Plea

Batter my heart, three-personed God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn and make me new....

Take me to you, imprison me, for I

Except you enthrall me, shall never be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

John Donne (1572-1631) Holy Sonnet 14

Boots

My brothers, Aaron and Brian, packed their bags and stuffed an extra pair of boots in the trunk of the car and left for a week at the Youth Bible School hosted by the Charity fellowship in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. 

Editor

"It makes me feel creative," I told my sister yesterday when she commented about my crazy hat. I need to be a little crazy when I spend the day in front of the computer copying and pasting text, scanning illustrations, and cropping photos. The November 2008 issue of our family's newsletter, the House 'n Barn Herald, is scheduled for publication this afternoon. So far, wearing the hat has preserved a portion of my sanity, though I can't say the same for the rest of my family.

Sunday cowboy

One advantage of eight siblings is that I can almost always connive someone into posing for a picture. Sunday after church Logan kindly indulged my photographic need.

When he was little, Logan charmed the grandmas with his "precious moments" smile. In the past year or so, he's adopted a more serious expression.

Squash

Nothing says fall quite like a pile of squash behind Zehnder's in Frankenmuth. 

Allis Chalmers 190XT

for my brothers

I wish I would have grabbed one of the boys to pose for me as I shot the tractor with the rainbow Sunday afternoon. But I didn't know I was going to photograph the tractor when I raced out the door. The tractor happened to be in the right place as I tried to capture the rainbow as it faded into the clouds. 

Feet washing

I have set you an example that 

you should do as I have done for you. 

John 13:15 NIV

My sister-in-law washes my feet. Photo credit Amanda Byler.

Feet washing is "a physical sign of agreeing to follow Jesus' example," my Dad reminded us Sunday evening before we ladies filed back to a classroom and the waiting basin of warm water and the men gathered at the front of the sanctuary. Our church practices feet washing at our biannual communion service. Kneeling to wash and dry feet and then rising to greet one another with a holy kiss is a reminder that we should serve one another with the same humility and willingness that Christ served us.