by our love

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Shanda

“Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!”

Christmastime this year has been made brighter by the visit of my precious friend, Hannah. I mentioned a few blog posts ago, when I posted pictures of the blouse she made me, that she is the only friend I have that has battled depression. I have struggled once again with that old curse that I hate so much, and during this time, according to the typical nature of depression, I found myself closing off from almost everyone around me…..except for Hannah. She lives so far away, in the beautiful state of Alaska, but she graciously and promptly answered all my texts, responding hastily with the love of Jesus, verses, encouragement. We talked several times on the phone. I felt comfortable voicing those parts of my heart that needed expression and light.

And then came the moment when she asked if she could come and visit me. She couldn’t take the depression away but she could sit by my side in full understanding. I’ll never forget her words, “If I had to go through depression in order to help you, it was worth it.” We felt the visit was truly God-ordained, even to the price of her round trip, only 36 dollars!

Jesus is always with us, He promised in his Word that He would never leave us, nor forsake us. I believe that He uses His people in tangible ways to love us. What I mean is, Hannah has been *my Jesus with skin on*. I hope that doesn’t sound disrespectful. Jesus is within all believers, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, we have this treasure in jars of clay, and as we hold one another, sit beside one another, speak to one another, we are experiencing His love through a brother or sister in Christ. He loves me through her. As I spent time with her, I felt as if Jesus Himself was with me.

Hannah is not the only friend I have like this. If you’re reading this and you’re my friend then it is the same with you. God places certain people in our lives whom we cannot forget even if we might sometimes want to. Their names are written on our hearts. I have friends that I will be loyal to until the day I die, I simply cannot neglect the brothers and sisters in Christ that God has brought into my world. I’m thinking of so many people right now that have shared my life with me, and I with them, many of them are my own relatives but some of them are not. Why does He do this? I have to believe that it is because part of the work He has for us to do is to love each other deeply, encourage each other, sacrifice time and energy, so that the journey through life is not without abundant support and meaning. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

The Bible says, “If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”

HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

I found a quote on Pinterest that says it well: “When God puts love and compassion in your heart toward someone, He’s offering you an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. You must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it. Someone needs what you have.”

I’ve been writing about lifelong relationships, but this concept of being an instrument of God’s love applies to the “one time” act of kindness for a random stranger, too. How many people have we unconsciously showed grace and love to, without even being aware that our smile, our small conversation, our politeness, touched someone’s life in a meaningful way at just the right time? How many times did a stranger touch our hearts with kindness that made us thank God then and there?

Surely, God is in full operation at ALL TIMES. Moving, breathing, shepherding us THROUGH EACH OTHER. (and his Word, his World, and so many other ways, too). Praise Him with me!

Oh for eyes that see and give Him glory. And in all things, to give thanks.

A few days ago Hannah and I went to a museum together. We drove into the city, parked in a parking garage, and walked a few blocks to the museum. It was a special time at the museum, too, because of Christmas, there were decorated trees and choirs singing as we wandered delightfully through the rooms. Oh how we loved the artwork! We came away determined to enjoy more art and Hannah wants to study art history. It was fascinating.

I took a few photos of the trees. The first picture in this blog post is one that an older lady did. She lives in a nursing home and knitted every single ornament and garland for her tree. I loved it. I loved imagining her working on it.

A bird tree, a tree decorated with origami which reminded me of my David who loves to fold paper, and another view of the “yarn” tree.

A Harry Potter tree! (David is reading all the books these days, he’s now on #6)

And then we made our way into the art exhibits. There was a folded card which showed the details of each painting so we took advantage of that and studied each one.

There was so much spiritual depth in the works, some we understood, others we felt as if there was more to learn….which I suppose is one of the purposes of museums and art…to create a thirst for knowledge as we appreciate the beauty.

And, by the way, we both wore blouses that Hannah made herself~art from the sewing machine!

that beautiful blue color

Book of Hours from the 1400’s. Imagine the work that went into this amazing book and all the hands that touched it through the years.

Egyptian cat

Amazingly carved linden wood.

“Still life with Ham”

a GORGEOUS silver center piece which we stood and looked at for a while

This too! A birdcage!

made entirely of porcelain (I think…or something similar)….amazing detail and beauty

God’s art….above and beyond anything we could even imagine!

God made Hannah, too, a beautiful work of art, and He made YOU as well…so special and unique, truly one of a kind.

After seeing as much as we could possibly absorb in one day, we made our way to lunch at the cafe and then shopped the gift shop for Christmas gifts.

It was a memorable day with a dear friend.

You are LOVED!

together again

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Shanda

“friendships multiply joys and divide griefs” HG Bohn

My Alaskan friend is sleeping off her jet lag this morning so I have a few blessed minutes to tip tap on the keyboard now that the children have been fed their pancakes, cleaned up, and gotten on the bus. It’s a misty morning. Caleb woke up and said he had dreamed that it had snowed, and without missing a beat he cried, “WHY WON’T IT SNOW!!!!!” He doesn’t want a green Christmas but I said it’s better than a blue one.

Hannah and I went for a walk yesterday and just as we were stepping off the lawn onto the road an ambulance came slowly down to park at the end of the trail by our woods. A uniformed man got out and started striding up the trail purposefully. We *needed* to know what was happening so I went over to the window to ask the man in the passenger seat what was going on, imagining that someone was in trouble in the woods. He laughed, “He needed to go to the bathroom.”

You never know what God is going to bring across your path just when you needed a nice laugh. We left the men in peace and continued on our walk quite amused.

There is a delightful little thrift shop in town so we headed there to do a little rummaging. Hannah loves to sew and she enjoyed going through all the patterns which cost 25 cents a piece. She found four to take home and use. We looked through the household goods and for the very first time EVER in this shop, I FOUND FIESTAWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two ring handled periwinkle blue mugs! Another gift from God to put smiles on our faces. Two mugs! One for me and one for Hannah to take home with her.

All these things for five dollars. (books, something for Dave, an ornament, a piece of pretty fabric, a hand crocheted jingle bell wall hanging, a lidded glass jar with lily of the valley on it.)

AND THE TWO FIESTA MUGS.

So then we put the box in my car and walked up the sidewalk to the coffee shop for a nice lunch. We had bean sandwiches and quiche with water to drink.

After lunch we walked up to our favorite shop. When Hannah came almost three years ago on her first visit, the two of us visited this particular shop together for the first time. It was in my own town but I had not been inside yet. It was delightful, full of charming items and decorated very nicely. It has an “Anthropologie” feel to it, a feast for the eyes and nose because there are fragrant candles in the shop, too.

We asked the shop keeper to take our photo in front of her beautiful Christmas tree.

We headed back home, stopping for small caramel lattes at the Dunkin Donuts drive through.

We watched a movie and then it was time to go get David from newspaper club.

The afternoon flew by as we sang at the piano, played with the kids and worked on a Nativity puzzle while listening to music. We made chili for dinner.

We brought a table in to the dining room and set up a Nativity set with Seth and Sarah’s help.

The kids aren’t allowed to play with it so Sarah sits in front with her own little dolls, which is why Cinderella has made an appearance.

After some TV and a little reading, the first full day of Hannah’s visit was over.

*****

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” third stanza, by Edmund Sears

I hope my friends who happen by this blog today have a blessed and peaceful day. You are loved.

I feel pretty!

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Shanda

First a couple of photos of my babies…not really babies at all…they are five and six now.

But they are the closest thing to babies I have. Well, besides my kitty.

We were waiting for the bus at 7:40 am this morning.

I feel pretty! (do you know the song from West Side Story? Grace and I sing the phrase “I feel pretty” whenever we feel especially pretty. And I’m singing it today because of my tunic.

My friend Hannah made it for me. She lives in Alaska and we have been pen pals for a long time now, and she came to visit me for a week a few years ago. I think I owe her a visit, don’t you? I’ve never been to Alaska before. I love learning about her life and her days.

I met her when we were both blogging on xanga. The first thing I read on her site that made me think she was possibly a kindred spirit was that she was currently reading through the James Herriot books. Eventually we learned that we had a lot more than that in common. We were homeschooling moms, the same age, loved the same books, and each had a bunch of children that were all about the same ages. We both got married in the same year, too. She and her husband have 6 children, four girls and two boys.

Our temperaments are a lot alike, as well. For example, we both have suffered from depression and have been able to help each other through dark days.

We both love Jesus.

Hannah is a very talented seamstress, she made Seth and Sarah each a baby blanket when they were born. She’s been sewing her own clothes and asked if she could have my measurements and if she could sew me a shirt.

Jacob and I went out to run errands all morning and as soon as we got home I ran to the mailbox and it had arrived!!

For you ladies who sew, here are some of the details: The pattern is the Schoolhouse Tunic from Sew Liberated. She ordered the fabric, which is voile, from fabric.com. The fabric is by Art Gallery Fabric and designed by Katy Jones. Maybe Hannah could answer questions in the comments if you have any.

She also made a tank to go underneath. It’s a soft, thick stretchy fabric with a nice wide band around the hem. She did a quality job and I’m thankful and humbled by her generosity.

She also sent these little goodies. I especially like the mushroom earrings. Her mom made the scrubbies and the earrings so you can see that amazing talents have been passed along from mother to daughter.

Today has been so unusual. Not only did Hannah’s package come, I also got a letter from Gina, and Wilma! The cardinal is a postcard that Dawn sent me a few weeks ago and I never did tell her I received it which is really sad…so hopefully she’ll see this post…and I’ll be writing to you four ladies ASAP, I can’t wait, and I bought some Halloween stickers today to decorate the envelopes.

Last but not least, here is a picture of Ethan (my senior 17 year old son) right after he got off the bus this afternoon. He dressed up for school because he has an away game tonight for soccer.