This week was a bit more eventful for me and Annabelle. We had lunches and dinner with friends, play dates, our morning runs, and multiple errands for taxes and doctor’s appointments. I learned never to forget my power of attorney to do business and that I need to memorize Annabelle’s social security number. What a pain that was yet I am thankful that it is all over.
I have started to listen to Mark Driscoll’s sermon series on marriage and have been convicted about forgetting that I need to work on my friendship with Barrett so as not to let the marriage become two business partners working together for a mutual goal. I am so task oriented that I forget about the joy in the journey and taking time to enjoy each fork in the road with my best friend. No, deployments aren’t the best way to develop friendship, but it is not impossible. It has also been encouraging to listen to the Driscoll’s brutal honesty about the hardships in their marriage while in the midst of ministering to others. It reminds me once again that the Lord uses broken pots to be His hands and feet. That way, the Lord gets the glory and not us. Pretty amazing.
I have also been blessed to be involved with a group of women that are pursuing adoption. We meet weekly to pray and discuss Adopted For Life by Russ Moore. It has been so encouraging to meet with like-minded believers about adoption. We discuss how since we have been adopted by Christ, how can we not be involved with adopting others. I must admit that the process is daunting, but Barrett and I both have a desire to open our home to a baby that does not have one. Please pray with us as we pursue this calling.
Annabelle is now crawling and has a perpetual bruise on her forehead from our slippery floor. She has been a blessing to many this week who have been in the midst of grief trials. Her grins are contagious and her squeals of joy warm the saddest hearts. I praise the Lord daily for her. We do not deserve her.
Finally, a year ago today the tsunami hit mainland Japan. In memory of that, the Okinawan’s did a tsunami drill this morning, sounding the alarm and having a mass exodus. I really don’t know where they went…its kind of a mystery to me. We don’t always know what the Japanese are doing, but we continue to grieve with them. The recovery continues and Im thankful that the gospel goes forth via material help that goes from many churches, including our own. We continue to miss you all but are thankful for your prayers, friendship, and encouragement.