His Extravagant Love

November 1, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 4 Comments

This week is going to be a little different around our house and around this site. Today, a repost from last Wednesday and God’s amazing goodness and counting gifts. Tomorrow, Time and Balance Tuesday. The rest of the week will be photo posts, as I spent most of Saturday pulling pictures off of my SD card and editing them.

Also, I made the mistake of “playing with” my blog layout last week. I am working on fixing the broken parts. Won’t you let me know what you think of the new design?

Now let’s give glory to our God for His amazing goodness….

*********************************************

Two Seemingly Unrelated Stories…

…And a God who brings all things together:

A month ago, my purse was stolen. Prior to that we had been experiencing months of trials that are common to life, but they just never seemed to let up. Seven days after it was stolen, it returned. All by God’s grace and for His good pleasure. My heart was delighted by this and it seemed to be a turning point in how things were going for us. Life just seemed to improve.

Today I called the cleaners and found out my purse is back. The cost of having it cleaned was a decent amount more than I had planned on and I just wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to go pick it up right away. I decided not to worry too much about it and I would trust the Lord to take care of it.

Last night I sent two girls to my parents’ house while Matt had meetings, the older two had ballet, and I got groceries. I made one last stop at the Dillon’s near my parents’ home to grab some of the deals in the expiring ad (and to get some produce, because I am so over WalMart’s produce). I loaded the few bags of groceries out of the cart and into the back of my SUV, dutifully rolled my cart up and over the poorly placed median, and put it in the cart corral. I began to walk back to the car and the silly cart started rolling backward away from the corral and out into the lot. I went back and pushed the cart back into its spot and that’s when I noticed it….someone had left an iPad in the next cart in the corral.

I considered taking it inside and leaving it with customer service. Those who know me know that I assume the best of just about everyone I meet, but I had a very uncharacteristic thought of, What if someone inside decides they would like to have an iPad, rather than returning it? So, I decided to just take it home and try to figure out who it belonged to.

I wanted to protect the privacy of the owner, so I did minimal snooping. I found a cell phone number connected to the iPad and tried calling it. No luck. I sent a text. Never heard anything back. Today I did some deeper snooping and found an email address. No reply. So tonight I decided to really get nosy and began skimming emails and searching everywhere I could for some more contact information.

Eventually, I found out the owner’s last name (I already had her first name from another page). Then I was able to find her address. I looked online to find a home telephone number, but couldn’t. I nosed around some more. I put together that she had a couple of kids going to a local high school…. And then something just clicked in my head (it was, in fact, the Holy Spirit)…. her last name, kids at a certain school, they lived in a particular part of town, could it be???

I called my veterinarian’s office (that sounds random, doesn’t it?) and spoke with the assistant who answered the phone. “Ellen, this is going to sound like a really strange question, but is the doctor related to a (so and so)?” A slow yes was her reply. “I think I have her iPad,” I told her. She squealed and put me on hold to go tell the doctor. He was elated. I drove out to his office to deliver it to him before he went home for the night.

Once I was there, we visited for some time and I learned that the past few weeks for him and his family have been much like those few months over the summer were for us. The iPad had been a gift from him to his wife for their anniversary; she used it all the time and had forgotten it in the cart in her hurry to get home last night. She was devastated. He was trusting God to take care of the details.

By the time I got to the office, He had written me a “reward” check and also told me that Coco’s next round of boosters (that she’s due for this month) were on him. I told him that it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. I told him the story of my purse and that this money he was giving me was enough to pay for the cleaning bill and leave a little extra.

And we rejoiced together that God is good and He is in the details and He works in amazing and mysterious ways.

Oh, He is glorious! And He is so tender to us, His children. What a thrill to be on this side of a God-thing today. He is good!

0867. my husband

0868. long, long Tuesday

0869. five miles

0870. long, long school days

0871. being part of a total God-thing

0872. provision

0873. God-sized patience with a child

0874. a really productive day

0875. anticipation

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. ~ Psalm 126:6

Counting the Daily Gifts

October 25, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Last week we stepped back, slowed down, and stopped to savor life. When I slow I am reminded of how God is faithful to meet us in the daily, the ordinary, the mundane. I begin to see His presence everywhere and the gifts add up quickly.

We are back to the normal routine today, though by God’s wonderful grace, it is slower. But it is a return to the regular, the ordinary, the tedious and endless. And I find that, when I look for Him, listen for Him, God is faithful to meet me here.

Exodus 3:1-2 says, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.”

The vision of the Angel of the Lord came to Moses while he was involved in his everyday work. That is exactly where the Lord delights in giving His revelations.

Beloved Father, help me to expect you as I travel the ordinary road of life. I am not asking for sensational experiences. Fellowship with me through my everyday work and service, and be my companion when I take an ordinary journey. And let my humble life be transformed by Your presence.

No one can stay on the mountaintop of favor forver, for there are responsibilities in the valley.

~ Streams in the Desert, October 22

0854. the zoo

0855. baby hippo

0856. one of the most beautiful October’s I can remember

0857. trees aflame in red, orange, yellow

0858. doing something different

0859. ice cream cones

0860. DeAnna Rose Farmstead

0861. Lush skin care

0862. fall pictures

0863. pre-point I

0864. progress on little projects

0865. new schedules

0866. flexible, supportive teachers

Remembering What Matters Most

October 18, 2010October 18, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 3 Comments

We live in what I like to call a “transitional” neighborhood. It’s not as bad as it may look from the outside, but it’s no master planned community either. It’s old and some of the houses show it, but most of the owners on our block have been working hard to restore and maintain all of our nineteenth century homes. But there is one house in the neighborhood that remains an enormous eyesore. And it happens to be the one right.next.door. Which brings us to today.

We get home from church and pull into the drive. I feel like a third world country has popped up in the neighbors’ back yard. Make shift laundry lines and clothes hung out to dry. Random household items are strewn in the side yard. The remnants of their now weekly “yard sale” linger on the front porch. I get angry and say this has to be stopped. I’m going to call the landlord, I fume.

We come inside and prepare to lay down for the Sabbath’s rest. A perfect 72 degrees outside, the bedroom windows are open. I hear profanities being spewed outside my window. Not the rest I had in mind. I’m angrier and begin to try to find the landlord’s telephone number. No luck.

I come back to try to lay down again and begin to pray and my heart softens. Did we not just spend the Sunday school hour discussing what matters most is that people know Jesus? Did I not hear, oh white-washed tomb? Or do I simply not practice in real life that which is so easy to say in a classroom of like-minded friends?

So I pray for them and I pray for myself. I pray that my eyes would be opened to see them like Jesus does, to love them like Jesus does. I pray that the Lord will draw them close and use them (and me) for His glory. And I pray that if I have the opportunity that I will not shy away from telling them about Jesus. From telling them about the only one who can take this heart and make it free to love the unlovable. Telling them about the one who loves them just as they are and who wants to dwell with them and abide with them and make them free as well. And telling them about the one who makes it possible to “give thanks in all circumstances” for this is what He made us for – to praise Him.

Praising Him for just some of the countless blessings…

0842. serving with my girls

0843. building bridges over time

0844. loaves of bread, rising in their pans

0845. doing something different

0846. a friend who brings coffee and an hour of conversation

0847. lunch with a friend, sharing stories and laughter

0848. curtains made

0849. girls’ night out

0850. the mission field next door

0851. four year old’s phone call, just to say “I love you”

0852. surprise new clothes

0853. surprise dinner at a special place on a beautiful patio with my favorite

Good Habits

October 11, 2010October 11, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

It’s Monday morning. Back to school, back to routine. Cool, rainy mornings make the getting up hard. Phone calls and text messages do their part to keep us off task. We all struggle to settle in.

Slowly, slowly we all succumb to the schedule. Well, all but one, who insists on marching to her own beat most of the time anyway. The routine is good for us, even for the non-conforming child. It gives us structure, order, stability. Set activities, fixed times, moments when we know what happens next.

Just as the routine of school and work is good for our souls, so is the routine of weekly recording thanks. Sometimes during the week, the listing is hard. The gifts can be painful or the time can slip away too quickly and we forget to list with pen and paper. But the routine is important because these everyday moments are the gifts and the things never to be forgotten or taken for granted. This is the stuff of life and of greatness – laundry, dishes, school books, wiping tears, and sharing laughter. These daily moments. And for each one, I give thanks.

0834. a good, normal week

0835. sushi-making girls night

0836. getting out of my comfort zone

0837. ten miles

0838. Pandora for iPad

0839. unexpected goals reached

0840. sore knees that make me slow down

0841. these daily moments

Bookends

Worship

October 4, 2010October 4, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell. But God wills our good, and our good is to love Him.” ~ CS Lewis

The end of last week was wildly busy; the weekend intentionally slow. The pictures of our adventures sit waiting, impatiently, on my camera. Words will have to be enough for today, and even of those, only a few.

Today, like almost every Monday, I worship by listing just some of the countless blessings of the previous week.

0817. broken lamp

0818. “keep calm and carry on”

0819. husband in the ditch, but safe

0820. AAA

0821. a found purse!!!

0822. city parks employee

0823. Grace. Immeasurable grace.

0824. spontaneous lunch with the hubs

0825. good school days

0826. municipal wrongs forgiven

0827. spotting half a dozen deer on our morning run

0828. a cleaner house

0829. tenth birthday camping trips

0830. an hour and a half of sleep

0831. a slow Saturday

0832. church’s annual fall festival

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

~ Psalm 19:14

Early

September 20, 2010September 19, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Last Wednesday, I woke in the 5 o’clock hour, like I do every Wednesday. I clicked the weather app on my Blackberry, making sure the rain was still going to hold off. Clear skies, it said. Weary, I rolled slowly out of bed and began to dress to run. I ate my breakfast, tended the dog, and strapped on my watch. I grabbed my water and went out to the truck and started driving west, toward our meeting place.

And then I began to see lightning. A little at first, then more frequent and more threatening looking. I texted back and forth with my running partner and we finally decided to cancel our date. I did what any logical person would do at 6:30 in the morning, I turned toward Starbucks. 🙂

Out of my truck windows, I began to see the color rising in the east. Reds and oranges like I had never seen before. And I was speechless.

As much as I wanted to sleep in that morning, as exasperating as it was to get up and get ready and NOT run, I knew this was why the forecast on my phone had been wrong. I needed to see that sunrise. A heavenly reminder as I began my day that He is here, He is enough.

And while He is enough in and of Himself, He gives graciously and abundantly. And I count the gifts.

0792. six miles

0793. conquering the beastly hill and reaching our summer goal

0794. a quiet afternoon in my room

0795. a change of pace

0796. indescribable sunrise

0797. texts from friends as I prepare to speak

0798. speech completed!

0799. feeling one thousand pounds lighter

0800. the completion of another family wedding

0801. a Saturday to recover

0802. sleeping until 10 am

0803. Sunday morning worship

0804. Sunday evening at home

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

~ Ephesians 4:29

May your words and your actions today encourage one another and point to the Giver of all good gifts.

By His Grace ~

~ Sara

**Photos courtesy of my good friend Angee who took these out on her land on Wednesday morning.

Dreams Fulfilled

September 13, 2010 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

Four years now she’s watched and tagged along as older sisters came and went each week, disappearing into a cloud of pink and lavender and green. They would slip on pink slippers and leotards of pink or purple or black. Once a year they brought home delightful costumes and she would twirl around in them for months to come. Four years she’s waited for her day, her turn, to enter this world of pink fluff.

On Thursday her time finally arrived. Countless times she reminded me, “Today’s my first day of ballet!” At noon she asked if she could get ready; class didn’t start until 4:30. Excited doesn’t describe her emotions. She nearly floated into the studio, not needing me to walk her. She’d seen this walk countless times, she knew exactly what to do.

Another ballerina has been born in our family.

And I give thanks for another ballerina, more pink fluff and ballet slippers, and all that these girls are to us. I give thanks for all this and more….

0778. new storm door

0779. foregoing grocery shopping for an hour at the park

0780. little girl hair cuts

0781. going to God when you feel mistreated

0782. birthday wishes and greetings

0783. early mornings with my Beloved

0784. coffee from a friend

0785. thoughts put into words

0786. wondering what God is doing

0787. 33 years

0788. another ballerina

0789. humbling

0790. time to finally relax and have fun with my girls

0791. small group prayer time

Simple Monday, Simple Thanks

August 30, 2010 / Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

0753. protection for my beloved

0754. inconveniences

0755. precious texts from a friend

0756. apple pie deliveries

0757. a great run

0758. three and a half miles – no stopping

0759. freinds’ gratitude lists

0760. days that remind you how broken and sinful you are and how desperately you need God’s grace

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.

~ John 1:16

Photos – the last group from our trip to Chicago.

Undeserved Gifts

August 24, 2010August 24, 2010 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

We pass them on the street – all men, mostly black, holding their cardboard signs – “Hungry”, “Homeless”, “Please help”, “God bless”, “We’re all God’s children”. They rattle their cups, asking passersby to contribute their loose change. My heart turns inside me with each one I pass. A general rule of never giving cash, I keep my eyes focused ahead and pray. I pray for wisdom and discernment for me, provision for them, and that God would be speaking both to me and to the ten year old girl with me what the right response is. One woman, toothless and hungry, asks me to buy her a sandwich. So we back track a few steps to the 7-11 and I buy her a sandwich and a drink. “When I was hungry, you gave me food to eat…” Oldest child asks why they don’t go to the mission to get a meal, why they don’t go inside the store that says “Hiring”, why they sit there and hold their signs. I have no easy answers. I have no answers at all really. “I don’t know, Grace,” I say, helpless.

I am thankful that I cannot pass them and feel nothing. I am thankful for the work God is doing in my life and the lives of my children. I am thankful that, even though I feel small and helpless and confused in these situations, I serve a God who is big enough and I trust Him for the answers.

Giving thanks for just some of the undeserved gifts….

0741. three days away with my oldest daughter

0742. my dad’s fuel-efficient Camry

0743. safe travels

0744. memories made

0745. the city of Chicago

0746. suggestions from many friends

0747. husband who supports my renewed love for road trips

0748. kids finally old enough to make road trips fun again

0749. coming home to house clean and ironing done

0750. talking until 2 am

0751. being reunited with the one I love

0752. welcome home hugs from little girls

Afternoon Reflections

August 16, 2010 / Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

It’s afternoon on a Monday. School is finished for the day and children are tucked away for an hour of quiet. I settle in at the kitchen work station to perform a few quotidian mysteries. But first I do my maternal soul work and count the blessings of the week past.

0733. a dog that didn’t fit but was desperately loved