Midyear

Another weekly Tennessee bouquet. None from Indiana.

However, here is some art happening in our state, in fact in the neighboring town. And, what is even more special and pertinent to us is that the daughter of our friends won the project-design contest and is working on it with her team. 

Diane was disappointed that she had not been able to attend the local Strawberry Festival, so I picked her up Sunday afternoon for strawberry short cakes from Ivanhoe's. On the way we stopped to admire Abby's work in progress.

We also picked up a movie at Redbox--A Hidden Life. It is the powerful story of unwavering conviction even unto death. and ends with this quote:

". . . for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts:

and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been

is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, 

and rest in unvisited tombs."

George Eliot                       

I am reminded of the hundreds of thousands of unrecognized martyrs we will meet in heaven.

I think also of the many, many ways that people live and serve one another and go unrecognized. One example is Stephan and Karen's weekly hospitality. Their commitment to Monday Night Dinner comes from a strong belief in the importance of community. Conversations are fun and stimulating as we learn from one another. And the food is always different and delicious!

This week, wonderful weather allowed for dinner by the pool. The young ones were in and out of the water the whole time. 

Throughout the week I had several opportunities to stop by Leah's place and sometimes catch a glimpse of Kalani, or even hold him for awhile.  

Staring up at abuela

Thursday Leah had another doctor appointment, the journey continues. Healing and pain, ups and downs, stresses and joys are all part of the journey.

Like walking, it is step by step--paso a paso. 

I began going on longer walks this week. That shows progress, my ankle is getting stronger! Here are some sightings from my Thursday walk. I love the profusion of wild roses on the corner of our road and 8th St. On the way back I caught sight of a groundhog staring up at me. 

I continue to plug away at research to fill in the gaps in my family history. I find it fascinating.

Sorting through accumulations of years gone by is not as much fun. This week I got through all the Spanish teaching materials that I will never use again. I threw away a lot, but some I organized and hope to pass on to any younger Spanish teacher if I find one who may be interested.

Michael continues to put in well over 100 miles on his bicycle each week. He has taken over all meal preparation and bakes bread regularly. Mowing and keeping up with house repairs are ongoing activities. However, he also has added serious sorting and throwing away stuff.

Not much is happening on the robotics front. Only one meeting this week to continue sorting Legos and clean up the place for an open house on Saturday. The other mentor who owns the building wanted to show off his area with all the machinery acquired, and also the robotics shop.

A great housing possibility opened up for Skye's little family. His paternal grandparents and great grandparents lived most of their lives on a lovely piece of land outside of Upland. The two homes have been abandoned for a number of years, are in terrible condition and need to come down. Then they could purchase a decent, livable or newer mobile home or prefab. The prospects are very exciting. We all went out Sunday to take a look.

Checking out the well

The Sower matriarch and family enjoying the weather and one another on the ancestral land.

We are so grateful for God's abundant grace poured out upon our family.

Justice is getting what we deserve.

Mercy is not getting what we deserve.

Grace is getting what we don't deserve!

(From Sunday's sermon)

As we near the midpoint of the the year 2020, even this blog speaks of God's amazing grace. He enabled me to keep up these weekly reflections faithfully despite a variety of circumstances. Though often published later than I expected, these posts are a record of God's faithfulness to us His children.