The newest addition to my garden!

Can you see him???

Jon named him Curtis. He is living in my Burning Bush plant in the front yard. I noticed him while I was shaping the bush today. He started calling out to his frog friend across the street, who mimicked his call. Wonder what else I'll find this year!

I've come that they may have life...

...and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10

I've always loved that verse, mostly because I believe it. I believe that the time Jon & I just spent with 2 of our most favorite people is what Jesus means by life to the full.

Yesterday Martin & Jani B showed up at our house around 9am and we headed to Kansas City. Since we've been gone so much this spring, we've been missing our friends.

We went to the zoo and got rained on! But we saw some lots of animals and an IMAX movie on the Deep Sea.



Jani & I resting in Australia


A sweet little koala


A meek lion


A lazy tiger


Jon & I in front of the roos!

To the Plaza for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and shopping at the Apple Store, Gap, Barnes & Noble and Restoration Hardware. To the Comfort Suites (thank you Choice Hotels points) for laughter in the hot tub and a long night's sleep. To the Pier 1 Clearance Store for a new coffee table for the Bravenboer's, and finally the Independence Center for more shopping.


I'm incredibly thankful for our true friends. We were realizing on the way home that this time last year all four of us were traveling with Believe, and we never would have imagined that one year later our lives would look completely different; all four of us making job transitions, but still living in Joplin.

Thank you, Martin & Jani, for sharing life with us. I can hardly wait to see how God will allow us to live life to the fullest during this next year.
We love you!

Wow.

I feel like life has been flying by too quickly.

I have 3 days left of full-time employment at CIY. We've just finished the 5 busiest weeks ever. I'm not even sure life has existed outside of a CIY van or venue. It's been awesome, but everyone in our Conference department is exhausted...and summer is almost here!!

This past weekend was the last Jr High Believe of the tour, and my last CIY event. As Johnny said, it was too busy to be emotional. Thank you, Lord. I was surrounded by some of my most favorite people who have become my closest friends.

It was all very bittersweet, as Jon & I are letting go of a huge part of who we've become. Everyone has been so kind to me, encouraging me and loving on me. I can't say how incredibly thankful I am that God has allowed us to stay at CIY. Our hearts are here. And I'm so excited for Jon's opportunities. Today, more than ever, I feel God's hand heavy on CIY. Sometimes He prunes and sometimes He allows fruit to flourish. In both cases He is at work, and I'm overwhelmed.

We've been so busy that I've hardly had to time to think about how much our lives are changing. I'm trying to get through all of my self-created to-do lists at work before Monday, while trying to not be overwhelmed by a huge to-do list I've started at home.

I'm excited about what my future holds. I'm praying hard that God will help me find my place in a real world that I've never really known here. I want to rest. But I don't want to get so comfortable and used to being at home that I miss out on actualizing the passions that God is developing in me.

What I do know is that my yard needs a lot of work. The grass is already too tall and it's been raining for 2 days! At least I know I won't be bored!!!

You might be a crazy old bird lady...

My dad has always taught me to notice the little things around me, especially in nature. We camped and hiked a lot when I was young and he would always be quick to point out a hawk high up in a tree or several deer or pheasant on the edge of a wooded area. So now I naturally notice those kinds of things everywhere I go.

I think this is why I am so fascinated with birds. I begged my dad for a pet when I was little. He never wanted us to have a dog because he felt they need a lot of room to run. He hates cats with a passion (sorry Teri). And I had no desire for smelly rodents. So one year for Christmas, when I was about 8, he bought me a little bird cage. We went to the pet store together to pick out a little parakeet. I chose one similar to this little guy:

http://www.thelensflare.com
Someone told me that if I wanted him to learn how to talk, I needed to give him a name with a lot of the letter "p" in it. So my brilliant self named my new little bird Pepper! Needless to say, he never even came close to saying anything but "SQWAK!!!" I loved my little bird and found great joy and mystery in watching him.


Somehow almost 20 years later, I reluctantly became the care taker for a 2 year old Umbrella Cockatoo named Presley. What an overwhelming task that was at times! What an amazing bird he was!

He on the complete opposite side of Pepper talked way too much! His personality was that of a learning 2 year old child. I loved him and was blown away by his human-like expressions and characteristics. I could watch him and be thoroughly entertained for hours.

I promised myself that I would not become a crazy old bird lady like the one I bought Presley from. However, I find myself looking out my back window waiting to see what kind of bird will eat from my 3 bird feeders in the back yard. Somedays I think I could watch them all day.

So many things about birds are amazing. Their tiny little fluffy bodies that can stand heat and cold. Their many different calls that each mean something very specific. Their migrating in the winter in huge flocks, flying hundreds of miles, then returning in the spring to the place they started. Their balance. Their eyesight. Their voices' volume. Their resiliant yet delicate features.

This morning I was fixing my breakfast when I heard an unusual call. It made me even more ready for spring that I could hardly get to the window fast enough to see what it was. I had noticed a bright red male cardinal eating from one of the feeders earlier this week, but I knew that wasn't his call. When I looked out the window I saw this proud little male red winged black bird. He was hanging sideways off the feeder, pacing back and forth claiming his territory. He was calling out as loud as he could to anything that would listen to him, letting them know that this was his feeder!


Now I'm pretty sure blackbirds aren't the most desirable birds to have in my backyard, however I can't help but look at him and see his beauty. The red on his wings is amazingly brilliant. He stretches and pumps his wings flaunting his color, warning those who can see him not to mess with him. He might be a bully, but I can't help but be amazed by his ability to communicate in detail through his many different calls and body language, and by the incredible detail God has given to him. And I can't help but be reminded of the very specific detail that God has given my life. I see it now more than ever. Doesn't God care more for me than for the birds of the air?

I'm totally a crazy old bird lady!

Digerati, I never will be.

I've never really considered myself computer illiterate. After all I sit in front of one all day long. I use a computer to pay all of my bills online, to do all of my banking online, etc. However I'm realizing that I'm not computer illiterate, I'm just Google and Blogger illiterate.

Tonight, in an attempt to begin changing over all of my online accounts to my new Gmail address (since I will no longer have a ciy e-mail address after April), I deleted our blog. That's right. I deleted our blog. jonandsara.blogspot.com no longer exists.

How in the world could this happen? I have no excuses except that I obviously didn't understand the ramifications of using my Google Account to log into Blogger. I have nothing but a sick feeling in my stomach.

Oh well, I guess now is a good time to start fresh. And now that Jon is working at CIY, this will give him and opportunity to start his own blog. So I am in mourning and have no motivation or intention to recreate what once was. Tomorrow I'll wake up and look forward to a clean slate, which can be quite overhwhelming to a girl who likes structure to her life. We'll see how it goes.

Goodbye "geekandgirl." Hello "I love flowers."