Month: June 2011

This week has been a week of family and celebration….

We celebrated Janneke and her graduation, Andrew and his graduation, Peter’s 8th birthday, Suzi’s 33rd birthday, Jonna’s 43rd birthday, Olivia’s graduation, my cousin Kevin and Mary’s wedding…..

I am thankful that I have a family that enjoys celebration. We still give gifts for birthdays and enjoy gathering for lunch. We often grill out for dinner and if the day is too busy to gather, we will meet for a night-cap and some crackers and cheese. And if it is out-of-town family (such as Jonna today) we talk about all the sweet moments and say often how we wish you were here to celebrate! Olivia is coming to GR to sleep over for a few days to be celebrated and we drove six hours to spend three in Chicago in order to celebrate Andrew….

I wonder what you have celebrated this week….

I wonder how you celebrated this week…

I hope that you will remember to take time to celebrate…and enjoy!

Happy happy Birthday to my sister Suzi….

I think about your 33 years and am delighted with all you have packed into those years. I admire your ability to follow your dreams and commit to living true to God, your family and your own heart. You have poured yourself into your family,  our Church community, and your school community.  As I journey alongside you, I admire you and I believe you are living life fully and living well!

And so,

You have lived well for 396 months…

You have lived well for 1,716 weeks

You have lived well for 12,053 days….

You have lived well for 289,272 hours….

You have lived well for 17,356,320 minutes….

And it is my hope and prayer that you will have many, many , many more…

Carry on my beautiful sister and friend! May your year be filled with many moments of laughter, love, goodness, grace and a deep awareness of how much you are loved!

Today my nephew celebrated his golden birthday. Turning 8 on the 8th is sure to make for a good day. Only thing that may have been nicer is if the temperature stayed below 88, but I am not sure an 8-year-old cares much….

When I looked up the definition of Peter I found, “The meaning of the name Peter is ‘Stone'”

Then I went to Peter’s school website and found this verse from I Peter….

“And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”   – I Peter 2:5

And I smile as I think about this as Peter begins his 8th year because he is demonstrating that his desire to please God continues to grow. He loves to read his Action Bible, is a faithful prayer warrior, has a tender heart, a delightful singing voice and a curious spirit. I remember a conversation when we were driving along and he asked me how would we know that Jesus came back if He started in California. He also has a very tender spirit towards injustice and prejudice and engages in these conversations with amazing insight.

Peter is a great sibling and has a very special bond with his little sister. He can make her laugh doing almost nothing and yet he would do almost anything for her. Isaiah and Peter are growing in their brother relationship as Isaiah is starting in team sports and continues to love spending all his moments with Pete. 

Peter has a growing sense of adventure and gaining in his confidence on his rip stick, skateboard, and water sports. He is learning about all he can do and is loving the world of athletics….

 There are many more things I could tell you about Peter, but I am pretty sure you will read about him more in the year ahead. Happy Happy Eighth Birthday Peter Henry. You are very much liked and very deeply loved by so many and I hope you have a great year being a son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. You have a big heart and a good mind. You have a great laugh and wonderful twinkling eyes. You have a very funny sense of humor and I am so so so so thankful to God for letting me be your aunt. I love you and i love how your growing up….I will always be a huge fan of yours!  All my love, Aunt Trish

was the question that kept popping into my thinking as I awaited the 250 8th grade graduates.

I had my camera poised and ready to shoot the passing quick glance I would have when my nephew, Andrew John, walked down the center aisle.

I am happy to say…I got him and was relieved to know that a blue gown and cap, doesn’t hide the handsomeness of my growing up nephew!

And then I began to look over the program….

It was an amazing glance into the diversity that surrounded Andrew every day from 4th to 8th grade….

There are the Erica’s and Madison’s and Noah’s and Samanthas…

There are the Yohana’s and Joniqua’s and Sherard’s….

There are the Jahils and Asha’s and Kemekko and Sopuluchukwn….

I think you get my drift. There is more diversity in this public school in Oak Park than any Christian school I attended.  Of course they don’t all look alike….there is amazing variety in this group of kids….amazing attributes, I am sure, that sets them apart.

But soon my mind drifted away from the 248 I could only wonder about and focused in on the 1 I know for sure.

My nephew, oldest son of my brother Nick and sister-in-law Jonna graduated tonight in Oak Park. I find myself a bit emotional as I watch “my kids” don the cap and gown and close the book on one chapter of life. And yet Andrew, in his poised and calm fashion, celebrated his graduation with a classy fashion.

He looked so grown up as he wore his shirt and tie…

He was so thankful when he opened his card….

He was thoughtful as he shared about his school and what we might expect in the graduation ceremony…

He was proud as he shared his grades and the results of his hard work….

Andrew, in your class you were one of 249 and tonight when they called your name, I could have out hooted and hollered all of them. But I know you are not the type of kid that would enjoy the spot light shining on only you. And so I refrained….

But please know that you are making your aunt very proud. With your kind heart, witty humor, sensitive spirit and incredible intelligence, I believe you will do well in High School. But, doing well in High School is not only about the grades….it is about living life to the fullest and choosing to support others in your pathway every day!

Carry on my dear nephew, and know that I will be a listening ear for you, a hooting and hollering cheerleader, a prayer warrior and a friend!

Love you…..

I had the great privilege to create Janneke’s open house video. It was a special time when each picture I worked with gave me a bit of insight into the delightful person she is. But tonight, as we wrap up the celebrations of her graduation, I seem to keep coming back to one of her favorite quotes: We must face tomorrow, whatever it may bring, with love, joy, and bravery.  Mr. McGoriums Wonder Emporium

I wonder what your tomorrow holds and what you are needing to face with love, joy and bravery? It is a great thought to take into my Monday. I wonder if what you are facing is being faced alone or in community? I wonder if you will rest easier when you face it or if you will experience restless days and nights to follow. I wonder if what you are going to face in your tomorrow will come with joy and anticipation or heaviness and dread….

I love that Anne and I opted to place this quote on the back drop of a beautiful sunset picture. When I remember this quote in the glow of the sunset, I am reminded that in my tomorrow, God has gone before me. As I have matured in my faith, I have come to realize that this truth does not mean that my tomorrow will be easy, but it does mean I can be confident that I am not in any space alone.

I wonder what your tomorrow will hold….

I wonder what your tomorrow will bring….

I wonder if you will use more love, joy or bravery….

I am thankful to know I am journeying with others. I would love to sit with you all tomorrow night and share what your tomorrow brought

Live boldly and live well!

I have learned many things these past few weeks as I have become a more avid bike rider.

I have many blogs brewing in my thoughts from these experiences, but tonight, due to internet connection issues, I am going to share one and keep it brief.

I am learning the importance of bikers and drivers making eye contact.

As a biker, this helps me to know I have been seen.

And in biking, being seen = safety.

I will share more very soon, but please, as a driver, be aware of where a biker is or may be coming from. Pay attention to  cross walks and white and yellow lines….it all helps those of us on bikes to remain safe and injury free!

When I think of my oldest niece Janneke, I think of an eighteen year old young woman who lives with a mission.

She is not one whose purpose has been to excel academically, although she did quite well in school….

She is not one who strives to succeed in music and drama, even though she is very gifted with an amazing voice and is quite an actress….

She is not one who has set out to make and save a lot of money during her high school years, because after all, jobs have been hard to come by….

So, when I think of Janneke living with a mission, this is what comes to mind….

Janneke has always been a very engaging girl. She knew how to start a conversation with most anyone…

Janneke has always been very compassionate and quite an advocate for the underdog….

Janneke has always been very articulate and able to translate her passion and compassion into words quite easily….

So, when you take an engaging, compassionate, articulate girl who is gifted in song and drama, and marvel at her growing faith and passion for people, it comes quite naturally that she lives with a mission….

Janneke loves people and activity, but it is evident her favorite people (most often) is her family. When life gets busy, she chooses to bypass many invitations in order to spend an evening home with her family. 

And so as Janneke graduated tonight, and I thought about how she has always lived life with a mission. I smiled at how she is responding in the same spirit for the next chapter of her life. Janneke is going to live an adventure and learn even more about who she is and what it means to serve others. Janneke is going to put her engaging, compassionate, articulate gifts to work and spend six months serving with Youth With A Mission….

I believe that God knew this would be true already when this one year old sat in the wash tub.

And so, I delight in how Janneke is willing to risk and venture out in order to continue to live with a mission…YOU GO GIRL…I am behind you all the way!

I think in book titles, lyrics and headlines….

Often as I drive through the day I think of a sentence that captures what I am experiencing…

Tonight, as I enjoyed a ten-mile bike ride with my mom, I kept thinking….

We enjoyed so many different scenes….

we passed many people and greeted almost everyone with a “hello, how are you?”

we greeted children who were out walking with friends…

we greeted couples who were out for a walk while pushing the stroller…

we greeted other bikers who were out to enjoy a beautiful evening as we were…

we greeted a gentleman and a middle-aged man with down’s syndrome…

we greeted many and were greeted by almost all….

We saw friendships being shared in conversations

~at the mailbox

~on the park bench

~in the back yards that line the bike path

~on the decks of homes that overlook the bike path

~on the ball diamonds

~on the playgrounds

We heard birds and saw bunnies, we experienced quiet and rode along side the highway, we saw mobile home parks and homes with tennis courts…

It was a delightful ride and as we pedaled and pedaled I was keenly aware of life and how beautiful it is to live it fully and to observe life being fully lived!

What an adventure it is to enjoy our ride down “Mulberry Street”

I wonder what you will see as you ride down your “Mulberry Street?” Soak it up and enjoy all that can be found in very simple places!

I love my house more every year I live in it.

I bought my house in 2004 and now almost 7 years later, I find myself still loving it more and more…

As I think about it, there is a story to falling in love with my house…it was first the sun room that I learned to enjoy and then the office, then the living room, then my bedroom, then the kitchen, then the guest room, still developing my relationship with the basement.

A few years ago I began to explore my front and back yard and added a deck and began to see potential for my “gardens.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have garden’s in the true sense of the word, but I have a strip along the back of my yard, a strip along my garage, a hosta garden off my deck and a strip in the front of my house. More true would be to say I have garden strips!

Now, I also do not have a knack for gardening, at all, so I am very blessed to have a mother who loves to garden. And so, the true answer to how does my garden grow, is through the tender care of my mom’s touch.

There is a plant (Clematis) I love to watch bloom every year. It climbs tall and the buds have an expectancy to them that draw me to check in on them often throughout a day. Tuesday, there were many many buds but they seemed tightly closed. Today there were beautiful flowers…I called my Mom with excitement and said, come see…it bloomed!

I am grateful for the beauty of the gardens….

I am thankful for the mystery of the gardens…

I am thankful for the  reminder that with proper care and nurture, beauty is born!