Month: February 2012

I was struck by this quote tonight…

I believe there is life and peace to be found right in the middle of where you are comfortable and therefore at rest, but I also am finding that there may be a lot of truth wrapped into this quote. I want to spend some time considering where I am hanging out within (even if at the edge) my comfort zone and as a result missing some critical invitations to live more fully!

I wonder if you can identify the end of your comfort zone? The process of naming this has been a journey in itself, as I become aware of where I feel my fear or anxiety and knowing enough to name it my comfort zone. I have also had to identify the draw backs of living within my comfort zone. At times, it is a good and right place to live. Other times it is a place I hide out, allowing myself to live in apathy and  minimal expectation of myself to live boldly and fully alive.

And so I am planning to reflect on this thought this week and consider life at the end of my comfort zone….

I invite you to join me…..live honestly, boldly and exploring new territory in your heart and life every day!

 

And I sure live in a good one!

I would like to share with you a bit of our village activity in the last 48 hours….

Wednesday: My Mom and I go to Detroit to hang out with Olivia (15), Noah (13), Sonta (13) and Jean Marc (8)

Thursday: Aunt Dot drives to Detroit to help us bring everyone back to Grand Rapids. Anneliese (15)  comes from Muskegon and meets up with Olivia, Noah, Sonta and Jean Marc and they all sleep at Papa and Beppe’s.

Friday: All five kids wake up at Papa and Beppe’s. Early afternoon Aunt Suzi comes with Johanna (2) and hangs out with the five. Then she takes Sonta and Jean Marc and the eagerly hang out and await Peter (8) and Isaiahs (5 1/2) return from school. At 5pm Suzi comes with the current crew of 5 back to Papa and Beppe’s to drop off the five, who join up with the three who are there and pizza is enjoyed by 12, while Suzi goes to her book club. Papa and Beppe leave with Johanna to bring her home and soon we all meet up at Henry’s (17) highschool basketball game. Now the cousins are all happy since we add Karolyn (13) and Ellie (11) to the mix. And at the end of the game, Papa and Beppe take Peter, Isaiah and Jean Marc home to Suzi and Andy, Aunt Dot drops off Sonta, Karolyn and Ellie to my house and Arlene and Dan took home their older two and Liv and Noah for the weekend. Everyone has a cousin to hang out with and all will settle into their perspective places until Monday when cousin upset happens again and all should be sleeping in their home beds by bedtime Monday evening! We do miss Andrew and Ryan but they are busy this weekend at Wrestling tournaments.

This kind of kid coordination takes a lot of communication. We use phone, email, text and face to face….but even with that, messages get mixed up here and there.

BUT

In the end, the kids are happy and enjoy being together.

In the end cousins create memories as they talk late into the night and enjoy winter break together

In the end, I appreciate that I have a family that lives like a village…and I have to say, one of the best villages in town!

 

 

I spent the first number of weeks of the  new year considering the word routine. I have begun to recognize that I often abandon routine for adventure. I want 2012 to be marked by my commitment to routine AND continue to live with a sense of adventure. I did not really believe that these two could go hand in hand….

And so I began to pray that God would help me discover the positives of routine and gently nudge me back to routine when I begin to veer towards adventure.  I spent a week at U 1st Fitness which was a week reminding me of the importance of routine. It felt right and fit so nicely with the prayers of my heart. I was nicely surprised by the adventure that accompanied my week in Texas and felt at peace with the discovery of routine and adventure….

And in January as I looked into February, I wondered if February would be a boring month. It was the next day I was invited to join the Open Heart’s Ministry Team for a one week trip to China. Next week Friday I will be heading on a one week adventure to China. I am thankful that amidst my exercise routine, meal routine and bedtime routine, I am being invited on adventure. I covet your prayers. I will post as I prepare this week about specific ways you can pray. Find an excerpt from the OHM newsletter below:

A year ago at the regional training in Houston, Texas we met a counselor serving in China.  He attended the event and learned about OHM for the first time.  He expressed a desire to take our material and training to China to help equip counselors there to care for the Chinese people.  During the spring of 2011 he began the process of translating our Journey Guide into Mandarin Chinese.  It felt like a big dream just a year ago, and on February 24th we are heading to China to train 20 leaders.  A team of six from Michigan will spend a week using the newly translated Journey Guide.  God’s faithfulness has been stunning in this venture and we look forward with great anticipation for how He will continue to move in China through Open Hearts Ministry.

We invite you to thank God for all He has done already this year, in just two short months, and please pray for the team going to China.  You can follow their adventures via the OHM blog (http://openheartsministry.blogspot.com/) and on the Open Hearts Facebook page.

In order to learn more about Open Hearts Ministry and Journey Groups, please visit: http://www.ohmin.org/

I wonder how you are doing finding the balance of routine and adventure in your life. I don’t believe adventure has to include a trip to China, but I am thankful for this opportunity. I encourage you to consider what you are more drawn to, routine or adventure and strive to find a balance…I am learning that living balanced it really is a good way to live!

 

 

Tonight I delighted in liver and onions at my Aunt Anita and Uncle Bob’s home. Both of them are very dear to me and I marvel at their daily walk of faith amidst their daily journey with chemo and cancer. Aunt Anita and Uncle Bob have journeyed this road before and I wanted to share a few things that amaze me whenever I spend time with them…

Their world could be consumed with chemo and cancer but they keep their eyes focused on God and serving others. I enjoy hearing about their volunteer happenings….

Their world could be consumed with chemo and cancer but they keep their hearts tender to loving others. Tonight was the second wonderful meal in the very recent past. Uncle Bob and Aunt Anita are known to open their home and invite others to share in community….

Their world could be consumed with chemo and cancer but they often laugh….I love the picture I have in my memory each time I visit of Uncle Bob laughing and Aunt Anita sharing in the joy of whatever is unfolding around them…

Their world could be consumed with chemo and cancer and aches and pains, but they both remain as active as possible, living life fully and resting when they need to. They both love God, love each other, love their family and love their friends and neighbors.

They are two people I admire and respect and care for deeply!

And tonight when I heard Uncle Bob pray that the chemo would do it’s job against Aunt Anita’s cancer and for comfort for all of those who have cancer, I knew he understood their journey in a way I can not relate to. I love Uncle Bob and his faith in God and his love for Aunt Anita and for all he holds dear….

And tonight when I heard Aunt Anita read this verse from Ephesians 6: 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  I love how this verse is a verse that Aunt Anita lives out every day. Her life is a testimony and her cancer is her chain, but she continues to speak of God’s provision, protection, goodness and grace!

And I am thankful, that during this season of their life, I am able to walk with them….to journey, to enjoy, to sit sometimes in the hospital and sometimes share a meal, but always in the comfort of God’s presence!

I love you Aunt Anita and Uncle Bob and marvel at how you both continue to declare the goodness of our God!

All my love,

Trish

I wonder if you know what it is to have your joy robbed….

I wonder if you have figured out the way to protect your heart and ensure you are able to live out the joy that bubbles within you…

I remember first reading this and not really understanding how it worked. It took me a while to realize how powerful of a thief comparison is…

And I began to explore and study and wonder and look for this thief that seemed to come out of no where…

And one morning, I remember it as if it was yesterday, I realized that I was the one who left the door open and often even invited this thief into my heart and life…

I began to understand that this thief was invited in when I allowed room for the first small thought of comparison…

I realized it was much less about the thief and much more about my willingness to protect my joy with honest and positive thoughts about my identity, my beauty, my giftedness and trusting in God’s design of me and in His plan for my life.

I wonder if you have a security system for the Joy that bubbles within you. I encourage you to set a sensitivity alert for when comparison sneaks in. Be bold and declare that there is no room for comparison in your thinking….embrace and love others for who they are and embrace and love yourself for all you bring to each and every day…

Live joyful and live free…..