A new week is upon us! Grateful for the grace that brought us this far, Amen?!
We spent the long weekend with Jared’s family out west and it was a lovely and relaxing time! We ate and played and spent a considerable amount of time in cemeteries. 😆 We were able to serve as a family by putting flags on grave sites of veterans of our US Armed Services and also doing some flower arrangements for the headstones of our relatives.
Fun Fact: I actually grew up near a cemetery. It was a half mile down the dirt road from us, smack in the middle of acres and acres of farm ground. I loved making the trek up there, wandering around, looking at the names, laying on a picnic blanket, writing in my journal, and wondering about the stories laying beneath. I would look at the inscribed dates and imagine what they went through during their years here on earth. For some reason, maybe just a #classiccourtney kid thing, I was really good at romanticizing everything in that green grassed square as something special and meaningful. I loved that sacred burial ground on County Road J.
Until I had to bury a friend there my sophomore year of high school.
Jamie was from the next town over. She began coming to youth group and we quickly formed a friendship. She was unlike the others because she came without the “good Christian girl” vibe most of us carried. She had questions and cliché answers weren’t enough to satiate her appetite. She wouldn’t settle until she had found what she was looking for. It took a couple months of this back-and-forth push-and-pull of her asking things the rest were too scared or embarrassed to say, but eventually she couldn’t out-argue the Spirit of God moving in her life and in her heart. The first in her family to do so, she surrendered to Christ and turned her life upside down. And then not long after, she was involved in a tragic late-night car accident and was instantly with Jesus in heaven and gone from us here on earth.
Stepping to the podium to speak at her funeral and subsequently attending the burial at my beloved childhood stomping grounds layered the emotions I previously felt in that small oasis in the fields. Suddenly, instead of idealized imaginary characters, I knew of death personally. I felt the searing loss. I understood the pain of lowering someone into the dirt.
But just as death became more real to me in those moments, so did the reality of heaven. Someone who had once been far from God, now was near.
Ephesians 2:13 (ESV)- But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
The timing of it all was not lost on me. It was just weeks prior that Jamie made a personal decision to make Jesus the Lord of her life. The common saying between all of us after she died, was that “we just never know…” But because it was Jamie and because she was an amazing human and wonderful friend and because God intervened in her life at just the right time, hundreds of high school students were impacted as a result of her testimony, even upon her death. And because Jamie said yes to Jesus, her parents were surrounded by the church throughout the tragedy, welcomed with open arms as they grieved their daughter and they ended up coming to the Lord as well. Her four year old little sister then was raised in the church to know, love, and serve God and grew up to become a radically effective witness for Christ, serving both overseas and in the US, working to end child sex trafficking. (And continues to be a dear little sister to me!)
So maybe my romantic fascination with cemeteries isn’t all bad… Because of God and His provident grace, stories do not have to end with a head stone and a casket in the dirt. It’s a mere mile marker upon which the trellis of God’s story continues to grow.
What I’m Reading:
(*each book linked to purchase @Books-A-Million, an affiliate partner!)
Nonfiction Morning Read:
Gentle & Lowly by Dane Ortlund - This is one to take s-l-o-w-l-y; perfect for a summer morning. Beautifully written and an incredible read so far.
Afternoon Poolside Read:
A Dance in Donegal by Jennifer Deibel - picked this one up at the library because it’s written by a middle school teacher (#unite!); excited to learn more about Ireland!
Last week’s novel update: AMAZING book; especially if you’re a writer or CS Lewis fan! Definitely a must read!
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan - This is a wonderful look in the behind the scenes of Joy Davidman & C.S. Lewis’s friendship and love story. I’m a few chapters in and am hooked!
Ready or not, here we come!!!
THIS WEEKEND >>> June 5-6 - Pleasant Point Community Church, Ellsworth, NE - CLICK HERE (Facebook Event) or HERE (website & registration) for anyone in the Chadron, Gordon, or Ellsworth, Nebraska area!
June 11-12 - Northwest Community Church, Malcolm, NE - for any of my Lincoln friends; Malcolm is only a 20 minute drive! CLICK HERE to register!
June 14 - Jordan Valley Girls Camp - for any young lady in grades 7-12 in the eastern Iowa region— CLICK HERE to stay updated
August 20-21 - Mitchell Berean Church, Mitchell, NE
August 27-28 - North Pointe, Lincoln, NE
September 17-18 - Colby Berean, Colby, KS
October 8-9- Marysville Berean, Marysville, KS
November 5-6 - Crete Berean, Crete, NE
December 3-4 - Sonrise Church, Torrington, WY
March 4-5 - Imperial Berean, Imperial, NE
January 14-15, 2022 - Columbia, Kentucky
April 29-30, 2022 - Grenada, California
For 2022 booking information, please email dianemathis85@gmail.com!
Podcast Parables | Season 4 | GEN1 | Mary, Mother of John Mark
This pod comes from one verse in Acts, chapter 12, verse 12. Here it mentions the mother of John, also called Mark, and her house where the believers had gathered to pray for Peter who had just been imprisoned.
Personally, I learned SO MUCH in writing this episode. Would love it if you gave it a listen and let me know what you think! Fascinating connections here!
Click here for all the things: