I've Been Waiting

As I sat in front of this window and wrote all day, I was planning my blog post for later tonight.

Sure it was raining here, but that never stopped me when I was a kid.

For the first time in 21 years, I was going to get to answer my door (well, my door at the house where we're staying anyway) for trick-or-treaters!

I've actually only been in the United States on Halloween twice in the past twenty-one years, but neither time did I get to answer the door.

There was just something nostalgic that made me excited when I picked up a couple bags of candy the other day, and dumped them into a bowl this afternoon, all in preparation for what I hoped would be a fun blog post about kids who showed up our door to yell, "Trick or treat!"

I even had my camera nearby as I wanted to take some pictures to post of cute little kids as pirates or princesses.

But alas, it's 8:15 PM and not one has shown up. Maybe parents don't let their kids go to houses that they don't know? Maybe there are no children living around here? Maybe they don't trick or treat here?

In any case: What will I do with that bowl of candy?!!

Should I reward myself for every chapter I write? No, on second thought, better not do that!

Sad fail of a Halloween post while we're here in the States. Will have to satisfy myself with postings on Instagram and Facebook of cute costumes!

Lovely Boston

The World Series is going on just one hour from where we are tonight. Will it be the last game of the series?? In a few hours we'll know.

It's been a long time since I've followed American baseball, but when you're here in Red Sox country, you kind of have to at least be a little bit interested! We're staying tuned tonight to see how it goes.

It's crazy that we were just in their town, Boston, over the week-end. Tonight there could be parties in these very neighborhoods where we drove on Sunday!

While we were there, I was totally charmed by the historic area of Beacon Hill.

The row houses seemed to go on and on, and all of them so interesting and varied!

I would've loved to have stopped, parked, and taken better pictures. But as you can see by this photo I snapped from our car window, parking is a problem there.

So we satisfied ourselves with just a drive around the area, and I kept clicking, hoping I was capturing some of the charm.

There were actually a few snowflakes here in New Hampshire today, so I'm glad we were there on the week-end when it was still sunny and not too cold.

With the sun shining, the leaves showing off their fall colors, and these turn of the century homes lining the streets, it was lots of fun to drive through this area.

It's supposedly a very expensive area of the city to live in. What would it be like to enter through those doors every day, knowing you lived there?

Oh, and the other thing that was so cool? The gas-lit lanterns that still line the street - super charming.

And then, there was this guy. What on earth was he doing on Beacon Hill? Any guesses?

I have absolutely no idea either, and my guess is, the people passing by are guessing too.

Otherwise, Boston is a lovely city!

Quiet in the House

It's been very quiet in the house today.

I've been in my spot out in the front living room writing all day, while Dave's been in the back in the family room.

What I didn't know until just a bit ago was why it was so quiet.

Earlier today his computer started acting strangely. As he started to write mid-morning, it froze.

He was eventually able to get back into the document with his book writing in it, but the problem continued.

With no warning, it emptied his entire email account. Yes, deleting everything.

Poor guy, he has spent hours trying to recover it today, and is still at it.

While he thinks everything is still online at the server, his inbox is a blank.

We knew there would probably come a day when we'd experience some sort of technical problems as we write. Today was Dave's day. Oh how I hope my day doesn't come!

When things like that happen it's hard to just leave it and continue to press on with writing.

At least Dave is persistent, and pleasant as well. I haven't heard any frustrating noises out of the living room yet. But pray that he can figure this out so he gets back to work on his writing.

In the meantime from my spot in the living room, it's another lovely day here.

Beantown

Our day of rest this week found us in Beantown.

Or as it's also known as: Boston

Upon arrival, it honestly looked like the city had been vacated and everyone was in St. Louis to watch the Red Sox against the Cardinals that day. (Go Red Sox!)

Starbucks was closed. (See the chairs stacked in the window? Such an odd sight for a Starbucks!)

Dunkin Donuts was closed too.

And by the way, if you've ever been here, you know that there is almost one of those on every corner. Either New Englanders like their doughnuts, or Dunkin Donuts decided they like New England.

Either way, they're everywhere. (And no, we haven't been there yet!)

 We happened onto a beautiful park that was also completely vacant. Made for a nice photo though!

We started to wonder if we were in the right place, or if we'd encounter anybody that day. It was really odd to be in a big city and be so alone!

But finally we made it down to a place where there was some bustle in the city.

What a crazy sight this is. The Old Town Hall, where the first shots that started the American Revolution took place, right outside that building. It's dwarfed by numerous skyscraper type buildings, and looks so out of place.

How glad I am they preserved it though! We loved going inside and reading about our American history that we haven't thought of in a while.

Not far from there we found the markets, both indoor and outdoor. I can never seem to resist a fresh fruit and vegetable market, either for a photo, or for buying something. That Honeycrisp apple was really delicious!

We continued to make our way through the city, following the Freedom Trail. Ended up here at North Church, where Paul Revere put the lanterns in the window to signal that the Redcoats were coming.

Today HE is wearing a bit of red...in honor of the Red Sox!

His house is another one of those buildings that's thankfully been preserved, though of course it's squished in between many other buildings now. Still, it's really cool to see it and imagine that time of history. The guide said he had 16 children, his wife, AND his mother living there. That must've been a lively place!

 While it was mostly a chilly, windy day in Boston, we both enjoyed the city so much.

 Thankful to be here on this side of the country, seeing new things, and having this time to write.

How Is This Possible

I thought I'd take a break from writing today.

Maybe go outside and take some more pictures of this beautiful New England fall, go for a run, or even go out and do something fun like watch the horse show taking place down the road from us.

But instead, when I woke up, the words were there again.

Where are they coming from?? It's easy to say "God" and sound like I'm oversimplifying or somehow naive. But the truth is, that has to be the answer. How is it possible that I reached 100 pages today, of a book that I just started writing on Monday? Seriously, how??

See it down there in the corner? Pages 100 of 100. Whew. I have a lot of words inside me, I guess. ("Do not reply to that", I say to my brother!)

But they're words that I feel are really from the Father, and all I'm doing is being his stenographer.

I had to laugh at myself though, when I got up to fix lunch. At 3:00.

I looked down beside me to see: two pairs of shoes, because you know, you can't write without at least two pairs.  Also two pairs of reading glasses because you never know when you might need to switch. There are two bottles of water, there from yesterday. I better drink something today. A half drank cup of coffee. And I love coffee! Just got too busy writing to finish.

Then there's my Bible, notebooks and pens for support. It's still making me laugh to see all my "stuff", there - to keep me company, I guess.

Dave and I traded computers after lunch to read what the other one had written. Now we're ready to go at it again.

So much for going outside today. Maybe I'll go out and catch the sunset later on.

Until then, back to the keyboard.

It Feeds My Soul

Even though our heads are down and our fingers busy over keyboards, when I glance up from my writing spot and see a sight like this, I know it's time to take a break and go enjoy it.

The best colors of the day here come at sunset, as the intensity comes out in the evening sunlight just before it crosses over the horizon.

I've soaked in the Creator's masterpiece painted across the sky for us every evening. Sometimes it's so breathtaking I am compelled to stand there until the sun goes down.

It doesn't matter which direction you turn, it's heart-stoppingly beautiful.

To our dear friends letting us stay here, "THANK YOU!!!" The beauty of this place is feeding my soul!

In Our Caves

 I've been sitting here since 9:30 this morning, and just now stopped to make a bite of dinner at 8 PM.

I don't know how to explain what's happening right now, but the words just keep flowing and I can't help but write. 

Thankfully, both Dave and I are content in our "caves", writing away as the Lord dictates what's on His heart.

Sometimes I come in and find Dave in complete darkness, except for the blue of his screen! He says he doesn't even notice when the sun goes down, so intent on writing that everything else is tuned out.

It's a blessing though to have each other nearby for consultation and read-throughs. Somehow I've written 32 pages just today. Dave's good about stopping what he's doing and reading to give me feedback.

I'm not quite ready to say what I'm writing. It's completely "other" from what I thought I'd be writing.

But there's no mistaking that it's what the Lord's put in my heart. My fingers can hardly type fast enough as I get His words coming down to me at a rapid pace all day long.

Thank you for praying. And thank you for being patient with us if you're not hearing anything from us. We're trying to stay on task and keep going until He tells us to stop.

I can't say that I'm not loving it though! I do!! This is something I've dreamed of, writing from morning til night. So it's not at all a dreadful thing, though I do feel a depth of responsibility as I write, knowing it's God's story that He's pressing on me.

Hope someday it'll be published! But for now, just have to keep writing.

Surprise of the Day

I love getting a good surprise, and this morning's was the best.

A message came in on my phone from Caleb, our son who's studying at Moody Bible Institute, saying, "You wanted a music video?"

His best friend from Czech, Noah Ellenwood, is visiting him at Moody this week, and I'd written a comment on a photo they'd posted, jokingly asking, "Music video please?" 

Music videos were something they used to do together in childhood and high school, something that brought a lot of smiles back in the day.

But with only a few days together in Chicago, I never imagined they'd really do it.

They did. Hope it gives you a smile like it did me today!

PS. Don't forget to watch all the way to the end :)

His Heart

Is someone praying for us??

The door may be closed at our house today, but that's because we are feverishly writing inside.

From the time we woke up this morning, we've been writing. About seven hours so far. And we're still going.

My stomach is shaky, in that nervous, happy kind of way.

I think I've got the Lord's heart and what it is I'm supposed to write. So I'm doing it.

Keep praying family and friends! Dave's already on chapter four, and I'm making really good headway too.

This is so fun!!!!

Day of Rest

I'm glad the Lord mandates a day of rest every week. And glad He doesn't say exactly how you should rest. Just that you should!

Rest for us yesterday was a day out of the house, and into the beauty of fall in New England.

After a morning service at a church we found in Portsmouth, we headed into town to see what there is to see.

And loved it!

I know every area of the world has its known characteristics, and New England is living up to my expectations for its own charm!

White steeples, brick buildings and sidewalks, brilliant fall leaves, and a sense of being in England! Those are all things I hoped/expected to see here, and it's not letting me down!

Loved seeing this line-up of red tugboats down at the edge of the harbor. Who thought to paint them red? That's awesome!

We are spoiled by the gift of good weather right now. Makes everything look even more charming!

And then there's the history of this place that's so fascinating. Notice a couple of the guys who worshiped at this downtown church?

Spoiled again! Gluten free pizza at The Flatbread Company. Oh my...so good! No tomato sauce on that pizza, but oh wow, was the flavor amazing of garlic and olive oil as a base. Hope we'll make it back there!

Since it was such a beautiful day, and we were right near the border, we headed up into Maine a little ways to soak in some more of the day's beauty.

We stopped at this lovely spot where a picturesque marsh was on one side, and a small harbor on the other side.

Down to the harbor we strolled, both of us drawn to the tranquility of Sunday afternoon at the docks. Super quiet and peaceful.

And there we stood, just resting.

I can still hear the seagulls and the lapping of water at the dock. So restful, peaceful, and good for the soul.

Ended our afternoon of rest in York, Maine, a town first settled in 1624. Being there reminded us of Europe, the most of any place we've been so far. We loved meandering by ourselves through the gorgeous fall leaves.

I seriously hope it's not sacrilegious to toss leaves in an old cemetery. The carpet of red, orange, yellow and brown reminded me of my childhood in Oregon, so much so that I just couldn't resist! 

Grateful for a day of rest.

And now we're back to work today!