This has been such a busy few weeks- I have to look through my pictures just to keep track of what's been happening! We were blessed with a visit from Nathaniel, Halloween fun, new car, Michael Card in concert, Alex came for a long weekend to meet Nathaniel and see his favorite future-in-laws, Jim and Isaac had a neat camp-out with fathers and sons from church, Fall Fest with our church family at the Lucas's farm, the Quakertown Regional Conference on Reformed Theology, a Thanksgiving meal with our church family… wow. Way too much to cover in one post!
So let's get started with Nathaniel's visit. He missed Kate by mere days, but was able to "skype" with her several times with only 5 hours time difference instead of the ten hours from Hawaii. Since we live several states away from his friends, when Nathaniel visits we get him exclusively to ourselves- not the reason we moved, but certainly a fringe benefit. The day he arrived from the tropical paradise of Hawaii we were having bitterly cold temperatures and brisk winds- nice introduction to the Pennsylvania Autumn! I met him at the Harrisburg airport and we had a nice visit on the drive home- once the heat was on in the car! Now that I am working several days a week Nathaniel had some quiet mornings at home. But when I was home we made sure to make some of his favorite meals, update certain technologies necessary to our modern lifestyle, and watch some fun movies together. Not exactly "fasten your seatbelt" fun, but we manage to enjoy it!
Halloween this year was slightly different for us. The neighborhood at the end of our road was planning a "private party" to which we were invited as well. Our friends Tony and Sherri Sacco invited us to join them for home-made pizzas and soup before the festivities began. The kids, however, were unwilling to give up the trick-or-treating down Fawn Road, so we split into two groups- the kids, with additional friends Lillian Noble, Eun Ho, and Isaiah went down Fawn while Nathaniel, Jim and I went to the Sacco's to start our pizzas- yum! To sum up the evening I'll just say that fun, wonderful food and candy were had by all!
The next night, Saturday, Jim and Isaac went with Fathers and sons from church for an overnight camping and hiking on a portion of the Appalachian Trail. Nathaniel, while eligible, considered sleeping outdoors to be just a bit too cold for his tropically-inclined self, so he joined me, the girls and Isaiah for the free Michael Card concert at the Lancaster Bible College. I do not often have music on in the house, and usually only listen to what the kids have on. If I have a choice though, I will listen to hymns, soundtrack compilations, or Michael Card. I so appreciate the theology woven into his lyrics. As a student of the Word first, and musician second, his love for Scripture and the life-changing truths found there are so beautifully evident. A thoughtful listen to a Michael Card cd causes me to meditate on Christ and His providential hand in my life. So when I found out that he was playing in Lancaster I was thrilled! It was labeled a "concert", but the atmosphere was far from what I remember concerts being like. (Of course, my last concert was Van Halen in the mid-80s…)
The evening was more like a casual visit with a friend, taking a walk through the Bible as he encouraged us to read through the Bible from beginning to end. No special program or regimen needed, just pick it up and read, then begin where you left off the next day! How simple is that? I am giving it a shot now, having tried before and failed. The songs progressed through the Bible from Genesis all the way through Revelation and the instruments progressed through his many guitars and other stringed instruments, the piano, an accordion and even a little concertina! Only one accompanist with him, the whole time was a sweet fellowship with brothers in the Lord and a blessing to all in attendance.
That's all I can fit in now. I'll put photos into a separate post before continuing the storyline of the past couple of weeks.
