Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Over the past few days, we have gotten 2 feet of snow! It has been incredible. Spokane came to a complete standstill. Two days ago, it took us almost 2 hours just to get from the freeway to our house (normally a 3 minute drive). They were not letting anyone drive up the hill without chains. So, we pulled under a overpass where it was dry, and started to put on chains. While do this, we met Shad. Shad is homeless and has one leg. He asked to borrow a marker to create a sign on a piece of cardboard. He reads Plato, has lived in China and lost his leg during a climbing accident in Yosemite. A very interesting character. We enjoyed getting to know him, and perhaps will run into him again as he is homeless, and we live within a few blocks of downtown. We were finally able to get chains on, and the police let us drive up the hill while hundreds of other cars sat around us in gridlock. Then, yesterday we woke up to a foot and a half of snow. Of course school has been canceled, but we were shocked to discover that almost every store in the mall was also closed (6 days before Christmas!). The time of being snowed in has been an unexpected blessing. We got to spend extra time with my sister, to get some cleaning done around the house and get an early start on Christmas break. And...it is so beatiful. (Though I'm sure John might have a differnent opinion having spent almost 3 hours digging out our cars!

Fleeting colors

By this point the trees outside my window are all naked. Their leaves are gone, but it was only a few weeks ago that vibrant colors painted the sidewalks of our neighborhood. What a joyous eye-feast and blessing it is to live in a neighborhood where the streets are lined with ancient oaks and maples. We are also thankful that our friends Dan and Heather Milligan live only 6 blocks away!

Home is where your rump rests

The words of Pumba ring true, and I was unaware of how much our apartment could not feel like home to me until there was a suitable resting place for my rump (i.e. a couch). Stirrings of discontent had begun weeks ago, and continued until I felt I could no longer enter my living room in peace while the ugly brown monster couch shared my residence. Here you can see what once took over our living room. Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly aware that there are people all over the planet who would rejoice at having this couch, and I did make every effort to maintain a heart of thankfulness for having any couch at all. However, I truly desired to have a couch that guests would not be afaid to sit on. And so, for weeks I scoured craigslist, to no avail. Then, sharing my dilema with friends, they prayed with me for a couch, though I hardly thought that God should give me a nicer couch when I had such a sour attitude about the one I already had. (How glad I am that God does not treat us based on what we deserve!) As you might guess, God did decide to bless us with a great couch. Our classy new (to us) rump-rester goes great in our pre-1900's apartment and is a continual reminder that God loves to give good gifts, even when I have had a heart that is discontent with what I already have! Such lavish grace!

Something New

I have decided to join the blog scene and, like every other blogger out there, have my own unique twist to my blog. So, this whole thing is going to be a record, (if for no other reason than to remind myself) of answered prayers and unexpected blessings.

I am calling the blog Manna & Lavender. Manna was God's way of providing for the Israelites, when it seemed like they would starve to death. After moving into my new apartment, I was pleasantly surprised to see that God would ordain for there to be a lavender bush right outside our back door. Lavender is one of my favorite flowers and it provokes a smile of gratitude every time I step out onto our back porch.