bits of sunshine

birthday number 34

this has been a super awesome day.  i woke at 9:00 am to sunshine.  and i felt so rested.  we puttered around home a bit, then all four of us headed to the Y for some good exercise.  after we returned home, my mom came by with a boquet for me - a huge gerbera daisy in the middle and some pussy willows - so spring-like - in a vase that belonged to my grandma.  what a happy treat! 

my dear friend elissa called to wish me happy birthday - so i got to visit with her while ben made us a grand brunch.  eggs and sausage patties and more bluberry crumble bars (leftover from last night) and coffee - of course.  then ben and the kiddos did the dishes.  and i took my sweet time in showering and getting ready for the rest of the day. 

we drove in the sunlight to starbucks where maddie and ben told me to pick out a mug before we ordered our drinks.  i picked one with a porcelain marker - so maddie, isaac and ben could decorate it for me for my birthday. 

i wanted to watch maddie and isaac ride the ferris wheel - they make me smile.  of course, they didn't mind fulfilling that wish for me.  :) 

i also wanted to visit a dear friend and meet her almost brand-new baby boy.  she and her husband shared part of their saturday afternoon with us. 

he is such a tiny little bundle! 

ben had done some restaurant research and picked one out to try.  we had to wait for about half an hour for a table, but it smelled so yummy (wood-fired rotisserie chicken cooking away), and ben had read good things.  so we waited.  maddie worked on math (by her own choice) and kept us smiling.

isaac was a bit disgruntled by the wait.

once sitting at the table and knowing that food was on the way, he was his happy, goofy self again.

maddie insisted on a birthday kiss for the picture she snapped of us.

the food was worth the wait.  so tasty!  and i had a few bits of cheesecake with raspberry sauce for dessert.  we all kept commenting on what a grand day we were having together.

we stopped at a store at maddie's request.  she and ben went one direction.  isaac and i went to find some kettle-corn for him and maddie and some dark chocolate for ben and i. 

then, we headed home.  we listened to and sang and whistled to this music, this song in particular (thanks to maddie for bringing cd's so we could have some good birthday music), and visited and again talked about how much we all love hanging out together.

back at home, i took a picture of the table - with some of my favorite things on it - before tucking my dear kiddos in and sitting on the couch next to my hubby as he does some research and i write this.

all throughout the day, i had happy birthday notes coming my way, through the mail, by text message, on facebook, on my blog and on my flickr page.  this has been a super awesome birthday.  i have very dear people in my life, and i am so very, very grateful and blessed.

on a little side-note - this is what i wore today:

this is a pic from my 30th birthday:

some things haven't changed . . .

 

faith to reach and to touch the hem of His garment

it is 7:00 am

the sky is grey, the air outside heavy and humid

i am at my table, reading about the woman who had bled for twelve years, and tears are pouring down my face

twelve years . . .

twelve long years . . .

maybe she felt like Job

maybe she cried in her heart

oh that You would hide me in Sheol 
that You would conceal me until Your wrath be past
that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!

my face is red with weeping
and on my eyelids is deep darkness
although there is no violence in my hands
and my prayer is pure

even now
behold
my Witness is in heaven
and He who testifies for me
is on high

my eye pours out tears to God

my spirit is broken

all my members are like shadow

and yet Job said, and she believed, and i believe

i know that my Redeemer lives
and at last He will stand upon the earth
and after my skin has been thus destroyed
yet in my flesh i shall see God
whom i shall see for myself
and my eyes shall behold not another

i'm listening to this, and feeling like i just have to know how to

come up behind him in the crowd and touch his garment

and even at the end of her twelve long years of bleeding and pain and searching and trying and trying and trying to bring her overwhelming, over-taking, over-arching blighted condition to an end, after twelve years of spending money and seeking counsel and accepting treatments and things going from bad to even worse, she was bled of every last resource she had, and yet should could say and believe

if i touch even His garment, i will be made well

i will be made well.  i will be whole.  i will have peace. 

reach out  
touch the hem of His garment

the hem of His robe fills the temple
and in Jesus, the curtain that hid the holiest place
the place where God dwells
was rent asunder.
there is no separation anymore.
in Jesus, the holiest place is accessible to us,
the hem of God's robe is there for the touching

i am reaching 
putting my faith into trembling motion 
oh, that my faith is enough.
i am with the long-suffering woman 

we need an answer 
we need an end 
we need a new beginning 
after twelve long years 

may my faith be enough and Your grace be sufficient
and in Jesus, my Witness, He Who testifies for me in heaven,
i will touch the hem of Your robe
and when Your time is right, You will tell me to

go in peace and be freed from suffering

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

scripture references  Mark 5:24-34, Job 14:13, 16:16-17&19, 19:25-27, Isaiah 6:1, Matthew 27:51

 

words + quiet sunshine

i dropped them off for the second day in a row.

we weren't late.  not a chance.  they were hurrying me along.  

then i took my sweet time.  not hurrying at all.  to look in some shops that i felt like stopping in.

when i returned home, there was this brown-dog waiting for me.

so, i played with her, in the lovely, warm, quiet air.

and admired my flowers

and the little trees that i've been nurtuing along, ever since i found them growing there, three summers ago

and i thought about words.  a lot.  and how sung, or written, they can make me feel.  feel so deeply. 

out in the quiet sunlight of the late morning, i was peaceful.

keep the earth below my feet 
for all my sweat, my blood runs weak 
let me learn from where i have been 
keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

words and music found here

No words. But I'm sure God is smiling, too