Oregon life, as told by my phone.

Flipping through the random moments I've captured recently made me smile last night. It is rich, this life of mine.

On a walk alone, with coffee. (This was about a month ago and it's already hard to believe I was in flipflops).

Pumpkins in the window of my favorite coffee shop/bookstore.

Kids playing together in front of church, a few minutes before the service starts.

Screen door in our kitchen, letting in fall air and light.

Cuddly cohort members, on a break during class.

Studying with my sweet roommate.

Friends who show up at the door with ice cream.

Notation on my cousins' calendar.

And catching a parenting moment in the kitchen.

Pumpkin tattoo on the bicep (announced by, "Look at my GUNS!!").

Sunny afternoon, reading and homework.



Current favorite spot for a quiet time.

Breakfast-for-dinner one night at Chels and Ryan's.

Making apple juice after church (no idea, but it was freaking cool.)

Sunset behind pine trees.

.first Sunday of Advent.

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus,

born to set Thy people free,

from our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in Thee."

Black Friday Shopping with the Goldberg Girls.

Me and my mama.

Mom: Ooh, look, leopard-print pants!

Allie: Yeah, the world got a little bit worse the day those were made.

Emily: ...Sorry, what'd you say? I was looking for a Starbucks...

Family.

Train organized by my favorite coffee date (who sat in front because he was the ENGINEER, and proud of it.)

Seats: Kitchen chairs.

Train riders: Grandpa Glenn, me, MY MOM WHO IS VISITING!!, Memaw Peggy, Rubes (who you can barely see poking out), and Jodi. Cameraman: Andy.

What, isn't that what your family does after dinner?

.sunday morning.

The Lord be with you. 

And also with you.
Lift up your heart.

We lift them up to the Lord.

 Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

***

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,

always and everywhere,

to give thanks and praise to You, Father Almighty;

our Creator and Lover, O Giver of life.
You make all things and call them good.

You love us into being,

You form us in Your image,

and breathe into us the breath of life.

When we turn away, and our love fails, Your love remains steadfast.

You delivered us from captivity, and made covenant to be our sovereign God.

You stretch forth Your hand to heal.

Through Your Son Jesus Christ,
with Your Holy Spirit in Your Holy Church,
all honor and glory is Yours, Almighty Father,
now and forever.

Journal.

Grateful this morning to be writing in my new journal.

I love it because it's beautiful.

I love it because it was hand-made by a precious woman in Kenya, supporting herself through the Amani organization.

Most of all, I love it because it was sent to me by my beautiful friend Breanne.

For absolutely no reason, other than that she knows I love "journaling like a crazy woman" (according to the note she wrote in the front).

It arrived in my mailbox in kind of a hard week,

and reminded me how filled with love and joy my life is.

For-no-reason presents rock.

 Precious friendships rock even more.

 

Can't wait to spend time with God in the pages,

reminded of the gifts He's given me.

Wonder what your psychologist was like in grad school?

I've written before about my beautiful friend Chelsea, who is one of my favorite favorite people here. We hang out all the time and she is my coffee date buddy and walk-vent-need fulfiller of Newberg. Her husband Ryan and I were assigned to be therapy partners for each other this week and after our respective "sessions" we got slightly unprofessional...

Good psycholog-izing, right?

We love you, Chels!!

So happy.

Yeah they did!!!

*******

While in Wheaton I got this email from Marcile, one of my favorite people at my new church. (I just ran into her at Chapters and she told me about how happy she is that six of their grandchildren are going to make it home for Thanksgiving):

"Emily,

We missed you Tuesday night. You missed a great potato bar with all the trimmings! as well as great fellowship. Christine reported you were on your way to a wedding in Wheaton and we prayed for you that this will be a precious time of renewing friendships and confirming God's leadership to where you are now. We will touch base when you return.

Love, Marcile."

 Yes, it was.

.grateful.

Happy bridesmaids at the rehearsal brunch!

Emily M, Court, THE BRIDE and me at the rehearsal brunch!

Yeah, they had a rehearsal brunch. So cool. They got engaged over a pre-church breakfast at that restaurant.

WEDDING TODAY. SO EXCITED.

Christine is getting married in five days.

 

meg, me, and the bride, small group retreat, july 2011.

beautiful friend, this girl.

.of His simple loving.

I've had a total theologian crush on Julian of Norwich for a long time- I love every quote of hers I've seen but haven't read anything straight through. I'm finally diving into a devotional edition of her Revelations of Divine Love and I am loving it.

I've been praying lately to be more aware of God's love for me; and I've been less-consciously but very actively wrestling with rest, and how to find it. These readings are speaking to me so perfectly. I'm super grateful.

"I saw that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable for us.

He is our clothing which for love enwraps us,

holds us,

and all encloses us because of His tender love,

so that He may never leave us."

"...He showed a little thing,

the size of a hazelnut

in the palm of my hand

and it was round as a ball.

I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: 'What can this be?'

And it was generally answered thus: 'It is all that is made.'

I marveled how it could continue,

because it seemed to me it could suddenly have sunk into nothingness because of its littleness.

And I was answered in my understanding:

'It continueth and always shall, because God loveth it;

and in this way everything hath its being by the love of God.'

In this little thing I saw three characteristics:

the first is that God made it,

the second is that God loves it,

the third, that God keeps it."

"For this is the reason why we are not fully at ease in heart and soul:

because here we seek rest in these things that are so little,

in which there is no rest,

and we recognize not our God who is all powerful, all wise, all good,

for He is the true rest."

"Also our Lord God showed

that it is full great pleasure to Him

that a pitiable soul come to Him nakedly and plainly and simply."

"For the goodness of God is the highest prayer, and it comes down to the lowest part of our need.

It vitalizes our soul

and brings it to life

and makes it grow in grace and virtue.

It is nearest us in nature

and readiest in grace

(for it is the same grace that the soul seeks and ever shall,

till we know our God truly who has us all in Himself enclosed)."

-from chapters 5 & 6

You with ears bent close to our lips.

"...So many words we need to speak
          to you from whom no secret can be hid,
          you beyond us, you with us, you for us,
          you with ears bent close to our lips,
You... and our woes turned towards you, always you, only you,
          yet again you.
Amen."

-Brueggemann,

from "You with ears bent close to our lips: Approaching the Psalter"