Celebrate Today : August 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

August/ Twenty-Thirteen

With summer's end just around the corner, this month has been a sweet time of savoring visits from dear friends, exploring more of this beautiful part of the country with some camping, biking and running, and checking things off our summer bucket list. Below is my effort to recapture a bit of the adventures this month and to give thanks for these gifts.

"The further I wake into this life, the more I realize that God is everywhere and the extraordinary is waiting quietly beneath the skin of all that is ordinary. Light is in both the broken bottle and the diamond, and music is in both the flowing violin and the water dripping from the drainage pipe. Yes, God is under the porch as well as on top of the mountain, and joy is in both the front row and the bleachers, if we are willing to be where we are." ~Mark Nepo~

"I know that God is at work in the regularness of my days. May I recognize His hand when I see it." –Gloria Gaither

"We learn to dwell with God by learning the practices of hospitality, listening, forgiveness, and reconciliation—the daily tasks of life with other people. Life in Christ is always life in community" ~Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove~

There's nothing like having friends who understand your past, believe in your future, and accept you today just the way you are.

Rumi's poetry says it beautifully: "Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. Psalm 42:8

In talking about a beautiful waterfall and the surrounding mountains in Canada, Bob Goff says the following: "Sometimes we go right by it and I don't pay any attention, but other times, it strikes me with a power that causes me to stop and stare in amazement. To me, it's proof that God loves us and pursues us and does things to get our attention like giving me a mind to perceive beauty and then wooing me with the beauty of the (waterfall) and that mountain." -Love Does pg 53

I must say that the mountains we have seen this month in the Methow Valley do the same thing for me in the way that they are clear proof to me that God loves us and pursues us and does things to get our attention.

I believe that most things in life, things worth anything at least, require this steady plodding. I can't say who I'll be or where I'll be a decade from now, but I'll find myself getting there after a mile of steps. As I give myself to each step, I'll find that moment — that very moment, not one future or one past — containing life, the life that is now, the life that the entire mile previous has led me to. I want to give myself, every cell, to that moment.... –Winn Collier

"To love someone fiercely, to believe in something with your whole heart, to celebrate a fleeting moment in time, to fully engage in a life that doesn't come with guarantees – these are risks that involve vulnerability and often pain. But, I'm learning that recognizing and leaning into the discomfort of vulnerability teaches us how to live with joy, gratitude and grace." –Brene Brown

...you don't even miss a beat when gratitude to God is the beat of your heart. –Ann Voskamp

I've had some computer issues lately and have had to simply push the reset button a few times to get the computer unstuck from whatever glitch was going on. One afternoon this month, I was reminded that we too need those restart buttons when things get out of whack.
After a great day at the park with the kids and with a friend, Jason and I had planned to run over to Green Lake for a pre-dinner swim. As we got home later than we expected from the park, it caused a bit of a problem as it was kids' cooking night and Jason had to be somewhere at 8. With the time we had, we knew that we had to figure out some compromises in order to make it all happen. Taylor really wanted to cook. Anna really wanted to go swim. Jason and I were looking forward to the run. After going around a few times, we figured out a plan to make it all work out, but in the mix, there was some tension and stress. I said to everyone at one point that we needed to all begin again and have a fresh start. I joked and asked Anna where her "reset" button was and we figure out that it was on her nose. So, I pushed her nose and we both smiled. We got the lasagna made, the kids hopped on their bikes, Jason and I put on our running shoes, and we headed to Green Lake while dinner was cooking. Running is definitely my reset button, and it was so good for my soul to be out on such a gorgeous evening running fast with Jason down to the lake. And there is something about being in the water that is good for my soul too-- refreshing and freeing... We jumped in and enjoyed a beautiful swim in the lake for a bit and a few leaps off the diving board. At one point, I swam over to Jason, told him about my chat with Anna about the "reset" button, pushed his nose and gave him a hug. Ahhhh.... it was a big exhale for us all to have this mini-adventure together to recharge and start afresh. And, then we dried off the best we could and ran home. It turned out to be a fabulous evening. I told Anna and Taylor over dinner that one of the best invitations we have from God is the chance to begin again over and over during the course of a day. The best thing we can do in our relationships is to offer that chance to others to start over and to begin again with grace, forgiveness and love. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and his mercies NEVER come to an end. They are new every morning. I am so thankful for the faithfulness that never fails and that gives us the chance to reset--anytime, anywhere. (with or without a little touch on the nose....) http://celebrate-2day.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-reset-button.html

Friday, August 30, 2013

a Japanese themed day...

It was a Japanese themed day as we hit a few spots here in town that we had not visited before.

We headed to the Peace Park with the statue of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Thankfully, before the visit, Anna gave me and Taylor a lesson on making paper cranes as we were pretty hopeless on our own trying to make them. It was sweet to add our contribution to the countless ones that were already there. After our visit to see the statue of Sadako, we headed over to the Arboretum to the Japanese Garden which is such a beautiful spot in this city. Anna and Taylor loved feeding the coy fish, and it was a gift to be able to soak up the peace of this place for a bit this afternoon.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Plan B

We drove to Mercer Island this afternoon to check out the Adventure Playground, but when we got there, we found that they made a decision to close an hour early due to the rain today so we had to figure out another plan. After being given a recent recommendation, I suggested a trip to the downtown library as it is quite a unique building. At first, Taylor did not want to go, but once we got there, he changed his mind about the whole thing and admitted that it was cool. Turns out Plan B was a great option for the afternoon after all...

on the 10th floor looking down... eek.

This was SUPER cool to watch this video when we were there. Seattle Public Library kicked off the summer reading program this summer with this video setting the record for the longest domino book chain. It took them about 7 hours and 5 attempts to get this right... WOW!