Sunday, November 16, 2008

i still ♥ durham

Yes, my friends... I still love Durham. Even after discovering a broken window Saturday morning, and a bullet in the corner on Saturday evening, I still love Durham. When I first discovered the broken window, I thought that a rock or a ball had been thrown through the window. The hole appears to be too big for a bullet hole. But Leanne and I couldn't find the projectile... meanwhile, some youth from out of town were staying at our house Saturday evening, so we had to deal with this discovery very secretively! It wasn't until Saturday evening, when Leanne and I snuck away from the youth at Frankie's to leave bit early to clean up the rest of the glass, that we found the bullet. It was laying off in the corner of the living room. From the looks of everything, the bullet looks to have been shot from a pretty far off distance, and more than likely, it was NOT intended for our window. In a way, that's better than someone intentionally throwing a rock through the window! It's not like I didn't know people around here shot guns sometimes. I am well aware of my location. I'm a little sad that the policeman today took the bullet. I really wanted to keep it as a memento! Life in Durham is never dull... I promise you that!

This morning, while the girls were getting ready, I had time to listen to a Marc Driscoll sermon from his series “Philippians: Rebel’s Guide to Joy” In the sermon he talked about how joy is not an emotion, rather joy is a lifestyle that celebrates the forward progress of the Gospel. He goes on to say that everything is an opportunity for the progress of the Gospel, therefore NOTHING (not even the worst situation) is without merit or purpose, and in THAT there is joy because it is ALL for the Gospel. God is definitely teaching me more and more about the difference between happiness and joy. He’s also making it clearer everyday that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.



Wednesday, November 05, 2008

so much to say!

This past weekend was quite action packed, and if I truly wrote all that I wanted to, no one would take the time to read it! But for those of you in another country who actually want to know what's going on and I'm not able to tell you about this face to face... here goes my attempt at a SHORT update on the awesome cool stuff God did this past weekend.

Friday night Leanne and I hosted a Halloween block party for our neighborhood. Friends, family and church pitched in to make this night a success. Some friends came early to set up. Some make or brought goodies. Some simply played games with the kids or served food/drink to those who came. Leanne and I had been able to go out earlier in the week to knock on doors and invite the neighbors to come. We had a good turn out - not everyone of course, but enough! For our first community event, I can definitely say I was pleased. :) Connections were made, and neighbors talked to each other - what a concept!

Saturday morning was another endeavor. Our friends from the Summit came over to help us gid a big ole ditch behind my house to help water drain away from my yard. Previously, whenever it rained, water would pool behind my house and would stay there for days. Yesterday it rained all day... and the ditch worked perfectly!!!

Saturday night I went over to my friend Jennifer's house and watched a big Florida Gator's game with her and Eric. They are huge fans of the Gators, so
I did my best to at least look the part of a fan. :) Good friends... good times...Sunday was my Dad's 60th birthday! I got to go home after church and celebrate with him for a bit before heading over to Flat Springs (the church I grew up in) to sing at a celebration for the music minister. It was his 30th anniversary of working at the church. I saw lots of people I haven't seen or talked to in quite a while.

Phew! I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend. But no such luck. Thankfully, it's already Wednesday! Have a great rest of the week, and thanks for checking up on me!