Real pic from Monday’s morning run.

 I like Monday mornings, and yesterday’s was especially enjoyable. We were up just after 6am and enjoyed some time in a quiet house (before teens were awake) to read our Bibles and pray ~ Robert in his office, me at the dining room table. I guess I should say that the morning became enjoyable, because in those first moments alone with the Lord, there were fears and tears. The tears were a surprise, because I thought I was free from the minor disappointment. The fears were regarding something still yet to come.  Robert was told a few weeks back that something good was going to happen to him, to us on October 8.  It was a prophetic dream by a somewhat confirmed prophetic-dreamer.  I write it here partly so together we can know if there was really truth to this fore and forth-telling. We will be waking up on Cape Cod tomorrow for a mini-vacation, so maybe that’s the good thing, but that’s happened regularly in October for years.

  I think my fears involve the fact that sometimes God’s “good” is different than what  I might define as good.  Sometimes His good feels really bad for a time.

The view from where I sit at church on Sunday mornings. I couldn’t get the picture to do the actual scene justice.

 What happened though when the tears and prayers ended and the Bible reading began was Hebrews 6 and the reminder of anchored hope. And as usual, I didn’t go searching my concordance for “hope verses.” They were just there in the next chapters of Hebrews which I’ve been reading on my way to Revelation.  I’m almost able to say I’ve read through the Book from cover-to-cover.  I’ve never done it that way before, and I highly recommend it. Have I told you that He meets you in His Word wherever you are reading and speaks to whatever it is you’re needing?  Well, it’s true.

Totally unedited!  I had to stop running and capture these bright leaves as well as the view of the path above. My running app even lets me store photos along with the statistics from each run.

Kayla planted a tree on Monday, too! It was our favor from a wedding over the weekend. Perfect timing to replace the one we said goodbye to last week.

 After an hour of exercise, Robert and I headed to Whole Foods for our typical Monday morning breakfast.  It was good to talk through the weekend and the week ahead over a smoothie and eggs and their delicious maple smoked bacon.  On the ride home, I got to hear about the John Piper sermon Robert had listened to while on the elliptical and treadmill.  It was on what Mr. Piper believes is the best chapter in the entire Bible.  Can you guess?

My first guess was Romans 3. Not quite.  Then John 15.  Nope. I should have known to stick with Romans.

The answer was Romans 8.  Robert was in complete agreement, and I suppose I am too.

I could not control my laughter, though, as Robert began to impersonate Mr. Piper and his Romans 8 endorsement all the way home.  Complete with hand gestures (as much as possible while driving) and booming voice intonations.  If you’re wanting a John Piper at your next worship service, and the real pastor in unavailable, my husband is your man.  So funny.  And laughter is such a good gift on a Monday morning or anytime really.

 Back at home an endless list of tasks awaited, the most pressing of which was apple butter making. The apples had been simmering in the crock pot for 18 or so hours, and needed processing. (Maybe I’ll share the photos and recipe on Friday. Unless…) Then there were seminary assignments, and emails, and phone calls, and an appointment for Coop’s senior photos with our sweet and talented friend, Ify. It felt like my 7 mile run turned into a marathon once back home. Thankfully we have a week off from homeschooling and Classical Conversations!

Somewhere in the middle of the day, I sat down to check email and Facebook and this was one of the first things to pop up on my news feed.  More hope. He wanted me to really believe it, I guess. He has this way of gracefully reinforcing the pertinent and necessary truths.

Later, we picked up Ify and headed to Northampton for photos downtown and photos at Smith College.  The weather was perfect yesterday, as I’m sure you could already tell.  And speaking of perfect…just take a look at this young man and these photos.  I couldn’t be more pleased, and these are only a few teasers from the hundreds of photos taken yesterday.

 Classic Cooper is what these are. His good looks and laid back personality perfectly captured. So thankful for him in my life and thankful for these treasures that will help us remember this special year of his life. He’s got big, exciting plans for after graduation that I haven’t told many of you about.  Maybe soon!

And modeling for American Eagle is not one of them.  At least not that we know of.

So, tomorrow is the 8th ~ the day of good news, good happenings supposedly. Last night I dreamt that someone close to me died.  Kayla also had a dream about this person dying not long ago. And I wonder, where do these dreams come from?  The proclaimed prophetic ones about good things to come.  The terrifying ones that leave you paralyzed in a dark room in the middle of the night too scared to even go and check the cell phones plugged in downstairs to see if you missed the grievous phone call. (All was well.)

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I know a lot of things I hope it will not bring, but I know that the unchangeable God who says “yes” to every promise in Jesus is the only safe refuge every day of the week.