three things you cannot do without

Last night I was trying to find video from Billy Graham's funeral service, and while looking around on youtube, I came across this sermon. It dawned on me then that I had never actually heard a full Billy Graham sermon from one of his crusades. So I started watching.

Oh please watch this. And watch the whole thing, all the way to the end, when the choir sings. The sermon is so powerful. It builds and builds. It was a joy to watch a man so gifted by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit do the work he was so clearly called to do.

You will not regret spending 30 of your minutes listening to this man preach to you today.

it's tree tapping time!

Here is is, the very last of our 2017 batch of Maple Syrup, just in time for the trees to start pouring out the new stuff! We have fun plans this year of converting the shed next to our chicken coop into a Sugar Shack. We have a friend from church who did this by raising the roof, putting in vents and adding a chimney. So that's the plan.

Rory got a new evaporator pan this year and we are excited to get our Sugar Shack all set up. I've spent the last two days cleaning the garage and moving stuff from the shed into the garage and barn. There are few things I enjoy more than cleaning and organizing and sorting and making a system where there needs to be a system.

This weekend I have our babysitter coming to watch the kids so Rory and I can tackle the barn. Do you know what a barn is? A big garage. It just collects stuff. Stuff just ends up there. Plus we had the construction out there, so there is still clean up from that, as well as the whole storage area that had to be emptied into the main space until the construction was completed. Now we need to put it all back where it came from.

Some people may not get excited about this sort of task, but I am totally serious when I say that I can't wait to hit it out there. Rory would like me to capitalize on this love of organizing and systematizing some day. I would too. I think I'd be very happy going into people's homes and helping them sort through their stuff.

So that's our weekend plan. Sort and clean and organize and get everything set up for Project Season. We tapped our maple trees today and pick up our pigs next Sunday. There is much to be done!

fun for the fly

Elsie told me, "Mom, I can't pick these toys up because this is the little park I made for the fly that is crawling around on the carpet. I think he is dying."

songs for lent

The church I grew up in held Lenten services each Wednesday night. We sang no Alleluja's for those 40 days and things were thoughtful and weighty. Ash Wednesday was a powerful service that, just like a tragic funeral, reminded you of your mortality. A harsh reality we are so great at avoiding most of the time. Ash Wednesday set the tone. From dust you came to dust you shall return. We then had 40 days to contemplate what that meant. Wondering how our sinful selves stood a chance in front of an Almighty God. And over and over it was preached to us: you don't stand a chance.

That's the point of the 40 days. Those days would get me good and uncomfortable, aware of my sin, aware of my need for rescue. And then the gospel of Jesus would be proclaimed: You don't stand a chance in front of our Almighty God, but God loved us so much that he sent a rescuer to save us. His son came and died on a cross, the ultimate sacrifice so that no more animal sacrifices are necessary. He bridged the chasm of sin with his blood.

By Good Friday, I often felt positively heavy. The weight of The Passion, the darkness of our sin, the gravity of a hopeless and lost world felt very real. The Good Friday service was also a favorite, with the seven last words of Jesus sang by the choir and then reflected on by seven different people in our congregation. The service ended with a woman singing, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" And the altar guild would come up and quietly remove all decoration from the front of the church as the lights began to dim. And then the church was completely dark and silent.

We left the sanctuary in silence and everything felt holy and heavy.

***

Andrew Peterson is about to release an Easter Album that I'm very eager to hear. But before that album is released he is sharing five songs he wrote surrounding Lent. I want to share them with you because they have left me in a similar posture as the Lenten services did growing up.

Wrestle with this story. Be sure you are standing on the right side of truth. I actually find the entire storyline completely believable. It is no stretch for me to believe that left to our own devises, we are full of sin and greed and jealousy and lust and are eager to make and worship idols. We see these truths played out all around us.

It is also not hard for me to believe that there is a God who made the stars. A God who is loving and creative and imaginative and good.

When I read my Bible knowing that man is fallen and God wants his relationship restored with his creation, the whole story rings completely true. It is true. Every word.

So crack open your Bible. Get back into God's Word. It's the only thing that makes sense these days.

And enjoy these songs to prepare your heart for Good Friday.
Well Done, Good and Faithful
Last Words
Always Good

family fun days, day #2

Annnnnd, I'm back! Well hold onto your drool bib, because this day was also a huge, fun-filled Family Fun Day! It started with Ivar and Elsie building their lego sets from yesterday. Then we ate an incredible breakfast at the hotel. Except, I just had rice cereal and prunes. Which I didn't mind one bit. So delicious. I just love food. 

Then we came back to the room and while Dad shoveled the car out, we found DANIEL TIGER on the tv! Oh the joy! The happiness! We were all so thrilled! But here's something hilarious. In this episode Daniel and his friends were sad because the little duckling they had in their classroom had grown too big and had to be taken to a farm. And they were going to miss it so much. Well, Ivar and Elsie had lots of street smarts to tell Daniel and his friends. Elsie said the duck would probably be happier on the farm than in their little box inside. Good point Elsie. And then Ivar schooled Daniel and his pals, "the people at that farm are going to eat your duck!" And he laughed and laughed.

So on this day, we went to the Omni Theatre! Grandpa Paul really, really wanted Ivar to see the movie about the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Ivar and Grandpa have a shared love of trains and that is really fun for them. Grandpa wanted him to see the movie even though Grandpa was in Arizona. So Grandpa said, "I'll pay for your family's tickets and tickets to the Science Museum." What a guy! Thank you very much, Grandpa.

We got there early for the movie, and spent some time in the State Park Exhibit. I've got to say, there is a lot of free stuff to do in the lobby of the Science Museum. Really cool stuff. Like sit in a canoe and wander down the Mississippi River.

And Ivar flew like an eagle and swooped for fish in the river.

And then it was time for the movie. This was my very first movie! In fact, none of us kids had been in a theater before so this was very, very special. The movie was beautiful and Hattie and I made it through 40 whole minutes. Which is 39 more minutes than Mom thought we'd last.

Now do you know this store? It's the Science Museum Store and it is very special to my mom because her mom used to take her shopping in this store quite a bit. It has so many fun and creative and clever toys. Mom could have stayed in there for hours. And after a conversation with Grandma Margaret, this is where the grandkids get to go shopping for Christmas presents this year. Isn't that a fun idea?!!

Well the Science Museum is pretty spendy, so my mom decided to have us go to the Children's Museum instead because tickets cost about half as much and because we are sort of the perfect ages for the Children's Museum.

Now I should add that while leaving the parking ramp of the Science Museum it was discovered that someone lost the parking ticket. We still don't know where it is. Probably at the bottom of the river. But yowza. If you ever want to see my mom and dad frustrated, hide the parking ticket and make them pay the full rate! They'll rip the car apart and search like crazy people and you'll be entertained.

Anyway, they paid the $15 day rate, which was just $6 over what they would have paid. Not actually that much money. But, you know, it's the principle of the thing. We will always wonder where that ticket went.

And then we were off to the Children's Museum! What a fun place!

We got there about 2:00 and it was SO LOUD! There were lots of school groups there and everyone was shrieking and screaming down the fun slide. But about an hour later, the place nearly cleared out and it was much more fun. A worker told Mom that Friday nights, Saturdays and Tuesdays (no field trips that day) are the quietest and calmest. Good to know! I just wanted to pass that on to you so your mom would know too.

Hattie was very happy at the Children's Museum. She liked it all. And played so, so hard. She especially loved the workshop and the light switches that each turned on or off a different light fixture on the ceiling. Imagine walking into Menards lighting section, but getting to turn the lights on and off yourself! So fun!

And Ivar and Elsie played the longest at the Post Office, cranking boxes up to the sorting room, running up the stairs to help sort the boxes and sending them back down the shoot for another round of postal fun. They were sweaty they played so hard!

Then we found the Daniel Tiger Exhibit. It was darling and fun to see parts of our favorite episodes up close. 

We ended in the Studio where Ivar and Mom played with clay, Elsie and Hattie played with moon sand or cloud dough or something like that and I finally decided to give up the fight and close my eyes. I was told later that we ended the trip with Subway for the kids and that Elsie cried the entire way home, very sadly, because the trip was over. When we got home, we all piled into Mom and Dad's bed under their electric blanket because Dad had turned the heat waaaaay down and the house was freezing. Dad read a story to everybody and of all the moments on our Family Fun Days, this one, with all six of us in her bed, was Mom's very favorite part.