Yesterday was Sunday, July 1st. It was one of the best days that I have had in a long time, and I am about to tell you why.
Sunday, for us, means Church. We go to a great Baptist Church here in our small town. My attendance has been intermittent as of late. Miss Emily goes for her morning nap around 9 am, and that is when the first service/Sunday School is. Honey and I generally take turns going to church. One of us goes with the boys and the other stays home for some quiet time while Miss Emily naps. With the crazy workload I had for the past two months, I stayed home every Sunday and Matthew got to take the boys to church. We could all go to second service together, except that there is no children’s program for that service. Ever tried to have a two and four-year-old sit still and be quiet for over an hour? It’s not humanly possible.
Our solution has been to let Miss Emily nap because she needs it at this stage in her life. She will be down to one nap in no time and we can all go to service together. The one who stays home could go to the second service, but that would mean our family is spending even more time apart on our day of rest and family time. We are firm believers that Christianity is not about church attendance, but about a personal relationship with God. That all being said, there is something about getting together with a bunch of other believers.
Now that I am done working, it was my turn to go. As I said above, it has been almost two months and I have missed it dearly. Quiet time alone with God is great, but I missed the sense of community.
I was almost a little nervous as I got ready for church. Ours is a church where you could show up wearing a burlap sack and no-one would care, but I always like to get a little gussied up. God has done do much for me…shaving my legs and donning a skirt is the least I can do for Him. I wanted to look pretty for the Big Guy.
I have had bad church experiences in the past (and probably been part of somebody else’s bad experience – we humans suck sometimes) and wondered if people might judge me for the fact that I had been absent for so long.
Instead? Nothing but love. Hugs from many sweet people, along with comments along the lines of, “we missed you” and “so glad you made it through your crazy work schedule” and “now you can just be with your family”.
The music was great, the sermon spoke to me, and it was even communion. The verse that states that God is present when two or more are gathered? So true. The room was filled with God and with love. It was what my weary soul needed. I walked out of there refreshed, renewed and restored. My cup was full.
When Matthew and I first moved here we were the only “young married” couple at our church. I was lonely and prayed for friends. God has answered that one in a big way.
We hosted our first annual Canada Day BBQ yesterday afternoon. It was the perfect day for it. It was sunny/cloudy and not too hot. It was potluck and the spread of food was amazing. Everyone brought their kids, their swim suits and their lawn chairs.
I didn’t take many pictures as I was busy hostessing/parenting/keeping kids out of the fish pond. Take my word for it – it was an absolutely fantastic day.
After everyone had gone home and our kids were in bed, Matthew and I reflected on the day we had had. We did a tally of the party. Including our family there were twenty-two adults…and twenty-two kidlets. Nineteen of those kids were under the age of five. Busy, but everybody lived.
We had twenty adult friends here. These friends of mine are not mere acquaintances. They are people with whom I have shared my heart and who love me unconditionally. And I, them.
Then there are these four sweet things whom I also love unconditionally:
My cup runneth over.
WOW, that is a lot of people (and kidlets) in one place! It sounds like so much fun!
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Shaving your legs for the Lord. I love it!
Sounds like a great party. Wish I could have been there.
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It sounds like it was a wonderful Canada Day,and a day filled with all the blessings you could handle!
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I am so sorry we missed it. Sounds like you had a great time.
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Oh, I hear you! We are in school holidays here which also means no Kids Church – so on Sunday we had to keep our boys still and quiet for the 1.5h service. And I remember when Tyler was a baby, I would put him in his buggy and he would sleep there during most of the service, and when he got a bit bigger he would sleep in the cot in the nursery. When they drop those morning naps life really does get a whole lot easier!!
I’m so glad you had a wonderful Sunday. Glad that church was “just” what you needed, and glad that you had a fun time with your friends at your BBQ. You ARE blessed!!
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Thanks for opening your home to the craziness! It was so much to to see everyone all together.
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Amazing photo. Total framer in my book.
Glad you made it through your day and actually got to enjoy it!!
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Sounds like an awesome weekend!
That is a lot of people and kiddos, good thing the weather was nice!
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You are definitely blessed with all you have. Happy Be-lated Canadian Day! From a 4th of July girl.
Amanda F.
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It’s so nice to have so many adult blessings that share faith, family and love with you, isn’t it? So glad that it was a good day! 22 and 22, that’s some good breeding!!
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Glad you had a wonderful weekend – Happy Canada Day!
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I love the part where you talked about looking good for the Big Guy! Going to church really is about the effort and the heart space not the religiosity of it. I’m so glad you guys have a system that works for you, and so many wonderful people to share it with!
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You have the sweetest way with words Angella…. THat photo is soooooo beautiful.
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That is a beautiful picture! Glad you had such a great party…and that God answered your prayer =)
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That was beautiful Angella! I know exactly what you mean and how you feel – that divine refreshment. I get gussied up for God too – we’ll call up G.U.G. (okay maybe not).
That picture though – it is fabulous! I LOVE IT … you need to make it into a b/w and put it on your wall for crying out loud.
And? My ebay id is cup_runneth_over!
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That is such a sweet picture!
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I’m glad you had such a great day. I love the picture. Happy Canada Day!
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That picture is so heart-warming!! I love hearing about your close-knit family.
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Happy Canada Day!
Your cup runneth over indeed!
(Oh and the sitting still in church thing is the precise reason why we only go the service with nursery. I HAVE tried to have the boys sit still. Twice. That was enough)
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