Tradition, tradition! Tradition!

I don't know why I'm humming the song from "Fiddler on the Roof", but I'm caught up with those little traditions in my life.

I just got back from a family vacation at Beulah. A Wesleyan church family camp. 10 days of spiritual and physical renewal. A place we have gone every summer as a family. I think since my marriage, I have only missed one family camp and that is the summer we drove out to Regina for Robin's training.

This is a tradition. The kids love it and look forward to seeing all of their friends and acquaintances once more. It has remained a constant in all of our lives no matter where we are currently living. But the crazy reality is constancy along with change. As kids grow up, they no longer come. My own teens were counseling camp and only made it on weekends. We once owned a cottage but now we stay in a tent. No matter how much we want things to stay the same, they change.

Even so, this year was great. Robin and I were innitially reluctant because so much has changed for us and it's hard to convey all that in superficial, "Hey, how's it going?" conversations. But we both needed that spiritual boost, dynamic singing and preaching. I for one, certainly received a boost.

Because we are still waiting for a referral in our adoption and it doesn't look like it will happen soon, I was expecting the Lord to hit me with messages on patience, waiting on Him, and leaning on His strength. They really didn't come. Instead we were encouraged to live out our faith in a bold and secure way. The message I heard loud and clear was to "act" and not "wait". Yes, I am waiting on our adoption, but my life doesn't have to be stagnant. I need to grow and live.

So, I'm going to lead a women's Bible study this fall. I'll probably be able to do another one in the spring but just one at a a time. I'm excited to be leading "Believing God" by Beth Moore. I'm just as excited to be doing it on Tuesday morning. With only Kaylin homeschooling, I think I can swing this.


Robin and I will also be focusing more on local outreach with our puppet group. I came back from Beulah and wanted to plan a trip to Haiti, of course. But after prayer and discussion, we're going to spend this year in our own area. Robin and I have been planning different themes and songs that would translate well to kids not use to a church setting.

Robin's big project will be another post. It's a doozy and it will involve all of us. So exciting to see God's hand leading us.