Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do.

Natalie shared this with me, and I love it:

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” (Ecc 9:10)

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,” refers to works that are possible. There are many things which our heart findeth to do which we never shall do. It is well it is in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart, and talking of them; we must practically carry out “whatsoever our hand findeth to do.” One good deed is more worth than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we “find to do” day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavour now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do-”do it with thy might.” Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do to-morrow as if that could recompense for the idleness of to-day. No man ever served God by doing things to-morrow. If we honour Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do to-day. Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labour, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength.

But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our “hand findeth to do,” let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do thus will be well done, and will not fail in its effect.

-Charles Spurgeon

An update on our lives in the Natural State.

The Natural State.

Northwest Arkansas is a neat area. With a population of around a half million it is fairly metropolitan, although most of it is new growth caused by the mega-corporations based here: Walmart, Tyson, and JB Hunt, to name a few. The campus of Ecclesia, where we live and work, feels very rural, but any store, restaurant, or entertainment we could want is within 20 minutes of our house. As you drive down the road you'll pass a strip mall, then a gated community, then cattle in a pasture, then a mobile home, then a chicken farm, then another strip mall - it's all mixed together. So different than Illinois, where the lines between urban, suburban, rural, and small town seemed very defined.

Ecclesia is a tiny college. It was started as a YWAM base in 1975, and got accredited as a four-year college in 2005. There are 105 full-time students taking classes on campus. There are another 45 part-time students, and then about 25 students in the Ecclesia Online program.

Keith and I are so thankful to each have full-time jobs: with the (modest) salaries we're making we should be completely debt-free within a year, if the Lord wills. My official title is Assistant Director of Financial Aid, which was bestowed upon me after working a few weeks, and I take it as an honor (note the absence of to the). However, my boss does the jobs of about seven different people, so while he is available to answer my questions and help me with unique situations, I am essentially running the financial aid office myself.

I'm really enjoying working in an office; the administrator in me who loves order and clarity and organization is blossoming. Clearer boundaries between work and personal life have been a welcomed change. It's not hard to leave financial aid at the office (although, the workaholic in me does try to bring it home from time to time). There are systematic changes that I am hoping to implement in the financial aid process at Ecclesia, but this semester has been about getting through the giant learning curve and keeping my head above water. It's been very challenging/frustrating/overwhelming at times. I've done tons of research and self-training. But, again, I am thankful.

The soccer boys at a rest stop on the way to a game.

Keith has just finished his season as the head coach of the first ever Ecclesia soccer team. He had about two months over the summer to create an entire soccer program from nothing; from recruiting a team, to scheduling games, to finding places to play...everything. With the help of the Lord, he did an incredible job. He made the wise decision to make it a club team instead of a varsity team for the first year, which allowed him to include guys from the surrounding community, as well as students who may not have been eligible or able to commit the time to a varsity team. He has a great team of precious young guys. They pulled out a remarkable four wins their first season ever.

Keith and I are observing some patterns among small organizations. We have a number of frustrations here and are praying through how to deal with them. But we are thankful. And you know what? When I pray for things here, God has been answering speedily. I have to remember that and stay encouraged.

We have become a part of a wonderful church called Mosaic. It's a congregation that meets on Saturday nights, and it falls under the umbrella of Fellowship Bible Church NWA. It is a huge organization that runs in an excellent, strategic fashion, which brings a nice balance to our weeks. Now that the first soccer season is over, we're excited to get more involved in ministries there and join a small group.

I will end it there. Soon I hope to share more specifically about what God has been doing in me these last few months.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Now that I'm Twittering, I find myself having the desire to share more than 140 characters on a regular basis. Will this mean blogging again? Perhaps.

I am finding over and over that while I have many interests, I have only one passion. I may get into something for a while, but I eventually see that I am nothing; that all pursuits of my flesh are worthless at best, and terrifying at worst.

I'm at Coffee Fest and it's really cool. And this is my trade. I want to develop my skills & knowledge. I want to do it well. But this will never be my consuming passion.

In my job I want to put out a quality, consistent product, have great customer service, a happy, hardworking, competent staff, and grow the business. But none of those things are my consuming passion.

I'm afraid I have gotten to the point in my journey where I am hopelessly lost in him. The idea of loving anything more than him, of pursuing anything more than  him ... kind of terrifies me. All I have to offer to anyone...is him. Nothing makes sense but his way. I can comprehend other ways, but they seem desperately futile.

If I were to leave him, I would have to relearn how to live. I know nothing outside of him anymore.

I am in him.

Whichever way you're going, you choose it & you work for it, till you are doing it without even trying. Till you're a slave to it.

I am his slave.

And I love it. And he is my consuming passion. Nothing else can ever satisfy me.

And where I used to say that as a desire, I say it now as a reality. Even when I try to find satisfaction elsewhere, I can't.

I think this is something like maturity. I am utterly consumed.

I'm tired.

One more work day to push through.
I'm doing the cafe's finances from last week today.
It was a great week financially.
We needed it.
Praise God.
It's all his.

I want to take more walks in the sun, in green places.
I want to have more fun.

The dual life.

Let my arduous efforts be kept in the secret spirit places.


Let the natural then flow.  Effortlessly.

Simple things; so much power.

Man, let me just say that when I am either (a) tired or (b) dehydrated,
my whole world looks different.


And I think the enemy takes advantage of it.


The cafe's closed this week, but I have a super long list to-do list for myself for the cafe.  I really like working from home.  I get a lot done.  And it feels good to be in my home.  I ate all three meals at home today.  Pretty sure that's the first time that's happened....at least since we moved here.  It makes me think that I could keep managing the cafe if I had a baby.  I wouldn't want to work regular shifts at the cafe behind the counter, but really think I could still manage.  At least for a while.  But who knows what the future holds.

Two things that are definitely in my future are enough sleep & water.

New computer.

I got a new hp mini netbook, and I'm catching up in the online world. And it's really making some of my tasks at work easier. I'm thankful for it.

So, I should be around here a little more often now. Maybe.

Life right now.

Managing the cafe has been awesome. I really love it. I feel like so many of my skills & gifts are able to be utilized in this job. REALLY utilized--from waking to sleeping some days.

The cafe is such a ministry. I'm blown away on a consistent basis by the way God uses that place in the doing of his will and the coming of his kingdom.

We decided a few weeks ago that our summer hours would be 11a-11p, Monday through Friday. Having the weekends off has been wonderful. Today Keith and I actually took a Shabbat together. He packed up a Super Sandwich picnic for us and we took it over to Everly Park, which we now live across the street from. We had lunch and played a round of frisbee golf which I found to be, surprisingly, tons of fun. It was so refreshing being out among the trees & animals & birds, amazed at how creation tells stories of God. We just got to hang out with each other a lot today, and just be married. I'm so infatuated with Keith.

Keith and I are both obsessed with a song on the new mewithoutYou album called "The King Beetle On A Coconut Estate". Profound & seriously beautiful. If you haven't checked out that album yet, I highly recommend it.

Right now we're both sitting in our new apartment in quietness. Keith is working on his sermon for tomorrow. This is just so...nice.

So, to keep everyone in the loop, Keith is now the worship & youth leader at the Vineyard, and he's going to be preaching some Sundays. We live in the apartment building behind the church/cafe. It's going to be a year of diving into these areas of ministry we've always had a passion & a vision for: youth, music, teaching (Keith), and coffeehouse (Lindsay).

Our Five Year Bash has been moved to July 18th and it will be at my parents' in Bushnell. You're invited.

Tonight we hosted a show.

We hosted a really great acoustic show tonight at Aroma.  Andy Zipf, Damion Suomi, and Ben Harris.  Andy & Damion are on a national tour, and it was such a treat to have them make a stop here.  The place was packed, thanks in large part to Ben bringing a crowd with him.  Ben is our friend; a local worship leader.  He performed his own originals and a few covers.  Andy & Damion each had their own brand of really quality, passionate, indie folk.  Damion had a girl, Shivawn, playing fiddle with him: awesome.

I was nervous because it was my first time hosting musicians of that caliber who are on tour.  Everything went amazingly, though.  It was a beautiful night.  It was a beautiful conversation--the night at large was this beautiful conversation about love & God & the meaning of life.  You know what I mean? 

Pathways to the Sabbath.

I'm sharing an excerpt from an email to Natalie. It's making reference to a wonderful sermon series from The Journey called Rhythms.

So today I had the special treat of Keith getting to join me for a sabbath, because the school has today off for Presidents Day, I think it is. So I had him listen to the first two of the series with me, so he could catch up. And I really appreciated hearing them again.

Right now, the pathways stuff is on my mind. What are your pathways? I was thinking about how the pathways fit into the sabbath; how the sabbath is a prime opportunity to pursue God via your pathway. My pathways I think are the contemplative, worship, and some naturalist.

But I definitely feel very alive and close to God while homemaking. Making a home. Creating a home. That's literally what is feels like to me--creative. Creating a sanctuary, bringing order, bringing beauty, bringing warmth & safety.

So back to how pathways fit into sabbath. Since I started getting really intentional about taking sabbaths it's been this journey of finding out what the sabbath means for me. If the sabbath was created for me, how can it best serve me? Anyway, I always felt like I should avoid housework on the sabbath, because it was work. And in all the sabbath stuff I've been studying, you hear about how women need a break from that stuff.

But for me in my life right now, I've been putting in tons of time at the cafe and totally neglecting our home. It's been a mess. And it bothers me because I want a home of peace & order. So, the one day that I'm home (sabbath) I feel like I should try to not do it, even if I really want to.

But I think I'm seeing that housework is a pathway for me. It brings me a lot of joy & satisfaction. Like I said, it's creative for me. And you know what? Just like Darrin was saying, that pathway leads into the others. Once my kitchen is clean I just want to sit at my beautiful clean table and read & write & look out the window! Once the floor is clear I want to put on worship music & dance around & sing or bow down on the floor. And I want to have people over to fellowship! Isn't that cool!?

So right now I think I'm deciding that housework is not off limits to me on my Mondays. Not that I should spend my whole day doing housework, but taking some time to clean things up will really edify me & my sabbath. It's totally a pathway to God. I'm really excited about this!

A good day in Chicago.

A good day in Chicago yesterday:

• Hung out with Lois; always edifying conversations.
• Met up with my big brother @ L'Appetito, just a few blocks east of the agency.  He was feeling a little sick, but it was great to see him.
  
• A casting for a German sportswear catalog.  I haven't been into Elite in a while, so it was really good to see some of the other models & agents.
• Lois & I went up to Wicker Park to see Stacy, the girl I worked with at the Bridal show.  We walked Stacy to work, then stopped by Cafe de Luca for soup & coffee.
  
• Fun time on Amtrak hanging out with the crew in the Cafe Car.
• A happy birthday phone talk with my big sister.

L.xo

Running Cafe Aroma.

Hey friends,

Cafe Aroma, where I'm working, is run by The Vineyard church, and the pastor right now is kind of the general manager. However, he has a lot going on, and he has started talking to me about taking on more of the manager role, so he wouldn't have to be concerned with the day-to-day business of it. I told him that I couldn't do it without Cathy, the amazing woman I work with (we complement each other well & make a great team), so plans are now brewing (pun intended) for Cathy & I to try our hand at running the cafe next semester.

L. xo

P.S. Brandon, thank you for your letter in the mail. I really liked it, and it helped me think through some of my blogging issues. I love old-fashioned mail.

News.

Hello friends,

You are my audience. My friends & family who want to know what is going on with me. And please, if you read what I write, and are glad to have read it, leave me comments. I think when this becomes what feels like a one-sided conversation it's discouraging. Thanks!

Some news items:

• We moved to a new apartment through Keith's resident manager job, and it is wonderful. It's a two-bedroom that's over twice the size of our place at Lamoine Village. It really feels like I am a woman with a home. We are still just praising God for it. He taught us so much about contentment in our last two tiny places, and we are so thankful for that. Now it feels like our territory has been expanded.
• Keith is the new worship leader at the Vineyard church here in Macomb. They lost their former worship leader a few months ago, so one Sunday Keith and I guest-led worship there. To make a long story short, they loved us & created a paid position for Keith as the Sunday morning worship leader. It was hard to leave the Crossing, but the guys there commissioned us with all the best wishes; praise God.
  
• We first got to know the folks at the Vineyard when I started working at Cafe Aroma a few months ago. I was in the market for a local coffeehouse job and some good friends of mine had worked there in the past. So when they needed some help, I volunteered & it was a great fit. Cafe Aroma is run by the Vineyard church. I've had a vision for coffeehouse ministry for probably close to ten years, so this was a neat opportunity for me. Right now I'm working Tuesday through Friday 11a to 2p, and we often play music there on Friday nights for Open Mic. So come by & visit sometime.
• Speaking of Cafe Aroma, Nate & Mere's band Leaving the Boats came & played an amazing show there on October 24th.
  
• I was in this movie with Shia LaBeouf.
  
• I got myself a new Moleskine journal & I love it.
  

Love,
L. xo

The theatrical trailer!

Ok, the second scene in this trailer is just a flash of "Jerry" (Shia) on the El--he is sketching my picture in that shot. He's standing, looking down at something he's doing (below the frame) and smiling a little. I got to know my scene very well over the two days I shot it, and I know for certain that this is it.

This doesn't guarantee anything about whether my scene will make it into the final cut of the movie, but how exciting to see a second of it in this trailer!

Finally, the teaser trailer!

The first shots of Shia on the El were filmed directly after my scene with him on the El. I was still there, hanging out with the crew & watching the filming.

Eagle Eye.

Still trying to convince myself that I really had a speaking role in a scene of this movie.

Arts & crafts.

My label maker came in today. I ordered a manual, old-fashioned label maker through Countywide Office Supply on the Square. I've wanted one for months to use in my art & crafts. I like trying to find things secondhand first, just to avoid the unnecessary use of new resources. I bid on a couple label makers on Ebay, asked for one on Freecycle, and browsed the local thrift store multiple times, all to no avail. So, my next choice, after secondhand, is to support local business. Countywide didn't have any in stock, but they were happy to order it for me.

On the same trip to go pick it up, I got Keith a little memo pad that he had mentioned wanting to get. When I got home I promptly opened my new label maker & decorated the new memo pad.









My next order of business was to add the text to this drawing I had made of Keith.













I've found these two wood art gems at thrift stores. The one to the left has the definition of faith and has been a huge encouragement to me as I wait in faith.

I like the counsel in this one on the right to be still & listen.







Comments welcomed.

The Office is Closed.

Perspective from the writers on strike.

Elise's new website is launched!

Check it!

I had to leave early the day of that shoot (for no good reason, it turned out...long story), but I'm so glad I got to be a part of it! Aren't the dresses and the photography beautiful??

And her Spring 2008 Fashion Preview is this Thursday!

Still trying to decide if this has all really happened to me.

Today went so well.

So well.

We did more footage of the same scene. So many more angles, including the closeup of me saying my line.

Shia and I chatted a lot more today, sharing more about ourselves, and even our views on God and faith and religion. Very cool conversations--he's open & genuine & contemplative. We're buddies. At least we were today.

The sketch we used in the scene--they let me keep it, and someone had him sign it for me (which I was already considering requesting anyway). He wrote to me: You're awesome! Thanx 4 helping us out! SHIA.

He's so precious. Such a great guy. He's definitely going to have a great career.

And the director, D.J., was so wonderful, too. I got to work with a lot of really cool people. The extra sitting beside me on the train was D.J.'s 12 year-old son, Brandon. Also extremely precious. We're buddies too.

So I'm done shooting. For now. And I absolutely loved it.

Only God knows what the future will hold.

If it's more acting...I would be thrilled.