these my brothers

When presented mid-summer with two options for how to spend a week of family vacation - a week at the cabin or a family missions week - the kids overwhelmingly and enthusiastically voted for family missions week. The fine balance of travel schedules, work schedules and school schedules meant that we wouldn't be joining a missions organization, but putting together something on our own that met our family's needs. Our desire is for our kids to see their neighborhood, their school, their city as their mission field. So this family missions week didn't mean crossing the ocean, or even the state line, to serve God and love His people.

With Matthew 25:40 as our theme, we set out for the week's events. 

34Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" 40And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Mt 25:34-40

Our goal was to make this scripture tangible so the kids could see an example of how to put into practice the things they read in the Bible. Throughout the week we wanted to feed, welcome, clothe, and visit the people God brought into our lives.

::: feeding :::

Our first task was to feed the hungry right in our city. We've all seen the people standing on the corner of the exit ramps with a sign asking for help. I think many times they're passed by with contempt or, worse, without even being noticed. But these are people with a need and we wanted to meet it in some small way. In order to do this, we needed to plan ahead. We put together ten bags with McDonald's gift cards, some nonperishable food items and a bottle of water. {this idea came from a book called Cleaning House}

We also included a notecard with Scripture on it. Each of the writers in our family chose a verse and filled out two notecards.

The daily routine of life in the suburbs doesn't lead to any many opportunities to help people in this way, but later in the week we were headed into the city so we planned to distribute the bags then. We told the kids as we were on our way to let us know if they saw anyone on the corner holding a sign asking for food or help. The first man we saw was laying against a fence with his hat pulled over his eyes. We were stopped at a red light so Sean was able to get out and give him a bag. And in the next few moments, I saw Jesus in my husband in a way I'd never seen before. Sean didn't just hand the man a bag of food and leave, which unfortunately, is what I would've done. He shook the man's hand, asked him his name, and told him it was nice to meet him. He saw this man as Jesus sees him, as a man uniquely created in the image of God. {Lord, forgive me for my blindness and thank you for your Holy Spirit that convicts and guides and draws us closer to You.}

We continued feeding people that week, but this time it was people on the other side of the world. We spent one morning at Feed My Starving Children packing food for children in Afghanistan. Although Evie is technically too young, we were able to find a job for her putting labels on bags and drawing pictures for the kids receiving the food. The older kids fell right into their favorite jobs around the packing stations. That morning we packed enough to feed 75 kids for a year.

::: welcoming :::

Hosting guests in our home is common and something our kids experience quite regularly. Nearly every Friday after school we hear, "Who is coming over this weekend?" Given that family missions week also happened to be the last week of preparation before school started and our schedule was full, we decided to take the opportunity to practice hospitality outside of our home. Delivering cookies to some new neighbors and helping others prepare for guests was how we planned to do this. MN Adult & Teen Challenge is an organization we've been involved with for a few years so when Sean contacted them about opportunities for our family to serve there, we were invited to help prepare the chapel for an upcoming graduation ceremony. When the students graduate, they invite family and friends to their home-away-from-home to celebrate their hard work and the redemptive work of Christ in their lives. We dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed, mopped, and squeegeed our way through the afternoon in preparation for the event.

Because Sean is the tallest, he got the dusting job.

Wes made sure the windows were streak free...



and Jack wiped up all the drips.



There was fighting over who would get to vacuum. (Why don't they do that at home?)

Both Elise and Wes got to mop. Both claimed that they'd mop all the time if we had one like this at home. Somehow I think the novelty would ware off...

Evie was just praying it would be over soon...just kidding! {lately, for some reason, she's been requesting pictures of her praying} She was so eager to help with everything and plowed right through the afternoon despite being on day 4 without a nap.

One of my least favorite things to do is clean the house. Even lower on my list of favorite things to do is teaching our children to clean the house. Not because I don't enjoy teaching our children, I actually love it. It's just that, because I don't like house cleaning, I want it done as quickly as possible and teaching kids to do it right makes it take much much longer. But as I washed windows alongside our boys and returned to the chapel to see our daughter happily mopping a bathroom that she'd cleaned almost independently, the Lord affirmed that even the smallest things we are pouring into our kids are for His purpose.

::: visiting :::

While at Teen Challenge, we were able to talk about the importance of visiting people who are isolated, whether it be because they are in prison or sick or separated from their family for some other reason. Growing up in a family with four children, I'm not sure how often our kids will experience isolation (especially since they share bedrooms), but we do want them to know how blessed they are to be surrounded by people who love them and to be generous about sharing that blessing with others.

::: clothing :::

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

We talk frequently about the many material blessings God has given us and how we need to be good stewards of what we've been entrusted with. A large part of stewardship comes from an understanding that what we have has been given to us by God to use for a time and that we shouldn't "store up" things that others can use. Our plan was to have a go-through-your-closet day where we decided what didn't fit anymore, what we didn't use anymore or what was more than what we need (clothes, toys, books, etc., were all to be considered). While we had hoped to accomplish this during family missions week, the task ended up being too big for an already full schedule so this project had to be put on hold.

::: fellowship :::

In the daily routine and demands of life, we sometimes forget to enjoy each other. To just have fun together as a family. So part of the purpose of this week was a chance to just be together. We took a mid-week break and stayed at a hotel that had a water park. We ALL had so much fun. Although it was pretty big, we could always find the kids in one of two places.

Jack and Elise could be found swimming or tubing down the lazy river, while Wes and Evie could be found on a water slide. 

Evie, on this small one;

Wesley on one of the three that required a 67-step climb to get to the top of.

As I reflect back on our week, I'm struck most by the magnitude of the small things.  What I mean is... the things we did, really, were very small in terms of time or other resources, but they were big to some people. Spending a few hours serving others meant that 75 kids would not be hungry; it meant that four men would go to sleep with food in their stomachs for a night; it meant that men and women defeating addiction could celebrate with pride; it meant that someone wasn't alone. And what it meant to us was that our family has a bigger purpose than what is apparent in the day-to-day routine of work and school and home. God has prepared a work for us and we are working on changing our perspectives and our routines so that we can see and accomplish what He has called us to.

For now...

We're on vacation. And I thought I'd have lots of time to blog. Turns out I don't. For so many reasons. So I'll just tell you that we're having fun, warming up and anticipate sharing more when we return.

Seattle

In late August (though not as late as originally planned since we had to reschedule due to a school start date), Sean and I spent a long weekend in the Pacific Northwest; a couple days in Seattle and a couple on Orcas Island. Sean spent some time in Seattle on business a couple years ago and has wanted to take me there ever since. It was the promise of orcas that finally convinced me to go, but I did enjoy the other things the area had to offer as well. On a side note: pictures of our whale watching tour will come in a later post as there are far too many to include in this epic.

As we drove away from the airport, we had a great view of the skyline (and the traffic we were caught in).

Our first stop was the Pike Place Market. I've seen the Pike Place Fish video, but had no idea what to expect when we actually stepped out of the car into this shopping-experience-like-no-other. 

We walked in and I was overwhelmed by all the people to see



and yummy food to eat.



The vast amount of seafood was amazing! From fish...



to things in shells...



to freezers full of everything under the sea.

The fresh fruit and veggies were impressive and included some I'd never seen before. Purple and yellow cauliflower?

 

There was a guy on the corner with a bird. I think his name is Phinneas...the bird, not the man.

Phinneas and his man did tricks...

and delighted little girls watching nearby.

I just love the joy you can see in her face.

Because we were there, we had to visit the original Starbucks (though I still prefer Caribou). The line for coffee was out the door and half way down the block, but lucky for us...

these two were keeping us entertained while we waited. They are folk musicians who play a variety of instruments, many simultaneously. He is playing a guitar with a metal part on it that acted as his percussion instrument. She is playing a saw with a bow. Yes, a saw. Later he pulled out a tin tub fashioned with a rope and broom handle and began to strum. The whole thing was amazing.

After some out-of-Seattle adventures (which you'll see later in this post), we headed back downtown to The Crab Pot where we shared a huge pot full of a variety of oceanic delights. They literally just dumped it all on the table, gave us some bibs...

and a couple mallets and let us work our way through it.

Now I love seafood, but I really appreciate the preparation done in the kitchen at Red Lobster before I see it on my plate. Sean had to peel most of my shrimp because I just couldn't look at their little black eyes as I ripped their heads off. I still can't look at this picture for too long without getting squeamish. Hopefully I haven't ruined a good shrimp scampi meal for those of you who have been sheltered by the kind chefs at your favorite seafood establishment.

As we moved out of the heart of downtown, we passed by many ship yards. I've never considered something this industrious to be beautiful, but the vibrance and color were unbelievable.

This next picture is brought to you by the weekend's blonde moment. As we explored what the area had to offer, I saw these flags all over...the state flag. Now you're probably thinking, Of course you did, it's the Washington state flag...because you're in Washington state...and of course it has a picture of George Washington on it...because it's Washington. If you were me, however, it would have taken you four days to make this connection and it wouldn't have been until you were taking the picture below that the lightbulb would go off (or is it on?).

When we had had enough of the city, we ventured north to a little town called Snoqualmie. There was  a beautiful Inn overlooking Snoqualmie Falls, 

a waterfall more than 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls according to the website. As with most of God's natural wonders, pictures don't do it justice.

In the town of Snoqualmie we visited a railway museum and experienced a little bit of history

as we saw what the railcars and wagons used to look like - a far cry from the graffitied railcars and semi trailers used today.

Then we visited this bridge (though I'm not exactly sure where it was - close to Snoqualmie I think) and walked along the trail for awhile.

Upon our return, we witnessed some people jumping off the bridge into the water below. For recreation, just to be clear. The picture below will give you a little perspective on how far the jump is.

This is what it looks like before you jump. See my feet? you have to climb over the fence and then walk out onto that beam and jump from there.

Apparently this is a common thing to do if you live and/or visit the area. But be careful if you get up there and chicken out because your cowardice (read "wisdom") may be broadcast to all subsequent visitors.

I was originally planning to cover our whole trip (with the exception of whale watching) in one blog post, but in the interest of brevity (ha!) I will stop here and leave our time on Orcas Island for another day.

4th of July: an Epic

Why an epic? Because this should probably be three (or maybe four) posts, but I'm going to squeeze it all into one and inundate you with photo after photo of all of our patriotic fun.

As has been the tradition for the last 25 years (yes, folks, you read that right - it's been 25 years!) we spent 4th of July weekend at "the lake." Celebrating our nation's independence has taken many forms over the years, but we've always been lakeside with friends and family. This year was no different.

Our adventure started out by stalling the kids as long as we could Saturday morning before we just had to let them go to the beach. Much to our delighted surprise, we found the beach full of teeny, tiny frogs/toads (really, how can you tell when they're that small?) that were so much fun to catch. Sean even found one that still had part of its tadpole tail. It was a fascinating real-life biology lesson for the kids.

No beach time would be complete without sufficient time building,



digging,



chasing fish,



coming up empty-netted,



hopping on (and off and on and off and on...) the boat,



tolerating your photo-obsessed mother,



and transferring as much water from the lake to the beach as possible.

Every year the lake association sponsors a boat parade and all lake picnic. Our goal each year is to have the best decorated boat, but not win. Winning means you have to be the judge the following year. The patriarch (the man in the 25-year-old donkey hat) would rather not.

Nothing says "we had a fantastic time" like a railing full of wet clothes drying in the sun.

And nothing says "it's been a long, hot, sun-filled day" like your mother (who NEVER EVER drinks beer) drinking a beer. (This is honestly the only time in my entire life that I've seen my mom drink beer).

 

Looks like she liked it.



Day two held a lot more of the same: beach, beach and more beach.



More interrupted play from a photo-obsessed mother

and more improvisation when it came to sun-wear.

More lake to beach water transfer (you can't see it, but he's got a full bucket in each hand, which explains the muscle-man pose, I guess),

 

more muck,



and more delightful sibling cooperation.

This is the day that Elise was clearly my favorite subject because there are a plethora of photos of her:

pouring




water,



digging



sand,



posing for



the camera,



chatting with dad,



and fishing (for dragonflies).

The special treat on day one was that no one took a nap. The special treat on day two was that everyone got to stay up for a camp fire (and sparklers) because everyone took a nap. That was a special treat for mom and dad.

You can't have a camp fire without s'mores.

We call this synchronized roasting.

And these



are just cheeks



full of marshmallow.



Wes was really into the roasting part.



I don't think he ate many mallows, though,



because he wasn't sticky from head to toe.



Our little Elise mostly just enjoyed




the sitting




and rocking.



But not so much the gliding. That may have had something to do with the wild ride her brothers were on, though.

When everyone was sufficiently full of marshmallows we moved on to sparklers. Everyone was having fun until someone broke the don't-touch-any-part-of-the-sparkler-except-the-bottom rule (regardless of how many times they were reminded).

 

After some tears, a little cold water and a band aid, we rejoined the party and watched the sparkles abound.

There must be something about the last day at the cabin that works up an appetite. It might be the fact that we don't want to bring home as much food as we brought up. Maybe...

Or maybe it's that all the good food is irresistible. This boy tried rhubarb pie for the first time

and loved it.


Or maybe it's the memories of all the happy times we've just had


mixed with the sadness we feel about our cabin time coming to an end.

Regardless the reason, we ate a cabin size lunch and set out for home. After three hours in the car, we were all ready for some outside time. Then mom had to get out the camera.

How could I resist

those pigtails?


And the spontaneous sibling affection?


Say it with me: "Aww." (Yes - this really was spontaneous).

This, on the other hand, was not. I planned it and just happened to get one picture where they're all looking at the camera and 2/3 of them are smiling.

Then it fell apart


and the only one left having any fun was Wesley

while the other two chanted "cheese burgerrrrrrrrrrrr" over and over again just waiting for me to take my finger off the shutter.

A long, busy, sun-filled weekend coupled with short (or nonexistent) naps in the car meant that our little blessings would not be staying up for the official 4th of July fireworks. Lucky for us, there were 5 sparklers left from the night before that they were able to enjoy before heading off to dreamland.

We hope your celebration of our great nation's independence and the freedoms we enjoy was as full and fun and festive as ours was.