Amari's Room

While in Iowa City Clark and i were able to help our kids in a number of ways: visiting them in the hospital and lovin' on our new granddaughter, unpacking boxes in the new/old home our kids had just moved into (circa 1860, next to a beautiful city cemetary) cleaning, landscaping and staging their home (including Amari's room) to prepare for return of the new family. We enjoy using our skills and passion wherever God may lead :) Here are a few photos of the work we did.

new life

we received a surprise package arrive last thursday, june 18. amari mckay casto was born to daughter and son-in-law heidi and andy casto. amari came via emergency c-section three weeks early, amidst a flurry of unexpected happenings. we are so grateful she is healthy and thriving.

after a 3 1/2 day hospital stay everyone came home (andy and heidi are both grad students in ceramics at the university of iowa) where husband clark and i had been busily cleaning and unpacking their "new" vintage 1860 house. amari is a beautifully designed little girl, so very special in all her 5+ lbs. it's a blessing to see our family growing. God is good, don't you know?

Backyard Project

years ago after realizing our ministries would need to share spaces and create welcoming -albeit temporary- environments for each week's gatherings, our weekend children's ministry landed in the large gym area of the AVENUE. they use the stage, lights and media that large space provides and fence in a large portion of the floor. upon entering the "BACKYARD" kids cross over a wooden bridge and encounter a nice variety of learning centers to drive home the themes that are also creatively depicted on the stage.

last night some of our makeover servants dove in to repaint the "sheds" that are rolled in to house the learning centers (our kid's karate class were working their moves while we painted.) we are going with a new color scheme that will eventually be blended with new palette for the AVENUE gym and classroom walls. LOVE the fresh look!

everyday inspirations

i am an inspiration addict and it doesn't take crazy extravagant visuals to send me into a grateful fit of joyous inspiration. here i'm posting a random assortment of my "everyday inspirations" from the last three days: my daughter heidi who is 8 months prego and the antique rocker i just recovered for her/them, the ginghamsburg zumba class that decided to take it outside this morning, the purple clematis from my garden (yay God!), mud n' spit design from my favorite retail destination "anthropologie." Creator God is always showing up, so enjoy some everyday inspiration!

Hero Academy ~ Set Design

today five women combined efforts to create a stage set for our ginghamsburg children's ministry summer series. their stage is in our student activity center (the avenue) and we feel they deserve a great background over which to experience the powerful message of jesus for their young lives. check out our process for creating the Hero Academy set design in this video>>>

spiritual cravings

when i'm hungry i crave real food. when i'm working hard i crave thirst-quenching water. when i'm exhausted i crave a good night's sleep.

this past weekend mike began a series on the holy spirit and ended his message with the allowance that many of us may not even feel the need for MORE connection to God. it's tough to get excited about reading the bible or asking for the holy spirit to move through us if the CRAVING is missing. mike suggested that if we aren't yet hungry for the WORD that we might consider reading a book that helps us get in touch with the the "felt need" of our own hunger for God. God designed us for relationship but it is entirely possible to be so detached from this connection that we aren't even aware we have it. the craving has been temporarily satisfied with things that feed us just enough to camouflage our real hunger - like snacking around instead of waiting until supper's ready.

i always have a good book next to my bible. i need to hear fresh voices with skin on, other jesus-followers who struggle and start over each day. i've expanded my reads by sharing with a group of women who are all absorbing the same book and get together once a week to talk about it. we choose our books carefully with the common felt need to "get our butts kicked and move forward with our lives." one of our best reads was "one month to live - thirty days to a no-regrets life" by chris and kerry shook. i blogged about this book awhile back.


most recently we have been working through "journey to freedom" by scott reall. it's a recovery book for the everyday person who wants to make real progress towards emotional and spiritual health. the daily reads constantly require us to depend on the holy spirit for each day's journey and suggests scripture to seal the lesson deal into our hearts. some readings hold new stuff for me, some not so new. the point is i need REMINDERS and butt-kickers each and every day. i want to MAXIMIZE my life and that is what creates my CRAVINGS. in the words of aerosmith...

i don't wanna close my eyes
i don't wanna fall asleep
'cause i'd miss you [jesus]
and i don't wanna miss a thing

next we plan to share this little book i have from the 70s called "adventures in prayer" by catherine marshall. it's not in print anymore but i LOVE the way it creates a CRAVING inside me to talk to and trust God more. i'm going to make bootleg copies to give to my girls for our group's benefit.

do you have a book that has helped expedite your God-connection? Please share it with a comment below.