smiles, sweat, stress, and serenity

My life has been all of these things this last week.  This last weekend was all four as my church held a special service at a local camping park (the same beautiful park where Andrew and I were married).  The weather was very nice, which was a blessing as we had no AC.  We had very little time to prepare, but everything turned out wonderfully in the end.

We had a very good turnout from the community, which was a great encouragement.  Andrew led worship playing guitar and singing while I accompanied on the piano (singing as well).  Jessie joined us vocally for the worship service and also on violin for a special that Andrew, Natalie, and I did (three-part harmony is SO fun!).  My Mom and I also sang a duet together, which was amazing for me (I love singing with her so very much).  Sweet little Sammie did a solo song of the Lord's Prayer and she sang beautifully (she has such a great amount of stage confidence for a nine-year-old). 

We were sweaty, nervous, felt ill-prepared (Andrew was also struggling with a problem in his hands and arms that occasionally gives him trouble where pain shoots through his arms and his hands go numb), but the Lord was so gracious to us and we were able to get through the worship service with more confidence than we expected and were able to minister to our community.

A beautiful and powerful sermon was preached by our pastor, as well as two sermonettes by our church intern, Chris, and my Dad, Pastor Chris (yes, it gets confusing, especially since there are two additional people named Chris at our church!).  A mighty message was preached and I hope that many lives were touched with the truth of the Gospel.

It is truly through our weakness that the Lord reveals how powerful He is.

At home, I have had a very low-key week.  One afternoon, I decided to get out my old sketch pad and do a quick drawing of one of my book characters (I'm so extremely visual).  I ended up having SO much fun revisiting a beloved character of mine and also my old sketching habits (which I have long neglected).  I was able to complete another sketch as well, which was more just for fun.  What a lovely way to pass the time.  :-)

I just adore this section in my family's music/school room

I have also been able to spend some time with my family (over the weekend at their house and then one afternoon shopping in the city where I live).  I really don't know where the Lord will be leading Andrew and me in the future, so I treasure this time with my family. 

Thank you so much to those who have been praying for me.  The Lord has been taking me down a long path in learning to trust Him even more.  With my future, with my health, with my plans, with my hopes, with my heart... I've had to recently make some hard decisions, ones that I could never have made without the Lord's help.

He. Is. So. Good. Always. 

Isn't He?  :-)

I hope you all have a blessed weekend!