Ah, Saturday

You would think that I would be able to get to a simple Blog from time to time... I guess it's too much to ask lately. Mark and I used to sit around at work with nothing to do and joke about how the pace was 'killing' us. Those words seem to be ringing with a little bit of truth now. In March, we sat down and scheduled April with projects and edit sessions that we knew had to be done... it filled up literally every day that month. We recently plotted out May and June, and they look exactly the same, with the exception of the last week of June when I'll be in Ft. Lauderdale for missions training. It's unreal actually - good, but unreal. Last Sunday we drove 3 hours south to get set up in a hotel to shoot Monday and Tuesday. We got back home Tuesday night about 9:30 and I've been catching up in the office and the bed since. I was relieved to have some sleep-in time today.

And I feel pretty good.

Today I have to do a few things around the house and get myself together to head south to Grand Rapids. My girlfriend Lauren moved away a few weeks ago, but will be in GR for her sister's college graduation today, so I'm going to drive down and see her. It should be nice little girls' night for all of us at my friend Laura's who lives there.

In the meantime, I have been thinking a lot about my life and what I am accomplishing. I know, first of all, that working for Jeannine (my boss) was an opportunity that came straight from the Lord. It was the perfect timing and I've learned a lot. I am sure you understand the feeling of knowing that you are not at your final destination, and recognize the variables surrounding where you will end up. I am in the 2nd run through of a book I mentioned awhile back. It's called Strong Women Soft Hearts. (I actually promised to include a few quotes and never got around to it). Something I read again in the last chapter that really struck me.

"There is a particular image that I want to leave with you that symbolizes the freedom and passion of heart I think God invites us to in this life. The story comes out of the last century, from the life of John Muir, a famous explorer of the Pacific Northwest. For decades, Muir tramped up and down the rugged territory from the California Sierras to the Alaskan glaciers, entering into whatever he found there with a kind of childlike delight and appreciation. He thrived on experiencing this great yet-unchartered land. One December day a storm blew in from the Pacific-the kind that bent the junipers and pines like so many blades of grass. Everyone retreated to their cabins to sit beside cozy fires, wrapped in sheepskins. But Muir pulled the door tight behind him and strode out of the cabin, into the storm. He climbed a high ridge and chose a giant Douglas fir for a perch from where he experienced the whole show –all the color and sound, scent and motion he could take in, holding on for dear life.
If God has you in the palm of his hand and your real life is secure in him, then you can venture forth-into the places and relationships, the challenges, the very heart of the storm-and you will be safe there. I have no idea where God will lead as the cabin door shuts behind you. Perhaps you will find yourself like our friends who sold the family business and moved to Calcutta to help some folks discover Christ and start cottage industries. Or maybe your perch will be more like mine, right on my own street, entering into the life God has for me here –for all I’m worth. I only know that life with him is about this venturing forth and taking your heart along for the trip.
There are only three options for approaching life, Gerald May wrote in his book Addiction and Grace. We can deny the call of God on our lives or just pretend the call isn’t there. Or we can try to claim control of the shape and form our lives will take. The third option, he says, is the courageous attempt “to face life in a truly undefended and open-ended way.” He is speaking of this willingness to take our perch in the Douglas fir-where the real stuff is happening and we know we aren’t the ones in control. Where trusting God is indeed the only agenda that makes any sense at all. It is the posture of ‘gracious uncertainty’ meaning that we have given up the illusion of being certain of anything but God.
In this place of gracious uncertainty, we wait. For the broken pieced to be brought back together. For the meaning of our suffering to be revealed in his. For the righteous reign of a mighty God, whose goodness we will spend all eternity celebrating. We wait-with open, expectant hearts.

Waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us, but the longer we wait… the more joyful our expectancy.”

This is the course of my life… and all of ours really. It’s a dance of moving forward, and waiting. Learning the correct steps, then making them – only to find that we have so many more to learn. But somewhere in this journey is comfort. The comfort to know that we are seeking Him first and foremost – and that although we don’t exactly know where we are headed, or what storms we may weather, He’s a strong leader and we are safe in His care. This is what I cling to.

From Brits to Rwandans

For all of those who have recently emailed or called me concerning the lack of Blogs... my sincere apologies. I know everyone says 'I've just been really busy!' but in my case, it's true. In the past 2 1/2 weeks I have been in the office a total of TWO days. Every other one has seen us touting around gear, lightstands, cameras, you name it in manufacturing plants all over Cadillac. It is crazy!

Just today we spent the morning in a plant that makes car clutches and engine shutters, then this afternoon we were filming several British engineers who are in town developing a gel that hardens to make better face covers for our Army. Sandwiched in between those shoots was a little time to contact clients, catch up on emails, work on a few scripts that have been looming over my head and other general busy work that has been put off for WAY too long.

On a personal note, things are good. I am enjoying the warming trend we've had lately - just yesterday it was 78 degrees... unheard of for a Northern Michigan April. Last weekend I spent time with some girlfriends in Grand Rapids. It was nice to get out town, take a little break and let my hair down. Plus, I visited their church with them and thoroughly enjoyed it. Weekends are great fun when you share them with Laura, Rachel and Karin... (A little shout out to you all!!)

As for the remainder of this week, I'll be in and out of the office tomorrow and Friday, then Sunday night we are leaving for a 2 day shoot down state... Seriously, this is the busiest we've been in the whole 2 years I've worked here.

Olivia is on her senior trip in Washington DC, and will be back just in time for prom this weekend. Lacey, John and Ella are good. John and I lead the worship service for a local youth group last week, and had a really good time. Lacey's busy working and entertaining Ella who has finally started to take a few steps here and there on her own. They were cracking me up the other day telling me about how she asks constantly 'What is it?' They find that sometimes they don't even know how to answer her!

Last weekend I rented Hotel Rwanda - it was incredible, and I highly recommend it.

I am thrilled to be planning a trip to Ft Lauderdale this summer. Last July I flew into Miami to meet up with the Big World group for missions training... I'll be going again this year. When Steve called to get the correct spelling of my name for the ticket, I almost choked up. It will be a nice break, and long overdue visit with them and the kiddos... I can't wait.

Well, it's officially 6 o'clock, and I've stayed late at work when I didn't have to! :) Sorry there is not more to report, I think of you and miss you all often. I'm hoping to get back on here more regularly and to have more interesting info to post. Eager to hear from you all!

Lucky!

Are you guys having a killer time?

So today I was looking for a 'flippin' sweet' screen saver and I came across http://www.icaughtyouadeliciousbass.com, and I've been learning some sweet dance moves ever since...

Last Saturday my sisters and I headed 2 hours south for a ZoeGirl show. It was really fun since we were recruiting for missions and got our tickets comp-ed. The girls were appearing with Jump5, and newcomer Kimberly Perry. Kimberly's CD isn't even out yet, but we're already waiting in line to buy it. She was totally high energy and very entertaining. The girls and I got there early so while we were setting up we met Eric Brown the Merchandise Guy who was way cool. We got the sign put up and were waiting on a table for flyers when I announced to Eric that we were leaving to get dinner and would be back in awhile. Jimmy, an older black guy with dreds overheard me and said 'Oh no you're not, I'm gonna feed you...' Turns out he operates the cafe there in the church. We followed him in where the musicians were warming up and we chose from the menu whatever we wanted. He gave us the food for free and told us that if we wanted a latte or milkshake later to ask him - he said 'These girls get whatever they want, and they don't pay for nothin...' It was great.

There was a bunch of video interaction to entertain the crowd while they waited for the show to start and it was all centered around Napoleon Dynamite. One of the guys from Jump5 did a great impression, so they had filmed a bunch of footage of him saying lines and interacting on video with the other musicians. The way he introduced the girls was by saying 'They're pretty much my favorite girl group - ZoeGirl...' It was clever and I enjoyed it thoroughly. This jumpstarted my obsession with Napoleon again. Hence the web searching today. I'm including a picture that a friend of a friend drew awhile back... awesome.

The month of April is going to be really busy at work. Literally for the first time in the whole 2 years I've worked here, we sat down together and plotted out the WHOLE month -- shooting, editing or writing everyday... Needless to say, a long day of shooting yesterday and our busy weekend landed me in bed last night at 8:30 and I didn't wake up until this morning. It's nice to be busy though - and now that it's beautiful outside, I'm enjoying days out of the office even more.

I'm really excited about some family stuff that's been going on lately. My brother-in-law Jon has been having some awesome experiences with God lately and it's having a rippling effect throughout our whole family. It's awesome to see the changes that are happening in him and it's igniting something new in my heart as well. Last week he and I collaborated on a worship song that came together in a cool way.

One night last week I was driving home and just singing in my car when I sang three lines that worked really well together and I felt really spoke my heart. I didn't think about them again until John was showing me a verse and chorus that he had written. My 3 lines came back to me and fit perfectly as the bridge. It's been cool to get those creative juices flowing.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy one - we're heading about 3 hours south to Marshall, MI for a meeting and back... it's all part of the deal I guess! I'm hooking up with my girls Lauren and Laura tonight for a last hoorah before Lauren moves, and we're definitely going to take in Scrubs and The Office. If you haven't watched it, do -- it's hilarious...