holding hands in Paris....

Today we celebrate 32 years of marriage.  Thirty two years of joys and heartaches.  Thirty two years of memories. I am so grateful for the life we've shared...the good and the bad...the 'for better' and the 'for worse'. I wrote this poem one night after looking at photos from our travels this summer. It was such an incredible blessing to be able to celebrate our 50th birthdays holding hands and walking the streets of Paris.   

Holding Hands In Paris

I thought this day would never come

from house to home we've wandered far

Two hearts aglow with flame

Two hearts aglow with flame

You've always been there holding my love

safe in the palm of your hands.

Now side by side and heart to heart

We're holding hands in Paris.

I thought this day would never come

through stillborn love in the Kansas heat

Two hearts impaled with grief

Two hearts impaled with grief

You've always been there holding my love

safe in the palm of your hands.

Now side by side and heart to heart

We're holding hands in Paris.

I thought this day would never come

now here we stand now here we stay

Two hearts enthralled with joy

Two hearts enthralled with joy

You've always been there holding my love

safe in the palm of your hands.

Now side by side and heart to heart

We're holding hands in Paris.

Memories of St. Basil's Cathedral

In honor of All Saints Day I found these old photos from our trip to Moscow in 2007. 

I am still amazed at the places God has taken us over the past eight years.  Standing in Red Square that day I was overwhelmed.  As a child whenever I saw Russia on TV it was usually on the news.  And in black and white.  The vivid colors of Saint Basil's Cathedral are breathtaking in person.  And I feel so blessed to have been able to tour the inside that day with Spencer and his friend Andrew.   

memories from a market in Kiev...

I vividly remember the day we were in this market.  I never got the nerve up to purchase meat from outdoor vendors.  I like to tell myself that meat comes from a supermarket already cleaned and nicely packaged!

remembering the colors of India...

 

 

three see yah laters and one farewell...

So far this year has held several goodbyes.

  

Nathan left after a four day mini-vacation with us in Mexico, Meesha left after eight months here in Belize, Spencer left after living here for 16 months, and Tom's friend Marcus passed away after only 43 years on this earth.  Saying 'see yah later' is easier than saying farewell. and yet each parting leaves a sting of loss.

I know that there will be some sweet and joyful times ahead in this year...but for now...we are feeling weary of all the letting go.    

What's in your Bible?

Does the inside of your Bible look like this...

or am I the only one with stashes of memorabilia inside their precious book?

I cannot remember when or how this collection started.  Perhaps it began years ago with just a program or some notes from a sermon.  While I don't think my Bible is ready to be featured on the show Hoarders it might look that way to some.  As I opened it up this morning a letter from Meesha tumbled out of Matthew.  Turning the pages I found a bookmark from Istanbul, the boarding pass from a trip to the states to see Jalen graduate along with the ticket to the venue where his graduation was held.  I found the label from a bar of soap called 'Father Frost' that was given to me by my Business English students back in Russia, the envelope that held the invitation to the Fourth of July party at the American Embassy here in Belize, and a song sheet from leading worship at Krasnodar Bible Church.  I also found a family photo from the year when Nathan had to wear glasses but Spencer did not.  I even had the envelope that my eating utensils came from when we flew from Russia to Istanbul...still shocked that it has Protestant, Catholic and Jewish prayers written on it.

Perhaps it's time for a scrapbook.

But for now...I will just share with you how I almost lost this precious book with all of it's mementos.   As we were packing to leave Russia to move to Belize we had certain constraints on us.  Lack of time was a factor which leads to hasty decisions, the size of our suitcases along with how much they could weigh also played a role, and of course the questions 'what did I need right away?' and 'what could I pack in the boxes to arrive later?' also had to be taken into consideration.  I chose to pack my jewelry box in the suitcase and my Bible in a box for later.  I thought my smaller newer Bible would do for a few months until our boxes arrived.

After all this heavy, cumbersome NIV Study Bible published in 1984 is a monster.  I don't carry it around much. Even in the cute Bible cover with the handles it is still awkward to tote around.

At the last minute, I took the jewelry box out of my suitcase and put the 25 year old NIV  in it's place.  I remember thinking that if I get asked to share some thoughts I would need the big Bible with all of my notes in it and of course the jewelry could wait.  As many of you know our boxes from Russia were stolen and never made it to Belize.  My jewelry is lost along with other treasures of ours, however, my Bible is safe on my lap right as I write.

Tom gave me this Bible in 1987...it was a Mother's Day gift...received just months before Nathan was born.  It held a few of Spencer's certificates that he had entrusted me with from YWAM. I can turn to the very back page and reminisce about Nathan spilling milk from his sippy cup into my book bag back in 1989.  There are song lyrics hastily written out from a conference Tom helped organize in Southern California, along with programs from funerals, and sermon notes from an international church I attended one summer in Rome.  Most importantly, it holds years of underlining, highlights, prayers, and notes in margins that could never be replaced.

As I take begin writing down the lessons God has for me this year...I have to acknowledge that this is one of them:  Embrace the nudges of the Spirit.  

Something prompted me to take the jewelry box out and put the Bible into the suitcase just before leaving to catch our 4am flight out of Russia.  I didn't make that choice on my own I had help.  And I am so grateful that I was saved from losing a truly priceless gift.

Good times...

Archaeological Museum, Istanbul, Turkey 2010 

Make sure you get out and collect some moments...

Happy Weekend!