What to do on a rainy day

3:57 p.m. Today's project was to put together a card and a donation for Heidi's friend, who is raising funds to go to China as a teacher. Like so many of the young adults whom we have been blessed to laugh with, feed, host, house and occasionally mentor, this young woman is sold out for the Lord! I was going to attend the spaghetti fundraiser, but not only can I not eat pasta --alert, alert! wheat product!--it's raining and I honestly wanted to spend the day with Steve.

So I put some cash in an envelope with a card of encouragement. I chose this passage from Jeremiah Chapter One, v. 5-9 for her:

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am but a youth."

But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, I am a youth, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, " says the LORD.

Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."

I pray she will be encouraged by these verses, raise a substantial sum, and soon be on her way to obey God's call!

Meanwhile, Steve and I finished our regular devotions and breakfast, and settled down to work on the written Bible study from small group. I think Saturday mornings will be the best time for us, since our online devotional doesn't come up on the weekends and we won't be adding time to our already thorough weekday devotions. Thankful for Jeff and Monica's understanding counsel, we worked on the lesson together, with Steve looking up verses in the New King James version and me using the New Living Translation. We both answered questions for ourselves, and I was the scribe. We were pleasantly surprised to find it only took about 20 minutes. Truly, "two are better than one," as Ecclesiastes 4:9 tells us, "for they have a good reward for their labor." And no where is this more true than in marriage, where the strengths of each person redound to the benefit of the other, to make an unstoppable force for God's glory and a witness to his love!

As the rain went on, so did our day. Heidi went out to pick up an ice cream cake for the fundraiser and I left to buy honey for my project, "Craisin" granola. It's a housewarming gift for Kriss and Marisela when we go to Long Beach tomorrow to help them with their move to their first home, a one-bedroom apartment downtown near Alamitos Blvd. It's a dream realized after 5 months of paying off bills and saving so they could move out of her parents' house. Once again, I have to accept the fact that Kriss has a new hometown, Long Beach, the urban setting he's adapted to and thrived in since 2001 when he began attending CSULB. A mother's prayers are yet to be answered in some areas, but I am so proud of these two and excited for this new chapter of their lives!

As the granola was just about ready to go into the oven, Pavel arrived with a ginormous framed birthday card made of photos of all of us friends and family, posed in a rebus-style puzzle to spell out, "Happy Birthday, Heidi, we love you!" Truly ingenious and Heidi loved it!

My five children are scattered all over California this rainy afternoon, but they have never left this one place--my heart!!