The Saturday 7

1. Last Sunday we got together for family lunch after church. Nash, Levi, and Brodie piled in this corner of beanbags/bears and said, "Take our picture!" 

Then all the other kids had FOMO . . .

The boys

The girls! Minus Bella, plus Brodie - who was very sad when we tried to take him out of the picture. 

2. I missed the Saturday 7 last week because I was busy finishing an amazing book: The Promise is His Presence by Glenna Marshall. This is a concept I've been thinking about a lot over the past few years. It started with my anxiety, and the constant refrain that "God might let bad things happen to you, but He promises to be with you through them." In my heart of hearts that was never very comforting to me. I was still afraid of the pain. So I started to realize that I needed to focus on cultivating a relationship with God that would result in finding comfort in his presence. As I was considering this, I spent a year doing The Bible Recap with some friends, and every day's session ended with the words "He's where the joy is." And then I started to notice patterns in the Bible about how being in God's presence is our ultimate joy and reward. So I put this book on my TBR a long time ago and then promptly forgot about it until a couple weeks ago. When I first picked it up, I wasn't immediately captivated, but by chapter two I was sold. It was honestly a combination of so many ideas I've been thinking through lately - understanding the large story of scripture from beginning to end, recognizing that we were made to be with God and the whole of human history is the story of how God has been making a way for us to be with him again - "the thread that weaves together redemptive history is His commitment to being with His people." (180) I was reminded anew how quickly I abandon God for the sake of immediate gratification, how important it is to remember who God is and what he's done, and how much of Christian maturity is about habits of discipline and slow growth. One of my favorite parts of the book, though, was the practical applications. Glenna Marshall has been through some very difficult circumstances, and she shares a very tangible way to find comfort in God's presence: "If you want to be comforted by His presence, then understand the character of the One who is with you by engaging with Him in His Word." (136) "Our primary means of enjoying the presence of God is His Word . . . and we must submit to His authority by knowing Him in the way He has given us to know Him. . . The Word is living and active. It transforms and renews our minds, resulting in obedience." (134) One more quote and I'll be done . . . "When we don't understand why the One who can heal us won't, we must turn our hearts to Him anyway. Who else has the words of life? Suffering may be the tool He uses to pin us to His side by sending us to the Word. But instead of looking for ourselves in the Scriptures - for what they might reveal about our potential deliverance - we should fix our gaze on God, from whom deliverance grows." (101) The whole book is so good and you should definitely read it!

3. This week was homecoming at ACS. My kids love it (especially Lena), and I go into full "Development Director" mode by taking thousands of pictures and spamming our social media accounts. I also covered library for my co-librarian who was on her honeymoon this week! And because so many of the main events were on Friday, I worked that day as well (I don't usually work on Fridays). I was exhausted by last night, but I think everything went well!

Monday: Country vs. Country Club

Tuesday: Dynamic Duos - Gru and Vector

Wednesday: Video Game day (Lena's class had Sonic - she dressed up as Tails)

Elementary had different dress up days than secondary. Levi was pumped about "favorite sports team" day!

Color day. Lena's class was orange (in case there was any doubt)

Lucy's class was blue

Friday: Spirit Day - complete with strange team games involving plungers

I hosted an "alumni hospitality room" again. 

Had to get a picture with Saylor in our matching shirts!

4. Lena started playing Volleyball with Upward last week. ACS has volleyball for Middle School, but Lena has never played before, so she decided to ease into it with Upward - it's a much smaller time commitment and competition level. I'm grateful that we're not driving all over Timbuktu for middle school volleyball games when gas is $5 a gallon! Lena got on a team with her BFF Harper, and she is loving it. 

5. Today was the homecoming dance for high schoolers. That's one event I'm not responsible for, and Lucy is extremely low maintenance, so I just shouted "send me pictures!" as she walked out the door tonight. She obliged, and had a blast with her friends. Look how beautiful she is! 😭

In case you're keeping track, this is now the third time she's worn this dress to a formal event. I told you she was low maintenance! Haha. But if she grows anymore, I'm going to have to put my foot down about the length . . . #meanmom 

6. While Lucy was off dancing the night away, the rest of us got to play with cousins Thea and Cove. They're spending the night at our house for the first time ever, and they were so excited that they put their pajamas on by 5:00. 😂 That didn't stop us from going to the park after dinner, though.

7. Pics and memes!

Soup season!