a beautiful day at camp

After leading the adult retreat, I jumped right into more days of Adults with Special Needs. I had 26 people show up today, and we all got to take a hayrack ride, pontoon ride, go fishing and roast our hotdogs over the fire. We planted flowers and decorated flower pots for mothers day, made peanut butter pie, sang songs and shared in a Bible study. It was a busy, full day, and tomorrow I'll do it all again with another group of adults. The plan is to go to bed early tonight...

what a friend we have in Jesus

I just spent the past few days leading a retreat with this title for a great group of adults. We had a nice three days together, and shared many helpful and thoughtful conversations.

The focus of the retreat was on Psalms and Prayer. We learned a lot, and by the end of the retreat, I had them writing their own Psalm, based on the 23rd Psalm. We called them our Personal Psalm 23, taking each stanza and writing new words to correspond to our first line, "The Lord is my ______." We shared these Personal Psalms the last day, and there were lots of tears shed. It's amazing how powerful it is to recite the promises of God for our own individual circumstances.

I wrote one, and thought I'd share it with you.

My Personal Psalms 23:
The Lord is my baby's maker
He is the best creator, the king of all creation, and I have nothing to fear.

He knit me in my mother's womb
and I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
With great care, he is knitting this baby just the same.

He is good to teach me so much during this expectant time
like how the fierce love that I feel towards this child
is the same fierce love he has for me.

Even though I've missed a day or two of taking my prenatal vitamin,
I will not live in fear.
This is your kid. You are the one who started its beating heart.

You have a purpose and a plan for this little life; a future and a hope.
Even though hard days will come, and mistakes will be made,
You promise to be there.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
and the little life inside of me,
and we will worship and praise your name forever.

***

If you're looking for something new to try during your quiet time, give this a whirl. It's amazing how many promises we have stored in our hearts, and to write them out...applied to the worry or concern you are facing at this very moment is powerful and nurturing.

Happy May Day!

I made this little bouquet a few weeks ago, knowing that it would be the May basket I would give to my neighbor friend. Rory and I delivered it this morning and we ended up sitting down for a while and reconnecting. People, this is why I love May Day. It's just a good reason to get out there and see people you haven't seen in a while.

I used the same jar I used for my fabric flowers, but filled it with coffee beans this time, instead of jellybeans. The bonus? This bouquet of paper flowers smells divine.

I found the instructions on how to make these super simple flowers here. They were really fun to make, and an easy project to do in an evening.

just a friendly reminder...

...that tomorrow is May Day! I have the best memories of celebrating May Day with our next door neighbors, the Andersons. We would make our baskets (theirs out of cups and stickers and ribbon handles, and ours out of paper fortune teller things turned upside down) and filled with popcorn, skittles and rolos. Then we'd deliver them, ringing the doorbell, and running all over the neighborhood, being chased for the thank you hug.

I have talked to lots of people who have never celebrated May Day...which is a bummer, because its basically a fun day to give a thoughtful and easy gift to your neighbors.

Last year, I got a basket from my neighbor friend, Joan, and already have hers ready to go for tomorrow. She reads this blog, so I'll wait to share pictures until she gets her basket. The picture above is just a google stock image, but I loved these colorful baskets!

So, get your game on! Get out and see your neighbors again, pop some popcorn and buy some candy and celebrate spring, community, hugs and friendship.

anticipation

My nieces Mara and Sonna have their birthdays next week. Mara will turn 5 and Sonna will turn 3. This picture is a year old, and I can't believe how much they've grown in one year. Plus, Mara just looks different when her eyes are open! :)

I was on the phone last night with Mara when she told me, "I wish my birthday was in the winter because then it will be more soon. I always say, mom, is it my birthday yet? when is it going to be my birthday? when is it going to be my birthday? But now it is this Monday. And there isn't even another Monday before it. Just today, and then another day and another and another and then it's my birthday."

I started writing that quote down word for word the second she said because then it will be more soon. She has been talking about her birthday for months now, and I'm so happy she finally will get to celebrate turning five!