(source)

Tonight I will tell my story at a church in Eugene called Ekklesia. 

I'll be nervous of course, trying frantically to memorize what I wrote but will not say...

But I'm excited too. This is a church full of young people with great hearts to listen and learn and do. They're coming to hear how the Father worked in my life and it is my prayer and hope that they leave filled with wonder at His goodness.

So will you pray? Please?

Last night I heard Pastor Mutatu, from Zimbabwe say,

 No prayer, no power.

Little prayer, little power.

More prayer, more power.

Much prayer, much power!

And so I cry out for much prayer.

God's power to grip our hearts and heal deep wounds and teach and encourage-- especially that! 

From my heart,

Diane

P.S. I'll be sure to send lots of pics via Instagram...

 Be strong and courageous!

Joshua 1:8

Speak truth, each one of you...

Ephesians 4:25

My dear son,

I’ve been writing for a long time now my answer to your question, "Mom, what should I look for in a wife?"

I’ve talked about gentleness and joy, strength to serve, and strength in God. I’ve also written hard things about tendencies that ought to raise red flags before you decide for a lifetime.

Now I sense a need to write some instruction for you and your men-friends about how to really love a woman.

I want you to know beyond what you see, to delve a little deeper into the way God crafted His Eves. We’re so entirely different than men that it’s not only possible, but probable, that if you treat a woman just the way you want to be treated, you’ll get it all wrong.

And so, from a mom to her son, some advice...

Women long to be led. 

We really do. The number one complaint I hear over and over again from beautiful young women is how uncomfortable they are with the lack of clear relational direction they get from guys.

Did he just ask me on a date?

Or are we hanging out?

If so, why?

Does he want another buddy?

Or could he possibly be interested in me as a woman?

Am I supposed to pay when we go out for coffee? Or is he?

The guessing game just drives women crazy!!

When a woman is left to guess at what you mean when you haven’t been entirely clear she feels confused… and just a little bit resentful.

Delightfully joyful women become subdued, peaceful women turn anxious, shy women withdraw, while others assume more than you meant. Not good.

BE CLEAR! 

If friendship is all you’re after, say it right up front.

I enjoy your company, I’d just like to be friends with you.

or

You’re fun and interesting, could we hang out sometime just as friends?

or

I’ve enjoyed talking to you, would you go out with me so we can get to know each other better?

or, in the words of your father more than 35 years ago:

Diane, You’re a beautiful woman and I want to know you more, but I don’t date just to date. I’d like to take you out with the purpose of getting to know each other with the future in mind. Would that be okay with you?

To which I could barely croak out a yes, as I started making plans to elope.

Seriously, Matt, I think I fell in love with your dad in that moment of clear, gentle leadership. And that’s the way he’s been leading me and loving me for all our lives together.

It isn’t easy, I know. I’ve agonized with you, and your brother before you, over the sheer terror of transparent leadership.

There is risk involved, great risk!

You could get laughed at (unlikely), rejected (possibly), or hurt (it happens).

You will have risked and won or risked and lost but you will have been honorable and forthright and courageous.

You will have led like a man.

Praying for courage and honesty for you and all your friends,

Love,

Mom

 Am I right girls? 

(source)

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. 

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. 

Lamentations 3:21-24

NASB

The Journey

Ruth 1:6-22

 (Click here to listen to the second teaching in the Ruth study.)

Scene II of our drama brings the spotlight onto the three widows: Naomi, determined to travel back to her land of Israel alone; Ruth, equally determined to find and follow Naomi’s God; and Orpah, uncertain which path to take.

An argument ensues. Naomi, painting the bleakest possible picture of the life that lies ahead, manages to convince Orpah to turn back to the relative safety and security of her old life. Ruth, on the other hand, resolves to forsake all and follow the way of her mother-in-law.

In a beautiful soliloquy which we often hear reiterated at weddings, Ruth declares her intention to go with Naomi, adopting Naomi’s people, land, and God as her own.

Orpah kisses. Ruth clings. 

Orpah turns back. Ruth forges forward.

The path Ruth takes with Naomi is dangerous and filled with hardship. Much like our own determination to follow Jesus, these women must set their eyes on the hope ahead of them in order to endure. They must face each obstacle head on, courageously depending on God to show them the way and give them the strength to move forward.

Our own journey takes a similar road. The prophet Isaiah called it the Highway of Holiness. It is a road where the Redeemed walk safe, though surrounded by “wilderness and desert,” a road leading to a place where, at long last, “sorrow and sighing flee away.”

Come along with these two women who are so much like us. Delve into their story, identify with their fears and failures. Rise up with their hopes and triumphs. These women are here to show us the way to the One who captures our hearts and holds us safe in His love forever.

#1:

“WE ALSO PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE STRENGTHENED WITH HIS GLORIOUS POWERSO THAT YOU WILL HAVE ALL THE PATIENCE AND ENDURANCE YOU NEED…” COLOSSIANS 1:12 FRAGMENT NLT 

#2:

Colossians 1:9-12

Colossians 2:1-7

Psalm 143 

#3:

The Beauty of Kindness

How must Ruth have felt that day as she trudged towards Naomi’s land? She was a despised Moabitess, attempting to slip unobtrusively into the tiny town of Bethlehem. She couldn’t remain unnoticed for long. Everything about her was different: the way she dressed, the way she wore her hair, even the halting way she spoke as she struggled to wrap her tongue around those strange Hebrew vowels. But it was her history that was her undoing.

Ruth the Moabitess.

Her title defined her.

Worlds of prejudice were wrapped up in that word.

All that was evil and immoral,

Dangerous and undignified,

She was a bad woman.

Sometimes I feel summarized in much the same way.

Stuck in a role that everyone expects of me.

A role that chafes and irritates.

A role that confines and defines me.

A role that doesn’t fit very well,

like a too-short t-shirt - so uncomfortable!

And yet, passively, I plod on, doing what I’ve always done, being who I’ve always been, caught in a catch-22 of my own making. What else is a woman to do?

What did Ruth do?

This woman defied the discouraging expectations of others. She didn’t set out to prove them wrong. No speeches about giving her a chance. No long soliloquies explaining herself to her skeptics. She simply served. Quietly, Ruth rebuilt her reputation by serving the one woman who really needed her: Naomi. She broke the bonds of people’s expectations by gathering grain, showing kindness, sharing a meal, and taking initiative.

Doing what she could.

Doing what she should.

She didn’t sit around hoping someone would do the right thing. There was nothing passive about Ruth. That girl just got out there and went to work. I love it!

I love how the Bible, upon a closer look, blows our picture of piety. Ruth is applauded for aggressively going after the lowest job of all - gleaning. Instead of letting this desperate act ruin her life forever, she builds her future on the beauty of her kindness. She entices the man of her dreams not by sexual seduction, but by the sweet allure of servanthood. Rather than allow her history to limit her, she uses it to propel her to greatness.

Now that’s a picture of bold, biblical womanhood!

From my heart,

Diane

ETC:

The Moabites

The Moabites were the archenemies of Israel. Not opponents to be feared or revered, nor foes to challenge the mightiest of their warriors. The Israelites despised these enemies on their border for their weak and deceitful ways. Their lineage didn’t help, descended from the incestuous relationship between Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his oldest daughter. The Moabites were named after the son of that drunken seduction (see that story in Genesis 19:30-38). And their women were the worst.

Their story goes back a ways…

More than 150 years earlier, during the long and arduous trek through the wilderness, Moses had sent a diplomatic envoy to request permission to cross through the land of Edom on what was known as “The King’s Highway.” Even with assurances that the Israelites would not trample their farmland or use up their water, the king refused, sending an imposing force to intimidate the travelers (Numbers 20:14-21). Apparently, Moab was a part of this alliance against the Israelites (Judges 11:17) beginning a blood feud which would last for at least ten generations (Deuteronomy 23:3-6).

The biblical portrayal of the character of the Moabites was less than admirable. Proud and arrogant (Isaiah 16:6), idolatrous (1 Kings 11:7), superstitious (Jeremiah 27:3, 9), rich and confident (Jeremiah 48:7), men of war (Jeremiah 48:14), hostile to Israel (Psalm 83:6)-not exactly the kind of people you want living next door.

Tensions between the nations worsened when Balak, king of Moab, called for the prophet Balaam to come and curse Israel. And while Balaam certainly tried, he was unable to effectively cast a curse on this nation who was under the protection and guidance of the Almighty. Yet what havoc the errant prophet was powerless to create through divination, the women of Moab succeeded in wrecking through seduction. The story, found in Numbers 25, began with just “some” men accepting the invitations of the Moabite women to join them in the sexually erotic worship of their gods, but the destruction spread to involve the deaths of 24,000 people in Israel. While Balaam attempted unsuccessfully to turn the Lord against His people, he was sadly successful at turning God’s people away from their Lord. The tragedy struck a stunning blow to the fledgling nation. How a small group of Moabite and Midianite women could seduce thousands of Israelite men away from their declared intention to be faithful followers of Yahweh became the ultimate horror and humiliation for every family in Israel.

Much like pornography today, these people “devoted themselves to shame and they became as detestable as that which they loved” (Hosea 9:10 NLT). Their idolatrous sexual sins are held up once again in the letter to the church in Pergamum, as dangerous deviations from God’s plan to bless their lives (Revelation 2:14-16).

No wonder the Israelites in Naomi’s day looked somewhat suspiciously at her daughter-in-law Ruth. The thought of a young Moabite widow in their small town must have sent tremors through their tight-knit community. Was she a seductress like her ancestors? A blatant heathen who would bring her erotic gods to entice their men? These women would have been understandably reluctant to welcome Ruth into their midst. She would have to prove herself first, and to be very careful to watch her back while she did so.

I love butternut squash. So much so that I just had my husband pick up 20 (yes 20) of them on this way home from work a few days ago.

(They are $1.39 at Trader Joe's for few more days and they last in the cupboard for 3 months.)

I'm either smart or a horder.

Today's soup recipe is one of my favorite meals to make this time of year. This recipe was passed on to me from a friend a few years ago and I'm not even sure where it came from originally but I promise it won't dissapoint... even if you aren't as into butternut squash as I am.

It is an easy soup to make ahead of time, freeze or take to a family in need of a meal.

For as long as I can remember my family has been having soup for dinner on Christmas Eve and this one will be added to the menu this year!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

3 T olive oil

2 C chopped onions

2 T fresh Italian Parsley - chopped

2 t fresh sage - chopped

4 - 5 C butternut squash - peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 in cubes

1 1/2 t course sea salt

1 garlic clove - minced

5 C organic vegetable broth

TO MAKE:

Add onions, parsley and sage and saute until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and coarse salt and saute until squash softens and onions are golden, about 6 minutes.

Add garlic, stir for 1 minute.

Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes.

Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender, allowing some texture to remain. Return soup to pot and thin with stock if desired.

Here is the secret: add a few dashes of cayenne pepper for a little kick. Only add a few dashes at a time and then taste. It heats up quickly!

Season with black pepper and salt if desired.

TO SERVE:

I like to serve it with some homemade croutons on top.

You can make them any way you like. I usually cut a whole wheat, crusty bread into cubes, drizzle, with olive oil and season with garlic powder and sea salt. Bake at 350F for about 20min or until golden brown and crispy.

ENJOY!

[print_this]

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

3 T olive oil

2 C chopped onions

2 T fresh Italian Parsley - chopped

2 t fresh sage - chopped

4 - 5 C butternut squash - 1/2 in cubes

1 1/2 t course sea salt

1 garlic clove - minced

5 C organic vegetable broth

TO MAKE:

Add onions, parsley and sage and saute until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and coarse salt and saute until squash softens and onions are golden, about 6 minutes.

Add garlic, stir for 1 minute.

Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes.

Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender, allowing some texture to remain. Return soup to pot and thin with stock if desired.

Here is the secret: add a few dashes of cayenne pepper for a little kick. Only add a few dashes at a time and then taste. It heats up quickly!

Season with black pepper and salt if desired.

TO SERVE:

I like to serve it with some homemade croutons on top.

You can make them any way you like. I usually cut a whole wheat, crusty bread into cubes, drizzle, with olive oil and season with garlic powder and sea salt. Bake at 350F for about 20min or until golden brown and crispy.

ENJOY!

[/print_this]

(source)

I love to read. I mean I really LOVE to read! 

I’d rather have books than new clothes…

I’d rather have books than fancy vacations…

I’d rather have books than… well, most anything.

My idea of an ideal day is the freedom to curl up somewhere quiet, “unplug” (aka take my cochlear off so I can relish uninterrupted silence), and crack open a new book.

And so I thought I’d tell you about some of the books I’m reading as well as alert you to a few I’ve read and loved. Just in case you love to read too and need a few to add to your stack or think you’d really like to learn to love to read but can only remember those boring text book pages you had to slog through in school.

So… today’s book:

1000 Gifts

by Ann Voskamp

Beautiful, moving, poetic, raw, thought-provoking, stirring, convicting, uplifting, life changing… need I say more? 

This is my top of the year pick… maybe my top of the decade choice.

In her own words, this is “not an easy read”.

Ann Voskamp champions the art of a grateful spirit, challenging us to join her in counting the every day gifts God showers onto our lives.

She tackles topics that women rarely talk about, just splashes truth right out front and let’s us hurt with her.

She weaves stories with poetry and leads her readers just a little deeper than most modern authors go.

And then she brings us back into her kitchen and let’s us wash dishes with her as she moans her piles of dirty laundry.

This is a book I will read over and over again. And every time I do, I’ll step a little closer to that circle of Shalom my soul craves.

I’ll remember that truth that I sometimes forget... that God is good and He’s good to me and the giving of thanks weaves His beauty down deep into the fiber of my heart.

If you’ve read it and love it to, will you leave a comment? All you Ann Voskamp fans! And if you’ve never delved into her blog, go to www.aholyexperience.com

From my heart,

Diane

Notes from my week in Italy:

We are merely moving shadows,

And all our busy rushing ends in nothing…

And so, Lord,

Where do I put my hope?

My only hope is in You.

Psalm 39:7

NLT

One thing I am coming to love about Italians is their seemingly peace-filled coexistence with imperfection.

These are people dedicated to beauty. Artists, creators, storytellers, masterpiece makers. They have spent centuries improving this Eden they call Italy.

And yet… nothing is perfect.

Bricks crumble, houses lean, tiles crack, weeds grow. Life happens.

And instead of scrambling to fix it all and paint it all perfect, these people just settle comfortably into their sun-drenched skin and live.

They raise less-than-perfect children in their less-than-perfect houses where they cook less-than-perfect pasta with freshly picked less-than-perfect tomatoes.

Nothing goes to waste.

Who needs massive box stores when the tiny Farmacia down that twisiting lane will sell you 1 roll of skimpy, scratchy toilet paper at a time? And why bother with wash cloths? Or daily showers? A quick rinse of who-knows-what in that thingy-ma-jig in the bathroom and we’re good to go.

And yet beauty is everywhere. Ancient beauty— worn and lived and survived and thrived and lived-a-little-more kind of loveliness.  So different from this gotta-have-every-scratch-covered-over kind of plasticity that drives my life.

I rest here. Breathe a deep sigh of relief from all my striving, my lists, my worry about getting it all done in time to do more…

And this morning while I sit on a cracked stone bench in an untended garden of imperfect artistry, my soul sinks into silence.

List-less. Sun-filled. Quieted.

Cease striving, He whispers.

All your rushing, fixing, improving, redoing, list making, achieving is simply wearing you down, rendering you useless to Me.

I don’t require perfection...

I make beauty in your brokenness when you simply soak Me in.

Of course.

I forgot.

Again.

And so I’ll spend this day remembering that all this less-than-perfect world I relish is just a backdrop for His beauty.

And I’ll soak… and cease striving… and know Him.

From my heart,

Diane

Dear son, For the past several weeks I’ve been describing to you what a beautiful woman does and how she speaks and what she thinks. And I’ve let you in on some of those ugly traits every woman struggles with too. Things like shaming and manipulating and trying to control. I guess I’m trying to clear the fog in so many young men’s minds, to help you think clearly and well when it comes to women and wives and all that no-man’s-land in between.

Today I want to tell you where these women are hiding. Because I think that many men have no clue where to find women of worth and beauty. And so I’ve made a list, knowing men’s penchant for clarity and brevity and my tendency to talk in circles.

WHERE TO FIND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN:

1. At church, first of all. They’ve dressed, done their hair, prettied all up and come to where they know they’ll be safe to meet God.
2. In serving roles. Peek your head into the kitchen or coffee areas for the serving beauties. These women are others-centered, willing to get mussed up for the purpose of enhancing all our lives. They’re engulfed in aprons, covered in glory as they bustle about creating community by making coffee and serving it up hot and strong.
3. At the front door. The greeters are warm and bold and looking out for people who need the hope of a good welcome. These are the ones who are not afraid to leave the safety of their circle of friends in order to bring others in.
4. In the prayer room. These are the ones overflowing with compassion. They believe in grace and long to wrap others up tight in the Father’s love. These are the encouragers, the pray-ers, the people lovers. If mercy mixed with wisdom is your idea of heaven-on-earth, mosey on over to that prayer room!
5. In the kid’s areas. These women are fun! You’ll see unedited laughter and abounding energy as the women chase kids around with the love of God. They are not worried about a broken fingernail! They’re too busy arranging a heart full of fun for every child who walks into their hearts.
6. On the floor with toddlers. They slip off their heels, pull back their hair, and make life safe for insecure little ones. These women are not going to “ewee” at runny noses or stinky bottoms. Instead, you’ll find them rolling up their sleeves and opening up their hearts to embrace the potential of the future.
7. Holding babies. I gotta tell you, there are raving beauties in the baby section of our church! With the softest smiles and a lovely way of swaying back and forth, these women/girls are covered in glory. You’ll see warmth here, tenderness, the softest of women. If your idea of beauty is a woman who is gentle and sweet, patient enough to handle your manliness, take a good long look at the women in the nursery.
8. Out on a cold, rainy night to help with the middle schoolers and high schoolers. What you’ll see in here are the women who remember the angst of these years. They’re filled with wisdom and an ability to see right through people’s pretend. These women will be magnificent managers, able to handle the stresses of too much to do. They’re warrior women, unafraid of the potent mix of hormones and testosterone that makes these kids crazy at times.
9. Sitting next to old people and weak people and less-than-perfect people. Look around on a Sunday. Then look again. See that beauty sitting next to the white haired lady? Or the one with her arm around someone who doesn’t smell right? Can you see her beauty? She’s the kind of woman who will never make fun of you when you can’t seem to get it together. Instead, she’ll see who you really are and ignore the messy stuff. She’s too busy loving to get her feelings easily hurt and too full of love to hurt yours.
10.  At school. A woman who craves learning will never grow old and crotchety. She’ll keep growing and changing, delighting in the newness of every discovery. This kind of woman will keep you young, she’ll surprise and delight you with learning about life.
11.  Through Missional Communities. Friends have friends who know friends who know you. Women involved in community and committed to missional living are beautiful! They get the whole dynamic of doing life together in a way that is bigger than our own pressing needs. These women bring meals, offer hope, think creatively, choose authenticity.

Notice what I don’t mention. No bars, no parties, no online dating serves. No juveniles eyeing each other at the mall. No hook ups or set ups or blind dates or weirdness.

Every place I’ve listed includes a description of the kind of women you’ll find there. They don’t wear placards trumpeting their beauty though. In fact, you may have to peer through messed up hair and smeared off lipstick to take a second look. These women may have started their day all prettied up but I guarantee you they’ve let all that go in the process of letting all their loveliness spill onto other’s lives.

Matt, I think its time you and your buddies took another look around for beauty. You might be surprised at where you find it.

From my heart,

Mom

(source)

Let me hear of Your unfailing love to me in the morning, 

For I am trusting in You. 

Show me where to walk

For I have come to You in prayer.

Psalm 143:8 

NLT

#1: “…HOW BLESSED ARE ALL WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM!” PSALM 2:12B NASB

#2:

James 1:5

Colossians 3:1-17

Galatians 2:20

Philippians 4:8

Psalm 16

Psalm 127:2

Psalm 139:23,24

#3

PAGES FROM THE PAST:  February 1999

Dwelling There

Satisfaction and rest. The world searches frantically for both. I search for both.

If only I had…

If only I were…

If only I could…

Lasting satisfaction is not filled by people or places or things.

And rest. Where do I find that? A perfect vacation? A beach house? A lighter schedule? Less work to do?

No. Rest is found in only one place. Deep-down, daily soul rest is found only in the Shelter of the Almighty.

I know the satisfaction and the rest to be found in the Shelter. I’ve been there. It is a wonderful place to be. The problem is, I tend to just go for a visit. I pop in when the hassles of life get to me, when I feel restless and dissatisfied, when things don’t go my way.

Rest is for those who live in the Shelter of the Most High. There is a big difference between living there and taking a quick visit when the need arises. This Shelter is not a vacation home. It is a place to move into permanently - a place to get comfortable in, to hang some picture memories, to snuggle down deep.

I have known the Shelter as a hospital room. When I am hurting or grieving it is the first place I want to run to. I have known the heart-healing of that place.

I have known the Shelter as a refuge. When I am worn out and weary I seek a respite there. In that Shelter I have been refreshed and renewed.

I have known the Shelter as a library of sorts. I have gone there seeking solutions, answers for questions too big for me. I have come away with a heart full of His wisdom.

I have known His Shelter as a place of pure joy. I have worshiped there alone and have celebrated in His presence with the family of believers. I have touched His throne and been transformed again and again and again.

And yet with all these wonderful visits, I have yet to consistently dwell there. I move in and out. I don’t know why. I just sort of drift out until another crisis or an especially beautiful quiet time reminds me that this is where I want to be. I don’t want to be so foolishly fickle. I love it there in the Shelter.

I am coming to realize that the act of dwelling there, really living in the Shelter of the Most High, is a daily decision. No, it’s more like an hourly decision, a moment by moment awareness of the Father.

I can choose to live there when things are good and when they are not. I can live there when the kids are squabbling, when I am a taxi for the teenagers, at the drizzling soccer field, and at the crowded grocery store.

I can live there from the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep and every moment in between. The Bible tells me that He will keep on giving to me even in my sleep!

But the decision to stay there is mine. The Father will not force me. I must decide if I want to seek Him with all my heart. I must put aside, at times, thoughts and words and actions that do not belong in the Shelter. Just like I make my kids leave their muddy shoes outside in the garage, so must I leave my filth at the altar before I can enter into His presence. He is not expecting perfection-He knows me too well for that. But when He whispers in my ear I must listen and obey lest I push away His Spirit and push myself out of the Shelter.

From my heart,

Diane

Etc:

Names:

Elimelech: My God is King

Naomi: My pleasantness

Mahlon: Sickness

Chilion: Consumption

Ruth: Satisfied

Orpah: Fawn-like

Boaz: Strength1

What’s In a Name?

The most popular names given to babies in 2008 include: Matthew, Ethan, Olivia, Emma, and Alexander.¹ One hundred years earlier, in 1908, the top list included names like: Henry, Albert, Harold, Mildred, and Gladys. Only two names made the top ten in both years: William and Elizabeth.

In the United States, names are linked to the era in which a child is born. But in the ancient Middle East, names invariably signified the circumstances under which the child was born. Thus, Rachel, dying in childbirth, named her youngest son Ben-Oni (“my painful son”)² which her husband quickly changed to Benjamin (“son of the right hand”). Sometimes children were named as a result of his or her parent’s hope for their future. At other times, God Himself stepped in and announced a name before the parents could come up with one of their own (See Isaac’s story in Genesis 17 and John’s story in Luke 1).

Thus, in Scripture, the meaning of someone’s name often sheds light on the significance of that person’s life. Keep that in mind as you read through the book of Ruth.

Elizabeth and I have spent the last couple of days in the kitchen together. We've laughed and pondered recipes, remembered funny failures of past Thanksgivings, missed Grandma Ruth's gravy, and Rebekah's pies, and tried our best to convert favorite recipes into some semblance of healthy.

Here's a peek into Thanksgiving at our house. Hope you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours.

With love and gratitude to all of you,

Diane and Elizabeth

(the cooks)

(the dishwashers)

(the food... the vegetables stole the show this year)

(duke enjoying his "clean noodles")

(phil and jackson carving the turkey)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

  Fearing people is a dangerous trap,

But to trust the LORD means safety. 

Proverbs 29:25

My heart catches, early one morning, at these words.

Over and over in the past few months, my Father has been leaning these truths into my soul… easing them in, wedging His ways past my resistance…

This morning it begins to make sense, drawing me in for a closer look.

To fear, in this Biblical sense, means to be in awe of, to desire to please.

And isn’t that just what entraps me time and time again?

This innate craving for acceptance?

For approval?

This not-so-subtle sense that if only everybody likes me, or notices me, or just thinks I’m good, then surely I must be.

Isn’t that why I dress the way I do? Slightly understated, not too loud or bright or glittery… when deep down I love anything shiny and grand, secretly admiring the woman walking by in red high heels with that confident swagger in her steps…

Why can’t I wear that?

And I can but I won’t because people might laugh or point or disapprove. And that, after all, would be a Terrible Thing.

Why is my heart so easily crushed when someone criticizes me? Or so much as hints at disapproval?

Why does it freeze me up when someone acts irritated with me? Why does that matter so much?

Here’s why:  I fear people.

That desire to please is holding me in its too tight grip— like stuffing myself in a size too small.

And maybe I shouldn’t keep sucking it in to try to fit anymore.

Maybe I should just be me. 

And maybe that’s just what my Father is waiting for.

The chance to show me that He likes the way He wired me up. A woman who loves glitter and gloss and shiny red convertibles, yet craves quiet corners of all aloneness.

This strange mix that is me.

Maybe what He’s really waiting for is this second part of Proverbs 29:5… but to trust the LORD means safety. 

Because maybe safety is what I’m really all about…. and maybe keeping myself safe from criticism and disapproval is not my job... maybe it’s His…and maybe He’s not all that worried about what other people think of me…and maybe He doesn’t want me to be either… because maybe He has work for me to do… and maybe that work involves loving people no matter what…

 Even critics. 

Here’s the only thing I know for sure in all my maybe’s and what-if’s:

Fearing people is a dangerous trap,

But to trust the LORD means safety.

Proverbs 29:25 

And if you’ve figured some of this out lately, do you have any words of wisdom for me? I think its time I learned what the Father has been trying to teach me for a long, long time.

From my heart,

Diane

Strength and dignity

 are her clothing,

and she smiles at the future.

She opens her mouth in wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:25

NASB

Dear son,

So far I’ve talked to you about three kinds of women to avoid: the Manipulator, the Shamer, and the Drama Queen. Every woman I know has these tendencies, including me. These are ways women turn to in order to cope with past hurts or present helplessness.

But we don’t have to become entrenched in manipulation. We don’t have to give in to drama. We can stop it in its tracks if we fully entrust our lives to Jesus. We can humble ourselves, confess our sinful leanings and become beautiful.

But there is one more kind of woman I want to warn you about. I’ll call her the Needy Woman. And I’m not saying no man should ever marry this kind of woman. I’m warning you specifically because of your vision and calling to spiritual leadership in the church. The Needy Woman will engulf an enormous amount of a man’s time and attention in order to bring her to a place of spiritual and emotional dependence on God.

In many ways I was this kind of woman when your dad married me. I was barely 19 years old, mature and responsible on the surface, but dependent and needy whenever my carefully constructed corner of the world hit any sort of turbulence.

Your dad patiently led me into a deeper walk with God, never shaming me for my fearfulness or social inadequacies. But he also did not let my neediness hold him back from fulfilling the ministry he was called to.

To be honest, dear son of mine, I did hold him back. I cried when our monthly calendar planning outlined too many nights alone. I complained about his distraction, got my feelings hurt far too easily. I tried too hard to control a man who was born to lead, not to follow my ideas of a hunky-dory life.

In God’s unexplainable kindness, He matured me by constantly stretching me beyond myself. I wanted to be independent but I had no idea how to depend on God for my strength.  Then when disaster struck and I was diagnosed with progressive hearing lost and told I’d be deaf before long, I fell completely apart. And you know my story because you’ve heard it a hundred times.

God used that diagnosis to bring me into complete dependence on Himself.

To need Him alone. 

No one else could come close to bringing me the relief I needed from the fear and dread I felt at the prospect of going deaf.

That’s why I want you to avoid taking on the responsibility of a needy woman. To stop yourself from assuming that in your great strength you can help a woman whose helplessness may seem so appealing at first.

And though our marriage is strong and my respect for your dad is immense, it could have gone a different direction. Your dad, great spiritual leader that he is, could not have made me strong. He pointed me in the right direction, but I had to go there all by myself. And frankly, the only reason I followed that path to utter dependence on God is because in my failure I saw a terrifying glimpse of who I would become if something didn’t change immediately.

So, from personal experience, let me leave you my list of signs of…

THE NEEDY WOMAN: 

1. The needy woman is reluctant to go any where without you by her side.
2. The needy woman always needs more time with you.
3. The needy woman has no long-term goals of her own to drive her days.
4. The needy woman gets her feelings hurt frequently.
5. The needy woman will pull you away from friends and family and want you all to herself.
6. The needy woman is easily intimidated by strong women.
7. The needy woman is often critical of people who are different than her.
8. The needy woman often appeals to a strong man’s strength, but will suck him dry.
9. The needy woman resists suggestions to broaden her world, preferring to avoid adventure and remain in the confines of her safe structure.
10. The needy woman requires vast amounts of reassurance, never having enough encouragement to fill her empty reservoir.

Please note, dear son. A needy woman is not bad. She is usually sweet and gentle and full of grace. But your calling will require a wife who is willing to let you go, just like I had to learn to let your dad go. Just like Tammy has to let your brother go. Just like most women of hard driving men have to allow their men space to follow their vision fully.

I love you, Matt, and am praying that you lean on God’s wisdom as you live your life. May He bring you a good and godly wife in His perfect timing.

From my heart,

Mom

 (source)

The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD, 

He delights in every detail of their lives. 

Though they stumble, 

They will not fall, 

For the LORD holds them by the hand. 

Psalm 37:23 

NLT

#1 “MY CHILD, NEVER FORGET THE THINGS I HAVE TAUGHT YOU. STORE MY COMMANDS IN YOUR HEART, FOR THEY WILL GIVE YOU A LONG AND SATISFYING LIFE.” PROVERBS 3:1-2 NLT

#2

Proverbs 3:5-8

Jeremiah 2:12-13

Psalm 36:5-9

Psalms 63

Matthew 5:1-6

Hosea 6:1-3

1 Peter 1:1-9

#3

The Way of the Kingdom: 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your body,

and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Every year for seven years, those filthy, camel-riding, shiftless raiders robbed the Israelites of a year’s worth of toil. And the men and women whose backs were breaking from the hard work could do nothing but shake their fists in red-faced anger.

The frustrated Israelites tried everything to thwart their enemies’ modus operandi. They burrowed deeply into the mountain caves in the region to hide their harvests; they threshed their wheat at the bottom of winepresses, yet nothing worked. The Midianites’ sheer numbers overwhelmed the tiny nation.

Perhaps it was during this time that Elimelech set out for Moab. And can you blame him?

Though he should have stayed in the Promised Land, though he knew full well that God had warned his forefathers in the clearest of terms to remain in the land no matter what, and though he had to have been warned by family and friends, still he went.

What would you have done?

When completely overtaken by financial woes, when there is just no way to pay the bills, let alone to pay off debts and get ahead, wouldn’t you bail?

What about when a relationship turns sour? Who hasn’t taken a swipe at someone who hurt us, knowing all the while that Jesus so clearly stated the Kingdom Way when He admonished us to “turn the other cheek”?

Aren’t we all tempted to try to dig our way out of times of fearsome famines?

And yet Elimelech died there in that forbidden land.

Deliberate disobedience on the part of a child of God always brings death:

death of a relationship,

death of integrity,

death to purity or reputation or hope.

The Way of the Kingdom is rarely easy, often times frustrating, usually difficult, and always best.

And that, my dear friends, is just the way it is…

From my heart,

Diane

Etc.

Words:

Sojourned Remained Lived

The first five verses of the book of Ruth paint a painful picture of a family’s journey away from the God of their ancestors. Their Hebrew history, culture, and relationship to God were firmly rooted in the land which God had given them. Elimelech left all that behind when he decided to move to Moab.

From the very beginning of the story, God allows us to see what went wrong with Elimelech’s decision to fend for himself rather than wait on God to provide for him. A pattern emerges, a progression which serves as a warning to any and all of us who share Elimelech’s compulsion to control our lives.

First, they sojourned. The root ger means to live among people who are not relatives, to be dependent on the hospitality which played such an important role in the ancient near eastern cultures. A sojourner did not enjoy the rights usually possessed by a resident. Because they had “no blood ties to the residents, they only had legal rights as the dominant peoples permitted which were often whimsically granted and withdrawn.”

Next, Elimelech and Naomi remained in Moab. The Hebrew verb haya means to be, to become, to be done, to come to pass. Here the progression moves forward. “The family had planned only to sojourn temporarily in Moab, but they remained 10 years.”

Finally, the family of four lived there about ten years. The word can also be taken to mean to dwell, to linger, to sit. It implies permanence. Yashab is often used when describing how our faithful God lives with us. Yet here the word paints a picture of a family fully involved in the culture of the country they have chosen to make their home.

Check out another interesting progression of words found in Psalm 1. There, a man is considered blessed if he does not walk or stand or sit with the crowd. Yashab, the Hebrew word translated sit in Psalm 1:1 is the same word translated lived in Ruth 1:4.

Elimelech

“God is King”

Little is known about Elimelech, and what we do know doesn’t line up with the name given him at birth. What grand plans his parents must have had for him as they crowned him with such a glorious title of “God is King.” Did they hope he’d be the next king of Israel, a high and holy priest, or simply a successful supporter of the Temple? Whichever it was, Elimelech didn’t measure up.

Elimelech came from the ancient clan of Ephrathites, one of the aristocratic families of Bethlehem. As such, he was an important landowner in a time when land meant everything to a man: work, status, influence, and prosperity.

As a Jew, Elimelech would have known and been solemnly warned of the dangers of moving to Moab. He had family in Bethlehem: both Boaz and a “relative closer than I” stuck out the famine in the town of their inheritance. The late preacher J. Vernon McGee wrote: “Elimelech should not have gone into the land of Moab, regardless of the conditions in the land of Promise. It is never a delightful story when a member of the chosen seed leaves the Land of Promise and goes into the far country.”

None-the-less, he went, and moreover, he stayed there in that forbidden land, bringing death and destruction on himself and his two sons. Instead of living up to his name and making his God the King of his plans, Elimelech ignored the warnings in the Word as well as the warnings of his family and went his own way.

Elimelech lost his life while trying to find it.

(source)

THANKSGIVING MENU WEEK THREE:

I have been feeling a little uninspired this week.

Not sure what to cook.

Not sure what to write about.

I’ve tried everything I could think of to make a stuffing recipe sound interesting and worth reading about…

I still can’t think of a single thing to say.

The Thanksgiving holiday is all about giving thanks and yet we focus way more on the food then anything else… but is that really so bad?

Taking the time to write up some new recipes for this Thanksgiving series (along with some writers block) has really brought to mind the amazing people in my life who enjoy these dishes every year. It has made me realize how thankful I truly am for them and has made me want to serve them and show them my gratitude though food.

This year, why don’t we think through every dish that goes into the meal and make each dish with a purpose? 

Not just because your grandma made it.

Not just because your mom made it.

Think outside the box and plan your menu with the purpose to delight every member of your family. Even the pickiest of eaters (insert my son’s name here).

When you spend hours in the kitchen and have endless dishes to wash, pray for them and serve them in that moment.

You just might feel inspired and filled with joy in the process.

I’m off to add “clean noodles” (noodles with butter and salt) to my menu for my dearest little Duke.

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

SIMPLE STUFFING

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 celery stocks - chopped
• 1 carrot - peeled and chopped
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 leek - ends trimmed and chopped
• 2 chicken sausage or veggie sausages

*I recommend the ground chicken sausage from Whole Foods or New Seasons in the meat department or the Trader Joe’s Italian Veggie  Sausage

• 2 T fresh sage
• 1 T fresh rosemary
• 2 T fresh basil
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• ¼  tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 3 T earth balance butter or regular butter
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 loaf sprouted grain bread – I used Dave’s Killer Bread: Sprouted Wheat

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut the whole loaf of bread into cubes and place on two making sheets. Bake for about 20min, stirring a few times. They should dry out and get a little crispy.

While the bread cubes are baking, melt butter in a large pot and add celery, carrots, leeks, and onions.

Cook for a few minutes until everything begins to soften

Then crumble the sausage into the pan and stir. Then add sage, rosemary, basil, garlic and cook until sausage begins to brown.

Add vegetable broth and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Remove the bread cubes from the oven and transfer them to a large bowl. Pour the broth mixture over the bread cubes and stir well.

Transfer the mixture to a 9x11 baking pan and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes.

ENJOY!

[print_this]

SIMPLE STUFFING

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 celery stocks - chopped
• 1 carrot - peeled and chopped
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 leek - ends trimmed and chopped
• 2 chicken sausage or veggie sausages

*I recommend the ground chicken sausage from Whole Foods or New Seasons in the meat department or the Trader Joe’s Italian Veggie  Sausage

• 2 T fresh sage
• 1 T fresh rosemary
• 2 T fresh basil
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• ¼  tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 3 T earth balance butter or regular butter
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 loaf sprouted grain bread – I used Dave’s Killer Bread: Sprouted Wheat

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut the whole loaf of bread into cubes and place on two making sheets. Bake for about 20min, stirring a few times. They should dry out and get a little crispy.

While the bread cubes are baking, melt butter in a large pot and add celery, carrots, leeks, and onions.

Cook for a few minutes until everything begins to soften

Then crumble the sausage into the pan and stir. Then add sage, rosemary, basil, garlic and cook until sausage begins to brown.

Add vegetable broth and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Remove the bread cubes from the oven and transfer them to a large bowl. Pour the broth mixture over the bread cubes and stir well.

Transfer the mixture to a 9x11 baking pan and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes.

[/print_this]

Today is my daughter’s birthday. And though Bekah lives far away and I miss her every day, I am so proud of the life she lives right where God has assigned her.

She is like me in so many ways— she loves books and stories and poetry and people and home and beauty…

And yet, really, we couldn’t be more different— she is vivacious while I am hesitant, she is bold while I am careful, she gobbles her world in great gulps, while I sip slowly…

I love this woman, am so thankful for all the years, for all the memories, for all the grace.

Happy Birthday Rebekah Ruth (Comer) Opperman! 

A Woman 

On this day for you my mind is choked with moments of days gone by.

 Rhythms and rhymes, 

words and pictures

burst from some hidden place

begging to be allowed out. 

I watched my belly swell to create a safe place for you to hide.

Then filled and ached and learned to nourish you from somewhere deep inside.

I burped and

changed and            

 wiped and

worried through all those years of toddlerhood.

Then hoped and

fussed and

feared through all the angst of everyday.

I played dress up,

rode horse-back,

read stories.

And welcomed feet dangling in the waters of my bath.                         

And suddenly you are a woman.  

A woman of beauty and strength,

filled with joy and

hope and 

dreams and 

fierce desires.

Where did the years go?

            Did all those minutes make up that many days?                          

What happened to those

harsh words,            

 furious tears, 

 the misunderstandings and the missteps? 

Did I forget too much to remember reality? 

Or did the beauty of your life

make room for those

terrible times

of my shame and my nakedness                        

to somehow slide away?

You lavish the best of your love on me

casting shadows of His mercy

on the shelter of His grace. 

As all the minutes merge into memories,

            I catch my breath in wonder that

we laugh and

joy and

hope together now.

 Friends. 

I love you dear one,

Mom

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,

O God our savior.

You are the hope of everyone on earth…

You inspire shouts of joy.

Psalm 65:4,8

Dear people-who-prayed,

Last week I felt myself bending beneath the load of expectations I knew I could not meet.

You know that feeling? That sinking in your insides?

Early one morning, as I told God again that I was inadequate for the task of teaching the retreat, He clearly and firmly told me to ask you, my friends near and far, to pray.

I struggled with that for just a little bit. It felt embarrassing. Vulnerable. Needy.

And I don’t want to be needy. I want to be strong and good, the one to show the way.

And yet…

I am needy. So full of need for what only He can give that without Him I’m sunk. And sometimes He pushes me so far out of my comfort zone that I need more than me and Him.

I need sisters… and brothers too.

And so I gathered the courage to ask and you answered with so much love it took my breath away!

But that’s not even the best part.

The crazy beauty of God is this: He shows up! 

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday God showed His beauty and His adequacy and His passionate desire to connect with us, His children, by making His presence and power felt in a tangible way.

(the beauty in Sunriver)

Friday night I simply told my story. It is a story of my failure and God’s amazing faithfulness. I told them how angry I’d been when God didn’t heal my deafness. Told them about throwing my Bible across the room in a grandly rebellious gesture of in-His-face defiance. I let them know the truth of my ugliness, the depth of the darkness that nearly robbed me of everything and everyone I love. I told them about how I faked it, pretending to be the perfect pastor’s wife while crying hot tears of fury at God.

And instead of holding me at a distance, as if my awfulness might just rub off on them, these beautiful women seemed to sigh a collective breath of relief.

Because the story doesn’t end with me.  And your story doesn’t end with your failure either.

My story got interrupted by God— and I think every woman there wanted to stand up and clap at His entry into my ugliness!

My Redeemer, the One who rescued me, brought hope into that room Friday night.

Then on Saturday I finished my story, which really isn’t done yet. I taught them what He’s teaching me about listening and hearing and experiencing Him in a way I couldn’t have without seeing all that blackness inside.

But here’s what took me by surprise: these women got it! Every one of them wants what I want- to hear God. They latched onto my imperfectly worded parallels between my struggles to hear in this noisy world while deaf and all our struggling to hear God through the noisiness of real life.

I dared let them in and they galloped right into that openness without hesitation!

I loved their questions, their worship, their vulnerability, their strength, their hopefulness. I loved they way they loved on each other. I loved their loud bursts of laughter around tables, their shared lives, their nursing infants bundled against the mountain cold. I loved their willingness to make sacrifices to come.

You know what? I fell in love with these girls. And now I have more sisters and daughters and friends.

(the amazing women - blurry, I know, but I wanted to share these women with you!)

And so I thank you, dear sisters of mine. Thank you for praying, for sending such beautiful words about God’s goodness to remind me. Thank you for the notes and emails and comments and Facebook messages. I read them over and over again, clinging to His words to me through each of you. I relied on the truth of your words and the power of your prayers.

And now I’m relishing being home. Resting, connecting, planning for Christmas, meeting with women I love, playing with those grandkids I cherish… Matt came home Monday night to study and so, of course I cooked up a storm (so glad to hear that dorm food is no match for mine!)

I love you girls!

From my heart,

Diane

“Liza enjoyed universal respect because she was a good woman and raised good children. She could hold up her head anywhere. Her husband and her children and her grandchildren respected her. There was a nail-hard strength in her, a lack of any compromise, a rightness in the face of all opposing wrongness, which made you hold her in a kind of awe but not warmth.” 

Just the other night I finally cracked open John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.  Bekah gave it to me for my birthday (in June!) and I’ve been dragging my heals, reading easier stuff. It didn’t take me long, however, to get caught up in his story.

When I stumbled into this description of Liza I had to reread it several times. Maybe it was just late and my mind was too tired to catch on… or maybe I saw a little too much of myself in her. That  always-right-rigidity hit just a little too close to home.

Who wants to be like Liza?

Respected, admired, proud, and strong— but held in awe and not warmth.

And isn’t that what happens when we insist on being right all the time? When we hint at disapproval by just the way our mouth draws a straight line and we say… nothing? Or just enough to hint at shame?

I think I’d rather be like Jesus.  Faced with prideful and hostile opposition, He spoke grace over His critics. In turn, people all around Him were…

wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips.

Luke 4:22

May He leak some of that loveliness all over each of us who want to be so very different than Steinbeck’s Liza!

From my heart,

Diane

Strength and dignity

 are her clothing,

and she smiles at the future. 

She opens her mouth in wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 

Proverbs 31:25

NASB

Dear son,

Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up next to a woman every morning for the rest of your life who “smiles at the future”? A woman who so fully trusts God that even when life is hard and not what she wants, she could find hope and rest? And then spill that bright vision of possibility all over you… and your children… and everyone who steps into her circle of relationship?

Can you imagine what it would be like to live with a woman who is fascinated by you? Who knows who you are with all your flaws and failures, and focuses on the good? Who watches when you mess up and instead of condemning or correcting or sighing or exploding, wraps her arms around you and loves you as you are right then and there?

Can you imagine?

Is that even possible?

Yes, Matt, I believe it is. I believe that a woman can choose to be kind. She’ll mess up sometimes, no doubt, but I believe that God has given every woman who fully gives her life to Him “everything pertaining to life and godliness”. (2 Peter 1:3)

Which means, no woman has to give into all those surging emotions we are born with. We can choose, instead, to bring those wild feelings to the Cross and let God help us work through to wisdom.

It’s not easy. But it’s doable because we serve a Redeemer who never stops redeeming all those raw, wounded, stubborn, self-willed parts of us as long as we let Him.

That said, my dear son, watch out for any woman who has not chosen that path of full surrender. She may be nice and charming and alluring and compelling, but if she’s not fully submitted her will to Him she has the capacity to make your life miserable.

How will you know?

A woman who is still determined to protect herself will be all about herself.

A woman who is determined to submit herself to God will be all about others.

It’s that simple.

Now here are my lists…

THE DRAMA QUEEN:

1. The Drama Queen always brings the conversation back to herself, her stories, her accomplishments, her feelings.
2. The Drama Queen decides how much attention she needs from you and lets you know in no uncertain terms if you’ve failed to give her what she needs.
3. The Drama Queen is thrilled with your successes because it makes her look good, but she’s intolerant of any areas of your life that she deems less than worthy of her approval.
4. The Drama Queen justifies explosions or sulking as a means of punishing you or others.
5. The Drama Queen thinks the world revolves around her needs and therefore your life must revolve around her needs.
6. The Drama Queen can be incredibly generous, but in the end, all her giving is with the expectation of attention and recognition.

THE KIND WOMAN:

1. The Kind Woman is all about you. Whoever she’s with gets the full focus of her attention and interest.
2. The Kind Woman does not demand more than you are able to give, though she may gently and honestly bring her needs to your attention.
3. The Kind Woman waits a while before she acts on how she feels. She is distrustful of her own emotions and hesitant to make judgments based on how she feels. Instead she brings her feelings before the Father and asks for wisdom.
4. The Kind Woman is not critical. She sees you in the best possible light, openly admiring the man you are.
5. The Kind Woman adapts herself to you while remaining fully who she is. She brings her beauty to your vision and enhances your life while delighting in her own.

I do believe such women exist, Matthew, and here’s why: I know these kinds of women. They’re not perfect, but my goodness, they’re wonderful to be around. They are women like your Grandma Ruth. They can often be found serving somewhere behind the scenes— stroll through the children’s area at church and you’ll find a whole bevy of Kind Women. Women who are willing to wipe bottoms and corral kids with a smile on their face. Sometimes you can spot a kind woman loving on “the least of these”, people who are different or annoying or less than ideal.

May I respectfully offer one more word of caution?

Kind women are not always beauty queens. They are inclined to be understated rather than flashy. Their beauty may take a second look to discover. I have seen so many of these kind women emerge into breathtaking beauty by the love of their good husbands. There is something about a man finding you worth pursuing that often causes a woman to do more to enhance her beauty, to do her own version of a makeover in recognition of a man’s love of beauty.

You know I am praying for you, Matt, and for the other men who are in this process of preparing for a wife. Be wise. Be kind yourself. Pay attention. Don’t be passive. There is a woman out there just waiting to join her future to yours.

From my heart,

Mom