Nope. Nada. Don't Know.

So, after all that?
They weren't prepared to make a decision this morning...

They'll let me know at the end of the week.

Arrrggggghhhhhh.

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Laurie Barber (an Arrow guy) had this as his facebook status a little while ago:

Family and Table are powerful images and realities of my faith, as a community is drawn together, sharing life and laughter and purpose, sharing hope even in the midst of the transient days and dangers. Sharing our time with others whenever possible is so important. 

One can be 'an individual' all by one's self; if you want to be a 'person' you have to be in community.

 I so agree with him.
The whole theme of community has been echoing around here lately...

Like, that weekend I was at the cabin when the boys were cleaning gutters? And I took this pic:

Behind me, this was taking place:

Know what the line of white is in the lake? IT'S A FLOCK OF WHITE BIRDS. Every year, round this time, thousands and thousands of white birds descend on the lake for what I call 'the 4 o'clock talk'. It takes about an hour for them all to fly in from every direction. And then they gather in a huge long huddle. And then? When I was up near the house taking pics of the boys on the roof, they started to leave. And it was a glorious sight. But I was too far back to capture the magic:

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That very same weekend, the sermon at church was on Acts 4: 23 - 31.

I don't remember what the point was of verses 24 - 31 ... but the first verse in that section had a good sermon in it:

"As soon as Peter and John were released from prison, they found their people (other believers) and told them what happened."

"As soon as". 

I totally get that. As soon as something happens, you want to share it. You have to share it. You're bursting to share it. God created you to want to share it. 

You want to share it with that person you married.

You want to share it with your kids.

You want to share it with your BFF's. 

You want to share it with 'your people'. 

This applies to both good news and bad news. 

We were created to be part of community. 

My sermon notes: 

Be a part of a community. Gather with like-minded people. Serve, love, live among people who believe the same as you do. Where do you go when things get tough? Where do you go when great things happen? Who are your people?

I thought of those birds. And their community. 

And the Saturday evening service I had been to at church... We all gathered from hither and yon to huddle in the worship centre. Some of us where the ones LISTENING. Others were the ones SHARING. That's how it works. Sometimes you're the one who's bursting to talk. Other times, you are the one listening to someone who is babbling. The important thing is to gather. Regularly. 

Those birds? Do it everyday. At 4 pm.

Most families? Do it every evening, round 6 pm. 

Most Christians? Gather Sunday mornings.

Most recovering addicts? Gather a few evenings each week.

Most staff teams at work? Gather once a week.

We gather.

We were designed to thrive and grow in community. 

I love that. 

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Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Drew's friend, Brett. He's planning on skateboarding across Canada to raise funds for DFN. Read his story here, and then? If you're led to give, please support his efforts... The project he is raising money for is this one ... Human Trafficking

2. Dad ate orange food items at supper tonight! A break from the usual pink. And then, afterwards, while he lay in bed and watched Spartacus, he noticed the lightning and torrential rain outside. "I'm sure glad I'm not outside," he said. Over and over. 

3. I was on the road for 4 hours today. One hour to the lake. One hour back. One hour to see my dad. One hour back. It's a good thing I'm not employed right now. Thank you, God. 

4. I love it when good things happen to good people. My friend, Tricia, in Florida has two daughters. The younger one is a stay-at-home mom/artist. She recently started doing a series of Rock Star Scientists that have been popular. 

And then last weekend, her work was highlighted on a facebook page that has tens of thousands of followers... 

The result? 18,000 people  'liked' her page.

5,600 shared her link.

1,000 people commented.

And she got hundreds of orders. 

I just couldn't be happier for her. Check out her estsy shop here. And if you've got a scientist (or science lover) on your shopping list, take advantage of her 4 day Black Friday sale.

Shalom,