Oliver Trotwood Lingle

Here he is.  Our littlest Lingle.  His birth was miraculous and surprising.  Just six intense hours ending in a joyful water birth.  My husband was my rock once again, and I give thanks for the nurses and midwives who shared in our tender, painful overwhelming moments.

Here we are.  Our little growing family.  Thanks to grandparents and prayers and love, we are off to a good start.  Once more plowing "full steam ahead" "to infinity and beyond!"

Family Expression

Art Projects to entice baby home!

We are so excited!

Minute by minute

Luke is writing a curriculum for Choose to Share Christ, and I am sneaking a peek.  One of the exercises he is including is something called a "Here I am" prayer developed by Anthony Bloom.  The process goes like this:

• Resolve to be in prayer for at least five minutes. Do not answer the phone or allow yourself to be distracted from your goal.
• Be seated and say to yourself, “Here I am seated, doing nothing. I will do nothing for five minutes” (or longer, depending on the time you set for yourself).
• Begin noticing your own bodily presence—how your body feels next to the chair; how your feet feel against the floor. Relax your body. Notice what you feel inside.
• Now notice the presence of all that is around you. Say to yourself, “Here I am in the presence of the room.” Be aware of the furniture, walls, and any pets or people in the room. Just be present and silent in your environment. Relax even more.
• Now say to yourself and to God, “Here I am in the presence of God.” Repeat silently to God, “Here I am.” Bask in the presence of the Holy One until your time goal has been reached.

Now these are words I need to hear.  Expectation, whether of a baby or anything else, can be consuming. Certainly, every conversation we have in this house eventually turns to, if we go tonight...  These words recall me to the sacredness of the moment.

But, as we close in on the season of Advent, I am reminded that we are supposed to live with expectation.  We are called to live as those expecting the arrival of the Christ.  We are supposed to dwell so fully in every moment, day and place that we do not count on tomorrow's arrival.  

Living each day in isolation is a strange experience.  My normal week is given over to planning for today, tomorrow, next week and next month.  At this point, I have no idea what tonight will bring much less tomorrow.  All my meal plans, cleaning schedules, and projects have been laid quietly aside until my life returns to "normal."  Each day is spent dealing with only the needs of that day.  Simply.

I am pretty sure that if I spend too long in limbo land, my house and children will fall apart, but for right now (which is truly all I can deal with), I am where I am.

All Saint's Day

Today is All Saint's Day.  Certainly not as popular a holiday as the one where we get to dress up and get loads of sugar from our neighbors, but one of my favorite days because it makes me think about what makes a life matter.  To be a saint, I used to think along the lines of miracles happening when you sneeze, but the people who come to my mind on All Saint's Day are those who have simply created space in their lives for God to be present.

On Sunday, Luke preached a great sermon on worship (EUMC 9:45...) where he pointed out that Genesis chapter three is not God's opening line.  In our church culture, we tend to talk about what we are not.  About what we can't do.  About all the ways sin keeps us from God.  But God's opening was to create out of love and declare that God's creation was good.  Through Jesus, the resurrection, and grace we are free to live like God's good creations.

If you read any of these missives, you have no doubt become either tired of or curious about the Kingdom of God.  I hope that today, God will show you the way that God's saints (including you) bring God's Kingdom to earth, now.

Today I honor saints in my life:

Luke
Jennifer
Mom
Laine
Annabel

And many many others who bring God's love to my life.

Feel free to leave the names of saints in your life.