A chance to rub it in a little....

Well it is the middle of November here in Texas and.....yesterday I was wearing shorts and flip-flops! Now, really I feel awfully for all of you northern folks who have already been cursed (oops I mean blessed :) ) by several inches of snow. After the harsh winter I experienced in Chicago last year, I am ready for a couple years without snow and all the work that comes along with it. A friend posted on her blog some pictures of the snow they've already received and I just shivered looking at it. I don't miss the cold. I love the blue skies, the warm weather with a little bit of a chill, and the clear night skies with bright and shining stars.

The leaves have just now begun to fall off the trees...and right into my newly planted garden, so I am constantly out there gathering the leaves out of my flowerbed. :) Planting my new flower garden gave me a real physical sense of accomplishment. I got a chance to really get into the dirt, dig around and plant beautiful colorful flowers. I still have work to do to keep it up and to keep the flowers fresh and healthy, but really now I can sit back and watch as the plants take shape.

It has been therapeutic for me to get out there and get my hands dirty while planting something beautiful. And in a sense it is a great parallel to ministry as well. When we really get involved in the lives of people and the church often we have to get down on our hands and knees and get dirty. We have to dig around, find the right placement for people where they will grow the best, place them there, nourish them, give them water, till the soil and then watch them grow. And as much of the mystery of the growing process happens beneath the surface with plants so is the mystery of our sanctification and maturing process in the souls of humanity; it is done in the secret places and we don't often see the fruit until the time is right.
And we wait. Pray. Wait. Pray. Encourage. Nourish. Pray.

And finally....I am getting a roommate! I've really enjoyed having a house to live in and having my own space, but for all of you who know me well, you know how much more I enjoy living life with people. So I've been thinking that it would be great to find a roommate, and viola! my friend Audra was planning on moving out of her apartment and trying to figure out what she was going to do! So, this week she is movin in! She's hilarious, provides much laughter in my life, a deep thinker and a spiritual encourager. I'm looking forward to our friendship!