God is bigger than me, He is bigger than Philly. He is bigger than my life in Philly.

I was reminded of that on my walk home today. It really encouraged me.

Maybe this is one refreshing thing that I love about travel, and study of history. You see and experience a little bit of what God is doing in other people's lives, or how He has already worked in the past.

His faithfulness is a thread that runs through many aspects of life and culture, from times past to present and, therefore we can know, into the future.

He is good. I got tastes of this on my recent trip to California where, over one week, I caught up with many dear friends. I hadn't talked to some of them in years. In these encounters I got to see:

- how God is inspiring one with creativity and hope for her new photography business and His carefully laid plans for her to enter into counseling school, 

- guiding another's heart through a difficult, uncertain and new relationship, 

- holding one in deep emotional turmoil and showing her His faithfulness through friends,

- blessing another with work, laughter, fun experiences, and joy

- motivating another through her enduring, passionate pursuit of her PA degree so that she can serve many in need overseas,

- and blessing a young, growing family as they continue to stake claim on God's promises and passionately pursue His will for their lives

Each day I got to say, Whoa, God. He is being glorified in each of my friend's lives. He is bigger, He goes beyond. It also reminds me that He is the main player in all our stories.

Reminder of Truth

A beautiful day down by the Schuylkill. A perfect day down by the Schuylkill.

We sat and read for an hour by the sparkling water, enjoying the cool breeze. An amazing August day! Reading aloud - a silly mystery novel we're both enjoying - we soaked in the Goodness and thanked God for the beauty He permits us to enjoy.

Thank you, Lord!  Like every other day, this one is an invitation from God to appreciate how good and great He is, how good the gifts He freely gives. He is in our every waking moment, His presence constant. However, I do not often see or experience each day as this gift that it is. My day today was an incredible reminder to my soul of that Truth... that the gifts are Real! 

Today, I felt thankful for the grass, the trees, our lovely bike ride, for my husband, and... for all that is True [His Freedom, His Love] that I still just faintly - faintly - grasp.

Don't blink!

A little clue as to what we've been up to since my last post? Scroll this post below, and don't blink! You might miss something; that's how I've felt, haha.

July 1st. The big wild wilderness awaits. Out West. It's considered amazing and miraculous by everyone for a reason. Over four days we explored the mountainous passes of Wyoming and Montana with Ted's parents, then convened with all the relatives in small town NE.

Grand Tetons

Old Faithful!

Why hello!

July 13. ESA 40th Anniversary celebration at Eastern University. We are challenged; we are renewed and inspired by thought-provoking and grounded leaders in the Christian world.

July 19-20. Love and weddings. The rolling, forested hills of western Maryland. Root beer floats with our Haitian heroes and friends. Oh, and a pre-anniversary kayak jaunt before coasting out of Deep Creek and back on home.

Bride and Maid-of-Honor

Sadrack, Sarah, and Metchy

Katharine picks up One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and the mental list begins... everything for which I'm thankful; seeing God in the day-to-day, moment by moment... trying to when sometimes I just want a nap. Wondering why I have such a weak constitution.

August 6th. Lee Ann comes to stay in Philly. Office re-decorating and lots of home-cooked meals and forays into Philly's finest (Lebanese, to-die-for burgers,  premiere water ice, Soul & North African, Mexican, Chinese, best earl grey ever.)

Somewhere along the way we get on an Audrey Hepburn kick. It starts with classic movies more generally, Casablanca in the park in the moonlight. Then a regrettable Funny Face, but better Breakfast at Tiffany's and it keeps going...

August 15th. Celebrating 4 years of marriage together. We celebrated with Chinese food and cheesecake.

And finally... a surprise for Ted? More on that later!

water: life

I almost laughed the first time I saw this. We have a plant in our office. In a space without windows, this bit of green adds a lot of life.

After having it for a week or so, this is what it looked like.

It's lovely. It's green. Sure, I hadn't really thought to water it, but I was still appreciating the fact that it was alive. It wasn't brown; the leaves weren't falling off. You can see here that whole thing does have a bit of "droop" to it, but the change from when we first bought it was so gradual that I hadn't really noticed...

Then, I decided to give it a little water before leaving the office. It's probably about time for that, I thought. When I came in to work the next morning, this is what I found:

A whole new plant! It's spunky; it's spry. Look, you can even see the pot it's nestled in. Whoa, I had no idea the life it had been missing.

And I immediately thought of the connection to my own heart and life. It's amazing how being connected to the Vine and receiving from the Living Water really is our life source (John 4, 14). Going awhile without it, even if we "don't notice" on a surface level (we may think we're functioning "just fine" by our own less-than standards), we will start to wilt.

Again, I had been fine with the way the plant looked before. In my ignorance really, I thought it was "ok." But no, the plant needed so much more, and we need so much more to thrive. True life and breath really is in Him!

(p.s. I realize this post reveals my total ineptness in caring for plants. I'm okay with that! haha. I'm learning. :)

Post-work walks

Just some shots of our post-work walks this past week... More to come later!

It's wonderful to explore some of the trails surrounding our new home together! 

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
What is mankind that you are mindful of them, 

human beings that you care for them?
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalms 8, 24, 19

Redeemed

Redeemed. I've been reminded this week how beautiful it is that we are redeemed in Christ, because of His love.

Ted and I have experienced the faithfulness of the Lord in our lives, and been strengthened by His steadfastness. It hasn't always been clear to us, or written boldly in the stars. Our weak, cataract-ed eyes have kept us from seeing in brilliant colors, only dimly, the vibrant faithfulness of God.

Yet His presence is real. It always has been, and always will be. We may not perceive it, only vaguely,   at times. Yet I am reminded now, this week, that His goodness runs deep. His steadfastness is never-ending.  I'm only now glimpsing the surface, lapping handfuls of water from a river that has no bed.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand - 

when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139:17-18

First week

The first few days in Mt Airy have been refreshing; wonderful. We may still have half-filled boxes along the floor and no curtains, but that doesn't matter... I love it.

Each day, we have enjoyed a long walk through the neighborhoods and nearby Carpenter's Woods. Flowers and pane windowed porches everywhere.

We still go to Hunting Park every day, sometimes multiple times in a day, and I've had one recurring thought each time:

I am so glad I did not leave this place because I simply don't like it here or that I can't stand the so-called "inner city." Each morning that we have driven in, I admire the people and places that I know well.

Being in these two different spots leads to some striking comparisons. One place currently has the highest crime rate in the city, and the other has the lowest. In one, you're more likely to see the one sign over the other:

The average street corners look pretty different from each other:

In one, kids roar down the busy road on their scooters and throw basketballs over oncoming traffic. In the other, a man holds a glass of red wine and walks his poodle down a tree-lined path. The differences are ... well, laughable! Such unique, wildly divergent places.

Did I mention that one is only 5 miles from the other?!

It's been a fairly mild week for us, settling in. We've rearranged furniture, dusted here and there, but mostly enjoyed these beautiful, new surroundings. We truly thank God for this space and this peace. 

Carpenter's Woods, a 5-minute walk from our new home