So Far This July....

I'll begin by saying that I've been working on this blog entry for about four days now. Evidently there is a problem getting my pictures to imbed within my entry and I kept getting frustrated with it and giving up. So I finally decided to just post the thing without pictures and later add them if I can get it figured out. I also thought it a good idea to post this before it got any longer!

So I come back from some errands on Tuesday and Tim says to me that Michele Wysong called. I at first though he was just making up some name and kidding around as he is known to do, but I'm a bit taken aback because I actually know a Michele Wysong. In fact I graduated with her and indeed she did call. After thinking about it, I'm shocked to realize that 20 years ago I graduated from high school. Wow. Michele called back a bit later and we had a nice chat. It was rather odd talking to someone you haven't seen or spoken to in 20 years, but we managed a 30 minute conversation so I'd say I did OK :) She caught me up a bit on the plans and after we hung up I got to thinking. I haven't stayed in touch with one single person I went to high school with. And I wonder, is that odd? In so many ways I feel so, so different than who I was 20 years ago, but after speaking with Michele, I realized that everyone else is somewhat different as well. It was kind of fun to catch up a bit and remember my friends from school. I'm not sure if we'll attend the reunion or not, but it made me think I might have fun if we do go. Does that mean I've arrived at a comfort place with myself that I'm not afraid to "return"? Hmmmmm....?

The fourth of July came and went here with just a handful of calls to security. I'll not bore your with the details of our reckless weekender neighbors.

Thursday night, Tim had finished verse by verse through Exodus and did an overview of the Old Testament. It was fabulous and I recommend anyone that is reading to listen to it online . This week he's doing the New Testament. This stuff was so helpful to me as a new beleiver. I was amazed that I had gone to church for much of my early life and didn't know some of the most basic information about the Bible. Hannah stayed upstairs in the sanctuary for it and said she learned a lot even. Good stuff.

The next day, Friday the 7th, Hannah, Jeanne and Nancy went cherry picking. Sour cherries fresh from the tree...mmmm. Hannah made a pie that night and I made one a couple of days ago. More good stuff.

Saturday Tim had men's prayer in the morning and I got a head start on totally emptying the garage. By the time he got home, the kids and I had it about a quarter of the way empty. We all cleaned and sorted everything and boy what a lot of stuff! Tim and I removed the back shelf that the previous owner had put in and moved his work benches around. It took nearly 12 hours to get everything back in and cleaned up, but it does look a ton better. Tim seems glad to have his garage in more workable order. I had a pile of stuff to freecycle and thankfully, nearly everyone has already picked up their items. Everyone was very tired that night.

Sunday was the church picnic and baptism after the service. There was a chance of rain forecast, but the day turned out beautifully. Sunny, warm and perfect. In all, eight people were dunked this year. I love baptisms. It is so neat to see people take that step of obedience. It always makes me think back to my own baptism 19 years ago and how new it all was then... even more good stuff. The pictures here (that should be here :) ) are of Tim explaining to the people what baptism is all about and what was going to happen. Then there is one of our friend Cathy. Cathy is such a neat person and she was able to have much of her family there with her. She has had some difficult times these last few months and this day was so important to her. We were all glad to be there with her. Soon the other pictures will be on the website if you'd like to check them out. The guy helping Tim is Lou. Tim baptized Lou and his wife, Danielle, two years ago. What a glorious thing it is to see him serving now. God is really cool. I need to remember when things are difficult that days like this are great reminders of His faithfulness to complete the work He has begun.