tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58248887200069487092024-02-07T05:34:27.421+00:00His PoetryA girl and her God do life here, there, and a little bit of everywhere. He is such an adventure!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-13787723013601449922015-04-20T18:37:00.003+01:002015-04-20T18:37:38.719+01:00New Things...<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>"See, I am doing a new thing!<br />Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?<br />I am making a way in the wilderness<br />and Streams in the wasteland."</i></b><br /> <i>-- Isaiah 43:19</i></div>
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Faith renewed.<br />Fears stilled.<br />Hope stirred.<br />Trust resurrendered.<br />He is making all things new...<br /><br />And I can't exactly put words to it. I can't see beyond this one moment after the last one. But I can feel Him moving. I can feel Him "<i>working in [me], giving [me] the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him..."</i> as I <i>"Hold tightly to the Word of Life" (Philippians 2:14 &16). </i>He is speaking in a way my soul can hear again, popping off the pages of all I read, whispering between the words of every conversation I'm having... I don't know what's happened, but I know it's Him. And He transforms whatever He touches.<br />And at His touch, I am so humbled and so exalted, all at once...</div>
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<i><b>The light of God surrounds me. <br />The love of God enfolds me. <br />The power of God protects me. <br />The presence of God watches over me. <br />Wherever I am, God is.</b></i></div>
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And so, we watch and we wait and we follow. And life is so much more extraordinary than any of us truly perceive...<i><br /><br /><b>"Here [we are], Lord. Send [us]..."</b> -- Isaiah 6:8</i></div>
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-23704872130394076632014-12-19T18:20:00.000+00:002014-12-19T18:43:51.095+00:00Do Not be Disturbed... I saw my husband off to work while it was still dark outside this morning. I still can hardly believe the regular, adult hours we keep nowadays... I'm not sure I feel that grown up yet.<br />
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Instead of pouring my coffee and firing up the photoshop to continue working my way through a backlog of sessions, something (someone) drew me to crack my bible open instead. It's been awhile since I've opened the Word to just read, not searching for a specific verse to share with someone, or following a bible study, or keeping up with the preaching points in a sermon. I've missed it. I've missed encountering the Living God through the tiny print on the thinnest pieces of paper. But it's so easy to not take the time as everything else competes for my time and attention. And there have been deeper things holding me back. Cracks formed in my hope through various circumstances over the past few years that the enemy would use to discourage me and leave my soul homeless, but which God will turn over into good as He beckons me toward Him, not away...<br />
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I opened to 2 Kings. Random place to go, I know, but I had a bookmark there from however long ago it was that I had been working my way back through the Old Testament again page by page (it doesn't help that since being back in the states, I only have my travel bible, my study bible left in storage somewhere in Europe for the time being).<br />
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I still can't quite comprehend how it works. I know the Bible is not magic. And yet I randomly open up to 2 Kings and start reading about the reign of King Hezekiah on this random day, my heart full of random thoughts and random feelings, and suddenly, it's as if this part of history was recorded just for me to read on this very morning, in the midst of this very life. And I find that happens again and again and again when I turn to this book which is not magic, but certainly is <i>something.</i> God-breathed. The Living Word of a Living God who sees into my soul and loves every corner of it...<br />
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You see, Hezekiah was a good king of Israel. 1 & 2 Kings in the Old Testament read like a historical list of the leaders of this ancient nation. A few chapters explaining an overview of what happened during one king's reign, and whether he was with God or against Him, and then a few chapters giving an overview of what happened in the nation of Israel in the next king's reign, and whether he was with God or against him. And on and on it goes, the cause and effect on a an entire people of a leader working with God or working against Him unfolding before our eyes through decades and centuries condensed down to a few thin pages.<br />
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Hezekiah <i>"did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight"</i> (2 Kings 18:3). He <i>"trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was never another king like him in the land of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did"</i> (vv. 5-7). Great, right? But I have to wonder as I read the story if Hezekiah felt successful all the time, felt the Lord with him all the time. Because during his reign in Judah, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked and conquered their fortified cities. I've never experienced warfare, but I can't imagine being conquered by the Assyrians felt particularly "successful" to Hezekiah or his people. And if I was Hezekiah, my faith would have flickered to naught when the Assyrian king sent his commander in chief, field commander, and a personal representative (and a huge army, I might add) with a message for King Hezekiah and the people of Judah.<br />
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<i>"This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Which of your allies will give you military backing against Assyria?...</i> (vv.19-20)"<br />
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<i>"I'll tell you what! My master, the king of Assyria, will strike a bargain with you. If you can find two thousand horsemen in your entire army, he will give you two thousand horses for them to ride on! With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops?... </i>(vv.23-24)." <br />
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<i>"My master wants everyone in Jerusalem to hear this, not just you. He wants them to know that if you do not surrender, this city will be put under siege. The people will become so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine... Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Don't let King Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. Don't let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, 'The Lord will rescue us! This city will never be handed over to the Assyrian king.'... </i>(vv.27-30)"<br />
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<i>"Don't listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, 'The Lord will rescue us!' Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah [all other historical cities the Assyrians conquered]? Did they rescue Samaria from my power? What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? Name just one! So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem?... </i>(vv.32-37)"</blockquote>
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Had I been amongst the throng in the dusty streets of Jerusalem that day, I would have looked out at that vast army, heard the shouts of their representative, and despaired. When King Hezekiah's officials reported this message to him, that's exactly what the bible says they did.<i> "They tore their clothes in despair"</i> (v. 37). <br />
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The thing is... isn't this exactly what the enemy of our souls is screaming at us every day? <i>"Look around you, stupid! Don't you see the evil conquering the innocent all over this world? Is your God keeping militants from waging gruesome 'holy war' across the middle east? Did your God keep the Taliban from attacking those innocent school children in Pakistan a few days ago? Or what about Nazi Germany, the Rwandan Genocide, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and the Congo? Look at the estimated <a href="http://www.christiantoday.com/article/70.million.christians.martyred.faith.since.jesus.walked.earth/38403.htm" target="_blank">70 million martyrs</a> who have died for trusting the name of Jesus since Christ's time. 70 million! Where was His recuse for them? And closer to home, did He keep your loved ones safe from the depravity of pedophiles? From physical abuse and neglect in their own homes? From families being torn apart by lies, hate, selfishness, and divorce? What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? Name just one! What makes you think your Lord can rescue you?" </i>.....<br />
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Heaviness, heaviness, heaviness.<br />
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King Hezekiah also despaired. He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth (a sign of mourning).<br />
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<b>But then he went into the temple to pray </b>(2 Kings 19:1).<br />
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It all hinges here. Hezekiah might have taken this very serious threat (hello, huge armies outside his door!) and this very pointed intimidation and said, "You know, they're right..." But he remembered something. He remembered who His God was. His people had walked with the God of his fathers for generations, and they had experienced His power and His wonder and His care and His love again and again. So he decided to turn to his God and trust him once more. And God sent someone to minister to him. In this case, it was the prophet Isaiah. In my case, it's usually a friend, a mentor, a book, a poignant line in a film that reminds my soul of something it needs to hold on to, etc etc. Somehow, He comes. <i>Don't forget in the dark what you learned in the light...</i><br />
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God told him, though Isaiah, <i>"Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me... I myself will move against him"</i> (v. 6-7).<br />
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<b>Do not be disturbed by the lies of the enemy of your soul. I myself will move against him... </b><br />
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And He did. 2 Kings 19 tells of how he moved against them in Hezekiah's time. But what has stuck with me this morning, and helped me to get up and face another day, is the thought that Hezekiah couldn't have seen it all playing out as it did, and yet he chose to trust. And he chose rightly.<br />
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Lord God, I want to choose to trust You! Despite everything my eyes ache to see unfolding. I want to choose to trust You. Because I know, I know, I know, I know that it is the right choice. You have drawn a line in the sand and allowed the enemy to come that far, but no further, Lord. You will move against him. And I will be on your side. Do not be disturbed by the lies of the enemy all around you. Your God Himself will move against Him... In fact, He's already begun.<br />
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<b>"Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel [which means 'God with us']..."</b> <br />
-- Isaiah 7:14</div>
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-55025362962101093302014-11-10T21:30:00.001+00:002014-11-10T21:47:58.613+00:00The Shattering of the Sacred & Heavenly, Healing Magic...<div style="text-align: left;">
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I love him. I love who we are together.<br />
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I didn't know when I said "I do" holding his hands, wearing my mom's beautiful lacy dress, dancing into the night with the people dearest to us, that I would love him this much. I thought I already loved him as much as any heart could hold... Little did I know.<br />
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Little did I know the quiet ways of real love, of real care. I hadn't seen it, really; not fleshed out. Sure, I'd dreamed of it. I'd written about it. I'd hoped for it. But in a broken world, love too is broken, and really rather extremely broken love is what I knew. And my husband and I are not perfect, far far far from it, in fact. And our relationship is still so young. We chuckle when we think of all the years of our lives we lived separate from one another, not even knowing one another existed. It was Sept 10th, 2009 when we happened into one another's [very different] stories. It wasn't until 14 months later that we took our friendship to that next level and blushed as we introduced one another as boyfriend and girlfriend. Nearly another 2 years after that we promised-- with a stunning diamond solitaire-- to marry one another. And it was only last summer that we joined our lives and hearts and bodies in marriage. <i> </i><br />
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<i>Marriage: </i>that courageous vow to not only love, but to <i>cherish</i> another person. To stand by them regardless of what the years bring, to support them-- with wise love-- to be forever becoming the person God meant when He dreamed them up. To take the hand of someone who is not you, who does not think like you, see the world as you do, feel as you do, and promise to put him first, to choose to lay down your own needs in order to serve his needs, trusting that he'll look after yours. And in that way, everyone's needs are met. It's terrifying. It can go so badly. Again, the broken world gets in the way... But when two people are daily trying (this is a key word since there's no such thing as perfect outside of Jesus' love) to love this way... the result is nothing short of heavenly, healing <i>magic</i>.<br />
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My husband's love is my own taste of heavenly, healing magic.<br />
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Our scant year and a half of marriage has happened upon one of the most difficult seasons of my emotional life. I don't have words to describe it, really. Circumstances have made me feel like all the things I thought sacred have been broken, mutilated, ripped apart, scattered. I don't know how to put them back together, so instead I feel like I just sit in the pile of the pieces and weep. And rage. I feel like I'm always teetering on this precipice, praying I won't fall into the dark abyss beckoning me to forget all the beauty, all the love, all the grace in the midst of all the evil, all the brokenness, all the despair that surrounds and closes in. <br />
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And there, stalwart and steadfast like the majestic Coastal Redwoods (and did I mention over-the-top handsome? My God is just THAT generous!) beside me stands my husband, quietly reaching out one stabilizing arm to massage the back of my neck. There he stands, offering me his strength, his perfectly kissable broad shoulders with their toned valley between them leading down to a muscular back beckoning me to rest against it. God's timing is more perfect than I have ever before known. May I hold on to that when everything makes me forget. I could not have met this season of life without the strength of my husband to borrow from, without the kindness of my husband to rely on, without his thoughtfulness, compassion, and care. Without his supportive love. Such a heavenly, healing magic! Such a gift from a loving God, and proof that evil does not get to win... That is the message my husband's love is sent from heaven to give me.<br />
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We took a once in a lifetime road trip a few weeks ago which made me ponder and grow. Flew out to
Seattle, rented a car, and drove down the coast all the way to L.A.,
soaking up the beauty of one corner of the world our tremendously
creative God made. Soaking it up together-- catching one another's
excitement and wonder as we kissed in the ocean winds on the beaches of Oregon, hiked out to
the sequoias in California, scaled the enchanting coastal Redwoods with our eyes (I love his eyes; golden brown and Long-lashed, speaking volumes in their gaze),
walked down rows of vines in golden Napa Valley, and maneuvered traffic in
L.A. Even outstanding beauty is more beautiful when I breathe it in next
to him. When I feel his hand on the small of my back, guiding me over
the rough patch of the trail, or when he insists on escorting me out to the motel office to keep me safe. This love he shows me... it is Jesus'
touch. I recognize the divine in it, and I cannot bow low enough in
gratitude and amazement. So the times when it's not easy, and little
annoyances and hurts between us-- marks of living in a broken world-- rear their ugly heads, I remind myself of that hand on the small
of my back, keeping me safe, looking out for my best. Because I know in good faith that that's my
husband's heart... And my choice to show him love and grace and faith in his heart creates the same safe and strong place for him as he makes for me.<br />
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And I know that this masterpiece of a man whom God's given me to live
life with is a gift to me from a loving God. And THAT is my Jesus' heart.
So I cannot let this shattering of the sacred bring me to forget the heart of what God is up to in this world, His heavenly, healing love shed abroad to anyone who will accept it. I must hold on to all the ways He places his hand on the small
of my back, guiding me over the rough patches of trail...<br />
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<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-84956114893724863842014-09-30T21:58:00.001+01:002014-09-30T22:43:57.802+01:00The Face of JoyShe had lived through the Holocaust.<br />
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Anita Dittman came to speak at my church the other night. She had survived one of the darkest experiences in human history. She had had her family stripped from her when she was still only a girl, really, living for months on her own, praying that her mother would survive the concentration camp. Then forced to work digging trenches for the Nazis while starving, dying from an infection that she had to hide lest she be shot on the spot. When she was finally "safe" in a hospital, the Nazi nurse tried to kill her. She was spared brutal rape by the incoming Russian soldiers only because of the wounds they saw when they stripped her naked. She had seen more indescribable evil and horror than most of us will ever even come close to...<br />
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And yet, the joy in her face shone brighter than all the pain.<br />
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And I left church Sunday night mesmerized. By her story, yes; by the incredible opportunity I'd just had to meet an 87 year old Jewish survivor of the Holocaust; but mostly by the joy in her face.<br />
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I came home, sat down on my side of the bed-- my heart communicating with God even while my mind raced-- and concluded: I want to be that faithful.<br />
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I want to stand in the face of this personal darkness and respond with faith. I want to pray and know that He hears and I can trust Him no matter the outcome. I want to face my personal Nazis and watch as God uses them to help me escape (she literally was given a train ride to freedom by some German soldiers after she escaped with 4 other girls from their work camp as the Russians closed in...) to freedom. I want to someday stand before a cloud of witnesses and shine joy from my face because of the grace of my God. I want to stand that firm in the love of Christ, that the deepest darkness can't muffle my praises because I KNOW that this tiny blip of time on earth where satan has reign for a time is just that-- the blink of an eye. And my King is bigger. Bigger than all this pain. Bigger than all this evil. Bigger than all this sin. Bigger than all this betrayal. Bigger than all this heartache...<br />
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I just forget so easily how little light it takes to dispel the darkness. The most miniscule flicker breaks the heaviest dark. How can I forget?<br />
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<i>Lord, please, in the midst of it all, rise up in me faith like I have never known, and joy that shines out of my eyes midst the tears of gratitude that You see me, You love me, You never leave me-- not even for a moment-- in this inhospitable world. May I not only see your hand in this, but may I grab hold of it so firmly that my faith only increases in the face of evil. And one day, may I give Joy a face for another... </i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."<br />-- Psalm 31:24</span></div>
Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-71610016211713891842014-09-18T23:51:00.000+01:002014-09-18T23:52:06.362+01:00Though the Mountains be Shaken...<div style="text-align: center;">
We drove out to the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota last week. Through the Badlands, into Custer State Park and up the awe-inspiring Needles Highway at sunset (after an appropriate meal of buffalo stew), soaking up the ethereal beauty, the majesty and might of those otherworldly, glorious spires poking up into the heavens. Mountains which have stood the test of time...<br />
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And gazing at this beauty, such a calling card of God's, Isaiah 54:10 kept echoing against the walls of my mind, <i>"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my
unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be
removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you.<span class="p">"</span></i><br />
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<span class="p">Have you ever wondered where in the heck your peace has gone? Have your mountains all been shaken to their core, and the hills which used to be a constant on your horizon slipped away who knows where? When everything you thought was sacred, suddenly... wasn't?</span><br />
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<span class="p">The world becomes a very unkind place, very very quickly. I am well-acquainted with this feeling. Such desperate disillusionment. Crying out silently to God with the last bit of energy you have after just surviving another day, <i>Lord, I know you're here, but I can't see you in this! </i>You want to pull up close to Him, but the old familiar paths seem closed to you now, grown over with brambles of hurt and confusion. You want to sing His praises, but it hurts too much to even breathe, how are you supposed to sing? You're just holding on with whitened fingernails...</span><br />
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<span class="p">But as we drove that narrow, curvy road through the magnificent needle formations at the pinnacle of that mountain range in the Black Hills, He whispered this scripture through the near-numbness. <b><i>Even if these mighty mountain formations all around you were to shake and crumble into dust, my love would hold you. My love is holding you. It is all around. Trust me, little one...</i></b></span><br />
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<span class="p">And I came down from the mountain knowing afresh that He is with me. </span><br />
<i>"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea..." -- Psalm 46:2</i><span class="p"></span><br />
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<span class="p">And I just thought maybe you too might need to be reminded of this love that will never be shaken if you trust the Son...</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"When hope is lost, I'll call you Saviour;</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">When pain surrounds, I'll call you Healer...</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Through the darkest night of my soul</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">You surround me and sustain me."</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">-- Tim Hughes, "When the Tears Fall"</span><span class="p"></span> </blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"When your doubts have got you thinking...<br />That nothing's ever really sacred...<br />And you're afraid you might believe it<br />Believe in Me, and I'll make a light to guide you back home...<br />Because after all the sky has fallen down<br />And after all the water's washed away<br />My love's the only promise that remains<br />My love's the only promise that remains..."</i><br />-- J. Timberlake, "The Only Promise that Remains"</span></div>
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-32494618977705214622013-12-31T18:19:00.001+00:002014-01-01T19:35:50.753+00:00Kelton Christmas Letter - 2013 (Our Extraordinary Year in Review)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XI4C8kUxV4-bsX3dylN-nXdxNGDn9QHWdKssII1BGfiT9dmpZk34VIVlIQ804j-qjfpmKsylSRrP0BOvwGoHoNNFDcoJ_lvYWvia9w-24LKRhSZbKZ_HxOLgxkQeuv7kVEjJ1E-CKmA/s1600/IMG_1151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XI4C8kUxV4-bsX3dylN-nXdxNGDn9QHWdKssII1BGfiT9dmpZk34VIVlIQ804j-qjfpmKsylSRrP0BOvwGoHoNNFDcoJ_lvYWvia9w-24LKRhSZbKZ_HxOLgxkQeuv7kVEjJ1E-CKmA/s320/IMG_1151.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 months married!</td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy New Year from the newly established Keltons! </span></h2>
It was just our first Christmas season as man and wife and we can hardly believe we've been married for over 6 months already. God's grace has held us so tightly on what's already been an adventure, and we thought we might catch you up a dash through sharing a little online year-in-review Christmas letter.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>January</b></u></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1C59tknBViQ/Uqo2wT0ZFYI/AAAAAAAANJA/yEeq9EGHnXM/s1600/DSCN4497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1C59tknBViQ/Uqo2wT0ZFYI/AAAAAAAANJA/yEeq9EGHnXM/s200/DSCN4497.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sweet baby niece Terra :)</td></tr>
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Leah was in the USA, babysitting for my darling new little baby niece Terra, starting my small photography business <a href="http://www.whispersoflightphotography.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Whispers of Light Photography</a>, and planning our June 1st wedding! <br />
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Charles was in the UK and after having been laid-off from his great job web-developing for The Money Advice Service, he looked for temporary work before he planned to come to the states and ended up working long, long hours at a London McDonalds :( So proud of my humble, handsome man for being willing to do whatever it took!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: small;">February</span></u></b><br />
More wedding planning and more long-distance relationship-ing-- rounded off by my getting to attend the birth of my littlest niece Gracelyn Mae as the birth photographer! What an incredible experience to witness such a miracle!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint5cws5CH4po3uyw85TOCofn4Fzle08ed2d3ohvN06jHIU3F10HsRHu3bI8LA_rxAMVXEQ8vAAQXXbMggUXyH5juyefwsB0Zj0fWczYZUOKY8QDWurXyLhr8oI4Ayakn7ohZwSfTR8mM/s1600/IMG_6451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint5cws5CH4po3uyw85TOCofn4Fzle08ed2d3ohvN06jHIU3F10HsRHu3bI8LA_rxAMVXEQ8vAAQXXbMggUXyH5juyefwsB0Zj0fWczYZUOKY8QDWurXyLhr8oI4Ayakn7ohZwSfTR8mM/s320/IMG_6451.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Gracelyn's first day outside the womb! She was born Feb 24th, 2013.</td></tr>
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<b><u>March</u></b><br />
In March, Charles' closest friends threw him a "Stag Do"-- a British tradition to celebrate the groom before his wedding! They went clay pigeon shooting and out for a nice meal, just the guys :) I got to spend Easter with my family, which has been a novelty these last 8 years studying & working in ministry!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfWGEw1tfFc/Uqnrk2IJs7I/AAAAAAAANGI/VKr8t2HPsps/s1600/312713_10151362101763481_68242534_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfWGEw1tfFc/Uqnrk2IJs7I/AAAAAAAANGI/VKr8t2HPsps/s320/312713_10151362101763481_68242534_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of Charles' besties on his Stag-do</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglq6No0jYHm-T8VOYbSDHm8RrxRNRPAxWqVJSzn0hSF202vlo_nXWJD103HSgvTd51PVXg9dSYbG6VsRD1STmIyoGtzkUFCk8jT6zFMh3ZBk3BFtrlzzg1Jveb5Y0CUxqm86WWgHWrA5Q/s1600/DSCN4651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglq6No0jYHm-T8VOYbSDHm8RrxRNRPAxWqVJSzn0hSF202vlo_nXWJD103HSgvTd51PVXg9dSYbG6VsRD1STmIyoGtzkUFCk8jT6zFMh3ZBk3BFtrlzzg1Jveb5Y0CUxqm86WWgHWrA5Q/s320/DSCN4651.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter 2013</td></tr>
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<u><b>April:</b></u><br />
Then finally, April arrived and on the first weekend I hopped on an overnight bus to Chicago to meet my handsome fiance off an airplane with a kiss for the first time in half a year! We spent a wonderful few days with my darling Breyette aunt and uncle and cousins there, and then back up to PR where my Dad promptly gave Charles a cold (it was still blizzard-ing in April this year!) and dirty job feeding calves. Straight from the streets of London to the sheds of the ranch :) At the end of April, my American bridesmaids and personal attendants threw me such a touching bridal shower at my cousin Jackee's beautiful lakeside home and so many of my aunties and cousins made it. I was so blessed to feel everyone was celebrating along with me. I lovedlovedloved being the bride!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC63rVAxGGCtt5GRQgz5H8dxssARZ5HiB5UUPug10Y1MlWn8iB4jEFXBHbhI7EpZ7KQWtWvufDeHPfAg87IbcPX87G-4ecpzZM1BRkFV_SrhFtdceXI-F4jqNGhWFACjZnWipIivUWSE4/s1600/DSCN4668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC63rVAxGGCtt5GRQgz5H8dxssARZ5HiB5UUPug10Y1MlWn8iB4jEFXBHbhI7EpZ7KQWtWvufDeHPfAg87IbcPX87G-4ecpzZM1BRkFV_SrhFtdceXI-F4jqNGhWFACjZnWipIivUWSE4/s320/DSCN4668.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reunited in Chicago after half a year apart!<u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPbeMgNpTMKUsjhWKbPyfXwYFwpsd1cltLDGCBIPn14CJrHFbNKKzT4X0PF0ZlHXYdHVAujYmm4ZyVUOUsizI8-cVQ9VOUTogpwXTWhEszNXrqOgbNCqoQ6p8nhkUYEUzCTMSMuoOj4c/s1600/DSCN4702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPbeMgNpTMKUsjhWKbPyfXwYFwpsd1cltLDGCBIPn14CJrHFbNKKzT4X0PF0ZlHXYdHVAujYmm4ZyVUOUsizI8-cVQ9VOUTogpwXTWhEszNXrqOgbNCqoQ6p8nhkUYEUzCTMSMuoOj4c/s320/DSCN4702.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working for the future father-in-law on the ranch feeding these constantly hungry little guys-- up to 30 at a time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jb3u26NVx10/Uqn5Z3mAGwI/AAAAAAAANHI/3C9cO3o3ZL8/s1600/IMG_8463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jb3u26NVx10/Uqn5Z3mAGwI/AAAAAAAANHI/3C9cO3o3ZL8/s320/IMG_8463.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost all of my aunties made it to my bridal shower :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwPcszip-kt_Fqe_Ej-rOlFAl4YXUPt18S92pzjkRp-l3DyRi2RG6ya6RKLzbtPg9HZTPN4iBWApUvgkK6ZeS6BBBtGpiGudzezi6FYnk7a58f9pNduvZUtNybsK6sd1ZeM84zuhLaW8/s1600/IMG_8484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwPcszip-kt_Fqe_Ej-rOlFAl4YXUPt18S92pzjkRp-l3DyRi2RG6ya6RKLzbtPg9HZTPN4iBWApUvgkK6ZeS6BBBtGpiGudzezi6FYnk7a58f9pNduvZUtNybsK6sd1ZeM84zuhLaW8/s320/IMG_8484.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My matron-of-honour (my big sis!) and I at my bridal shower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwWcjDuVXx_rE30dLJNNrfUE3I5N2bHP3UvOvAlZu2326zssVfSmFGpFVFjX89VRMde3w-DYEhCdPDAa1fol9iloh2l6lvZRvuDTbURpzEWTUABWxL7ltD_q6QU8qEFuZSUHxbJ2bA_s/s1600/IMG_8466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwWcjDuVXx_rE30dLJNNrfUE3I5N2bHP3UvOvAlZu2326zssVfSmFGpFVFjX89VRMde3w-DYEhCdPDAa1fol9iloh2l6lvZRvuDTbURpzEWTUABWxL7ltD_q6QU8qEFuZSUHxbJ2bA_s/s320/IMG_8466.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 3 sweet little nieces who came along to my bridal shower :)</td></tr>
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<u><b>May</b></u><br />
Two of our best friends, Amanda and Jon, and Charles' Mum arrived from England in mid-May! It was surreal to have our best friends over in Minnesota!! They dug right in and helped us tirelessly in the final weeks of preparation for our homespun wedding (like making 300 mini-cheesecakes and 150 party favours), but we also got to have a little fun showing them around my hometown (The Good Life Cafe was very popular, as was Minnesoda Fountain, Dean Park at sunset and Heartland Park at night, Itasca State Park to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi, and Dorset). The last week of May, 2 more of my darling friends from college, Abbie & Paul, arrived! And almost the whole of the rest of Jon's family, The Cannons, arrived-- Charles grew up from the age of 2 as if he were the Cannon's 6th child, so having them with us on our wedding day was absolutely precious. My family quickly took to every one of our English visitors-- Kenan even developed a little crush on "Big Abbie" (which he called her since his sister is also named Abby), until he met someone a little closer to his own age in the Cannon family, 2 year old Chloe, whom he now calls his girlfriend :) As a whole family, we enjoyed playing games with our guests, having a huge bonfire to make room for wedding parking, and sharing a house amongst all 12 of us-- many of us sleeping on the floor! Our whole wedding experience was such a blessing which we are so grateful for, but especially heart-warming was having all of these English guests come all that way to be with us. We cherished every moment of our time with them. Charles and I even had 4 of our dearest friends share a hotel room with us on one night of our honeymoon when we were bringing them down to the airport-- hahahaha!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6wy5nPNlp3mqE4VTM_yyQiBo2IvFu9Pj-WB1YXa6woMmaUOBcpM8_MwTiid1ySJeK86GzA1aCX0OKwfpr0T-PHv_msFDQ4zHi8UdeMzXd93sAs8w22iL1VNnbP8yyTMwoQPad7Y_diw/s1600/DSCN4765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6wy5nPNlp3mqE4VTM_yyQiBo2IvFu9Pj-WB1YXa6woMmaUOBcpM8_MwTiid1ySJeK86GzA1aCX0OKwfpr0T-PHv_msFDQ4zHi8UdeMzXd93sAs8w22iL1VNnbP8yyTMwoQPad7Y_diw/s320/DSCN4765.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We bought a car! We call her Doris the Taurus :) She's well-used, but we're grateful!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ge-qwfAEUaQ/UqoKVXnNFoI/AAAAAAAANH4/QoGUW8qtqkU/s1600/DSCN4817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ge-qwfAEUaQ/UqoKVXnNFoI/AAAAAAAANH4/QoGUW8qtqkU/s320/DSCN4817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a bonfire with my family and our English friends!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl06Dbf6QvGyGb-XRBNSj6jL7qKXW2OLgraLHshHQF7SmeJ9ibTAzfSpp7Nu1jdhW-AyzZOTIyCMyoXSDoNIBywM4QiqyySCDGDzkV_ZB5NYGZB8Ndf-IAXfwF2_XN5DtZ5UGxVSftL4/s1600/DSCN4833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl06Dbf6QvGyGb-XRBNSj6jL7qKXW2OLgraLHshHQF7SmeJ9ibTAzfSpp7Nu1jdhW-AyzZOTIyCMyoXSDoNIBywM4QiqyySCDGDzkV_ZB5NYGZB8Ndf-IAXfwF2_XN5DtZ5UGxVSftL4/s320/DSCN4833.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My darling besties from college who came all the way from England to be with me at my wedding!<br />
I love you so much, Miss Manda and Abbie...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ise_AYzb25k/UqoLZ8FgRMI/AAAAAAAANIM/l-lOqIYKQEg/s1600/DSCN4870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ise_AYzb25k/UqoLZ8FgRMI/AAAAAAAANIM/l-lOqIYKQEg/s320/DSCN4870.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our English/American group at the Headwaters in the week before the wedding!</td></tr>
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<u><b>June</b></u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rYUVZRQDf8vrRGb7PCLGWsL7785jI-2GMO4YFguptyr_g4Jb-l7j4riR9BdMu6Z9xXLw-47aDQfwptPCyUT0prpulXp87-Q4D8xm7XdH6IGJA5DULlzaWXjJZXKsEQXySWGSflxSYcg/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rYUVZRQDf8vrRGb7PCLGWsL7785jI-2GMO4YFguptyr_g4Jb-l7j4riR9BdMu6Z9xXLw-47aDQfwptPCyUT0prpulXp87-Q4D8xm7XdH6IGJA5DULlzaWXjJZXKsEQXySWGSflxSYcg/s320/10.jpg" width="213" /></a>We started out the month of June 2013 by GETTING MARRIED! We are just so incredibly grateful for the beautiful, meaningful wedding day my parents' gave us. We were surrounded by 110 of our family and dearest friends in my parents' enchanting back garden when we said our vows to one another, feasted, toasted, and danced the night away! Visit my blog post about it here: <a href="http://www.hispoetry.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-long-awaited-post-our-wedding.html" target="_blank">Our Wedding</a>. They say a picture speaks a thousands words, so feel free to peruse our wedding photo albums and read the story of our day in the captions. My dear friend Jo came over from Sweden to be our photographer! <br />
Check them out--<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153447905395512.1073741840.693880511&type=1&l=6497d9d6cf" target="_blank">Part 1: The Dreamy Details</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153451943180512.1073741841.693880511&type=1&l=4f76b62f77" target="_blank">Part 2: Getting Ready to Walk Down the Aisle</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153460414125512.1073741844.693880511&type=1&l=4c8dc6d200" target="_blank">Part 3: Sacred Vows on Holy Ground</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153468861375512.1073741845.693880511&type=1&l=11ff5f93ce" target="_blank">Part 4: Wedding Party & Family Portraits</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153506239135512.1073741846.693880511&type=1&l=3f1c7fa12d" target="_blank">Part 5: The Reception & Ceilidh Dance</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153553968705512.1073741848.693880511&type=1&l=140e642f99" target="_blank">Part 6: The Bridal Session at Fish Hook River</a><br />
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We spent 2 nights at the beautiful Red Bridge Inn in Park Rapids (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this B&B!) before we headed down to Mpls to bring Charles' Mum and 4 of our English friends to the airport, and after a couple of days enjoying what Mpls had to offer for a honeymoon, we boarded a plane down south to the smothering heat of New Orleans for a week's stay in a timeshare of my grandmother's! What an awesome wedding gift :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIBu3ahZFFQ/Uqo1Hc-sTgI/AAAAAAAANIs/FzmdFrtdGv4/s1600/DSCN5079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIBu3ahZFFQ/Uqo1Hc-sTgI/AAAAAAAANIs/FzmdFrtdGv4/s320/DSCN5079.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the famous Cafe De Monde on our New Orleans honeymoon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRNtl4kbNs/Uqo1MZCrdxI/AAAAAAAANI0/qGCjGjMlN4w/s1600/DSCN5089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRNtl4kbNs/Uqo1MZCrdxI/AAAAAAAANI0/qGCjGjMlN4w/s320/DSCN5089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting an old mansion in the French Quarter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixubS8qtOEbpcINb2H2BmdnSFSp_E7YYogADFCA6NH3nSpppoMkQDeSyoV15ddSdzUdhu6znJdt0YGsum-TtW1fIfQluhcIRbOJKntnvTFZC3NTA7X-1oj4Cv3EK3kzeXkyINO9nqxJjk/s1600/DSCN4997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixubS8qtOEbpcINb2H2BmdnSFSp_E7YYogADFCA6NH3nSpppoMkQDeSyoV15ddSdzUdhu6znJdt0YGsum-TtW1fIfQluhcIRbOJKntnvTFZC3NTA7X-1oj4Cv3EK3kzeXkyINO9nqxJjk/s320/DSCN4997.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating an alligator po'boy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnQ9J2woY2qB-iTJwvPpQsAFL9rP5gWSfznKlfnclR_WUjN-yZjkPO4v6NtLp5aQjoBnh5g6Gq0oRcM8DiJidNC6LpRDslxinnbVQW7NgXpFXdA2laCk-9j6hhyphenhyphenvYrJ644ARuFGisWcc/s1600/DSCN5028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnQ9J2woY2qB-iTJwvPpQsAFL9rP5gWSfznKlfnclR_WUjN-yZjkPO4v6NtLp5aQjoBnh5g6Gq0oRcM8DiJidNC6LpRDslxinnbVQW7NgXpFXdA2laCk-9j6hhyphenhyphenvYrJ644ARuFGisWcc/s320/DSCN5028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Louis Cathedral at the heart of New Orleans</td></tr>
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Upon arriving back in MN, my amazing sister and brother-in-law had
prepared their camper for us to spend a few weeks in while looking for
work! This mean, we literally camped in Hannah and Joel's yard, and had 4
little darlings knocking on our camper door every morning, so excited
that all they had to do was go outside to get to Auntie and Uncle :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubicEm8CVdCkbCttDc5Oxz7i_cZ7lR6FpPDfY-nSgsV2lDrnbHf0hQKa3DjcXKuV41h7WvgHCoDwfXPQ7TUiek2edVIFOXajFxM-GnXqJCJEHJD-ttYhBAX5V7k8MbGg4YCTMmbA7O7Y/s1600/DSCN5178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubicEm8CVdCkbCttDc5Oxz7i_cZ7lR6FpPDfY-nSgsV2lDrnbHf0hQKa3DjcXKuV41h7WvgHCoDwfXPQ7TUiek2edVIFOXajFxM-GnXqJCJEHJD-ttYhBAX5V7k8MbGg4YCTMmbA7O7Y/s320/DSCN5178.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our nieces and nephews joined us in the camper for a sleep over one night!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9ur6fGC5sXNYW_VV4iKla_-eHJOSpzzC_Y_FmOZKJ992gQ5R1kG0sg8kSxc5MjhEk-JMP-Upq74GDWXKpZu3r6v2BpM1nezK9eXpk3b-q74du-vKJm-3sBYEwmYSKexFy-lkFUALues/s1600/DSCN5230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9ur6fGC5sXNYW_VV4iKla_-eHJOSpzzC_Y_FmOZKJ992gQ5R1kG0sg8kSxc5MjhEk-JMP-Upq74GDWXKpZu3r6v2BpM1nezK9eXpk3b-q74du-vKJm-3sBYEwmYSKexFy-lkFUALues/s320/DSCN5230.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went down to Nebraska at the end of the month for the Fox Family Reunion</td></tr>
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<u><b>July</b></u><br />
We had hoped that we might have found a job for Charles by July... but we ended up spending longer in the camper than we intended! We were so grateful to God for providing enough photography sessions for me to keep us going. And we also enjoyed a quick roadtrip down to Chicago with my Grandma Pearson where we camped out in my Aunt & Uncle's backyard for my twin cousins' graduation party :) We've been so excited to get to make so many fabulous memories with family this year back in the states!!<br />
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<b><u>August</u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6YM4PonV0uRHyInhOXuVhBpcSCgQktxdubAJc8obTauuO-ADMARCXGohRKLQTqs9So-uZCLBCsgysETTuKpzvwGVsvmqST4GLw_rbBkVlPNwNeHxbJXpQ3S8TKW4U1ooHdN4tG9gVEk/s1600/photo+1a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6YM4PonV0uRHyInhOXuVhBpcSCgQktxdubAJc8obTauuO-ADMARCXGohRKLQTqs9So-uZCLBCsgysETTuKpzvwGVsvmqST4GLw_rbBkVlPNwNeHxbJXpQ3S8TKW4U1ooHdN4tG9gVEk/s200/photo+1a.JPG" width="149" /></a>We were still on the job hunt for Charles and were actually in Fargo/Moorhead visiting my little brother Jonah when we got the call that my Dad had been in a terrible car accident and they didn't know if he'd survive... The next few weeks we spent most of our time in the ICU and helping to keep things running while he was laid up, as well as fielding all the questions and concern for him! He is STILL recovering-- on crutches still over 5 months later. But he's alive and well. Burning the candle at both ends, like usual, he fell asleep at the wheel and ran into the back of a semi-truck. The force of his crash actually broke the hitch at the FRONT of the trailer, believe it or not. It is truly a miracle that he is alive. We're anxious to see what God has in store for his life in future!<br />
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<u><b>September </b></u><br />
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We moved a few hours south to central MN in the last few days of August to move in with my Grandpa, closer to a nearby city with job opportunities. Grandpa lost my dearly-loved Grandma the summer before and was pretty excited at the idea of having us move in to his empty house for awhile since Charles wanted to stay and experience living in the states. <br />
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We took a quick trip down to Southern MN to visit my aunt and uncle at their cabin on the mighty Mississippi and had a picnic on their pontoon boat on a sandbar in the middle of the river at sunset :) <br />
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Charles had lots of interviews but it was Sept when he finally got offered a contract! The company wasn't even advertising a position-- he just sent them his CV because they were the kind of company he knew-- a small digital agency in downtown St. Cloud. They are experiencing rapid growth and needed an account manager to come on board, and there Charles was. So, they offered him a job in management! And after about 4 months job-hunting, he landed one by God's grace and provision, and we began to settle in to a new area.<br />
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With one week to go before the job started, we headed up north on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Canada so Charles could cross it off his North America bucket list :) We had a dreamy few days traveling up the North Shore of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Our most memorable part of the trip may be when we coaxed Doris the Taurus right up a mountain to watch the sunset over Lake Superior on the edge of a cliff, only to nearly run into a bear both on the way up the mountain and on the way back down! Our night in Duluth, MN was also just dreamy. So much beauty! <br />
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<b><u>October</u></b><br />
Our first month of settling in to some normalcy in our tiny new town-- the same town where I lived for the first 7 years of my life :) So strange to be back in MN so long! I found part-time work to supplement the quieting down photography, so Charles and I commuted the half hour together. Happy days settling into married life. So thankful to be in it together!<br />
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<u><b>November</b></u><br />
November brought with it Charles' first Thanksgiving!! And our first time celebrating this important American holiday as a married couple :) Due to work, we couldn't go up north to my family til the weekend, so we spent the actual Thanksgiving Day volunteering in the local nursing home to spend some time with the elderly who didn't have family to celebrate with, and then had a Thanksgiving meal with my lovely aunt & uncle and cousins in the area. Then over the weekend we went home to have our family Thanksgiving! So, score! Two Thanksgiving meals to kick off Charles' first time celebrating the holiday! haha :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpeUvekuzoQCepEaPVX9mCen8nuaQ_d8Fr9BSD17AqdWnsJsqc_GfLVxGM3zXgwqi6LyKt_XmbiNhoDEOsiODhCA5GjVLia-uwPPdifEliqvjrymCUAwnAgeANU0levoNuPO2GhS4To4/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpeUvekuzoQCepEaPVX9mCen8nuaQ_d8Fr9BSD17AqdWnsJsqc_GfLVxGM3zXgwqi6LyKt_XmbiNhoDEOsiODhCA5GjVLia-uwPPdifEliqvjrymCUAwnAgeANU0levoNuPO2GhS4To4/s200/IMG_4141.JPG" width="132" /></a><u><b>December</b></u><br />
Now, Minnesota is known for its snowy winters and below 0 temps. But, just Charles' luck, it was the coldest December on record here!! With weeks of temps in the -20's Fahrenheit (which means -30's Celsius!) Nonetheless, we have loved celebrating our first Christmas season together :) In lieu of having our own home with our own tree, we managed to help put up 3 different trees together this year, to help out various family members. And the nieces and nephews and I took Uncle Charles sledding as soon as we got back up north to my parents' backyard :) My big brother even let Charles have free reign with his prized snowmobile! Now, we need to organize an ice fishing trip, some snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing and his winter experience may be complete :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO4vkEQtuicR8o-YzDRpMZxaTak6Vo12HRdFdEPO3aUQItWnS6bKDdqTymzOdCnvQVE3dQEwh3DUsvo55aUVrcLJYjd1oLCjT4_mUz2BqBjw3nPfL44EdbXyQyBRhYXx6i72zS8wxZEc/s1600/DSCN5662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO4vkEQtuicR8o-YzDRpMZxaTak6Vo12HRdFdEPO3aUQItWnS6bKDdqTymzOdCnvQVE3dQEwh3DUsvo55aUVrcLJYjd1oLCjT4_mUz2BqBjw3nPfL44EdbXyQyBRhYXx6i72zS8wxZEc/s320/DSCN5662.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were married on this bridge in my parents' backyard 6 months prior to this!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
2013 was such a highly anticipated year for us, and a crazy one at that with all the changes and transitions it brought! It has been such a precious blessing to have so much time with my family, a great foundational time for they and Charles to get to know one another as we look toward a future farther away. The children are wild about their fun Uncle. Just the other day 14 month old Terra started calling him by name-- "Ga-ko" for Uncle :) He's trying to train her to call him "Uncle Cool"-- haha! We just spent the past weekend celebrating Christmas with first the extended Pearson family (which is HUGE, with Dad's 5 sisters and their families) and then the extended Seger family, and it is just so precious to get to share these people I love and whom I "come from" with this man I love. I'm so grateful. <br />
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We are still counting dear our ordinary moments together, as we spent so much time apart in our courtship! But we're also looking forward to planning some more extraordinary times, like trips about the US to visit various people and places in 2014, while also praying for wisdom for next steps. Please pray for my husband as he clarifies what career moves he wants to make, including going back to uni before we start our family! It is such a privilege to be given this gift of building a life together. Pray that we do it well, with wisdom, and with grace for one another, and plenty of overflowing love, so that our loving God may be glorified in The Keltons :) <br />
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We're so thankful for all of our friends. You have been such a support to us in this life-changing year of 2013, and we can't tell you enough how much you mean to us. Know that we are holding you up in prayer at the cusp of this new year! May it hold all that you hope for... <br />
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With so much love,<br />
The Keltons <3<br />
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<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-66699784716352168612013-11-06T16:54:00.001+00:002013-11-06T17:40:34.403+00:00On being Homeless (And on being Home)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It snowed again last night. Winter is wrapping its icy arms
around Minnesota and very soon will be squeezing tightly. </span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I dropped a few more wedding Thank-yous in the post today on my way to work and
right outside the post office stood a man bundled up against the cold, holding
a cardboard sign reading, “Homeless. Anything helps. God bless.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I couldn’t just do nothing. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last night Charles and I started watching a dated
documentary on street children in Bucharest, Romania. When I was 20 years old,
I spent a few months working with abandoned babies in that very city and had my
heart stolen away by their glinting brown eyes and bewitching smiles. Our
babies had been saved from the streets and the sewers. The children in the
documentary had fled to the streets and the sewers. These particular ones were
sleeping in a subway station with a little gang of other children who had, for
various reasons, ran away from their hopeless homes, chosen the streets rather
than remain under their tormented family roofs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The streets kept them hungry, constantly
tired, cold, and riddled with lice. Huffing paint kept them from noticing those
things too much. When they’d get any money, they’d spend it on paint rather
than food because when high, they’d forget they were hungry. One of the
children maneuvering his way through life on the streets was the same age as my
little niece Abby. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I struggled to fall asleep with images of their sunken
brown eyes in my head. What was heartbreakingly bittersweet was watching their
childish nature break through as they played together. Their lives were
desperate and their worlds were more adult than any 8 year old should ever have
to deal with, and yet, their eyes would light up as they’d strip off their
dirty clothes and play in a fountain with a dog, or walk through a buzzing
metro station singing to themselves and dancing…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When I worked in Romania in 2007, it was just after the post-communist
country had become part of the EU. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
rarely saw any street children. It was rumored that to clean up to become part of the EU, the corrupt gov’t had
rounded them up one night and taken them away to be killed and buried in a mass
grave, because one day they were there—an estimated 20,000 of them in Bucharest
alone— and the next day, gone… Their numbers were only slowly building back up
as destitute families in the country would send their children in to the city
to beg. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The documentary makes me want to hop on a plane and get back
there, even if it was over a decade old since its filming. But my life is very
different than it once was, being back in America and having a husband now. The
struggles in front of me are very different struggles. The heaviness is a very
different weight. And our good Father is reminding me to do whatever I can to
live it well, to live it for Him. Reminding me that wherever He has me, I am
called to be all there. Fully present. Listening for His voice, extending His
hands…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So when I saw the homeless man standing in the snow at the
stoplight by the post office this morning, I couldn’t drive by. And I was
strangely afraid to approach him. I am led far too easily by fear which cuts me
off from my faith… So I stopped at a grocery store and picked up a few things
to sustain him, and then pulled into a nearby parking lot, took a deep breath
and some of Jesus’ courage, and walked up to him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He had eyes as blue and clear as the Minnesota winter sky.
He was gentle and kind. I told him that this was a particularly cold state to
be homeless in. He agreed and said he tried each night at 6pm to get a bed at
the local salvation army, and that he was trying to get back down south. I
asked him about his life. He told me that his father was a pastor in Arkansas and
actually ran a homeless shelter! I asked him if he had any way to contact him.
His Minnesota-winter-blue eyes shifted and he changed the subject. I wish I
would have told him that I know what dad-issues look like. He told me he had
kids in Wisconsin, and a girlfriend in North Dakota in the hospital. I wondered
why with so many connections, he was homeless on this cold street. He gave me a
smile when he told me how much he appreciated the groceries. I gave him a smile
and a “bless you”, but didn’t tell him how much I appreciated the lessons
taught in his eyes. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maybe he was on drugs. Maybe he drinks away his money. There
are usually reasons for being on the streets. I would fix it all for him if I
could. But this morning all I saw was Jesus’ love for him. All I felt, once I
pushed past the fear, was God’s tender heart for him. And a longing for Him to
bring us all home…</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think we’re all a little bit homeless. I know I am. I
think we’re all a little bit desperate and somewhat choosing to live on the
streets and huff paint to ward off the hunger pains. Hunger for heaven, hunger
for the deepest connection with the designer of our hearts which it is so hard
to maintain this side of heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So hard
to hold on to how He loves us when everything around us is beating the tender
flesh of our hearts against the rocks. I’m realizing with sometimes
overpowering intensity that even the most decent of people are walking perilous
inches away from devastating evil, sometimes flirting with it, sometimes
jumping right in and dancing with it. Letting it break them, and those who love
them. Sin does this. Sin breaks our world down. Sin leaves us homeless, high on
drugs to numb the pain. Jesus said that our sin was unbelief in Him. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Lord God, I believe, but help my unbelief.”
</i>We are all sinners, we are all breaking one another down. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But, oh, how He invites us to be built up, and to build one
another up. To turn our faces from our unbelief and believe. And after realizing
the depth of His grace, to be set free from the system of breaking down
ourselves and those around us with our sin. It’s the most basic tenet of
Christianity, really. Belief which changes us. But things have been so very
hard. I’ve felt so very broken down. It becomes a new realization all over again. </span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Somehow, He’s constantly speaking to me most powerfully in
encounters with “the least of these”. And it gives me hope that even when I am
at my weakest and most broken and at my least, He can use me to pull someone
else’s eyes up to His face… </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">His grace, His love, His attention, His care is
just astounding. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
And I want you to see it, feel it, know it, perceive it for yourself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
I’m praying (albeit a weak whisper at this season in my life) for you reading this.
How I want you to find your Home in Him.…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Love,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Leah</span></span>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-29587449299720262082013-09-19T02:19:00.001+01:002013-09-19T02:19:16.053+01:00Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale by Ian Morgan Cron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Chasing Francis</b> by Ian Morgan Cron was, by far, the best read of my summer.<br />
<br />
With Cron's deliciously witty and profound style of writing, I felt I journeyed with our protagonist Chase, an all-American pastor facing a crisis of faith, on his spiritual pilgrimage. Much to my delight, Chase's journey wasn't just a figurative one, as Cron took him to Italy to visit his Franciscan monk uncle. It was there that he was introduced to St. Francis of Assissi, whom, across the generations which separated them, patiently led him deeper into the loving heart of God in the midst of this painful world. Chase became fascinated by this historical figure and his testimony of faith, and in studying him, tracing his movements across the Italian countryside, he was led to meet interesting modern-day figures living out their journeys of faith and doubt in myriad ways. He began to see the world with different eyes. And he would never be the same.<br />
<br />
I think Cron is a brilliant writer. Here he's written a novel, but also a biography, and even a deeply theological sermon all in one. His characters are believable and real, but they exist to teach. I felt I met with God in their stories on the page. And don't even get me started on his description of Italy!<br />
<br />
Watch out for this writer. I don't think he'll disappoint. But especially, watch out for this book. Let it open your eyes to the depth and beauty of this God, even in the heartache of life on earth. Somehow the pain makes the beauty even more sweet...<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<span lang="EN-US"> </span>*I
received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their
[...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a
positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am
disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16
CFR, Part 255</span><br />
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-75268208272703173112013-08-09T04:14:00.000+01:002013-08-09T04:14:08.514+01:00Catching up...Oh poor sweet blog-- always there, left in the shadows as I get on with living! I will try to catch you up a little as some people have been asking...<br />
<br />
It has been such a busy summer as Charles and I settle in to married life and continue to work out what that life will look like practically. Also, as I develop my photography business. I am too too excited to announce that I have booked my first wedding! Ideally, there would be many more on the books to come :) All in all, I am finding this art form-meets-job a delicious treat to my creative little soul, even if it means I must work my rear-end off for very little pay right now to build it up! Check out the new website at: <a href="http://www.whispersoflightphotography.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.whispersoflightphotography.wordpress.com</a>.<br />
<br />
My handsome hubby is still pounding the pavement for jobs in the web-developing world. The decision is that if there's not a phone call with a perfect job soon, we'll head down to Milaca to move in with my Grandpa, who is very much missing my Grandma, and look for any old thing to pay the bills while Charles starts work on his MA in Psychology. He gets all excited when he reads articles about Neuroscience, of all things...<br />
<br />
Daily, there will be a moment when I look up at him and the air is pretty much knocked right out of my lungs again as I am shocked once more to think that God gave him to me, me to him. <br />
<br />
We have just today vacated the camper where we have been spending our first few months together parked in my sister's backyard :) We believe in having stories to tell the grandkids someday after all...<br />
<br />
The writer in me has been lying a bit dormant these days. I think there is too much to say and I get overwhelmed. My means to say it all are so limited. So I try to listen more. Perhaps later it will be time to pen what I hear in the silent times now...<br />
<br />
But, because I cannot help it, I have started a little project with my darling friend Lizzie which keeps us connected across the miles and miles of Atlantic.<a href="http://www.1000blessings.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> www.1000blessings.wordpress.com</a> is an eclectic little list we've decided to start keeping listing any random thing we feel grateful for or about. God gives blessings so lavishly in the day-to-day. They pour out in such a torrent that if we're not careful to catch them, we'll miss them as they wash over us. So, Lizzie and I are trying to catch a few and hold them up to the light. To say thanks...<br />
<br />
He is ever good, ever kind.<br /><i>Listen, little heart of mine, and you'll hear Him breathing over it all...</i>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-54737833798631599942013-07-21T20:58:00.001+01:002013-08-12T16:52:33.028+01:00The Long-Awaited Post: OUR WEDDING!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have had a very hard time sitting down to write a post on our wedding day. Yes, life has been busy and crazy and unsettled, but also because it just seems such a gargantuan task, trying to put into words such an <i>experience</i>. So, I'm afraid I can't really try.</div>
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All I can say is, on the 1st of June 2013, I put on my mother's dress which I had altered to my taste, took the arms of my Grandpa and my Dad, and followed my 4 darling flowergirls, 2 adorable ring-bearers, 4 beautiful bridesmaids, and 4 handsome groomsmen down a baby's breath lined aisle in my parents' lush and green backyard. At the end of the aisle, in front of a hundred of our dearest friends and relatives shivering in the chilly, grey afternoon, stood the handsome man who won my heart. He extended his arm and I took it. </div>
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And it was the most precious, beautiful day to start our life together with. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXme4sAHVFbLYA37j1euHj4clNf6rrY-y-MAALoJszgKH56hQMfoxig9C7G-YozwSidcGgN2fKoERatQXSuNToti2O8Vam-MUWjgCS4S9TnRP29bnRs5FqoigUnn8oF2tMS0qkO8PvYPI/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXme4sAHVFbLYA37j1euHj4clNf6rrY-y-MAALoJszgKH56hQMfoxig9C7G-YozwSidcGgN2fKoERatQXSuNToti2O8Vam-MUWjgCS4S9TnRP29bnRs5FqoigUnn8oF2tMS0qkO8PvYPI/s640/10.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of the incredible Megan Robinson Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo2QAZgG4YVq4GdbVFCL13XnRHbYFJdEzcxO3M_q5Is2DYdkpv8uKYZ1AwduivNfTw0hPqb1hfBtevHUBEeIzjP9JcePRIF-GxCsHZM37brLND8URPzVFKhkGZbJN_qdi90Hrz-999v0/s1600/1069964_10152999057115507_1377661898_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo2QAZgG4YVq4GdbVFCL13XnRHbYFJdEzcxO3M_q5Is2DYdkpv8uKYZ1AwduivNfTw0hPqb1hfBtevHUBEeIzjP9JcePRIF-GxCsHZM37brLND8URPzVFKhkGZbJN_qdi90Hrz-999v0/s400/1069964_10152999057115507_1377661898_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were married in my parents' beautiful backyard, on Mom's little wooden bridge. It was STUNNING!<br />
Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSAMkJ3ai3AiPnc_eZSbrlyoPX7jWTb8AFvttqgF60WvUYg2WOwRRjQgAgZ03su2lOtgOS_fPcRgQnlsrcWmUqqjU4KWP_zZrDmiX13rhG4nTsAXhFHvFPdBBnl02Fe183SQWggD9jI4/s1600/970936_687838211428_269154693_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSAMkJ3ai3AiPnc_eZSbrlyoPX7jWTb8AFvttqgF60WvUYg2WOwRRjQgAgZ03su2lOtgOS_fPcRgQnlsrcWmUqqjU4KWP_zZrDmiX13rhG4nTsAXhFHvFPdBBnl02Fe183SQWggD9jI4/s400/970936_687838211428_269154693_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My darling Grandpa and my dad walked me down the aisle together :)<br />
(My cousin Veronica and her husband Daniel were snapping some great photos like this one!)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fqL5XKhliNpwZbF8mocmHSEHxryb4mT0KZvjxyZNDMMlyNzoQCpacmg3wu8FRJ_uEQ3_Jx5A5ol1WcQRpu3IQjgXk2Rv88TS7WcBQizBvqZu4d739ZWhi56sXY6vYbjPbm-WSdmB60A/s1600/969263_687838221408_2096328754_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fqL5XKhliNpwZbF8mocmHSEHxryb4mT0KZvjxyZNDMMlyNzoQCpacmg3wu8FRJ_uEQ3_Jx5A5ol1WcQRpu3IQjgXk2Rv88TS7WcBQizBvqZu4d739ZWhi56sXY6vYbjPbm-WSdmB60A/s400/969263_687838221408_2096328754_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seeing him standing there at the end of the aisle filled me with so much peace after such an emotional morning!<br />
(Photo taken by cousins Veronica & Daniel)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles and I had a time of communion in our ceremony just the two of us during a beautiful duet performed by my dear friends who came over from England. They sang "The Only Promise that Remains" by Reba McEntire (Hear the original version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKf-Vmba3zk). I love this photo. Charles was praying over us...<br />
Photo taken by Veronica & Daniel</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Communion table. The bible belonged to my great-grandfather Max Karo, the father of my dear Grandma who passed away last summer... She was so very missed at my wedding...<br /> Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first kiss as husband and wife!!!<br />
(Veronica, this is one of my favourite photos of the whole day :))</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We JUST said "I Do"! <br />
(Photo taken by my lovely Aunt Mary :))</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My gorgeous bouquet. Our amazing florist was a lovely lady named Kelly Sandquist of Kelly's Cottage Gardens<br />
Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqOf7ur1teiGnbuuB9mE9lM8XofIOPPU9s87n6l0n8SlrK-BPcaz66VRTNuEs-e5rggJLtxsLIre2wRC8ojFKOL8Ftr_ffuXg_M6uLyzjSa0XSUKLyXGVF0usNXmhskXgM3OSxKqqrWo/s1600/6_11_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqOf7ur1teiGnbuuB9mE9lM8XofIOPPU9s87n6l0n8SlrK-BPcaz66VRTNuEs-e5rggJLtxsLIre2wRC8ojFKOL8Ftr_ffuXg_M6uLyzjSa0XSUKLyXGVF0usNXmhskXgM3OSxKqqrWo/s400/6_11_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Details of our day. Photos courtesy of Megan Robinson Photography.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Megan Robinson Photography</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Details of our reception tables. Each table held a different framed quote from love letters Charles had written to me over the years! And vintage dessert plates.<br />
Photo taken by my Bridesmaid Emily</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At our wedding feast :)<br />
Photo taken by my bridesmaid Emily</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful bridesmaids: my cousins Emily and Jackee, my dear friend Amanda who came all the way over from England, and my favourite big sister Hannah :)<br />
Photo taken by my Aunt Mary</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8guUcxyfplfjE0JGdsYGXsDvk3TV5gsHbh0QxsoCnCMrBuUDVviLNTBi_PuVJj0KQWQZgJl2S4XyNK5IeGtoFQIGH1uB7yxAoj0NQZF-ANWKFoVudXhIXEbboIeLjDe5TK0A-j1Qpz5M/s1600/72614_10152999056935507_1648512561_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8guUcxyfplfjE0JGdsYGXsDvk3TV5gsHbh0QxsoCnCMrBuUDVviLNTBi_PuVJj0KQWQZgJl2S4XyNK5IeGtoFQIGH1uB7yxAoj0NQZF-ANWKFoVudXhIXEbboIeLjDe5TK0A-j1Qpz5M/s400/72614_10152999056935507_1648512561_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles and his groomsmen: my brother Jonah, his "brothers" from England Jon, Tim, and Paul<br />
Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hehe!<br />
Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-74vd8xnFfxA/UexAzVkpwoI/AAAAAAAANC8/dz7bJZGtyFc/s1600/967139_140120939511470_60973933_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-74vd8xnFfxA/UexAzVkpwoI/AAAAAAAANC8/dz7bJZGtyFc/s640/967139_140120939511470_60973933_o.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had our "first dances" on the patio before starting the traditional British Ceilidh dance on the lawn. Charles and I danced to "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce (hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO1rMeYnOmM), then he and his Mum danced, and my Dad and I danced, and then we had a celebratory dance with the nieces and nephews who gained a new uncle that day ("Move it, Move it" because, after its Madagascar fame, it's become a big favourite amongst these little ones :)) Tucker was too shy to join us for this dance :(</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready with my bridesmaids<br />
Photo taken by my bridesmaid Emily</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am IN LOVE with my dress-- my mother's wedding dress redone for me! So very perfect! I didn't want to take it off in the end :)<br />
Photo taken by my Aunt Mary</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lr-d_Evkgj1Y9CLqQYLOzO8eSAxrGk6pVX2tV1SNeTXu1ekSbXryYtB1KdcEeYFhW62jR-4hAcGWP7PGH_rRpcX0UNaYc6QyVmDdF_m6eierMKEpqUwlfkJJGGQRUrKhO4z3jzmr3Po/s1600/1069878_10152999056645507_1707154839_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lr-d_Evkgj1Y9CLqQYLOzO8eSAxrGk6pVX2tV1SNeTXu1ekSbXryYtB1KdcEeYFhW62jR-4hAcGWP7PGH_rRpcX0UNaYc6QyVmDdF_m6eierMKEpqUwlfkJJGGQRUrKhO4z3jzmr3Po/s400/1069878_10152999056645507_1707154839_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My handsome groom. Love him!<br />
Photo courtesy of Paul Cannon Photography</td></tr>
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It's a mix of available photos as we wait for our main pictures, but hopefully it gives you a little glimpse into our momentous day. Thankfully, so many friends took photos for us, and we were blessed with having a number of pro photogs there! I cannot wait to see them all and would love to share them with anyone who would like to see. I wish everyone could have been a part of this first day of the rest of our lives!<br />
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Many of my incredible friends back in the UK got together and prepared a very special video which was shown at our reception, to our surprise. I have the coolest friends ever :) Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dNPGGxHz9So</div>
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It was a perfectly beautiful beginning. It went far too quickly and I do wish we could go back and do it again now so I could savor each and every moment all over again. </div>
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There are not enough words to describe the monumental feeling of pledging my life in faithful love to this man, my husband. All I can say is... thank You, Jesus. For him, and for what You have planned for us.</div>
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...I loved our wedding celebration :) </div>
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-57491412020752342542013-05-03T20:36:00.002+01:002013-05-03T20:39:33.897+01:00"Draw the Circle" by Mark BattersonOnce again, it's been an age since I've updated.<br />
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I begin to see a pattern uncovered-- I write more when God is flowing out revelations upon my head. I can't help but share!<br />
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Perhaps it's the crush of the wedding planning and the childcare and the photography courses and sessions and the fact that there are never quite enough hours in the day, but lately I haven't felt a lot of active growth in myself and my walk with Him. Even though Charles and I are doing hours of couples' devotionals and Christian pre-marital counseling reading and teachings, and praying together. It doesn't replace spending time with Him, basking in His presence, making little discoveries about Him and about who I am in Him just on my own... And little by little, He faithfully and lovingly breaks through... I'm so thankful that He forever pursues me.<br />
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Last night I couldn't sleep. Because I tend to be a pretty good sleeper across all time zones, this always makes me wonder if God is trying to get my attention and it's only in the quiet of the middle of the night that life is silent enough for my forever untrained ears to hear...<br />
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He drew me to pick back up the book I've been reading to review for Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze. "Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge" by Mark Batterson has been speaking to my soul from the first page. Through 40 days of stories of experiences of and answers to prayer, both personally and corporately, I am both convicted and inspired. I ALWAYS know my prayer life is not what it could be. I am not one of the sainted ones who spend 23 of their 24 hours a day on their knees in intercession. I pray often throughout the day, but that sacred, focused time, where all other distractions are pushed away and it becomes ONLY you and Him, and you lay yourself open to hear His voice... those times are far more rare. And as I read this book I find myself longing for more of them, like a feeling of homesickness...<br />
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Reading this book has the potential to change my life, and yours. All I can think about now is how BIG He is and how huge is our mission and how purposeful our lives are meant to be and how intimately close He is if we reach out to Him! And how desperately I want more and more of Him. As much of His Spirit as He will infuse into my little life... <br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." -- Romans 12:12</span></span></h5>
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-26778323647874882452013-03-07T07:24:00.001+00:002013-03-07T07:24:24.581+00:00Pondersome Bride-to-be...It's 12:54am and I can't sleep for thinking.<br />
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I'll give you one guess what I'm thinking about...<br />
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Did you guess?<br />
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This guy pretty much dominates my thoughts at any given time. Tonight, I'm thinking about becoming Mrs. Kelton, the hugeness of placing my hand in his and knowing it is FOREVER. I feel like I have always kinda been on the other side of a pane of glass watching other people fall in love and get married. I've thought a great deal about it, and developed my own ideas of commitment and what it looks like and what it entails. But now I stand before it-- 87 days off-- and the magnitude of it brings me to my knees. This is huge. What we are about to do is huge. What hundreds of people do every day in getting married is huge. And I so want God to prepare my heart. I so want to be the best possible thing for this handsome man in my life. As ready as I can be... </div>
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Planning the wedding has been fun... and stressful... and lonely sometimes as he's so far away. Often, I just wish we were married already. The tiny little details seem so petty in the grand scheme of things. I mean, do I really care what kind of china people eat off of on the 1st of June when I am stepping up to make a most solemn vow to do what is really quite impossible-- faithfully love this other fallible human. We say that word so nonchalantly, but truly loving is active and alive. I'm promising to ALWAYS treat him with and feel toward him love with patience, with kindness, without envy, without boasting, never dishonouring him or seeking my own good instead of his own, not getting easily angered, not keeping a record of ways he wrongs me, not delighting in evil, always delighting in his good, always protecting him and this sacred space between us, always choosing to trust him, always persevering with him, always hoping with him... </div>
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I am a romantic to a fault, I'll admit. But even as I envision in my head that moment-- me in my Mom's dress remade for me, clutching my fragrant bouquet of peonies, him in his grey tux with tails, springtime trees blooming, the pastor holding the bible out before him, our family and friends from far and wide gazing at us as we stand side by side in my parents' beautiful backyard... Even as I envision that moment of saying, "I do," to the man I adore with all my heart, I know I can't really love him that well. I KNOW there will be hiccups. Because I know the extent of my selfishness. I know how unlike Christ I am. I know how desperately I am in need of grace every day...</div>
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But I also know I can make that pledge, and Charles can too, because Christ in us loves through us. Perfectly. His patience never wears out. His hope is endless. And when the moments come where the ideal of marriage truly feels impossible, He is where I can turn-- where we both can turn-- so that we can turn back to one another with that same old adoration in our eyes... </div>
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That doesn't make this vow any less huge or the thought of making it any less daunting. But I am so excited to step into the impossibility of marriage and find Christ waiting to show us how to walk in His footsteps within it. Isn't this what we're here on earth for? To learn to walk in trust of Him. Marriage is the next adventure He has for me to learn that in... </div>
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And I am wide-eyed in wonder at Him. <br />And at the fact that it's my turn! I'm on the other side of that windowpane and I'm not even sure how or when that happened :) </div>
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So, the countdown continues. </div>
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p.s. Completely off topic-- this song is very pretty :)</div>
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-33520211802404279752013-03-03T03:26:00.002+00:002013-03-03T03:26:49.148+00:00Brand New NieceMy long-awaited baby niece was born last Sunday, and I was given the honour of doing her birth photography. I cannot tell you what a thrill it was to see her enter the world, and to capture it all as the birth progressed-- the tension, the pain, the tenderness, the love...<br />
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If you'd like to check out a few photos of Gracelyn Mae's birth, as well as some of the details, they're up here: <a href="http://whispersoflightphotography.blogspot.com/2013/03/documentary-style-birth-photography-in.html">http://whispersoflightphotography.blogspot.com/2013/03/documentary-style-birth-photography-in.html</a><br />
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She was a whopper at 10lbs, 1oz and a head circumference of 14 3/4. And she is beautiful, and sweet, and snuggly, and adorable, and her big sisters and big brother adore her, and I can't quite get enough of her :)<br />
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I am the most blessed Auntie in the world with my 4 little nieces and 2 little nephews!<br />
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-65351899066360585842013-02-07T01:52:00.002+00:002013-02-07T01:58:34.439+00:00"Miraculous: A Fascinating History of Signs, Wonders, and Miracles" by Kevin Belmonte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.lanciaesmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Cover-of-Miraculous-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.lanciaesmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Cover-of-Miraculous-copy.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
I've been so encouraged reading Kevin Belmonte's "Miraculous" and hearing the testimony's of journeys walked with God before mine... but I was nearly tempted to put this book aside without finishing it.<br />
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I am so thankful I stuck with it to the end!!<br />
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When I first started reading it, though impressed by Kevin Belmonte's eloquent way with words and choice of quotations by well-known theologians and commentators, I must admit, I was bored. And disappointed. I thought I was about to read a book documenting miraculous events that might encourage me and move me to wonder. Instead (and perhaps this says more about me than it does the book!), the first few chapters were reiterating stories I already well knew. They are wonderful bible stories of God's faithfulness and propensity to use ordinary people to accomplish magnificent tasks in His name. But they were stories I was very familiar with, and just not what I was expecting... So I nearly wrote my first review of a book I didn't read cover to cover (don't worry, I would have admitted that in the review!)<br />
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But then the chapters changed to stories of para-biblical historical figures-- people and stories I wasn't so well acquainted with, or had never before been introduced to. And their stories stirred up my soul to wonder, to awe, to conviction, to longing, to joy. Documenting the miraculous testimonies of such intriguing figures as St. Augustine, Perpetua, Julian of Norwich, D.L. Moody, G.K. Chesterton, William Wilberforce, Corrie Ten Boom, and some I had never before heard of but am so thankful that I have now, like Clyde Kilby (whose childlike wonder in the halls of academia challenge me to find more wonder and beauty and joy in each moment I have wherever I am!), Holly Ordway, and a doctor emboldened by Jesus whose tale touched Cecil B. Demille so much that he wrote about it in his autobiography. <br />
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Cecil B Demille was a movie director back in Hollywood's golden age. Though remembered most for his <i>The Ten Commandments</i>, he directed an earlier film called <i>King of Kings</i> which was powerfully used to touch people the world over. In Demille's autobiography he writes of a Polish pastor he called Wallner who was so moved after seeing the film <i>King of Kings</i> that he decided to become a pastor and serve that King all the rest of his days. This pastor related a story to Demille of a doctor in his congregation who was a Messianic Jew-- a Jewish man who recognized Christ as his Saviour. When Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia, this doctor was sent to a concentration camp, and gained the special attention of the gestapo because of the way he encouraged the other prisoners. <br />
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"Suffering and torture were brutally inflicted on this steadfast believer. He was repeatedly struck with an iron rod until one of his arms had to be amputated. Still, he refused to be silent about his faith. Ultimately, as Demille's autobiography reveals, 'one Gestapo officer beat the doctor's heard against a stone wall until blood was streaming down his face.' The officer then brandished a mirror before the doctor's face. 'Look at yourself now,' he said with incredible cruelty. 'Now you look like your Jewish Christ.'</blockquote>
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Lifting the one hand he had left, the doctor said, 'Lord [Jesus], never in my life have I received such honor-- to resemble You.' Those proved to be his last words."</blockquote>
Belmonte continues to tell the story Demille wrote in his autobiography. The Gestapo officer was so pierced by those words, by the witness of the doctor, that he was wracked with guilt at having killed him, and he sought out the doctor's pastor-- Wallner-- and was led to faith in Christ. Pastor Wallner told him, "Perhaps God let you kill that good man to bring you to the foot of the Cross, where you can help others." When the Gestapo officer went back to the concentration camp, it was to work as an insider with Wallner and the Czech Underground to free many Jews.<br />
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As Cecil B. Demille reports it, Wallner told him that if it had not been for him seeing that film which God used to draw him to Himself as a young man, he never would have become a pastor, and "Three hundred and fifty Jewish children would have died in the ditches."<br />
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Oh.my.goodness.<br />
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These are the stories that I RELISH hearing! That give me gooseflesh upon reading and renew the faith in my heart and being part of something so much bigger than you or I simply in belonging to Jesus!<br />
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And it's these sorts of stories that Belmonte so expertly relays to us in his book <i>Miraculous: A Fascinating History of Signs, Wonders, and Miracles</i>. Go out and find yourself a copy! Or come over and borrow mine :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<span lang="EN-US"> </span>*I
received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their
[...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a
positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am
disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16
CFR, Part 255</span>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-24250337888914071502013-01-26T00:58:00.001+00:002013-01-26T00:58:21.863+00:00No More Goodbyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's no secret, I'm missing my man. It's been 3 months and 8 days since we kissed goodbye this last time. This marks the longest time we've ever gone without seeing one another...<br />
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I was recalling to mind the other day another time we said goodbye for a long period. Charles and I were "seeing one another" and getting to know one another for 14 months before we decided to officially become a couple, knowing that when we did it was like making a little promise to someday make a bigger promise. And a little over a month after making that first little promise to one another on a cold Swedish ferry ride on the north sea, he was helping me with my bags at Victoria station, and I was boarding a train out to the airport to follow God into one of the greatest adventures of my lifetime-- a few months serving Him in the great unknown (to me) of Africa.<br />
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I remember I had found a big lollipop with the words "I love you" written on in icing and, knowing my man's playful spirit, had bought it to give him in that moment, even though when I bought it in Sweden I hadn't actually yet told him those 3 magic words. He'd asked me early on how soon I felt it was appropriate to say it, and I'd told him that I didn't use those words flippantly, because to me they hold a vow in their uttering. To me, love is not just an emotion, but an action, and if I wasn't sure I could live love to him, I wouldn't speak it to him. But that New Year's Eve, when I was visiting him in London-- in his bedroom before we headed to a party at a friend of his-- with butterflies in my stomach, I looked him in the eye and told him with conviction, "I think I love you, Charles." He replied quickly, as if it had been pent up within him just waiting to be let out for ages, "I know I love you."<br />
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And 4 days later, a kind gatekeeper at the train station let him cross the ticket gates with me, even though he hadn't a ticket, because he saw we were saying an emotional goodbye. Bless that man! And I reached into my bag and produced my giant "I love you" lollipop to leave with him, in hopes of lightening the heaviness of the goodbye. And I leaned down from the train to kiss him one last time, and then held the gaze of his full brown eyes through the train window until we could no longer see one another...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiC7im-rDEs/UQMo2XoLoGI/AAAAAAAAMDI/tdgd3e157Us/s1600/Engagement+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiC7im-rDEs/UQMo2XoLoGI/AAAAAAAAMDI/tdgd3e157Us/s320/Engagement+031.JPG" width="320" /></a>The other night it dawned on me that once he gets over here, hopefully in March, we should never have to suffer through another of these long goodbyes again. Who knows what life will bring and what kind of ministry opportunities may come and what our international marriage will require of us when it comes to the subject of time apart, but regardless, it all seems different when we're looking forward to saying "I do" this June. Any parting in the future will most likely be short, and will always hold the promise of being reunited soon, because we'll belong to one another. No more goodbyes...<br />
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So I will appreciate this time as a time that will never be relived, and look forward to that one because I have been longing for it for so long. And I will take his hand on the 1st of June and walk into forever... <br /><br />Oh, how I count the days!<br />
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-68731390896488418092013-01-22T17:17:00.000+00:002013-01-22T19:39:20.251+00:00Les Miserables and Reckless Grace<a href="http://mwgerard.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://mwgerard.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_Movie.jpg" width="400" /></a>Reckless grace...<br />
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This is what's on my mind today. God's reckless grace.<br />
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This past weekend my cousin and bridesmaid Jacks and I went to an afternoon matinee of Les Miserables, sheltered from the bitter cold of the lowest temps so far in this Minnesota winter. Admittedly, I adore this story. I have read the beautiful book by Victor Hugo twice now, and joyfully saw the beloved musical on Broadway when I was 15. I was prepared for the film version to be EPIC (and BEYOND BEAUTIFUL artistically). And I was not disappointed!<br />
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But I don't think I was prepared to be as moved or convicted by it as I was.<br />
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The French title, <i>Les Miserables</i> translates to "The Miserable" and how prolifically they portray the misery of the human condition. I cannot deny it, I cried pretty much the whole way through. But the beauty of it is, the entire story circles around how the misery of life on earth cannot compare to the hope of heaven. It is about a man touched by God's grace so deeply, that no matter what comes, he stands by the truth of it, knowing that his reward is heaven. I was literally so moved watching it that I nearly stood up and praised God in the middle of the darkened theatre in the final number!<br />
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I'm trying not to give you a spoiler here, but: When the priest near the beginning offers Jean Valjean grace after he had already taken advantage of his hospitality, he cannot know whether Jean Valjean will use that bit of grace to turn his life around. He cannot know that he will not just take advantage again, and yet he offers it anyway-- recklessly-- trusting that changing the man's heart is God's work, his responsibility is only to give the same amount of grace that Christ gave Him-- and that is grace without measure...<br />
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This speaks to me. This reminds me anew what Christ has done for me, and so what He has me here on earth, in the midst of this earthly misery, to do, to stand for, to point toward. His grace is reckless. His love is unconditional, measureless. He is endless hope. HE is our very reward, the hope of heaven to cradle us in and guide us through the desolate darkness that the here and now can hold...<br />
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This is why viewing the new film of Victor Hugo's legendary story <i>Les Miserable</i> made me want to stand up and praise God... His hope is brighter and longer and deeper and truer than any misery and grief in this blink of an eye existence. And because of that hope, we can love recklessly, showing His grace in living lives of compassion and integrity. <br />
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I am breathless with thankfulness...<br />
(And I cannot wait to see the film and read the book again!)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"To love another person is to see the face of God..." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">-- a lyric in the finale of Les Miserables</span></span></blockquote>
Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-82826864351517577592013-01-18T17:13:00.002+00:002013-01-18T17:13:46.864+00:00Vote for Our StoryWanna do me a favour?<br />
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David's Bridal is hosting a contest to find the sweetest engagement story :) Grand prize is $2,500-- can you imagine the help that would be at the beginning of our life together with everything all up in the air?! And fan favourite prize is a $500 gift certificate to David's Bridal, which would be such a help for the wedding itself :) <br /><br />So, we can vote once every 24 hours til the end of the month here: <a href="https://apps.facebook.com/offerpop/Contest.psp?c=267445&u=49293&a=254553244581393&p=57149201009&v=Entry&id=860555&rest=1">https://apps.facebook.com/offerpop/Contest.psp?c=267445&u=49293&a=254553244581393&p=57149201009&v=Entry&id=860555&rest=1</a><br />
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Would you vote for Charles and my story? As many times as you can before the end of the month?<br /><br />Thank you!!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-52308582570316892512013-01-08T01:43:00.004+00:002013-01-08T01:43:44.481+00:00Whispers of Light Photography<div style="text-align: center;">
So... I'm taking the plunge. <br />I'm diving in to the dream of capturing glimmers of His beauty for all to see and appreciate. I suppose that's what writing has been about all along. But they say a picture is worth a thousand words... <br /><br />So here it is, the beginnings of my dream job to fuel ministry: <br /><a href="http://whispersoflightphotography.blogspot.com/">http://whispersoflightphotography.blogspot.com/</a><br />and<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/WhispersofLightPhotography">www.facebook.com/WhispersofLightPhotography</a></div>
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Please check it out and follow me on this journey!<br />(A huge thank you to everyone whom has supported me so far :))</div>
Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-26715125373351700492013-01-01T05:39:00.003+00:002013-01-01T05:39:44.349+00:00Ushering out 2012New Year's Eve always makes me reflective... On what God's done and on what He's doing and on what He's about to do in the new year. <i> </i><br />
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2012 started me out in America, sent me back to Sweden in February, in and out of England all throughout, and to Ireland with the most handsome man in the world in May! As well as handing me a new baby goddaughter that month to cherish. It took my beloved Grandma in July and left a huge gap in her place. It slipped a diamond engagement ring on my finger in August, giving me the most delightful and touching surprise I've had to date, thanks to my dearest friends and my darling man's collaboration :) It encouraged my soul and my heart for ministry in the beginning of August when it asked me to pour out my heart and my experiences of my God in my own life so far at a youth event on a small island in Kent. And it did so again when pouring out how He's touched my heart into the lives of a group of lovely 13-15 year old girls at a small summer camp in the Gloucestershire countryside later that month. It sent me to beautiful Budapest, Hungary for one random night in September and on a once-in-a-lifetime roadtrip down from Sweden to Denmark to Germany to Switzerland to Italy and finally to France in October to be maid-of-honour for my friend in their non-secret wedding :) It delivered into my life a new baby niece to love in October :) It brought me home for my dear friend/cousin Emily's long-awaited wedding in the end of October, sent me to Washington and Oregon with my Mom and my Grandpa in a precious roadtrip out to see my cousin and great aunt. It flew me down to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon on a special week with my Mom in November. And gave me my last Christmas as a single woman with my family in freezing cold Northern MN in December. In fact, I'll never spend another year as an unmarried girl after this one... <br />
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I've gotten in the habit of framing my memories according to where in the world I was when. Potentially, 2012 may be my last year of doing so much of that. It's hard to know what 2013 will bring, aside from a few choice dates which stand out in it :) This new year, on the 1st of June 2013, I will marry the best man I know, the man I believe God has been molding and shaping to share his life with me to His glory. We have very little clues as to how He specifically intends to use us together. But we know our God. And we wait in wonder... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWHeM-MvSRWAVEIZ1hJ64c2jnaFWdK84xwh9H52qIFRwPRBH1P57Fl4gvtRaQ4f4BPQ7sL0oBp-xNzL7WpdbCVzFgMnFE3oa6BeeeDywNJ0U0hqd0WJlVezJe3WZOWeQWruiJzVSMk2M/s1600/Engagement+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWHeM-MvSRWAVEIZ1hJ64c2jnaFWdK84xwh9H52qIFRwPRBH1P57Fl4gvtRaQ4f4BPQ7sL0oBp-xNzL7WpdbCVzFgMnFE3oa6BeeeDywNJ0U0hqd0WJlVezJe3WZOWeQWruiJzVSMk2M/s320/Engagement+056.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
It is big, the thought that THIS is the year He gives me the husband I have longed for. And not just anyone, but CHARLES MATTHEW KELTON, the man I love. It is big. And it's so easy to just go with the flow of the engagement and the wedding planning and the getting-on-with-life-ness of it all. But it is time to pause and ponder and process the bigness of this commitment we're making in 152 days, in this new year. I cannot quite express how I feel as I look toward the 1st of June 2013 and all that it signifies. I am excited beyond words and breathless with desire while also facing the fear of seeing the reality of some marriages all around me. We look at one another knowing that it does not always turn out all wonderful, but meeting gazes and knowing we desire to love one another well, like Christ loves us. And like we love one another now-- deeply, wistfully, joyfully, expectantly, hopefully, longingfully, with freshness and newness and trust, as well as a sort of holy fear. This thing is so much bigger than the two of us. So much stronger and so much more fragile-- in equal measure-- than we could have known it would be. And ultimately, it is a gift of His limitless grace, a gift to cherish and steward with reverance.<br />
<br />I love you, Charles. I cannot wait to kiss you as your wife in this new year. 152 days...<br />
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And I love you, Jesus. I cannot possibly say it loud enough or often enough. I want to thank you for this year of 2012. There have been so many hard times, a lot of heartache and some despair. There have been a lot of life's lessons that I hardly realized I was in the process of learning. And there has been a lot of laughter and joy and wonder and awe. And love. I am so thankful for Your love and Your grace which is ushering me through the years and will escort me right into and through 2013 too... <br />
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<i>Lord, be Lord of all my life in this new year. Help me to have more faith to trust You with, to surrender to your ways more quickly, to reject anxiety and all that draws my gaze from Your face. Lord, help me to love like You love. Help me to be transformational to the lives all around me wherever you place me, not just speaking of Your hope but living it out! Father, take my life so completely. I just want to want You more than anything else in this world... I love you. Thank you for the year which has passed and for this new one dawning. Thank You for Your grace.</i>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-49899293894387902692012-12-24T20:10:00.003+00:002012-12-24T20:12:56.030+00:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hallelujah!</div>
Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-80679289659803292512012-12-12T19:57:00.002+00:002012-12-12T19:57:32.853+00:00Grandma's Christmas CandiesThis weekend was beautiful.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7Y4tZy_Zzk/UMjbQJ6SxRI/AAAAAAAALv0/gNMwBnBfJYI/s1600/DSCN4417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7Y4tZy_Zzk/UMjbQJ6SxRI/AAAAAAAALv0/gNMwBnBfJYI/s200/DSCN4417.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The apron of Grandma's <br />that I remember the most keenly</td></tr>
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I spent it at my Grandpa's house, helping him to figure out how in the world Grandma made all her Christmas candy. He wanted to do it this year, to hand out to all the family like Grandma used to-- huge boxes full of chocolate-covered-cherries, Turtle candies made from scratch, various cookies, and almond-bark goodies. We could never have guessed how tiring it would be! How Grandma did this year after year, I will never know. But as I stood in her kitchen, wearing her apron, stirring her pots of caramel, I felt so close to her. It struck me how very many times her smooth, soft hands had touched those well-worn pots and pans. Cooking for others was one of the main ways Grandma showed her love-- pots and pots full of love.<br />
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There were some tears-- for both Grandpa and I-- but there was also lots of laughter. And I can't wait to find an excuse for another long weekend spent at Grandpa's :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsOtOD19jg0YRsic1AkgPIcW2KarvMTrSZ91latbSGgCT-VIJDZJ40Dl0c2_n4IihE5U_zKCPRRHhrfEaHuHcvMkz6hwc8Q03G9dQOExY3wXYfqJ051MkhfP7M6Iy1o4YX8drir66pGA/s1600/DSCN4422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsOtOD19jg0YRsic1AkgPIcW2KarvMTrSZ91latbSGgCT-VIJDZJ40Dl0c2_n4IihE5U_zKCPRRHhrfEaHuHcvMkz6hwc8Q03G9dQOExY3wXYfqJ051MkhfP7M6Iy1o4YX8drir66pGA/s320/DSCN4422.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very own Christmas elf :)</td></tr>
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-32430664781529113492012-12-06T05:01:00.004+00:002012-12-06T05:22:26.829+00:00Update on the Photography Name GameThank you so much to everyone who weighed in on the photography name for me, both here and on Facebook. The favourite ended up being the one I favoured too! But then I did my research... to find that Poiema Photography is already taken! As is Leah Joy Photography. And Moments of Joy Photography (a great suggestion from a friend on FB). But His Poiema Photography is still free. Do I spring on it? I'm worried about it being kind of a strange mouthful. <br />
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I want to deliberate over a name because it's important. But I want to begin this journey and I need to reserve whatever name I'm going for in order to get the blog address, the FB page, etc. I want it to be intriguing, and to invite curiosity about what it stands for. I want it to be artsy. I want it to be personal to me, and to what God has spoken over my heart and over my life all these years of coming to know Him more and more. I feel like photography, like writing, is kind of a spiritual thing. Grasping on to little glimmers of His glory to share with the world. Pointing, always pointing, to the whole epitome of this existence... <br />
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And I do so love Him. And long to magnify Him in it all. I just can't keep it in...<br />
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So, I've been brainstorming and checking each and every idea that comes to mind. All the best ones seem to be taken! But there are a few left that might work... I used a word cloud generator to show me what words I have most often written on this blog, and then came up with some names based on them :) Does anyone have any opinion on the list I've put together below? Or any other suggestions I might consider?<br />
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#1-- <b>His Poiema Photography</b>. "Poiema" means workmanship or masterpiece in Greek. And everything I photograph will be little glimmers of His masterpiece as are each and every one of our life stories as they are being played out!<br />
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#2-- <b>Poetry of Light Photography</b> (or Poet of Light Photography). It again, plays off the idea that we are God's poiema, His masterpiece, His work of poetry. And photography is all about capturing scenes according to the light thrown on it. And He is the Light shed on all of us...<br />
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#3-- <b>Poetry & Grace Photography</b>. Because we are His poetry, and His theme running throughout the myriad lines is grace.<br />
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#4-- <b>Hope & Light Photography. </b>Because the word HOPE came up a lot in my word cloud generation. And I am kinda addicted to hope. I run on it like fuel. And the fact that Light drives photography. And He is the light.<br />
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#5-- <b>Whispers of Hope Photography</b>. Because this side of heaven we must quieten ourselves to hear the whispers...<br />
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#6-- <b>Whispers of Light Photography</b>. Again, we can only catch the whispers now. And His beauty all around us does the whispering...<br />
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#7-- <b>Whispered Poem Photography</b>. In that same vein.<br />
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Your thoughts? I'd love to hear them. Help me narrow it down!<br />
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(In other news, I discovered in all my research on what names are taken and which are not, that there are NO other Leah Keltons on FB. There are MANY Leah Pearsons-- hence the middle name being employed-- but not a single Leah Kelton to be found. 'Til June 1st, that is :) :) :) I am so excited to become Mrs. Charles Kelton! Hey, maybe that should be an option: <b>Mrs. Charles Kelton Photography</b> :) )Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-47712161552181804752012-12-04T06:53:00.000+00:002012-12-04T06:53:03.135+00:00Christmas come Early (And I Need Your Help!)So... The day has finally come.<br />
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I have a beautiful little DSLR camera of my very own :) :) :) Secondhand, of course, because my pocketbook isn't as big as my dreams. But my first "proper" camera, nonetheless. One of my current prayer themes is that the Lord would teach me how to capture His beauty in photos in such a way that I might help make a living for my family. So, this is the beginning of an exciting journey into the land of freelance photography :) I pray I don't lose heart! I can be so afraid of failure that I don't even try at some things... <br /><br />But there are a few things I know and a LOT of things I have to learn. <br />For instance, I know I have a true bend toward Natural Light Photography. <br />I know I like taking photos in Aperture Priority best. <br />I know my general "style" of photos are light and airy, as well as robust with colour, especially if the sun is out and it's golden!<br />I know I want to help contribute toward the living of Charles' and my family (starting with our marriage on June 1st, 2013! Woohoo!!) in such a way that I can (mostly) stay home with our kids.<br />I know I HAVE to use my creativity for my soul to thrive. <br />And I know I have ALWAYS had a thing for capturing the beauty I see in a way I can share it with people-- whether that be in writing or taking photos. I cannot keep the fragments of His glory I see showered down amongst us to myself. <br /><br />I'm toying with names for a freelance photography business starting from scratch. Want to weigh in?<br />
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Option #1:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dTYgnMD3zqF3-EM9gOKD2ew4RTqaMuOg5_abHGHrZQOweuDOHN7vuWpxsJQ2LqZAT2kvCSQZDHkGPMJfVKQ89udrWl2MXPswMxzfoVeo8aiQ_JATb6Ptv8HTTLgZJM810Mm5fW3I9bw/s1600/Poiema+Photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dTYgnMD3zqF3-EM9gOKD2ew4RTqaMuOg5_abHGHrZQOweuDOHN7vuWpxsJQ2LqZAT2kvCSQZDHkGPMJfVKQ89udrWl2MXPswMxzfoVeo8aiQ_JATb6Ptv8HTTLgZJM810Mm5fW3I9bw/s320/Poiema+Photography.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Option #2:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dXmfjqPx89qo-AGPm0Tud2xTlMS-Mg4rfiJx15QxeHw3eSNz4x4HhaCtyIOtKEesKlzRTXogLbF5puSEbjVf_SIf7WSh1Q7Be-WbpGjBhw2q_-Rtu75UKSGlL4XnswRpK9xdMvo-OH0/s1600/HisPoiemaPhotography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dXmfjqPx89qo-AGPm0Tud2xTlMS-Mg4rfiJx15QxeHw3eSNz4x4HhaCtyIOtKEesKlzRTXogLbF5puSEbjVf_SIf7WSh1Q7Be-WbpGjBhw2q_-Rtu75UKSGlL4XnswRpK9xdMvo-OH0/s320/HisPoiemaPhotography.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Option #3:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9msDOGJvjRY/UL2a83UXWJI/AAAAAAAALu4/-TjNBN5aayc/s1600/LeahJoyPhotography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9msDOGJvjRY/UL2a83UXWJI/AAAAAAAALu4/-TjNBN5aayc/s400/LeahJoyPhotography.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(This one probably makes the most sense, but I'm just not that comfortable with naming it after myself!)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
I'm leaning toward Option #1, just as it seems a bit clearer than Option #2, and it doesn't involve my own name like Option #3. Anyone want to give me your opinion? Or suggest other names you think it should go by?<br /><br />And, while we're at it, does anyone want to have your pictures taken to give me some practice? Get in touch! One has got to start somewhere...Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-70496298599098389592012-11-27T19:37:00.006+00:002012-11-27T19:41:51.830+00:00Soaking it up...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes I feel so aware of God's presence in my every moment, like even though I can't see Him outright, I can feel His breath washing over me rhythmically in my day to day. <br />
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That's not been the season I've been in lately.<br />
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I think with all the moving about and making plans and settling in and settling out again, I've just kinda been keeping up with things. <br />
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But on Saturday my Mom and I flew down to Arizona for a little mother/daughter trip to use some of her timeshare points up before the end of the year (what a chore!). And the "vacation feeling" just quiets the clamours in my soul enough to tune in and hear that breath of God again.<br />
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And it's like coming home, only to more of a home than home... <br />
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Again and again and again, it is His beauty that calls me to Him, that draws my heart up close to Him. Again and again and again, I am floored when I catch sight of His glory in whatever form-- the grandeur of the Grand Canyon Mom and I just spent a day visiting, the luxury of the condo we're blessed to stay at this week in Sedona, the laughter of the little children in my life reflecting His heart of joy, the intimacy of sharing deep talks with the woman who gave birth to me and then lovingly raised me. It all just points me to His kindness.<br />
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And then the darker seasons I've walked through, the struggles of the soul I've fought with strength nearly spent, the hurt and ache the world constantly throws at us, it instantly fades in the light of realizing afresh what it means to be loved by the King of the world.<br />
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I cannot help but be reminded again of the endless hope there is in belonging to Him. At the end of this blink of an eye existence is a whole new reality we only look toward expectantly now, glimmers of it shining through in the experiences of beauty and wonder we can glimpse here and now.<br />
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This week is a chance to revel in those glimmers of the hope of eternity, to consume His presence in all the joy and delight and beauty and hope I can catch and hold close to my heart. <br />
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And all I can do is bow that heart in awe, and soak it all up in gratitude. <br />
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<i>Thank You, my kind and endlessly hopeful King.<br />May the world know that You are all that You say you are, and may they never go hungry for Your presence again.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ojR-Q1c-2Bg_RKhLAMiRDejVLZCoG7_Vbt3Ze6BybarvObM5vQLWWfZ3FNRUW9JVNjqNHtPz_yxkIL9TdD5rMUig0132VeojgMNufQW7e0xuMtbAPLWjmGEFGW2FytkC2xNPNozA5KE/s1600/DSCN4150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ojR-Q1c-2Bg_RKhLAMiRDejVLZCoG7_Vbt3Ze6BybarvObM5vQLWWfZ3FNRUW9JVNjqNHtPz_yxkIL9TdD5rMUig0132VeojgMNufQW7e0xuMtbAPLWjmGEFGW2FytkC2xNPNozA5KE/s400/DSCN4150.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful Mom and I soaking up the majesty of the Grand Canyon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpJP140TzLsOeRaZ9sUw56bpYuh5p5ys95uq4evpzCuh3idfYcLppDHiZ3Rq3vpMAKXWZWC0dekZrb0_fQT3V4usAw2fkLxIfbrXsoKRyXORyrS63rE4yoAoKOI0m4_R8ZUTy8uUe6_I/s1600/DSCN4191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpJP140TzLsOeRaZ9sUw56bpYuh5p5ys95uq4evpzCuh3idfYcLppDHiZ3Rq3vpMAKXWZWC0dekZrb0_fQT3V4usAw2fkLxIfbrXsoKRyXORyrS63rE4yoAoKOI0m4_R8ZUTy8uUe6_I/s400/DSCN4191.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The surreal glory of the Grand Canyon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe-sitYr1XQpQPHVdFn3xVMuHS_904sh_Gl-qDOCWYt9jjTmDrVBMSCmS-jLqKlH0rVpK72GabSgCt97VNQIyBJFmOrpUMgregAf1yflGGFwF0In37lP9ssVqg1yJbh8kewpz0NEbpKU/s1600/DSCN4197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe-sitYr1XQpQPHVdFn3xVMuHS_904sh_Gl-qDOCWYt9jjTmDrVBMSCmS-jLqKlH0rVpK72GabSgCt97VNQIyBJFmOrpUMgregAf1yflGGFwF0In37lP9ssVqg1yJbh8kewpz0NEbpKU/s400/DSCN4197.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaking up His glory in the sunset over the Grand Canyon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD51DGT6aa83rwbO5wTlhcXn4-bcRZNmrHgtI1d9448QGstXuyr9wqrNW5d0o2S0Ku3PN3HHRUodRSC1ULyzTpUlOyDybVizWuXShXQW79d6FpQuSxHA4L4kcMg29Bt28Z_Mn4n9nsmgI/s1600/DSCN4238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD51DGT6aa83rwbO5wTlhcXn4-bcRZNmrHgtI1d9448QGstXuyr9wqrNW5d0o2S0Ku3PN3HHRUodRSC1ULyzTpUlOyDybVizWuXShXQW79d6FpQuSxHA4L4kcMg29Bt28Z_Mn4n9nsmgI/s400/DSCN4238.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And soaking up His kindness in the luxury of the timeshare in Sedona where we're staying!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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May you pause today, and stop long enough to settle your busy mind and heart, and draw up close enough to this gracious God to hear His presence breathing over you. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you. And He always will.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"<b>Cry out for this nourishment</b> as a baby cries for milk, <br />now that you have had a taste of <b>the Lord's kindness</b>."</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">-- 1 Peter 2:2-3</span></span></div>
Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824888720006948709.post-12081983735422072942012-11-05T22:19:00.001+00:002012-11-05T22:20:03.395+00:00A Cruel Harvest by Fran Grubb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wasn't quite prepared for what I would read in this memoir. It's the story of one woman's horrific childhood abuse and her reconnection with her scattered siblings as an adult. Born into a family of migrant farmers and an alcoholic, mean-spirited, physically and sexually abusive father, as Fran recounts her story I found myself disbelieving that anyone could be so utterly and completely cruel. But hand in hand with that aspect of her story, is her proof of the stunning resilience of the human soul.<br />
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It struck me so strongly when I set the book down at the end, that the only thing which kept Fran herself from becoming just as bitter and hardened and desensitized as the hard man who spent her whole life trying to make her so, was Jesus. It's not clear what sort of upbringing HE had, but hers set her up to be hard, insensitive, and abusive, in accordance with how she was treated. And indeed in her early adulthood, she did play out some of the same behaviours. But then she met Jesus. And everything changed. Undeniably.<br />
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And THAT is my favourite kind of story there is to tell. It speaks of hope. It speaks of the triumph of love over hatred and light over what seemed endless darkness. That is what Christ does. That is who He is. <br />
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And on top of all that, I just adore reading memoirs. Real stories of real people! It's good to know we're not alone... <br />
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This book is well worth a read.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<span lang="EN-US"> </span>*I
received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their
[...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a
positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am
disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16
CFR, Part 255</span>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067106533776766535noreply@blogger.com0