So Long Sweet Summer

Do you ever stand in front of the mirror doing karate moves and making funny faces? Oh, neither do I. 

This was a summer of magical summers. I wish I could sing about how awesome my summer was, like how Sandy and Danny did in Grease, because I can't really articulate in words how great it was.  "I went to the pooooool a lot with the boooooooooooooys." That didn't work.  I was way off pitch.  

Here are the highlights of my summer...


Jonas Jachura was born!  The little guy came six weeks early.  Here's a photo of him with his proud grandparents:

I discovered Glee.  It's a guilty pleasure that I love to love.  I probably discovered it before summer actually started but I'll call it the summer anyway.

Two of my dear friends turned thirty.  Bekah in early June and Patti in late July.  Both were awe-inspiring parties with great friends, games, snacks, and some emotional gifts. There were other birthdays this summer (Donnie,  Joy, Nicole, Amy, Phil)  but those were the most notable, milestone birthdays.  (my camera got ruined in the ocean therefore I have no photographic proof of Patti turning thirty.)

We went on a "vacation" to Massachusetts and New Hampshire where we ate, prayed, loved one another and swam.  I quoted vacation because going back home sometimes does not feel like a vacation, rather a visit.  If that makes sense.  We did have a blast, don't get me wrong.  Phil had fun even with his eyes closed.

Now Jake and John are back in school and I have lots of free time on my hands.  No complaints here, other than needing to lose weight...and lots of it.  

Disappointed in myself. D'oh!

I had a word at church today and didn't give it.

What a disappointing feeling it is not having said what God showed me.  Standing in front of the church can be a bit nerve wracking.  Not standing in front of the church speaking His word is a worse feeling, in retrospect.

Here's the picture I had:

Everyone in the church had a light bulb over their head with a pull chain attached.  Some people pulled their chain and their light came on while other lights did not come on.  The persons whose light did not come on were in complete shock and were more concerned with the light bulb not working than really looking at the darkness they've been living in for some time.  What God wants us to remember is that He always knows where we are living.  That He can turn our light on again if we look to Him.  We cannot have one foot in light and another in darkness.

My condensed testimony

"Clap your hands for baby Jesus!" I would sarcastically say all too often in my late teen, early adulthood years.  I would go as far as raising my hand up in the air and acting like I was reaching for the heavens.  My insecurities and ignorance in all things spiritual and religious-based caused me to act ridiculously.  And ridiculously I acted, for years.   Jokingly, when people would annoy me or say something that made no sense I would place my hand on their forehead, push back and say "demons out."  I told Scott Squires about doing this act and he said there was something very spiritually powerful about that.  Perhaps demonic?  The people became less annoying after pushing them but I think it was because they were more in shock than the spirit having much to do with it.  

Fast forward to the fall/winter of two thousand and six.  I worked at Bridges Community Care in Pittsburg, Kansas.  I swear I was asked daily which church I attended and got multiple invites to attend so-and-so's church.  I started lying saying I attended St. Mary's so co-workers would get off my back.  Around the same time Phil and I started going to the mall deli frequently.  Jim, the owner of The Mall Deli, sat us in "Kate's" section each time we visited.  He must've thought we really liked her, which we did.  Kate would take our order and make small talk between serving our sodas and deli burgers.  One day I discovered that she went to bible college for a year prior to attending PSU.  That baffled me.  I later found out that her dad is a pastor!  That really came as a shock to me.  She invited us to church several times with many excuses on my part as to why we could not attend.  In Spring she invited us to watch her church's version of the play Thirty Pieces which was held at the Memorial Auditorium.  I figured it was a public place, why not.  We enjoyed the play, told Kate what a great job she'd done, and then literally ran down the steps of the auditorium avoiding having to talk to anyone else from her church.  Looking back at that moment, I always laugh. 
Two months later, July 25. 2006, I received my first bible and started attending Covenant Harvest Church.  In March 2007 I was baptized in the holy spirit.   

While there has been lots of questioning of this and that on my part, life has been so much more enriching since finding God and actually walking with Him instead of against Him.  I raise my hand in love and faith now.  I clap for Jesus the savior, the redeemer, the graceful son.  
That's the short story.

Was that a dog barking?

Too much coughing in Kerri's world these days. 

Sigh.

Grrrrrrrr

I just wrote the quirkiest, longest blog I've ever written and it vanished.  Thought I would share my grave disappointment.  I'll write another blog at a later date.