New

This update goes out to my new friend Joe who bugged me to update.
Okay, so I really should be studying the food or drink menu of Olive Garden for my tests tomorrow, but I got distracted and decided to update instead. My days are getting fuller but it's still serene sometimes to realize that I actually live in Portland, Oregon now. I had 19 days to explore the City before Tom was great and hooked me up with a job at the OG (he was great before). I've seen a lot, including Mount Tabor, the scene from Rocky Butte, LaurelHurst Park, and beautiful downtown. I've eaten at HotLips Pizza, Original Taco House, the Pita Pit, Jim and Patty's, and I know that Cooper's is my all time favorite place to get coffee, read and journal (my second fav is Sip and Kranz, sitting outside and watching the kids play in the water).
I guess I have to be done now... the Mixed Drink menu is calling. I'll update more in a few days.

Sorrow

Some thoughts...
The words "weep with those who weep" have become real to me again this past week. A friend's father died and when I talked with her and her family I saw what a heartache they have and it broke my heart... I hate to see people in pain.
~
Maybe I've been sheltered, but it seems like I've had a lot of these kind of things happening around me in just the past few months. Is it the age (mine) when people begin to have issues around them?
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I also realize the deep need for community in sorrow. One cannot grieve alone. I think if the body isn't who they need to be then God cannot fully bring healing because after all, we are His hands and feet.

Reservation Number 073E48

I just bought my way on the train from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. It's better this way I think, to be in the car with family for a leg of the trip, rather than to be on the train for 12 hours (mourning them).
More thoughts coming. :)

FAITHFUL

Sunday morning I was chatting it up with a couple in Church that I've known forever... I used to watch their children years ago. We were talking about the transition I'm going through, the needing a job, the wanting to get involved but unsure how and where, the living with family. I asked them to let me know if they heard of any jobs available, and the husband told me that I could work for him! The job description is beautiful: great job (I get to work in jeans and a t-shirt and work with good people), great pay and great hours. Its also a seasonal position that lasts through May so I'm able to move out to Portland at the beginning of summer like I'd wanted.
Jesus never ceases to take care of me. He always comes through at the perfect time, though likely not when I would've planned. He is so faithful.

These are my two beautiful sisters and I, reunited!

6 Days into it...

"'Let us pray in quiet remembrance of our need for redemption.' The whole Lenten journey really is that simple, that focused, that pointed. The next forty days offer an invitation to each one of us: an invitation to do three things: to be still, to pray, to repent (which means to turn ourselves around a bit). In short, Lent is an invitation to really believe the Good News of Jesus Christ. That’s really all there is to it.
First, can you hear God saying to the whole community–to all Israel, to all the church, to you and me–be still. Shush! Be quiet. It’s only forty days! Be still and know that I am your God."

The F Word

Fasting.
It's bothered me because the Bible says "when you fast" not "if you fast," indicating that it should be a normal thing in my life (its not :( ). As I've processed my thoughts aloud, people have asked what my purpose would be... normally I guess you choose something to focus on or pray about and that becomes your theme. Today, sitting in The Overflow I was reading Matthew and saw the part about the religious leaders accusing Jesus' disciples of never fasting. That led me back to Isaiah 58 which talks about what the true reason for fasting should be. It talks about feeding the hungry, giving shelter, clothing the naked, lifting yokes and breaking bondages. I love it because none of these reasons for fasting cause your action to resolve on yourself. It always brings light and life! Many times when I've heard about fasting the reasons tend to resolve on the person rather than give life outwardly. One might fast to see things clearer or for guidance. I don't think these things are bad, I just love how Isaiah makes the focus of fasting others and not me.