the Spirit of God calling me to spend time with my Sophomore in high school niece. She's having a tough time with her faith.

We got to spend some time together - and I realized that teens have many things to deal with. There's lots of drama and confusion in their thinking. If (with the help of God) I'm able to stay connected with her through her thought processes God and I may have something to help her through this time in her life.

So we talked about recording kissing from the King (you know those kisses that God gives you just to bless you?) And then we talked about recording those things that people tell you. Those things people just dump on you because you listen - and then they really don't want to hear your issues. The question she's struggling with is how to just turn them over to God and not work on fixing them.

And then we talked about a High School Retreat. The question - was -why did it not fulfill your expectations. The response was - that when she went looking for God - pursuing Him - she didn't find Him. He didn't speak to her.

Ironically - several years ago, Pastor Alan recommended a book: "Furious Pursuit - Why God will Never Let You Go" - along with the work book. She and I talked about it last night - and together we're going to go through the study - taking our time. The book is really a 12 week study. When Iwent through it the first time, it took over a year. We will take as much time as we want.

God is amazing to have spoken to me through this book - and then passing it on to a teenager who is struggling. Isn't He awesome!

Cold - It's very cold

2008-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Out here in Gresham on the border of Troutdale - it's very very cold tonight. The east wind is up - and with blowing snow - it looks like a blizzard.

I think it's time to go wrap up in a blanket, get the cat - and drink some decaf coffee with candles and flashlights near by.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Interesting week

2008-10-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting week or so. I took the train to Seattle for work. It was amazing - AMAZING - to sit in the "viewing" car - and watch the sunset over the trees in the back hills on the way from Portland to Seattle. Then we came up upon trees and the ocean. You know what! God certainly makes things awesome.

Tuesday night - arriving back in Portland late - I ran over some construction on the middle of an intersection. I thought they cleaned up afterwards! But I wound up with two nails in my one tire. Fortunately, the way they were situated, no air escaped. The tire just made a horrible clattering noise all the way home. Les Schwab fixed the tire the next day.

My cat, Tut, had been having accidents around the house. Now to know Tut is to love Tut - but accidents are not to be loved. If you raise your voice to Tut - he is crushed. He will go into a pout . . . such a sensitive cat. So before I raised my voice at Tut (or papered my house with pampers) I decided it was time for a vet visit to see if he had issues.

Turns out the guy had issues. He had a bladder stone like an arrowhead. Yeah - Saturday night was emergency surgery for the guy. Got him back home after a several day stay at the hospital - with the vet telling me - don't let him chew his stitches. The first day that wasn't a problem. But the second night - I'm sleeping - and I hear him gnawing on his stiches at 4am. Like an idiot I yell at him to stop. And. . .we're into the pout behind the couch. So at 4am I'm digging him out from behind the couch - assuring him that he's still a good cat.

The vet and I had a discussion and now Tut is wearing an Elizabethan collar which he hates. But he's not chewing on those very expensive stitches!

Happy Birthday

2008-09-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday and I had a great day. Went out to lunch and then to a movie with a fantastic friend. Then came home and was able to just relax for the rest of the day.

It was awesome to get to speak with my sister and her family. I am so looking forward to seeing them next May. It also appears that one of my adopted nephews will be getting married next June in Atlanta. It looks as though I will be doing some traveling in May and June.

Today the long dry spell in Oregon was over. We had a torrential downpour that occurred about 20 minutes after I had lugged watering cans out on the balcony and watered all the plant. Hmm. . .good thing I didn't wash the car.

Women's Bible Study is going to be on Romans. I'm back with the same small group leader I had for the first two years at church. I'm excited to be able to be back in her group - if I couldn't have the same leader I had last year.

Well, it's time to go to bed (after retrieving a cat who is chasing an imaginary bug around the house) - and be grateful to God for another year in helping me grow to be more like Him.

The Volleyballer

2008-09-12T08:53:00.001-07:00

Last night I was able to go watch my niece - Mariah - play volleyball. The other team had a nice clap and stomp down (lots of spirit!) . . .unfortunately they weren't so good at returning the ball. Or maybe the players on Mariah's team just had wicked volleyball serves.

Mariah has been appointed as a setter for the team (she'd rather be a spiker - but height has contributed to this decision). As a former setter it was interesting to watch her set. At age 12 - she's got it down. The sets didn't spin. . they were good. I'm impressed with the teamwork and skill that she shows (but then I'm probably not very impartial.)

This weekend promises to be a fulfulling weekend of house cleaning, violin practice - and general foolishness! Additionally (like most people in America) - I'll be praying for those people in harms way from Hurricane Ike.

Breathe through your nose!

2008-09-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Recently I had to go in for a root canal. Specialist put that thing over the tooth– numbed the mouth – and said, be sure to breathe only through your nose. Right. . .

So three days later, my nose is starting to not feel good. . .you know how the nose gets when you’ve got a zit appearing on the side of it. Yeah – except this zit was on the inside. Figured it would go away. . .NOT. And then it started to cause pain in the middle of the night. . .then it got a pulse of it’s own. Wound up going to the doctor. Who would EVER go to the doctor for a zit in their nose? Turns out it was a staph infection. I blame it on the root canal doctor dude who made me breathe through my nose. That’s done – now all I’ve got left to do is go get fitted for a crown. Oh joy.
The message on Sunday was awesome. Talked about the rhythms of life. After having a summer break - it's nice to get back into the rhythms of the year...

Mid August happiness

2008-08-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah - it's been awhile since I've posted. Today the heat wave finally broke - thank God for cooler weather.

This summer I've been having such a great time enjoying friends. There's something to be said for a quiet life and embracing the small things that bring joy to each other.

My dear little niece and I had a wonderful time out at Heaton's place with a ping-pong tournament and a hamburger bbq.

This weekend I am looking forward to an event that's been a long time coming. I'm meeting up with a small group of friends in a rural location. After sharing supper - we plan to sit around a campfire with music instruments and worshipping God in music and word. It looks like the weather is going to hold.

I am looking forward to the end of summer to get back involved in Bible studies and find out what's happened in other people's lives over the summer.

Things and stuff!

2008-05-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted. Many things have happened since then - that required a lot of moving in ways I sure didn't want to go.

I flew to Indianapolis to be with my sister (I hate to fly!) We had a great time together...before I flew back (I hate to fly!) Thank goodness for valium on the plane.

Finished auditing a class at Multnomah Bible College - that was fantastic!

Had an appointment with the pastor to talk about "auntying" stuff. Never had an appointment with a pastor before. It was pretty nice to talk about things with him.

Next came a solo before about 100 people. Okay now - it wasn't just a line or two! It was an entire song. AN ENTIRE SONG!! I've done it now and don't want to do it again. Yeah - I got talked into it by 4 of the sweetest voices I know - the Pynes! Somehow they just DO that.

Next up - a violin recital. Noooooo! Yep - it's this Sunday.

In the middle of all this came the next 2 movies: Prince Caspain and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I figure all the stresses of solos and recitals can be overcome by seeing these two movies.

The last thing on my schedule is a blind date. Once all that's over - I plan on grabbing whatever nieces I can and heading on out to hang with the cow at Pynes!

Ya never know. . . .

2008-02-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

About 2 years ago, the strangest thing happened. I got on the public transportation "MAX" and sat across from a little girl, her younger brother, and in front of them were Mom, Dad and baby sister. I started to read a C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia book) and it was like the Spirit just told me to wait for the girl to talk to me. . .it was gonna happen.

Two stops later, this girl (6 years old) is talking up a storm to me. Her parents are keeping a watchful eye on the entire situation -and I'm trying the best I can to "telegraph" to them that I'm a safe person. Long story short - the parents and I met. They'd been going to my church for 2 weeks after coming to Oregon from Louisana. It was summertime and they didn't have a way to connect in the church and were looking for ways to do so. Several weeks later I saw them at church - and we became fast friends. They were appointed to be head of the Young Families at church - and invited me to join them for a special series.

Fast forward to a year ago. I'm in the special series, but I'm also getting coffee at the coffee kiosk. Guests are invited to get a free cup of coffee. This lady in front of me had her coupon for a free cup of coffee. She was asked - how long had she been in Oregon. The response was less than 24 hours. Her husband had been transferred - and they moved here knowing no one. I asked her if she was going to church - or leaving. My intent was to have her join me at Young Families to meet this family from Louisana. They were going to service. I asked her if she would trust me enough with her phone number and name. She wrote it down.

Went to Young Families. Placed the name and number in front of Shannon (my friend) and asked her if she would please call her. It was urgent! Shannon later told me it was a good thing.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. Once again, I'm visiting Young Families. Shannon isn't there, but this woman was introducing herself. Eventually she looked at me and said, were you the person who met a lady who'd been in Oregon for one day in the coffee line? I told her yes! She said she'd been looking for me for over a year.

Seems as though the very next day (Monday), her husband had to fly away for business to Phoenix, leaving her and her 2 kids alone in Oregon knowing no one. Shannon called her Monday at 8:30 to invite her over to her house. By 11:30 the two had connected at Shannon's house and were having lunch with their kids playing together.

Isn't God great? And it all started on a MAX train.

A Milestone!

2008-01-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the doctor to get my loose cast replaced - instead the took xrays and determined I could wear a splint! Wah hoo! Got it off 11 days early

Wednesday Heather, her daughter and I hung out. We had a blast!

Happy end of 2007

2007-12-31T12:49:00.000-08:00

An interesting thing happened after Thanksgiving and before Christmas which I'm still having to deal with. Walking to work (from the commuter train) - my foot slipped. I was being very careful of my knee (bad knees) but wondered why it was taking so long to get up. No - no one was close by. Instead I crawled to a small brick flower bed and pulled myself up.

Hmm..time to get back on that train to go home and ice the knee. Somewhere along the train route, my hand really started hurting. By the time I got to my car - I knew it was time for the doctor. Turns out the right wrist is broken. For someone who does typing, knitting, embroidery, violin, piano and calligraphy - my life just became very very dull.

My friend, Theda, had me over to her house (she was sick) and together misery had company! Thank God for Theda.

Second cast was green. A crazy friend at work (yeah, that's you Rachel) suggested I decorate it like a Christmas tree. It was interesting - and had a light on it. The cast give many people a holiday grin- and it was amusing. My sister asked for a picture of it..here it is:

Fun with Friends

2007-11-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

Friday was a fun day! I took the day off to hang with a friend and her (almost 4 month old) baby girl. Sometimes God just gives you those days to hang out - work a puzzle or just talk heart to heart.

Then of course, there's the joy of tickling and baby and listening to her giggles; then rocking her to sleep.

It was just a really nice relaxing day. I think of Friday as one of those days where I got "kissed by the King."

I thank God for Friday. I do realize every day is a day God has made, and I should rejoice and be glad in it. . .but Friday. . .I just want to be thankful for that day!

From the mouths of Children!

2007-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

It was a joy to have my 11 year old niece spend the night on Friday. She has been emailing a friend of hers who challenged her to read Romans. She wasn't sure of the passage.

We went into my bedroom, and while I burned off some computer disks, she picked up the Message version of the Bible and started reading Romans to me. If there is anything more precious and sweet to the ears besides God's word - it's the voice of a child reading those words!

I think I'm liking the friends she's hanging out with!!

An worthwhile video from my sister

2007-09-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

My sister in Indiana sent me the following link to a website. The link illustrates very clearly how young people are being bombarded with different things - and how Jesus welcomes back all prodigals. A very worthwhile video to watch! Enjoy.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

Computer voices at School

2007-09-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

So I'm attending school on Monday nights. It's a Christian college class - and we're studying OT: History - Poetry.

A guy comes in with his laptop, and wirelessly connects it during the class. Since I normally sit in the back of the class, I can see he's surfing the net, and IM'ing his friends. I figure, his loss and wonder what his grade will be at the end of class.

During the middle of the class, however, he hit a site that had sound. In the middle of class - 50 of us were in this class - his computer starts talking!

There was just a bit of irony that night as I watched the guy's face turn beet red. Another day in the life of Auntie.

Theology from my cat

2007-09-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

This morning, my cat, Tut, went a little nuts over a twig out on the balcony. He attacked it, killed it and proudly presented it to me.

I looked at his big round eyes - and asked him if he brought me his treasure. He did, what I call a little throat chuckle, when he talked to me. I looked straight at him and asked him (so I talk to my cat - don't you), didn't he realize the twig wasn't the treasure, but that he was?

And then I stopped - stunned. How many times have I gone to God and presented Him with what I thought were little treasures for Him . . . and He responds. "Don't you understand. Your treasure isn't what I consider the treasure. You ARE the treasure!"

Sox

2007-09-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been trying, for about the last 6 months to learn how to knit socks. It's not that I'm knitting illiterate! It's just that I can't figure out the heel turns and toes at the socks. Eventually I rip them all out and go back to making felted cat beds or something else.

A friend at work figured out a new way to knit a sock using just one needle. That sounds easy! Except - you still have to count and do math - and make sure you're on the right side or the wrong side - or some such stuff. Wednesday night I finished my first sock! To be sure, half of the sock was one way and the other half was another way! But hey! It was my first stumbling step into the world of sock knitting.

Today I finished learning sock number two! And that sock - well it looks like it could be an actual sock.

So today is a banner day in the world of socks. Here is a picture of the very first pair of socks I knitted! (I love the little baby too!)

Christmas in August

2007-08-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I was invited to go over to some friends house to go over Christmas music. I was amused that we were going to be playing and singing Christmas music in August.

Dinner was served - and it was a fantastic surprise. An entire Christmas dinner (with decorations and festive china) was on the table. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bean casserole, home baked rolls and cranberry sauce. Dessert was pumpkin pie! Amazing meal!

My Favorite Auntie Saying:

2007-08-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have not had the honor of having children, but God is so good and has graciously allowed me the opportunity of having an Auntie role with many children - 1 biological, and many who aren't.

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I live in, or the kind of car I drove. . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Thank you to mammas and daddies who allow an "auntie" to be blessed by trusting them with their children.