dearly beloved, we interrupt this marriage . . .

hans and i are participating in a bible study that is focusing on
fortifying our marriages.  we are working our way through john
and staci eldredge's love & war, which is four parts silly to one
part helpful.  fortunately, the one part has redeemed the rest.

the most helpful suggestions have been to work at keeping some
excitement and a shared sense of purpose in our marriages.  they
have really encouraged us, also, to be vigilant in maintaining good
communication and to be willing to fight for our relationship.

none of this is new information, but we all thought that we should
be able to coast by now.  ha ha!  who ever said that after 30 years
of marriage, we can just recline, put our feet up, and treat each
other with careless disregard?

a healthy, vibrant marriage, like every other force, is subject to the
exponential law of decay.  it  requires loving care and diligent
maintenance to keep the tiny fissures in the dam from widening
and causing a flood of problems.

one thing the eldredges haven't talked about is the life-giving source
of laughter.  i'm convinced that our capacity to laugh together is just
as important our capacity to do . . .  other things.  :)

love,
lea

"love is kind, does not delight in evil,  . . . and is not self-seeking."
1 corinthians 13

the last child

when was the last time you opened the first page of a book and stepped
onto a roller coaster?

well, it had been too long for me, but john hart's thriller, the last child,
took me for a ride i will not soon forget.

"johnny merrimon was thirteen when his twin sister disappeared.  now,
one year later, she is presumed dead.  his mother is devastated,  his dad
gone, and his life will never be the same.  but johnny has a map, a bike,
and a plan.  he's going to find his sister. . . " (back cover)

this kid is so brave and loyal, he even has the police turning a blind eye
to his underage driving and house breaking.  not only is his story gripping,
with many twists and turns, but it is also laden with raw emotion and
lovely prose.

"when they came . . . into the abandoned fields, the sky opened above
them: high, lonely stars and a trace of moon behind tissue clouds."  i
needed to use those clouds a couple of times to blow my nose.

as a disclaimer, the story is very pg-13 because of strong language and
some gory details.  it seems to support an anti-Christian theme, but things
are not all they appear to be.  unlike many novels that are littered with
unnecessary characters, this one has a purpose for each one.

enjoy the ride,
lea

"be strong and very courageous." (like johnny)  joshua 1:7

time savers

when i was homeschooling my five little rugrats, i was always
looking for time saving tools.

the easiest one was to dress them in t-shirts and soft cotton shorts
after their evening baths.  when they awoke the next morning, they
were already dressed and there was not an additional load of night
clothes to wash.

the next idea exacted a toll on the front end but paid a healthy
dividend throughout the month.  i planned my meals by the
month.  it sounds difficult, but after a couple of practice months,
it became a snap.

as you might imagine, the hardest part was the grocery shopping.
one of my friends recently told me that she will never forget the
time she saw me at the check out counter with five kids and two
completely full grocery carts.  we must have looked like an act
from the circus.  i have no doubt that juggling was involved.

after a week of cooking, hans treated me to a date every friday
or saturday evening.  the kids stayed home with pizza, a movie,
and a sitter, while we enjoyed each other's company at a quiet
restaurant with a fine bottle of wine.

"for the worker is worthy of his wages."  luke 10:7

love,
lea

drugs in rental cars

hans and i were being treated to a sumptuous four course feast at an
extraordinarily beautiful home.  as i took a bite of the delicious veal
saltimbocca, my seating partner recounted a very funny statistic.

he said that once a month rental cars are returned with all sorts of
illicit drugs.  crazy.  what kind of foolish person would be so careless
to forget the contraband?

the story gets better.  apparently, rental car companies are required
to notify the authorities each time.  the police then has the company
call the offender to say that he has left behind valuable property.

do you see where this is going?  i almost choked on the tender breast of
carolina quail.  every single time, the ignorant drug user/leaver returns
to see what he left behind and gets his behind put behind padded doors.

speaking of padding, i enjoyed every delectable bite of my chocolate
souffle.

love,
lea

"a companion of fools suffers harm."  proverbs 13:20

You Never Let Go - song by Matt Redman

sometimes life is so hard that we don't think we can cope.  this
song reminds me that even if i want to let go, He never does.

love,
lea

ronda roush studios

one of the most precious gifts shelby received before her wedding
was created by my incredibly talented friend, ronda.  she has been
designing and painting limoge china for years and has her treasures
requested by boone pickens, governor's wives, and sororities on
gazillions of campuses.

you can view her gorgeous designs on her web page, ronda roush
studios.

after studying shelby's exquisite bernardaud 'au jardin' pattern and
the accompanying adorable anne weatherley polka dot design, ronda
created a china tea set with her new initial to match.  hailey took
these lovely photos, as i am photographically challenged.

ronda is such a treasure!  in addition to her painting and designing
skills, she is also an accomplished pianist and composer, whose
tremendous desire to worship blesses our church every sunday.

sometimes she accompanies me, and we have a blast, though we have
a small hurdle to jump.  she has practically lost all her hearing, and i
have a terrible sense of time, which makes us musically challenged. 
please pray for her, because very soon she is having an experimental
procedure to restore her hearing!  there is no hope for me.  :(

although she creates the most beautiful things, she is really cherished
because she always "displays the incorruptible beauty of  a gentle and
quiet spirit."  1 peter 3:4

love,
lea

the ten acre wood

hans loves anything of a generational nature and shares moving
messages about fathers passing along blessings to their children,
who then extend them to their own children.

it is no wonder that we built a house on the property that his
grandfather purchased about ninety years ago.  it was then
considered to be farmland, because it was so far south of town.

now, we enjoy ten lovely wooded acres, an oasis in the center
of a thriving, bustling metropolis.  incredible.

our children played in the same spring fed lagoon from which
their great grandfather fished.  their grandfather confangled a
pulley system to the tallest trees from which his five sons flew
and jumped into the water.

thirty four years ago, their own father asked me to marry him
on the pretty little bridge that crosses the lagoon.  he made me
step off the bridge before he put the sparkler on my finger for
fear that we might drop it into the inky abyss.

our little ones liked to call it the 'love bridge.'

i think i'm going to cry.

love,
lea

"for the Lord is good and His love endure forever; His faithfulness
through all generations."  psalm 100:5