Admiring Obedience

Amy and I met over the internet. We were both going to grad school at a large university and looking for a Christian roommate. We lived in an apartment together for a year. When our lease was up, we still had a semester left of our program, so rather than lock in another year lease or pay higher month to month rent, we both moved in with my parents for 4 months and commuted to school. She's incredibly quiet until you get to know her. I remember the first time we met for lunch, I talked pretty much the entire time because Amy was so quiet. She taught me to be a better listener and to be comfortable with silence in order to make space for others to share. We learned to be social workers together and shared our lives with one another in the process.

A few months ago, Amy was laid off from her job. Today she got on an airplane and landed in Guatemala City. She'll be there for 6 months. It's been really neat to see her seek out God's will for her life while deciding what she would do next after being laid off. She doesn't know what the Lord has planned for her long term, but she knows he's called her to serve him and his people. And for now she's going to do that in Guatemala. I admire her obedience, her trust in the Lord and her courage, and I'm excited to see what God's going to do in her own heart through this experience as well. Please pray for Amy as she transitions to this new phase of life, for her protection, her sanctification, and for God's glory and amazing grace to shine through her.

She just started a blog to chronicle this adventure. You can read more here.

Recipe for a Yard Sale

Here's all you need for a successful yard sale...

A clean garage,

Good helpers who will get up early just to scrub the trashcan you want to sell,

Lots of treasures waiting to be discovered,

Coffee and grace to keep you going,

And a good friend to laugh with.

(If you really want info on how to host a successful yard sale, check out this posting over at The Nesting Place.)

Who vacuums their garage?

My mom does. And now I do too apparently. Do you ever have moments where you know you are your mother's daughter? I had one of those yesterday while helping my bridesmaid (or bff if you prefer, hubby and I were in her wedding and vice versa) clean out her garage.

Bridesmaid and I are partnering together to participate in her neighborhood's annual yard sale which is coming up in 10 days. She's moving out of a four bedroom house into a two bedroom apartment and needs to downsize. I started on this because I felt we had too much stuff and needed to simplify. In the meantime, my parents have put their house on the market, so I now have all their old junk, excuse me, treasures to sell.

I think prior to last night's cleaning we both felt a bit overwhelmed with what we've gotten ourselves into. But there's something about seeing tangible progress, as leaves and dirt are swept away, that makes a task seem more manageable. Bridesmaid and I both work in the human services, so often the work we do in people's lives isn't tangible for a long time, and quite often we don't get to see it for ourselves. So it's nice to take on something where we can see progress and results.

I'm trying to not have overly high expectations that will leave me disappointed, but my hope is that from this yard sale and my birthday that's coming up, I'll be able to purchase a digital SLR camera. I'd love to have some pretty pictures for my blog and to be able to take pictures of family, friends, and our students. I'm still trying to decide between Nikon or Canon and whether or not the video feature is really necessary. But I'm also holding my plans loosely and trying to pay attention should the Lord show me that he has another desire for that money.

On a totally separate note, I harvested the first salad from our garden tonight. We had lettuce with fresh basil and green onions chopped up in it. With a little dressing, croutons, and cheese, it was fabulous. I can't wait to add tomatoes and cucumbers to the mix as the summer goes on.

There are no weeds...

just plants in the wrong place. That's what my landscape architect friend says anyway. So yesterday, in the rain, I dug up some daisies that were in the wrong place and brought them home with me. My parents' neighbors probably thought I was crazy out there in the empty lot, in my raincoat and flip flops, digging up the "weeds" and putting them in plastic grocery bags. I'm finding lots of joy in gardening this year, especially when the plants are free. I'm finding that I connect with my creator when I'm tending his creation.

On another note, hubby and I made some new friends tonight with our neighbors across the street. We've been very blessed with friendly and kind neighbors and have been wanting to use our home more often to serve others with hospitality. We had this couple and their daughter over for a nice relaxing dinner and really enjoyed getting to know them. I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do with this new relationship.

Excited to Serve

I've been convicted that we need to use our big empty house to serve others with hospitality. (It's more empty than big ;-) So we're having visitors tonight. A sleepover with three adorable little kiddos so that our friends can have a night out for their anniversary.

I'm exhausted from the week behind me and overwhelmed looking at the week before me. But I'm thrilled to be able to serve our friends tonight and love on their little ones.