Some things that have been happening

April 22, Tina's birthday and a visit from the fabulous Witzig clan!

Sean and Whitney

Xueting and Tina

MUSICAL CHAIRS!

Pin the tail on the donkey...

The Lord's Prayer

:)

And THEN, this past Saturday, a lovely gathering of some old (but not THAT old) friends :)

Londyn likes to be in pictures. :)

gotta keep your eye on this crew...

And that is, well, two things that have happened.  Never a dull moment. :)

quick thought

This world contains a lot of cool people, for the record.  Just when I think I surely know them all, more pop into my life.  It helps that most people can be cool (or at least worthy of respect) if you find out where they're coming from...  I've always wanted to stretch my introverted self to make room for all these cool people, to be as much of a blessing to them as they are to me...  Not really going anywhere with that statement; it's just a statement.  I'm still working on being pliable in that way. For some reason it's been especially difficult lately, but it's worth the effort.  My loved ones are the only things I can hope to take to Heaven with me.

JOY

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my JOY might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

If you're ever having a blah sort of a day, search the New Testament for every verse containing the word "joy".   Like so:

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?criteria=joy&page=5&t=KJV

It's a breath of fresh air. :)

In the words of Caedmon's Call (yes, this song has been referenced here before), 

“You won’t give me something that gives me more pleasure than You.” 

 If Jesus Christ doesn’t fill me with joy, than how can I expect anything else in this world to make me truly happy?  Why would God be inclined to let something else fill me with joy if I am not allowing HIM ALONE to do so?

Lonely

I am not lonely.  I am blessed to pretty much never have that problem and more often have the "problem" of people claustrophobia (aka crowd panzishness).  However, I have been home alone this weekend (a rare occurrence) and frankly, I don't like it.

I have always known that lonely people exist, but a part of me cannot comprehend loneliness.  After all, how could someone with a big, loving family and loyal friends have a clue what that is like?  What it's like to maybe not say a word to anyone all day except for at work (if you're lucky enough to have a job), or a bank teller or grocery store cashier.  To sit at home alone with only the sound of the TV or the people you facebook stalk for company.  Night after night.  Not because it's what you really want... simply because no one is there.  Buh. 

Lonely people are everywhere, and the problem is overwhelming for oh so many reasons.  The situation begs a couple of questions.  1) Why has God given ME, with my introverted personality and many quirks, a never-ending supply of loving and supportive people, and 2) What can I do to share that love with someone who desperately needs it?

Happy Easter.