Boats, Beans, and a Summer Hunt for Crazy Joy

It wasn't at the fire pit that I felt him most. Glowing embers spelled out his name amidst laughing families, playful Family Camp counselors, and sticky fingers waving blackened marshmallows. The unmistakable scent of bug spray wafted off us all, and a spectacular red sun slipped into the lake. I felt him, and loved him, but there wasn't time to talk much then.

Later in a room of women, I was honored to be able to speak twice, and we opened our Bibles across sun-kissed summer legs, scratched at mosquito bites, and unfolded our lives a bit. I felt him there, and grinned quietly to him, loving him. It, feeling like worship to be able to speak his words with others, and to spill wide my own life.

In the garden this afternoon, I kneel on warm straw, and lift verdant jungles of bush bean leaves and pea-pod vines, seeking produce. Delicious hot July sun soaks into my coral tee-shirt, and I burst into words with him there. Crunching velvety green beans still warm from the earth, the joy oozes from me, and I talk to my Creator God aloud, alone, in a yard. Dappled leaves applaud in trees overhead, winds swirl my hair so much that I can barely hunt for beans, and I laugh in crazy joy.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the one who takes refuge in you" (Psalm 34:8).

"...[Your] praise will always be on my lips" (Psalm 34:1b).

Some of us are heading to Europe on a missions trip this week. Join me in praying for this time, will you? Thank you. We are praying that His crazy love and joy will grow deep within us and spill out to everyone near us. And we go to learn, to work alongside a French-Algerian church there, our family in Christ.

How can I pray for you this week? What helps well up His joy in you?

Robins and Sunny Afternoons

Pale green blades of grass poked a half inch tall out of black pavement on the street beneath our feet. Determined to make healthy choices, my man and I alternated between jogging and walking on a hot Sunday afternoon. Walking was definitely more frequent than jogging, my rythmic breathing embarrassingly loud in the sunny suburban streets. Husband nobly paced his long-legged strides to my shorter frame and made one-sided conversation. I responded in short one-word answers and focused on breathing and stubborn perseverance. The beauty distracted me and I soaked it in.

Microsoft clip art.

Thank you, God, for: 
-wind-chimes in a five-toned melody
-dangling foot-long pods from a mysterious tree
-the scuffling of blowing leaves on a sunny street
-fabulous, record-breaking warmth for a Minnesota March
-health, strength, stubbornness, laughter
-robins, chicadees
-blushing red buds appearing on trees
-the lilac bushes in gentle new green leaves
-children's laughter on the breeze
-neighbors asking about God, and conversations that stretch long
-praying while panting
-Your glory and mercies new every morning

Linking with Ann and Michelle today, counting God's gifts.

Hello, dear friend. Count three gifts with me today, will you? Name them below and rejoice with me. 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Afternoon

 

"Sing to the Lord a new song, 

his praise to the ends of the earth" 

(Isaiah 42:10)