just Peachy thoughts

I just want to take the time to share with you a book I’ve been reading. It is an absolutely awesome collection of very short and very true stories about life. Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist (daughter of Bill Hybels, founder of Willow Creek) is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite books!

Everytime I crack it open, I am overcome with these savory slices of Shauna’s life, a life filled with real-ness. It almost always brings a tear to my eye, not of sadness or sentimentality, but of refreshment. Every story is filled with real, breathing, honest life. And that is hard to come by.

She is very much a woman, very much a mom, and very much an inspiring individual. I know many of you (ladies, in particular) would thoroughly enjoy this book, and I just wanted to take the time to highly recommend an excellent read.

This is a book that reminds me why I like to read. Have an awesomely inspiring day.

So the young adult mid-week service at Seacoast has come to an end. Last night was not just an every tuesday service, it was the last tuesday service.

In many ways I am left speechless. I can say that the service was awesome, it rocked (literally, twice as hard- we basically had double the band), and that I was surprisingly sad. So much change has happened in my life at that service, and I know that God was the one changing me, not the ministry, but I find myself being attached to the service itself. And I know that God is still here, with me, just as he always has been, but I can’t help but feel like a whole, packed chapter in my life is closing. My mind keeps running over all these events and services and moments in small groups, with friends, with family. My life has been changed dramatically, literally from darkness to light, and the Lord chose to use that service as a vehicle of change.

I know that life moves on, and I guess last night was the perfect picture of that. But I guess the thing that struck me the most about last night’s service was the worship. Actually, the way we worshipped. Unreservedly. Everyone. Even the unlikely. Even the tired. We worshipped like we knew that there was no promise of tomorrow, like the moment that counts is the one that’s happening right now. That this worship was our sacrifice, devoured by Holy fire, and acceptable for the Lord. Maybe if I’d been worshipping that way for the past 5 years my heart would look very differently today. What if I worship that way today…and forever?

The cross before me,

the world behind.

No turning back,

raise the banner high.

It’s not for us,

it’s all for You.

wince. I’m craving caffeine and a few more hours of sleep. I’m watching the clock wind down and finally let me leave. Tuesday through Friday I can swallow, but Sunday ends and them WHAM!, here it comes again. There’s a little girl inside of me that just wants a blanky and a pillow and a pair of flannel jammies. Ahh, sweet bliss…

I think I need to seriously work on improving the quality of mondays. There’s got to be better monday out there, one worth capitalizing and italicizing, and I want to take hold of it. I’m going to make another list of highlights just to get this one turned around (I’m cheering myself up already):

- the Masters on Sunday. I love watching golf, especially with my hubby. Especially with my hubby and my niece, Ella, who was pretending to bake us cookies and bring us milk the whole time.

- Our house. Every weekend we go visit our house as it is being built… we take pictures and get more excited to move in. This week: it’s primed (inside), there trim and molding, inside doors!, a garage door, and house numbers. House numbers!

- Family. Getting my in-laws together with my family seemed a little nerve-wrecking, but it was awesome. God is good.

- Birthdays. Shouts to Carrie, now 29, and Ashleigh E., now 21!   Next up: Nate- 29

- Our clean, clean, clean apartment. It’s such a joy…(hopefully it will still be clean enough for me to list as a highlight next week).

- Fresh strawberries, handpicked by a 4-year-old. Perfect and yummy.

- The Office. It simply brightens my day with idiotic and outrageous humor.

- My husband, who will almost make himself late for work because he can’t stop cuddling with me. I wish he were here right now.

- The Reflect small group/personal study that we’re going through at Seacoast. It’s really, really awesome.

There, I think I feel a capital ‘M’ coming on… here’s wishing you a brighter, better Monday.

So one of these days maybe I’ll have some time to blog!

P.S., it’s not that I haven’t been writing… I just haven’t had time to finish and post them.

P.P.S., Since I haven’t been posting, I wanted to put up something pretty to look at. The painting above is by Jura Bedic and is sold at the gallery I work for: www.annlongfineart.com