New Blog Name?

I've been kicking around ideas for a new blog name.... it's settling in that Colorado has come and gone...a beautiful time in which I stretched, learned, and found a community of friends that will be forever imprinted on my heart. I miss them all, an unsettled ache somewhere in the depth of my heart.

But as I am no longer "west", I need a more generic blog title to move into.  Not sure where to go with it from here...any input or ideas? It feels like picking a good book title...it needs definition, but be easily memorable and catchy.  It needs to be good enough that one would pick it up amused by the title even if the binding is some obscure color or abstract picture of kittens....hmmmm......

The Cascades

Every Sunday, Project SPY attends morning service at Fieldstone, eats a lunch of Subway sandwiches, and hikes up the Cascades, a pretty easy trail of 2 miles through the woods, along a river until it reaches a gorgeous, tumbling waterfall.  It has been a great chance to connect with people at the start of the week, a forty-five minute huff and puff gives not only a chance to chat, but to bond as well.

This week, I was feeling a little tired and grumpy.  I didn't even take my ukulele like I have been, just content to hike and sit quietly while the semi-chaos of students jumping and splashing in the water commenced.  I found a spot on the walkway to sit by an also quiet camper and we watched and occasionally commented on the activity below....mostly pointing out the people that slipped and fell :o)

Close to quitting time for our group, as I was still sitting and reflecting, I heard a strangely, familiar voice. I looked up to see in front of me an old friend from the time I lived in Roanoke three or four years ago....he hadn't changed much, just chopped off his once long hair, but his easy grin still fell into place as I called his name.  We spent the next quick five minutes catching up, until one of our junior interns came over to mention we were heading out.  It does my heart good to run into a familiar face even in the craziness that is camp and life in Christiansburg, Va!

In Honor of Ruth

Today one of my dear friends from Colorado leaves on an amazing and epic 11 month mission trip called The World Race.  11 countries in 11 months, in a team of six, following Jesus where He takes them...so awesome!!!

Check out her blog, show some love, and pray for her and her teammates.

I have sorely missed Ruth since leaving the West, she plants herself in deep in friendships and is incredibly open with people.  I am so excited for the journey she is going to be on, one that steps outside of comfort and ease.  Ruth allows people, strangers and old friends alike, in quickly, her heart wider than the always expectant hugs she gives with greetings and goodbyes.  We were able to snatch a quick phone call since my return to Virginia, and to hear talk about the upcoming year, what God is teaching her in the period of preparation and readiness, even as she sniffed her way through the conversation with being sick....she is ready.  She is ready to lay herself down, soften her heart, and surrender to this call.  It is a beautiful thing.

I learned so much from Ruth, how to extend hospitality to new faces, how to love more deeply, how to share the harder parts of life with others....and how to set up a two person tent.  One night before she left for training camp, we took out her little tent that could potentially be her home for the next year depending on their locations, and struggled to figure out how to put this "easy to set up" tent together.  But with another roommate's help, we were soon christening the tent with a rousing game of Scrabble.

So to our sweet Ruth, blessings on your adventure. We'll be praying for you to learn, give, love, stretch, and grow deeper in love with Jesus.  Come back with stories....we'll be waiting for them!!! Love, amy

Congrats Mike and Brigid!!!!

They are both so little!

Since it's been posted to facebook, and as we all know nothing is "official" until facebook proclaims it.... a new baby cox is on the way!!!!!! Mike and Brigid, my brother and sister-in-law up in New Hampshire are expecting, with a due date of January 24 (one week before MY birthday....I've never had to share my birthday month before....hmmm... :o)

I love having nephews, but I've got my fingers crossed for the first girl in the brood.  In honor of this grand announcement, I've posted my favorite pose with the boys, watching curious george videos on my laptop.  The biggest dilemna I now face is where exactly the third one will fit when big enough? :o) Congrats Mike and Brigid and big brother Jacob!!!!

Older, yet still so cute!

50% Done and Dreaming Big

The campers departing today marks the halfway point of the summer for the staff here at Project SPY.  We have four more weeks of camp, a week of clean up and then we are all done.  And it feels like just yesterday I was in Colorado....

We have had some awesome campers this week.  It's a smaller group of only two churches, but they have connected and mingled right from the start, and they love to sing....so good for my heart this week! They play games like nobody's business, and they have been a joy to be around.  Burke UMC is here this week, where I worked back in 06-07, and the boys that were so little when in elementary school, have sprouted in gigantic forces now that they are older.

I got back to Christiansburg Tuesday, in time to get ready for band practice and speak at program.  Tuesday nights are my time to share a bit of testimony from the last two years, read the story of the woman who broke a jar of perfume and poured it out on Jesus, anointing him.  Hers was not a popular decision, but one that she did in response to her Savior.  We, as followers of Christ, must be willing to be continually broken, so we can be poured out in the name of the one we love.  Maybe I'll post more in depth about it one of these days. This past weekend was a reminder of the continual process of it all....

The River at Colonial Beach

It was good to see family for a few days.  Nine months with only two short trips home was a long time to be away, and with the move to Colonial Beach, things are in a constant state of flux and change.

Fireworks in Colonial Beach, July 4th

I'm praying and discerning my next step after SPY is over... I'm leaning towards staying in the New River Valley, but the hows and wheres of it all are details to be lead into.  Around here we've been dreaming, scheming, and desiring God's will above all else. It is once again exciting, but daunting, this trust, this love for God that pulls me forward into the unknown. I wouldn't have it any other way. :o)

Colonial Beach....The New Family Home

The drive up from Blacksburg was bittersweet this past Friday.... I had a terrible cold, no sleep, and knew that my last time at the Springfield house had come and gone.  But the Blue Ridge offers beauty and peace to a soul and the drive up 29 to route 3 was serene, and amazingly un-congested.  I arrived in Colonial Beach to piles of boxes, a slightly upset and confused cat, and a welcome dinner at Wilkersons with the family.

Colonial Beach is a unique river town on the Potomac River.  It boasts golf carts, rocky beaches, and plenty of characters.  My family has owned property here since I was a kid, and we would spend weekends here away from the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia.  It was the place to steal a few quiet moments, to recharge, a place that I came on my own for a week a couple of years ago and found community by helping with a vacation bible school.

This morning found me back at Colonial Beach Baptist Church, slipping into the pew next to the head of the school board, Tim and his wife Colleen.... I hadn't seen them since the fourth last year...I love reconnecting with old friends. It is my first Sunday not leading since getting back from Colorado, and it did my heart good to take in the music, enjoy the leading of someone else, and just be part of the congregation of fifty some baptists, raising their hands, clapping their proclamations of who God is, his greatness, his awesomeness. I love the preacher Johnny Almond, in all his grey haired, wisdom glory, with corny puns and a heart for the Lord.  The church is alive! and our hope is in Christ.

I'm thankful the McDonalds in town now has free wifi, although it has already led to some conversation with the colorful locals... why are you smiling? one asked. Well, my friend left a comment online and it made me laugh... an inside joke of sorts. I replied. What does that mean? he asked......I dropped the conversation after that....and shortly later he left.

And last but not least in this rambling post of unconnected thoughts, I love meeting neighbors, catching up with Robert, the screenwriter/director/jack of all trades who lives across the street, and most importantly, unpacking a few things to make the shed liveable and comfortable for Mitch and his stay over the next month..... I am unsettled with my plan B, even more so by being here, but more on that later....for now I am going to get a mocha frappe, pick up Becky a sweet tea, and head back to the house, probably to give Duke a good strum, play with Nate, and help get the house ready for company tomorrow... ice cream stand later today, fireworks started last night, and smores and campfire is on the agenda for tonight..... best.weekend.ever!