I’d like you all to meet Knuckles:
His picture was on the side of a box of garbage bags at the coffee shop where I work. I decided he was too cute to be on a box of garbage bags, so now Knuckles the Garbage Gorilla is living at my house.
My pastor was also on NPR, broadcast across the country.
I mailed my taxes! Thank God. I must have spent at least 20 hours on those things. Very painful experience, as was writing the checks 
Thankfully, next year, it won’t be nearly as painful.
Things are progressing with our upcoming condo purchase. I can see God helping throughout the process. As our mortgage broker said, “Somebody is looking out for you.”
My pastor was also on Fox 25 News in Boston on Saturday night. We had visitors at church as a result on the article and the news broadcast. That’s pretty cool
Roy & I just found out that our friend’s mom has passed away. We’re both very sad about this. Linda wasn’t just a friend’s mom - she was someone we knew and cared about, who had invited us into her home and fed us and brought joy into our lives. We’re trying to rejoice, knowing she’s in God’s arms right now. But it’s still hard. She was young and full of life.
In other news, it looks like they’ve accepted our offer on the condo, which is a total miracle because the other offer was $10,000 more than ours. Still, a lot could still go wrong in these process, so please keep praying. And please pray for Linda’s family - she has 3 sons and 2 grandchildren.
I was thinking about something this morning. People who question the existence of God and/or Jesus always ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” What I was wondering is why no one ever asks why good things happen to bad people. Well, the people who wrote the Psalms in the Bible did, but today, no one asks that. Just a strange thought I had
As I think of faith and the Church, I think of the Sara Grove’s song “Awakening”. It’s one of my favorite songs.
Dress down your pretty faith, give me something real
Leave out the Thee and Thou and speak to me now
Speak to my pain and confusion
Speak through my fears and my pride
Speak to the part of me that knows I’m something deep down inside
I woke up this morning and realized
Jesus is not a portrait
Or stained glass windows or hymns
Or all the tradition that surrounds us
I thought it would be hard to believe in, but it’s not hard at all
To believe I’ve sinned
And fallen short of the glory of God
And it’s not just a sign or a sacrament
It’s not just a metaphor for love
The blood is real and it’s not just a symbol of our faith
So many in the Church today feel like they need to put on masks and pretend everything is fine when it’s not. They “dress up” their faith, as if trying to make it more attractive to non-Christians or trying to hide that they still have feelings and pain and struggles from their fellow Christians. In reality, I believe that what people want to see more than anything today is that faith in Jesus Christ makes a difference in our everyday lives - that it doesn’t just give us hope for eternity, but hope for today. I believe if the Church really were willing to be vulnerable and honest and open about today’s pain and tomorrow’s hope, we wouldn’t be able to keep people away.
I don’t know if anyone’s been following the news story of the pastor who was shot in the back by his wife, but I’ve been watching the case pretty closely.
‘Perfect wife’ confesses to preacher’s slaying, police say
I wonder what was going on with Mary Winkler that she couldn’t reach out to those around her and find help. That’s not what the church is supposed to be like. An article I read in a magazine at Roy’s office yesterday suggested postpartum depression. Maybe it was, but it still makes me sad that there was no one she could reach out to.
So, we put an offer on that condo, and after negotiating, it seems like they accepted the offer. BUT they hadn’t signed it and in the meantime, they got another offer, so they’re considering both offers. So you can continue to pray that God’s will would be done.
Thanks!
Roy & I had an eventful weekend of looking at potential places to live. It was quite exciting.
I’m so glad that Jill Carroll is home again with her family. That’s a serious answered prayer.
I have 2 prayer requests for the 5 people that read this blog. First, the mother of a very close friend of Roy’s had something like a stroke and is in a coma. Her brain is bleeding and it doesn’t look good. Please pray for her. Roy & I are praying that her health will be restored.
Second, Roy & I are putting an offer on a condo today. Wow! Pretty exciting Pray that God’s will is done.
Thanks!