As the Clock Runs on Towards Midnight

With what is for me "The" concert fast approaching (THIS FRIDAY!!), it's a daily fight -- no, make that an hourly fight-- to keep from letting the hundreds of little preparations darken my mind. Sometimes I feel like come 7 pm on Friday, I'll turn into a pumpkin instead of direct a group of wonderful, albeit small, singers, and individual performers whom I've auditioned, coached and approved. Pray for me! I do NOT want to be stressed. As a certain Prince of mine reminded me "Life is better lived enjoyed."

A sweet reprieve in this cloudiness came as I heard this song over the radio in the school office. It teared me up then, and as I listened to it now I outright cried. It's for every daughter and every father, or anyone who hopes to become one... for anyone who has sweet memories, or hard regrets, or hope for the futures... because the clock DOES strike midnight, but it's never too late to have one last dance. I love you, Daddy.



--Christina
PS Here's the "Story Behind the Song"

Cute Little Girls Singing BIG SONGS

This adorable little girl can be found performing in both Mandarin and English on YouTube... amazing pitch matching for a 2 year old!!! :)


Singing "Amazing Grace"


Singing "The Lord's Prayer" (I LOVE her hand motions)

And lastly, but not leastly, my friend Sarah's little girl, Maddie. And again.

Makes a music teacher's heart happy.

Which reminds me...

Let me just share one thing that I KNOW you do NOT want to instill in your kids. Several of my middle schoolers- boys- have lately decided that singing is not manly. When I've probed and prodded them on the issue, more than one has said; "Oh, I'm just like my Dad-- he doesn't sing at church, either." YIKES!! I'm quite sure that hearing their sons say that would break their dads' hearts-- these are men who deeply desire to raise up godly offspring. They likely either don't realize how much their sons are watching them during worship, or how important singing (and music) is to God. We've got a whole book FULL of commands to do it!! (The Psalms)

Whatever happened to heartfelt singing being a part of godly manhood? King David, slayer of Goliath and greatest leader of Isreal was also the main psalmist... most of the musicians recorded for us in Scripture are MEN!! (Asaph, Hiram, the Sons of Korah...) So, Dads, and single guys for that matter, consider your MUSICAL testimony as part of your ministry to those around you, especially those looking up to you. Don't be the kind of father who makes your child's teachers cringe. Or your child's Father cringe...

Portland in Pictures

Alone on top of a wide, green world; the view from Rob & Joanna's living room

Well, have at 'em! I've got two whole albums for ya to see. :)

Portland, Oregon: The first chronicles Sunday - Wednesday of our trip; the house, Israeli folk dancing, the Evergreen Aviation Museum (aka Spruce Goose museum) & Vineyards, and several meals (lots of cooking styles; Southern, Thai, then Lebanese). Most are taken in Portland, but some are taken in Lincoln City, by the coast, and on the way there. See Ryan's blog for a full account of Tuesday's excursions! (let me say here that the food at Andaman Thai tasted every bit as good as it looked... and it looked... amazing.)

We also had a get-together of our extended family "on Joanna's side" at Ya Halla! (the Lebanese restaurant where Ryan's parents threw us a celebratory feast when we got engaged last year. It's becoming a tradition!)-- all of Ryan's steps and their families were there; Willy & Iala, Jenny & Aaron and little Shyanna, and James & Mindy.

Portland II: this covers Thursday - Sunday; return to Multnomah Falls, Shabbat meal, and our time in the Midway (Chicago) Airport

And, We're Back!

Well, guys, it was a wonderful week. My Uncle Duncan (who is a pilot with Southwest) & Aunt Robin gave us 2 "buddy passes" as a graduation gift, good for any round-trip in the States. We redeemed them this past week by flying out to Portland, Oregon, to visit Ryan's father & step-mother there. It was pretty much a perfect "Spring Break."

I promise I DID try to update while we were there, but encountered enough technical difficulties that Ryan urged me to scrap it. When HE (Mr. computer-nerd-himself) says that, I figure it's a lost cause. ANYWAY we got held up in Chicago last night, and flew in to Louisville this morning early enough to make Sunday School, if that tells you how early we got up. In other words, I am tired. Too tired to make a post... it'd be run-on and boring anyway.

The pictures are me being my goofy-wired-self at 6 am Central Time, in the Midway Airport. We always wanted to spend a weekend in Chicago... too bad we got in too late and left too early to see anything but street lights...

I want to go to bed!! I think I just might. Work tomorrow does NOT sound appealing. But a thankful heart is a happy heart... so here I go, smiling. :)

--Christina

Long Overdue...

(her birthday was last Monday)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

We love you and are so thankful for you! :) Your smile lights up every family gathering... not to mention the food & the hugs...

from our last family get-together, at the end of March

"She opens her mouth with wisdom,and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. [...] Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands,and let her works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:26- 31 (ESV)

"Expelled"

I've heard people compare the Intelligent Design/Darwinian Evolution debate to the Copernican Revolution many times... this interview does it in a wholly different way. Check it out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY

My cousins Riley & Conner (Thompson) on New Year's Eve

[Riley is the lanky smiler on the left]

Riley,

Ryan & I love you, and we are SO proud of the young man you are becoming! You have a tender, kind heart-- we see this especially when you play with little bitty kids like Collin and Caroline. We love the heart God has given you to pray; please keep praying for us, and for God's kingdom to get bigger, all around the world!

We are so thankful that our Lord has already called you His Own, and that you are following and loving Him! Never stop doing that! We pray that you "bear much fruit" as you grow up, so that everyone can see that you really are a branch that's been planted in our Vine, Jesus Christ. God has made you just the way you are, on purpose... and we love you that way. :) The best birthday (or any day) message anyone could give you:

"For [you] are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [...] Remember that you were at [one] time separated from Christ, [...] having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [...] For through him we [...] have access in one Spirit to the Father." (Eph. 2:10-18)

Live a life of obedience, remembering who you used to be and who you are now: love Jesus, pray LOTS, and serve His church.

We love you, Riley Bear!

Love,
~Christina & Ryan

Grammar Fun

“The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech.”

~J Clifton Paul Fadiman

Friends in Hard Times

Many of you know and love the Shueys, a family who was sent by Grace Baptist Church (in Greenville, SC) to Louisville to attend seminary (Southern). They were my neighbors in Greenville, 5 houses down, and they're my neighbors again here, and so much more... basically the closest to family we have here in Greenville. Dave is a pastor-elder at our church here, though now he is on sabbatical due to the intense pressures on him and our church body at large lately... most of you have been praying for Christy & Ryan Fullerton (our preaching pastor) and Jeff & Christy King (our counseling pastor), and you know that the brunt of the pastoral burden was on Dave, as our only pastor NOT spending large amounts of his time in the hospital. Well, the Lord saw him & his family through that time, and is continuing to sustain them through seemingly deeper and deeper waters. They have had one "curveball" after another thrown at them-- I mean, pretty much any category you can make up, the Lord has seen them through it lately. From car damage, to mugging, to an unexpected need for foster-parent certification, to (in some ways most wearing) general schedule upheaval, to the latest, which I'll elaborate momentarily. They have been tested and tried in many ways, and are responding in faith and trust, to the GLORY of our Good & Faithful Father, Suffering Savior, and Strengthening Spirit.

Most lately, their oldest daughter, Morgan has had a sustained illness that is so far unexplained. It's just serious enough to be alarming, though at this point there is no actual diagnosis...just lots of tests, which leave a large enough question to be vaguely unsettling. Please pray for peace for Dave & Sina, grace and physical strength for Morgan (she was in good spirits, though weak, when I saw her an hour ago), and for insight for the doctors.

PLEASE encourage the Shueys!! If you know them, or even if you don't, please e-mail them, call them, or send them a card. If you want their contact info, email me for it, or send an email to me and I will immediately forward it to them.

This passage is SO relevant to them and to YOU, dear readers. Please join me in incarnating Scripture!

"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many."

Second Corinthians 1:8-11

In praise of that same God-who-raises-the-dead,

~Christina

The Ups and Downs of Adoption- Please Pray

I just received the following email from a family in our church who has been trying to adopt... Please pray for peace in their hearts, and grace for this baby girl-- please, Lord, let her be kept in this believing home!!

--Christina

"Dear All,

The below email was supposed to send yesterday, but failed. I have kept it for you to read. Please pray for us. There is a chance that Amber will leave our home and go back to the birthmom. This grieves our hearts.

Please Pray.

Love,Weyland & Katie

_______________________________________________________

Family & Friends,Many thanks for all the prayers, phone calls, help & encouragement!Sorry for the lack of communication. . .we forgot our computer power cord! Weyland made many trips to Radio shack and best buy to try and find something compatible with our laptop and he just now figured it out! Thanks Weyland!

Here are some pictures of our beautiful Amber Kate! She is such a good baby and we are amazed that God has given us this precious gift to steward! We are still in here waiting for our paperwork to clear and the birth mom's rights to be completely terminated. Please pray for this process to be speedy and successful! If everything goes well, we could be home by Wednesday or thursday, or have to stay as long as another week past that time! Amber is a trooper and has adjusted to our current nomad lifestyle! We have been so blessed by friends and friends of friends who have hosted us these last few days! What a blessing to not be stuck in a motel for weeks!

Amber Says Hello. . .she is six days old today!

We love you all,

Weyland & Katie"