Seattle and Small Group

2 weekends ago, Miles & I took a wonderful trip to Seattle. We went there so Miles could attend Coffee Fest -- a 3 day convention all about coffee. The church sent him to the convention because he is the lead trainer for our church's coffee stand/cafe. I just went along for the adventure and to get free coffee!! We got to Seattle on Thursday afternoon and that night we went to a Jewel concert. She is a remarkable singer and really showcases her voice during her live concerts. It was a great concert because it was an acoustic concert, so it was just Jewel and her guitar. We had a great time. Friday and Saturday were spent at Coffee Fest all day and then we spent the evenings exploring and playing around the city. We stayed until Monday afternoon so we could get the most out of our time there. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Even though we live only a 5-hour drive away from Seattle, I've never spent time there so I was very excited about this trip. I definitely want to go back more, but being in a big city again sure made me appreciate our simple little town of Coeur d'Alene. I'm so used to a small town now that even Coeur d'Alene is getting big for me!

This past weekend I had a "girls night" with my new small group girlies. Rychelle & I are going to continue leading a small group. Most of the girls have left for college this fall, but a few of them have stayed locally to attend the community college or work full-time. So instead of 15 girls, we're going to have 6. What a difference! But we're very excited about it because it will give us the opportunity to go deeper and invest more time individually with each of the girls. So Saturday night we had a sleepover to sort of kick off our new group. We also have a new member, so the girls shared their testimonies with each other. It was a wonderful night. These girls are very special to me and such a blessing in my life.

End of an Era

Miles & I have both been serving in youth ministry for over a decade. Recently we have felt God leading us away from that specific ministry and have given our "resignation" to our youth pastor. We don't know yet what God has in store for us next, but will be praying and seeking His direction over the next few months. Miles still volunteers in our church's coffee ministry, Hebrews, and is the lead trainer with that ministry. All of the money raised goes directly to the church's mission fund to send out teams locally and globally. I will also continue to lead my small group that I've been leading for the past 4 years. Most of the girls in the group are now in college or are working full-time and it's such a personal blessing to watch them grow into young, Godly women. This is really my passion -- to do one-on-one or small group discipleship and teaching.

We'll see what God has for us next. We will both continue on with our current ministries -- Hebrews and small group -- but still feel like there is something more that God has in store for us. It's just time for a new season in our lives and a new season of ministry for us. It feels strange to not go to youth group every Sunday night, but we still maintain personal relationships with many of the students and that won't change.

Backyard adventures

So we couldn't get away for Labor Day weekend because Miles had responsibilities at the church. He's the lead barista for the coffee ministry, Hebrews. But we really wanted to go camping, so we compromised and camped in our backyard! It was fun. We just pulled our sleeping bags out on to the grass and laid there and looked at the stars until we fell asleep. With all of the huge pine trees surrounding our yard, it was almost like we were camping!

Trials

It seems that this week so many people in my life are being hit hard by trials . . . loss of relationships, miscarriages, sickness, depression and bad verdicts in court. I was talking to one girl yesterday, one of my "girls" from small group who has been struggling in her faith recently and is one of the ones being slammed by trial. Her question to me was: "Why is God doing this?" I tried to assure her that God is not doing this to her but stuff like this happens because we live in a broken world filled with sadness and sickness. In fact, I told her, God grieves right alongside us and longs to give her comfort. This was not what she wanted to hear because she just wanted someone or something to blame.

This got me to thinking. I wonder why our world often rejects the idea of God, refuses to acknowledge Him as the Lord and Saviour of their lives, yet when faced with tragedy or trial are so quick to blame God. I think this baffles me because I don't know what I would do in my own life if I didn't have God as THE source of support, comfort and healing. In the past 5 years as Miles & I have been struggling with infertility, I've had people ask if we get angry at God. "No," is my answer. I don't get angry at God. I question Him, not because I think He is to blame, but because in the midst of living in a broken world I often wonder what His plan is for me and in our particular situation, if we will ever be parents. I couldn't travel this journey without God. I wouldn't know where to turn. And my heart breaks for those who choose to go through trials in their own strength because I know that is not necessary. God LONGS to walk alongside and give us a peace and a joy we cannot find nor know without Him.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of the interviews with Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. For those of you living in a cave, the Chapman family (Christian recording artist) recently lost their 5-year old daughter in a terrible tragedy in the driveway of the family's home. The Chapmans have been on Good Morning America, Focus on the Family, People magazine, Larry King Live, etc. and have been sharing their story of loss, grief, love and hope. It's those last 2 that a lot of people are missing. Mary Beth Chapman, Steven's wife, shared that when this happened to their family, it was like falling flat on their faces because it was such an unexpected and tragic event. And they didn't land on their feet when they fell; they fell flat on their faces. But what they learned was that when they fell, the foundation they had been building their lives on was secure. Steven has a song called "Yours" on his new album. After their daughter's death, he penned a new verse for the song. This song has come to speak to me very much in the last few weeks.

Last verse of Yours (and chorus):
I’ve walked the valley of death’s shadow
So deep and dark that I could barely breathe
I’ve had to let go of more than I could bear
And questioned everything that I believe
But still even here
in this great darkness
A comfort and hope come breaking through
As I can say in life or death
God we belong to you.

And it’s all Yours God, Yours God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky to the depths of the ocean floor
And it’s all Yours God, Yours God
Everything is Yours
All the greatness and power, the glory and splendor and majesty
Everything is Yours
It’s all Yours

Camping

Miles and I just got back from a weekend camping trip. I think this trip has officially clinched the top spot as my favorite camping trip ever. We had originally planned to camp Thursday-Sunday, and then spend a night at our favorite Bed & Breakfast on Sunday night. We drove 2 hours to our chosen camping spot at Priest Lake, and soon learned that the information we had received about not being able to reserve campsites was wrong information. The only way to get a spot in these campgrounds was to reserve sites. It's a beautiful lake, and we hope to camp there one day, but it wasn't to be for this weekend. So with dusk coming, and not having any idea where we wanted to set up camp for the weekend, we headed for the bed and breakfast. Thankfully she had a room available that night. We spent the night there and then headed north the next morning.




We drove about 5 miles into Montana, up in the northernmost corner of the state, just south of Canada. We found a BEAUTIFUL spot by the Yaak River and I think we landed the most beautiful site in the entire campground. We camped there Friday thru Monday, and it was wonderful.



We spend a lot of time relaxing and just enjoying each other's company. I feel so lucky that I have a husband who also happens to be the person I'd most like to spend time with. We always have a lot of fun together. We spent one day exploring the area nearby, and hiked to Kootenai Falls and also crossed a "swinging bridge" that hung precariously over the raging river. Needless to say, that walk across the bridge wasn't my favorite thing in the world! But I did it because, after all, I believe you should do one thing every day that scares you!!

Miles went fishing a few times and caught some good fish. I don't really like anything having to do with fish, but I agreed to try it after he prepared his first catch. I actually liked it. We also brought 2 fish home to eat this week. While Miles was fishing in the afternoons, I spent time in the hammock (thanks Deb & Darin!) reading my book, journaling and listening to worship music. Overall, it was a great weekend with lots of time with my husband and lots of time with God. I needed both of those desperately.

Our new pet

Yesterday a deer came into our backyard and starting snacking on our foliage. He came over under our bedroom window and was munching on the plants there. Then he just laid down in the shade and napped for about 1/2 hour. He was so cute. We've declared him our new pet and are waiting for him to return!

Another goodbye

Baby Grace is leaving this evening. And Miles and I are going to use this opportunity to take a sabbatical as foster parents and renew and refresh ourselves. It will be good to spend time as a couple again and to do the things we enjoy that we haven't been able to do much of over the last 2 years because we've had babies in the house -- hiking, kayaking, camping, biking, going on dates, etc.