Sentimental Road Trip

I headed to Iowa for a not-so-pleasant reason this weekend: a funeral.  But along the way, I enjoyed some simple pleasures that I have missed since moving away.

 

An endless sea of cornfields (and other fields unrecognizable to me)

 

And of course:  Pancheros! My traveling companions and I may have stopped there twice on our 17 hour journey.

Photo Book

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Under Construction

Currently, our street is under massive construction.  We have been navigating "Road Closed" signs and cranes at any given hour of the day.  This week, our alley was completely blocked off, and a path was made through the Alterra coffee shop down the street.  We are flexing with each new development. I just feel bad for the home owners whose homes face the worst of it all!

View to the left from our alley:

                                     

And to the right.  It is actually drive-able today!

                                    
                                     

We have had to alter our jogging route on the parkway as well.

New view for the neighbors

                                      

 We enjoyed playing in some of the equipment.

So many big round things!

A new scenic overlook.



 All of the work will allow the new sewers to drain into the river and keep us free of flooding. Even better, we get a pedestrian-controlled stop light on our corner, which means we won't have to wait so long for North Ave. traffic when crossing!

Sabbath Rest

I have realized something about myself over the past few years that I am finally taking time to reflect on.  It's something that needs to change, and it's not a change that will come easy.  I anticipate figuring this out for the rest of my life.  The truth is:  I have a really hard time resting.  On Sunday a friend of mine asked why I don't like taking naps, and my response was, "I feel like I'm wasting time."  

Do I think the world can't go on without me? Am I really that important and productive that if I stopped to rest every now and then, everything I've been working toward will become mass chaos? Of course not.  But then why do I live that way?  In Peter Scazzero's book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, which I am reading at the moment, he dedicates two chapters to the importance of the sabbath.  The fourth commandment God gave to His people, in summary, is, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy."  This is one of God's commands-and I have been breaking it my whole life! (Thank you, God, for your lavish grace that allows me to know you still). 

The Sabbath is a time to rest and delight in God.  It puts God at the center and focus of my week, as I stop work and trust Him to take care of the things I have left undone for the time being.   God did it after creating the world in six days, and He invites us into this rest, because He knows we need it.  Scazzero calls it "stopping to breath the air of eternity".  Even in my free time I am often checking things off of my ongoing list, which doesn't really allow myself to rest in the way I am meant to.  A Sabbath can be taken any day of the week for 24 hours, and for those working in full-time ministry it thought wise to take a several month long Sabbatical every eight years or so. 

Sometimes I forget that I have limits, and I try to replace God by acting as if I know what is best, and  I have all the energy in the world to do it.  For my mind to make the shift from "doing" to "being,"

it will take a radical transformation and undoing of habits I have built up for years-but I am ready.  I'm ready for the refreshment and rest that God invites me into, so that I can best reflect and glorify Him with the limited time He has given to me.

  

(Photo taken on our honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica. It is a perfect depiction of rest for a beach lover like myself!)

A Messy Kitchen

This is what our kitchen has looked like two nights in a row.  (And not because we didn't do the dishes). These are just the dinner dishes! While it was a lot of work cleaning up, it was well worth the work.  The weekend was full of home made meals with fresh ingredients, and three new recipes that weren't planned out. 

Earlier in the week we had eaten lunch at a cafe in Cedarburg and as we raved about our chicken pesto paninis with roasted red peppers I said, "We could make these at home".  So today I busted out the counter top grill that we had unintentionally relegated to pancake making-and the turkey paninis that turned out were amazing!  Last night it was bruschetta (Ben's favorite appetizer), and shrimp with angel hair pasta and a sauce I made up on the spot.  For desert, the ever so easy but always delicious trifle with angel food cake, pudding & Cool Whip, and berries. 

So, I don't mind a messy kitchen at dinnertime because it means we are likely enjoying some good food, and in this season of fresh fruits and veggies and endless options of exploring how to enjoy them, I anticipate spending a lot more time in my kitchen. 

Budman's First Pitch

My father in law is the biggest Cub's fan I know.  So when a friend of his set it up for him to throw the first pitch out at a game early this season, it was a really big deal! 60 of his closest friends came to celebrate and enjoy the game in the Batter's Eye Lounge.  To top it off, we got to mingle with Chairman of the Cubs, Tom Ricketts.

"Strike!"

 

Chatting it up with Chairman Tom Ricketts

 

Someone wore the wrong apparel

 

Out on the field before the big throw

 

Jonny and Rachel's first time at Wrigley!

                                 Everyone signed a poster of Wrigley to be framed

   

Ben's college buddies Greg & Lyons

Elvis Shoes

These belong to my neighbor across the hall. I smile every time I walk out the door and see them!