Tuesday, July 16, 2013

USJ Marriage Journey/Painter/Hawk


US Journal
Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Marriage Journey Groups reunions

Our Marriage Journey Groups were started when we were planning to get married, and our priest wanted to involve us in some preparation for marriage. He invited some other couples to join us and his wife and him for a book study, using THE MARRIAGE JOURNEY/sharing group. That first group met 6 times to study and share before our wedding. Then, when we had our farewell meeting, Ralph, who had said very little all year, spoke up, “Wait a minute! I don’t want our group to end. I love all of you. Why do we have to stop meeting?”  Done! We all sighed in relief, as Ralph had verbalized what all of us were thinking.

That was 8 years ago, and we still meet several times a year. There’s never a dull moment, and we are all very close and committed to our group. Thanks for being you, MJ1!

Since that first Marriage Journey group started, our church has discovered that many couples, married and engaged, are interested in participating in a group like ours, so each year for 5 years after our marriage, new MJ groups have been formed. It has been wonderful to be a part of this mission in our church.

Last weekend, we had reunion meetings with the 2 groups with whom we still meet. MJ4 came to our house for a potluck supper on Saturday, and MJ1 met at J. Christopher,s for lunch on Monday. It was especially good for us to get together with each group. We always have a “check-in” when everyone has a chance to let the others know what’s been going on with them. Sometimes, we still have time left to have a discussion about a topic of interest, determined by the hosts. In both of our recent meetings, we talked so much during the “check-in” that there was no time for other topics. We’re adjustable, so it was perfectly fine that it happened that way. Peter and I have been away for the year, so it was particularly splendid to get caught up with everyone.



As you’ll see in the picture, our painter came to work today, and we certainly were glad to see him. He started by pressure washing the whole house. At that point, it almost looked good enough to leave it at that, but we decided to let him finish the job. He left to get some paint, and came back with the porch and trim paints, but he couldn’t get a match for the house paint. He’s going back to a different store to see what he can find there. Looks like we’re in good shape there.

Our carpets are all clean today, too. Ryan even convinced me to let him clean our sofa, 2 chairs and a matching ottoman. Everything looks really nice. I only have to stay off of it for another 3 hours, but I’ve got some yard work to do, so I’ll stay busy.

Look really closely at the picture of the white house. There is a hawk sitting on the roof. He and his friend are hoping I will leave so he can go back to chasing the small critters in that yard.

Colleen

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