Flash Back Friday 238

Oma

Love Thursday

We were driving downtown to look at some ArtPrize exhibits this past October, and God made a special ArtPrize in the sky.

Joy

 " Joy is what makes life worth living, but for many, joy seems hard to find. They complain that their lives are sorrowful and depressing. What then brings the joy we so much desire? Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck? Strange as it may sound, we can choose joy. Two people can be part of the same event, but one may choose to live it quite differently from the other. One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, holds a promise. The other may choose despair and be destroyed by it.

What makes us human is precisely this freedom of choice."  -Henri Nouwen

Held

 "To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives-the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-that requires hard spiritual work.  Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God."  -Frederick Buechner

Something Warm

Well, we have just survived an artic chilly weekend.  It seemed pretty harsh for some reason and so, I went to the gym instead of my usual outdoor walk.  One fantastic thing that warmed us all up is we heard my friend Cathy's daughter Emily's profession of faith on Sunday...

 

She made this wonderful video to share her story!

Flashback Friday 237

Wow, this was taken in January 2008 - 4 years ago!  Time flies!

Love Thursday

One thing I love about this photo is how the repeating pattern of the windows in the building balance the repeating pattern of the boxes in the blanket.  I also love how it tells the story of how Cathy wore a blanket over her head for our walk because she couldn't find a hat.   But I think I mostly love it because it is of my BFF Cathy.

I Love GR!

Taken this past Sunday from Lookout Hill.

Showers of Baby Blessings

Saturday was a beautiful snowy day and I went to a baby shower for my friend Allison.  Jeanette and Sung-Ae outdid themselves with the cooking and presentation and it was so fun to be with friends and the excitement of the soon to be arrival of "Panda."  I am hopefully going to the hospital sometime in February to take baby photos!

Hello Snow!

The big snow finally came to Michigan and a lot of the US.  It snowed pretty solidly for a couple of days and my first thought was, well you're a pretty old man but you can go now.   Finally, I was able to take some photos this past weekend to really appreciate it.

Flash Back Friday 236

Edward, Maria & Bridget, Concord, MA  August 2001, Old Hill Burial Ground

And thus began the family tradition when we drive by a graveyard, someone says, "Cemetary" and then we all say in unison, "Everybody out!"

Love Thursday

There's a song in here somewhere...

Love Makes Life Work Hard

My friend Cathy and her 2 kids have decided they are ready to do foster care.  She has worked as a child welfare professional in foster care and adoption, both as a licensed social worker and as an attorney for many years and has always wanted to help in this way.  This past weekend, I went over to her house to take some "before" the house is ready photos and helped her set up a blog so she could share their journey through the process.  

Here is the link to her blog: http://lifemakesloveworkhard.blogspot.com/

Please visit and leave her a comment!!!  That would be so awesome.

Amazing Grace

One of the words on the annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness for 2012 is "Amazing."  Truly an overused word, but I think it always applies to grace.