28 years and counting

Wednesday I turned 28 years old. Its been a beautiful week of celebrating with some of my closest friends. Tuesday I spent with my Bible study ladies. We had our study on the pier, and it was a glorious sunny evening. We packed a picnic dinner and my favorite dessert just happened to be there too! In our study we have been talking about what it is to be romanced by God, and as we sat there talking and sharing I knew this is one of the ways He nudges me and says I love you and I am holding you tight in my arms. Its moments surrounded by a soft summer breeze, the laughter of friends and the woven trust that enables us to be our transparent selves that remind me of an ever-present Holy Spirit.

On the 10th, my b-day, I went to work just like any other day. I woke up and prayed that this would be a day to glorify God. It was a good day. My team bought me flowers and one of my fun 18 year old baristas made me a peach tart from scratch! How awesome is that! I certainly felt the love, so that was nice. I was also blessed with phone call after phone call of birthday well-wishers! I saved all of the messages on my phone- thank you to those who made me feel so loved, it means so much. So, I still didn't know what I was going to do for my b-day- but an idea was forming. On this particular day I think God wanted me to hang out with Him, and He knows me well enough to know that in order to have an undistracted me- I needed to have all of this stuff on my "to do" list taken care of. Somehow, despite the early hour my alarm clock sounded, He gave me the energy to get it all done, and be able to smile through it all! So when I sat down to a beautiful meal, the clutter in my mind had been cleared away and I could just be in the presence of God. It was as it should have been.

Thursday I spent a few hours with my dear friend Ang. It was soo good to share, laugh and pray. We are celebrating four years of friendship this fall. She has been a faithful friend through the various stages of my faith and life. She is among a handful who really know all of me-and she has the patience it sometimes takes to be my friend. God blesses me all of the time through her! So, day three of my birthday celebration is another precious memory in the story of my friendship with Ang.

And today was the finishing touch to begin this next wonderful year. Five of my amazing friends took me to my favorite restaurant. Friendship is so great. These women I know from different pieces of my life, and it is such a gift to bring them all together. (There were of course a few faces missing, but I suppose life will always be that way, with physical distance keeping some of us apart. ) Dinner was so great! This little place, tucked away in a far off corner of the city, makes the most unforgettable Italian food. Bread, salad and Manicotti, a bottle of red wine- finished off with tirmisu and a cappuccino. Wow- this is my kind of meal! Hours of conversation, toasting, testing out each other's dinner selections and laughter. Its hard to imagine a better way to start this next year of my life.

Thank you friends for loving me and helping me celebrate. I can't wait to build memories with you all year long! Thank you God for friends.

Dreaming for God

A friend of mine just got back from a mission trip in Greece. While there she heard and was challenged around "dreaming for God." I haven't been able to get this off my mind. What does this mean exactly-and how do we seperate godly dreams and dreaming for God (-or allowing Him to place His dreams for us on our heart?) I just thought I would share what was on my heart and mind these days....

Gunderson Family Picnic

Today was the annual Gunderson Family picnic. I don't know how many years this has been happening- but at least for the 28 years of my life it has been a Gunderson tradition. The Gunderson's are my Grandma's side of the family-and there are hundreds of us. We are so many I probably only know half of their names. I am of course a few generations removed from the origins of this great Norwegian family- but in our world family is family 1st, 2nd or 3rd -once, twice or maybe even three times removed. I have never really understood how all of that works, so I keep it simple-family is family, even if they are crazy.

Today I sat in the hot sun on the river's edge watching my nieces and little cousins play in the river. They are oblivious to the small detail of THE RIVER IS COLD COLD COLD! I momentairly flashed back to the marvelous childhood I had playing in that river. (Was it warmer back then or is it just me?) Has anyone else noticed that 'childhood' sometimes stood still? It did for me. Summer was endless. The days flowed one into another-picking up where we left off without even realizing that we had stopped for dinner and sleep. Hours of swimming and tubing, picnics, kick-the-can, bonfires, singing, cousins, climbing trees. Grandma always around the campfire cooking- in fact she is still there when our family gathers like it did today. There was always a snack ready and a fire to dry off by. Those days, weeks, months seemed endless. Since I have no real concept of what time actually looked like for me in those blissful years I have thought of asking my Aunties how long they really camped for every summer- but I am afraid it will spoil the magic of my memories. So, for now I savior the sweetness that is my truth from those years called childhood. And as I sat in the sun today my hope and prayer was (and is) that this generation will have beautiful, timeless memories to carry them through their years too.