Rainey Days

In my closet I have my clothes arranged by type--dresses, skirts, blouses, and pants.   I know which clothes are for work, which are for casual events, and which are for really dressy occasions, like weddings.    I also have one unique article of clothing: a cotton-candy pink polo shirt, with "A Blooming Basket" embroidered on it.  It's the shirt I wear when I help out the flower shop where my sister works.  Over the past four years, I've worked holidays, like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, as well as random Saturdays when everyone else is scheduled off for important things, like Army Reserve duty.   I like my pink uniform shirt; it shows people that I am a part of the team at that flower shop.  When you walk in the door to that shop, you can easily see who belongs there, based on those shirts. I've spent a lot of my life in fancy clothes for work: suits and high heels, pearls and button-down blouses.  It's nice to be able to have a comfortab...

It's been WAYYYY too long since I updated this thing, and I'm finally finding myself with things that I want to share. For one thing, the most exciting news by far in my life is that I am returning to the work I love doing overseas!   In fact, I quit my job at the Y so that I could travel full-time raising support and speaking about the great projects that God has in store for the next few years of my life.  I am currently booking services with churches and sending out mailings to help raise awareness, prayer support, and finances needed to run the evangelical ministry I'll be doing. How did I get here?  Well, it started in March of 2011, about the time I wrote that last (rather depressing) post.  The closure of the Severn River Church was particularly hard on me, and I felt myself floundering under the pressure of that long after I should have come back up for air.  I went away in March of 2011 to try to pray through my frustration and figure out what God h...

I miss writing this blog, but for various reasons, I've gotten away from it. I'd like to continue, even if no one out there even checks it anymore. To start out, I figured I'd provide a "status update" of what's going on in my life these days: I live in my own home, a condo which I love. I have a roommate, which is not a bad thing. I’m thankful for Bethany, and I believe that God provided her to me. I’m helping her out by giving her a room and bathroom of her own, and she’s helping me out—her rent matches almost exactly what Severn River Church was paying me. My family brings me joy, although I wish that my father were in better health. I really wish that he were completely healed, but he isn’t languishing at death’s door. Like Job, he has never cursed God in all this physical trial. My nieces and nephews are a light in my sometimes dark moments, and I love spending time with them. My siblings are the pillars I lean on, and my parents are the l...

Today I decided to spend my lunch break sitting on a picnic table on the playground where I work. I'm so blessed to have a spot like that where I can enjoy the weather while the warm temperatures last. At 1:30, I took my Coke Zero from the freezer where I keep on the point of icing over, grabbed some stuff I was working on, and headed out the door. The sunshine was perfect, not too hot, nor too bright for me to read my papers. I was concentrating on my work when I heard a bee buzz past my ears. I cringed, and the bee flew past my shoulders into the soda can. At first I was aggravated--the soda can was practically full and now I couldn't drink it at all! I waited a moment to see if it would fly back out, but it didn't. I noticed that the bee was clearly circling inside the can, because I could hear a faint whistle of air movement magnified in the can, making an almost musical sound. I forgot my work and started to observe. The bee flew around and around the can. Occasionally...

This morning, as I sat in my office as the new Preschool Director at the Towson Y, I could hear the usual sounds of children arriving with their parents. Hats, jackets, lunches--everything gets dropped off while the parents give the teachers a few parting instructions and the kids find their friends. This morning, I heard a little boy pause as he entered his room. His little round face turned up to his mom as he asked sweetly, "Will today be a day that I always remember?" That's the beauty of life, and it doesn't change from childhood to maturity; we never know the moments that will change our life.

In all the hustle-bustle of the Christmas season, perhaps nowhere is as crowded and crazy as the local shopping mall. Parking spaces are at a premium, and the lines are long at cash registers as everyone tries to get their last few gifts bought. Severn River Church participated in an outreach/fundraiser for the last two nights at Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, in which we wrapped gifts for harried shoppers--mostly men--for a small fee. It gave us a chance to raise some funds for some local missions projects that are coming up this year, as well as gave us some exposure to holiday shoppers who might just be searching for a church as well as the perfect gift! We raised a little over $300 dollars in two nights, and certainly got exposure to dozens of shoppers who used our services. I was pleased with the results, mainly because of the support of the people who made it happen. I want to thank Lori Mullins, a friend who works at the mall and offered us this opportunity; I'm tre...

I remarked to a friend this week that I find children singing to be the most beautiful sound in the world. I love how pure and innocent they sound; it's just delightful to see a child sing--especially one who is serious and passionate about his song. It makes me think . . . if I were God summoning the angels to sing out the good news of Christ's birth, I'd make their voices sound like children. I'd fill the heavens with that sound so clear and uncontaminated. I wonder what it actually sounded like.