The Chaos Before The Serenity

Every cottage season has its work projects. That's just the nature of things when you've inherited vinatge property with "rustic" buildings that need attention.

And every once in a while the attention required is, um...... significant. Such as when you discover the supporting beams across the entire back of the structure have rotted away. And while there's joy in taking certain risks, the thought of the toilet crashing through the floor while one is seated upon it, isn't exactly the kind of adventure you hope to write about in the cottage log.

So this year, my arrival to this place of serenity has been somewhat chaotic. Outside walls have been ripped away, indoor amenities have been removed altogether, and six people are trying to work and live and fit into the same space as I normally have mostly all to myself.

Its all going really well. I guess if you can get along with relatives in a crowded, construction messy cottage, with no one having a shower in going on four days, having had to make extra trips into town, and hiking up the back hill to the biff...and you're still laughing and playing Scrabble and racking up points for how many mosquitoes you've squashed before bed...then that's probably the best kind of family to have.

Everyone's working very hard, contributing their bit and working as a team. Colin, Ken's nephew, has excellent skills for this kind of project and has basically taken the lead. Some of it is just simply brutal grunt work, like crawling down in very squishy places under the cottage. But it's coming together. Every once in a while, someone stops and says giddily, "It's happening! It's happening!!!"

So this is the chaos before the serenity. Making memories.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Summer Sabbath Letter to One Sensational Church

June 19, 2011

Dear Cherished Friends,

Later this afternoon, I will get in the car with Ken,

and we will drive for about two and a half hours

until we get to a marina. Then we will load

everything into the boat and ride for another

half hour over the water until we get to a dock.

That dock is a holy place for me. And after we have unloaded and settled in, after we have had our first dinner together, looking out over the water, I will gather my Bible and my journal, and maybe a few jujubes, and head down to that holy dock.

One of the things I will do on that dock is talk with God about you. I guarantee it. Because in that quiet, mystic place, I always pour out my deepest longings, and bring to Him my most valuable treasures….and without question you are top on that list.

As we all head into our summer Sabbath, whatever the official start date of holidays, or wherever our times away may take us, I am praying special prayers of restoration and recharging for each of us. I am praying that all of us will have more time to just sit and be with God, to meditate on His goodness, and let the light of His righteousness shine deeper into our souls. Time for growing intimacy with God. And intimacy with God is essential for any follower of Jesus who wants to build their heart bigger for Him.

Whenever we can find ourselves together at Highview, and I do trust you will make every effort to do so every Sunday you are in town, we will be having our own “fun in the sun” by pulling together various parts of our Bible that talk about the sun, about sunshine, sunsets, light and brightness, by means of our summer series Here Comes the Sun.

I think this makes perfect sense. Not just because it’s summer and we normally see more of the sun over the summer months. But also because one of the Bible’s prevailing pictures of God is that He is light.

And as we make our way through these teachings, we’re going to find out more about this God of light, His power, His protection, His Sovereignty, and His holiness. Each Sunday that we are together, our study of different texts in the Bible – all dealing with sunshine and light – will help us learn more about the character of God. And to know Him is to love Him.

And while I am eager to get away and rest, spend time with my exceptional husband Ken, have grandchildren visit us, feed the chipmunks and gather blueberries, I find myself also excited about what is waiting for us next season. This is unusual, people. Normally round about now, I just want to make sure all the loose ends are tied up before I go. I don’t want to think about August and the next season until I get back.

But the significant and frequent acts of God I have seen first hand in just these last two months, and even more concentrated in these past three weeks, not to mention all that God has done over this entire past season, leads to me to believe that there is good work ahead. People to love, souls to journey with, hearts to build.

You are such a blessing to me! You are truly a Hebrews 13:17 kind of church. I love how you respond to God’s work in your lives, how you love each other, how you continue to press forward to all God’s called you to be, and all He’s called us to be as a church. I commend you for your faith,you’re your diligence, for your perseverance, for your faithfulness.

Thank you for being a church that I can’t wait to get back to,

for whom I will be praying earnestly,

thanking God for you on every remembrance,

as I sit in that quietness,

on that holy dock.

Honoured to be serving alongside of you,

Ruth Anne

Tied Up At The Dock

For the simplicity of it
The off loading and unplugging
The fierce gentleness of a space that asks nothing of you
Just gives

For blueberry therapy
And still water healing
And cool breezes restoring
And expansive sky reminding me of just how big You are

And the seagulls and jenny wrens and humming birds and redheaded woodpeckers
And the water snakes and snapping turtles and salamanders and toads
And the otter and the beaver and the red fox and, yes, the bear

For the boat
The ride
The wildness of Your Spirit over the waves
And then....

Tying up
Just like that
Simple and snug and so secure

Being quietly
With You
Who loves me.
You must,
To give me this gift
Over and again, summer by summer
Tied up at the dock
With You

RAB11

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun
to the going down of the same
the name of the LORD is to be praised.

Gentle Father,
I can't wait
to revel in the glory of You
by sunrise
by sunset
and let it be
enough for me
to sit.

RAB11

Right Sizing

There's something about the expanse of sky and water together
that reminds of how perfectly sized I am.

Enormous enough to be the object of all my God can offer.

Small enough to be entirely not in control.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!
If I were to count them,
they would outnumber the grain of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
Psalm 139:17-18

Out of My Own Backyard

Driving up the coastline toward Ft. Meyers for a short ride this morning, I couldn't help but think something.

Beautiful beach front homes lined the way; tall, elegant, extremely modern, with stunning views of the gulf. I roll down the window and shamelessly point my camera at the homes of strangers. I am so curious about whoever would live in such a place. What's it like to live like that? How do these people make their living? Who loves them? And I wonder who's around to make sure they know, that no matter who they are on the social scale, God is crazy about them, and has a meaningful, difference-making life in mind for them.

And I remembered visiting the Lahu village, north of Chiang Mai, and shamelessly pointing my camera at the home of a stranger. Simple, tidy, extremely ancient, with a spectacular view of the hills. I am so curious about whoever would live in such a place. What's it like to live like that? Who loves them? How do these people make their living? And I wonder who's around to make sure they know, that no matter who they are on the social scale, God is crazy about them, and has a meaningful difference-making life in mind for them.

And I'm thinking all of a sudden about all the houses going up along Ira Needles Boulevard, back home; the houses I pray for every day as I drive to the church; the ones with no particular view really. I am wondering who will live there, how will they make their living, who loves them? But I don't have to wonder who's around to make sure they know, that no matter who they are on any social scale, God is crazy about them and has a meaningful difference-making life in mind for them.

Because as far away as God sometimes takes me.....this is my own backyard.

The Unexpected Pause

Since it's so hard to get me to sit down, it's notable that I've been sitting for most of the afternoon. Stretched out on a lounger, screened in porch, ceiling fans on slow, a drink with ice chinking in it - that kind of sitting.

Ken and I are the grateful guests of a generous couple at Highview who have provided their Florida condo to us this week as a gift. We're looking over a few acres of wet lands, all the comforts of home (actually more :), and yet feeling more like we're away from it all, just that closer to creation, everglades style. Started the day doing laps in an amazing pool, ate too much for brunch, picked up a few groceries, napped, and came out here to the porch. And that about sums up the day.

As I breathe in the resting of it, I realize how open my soul is to the idea. Surprisingly. The beginning of May is not a normal time for me to take a break, with summer down time so close. And this year I've just been away, in March, not for a holiday, but a definite change/break from the normal demands of my life, for sure. This little holiday was not necessarily in the original plans for this season, but instead was kindly offered to me. Often I would resist, make excuses about why I just couldn't leave all my responsibilities. But I didn't. So to get here and be so ready to do this, not to be worrying about stuff at home, to just be enjoying the quiet presence of my husband, all day....it's ..... nice. A gift.

It's been my experience that when God provides these unexpected pauses, He does so for a reason. I'm paying attention.

Oh, and Ken has just brought me a cup of Skittles. Wonderful!

Tomorrow the beach. Wednesday a ball game. Who knows about the rest of the week? Doesn't really matter. I'm just....pausing.