no more teenage years...
excellent birthday weekend!
one of the best for sure.
shout out to ash keri and jgo. you guys are great.
steady fan club members kris em and brian mitchell- high five to you.
everyone who made the birthday a happy birthday- thanks!
special thanks to the mystery bday card. haha. no worries i figured it out. finally.
thursday nite got people together at applebees- little gathering- lots of food.
jgo totally got me a harmonica...yep watch out all you guitar strummers....you know a girl with a harmonica is hot J
friday was filled with fun cards and hugs and balloons and happy birthdays. no phone calls. my phone is broke. haha. not the best day in krannert. i hate that place sometimes. but birthday was terrific. went to express to find the pants i wanted $20 off...score!
ash and keri threw together a little picnic friday. it was a lot of fun... really relaxing and nice to be with the group from last year. it was amazing outside. brian and his crew came over...they make me smile. funny boys.
my first outdoor movie. it was cold. it was one of my favorite movies. the family shared a couch. then me and keri went to a party. it wasn’t too bad of a party. of course the police showed up by the end of it all. it was nice to see everybody. got lots of hugs and “i haven’t seen you around.” also got a couple rounds and some random conversations. thanks to diddy and em for the ride home- and the ice cream cone J i apologize to friends who had to laugh at me when i came home.
saturday was amazing. nice and lazy. the first saturday in a long time i didn’t have to be up. got some stuff done and then ignored a whole lot of it. went to kennesaw with ash and had dinner with jenn. then went to amityville horror. it was pretty dang good. i’ve never been scared at a movie. but this was a good one.
today is another beautiful day. and sunday- makes it even better. wore a new bday outfit - all the friends found really great things. went to 3 rivers. preached hard on the radically transformed community of believers out of acts. it was dang good. oh it gives me so much vision...but makes my heart hurt so badly...bc of my doubt. my doubt that i will never see it. oh how amazing it could be. how its supposed to be. i just know how divided even like the c.o. group is at berry- gahhhhhhh. no one wants to be a part of something so hypocritical in itself. ohhhh human beings. we decided in dgroup it all comes down to selfishness really.
whenever i hear preaching on the church community i think of home. that is one thing that the pb churches i grew up in had- within each other- with a smaller degree to the outside- which is where it needs to be seen. i didn’t understand at all when we would open our doors to people and bring them in no matter the circumstance. no judgement. i really was confused when dad gave away our fairly new van because another family in the church was in need. I mean he really just gave it to them. hum. the days spent together as a church family...unforgetable! so much fun...laughter...music....singing...preaching.....tears....work...hearts united. i long for another church body like that. we were all connected. in each others lives. to the point where yes sometimes it was uncomfortable. but it was out of love- and we all knew it. it was rare to make it through a day without some sort of happening with the “church family” what happened? spiritual warfare is real. it was preached. but i think somehow we placed ourselves above it in terms of it being within our “church.” just gradually things changed.....everyone was brought to their knees. my parents pew is empty now. others have shifted. the halbgewachs presence is still very much alive. and a new face is in the pulpit.
and now it’s a total new place when i go home. its recovering. what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. i think its true. i pray it is.
speaking of my home church...
i sometimes forget that will be going there after i get home from thailand. o dear...there is a purpose for everything...God give me strength.