The Word Is:

persevere

It's time to embrace a real one.

Approximately 10 years ago, during my Princeton days, when my rent was payed by a very wonderful church-piano-playing job, the good people of the church brought in a photographer, as churches often do, and said:  We need your picture for the directory.

So I sat down and smiled.

Then, I got a job that took me to my Harrisburg days, and the good people of that job said, "hey, we need a headshot" and I said: 

Well, I happen to have this one...  

And that was where we left it.

Through the years there have been other good people who have said "hey, picture?"...to whom I have replied with a random assortment of cutouts of my head, saying "will this work?"

And, in my typical way, I have decided: It will do. And that is that.

But, recently, God's been working on me. He's been teaching me that my tendency to just make do, without expecting more than I could ask for or imagine, is not how He wants me to live anymore.  

He's been teaching me to say: I will invest where I am, 

and enjoy to the full all that He has for me, here.

And so I've been realizing it's time to embrace the truth:

As a child of God, I'm allowed to fully live, headshot included.

Fortunately, I've also been realizing: 

I live with a very talented photographer.

Hence, this lovely lady and I had ourselves a little photo shoot the other day, in order to make my headshot legit.

And so, here, investing in my State College days,

I'm left with an abundance of real headshots to choose from:

More than I could ask for, or imagine.

Investing, in who I am, and how God made me.

Believing Him for abundance, and trusting the lessons He's taught me all along the [long, long] way.

Embracing, the Real One.

Celebrations, of a house

Since these housies and I have been journeying through life together these last few years, and since the tides are changing,

we climbed in the car this past week for a little journey 

 just down the street,

to dinner,

delicious 

[and silverware, entertaining].

Taking our time,

 we indulged

 in special treats,

 and dug into our food and conversation with great delight.

Grateful for the journey we have been on, 

and the opportunity to share in it together,

we celebrated where we've been and where it is we're going, 

in this new season of all that God is doing.

Celebrations, of a house, and of our hearts.

The Word Is:

enjoy

The Word Is:

promise

Sibling togetherness

For months now, Dave & Kara & I have been saying: 

We should have some quality time.

Hence, Saturday afternoon found me here,

lounging in front of their fire, with them, 

and with this cute & furry dude.

We delighted ourselves in leisurely being, 

sharing our hearts, our lives, and all that God is doing.

 We pulled in our other siblings, 

and chatted together while we laughed at the antics of our little D.

We reminisced about years gone by and its pull on our hearts,

and made new memories while we were at it.

And at the end of the togetherness, we discovered:

We need to do this, all the time, again.

The Word Is:

hope