In the world...

...but not of the world.

I've been thinking a lot about that phrase lately.

As I picked up Jesse from his babysitter on Thursday, I was reminded again of being in the world but not of the world. Because Jesse's babysitter is Amish. And this Thursday, his babysitter and her family were running errands in town and we met at his babysitter's mother-in-law's house to get Jesse. As Meredith and Jesse and I were driving out of the driveway, his sitter's family all rushed out to get in the buggy and head back to their home.

And as I drove away in my car...in the temperature controlled environment with warm and toasty seats...and a movie player in the back for the kids...on my way to meet Kent at a restaurant for supper, it made me ponder our two, very different lifestyles. They were presumably on their way home. Which would normally take me only a few minutes. But how long does it take them? And when they get home, how long does it take to make supper? Because there's no popping something in the microwave to heat up. Is their house cozy and warm, or do they have to fire up the wood stove to heat the house? And I won't even get started on lighting lamps instead of flipping a switch to light up a room.

On the other hand, what would my family life or my spiritual life look like if I didn't have a tv to watch. Or ballgames to go to. Or the Wii to play. Or blogs and facebook to read?

I know that at times it seems a bit ridiculous that Amish can have phone booths at the end of their country lanes, but can't have a phone in their house. But is that so bad? You get to decide when and how often to use the modern convenience of a phone. If you want to know how someone is doing, you go and visit them. Or you hand write a letter. Instead of texting. Or emailing. Or calling. You control the convenience instead of the other way around.

So is that what it looks like to not be of the world? Because I'm not Amish, nor will I ever become Amish. But what does it look like for me to be present in this world, but not ruled by what the world tells me is important, or right, or true?

What does it look like for you?

Happy Birthday Jesse

Jesse celebrated his 3rd birthday on January 19th.

And I can hardly believe that my baby is 3 years old. **sniff**

Here's a look back at the past 3 years...



Meredith was thrilled with her new baby brother.










Meredith didn't have school on Monday, so we celebrated Jesse's birthday a day early by going to a movie, playing on the toys in the mall, reading books at the bookstore, and going out to eat.


And here's the birthday boy eating his "pupcakes" (not to be confused with cupcakes) that we made.


Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet little boy!

vacuuming fun

Well, I think we did something right because my kids think housework is fun...

Baby it's cold outside!

I haven't named this storm\blizzard yet. Any suggestions?

Christmas Lights

The Friday before Christmas we filled our car with people, 2 kinds of popcorn and hot chocolate and took a drive through Iowa City and Coralville looking at lights. I know this first picture isn't very good, but it was all I had of our full car! (Don't you wonder what Jesse was so concerned about with Gretta's face??) :)


We started at the house close to West High that has lights that blink in time with Christmas music. That was my favorite house...I could have sat there all night listening to the music and watching the lights! I think Meredith's was the Santa house...with hundreds of Santa's everywhere. Again, not very good pictures, but it was all I had.

We saw many more houses with fun lights, and had a lot of fun just driving around looking at lights together. I'm thinking that might be a new Christmas tradition!