Marina Lights

Today started, and almost ended, as an ordinary day. We got up and went to work, came home and had dinner, made a trip to see my parents, sister, and great grandma, and then came back home just in time for a walk before it got too dark.

As different as the two towns are, I find more to love about each every day. Tonight we decided to go for a walk, and I wanted to watch the carferry leave on its nightly journey to Wisconsin. Where our favorite spot to watch it leave is, there's a walk loop. I always make it a little longer that it actually is, but it's all right along the water and absolutely gorgeous. First, I start out in the marina playground, go past the marina, and start the actual loop. It takes you to a narrow path with boulders and a railing on one side and boulders, yard and condos on the other. The water is right next to you on one side, and on it's other side is the end of a peninsula through the harbor. The carferry passes right through there.. and its so close you can see the expressions on passengers' faces. As you keep walking, you can either go straight to a small breakwall or turn to continue the loop through a boat launch, and pass a fish cleaning station. You go up  a few blocks, and then are back to the marina. It doesn't take too long, and since I felt like being by the water, we took the narrow way that we had come from back to where we started. The sky was blue and grey with white puffs added here and there, and you could see the green gleam of the lighthouse, the faint lights of the carferry, and the silhouette of a sailboat outlined on the horizon. Upon noticing the sailboat, we decided to sit atop a few of the boulders and wait for it so we could watch it come into the harbor. It was steadily getting darker, and as I looked around I couldn't believe I had never witnessed the sight before. On one side you could see the lake, lighthouse, boats, and channel coming into the harbor, and on the other you could see the marina, the playground, the carferry docks, an the channel that leads to a few smaller marinas further inland. Everything was lit up. Lights glowed orange and yellow, dotted by a few white ones, and reflected off the dark glassy water like the sun does at high noon. I sat there with Caleb and Honey on a boulder, in a spot that was scarcely lit, and felt tiny amid all the lights. Everything gleamed around me, and the sky seemed to fade darker and darker shades of blue and grey. I felt so small, and everything looked so gorgeous.

After getting home and logging onto to Facebook to fill myself in on the latest happenings, I saw a friends pictures of East Michigan sunsets, and had memory after memory flow in. My mom loves sunsets, storms, and everything like them. If there was a gorgeous sunset or storm, we'd always go to the highest point of town, by the police station, and park to the side of the road on top of the hill. And just sit. It reminded me of those times. I saw a picture of a sunset over a cornfield and one from a woodline, and I thought of the countless times I'd witnessed sunsets just like them while out for a bike ride. I love sunsets over the lake, but I sure do miss sunsets over cornfields and woodlines. They bring back so many amazing memories.

That said, tonight has been filled with more memories, new and old. I have been blessed beyond measure with my experiences, all the while living in two small towns.. and I wouldn't change those experiences. Those marina lights in the dark made my day a little brighter, and brought back some great memories. It makes me all the more eager to visit my hometown this weekend for a family reunion.

Timelines

For many of our students this is the long-awaited weekend: Winter High School Retreat. Staff and students alike are pumped about this retreat! We are taking seventeen students and have four leaders. We'll get there late tonight, have chapel, some root beer floats, and then crash. Tomorrow will bring more chapel, and an afternoon at the rec center of a nearby university. Sunday will bring even more chapel and then a drive home. Mixed throughout will be many new memories and opportunities - and we are excited to see whats in store. Please pray for both staff and students - that we will be receptive to each other and what God is going to do this weekend. I'm sure you'll hear about how it went next week!

Another ministry update is that our church has officially called a new senior pastor. We voted last Sunday in approval, called him, and he confirmed and accepted our invitation for the position. The limeline is something like: his last week at his current church will be the last Sunday in February, they will travel the first few days of March, get acclimated to this town, and then he will start the end of March. We are excited about this new chapter and transition at our church, and our prayer is that God's will will be carried out and He will pleased. As in most churches, there are a few people who aren't so keen on the process/decision, so please keep our church body in prayer too, as we transition during this time.

A house update is that we are getting closer and closer to moving in! The carpet and flooring is in, everythings painted, we're just waiting on getting our appliances and then the final plumbing hook-ups. Appliances will be here sometime next week, and the plumbing will be finished this weekend. Then all we'll have to do is move in! Woohoo! Caleb already situated our bedroom and the furniture in the living room. There's still some unpacking to do of stuff that we already have there, but Caleb has been working really hard while I've been at work, and the house is really starting to look like a home! And move-in inches closer.. We're slightly excited about this, if you can't tell ;)

See you next week!

Turkey and Shopping.. aka Thanksgiving

Tonight is one of those nights that no matter how hard I try to clear my mind and go to sleep, I can't fall asleep for anything. My husband sound asleep next to me, and I lying there wide awake... that has become too familiar of a scenario. So here I find myself in the kitchen, in my slippers, sweater, and extra warm pants (its really cold in this house at night!), with a cup of sleepy time tea. I sure hope it works tonight.

This weekend is going to be a whirlwind for sure, so I'd like to get enough sleep tonight that it tides me over and I don't get too worn out. Tomorrow we head out across state to my hometown for a few days. While there, we will see most of both parents' sides, and my husbands grandparents on his moms side. That will be Thursday, though. Tomorrow promises me lots of laundry and packing until we pick my sister up from school and embark on our three hour drive. Friday will be interesting.. Caleb's family has always went shopping on black Friday, and due to their excitement, I went last year as well. I was across state, so I went to a different shopping town than they did, and the two experiences couldn't be more different. Where I went was as calm as could be. People weren't stealing things out of each others carts, fighting, going crazy, etc. I was in an out of most stores in under a half hour. But Caleb's experience on the other hand, was pretty... intense. He was standing in line in one store while watching a man a few lines over drink a fifth of rum. When confronted by the authorities, this man proceeded to try and fight with the cops, complete with throwing a few punches. Really? Is it really worth that much? I couldn't believe some of the stories I heard. Last year during a conversation with my older brother, I told him I was thinking about doing the black Friday shopping and he very enthusiastically asked me why and what I was thinking. He told me that people get killed, trampled, fight, etc., and I told him that I just wanted to experience the madness. He told me I was nuts and to be careful. Well, now I'm hooked. Maybe its because the town I shopped in wasn't the typical madhouse, but either way, Caleb and I will be two of the crazy people shopping early Friday morning. And, just to clarify, we'll be shopping on the other side of the state, the town that wasn't a crazy madhouse =)

Something to keep in mind while reading this though, is that the only reason we know when black Friday is, is because of the holiday that it proceeds; Thanksgiving. This year as you celebrate, think about the things you are thankful for; family, friends, a home, food, clothes, freedom, and so many of the other things we take for granted so often. Thanksgiving is too often associated with a meal where many of us gorge ourselves, and not to be thankful for the little things. So this year as you overload on turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie, be thankful for the other little (and big!) things you have been blessed with. I'm so excited to be able to see my family. Being thankful for them is something I have definitely done more of since I moved three hours away. All of a sudden I couldn't drive across town, or some short distance, and see them. Our time together is limited to a few short hours every few months. Let me tell you, that was an adjustment. So, this year as I prepare to see them for this holiday, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to travel, for the opportunity to be able to spend time with them for yet another holiday, and for the opportunity to just relax in an atmosphere that brings back so many good memories.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe and warm, and have a truly blessed and thankful weekend!