Still Waiting

I'm 40 years old and still waiting.
Waiting for my children to apprehend all I am trying to teach them, all the ways I have laid out before them how it is to live a godly life, full of meaning, purpose and joy.

I'm 40 years old and still waiting.
Waiting for my time to come, my time to shine in the fullness of what I believe God has put so clearly and passionately on my heart to do.

I'm 40 years old and still waiting.
Waiting for a complete healing of chronic health issues for which I have tried many remedies and interventions, all of which have brought some relief, some comfort but not full healing.

I'm 40 years old and still waiting.
Waiting for prayers I have prayed for many years to be answered.
Waiting for dreams I have dreamed for many years to see their fulfillment.
Waiting. Sometimes I don't even know all I am waiting for; I just know I'm still waiting.

In her book, "Still Waiting," Ann Swindell talks a lot about waiting, and shares a message of hope for all of us who are in the waiting room of life.
And, frankly, I don't know anyone who isn't waiting for something.

Ann beautifully weaves her personal story of waiting with the biblical account of the Bleeding Woman (Matthew 9:20-22), both women knowing the ache of waiting on God for healing.

What I appreciate most about Ann's book is that she did not wait to write it until she experienced full healing, until her wait came to an end.  No. You see, Ann is still waiting.  And, there is something so incredibly God-glorifying, hope-giving, and satisfying to my own heart to read words of hope and to be pointed rightly to the Source and Giver of both hope and healing from one who is still waiting herself.

This lends such credibility to the strong, sure message Ann conveys in "Still Waiting."

In her book's chapters, Ann breaks down the effects waiting has on one's soul, mind, body, and relationships with others and with God. She discusses how waiting makes one weak, broken, is costly, claims one's identity, feels offensive, brings shame, feels like suffering, and is risky.  She concludes her book with a chapter entitled, "Hope for the Waiting Ones," but Ann does an effective job at sprinkling hope ALL throughout the book.  You don't have to wait until the end for a strong dose of hope.

If you are waiting for anything or anyone and want to wait with hope, I strongly urge you to get your hands on Ann Swindell's, "Still Waiting."

*I wrote this endorsement to help spread the word about Ann's book, not solely or even primarily because I was chosen to be a part of her book launch team, but because I have been encouraged deeply by her words, believe strongly in the message of hope about which she writes, and appreciate greatly the skillful, artful way in which she presents that message. I did receive a copy of "Still Waiting" at no charge in order to read it before its official launch.

Sunday Night Summary, September 13, 2015

Reading: I started "In the Land of the Blue Burqas" by Kate McCord after a friend gave it to me to borrow. As one eager to understand the cultures and religious expressions of others, I am enjoying this book. As one who values the well being and honor of women, I am not enjoying this book at all. 

It is a very difficult read for me as it exposes the treatment of women within this particular religious and geographical culture goes beyond being unappreciated to being devalued and even dehumanized. This is hard to slog through. 

But because the author is a Christian and shares how she weaves the truth of God's grace, love and mercy for all humankind, including women, into the conversations she has with the Afghans, I keep flipping the pages to find hope upon hope for a people deluded and estranged from the true and Living God. 

Eating: I've got two fabulous recipes for you this week. At this point in the summer, most people have had enough of the garden ripe tomato. You've either canned tomato-based everything until the skin of your fingertips peeled off from all the acid, or you have given tomatoes away to everyone you know and some strangers, too. Maybe, like me, you learned this wonderful tip of freezing whole tomatoes but now you don't actually know what you're going to do with all of those frozen tomatoes.

I have at least one, very good solution for you and it comes by way of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. When I discovered her fresh tomato soup, I knew I would never be able to consume canned tomato soup again. (*unless you graciously serve it to me at your table, and then I will spoon up every bit of it and kiss you for making food for me)

And, guys, it's not hard to make. It might seem intimidating, but just try it one time. But whatever you do, do NOT try the whole "you can make soup in your Vitamix thing."  Ask me why later. 
Here's the link to this delicious and nutritious soup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-fresh-tomato-soup-recipe.html 

Serve it up with grilled cheese made with garlic bread, and you have got yourself an awesome, autumnal meal.

I cranked out quite a few homemade desserts this week, and I'm not even entirely sure I know why I did that when I have six, yes 6, packages of Neumann-O's (like Oreos) in my pantry. Nevertheless, we had friends over on Saturday night, and my folks visited this afternoon and this dessert was a winner with both: http://www.jocooks.com/bakery/cakes/chocolate-magic-cake/

Doing: We had a low key Labor Day weekend last weekend because the recovery from my tooth extraction was is taking way longer than I anticipated. I was still taking ibuprofen around the clock, icing my jaw and avoiding talking five days post procedure. Avoiding talking?  You gotta know it was bad if I was asking to NOT talk.
Regardless, we were able to host two sets of friends on Sunday night for a small fire on our stone patio and s'mores while I iced my jaw. And, Monday, I felt well enough to make and take dinner to another friend's house where we enjoyed a small fire and s'mores again because, hey, it's almost fall and 'tis the season for fires and s'mores. Anyone with me?

We dealt with a recall on our Pilot and learned that we are apparently still not done with repairs. What is up, Honda?  Lawrence told me we have three things yet to take care of on this vehicle, but they can wait. Like until we have money again, maybe?!  Anyway, truly, I am grateful to have the resources to be able to take care of our vehicles and teeth even if it's not the most fun way to spend one's money. 

On Friday, the kids and I had our first day of homeschool co-op called Crossroads. A part from some nervous jitters and a bee sting during gym, we all thoroughly enjoyed our time and are looking forward to our year learning with this community of fellow homeschoolers. 

Friday night, I was able to attend a volunteer orientation with World Relief to learn more about how my family and I can serve the needs of refugees coming to our area. It was an enlightening time, learning from my friend, Nan Ross, the volunteer and church coordinator for World Relief. 

Saturday was filled with cooking, baking, cleaning and hanging with friends. One of our friends spent the majority of the summer in Russia, where my girlfriend is from, and we were grateful to have some time to catch up on Saturday night over coconut pie and chocolate magic cake.  

Today we thoroughly enjoyed a visit from my folks who made the two hour trek to see us. We haven't been able to travel up to Pennsylvania much this summer with the various car repairs and medical needs we needed to attend to. So, it was really nice to have a visit from them, eat fresh tomato soup that I made and vegetable beef soup that my mom made and catch up on all things family, house and health related along with a few games of Quirkle. 

Looking Ahead: The fall schedule is about to commence in full force this week... a field trip, summer and fall extra curriculars overlapping and some really fun social gatherings for me and the kids. And, I am really hoping and praying I can hit the pavement again running. It's been two weeks! I miss it like crazy, but even the walks I've done (it has sadly, only been two) have left my tooth throbbing afterward. So, we'll see what my body says "yes" to this week. 

Currently Reading

Taking a writing prompt from "Write Alm" today to share what I am currently reading.

Never being one to either finish a book or be in only one book at a time, I have three books that I am reading and actually plan to finish, at least two of them.

"War Horse" by Michael Morpurgo, a story about a horse, told from the perspective of the horse, who is initially bought as a result of a lost bet.  The horse, Joey, is eventually sold again to the military to be trained and used in the U.S. cavalry of WWI.  Having only read 6 of 21 chapters aloud to my kiddos, it is already showing itself to be a tear jerker. And, others have confirmed from either reading it themselves or having seen the movie, that indeed it will be. We'll see if my kids will be able to make it through the entire book.

"The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton.  A couple friends, Laurie and Danielle, turned me on to Kate Morton, and I am so glad they did. I have never had much of an appetite for fiction, always viewing it as a waste of time. If it's not real, why would I read it?  I think my imagination took some kind of massive blow as a child, and I have never quite recovered.  Nevertheless, Kate Morton has begun to amend my perspective on reading fiction for the good. No longer a waste of my time, I can not seem to get enough of Morton's writing.  I find myself near angry that my eyelids fall shut from exhaustion every night that I have a few minutes to delve into the world of relational mystery and intrigue and that she so masterfully creates.  I am 388 pages in on this 548 page saga and loving it!

"Untamed: How the Wild Side of Jesus Frees Us to Live and Love with Abandon" by Lisa Harper.
I am reading this during my all too brief, not-so-quiet-because-my-children-wake-up-with-me-no-matter-what-time-I-wake-up quiet time in the mornings.  Harper is a new author to me though she has written 9 other books before this one, some titles of which sound up my ally. For instance, her recent book, "A Perfect Mess" sounds like she may already know me!

I am appreciating greatly some of Harper's insights into the person, priorities and perspectives of Jesus, one in particular being how 'wild' Jesus is for women.  It took me the first couple chapters to appreciate Harper's sense of humor and 'voice', but less than half way through the book it began to grow on me a bit, and now I find myself more keyed in on the scripture she brings to bear and the claims they make about the Christ I follow.  It has not been as in depth a Bible study for me as I prefer, but it has been a good choice for me in this season. Her questions at the end of each chapter call more for a thoughtful pondering of one's life and perceptions of Who Christ is than an inductive study of specific passages.

I am grateful to be surrounded by a multitude of reading buddies who always have a long list of suggested titles for me to try as I have never considered myself a "reader." I like to run, to do, to move. Sitting down with a good book has only recently begun to appeal to me, especially if a cup of coffee or tea is involved.