Our Busy Bungalow

I had gotten into the habit of making sure to post something every day this past Fall.  When Ginger died, I just didn't care anymore.  I didn't have the energy to put my thoughts & feelings into coherent sentences anymore.  I'm feeling better now, but I'm still not sure if I'm able to piece together coherent sentences because there's been a lot going on over here at the Bungalow!

Now that we're attending a local church - & can fellowship with our brothers & sisters in Christ - we've become quite the social butterflies!  Okay, not really, but we have been forging intimate relationships, & it's so very wonderful!  In addition to Sunday services, we attend the Wednesday night prayer meeting & the bi-weekly Thursday night couples' Bible study.  As I've said before, one of my favorite parts of each week is the Thursday morning ladies' Bible study.  I also joined the choir this week, something I haven't been a part of in years.  Last week, the associate pastor came over for lunch & discussion, & this week dear sweet Angie spent time with us, too!  I also got to have another lunch date with Sommer & Josiah, & we had such a blessed time!  Things have progressed so well that we've made the decision to become members.  Our criteria for preaching the Word faithfully, a passion & plan for reaching the lost, & fellowship among members have been met here, & because it's local, we can take part.  We've already placed ourselves under the authority of the pastors of this church & hold ourselves accountable to them, so we now need to make it official!  Naturally, I'm concerned that it seems like we're church hoppers, but that truly isn't our desire.  We've learned from our past mistakes &, by the grace of God, have absolutely no intention of repeating them.

The rest of our week that hasn't been spent in coming, going, cooking, cleaning, & fellowshipping has mainly been spent in reading.  I've just finished A Steadfast Heart, which takes a look at Psalm 57.  Honestly, I was less than excited about reading this book at first.  Even though I knew that I needed it, I was still in escape mode.  I wanted something light, & this was going to make me think & feel.  Even though I knew that it would bring me to God, I resisted it; the relief it offered was fleeting, but it was easier to escape reality in movies & books than actually deal with my pain.  However, before the end of the introduction, God had drawn me in.  Thanks to the biblical truths in A Steadfast Heart, my grief isn't quite so raw, & I am more frequently moved to prayer.  I've been exhorted to remove my eyes from focusing on my loss to focusing on Him & everything He's done for me.  Isn't it funny how helpful it is to be reminded of things that you already know?  I love all of the chapters in this book, & every single truth is needed for the whole puzzle to fit together.  However, I have to say that my favorite chapter was chapter 2, "His Forsaken Son".  I positively gloried in this chapter, it was beyond incredible!  I highlighted, turned down pages, starred, & wrote notes throughout the entire book.  My personal opinion is that everyone who has ever been in a trial, is going through a trial now, or will one day go through a trial (in case you're not keeping up, that's everyone) needs to read this book.  Absolutely, positively, without a doubt - you need to read this book!  My prayer is that it will be a balm of healing to your weary heart as it has been to mine.

Our lives look to be a lot more busy now that we have others to share it with on a consistent basis, & I'm loving it!  Consummate homebody that I am, that's surprising, but I've found that fellowship with the body of Christ is invigorating & such an immense blessing!  And for those times that we aren't on the run, we're committed to reading more.  I haven't picked out my next book as of yet, but I do want to read The Hiding Place & Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman at some point.

Thanks for stopping by & keeping up with us.  May the Lord bless you & keep you.  May the Lord make His face shine upon you & be gracious unto you.  May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you & give you His peace.  ~Numbers 6:24-26