The Answer When You Don’t Know What to Say

Sometimes there are just no words to say when we are faced with difficult circumstances.  Mark Hall says it best.  Take about eight minutes to listen.

 

Living Life

I realize that I have been quite sporadic with my blogging of late.  I’ve read a lot about how it’s a really good idea to have several posts written in advance so that you have things ready to go on days when you really don’t have the time or the energy to write anything new.  Unfortunately, I’ve not really bought into that idea yet…

My only excuse for not blogging lately is that, while I blog about life and our relationships and the communities that we are building, I have been too busy lately actually living those friendships to write about them.

We recently had a very tragic and traumatic death in our church family.  A family unexpectedly lost a young adult son and brother last Friday.  We have shared with them this week in their grief as they said goodbye.  We will continue to walk with them through the long, lonely days ahead.

Our investment in this family is long-term.  They will need all of us more in the coming days than they did this week.  We will not fill the void or erase the hurt, but as Sam said to Frodo, we may not be able to carry the load for them, but we can carry them.

We have other friends who are bearing their own burdens right now, and we have some friends who are rejoicing.  I have a husband who is planning to graduate with his Ph.D. on May 15!

We are busy … living, loving, learning, and sharing with those around us.

So, I haven’t had time to blog lately.  Life has been busy lately.  What about you?  In whom have you been investing your time lately?

 

Community, Topped Off with a Little Sweating

One of the things I missed during our recent ice storm was my aerobics class.  No, I’m not just trying to make myself look good in your eyes – I really did miss it!

We have an interesting little group in our 8:30 am, three-times-a-week class.  Some are young moms, some are moms of teenagers, some are grandmothers.  Some are coordinated, some of us are not-so-coordinated.  Some are short, some are tall, some are thin, some are … well,  you get the gist!

Regardless of our position in life, how we look, or how fit we are, we have a great time.  And since this is not chair aerobics, there’s a whole lot of sweatin’ goin’ on by the time we finish!  I have to come home and take a shower after class just so I can be presentable to myself, much less to anyone else.

Community can be found in lots of places, and with many different kinds of people.  Aerobics is the only time during the week that I see some of these women.  Our paths would not cross anywhere else.

The reason that I first joined this class was not so that I could add more opportunities for community to my schedule.  The simple truth is that I joined the class because I am friends with the instructor.  And yet, we can find a sense of fellowship anywhere, anytime we choose – even in aerobics.

What about you?  Where have you found unexpected occasions to build a sense of community?

 

Lunch With a Friend

Today, I had one of those all-too-rare occasions to sit and enjoy a wonderful lunch - at Calistoga, a great new restaurant in Louisville – with a friend.  In less than four weeks, this particular friend will be moving several states away, and our opportunities to see one another will be even fewer than they are now.  She and I became friends just before I moved across the state, so our friendship didn’t have the chance to develop like it might have had we become friends sooner; nevertheless, I always look forward to any opportunity to run by the office, grab a Diet Coke, and find out what is going on in her life.

Calling her for lunch was on a whim – I did not know that she would tell me about the fabulous job offer she had just received.  That’s what God does for us from time to time – gives us those wonderful glimpses of “providence,” those special instances when we must acknowledge that only He could have orchestrated the circumstances.

Father, thank you for my friend, for the hours we shared today, and for the amazing ways You are going to use her in Your work.

 

Tell Me About Yourself

1.     What time did you get up this morning?  6:00 am

2.     Diamonds or pearls?  Pearls

3.     What was the last film you saw at the theatre?  Fireproof

4.     What is your favorite TV show?  Heroes

 5.     What do you usually have for breakfast?  Coffee, two pieces of toast, and fruit or fat-free pudding

6.     What is your middle name?  Elizabeth

7.     What food do you dislike?  Most vegetables

8.     What is your favorite CD at the moment?  I haven’t bought many CDs lately.

9.     What kind of car do you drive?  2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee

10.    Favorite Sandwich?  Peanut butter and honey

11.    What characteristic do you despise?  Laziness

12.    Favorite item of clothing?  PJs

13.    If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  England

14.    Favorite brand of clothing?  Whatever is comfortable

15.    Where would you retire to?  Nashville

16.    What was your most memorable birthday?  Thirty

17.    Favorite sport to watch?  College basketball

18.    When is your birthday?  March 18

19.    Are you a morning person or a night person?  Night

20.    What is your shoe size?  6 1/2

21.    Pets?  No

22.    What did you want to be when you were little?  A writer or a teacher

23.    How are you today?  Busy but happy

25.    What is your favorite candy?  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

26.    What is your favorite flower?  Buttercups

27.    What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?  October 13-17 – Fall Break!

28.    What is your full name?  Mary Elizabeth Summers Holmes

29.    What are you listening to right now?  The click of the keys as I type.

30.    What is the last thing you ate?  100 Calorie Pack of Lorna Doones

31.    If you were a crayon, what color would you be?  Navy

32.    How is the weather right now?  Overcast and cool

33.    The first person you spoke to on the phone today?  My husband

34.    Favorite soft drink?  Diet Coke

35.    Favorite restaurant?  Martini’s Italian Bistro in Louisville

36.    Real Hair Color?  Dark brown

37.    What was your favorite toy as a child?  Books

38.    Summer or Winter?  Spring

39.    Hugs or kisses?  Hugs

40.    Chocolate or Vanilla?  Chocolate

41.    Coffee or Tea?  Both

42.    What is under your bed?  Dust bunnies

43.    What did you do last night?  Went to First Place

44.    Salty or Sweet?  Sweet

45.    How many keys are on your ring?  Four

46.    How many years at your current job?  One and a half

47.    Favorite day of the week?  Sunday

48.    How many places have you lived in?  Five – Orlinda, TN; Nashville, TN; White House, TN; Louisville, KY; and Owensboro, KY

52.    Do you make friends easily? Yes and no

 

Going Home

It’s been a good three days in Louisville and at Southern Seminary.

Yesterday I barely had time to get to the computer.  We were able to hear Jerry Vines preach in chapel, and saw a number of former professors, now friends.  Chris went on to his conference, and I made my way to El Tarasco to meet a good friend and former co-worker.  Cheese dip – yum!

Later I made my way to Jefferson Mall to meet another friend and partner in ministry who saved me over $100 by sharing some music we had used while at New Salem Baptist Church and are now borrowing for the fall at Yellow Creek.  What a good time of sharing and catching up with what God is doing among people we know and love!

Today, we will slowly make our way out of Louisville and back to Owensboro.  Tonight is the kickoff for Kidz Choirs, and it will be a busy evening.

It’s good to visit friends, but it’s great to be going home!

 

My Day at Southern Seminary

Over a year ago, Chris had the blessing of being asked to present a paper at the second annual conference of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary.  The theme this year is “The English Baptists of the 17th Century,” and since his dissertation fits into that area, he was asked to participate.

So I tagged along – not to attend the conference but to spend time with friends, eat out, and maybe do a little shopping.

I had a wonderful morning.  I stayed in bed until Chris left for the morning session, then got up to go for a walk through the neighborhood around the seminary.  I still think this is the most beautiful neighborhood, and feel so fortunate to have lived here.

After my walk, I decided I needed a cup of coffee, so I went over to the cafe, got my java, and began to make my rounds to see my friends who still work on campus.  I had a great morning of hugging, catching up, laughing, and roaming through Norton Hall.  I didn’t make it around to everyone, but hopefully will be able to do so before we go home on Wednesday.

Tonight I am going to dinner with a wonderful girlfriend, and I can’t wait to hear all that God is doing in her life.

It’s great to be here, and I am looking forward to seeing more friends and visiting some of my favorite places over the next couple of days.

 

To Be or Not to Be … on Facebook

Over on “The Homefront” - a blog for ministry wives sponsored by the Kentucky Baptist Convention - we have been having a lively discussion about Facebook, and whether or not it is a good tool to use for connecting with others.

Pam told us that she had recently joined Facebook, hoping that it will be another way that we can connect with one another.  We even now have a “Homefront” group that anyone can join!

The comments could not have been more diverse – ranging from “I love Facebook,” to my warnings about spending too much time on the computer, to “why should I use something like this anyway?”  Wow!  I thought for a minute that we were really going to get spirited in our discussion.

Yet, it’s interesting how this question continues to come up.  Pam (a different Pam) over at Livin’ Out Loud recently blogged about how she is thinking about giving up her Blackberry.

In this digital age, can be we be too connected?  Is it perhaps unhealthy for everyone in our life to be able to contact us whenever they want … and for them to expect an immediate answer?

What have we given up for all of this technology?  How about things such as getting to know our neighbors, spending time in nature, or reading a good book!  Even more importantly, have we lost the ability to sit still and listen to God?

I still hold to my position – all of these technologies have a place.  The world is not turning back to the day when they didn’t exist, so we better jump on board now and not get left behind.  However, we must remember that we were created to glorify God.  If we can do that on Facebook, great.  But we must remember that we cannot substitute real, personal interaction for IM’ing and texting.

What do you think?  Have we lost anything through our obsession with technology, or are we only moving forward?

 

Internet Cafe and the Weekly Meme

Over at The Internet Cafe, blogging women can participate in a weekly meme, so I thought I would give it a stab this week.  Yes, I had to look “meme” up in the dictionary, and for those of you who will admit that you don’t know what it means either, Webster’s says “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.”  Now, that’s settled.  Moving on.

This week’s topic is:

What is one thing that you absolutely love about friendships? Why? On the other side, what is one thing that you find absolutely difficult when it comes to friendships? Why?

I have so many different kinds of friends … childhood friends, college friends, work friends, church friends, life-long friends, and so many others.  One of the great things in my life has been meeting so many different kinds of people who each have their own experiences and interests, and learning from one another.

Ann-Marie is one of my closest friends.  We have known each other for fourteen years.  Although we no longer live in the same city, we can pick up the phone, send an e-mail, or take a road trip, and it’s as if we were never apart!  Time and distance have not altered how much we enjoy each other.

I still spend one morning a year with the first friend I made in kindergarden.  Even though we live over 2,000 miles from each other, we can still e-mail and text about our favorite television shows, and see one another at Christmas.

One of the hardest parts of friendship is knowing that some are just for a season.  During the time we spent at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, we said goodbye to many dear friends.  Some of these folks we will see again, some we may not.  We were blessed by all of them.

So, what about you?  What are some ways that friendships have blessed your life?  If you blog, why not take up the meme?  If not, feel free to leave a comment!