A Vision of the Church

Judah (see the previous post) is not the only profound McDowell. They are all wont, at unexpected moments, to pop out with life-changing statements. Suz is the most recent culprit. Her blog post a few days ago is, well, indescribable. Want to read it?? Huh? :)

How could you not, after an intro like that! Here you go -- Enjoy!

A Vision of the Church

.

But Who Lives Up There?

The joys of an aunt don't begin to compare to the joys of a mother, nor do the trials of aunthood approach those of motherhood. But sometimes, when the four-year-old girl curled on your lap with a "sore throat" says in a choked sort of way, "I - I cannot speak," and then barfs what looks like several days worth of victuals up all over herself, you, and the blanket you'd both been cuddling under, well on those days, the aunt gets a glimpse...

In the midst of it all, with Ariel stuck in the bathroom still barfing, Judah is put at the table to eat his dinner. He begins what initially sounds like un-reasonable questions: "Uh, uh, wha-what is up there?"

"That's the ceiling, Judah."

"But, but what's it called up there?"

"Outside it's called the roof, and inside it's called the ceiling."

"But," [hand still pointing up, his little 2-year-old Brooklyn accent permeating the house] "but who lives up there?"

"Usually nobody lives in the ceiling, Judah."

"But, but where is Jesus?"

[OJ takes over the adult part of the conversation here.]

"Oh, Jesus lives up in heaven with God. Way, way up in the sky, way far beyond that."

[Every time Judah talks its in the voice of proclamation. But the subject matter of this proclamation riveted us:] "I want to see Jesus."

[OJ stops in his tracks.] "Me too, buddy. Oh, me too. I want to see Jesus. Why don't you tell Him that? Tell Him you want to see Him."

[Judah shuts his eyes tight and states loudly and matter-of-factly:] "I want to see You, Jesus!"

That done, his fist reached out again for the apples on his plate, which had recently become covered in ketchup.

Oh. Oh. Yes.

How Did You Get So Happy?

We're sitting around waiting for the kiddos to get in bed, at which point we three sisters will delve into planning the fourth sister's birthday party :) In the meantime, let me interview a budding young woman of God...Annie Peterson.

So, Annie, what is resting on your heart right now?

"A chubber named Samuel." [NOTE: Samuel Eisenhower is actually resting his little baby body on her as she speaks.]

But seriously...?

"Seriously? That the Lord is doing crazy things and making awesome connections and I am so glad to be part of it all. Connections between Tacoma and Kansas City."

Um, are you talking about the recent spate of train-track-laying we've been doing in our favorite game, Ticket To Ride?

"Most definitely not! [giggle, giggle] I don't know how to say it. The Lord is telling one ministry about the other and how they need each other, and highlighting what He's been doing in other parts of the world. I've longed for this for a long time, so to actually see it happening and be a part of it is thrilling."

Can you explain, for our readers who are not familiar with Tacoma and Kansas City, what you are referring to?

"Tacoma is somewhere where the Lord has poured out a special work of healing and restoration of people's hearts. Kansas City is a place where thousands of young people have flocked, with zeal for the Lord, to basically pray day and night. So the two put together -- restored people who walk like Christ with crazy zeal and are constantly pursuing His heart -- is like dynamite!"

So, the intimacy message is combining with the evangelism message; and the restoration message is combining with the prayer movement. Yeah, the result is ...

"The world is gonna know Jesus!"

Hooray!!! And Annie, can you tell us just one thing? How did you get so happy?

"How did I get so happy? :) Uhh, I'm not always happy. But I got so happy because Jesus has been SO good."

What has He done?

"Well there's really nothing better than getting to be with Him all the time. And when you realize that's reality, you're happy! There's no reason to be sad, cause anything that would bring anxiety or sorrow isn't a problem. Like, there's stuff that is intense and seems like it should bring sorrow, but the Lord says that we don't have to be afraid or sorrowful even in that stuff. There's a time for weeping, but Jesus came that our Joy may be full. And so that's what He does. The fruit of the Spirit is joy, and the Spirit is inside of me, so there's joy." [Several kisses were here given to Samuel Eisenhower.] AND there's a chubba, sitting on my lap lookin' cute."

Samuel Eisenhower, by the way, had his first taste of solid food tonight. I'll digress from our interview for a moment, if you'll bear with me, to download the best photo taken in the whole world within the last few minutes.



There now, wasn't that worth the wait? For added measure, here is a photo of the interviewer and the interviewee... For some reason, my eyes refused to stay open for a flash that night.



And to finish off the interview...

"And THAT was the end of the letter."

What?

"From Emma. You know that part where Mr. Weston is telling about a letter from what's his face. What's his name? The guy who plays Obi Wan Kenobi?"

How do you spell that?

"I'm a dork that I know how to spell that. It's Ewan McGreggor. Yeah. Just one "G"."

Well, I'm the writer who doesn't know how to spell that. So maybe we're dorks together.