28 March 2010Palm Sunday I am again in a part of the world where Spring flourishes. Though today’s weather is chilly and grey, the flowers have been bursting forth for weeks now. The crocuses and snowdrops are already being replaced by daffodils and columbine. The forsythia glows along the sides of the road and the edges of fields and yards. […]
Longing—Peace
The hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” begins with the following line: “When peace like a river attendeth my way…” Peace. My first thought is that there is no peace today in my heart. There is restless longing. I’m not satisfied anymore with walking with Christ through this life. Not when I desire so to be with Him. My […]
Losing Aimee – Transformation
On the loss of Aimee Powell, 21 January 2010 A friend asked if I would write about Aimee…about losing her, and grieving. My friend said it would help her know how to pray. And it made me wish I was closer. Wish it hadn’t been a few years since I’d spoken with Aimee. Wish that we kept in contact more […]
Urbana Update
Day 4 –The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This morning, at Urbana, York Moore shared the gospel. Hundreds of students made a commitment for Christ. There were those who came from religious backgrounds, but have never made their faith their own. There were those who didn’t know why they came to Urbana. God […]
Urbana Updates
Day 1 Morning began with most of the SEND crew having arrived…Amy still stuck in Chi-town, Dan still driving in from VA…we rolled on over to the exhibit hall to register and set up by mid-morning, and wandered through the floating snowflakes. Unloading the van in the cold was, well, cold.The SEND crew got registered and the booth set up, […]
We found a nickname
Conversation before dinner: Ev: “My brother’s Jonathan Blewis.” Clare: “No. Jonathan Lew-is. She sometimes says it wrong. Maybe it’s too long for her. Ezelyn, you can just say ‘Jonathan’.” Conversation after dinner: Aunt Carrie: “What color are carrots?” Ev: “Pink!” Aunt Carrie: “No, carrots!” Ev: “Orange.” Aunt Carrie: “What color is Jonathan?” Ev: (Pauses) “Jonathan Blue-ass.” [Aunt Carrie begins to […]
Rest
I’ve redefined rest today. I came to this conclusion just a few moments ago. Rest isn’t not doing anything, it’s doing something different. Today, I’m not grading papers. I’m not writing Annual Report text or editing PBU Today. Today has been a day of rest. What did I do on my day of rest? Well, I still had to teach, […]
The Tribe
At some moment last night, I looked at the mass of small children on the floor before me, laying, crawling, toddling, walking in a great conglomeration of arms and legs, heads and bodies, and had a vision of the future. In twelve years, the youngest there will have just passed that year marker. There will be two thirteen-year-olds, two fourteen-year-olds, […]
A Quoteable Week
Home for the birth of Jonathan Lewis Warnemuende, who made his arrival a few days late at 9:56 am, Monday, August 10, 2009, weighing in at 9 lbs. 11 oz., and 21.5 inches long, I’ve realized once again how quoteable my family can be. Here’s a few choice notes from the week so far. In a discussion about various family […]
The Comfort of the Familiar
It was a few years ago that I had the realization – my entire being would relax when I heard Tagalog. It was something I’m sure I’d experienced prior to the realization, but it hit me one day that though I couldn’t understand what was being said, my mind just let the words and intonations roll over it without struggle […]