Musings from the Threshold

Monthly Archives: July 2010

O Lamb of God, still keep me

O Lamb of God, still keep me
Close to Thy pierced side;
‘Tis only there in safety
And peace I can abide.
With foes and snares around me,
And lusts and fears within,
The grace that sought and found me,
Alone can keep me clean.

~James G. Deck

Many thanks to Nancy Rollinger for posting this on FB this morning. What a blessing!

Independence Day

This year, our country’s birthday found us enjoying the fellowship of family and friends, first at Dad and Mom Smith’s house, then at the Wollbrinks for their annual Independence Day party/fireworks extravaganza. It was a fun day!



Day camp at Dayspring

We spent June 30 and July 1 at Dayspring Bible Camp, helping with the Fredericktown Day Camp with other folks from Bible Truth Fellowship. We actually arrived the evening of the 29, just in time to get settled and get some sleep, so we enjoyed breakfast with everyone Wednesday morning and enjoyed greeting the campers as they arrived.

That first morning, I woke up plenty early and nursed Andrew in the peaceful coolness while listening to the birds sing their morning songs. It made me wish we could turn off the A/C at home so we could hear God’s creation better. It also made me very thankful for our wonderful Creator.

It was interesting helping at camp as the mother of a two month old. Much different from counselling as a teen and in my early 20s, and also different from when I’ve had the opportunity to serve at camp as a mom with no tiny babies. There are times when the season preventing me from being “helpful” is frustrating and discouraging to me. I was blessed with a sense of peace about it this time, though, and found myself glad for the opportunities I had to interact with the campers. And when I needed to tend to our young ones, I found myself flooded with thankfulness for the now, this season, these precious moments with our Blessings – each of them.

And so, with a thankful heart, here are some pictures from our two days at camp:












A Visit from the Cousins!

We met up with my sister-in-love and The Cousins at Katie’s wedding on June 26. Ethan and Isaiah rode home with us that night while our girls stayed the night in KC with Beka, Chloe and Abigail, who drove over the next day. Five boys, ages 9-14, plus a eager-to-imitate three year old made for quite an entertaining drive across Missouri! Andrew was with us too, of course, but he didn’t get in on the action this trip.

Though our time with Beka and the Cousins was too short, it was oh so sweet. We made it to meeting on Sunday, the boys had a blast Sunday afternoon doing guy stuff, and Beka and the girls joined us Sunday evening. They stayed until Tuesday afternoon, and we crammed in lots of memories!

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:




















A Precious Wedding

On Saturday, June 26, a very special friend of mine* got married. We drove from one side of Missouri to the other and back again in one day to be there, and it was so worth it to see Katie and Craig get married!

I finished nursing Andrew shortly before the processional began, and didn’t want to go in in the midst of it, so I waited in the back, watching through the big windows and taking pictures of the wedding party.

The beautiful bride with my adorable nieces, Abigail and Chloe, who were her flower girls. My sis-in-love Beka was her matron of honor, but I somehow missed getting a picture of her.

Katie’s dad, Dan, died five years ago after a battle with cancer. Before her brother Mike walked her down the aisle, the song “Daddy’s Hands” was played as a tribute to Dan.(that’s our nephew Isaiah on the other side of Katie, and Beka’s dad in the background)

Ethan (Eric & Beka’s oldest) played Cannon in D for the processional, and did a terrific job. Instead of the two times through he planned, he played it over and over, about six times, as there were some hold ups in the back. He handled it like a professional, and I was so proud of him!

One of the things Katie and I share is a love for the color purple, and purple abounded at her wedding. It was gorgeous, and I wish I had taken more and better pictures.

The guys entertained themselves during the reception. I’m guessing Katie didn’t guess that her pretty sparklies would be used for battle strategy, but boys will be boys!
Davey and Josiah
Ethan and Barak
Jonathan figuring out a math formula

^When I was in eighth grade, I found myself rather lonely and without any close friends at our small Christian school. I starting praying for the Father to bring me a friend. It seemed rather daring to pray such a thing. But in the middle of the school year, along came Karla (Katie for her initials K.T). Nervous about switching schools, especially in the middle of the year, she was praying that God would have a friend ready for her. And He graciously brought us together!

We shared many years of laughter and tears (mostly laughter), and I often think of Katie when I think of answered prayer. Over the years and miles, we haven’t done a good job of staying in touch, but she will always be precious to me.

Gratitude

I’ve started writing down my thanks in a journal, but would like to post them here as well. The first 10 of these are from back in the spring. I then got away from writing them down, and picked up again last week.

One Thousand Gifts (#s 1 – 46)
~ The varied greens of spring
~ Redbuds blossoming/”leafing”
~ Curtains blowing in the breeze
~ Talk of birds as I lay in bed waking up for the day
~ Comforting touch of his hand on my face
~ Blessings I have birthed
~ Bleassing growing inside
~ Pilates – exercise to strengthen my body
~ Praise – exercise to strengthen my soul
~ Reminder that God doesn’t require me to be perfect; He asks me to praise

~ Eternal hope
~ Early morning birdsong at Dayspring
~ Nursing sounds
~ Wildflowers outside the cabin window
~ Opportunity to share the Good News
~ Companionship of my beloved
~ Visits from family
~ Babe sleeping on my chest
~ Birth of that babe in our home
~ Legal midwives
~ Hammering of a pileated woodpecker
~ Blessing of being at camp, working with kids
~ Fellowship
~ Chronic stomach pain
~ Trip to town by my man to get stuff for my stomach
~ A Daddy on guard when lifeguards were distracted
~ Grace with us
~ Cool breezes
~ Blessings’ artwork
~ Art supplies from a sweet sis-in-love
~ Baby breath on my neck
~ Bum knee
~ Reading/thanking with the Blessings
~ Being made in the image of the Creator
~ Being challenged to create faithfully
~ Garden growing
~ Homestead lessons
~ Sunflowers
~ Clean counters/floors
~ Messy counters/floors
~ Rolls of baby fat
~ Wedding for Katie – faithfulness and endurance rewarded
~ A republic
~ Celebrations with friends
~ Swimming pools
~ Fireworks

holy experience
(a bit late posting these)

I’ve joined Ann at Holy Experience with many others in expressing gratitude to God, the giver of all good things. Grab the button here and join the gratitude.

Linkage

Here’s a terrific article on the risks of eating soy. Please read it!

And in case you haven’t heard, “according to Information the manufacturer of this vaccine presented to the FDA prior to approval, if a person has already been exposed to HPV 16 or 18 prior to injection Gardasil increases the risk of precancerous lesions, or worse, by 44.6%” Yes, that’s the vaccine that is touted to prevent cervical cancer and that has been mandated by law in several states. Read more here.

“All I need, I already have. It just requires me to be flexible enough to put away what I believe to be the simplest path, and be willing to lead with either leg.
All He asks is that I trust Him enough to jump.” Read more

“He wants us to say with the Psalmist, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14b He wants us to give back to Him what He has given to us. He isn’t asking us to be something we are not. He only wants us to be faithful with the things He has given us. He only wants all of us!” More on Comparing from my friend Angela

The Practice of Rest, Pt.1 from Ann Voskamp

How to make covered buttons from scratch