Year-End Recap 2010: April

In April, I grew as a homemaker when I remembered my high school exposure to The FlyLady and started exploring her website for advice (small victories, eh? Or as The FlyLady says, Baby Steps!). Dan was able to land some odd jobs at our friend’s shop in exchange for his [delicious] wares, and I actually finished and sent a letter to my grandma!

(If you only knew how many letters and thank-you notes I’ve started! I’ve still got ones I haven’t sent which date back to high school. To those of you for whom these letters were intended: I’m so sorry!)   

One disappointment was missing out on the annual missions trip to Mexico to work side by side with our beloved sister church and its pastor, Trino Ortiz. He’s such a kindred spirit! 

However, all was not lost: we got to have a visit from our Orange County kindred spirits, Josh Mayo and Quentin Ortega! Great fun, food, fellowship and photography was had by all.   

More great fellowship was had when Janelle York (our youth pastor’s wife and my most kindred spirit of all) and I finally made time to see each other one afternoon; we laid bare our hearts and prayed and cried (or at least, I did), and made a pact to turn our church into one that’s comfortable (and eager!) go pray together on the spot whenever a need is made known. 

 I was encouraged to spend more time in the Word, and subsequently spent a lot of time in 1 Samuel. One thing that stood out to me was the story of Dagon versus the Ark of the Covenant:

“When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it by Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.”

Taken 4/26/10: my 21st spiritual birthday

Upon reading this, I was challenged to ask myself, “What’s my Dagon… and do I keep setting it in its place again?”