Joys and Concerns

Afternoon Update: The winner of the organizing giveaway from over the weekend is: Jagette: timestamp Sept. 24 at 10:47 am. Send me your address at [email protected] so I can mail out your prize! Congrats!

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I had fun catching up with your plans for the weekend. I hope it was all you’d hoped and more!

Mine was a whirlwind.

And it was also a blend of joy and concern.

Joy–Spending time with the fabulous women from Growing Women Ministries at gorgeous Lake Ann.

Concern— My decades long friend Debi’s dad lost his battle with cancer Friday, leaving behind a wife and so many who will miss him terribly.

Joy–Debi’s dad loved and served God for decades and is now with Him in heaven– whole, happy and FOREVER!!! :-)

Concern— a friend who shared with me this weekend about her impending divorce.

Joy–My Mitch hurled one on the best games of his life against an elite travel team on Saturday. No walks. No men on base, not even a hit….except ONE!! Uggh!! Had it not been for that batter, he would have thrown not only a no-hitter, but what is called a perfect game and is very rare.

Concern— As always after a weekend away speaking, my Monday is packed full of unpacking, sorting books, going to the bank, doing school, getting my house around and other assorted hum-drum, yet somehow holy tasks.

Joy–Our daughter Kenna arrived home safely from her home in Charlotte, NC to stay for a month!! Todd took a Greyhound bus down there and accompanied her home so she’d have a traveling companion and second driver.

Concern–She needs to find herself a reliable but affordable car to purchase while she’s home because we need the car we’ve been letting her use back. It only has 109,000 miles on it compared to the 200,000 plus miles both of our other vehicles have.

Joy that had me a bit concerned— While teaching one of my breakouts in the rustic and stunningly beautiful chapel, surrounded by pines and field stones and God’s handwriting in nature, I glanced at the back of the chapel and one the other side of the glass doors stood a red fox! Since I have adult ADD (my diagnosis) I totally let it distract me and made the ladies in my session turn around to see it! Good thing there was glass between us!

Concern–Many items on my always-growing prayer list packed with the names of family and friends.

Joy— YOU and the upcoming topics planned here to connect over. I hope to spend time this week sketching out the topics and crafting interviews for the special guests who will join us.

Concern–Fitting all the topics in and keeping up with blogging without neglecting my family and my students.

Joy–The Life Links connection event at church last night. We recently changed churches, going from our church of 16 years just a minute or so down the road–that we love–to another one 15 minutes away (not a log drive in a big city, but in rural Michigan it means we drive to the next town) that we equally love. Change is never easy, but when you are certain God is calling you to action, it is always good! The event was all about getting in a life group (some churches call them small groups) with those in your geographical area (this church consists of folks from many small towns nearby as well as our state capital). The life groups….well, do life together as in the New Testament!  We are pumped!

Concern— the clock. I just looked up and realized I have to transport four Detroit area teens back to their mom soon and they, including my three, are still sound asleep! YIKES!!

I’ll hop back on later and announce the winner of the organizing giveaway from the weekend, so if you haven’t commented yet, scroll down. You can still enter.

While I’m gone, tell me…what joy or concern did you discover this past weekend?

Happy Monday!!

8 Comments

  1. Joy – the most amazing worship and teaching time last night at my Monday ‘study’

    Concern – learned there that the giant “joy” I wait all year for is not happening this year – our annual women’s retreat. I literally count down the days, starting at 363, each year and am bummed! I have gone every year for 12 yrs and always need and love the spiritual feeding. Praying that God will send me another “girlie retreat” source of renewal!

  2. Joy – being with my son on his 39th birthday & seeing how faithful he is to God.

    Concern – I want to be a good friend in time of trouble. My neighbors daughter just learned she has breast cancer. My husbands brother now has lung cancer. Please pray for them.

  3. Joy – spending the weekend with three very close Christian women. We came together 11 years ago at a cross-stitch retreat and every two years we get to go back to Utah and reconnect.

    Concern – the torn tendon in my hip isn’t healing and I have to meet with a surgeon. It’s a long recovery process and I won’t be able to work.

    Joy – my son and his fiance will be married on Friday.

    Concern – I need/want to dance with my son. Hoping that the cortisone injection that I received today will allow me to enjoy the wedding.

  4. Joy that you manage to post with all the other obligations you have on your plate!

    Concern that my new friends mom who passed wasn’t a Christian, and being unable to ask right now.

  5. Joy-my oldest daughter auditioned to be in our church christmas program

    Concern-if she doesn’t get the part, we’ll deal with her being bummed out & “maybe she not good enough” feelings.

    Joy-my youngest is beginning to do a lot better mentally after all the therapy appointments shes had to go through (she’s 5 yrs & we know a 2nd grader did things to her that we vocally can’t get our daughter to tell us what happened..its been a nightmare for the past 2 months).

    Concern-the Dr wants her to go through more tests now that they’ve discovered she has ADHD. Please keep our little Maddie in your prayers.

  6. Joy – My husband and I attended our 50th class reunion in Lancaster, PA. Had an awesome time.
    Concern – One of my good friends from school has stage 4 cancer. Please pray for Emma. Thank you!

  7. Joy – Watching and experiencing the faithfullness of the Lord and how he always exceeds my expectation.

    Concern – A young women I know tried to take her life – she is crying out in pain. I am praying God will intervien and open her hard heart to him.

  8. We celebrated my GeeGee’s 80th birthday this weekend-joy! A concern for me is that she may not be with us much longer or her health may decrease–but really a joy for her cause she’ll be with her Savior when my concern happens :)

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