Archive for the Personal
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
“I’ve grown to respect this young woman”
I don’t need anyone to tell me how wonderful Talitha is. But still, I do love it when a good friend like Jenny sings her praises. Jenny and her family are our downstairs neighbors. The photo is of Jenny and Sam.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
One day changes a life
Thirty years ago today, my husband preached his candidating sermon at Bethlehem Baptist Church. It was amazing to us that an old, established church like Bethlehem would consider a man who had never been a pastor before and had preached only a handful of times.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
Let me brag on my son
A poem by our oldest, Karsten, is featured in a review of Cave Wall , a literary journal (page down alphabetically to C). Part of the review says:
Karsten Piper, has a knack for striking visual descriptions. In his poem, “The Jaw Harp,” he describes a man on the street playing a harp:
He plucked a shining harp
like nails and teeth untying knots.
His ancient throat-stone bobbed
beneath his collar, and ductile notes
spilled out among his fingers,
each chasing the one before,
before it echoed over the cliffs, away.This type of language is so physical and real, and is a recurring quality throughout this issue.
I wish I were a student in one of Karsten’s classes at Minnesota West Community College. It’s a sweet thing for a mother when her children surpass her.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Better better better flow chart
I’m not much for organization. And flow charts don’t speak my language.
But here’s one that makes sense to me–the Hey Jude Flow Chart.
Monday, January 11th, 2010
My hero
Happy birthday
to the
super man
who swept me off my feet
way back when.
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Thank you for our parents
Today I’m thinking especially about two people who have prayed for me by name almost every day.
One is my Mother. I’m visiting her this week.
I planned the trip a few weeks ago, but as usual, it was really God doing the planning so that I arrived at a very good time.
Mother was on a medication for an infection. The infection was improving, but the medication was getting her down in various ways.
So I have been here to spend some TLC on her. God has helped her so that she is feeling much better today.
The other person who prayed daily for me was my father-in-law, who is with his Lord now. Today is his birthday and my husband remembers his father at the Desiring God blog.
Thank you, Lord, for the prayers of our parents. Please help me to be that faithful on behalf of our children.
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Happy Birthday, Abraham Christian Piper
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Digging out of Chaos — Thanksgiving
Today I am thankful for the encouragement that so many of you have given me in my efforts to dig out of chaos. I am still working on the 1st main project, making a study for myself out of the junk room that was supposed to be my study.
Here’s the status. You saw the room with everything emptied out. Then you saw it with a new desk, carpet, windows, paint, etc. There is still more furniture I hope to get as the budget allows–2 under-desk drawer units and 2 lateral file cabinets that match the desk.
My Christmas wish list includes an armchair for comfortable reading and 2 adjustable-height chairs to pull up to the side of the desk opposite my chair. They will be for homeschool sessions with Talitha and for visiting grandchildren who want to do desk work near me.
In the meantime, I’ve borrowed a file cabinet from friends. This week I hope to get the files loaded in. I was feeling overwhelmed with the thought of sorting and organizing the files. Then one thought changed that feeling: I don’t have to sort the files now. I just need to get them in the drawer where they belong.
At this moment, Johnny and Talitha are hanging the valances I made today. The material is from Turkey and was the inspiration for the paint and carpet colors.
I wouldn’t have believed how even this one room freed from chaos has opened my heart to greater feelings of thanksgiving this week.
Friday, November 6th, 2009
We interrupt this series to bring you . . . an update
It’s the week before Orphan Sunday, and I’m not finished telling our adoption story. But I need to interrupt with an important update.
Early in October I showed you before and after pictures of my walk-in junk drawer–what it looked like before and after I emptied it totally.
I also listed lies I’d been discovering as I dug out of chaos.
Lest you think that was the end and maybe things just fizzled back to chaotic normal, here’s an update–a preview of more to come, Lord willing.
Tonight Talitha and Johnny were helping me finish assembling my new work table and getting everything plugged in. Just compare the corner to any of the “before” photos.
Monday, October 5th, 2009
I’ve dug out!
The walk-in junk drawer is empty. Here are the before and after pictures to prove it. The desk and file cabinet will be moved by someone else. The boxes in the corner are new shelves waiting to be assembled.
The cloth on the desk is a table cover from Turkey that I’ll use to make valances.
Thank you — a huge thank you — to my husband who hauled file box after file box in our faithful red wagon, to the garage to keep or to the trash to throw or to the car to donate to our favorite thrift shop
Speaking of our favorite thrift shop. I found out today it pays to donate where you’re a frequent shopper. When I took today’s load, the lady helping me said, “Oh, wait! I have something for you.” She handed me an item from yesterday’s load which had included a stack of new, never used photo albums. Except this album had family pictures in it. Guess I got a little too enthusiastic in my clearing yesterday.
Now I can leave with a clear conscience to go with my husband and daughter on a ministry trip. More on that later.
And when I return, I’ll start the next half–putting the room back together again.
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Correction to previous post
In my previous post, somehow I missed one lie: Nobody else sees my bedroom, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.
I’ve added it as #21 (which meant renumbering the following items).
Thank you, The Vicar’s Wife, for pointing out the omission.
