So, it's Saturday morning, and not only is it the start of the weekend, but the start to what I call our "bridge weekend," the bridge between summer and the pending school year.
While I exercised this morning, the men in the family did what they do most every Saturday morning: mountain bike. In the last few weeks, our youngest son has joined my husband and eldest son in their weekend adventure, and in the words of my eldest, "He burns up the trails!"
It's been a really incredible summer. A rite of passage for all of us in one way or the other.
Our youngest, who has patiently waited to "catch up" with his brother, can hardly been seen as the "young one" anymore. As his growth has taken off, so has the coupling of his strong inner constitution and physical strength. He is fearless. No matter the challenge, he carries himself in such a manner as to declare, "Nothing is going to hold me back!" And it doesn't.
Our daughter is simply stunning.... and though she is a gorgeous gal.... that is not what I mean when I say "stunning." She has made her way through the conflicting emotions and hurdles of adolescence to become this beautiful, confident creation of God. This has been her summer of emergence. And wow.... just wow.
Our eldest son has WORKED this summer.... and I mean worked! Five, sometimes six, days out of the week... every week. Being the people person that he is, he has excelled, but as we have now arrived at his last weekend to work, we are all breathing a joyous sigh of relief. He said the other night, "Man, I am ready for that week off!" Yes! And we are SO looking forward to having him with us again!
As for husband and I, well, this has been the summer to balance a lot of PLAY with the obliteration of the "to-do list." While it has left our heads spinning a bit, I am thrilled that both were achieved! We feel joyfully lighter with the fall season just around the corner! Words cannot express how grateful and thankful I am for this summer and ALL that it contained, but greater still, it has laid the necessary framework for what is ahead!
This past week was what I consider to have been our last week of summer, concluding with a quick trip out of state with my husband's band. And what a grand way to conclude summer it was! Check out this sunset caught on film by my daughter: (She's got a real knack for the camera!)
(Click on the pictures to enlarge.)
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| Gorgeous sunset! |
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| Shredding it, "Kirby style" |
Next week, it's all about forward focus as we stake the ground and move into the new school year. I am SO excited about this upcoming fall semester! I hope you'll come along with us on our adventures. There will be football games, lock-ins, all manner of fall family festivities, band gigs, ministry trips, and it all will conclude with a family "Christmas season" trip to one of my favorite cities, New York! Yep, ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza, carriage rides through Central Park, 5th avenue window shopping.
Can you sense I am just a tad excited about the pending season? Just a tad...
Before signing off this morning, I want to leave you with an exhortation. It's all well and fun to share a little bit of our life with you, but it should not stop there. I wrote a teaching some time ago about deciding to be a passenger in God's car, letting Him take your car wherever He deems necessary for His purposes and your growth. To be sure, there are sunshine filled days, as well as stormy days, but nevertheless there is no finer place to be! It's a place of purpose, growth, and adventure. If you have not given YOUR life over to God, handed over the keys and the steering wheel, placing yourself in the backseat... please consider doing so today!
Will life be all rosy from here on out if you do? No, but if you do nothing, where will you be? Right where you are...or worse. Human effort equates to vapors. There is a song by Casting Crowns, called "American Dream," that sums up human effort verses divine living. Take the time to listen....
Are your priorities God's priorities? If your life isn't turned over to Him....truly and wholly turned over to Him....the blaring answer is no.
Life is a process, not a destination. There isn't a person living that "has arrived." No, because this side of Glory, God's desire is to continue driving us along, using "weather" and "terrain," to transform us greater still into His image. Consider giving yours to Him today, and trade human effort for divine living!
May YOUR "semester" be a blessed and rewarding one in GOD'S eyes!
Godspeed!
Deborah
