Day of rest

I found this today on the New York Public Library Image Database. I thought it apropos. So, its Sunday, a day of rest. Why? God worked hard for six days making the earth out of nothing "ex nihilo" and then he wanted to rest. So we will learn from his wisdom. Today we are resting. Soon we will have a baby on our hands and not be able to rest as much, today we will rest. But what is rest? What does rest look like for you? In case you can't tell, that's an invitation. Comment below, and let me know what you find most restful. Is it play, is it sleep, is it reading a slow book, or reading a thrilling book? Let me know, I'm curious.

Harry Potter

Well. We're reading the next installment. Book six. "the Half Blood Prince". Its good. In the meantime I ran across this and I thought it was funny. Voldemort is the key "evil" figure in the books, so you can obviously guess what a liberal minded individual thinks about republicans :)

Work. and more work.

So, you'll remember I got layed off awhile back, yes? Well, since then I have had more work than I know what to do with! I am remodeling two houses, starting early at World Harvest, designing the logo above (rough draft), and have the opportunity to make a video this fall for WHM above and beyond my normal allotment of hours - I will be working 20 hours a week as a recruiter. So, hey, this is nuts. The crazy part about all this is that I am finding I need to repent for how I begin to equate "good news" in my life with God loving me. Nothing's really wrong with that unless you are like me and think that when life is going to pot that God has forsaken you. So in sorrow I confess that I am a fickle man with a tendancy toward total self absorbption (what? don't believe me? ASK MY WIFE!). Then I can stand again in joy knowing that working, or not working, making money, or not making money, is of no value in the grand scheme of things - instead it is that I am loved ruthlessly by the wisest of us all.

I hope he has your eyes.

Well. We just found out that Amy is in the early - early - earliest stages of labor. She is beginning to dialate, and our little boy is already "dropped". Please pray that he will wait a week and a half as our Midwife will be out of town until Friday after next. Here we go!

The little stuff:

They also say "its the little stuff". You know what I mean, the stuff that keeps you interested in your wife or your husband. I think its true. This morning, we were eating cereal at the breakfast counter (barbara's cereal and blueberries), and Amy has been eating for a few minutes when she gets to the bottom of the bowl and says to a few hidden blueberries "There you are, you little Navy Seals" almost like she was talking with no one else in the room. I was struck with laughter. I like my wife. One reason is that she is funny.

Back to work.

I had a full day of work today. I pulled up a tile floor, well smashed it too pieces, and then pulled up the pieces, and generally worked on refurbishing my pastors bathroom. It felt good to make some mula for our family.

"For the Sprinkling Wee-Wee"

Hmm. You run across some interesting things as you prepare for the first child. Amy had these recommended to her recently from a friend of ours. Apparently it helps reduce the amount of "sprinkle" that you get on yourself or the changing table during a diaper change out. We're getting closer, only about four weeks left. I can't wait to see my son. Matthew

More please

So, I got layed off recently. I wasn't able to work the 50-60 hour weeks that my employer wanted me to work (given that my pregnant wife needs a present husband), and so with an 8 hour notice, he said goodbye. So today, for the third day in a row, I am looking for temp. work because I have a job with World Harvest Mission lined up for the end of August. So here we are feeling in need of community again (when in reality we have always been), asking for a heads-up on temp work, a prayer for the weakened, and the hope of relying on the One who is worthy of our trust - the Giver of all good things. Despite having a Father who offers me the grand inheritance, I still want more please. Yuck. Please pray for me. Matthew

must hear music

During chaotic times, music is a must, and for me (Matthew) it is a visceral gift from God. It helps me relax or get moving and everything in-between. Check out Pinback. I like these guys a lot.

Pregnant women are funny

Okay, okay, before you get on a rant ladies, hear me out. This is funny. Recently the folks at Amy's work bought her a "labor day" cake, which was decorated sweetly and quite a thoughtful gift especially considering it is an office full of "out of the loop" type of men - its a stretch to get them to realize that Amy is really pregnant. Anyhow, so this cake was nice, though full of sugars gallore and not really our style - or so I thought. Today we were generally cleaning things up around the house when I saw Amy cutting up the cake into small pieces as she was putting in the trash. Anybody know why? No? Me neither, until she lets me in on the logic. Apparently if you cut up the cake into small enough pieces that each piece touches some part of actual trash you will not be tempted to later sneak over to the trash can and break of some cake that still seems sanitary enough to eat? Makes sense. If your pregant. I am sure that you will all hear plenty about my own idiosyncrasies soon enough, Amy is likely to want revenge.

In need of Mercy

"Give me this my daily bread". "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Three day weekend's...

...Are straight from the hand of God! Amy and I had a great weekend. How did we start it off babe? Well, first we went blueberry picking at Solebury farms where we went apple picking earlier in the fall (notice our mouths full of 'em). They were only $1.75 /lb., but to be fair they should have weighed us before and after, considering we probably gulped down a quarter pound or so. Then what did we do Matthew? Well hun, we went from Solebury (North of Philadelphia) up through point pleasant, along the Delaware River and then into Frenchtown on the Jersey side of things.

click HERE to see the map

. How would you describe Frenchtown Ames? Its a, ah? I dunno, what would you say it is? Well Amy oh quiet one, oh sleepy one. I would say that it's a small town with a tiny strip of a downtown that runs perpendicular to the Delaware. (amy : Oh yeah, it has that weird decorated horse in the middle of town) Thanks Amy, that was really helpful, as I was saying, we walked through a few shops, one which really reminded me of the Colony House (my grandparents old furniture store), and we thought of them often as we ran across many unaffordable antiques and other fine furniture bits. To bring it all to a point though, we found our rest. Frenchtown and the local area was the first place Amy and I were able to finally chill out, get out of the city, and take a deep breath. The city can can be beautiful, but its the people, and its amidst hardness, but one needs the rest of a quiet space where you can buy a two dollar 25 oz iced coffee?!!! That's cuckoo! So, needless to say, praise Jesus. We have had one of the best weekends of our marriage. We rested, got to know each other more and again, and sunk into our ideas about what the next year might look like, and how really, we have a very hazy concept of what it's going to hold. But, we really saw a hopeful picture of Jesus raising us up in his hands, his eyes glazed with love, staring into our hearts, reminding us who we are in Him. So, now its almost 11:00pm, and we are heading to bed. Work before us again tomorrow morning. We are refreshed with rest, but more than that, we are refreshed with belief. Thank you to those who are praying for us! This week we will find out how Amy's work will respond to her maternity proposal, and I will know more about what World Harvest Mission has to offer in terms of recruiting. Please pray that we would learn to wait on the lord, know the depth of his love for us well enough that we might love in response, and that we would grow in belief as our hearts and lives are continually broken by the fall and healed in Christ, Have a great week, Matthew and Amy