Tuesday, February 28, 2006
our life these days
My husband is home and safe. He's sick with a chest cold and has been very exhausted lately, but who can blame in. He works hard at work, and at home, and at church.Last friday I officially put my notice in at my place of employment. Being more available for my husband, for my church, and ultimately for the Lord is so much more important than the extra money we've been plugging into savings. This is such a big relief for us, as many of you know. Time will tell on my official "last day" though.
My husband and I took a Home Buyer Education Course last saturday. Has anyone done this? I highly recommend it but be prepared to be overwhelmed. We spent 7 hours in a small classroom with other couples with information thrown at us from all directions. It was very helpful, but very overbearing. Thank goodness for the big binder we got to take home and re-read. Now we've got our pretty certificate and a better sense of what we would be getting ourselves into in purchasing a home. Not to mention a good deal on an interest rate since we've taken the course.
As many of you know, R.Jay and I are still trying for our first baby. We ask for your prayers for the obvious... a baby... but still even more important for us to not grow bitter, depressed, or blameful on why there is no pregnancy yet. God is in control, we know this, and we have joy and content in that.
I'm still planning a ladies get-together at my house this spring. The dates I've come up with so far are March 25th or April 22nd. Any ideas?
Heather Dowling at 8:34 AM
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Update #3
UPDATE #4: It's almost 1:30 and I am pleased to tell you my honey is on his way home to me... A very tired man.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our house was very quiet last night. With quite a bit of creaky noises. Very lonely. First time sleeping in my home without him. Very weird.
R.Jay went back underground to battle reoccuring fires yesterday late afternoon until around 7:00pm and again a couple hours later. He finally ended at 1:00am when I woke up to our phone ringing in my ear. He's safe. He's put up in a hotel with the potential to back underground this morning.
The girls from work cheered me up last night with yummy food from a restaurant that was sure to be sick of us by the end of the evening. When the girls from work go out for dinner you can be sure loud giggles will come from our table for hours on end. Lots of fun.
I haven't heard from my husband since 7:00am. So no news on his return tonight. He is very exhausted and desiring to come home soon. Keep praying faithful friends! Thank you!
Don't forget your two cents... if you'd like.
Heather Dowling at 9:17 AM
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Update #2
Thank you all for your fervent prayers!My husband left our home this morning at 3:30am with his bundle of goodies: granola bars, homemade brownies, and homemade banana bread. (Yes, I wanted to make sure he had some homemade goodies for his trip - i'm corny).
The last I heard from him was shortly after 9:00am. He said he was in the second team to go underground and they would be going under in about an hour. Apparently, there is a "loader" which is on fire still and they are attempting to put this fire out as well as clean up the mine in order for workers to return to keep digging up salt. Please pray for my husband and the other workers protection as well as some opportunities for R.Jay to share the gospel! Please pray for good traveling conditions for their return home. He told me the drive in this early morning wasn't so fun at all... lots of snow.
Thank you all again. I have some pretty wonderful friends! I'll keep you all posted.
Heather Dowling at 12:15 PM
Monday, February 20, 2006
Update #1
Relief. So far.I heard from R.Jay again this afternoon. Among the frantic of getting a mine rescue team ready for this mine fire, some important information was skewed. The mine they are going to is not near Pennyslvania, it is near Ithaca, NY. It is called Cargyle (or something to the sort of that spelling). There are no men trapped, praise the Lord. The mine fire is still raging. According to MSHA (which probably sounds familiar to those who've watched the latest mine tragedies lately) there has to be at least 3 mine rescue teams on site before an attempt to put out the fire is made.
My honey gets to come home tonight. He has to report to Gouverneur Talc at 4:00am sharp to depart for this Cargyle mine. His team is still to report at 7:00am tomorrow morning at that mine and will be an emergency standby team. If something goes wrong, they go in.
So good news, but we're still not out of the danger zone. Mine fires can be nasty, to those in the mine and those putting out the fire. Please keep praying. Thank you for all you've done so far.
Louissa and Jackie have made me too a "follower"... be kind.
Heather Dowling at 2:15 PM
pray
My husband is on a team at work known as the "Mine Rescue Team". They train one day a month and a few weekends/weeks a year in W. Virginia in case of a mine disaster in which men are trapped. My husband along with several other men would be the ones who "rescue" these men.This morning I received a phone call from my husband that a mine fire broke out in Carlisle (not quite sure where that is - somewhere near Pennsylvania). My husband and this brave team of men are headed down to Carlisle this afternoon to help in any way possible. They are to report at the site by 7am tomorrow morning.
Pray. Please pray.
Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."
1 Corinthians 13:7 "It [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Heather Dowling at 9:56 AM
Thursday, February 16, 2006
thoughts
loving:-my valentines gift from my husband
-a phone call monday night from a dear friend in Rochester
-a phone call tonight from a dear friend in Canton
-that the weekend is soon upon us
-that the solitary consignment shop is just a few steps from my door at work (great bargains on great clothes... thank you Lord)
-that my hair is growing out ( i think i'm going long again )
-that i had time tonight to add anniversary trip pictures into a photo album (usually i'm months behind with this)
-the young girls growing up in our church - how precious!
-Psalm 40
-that God knows exactly what I need and when I need it, especially when I think the opposite
not loving quite so much:
-this weather. it isn't supposed to rain in february. i hate freezing rain
-my lack of time with the Lord these days. i hate busyness.
-an unhappy sister in North Carolina
-my ladies get-together being delayed (it will happen - i promise!)
-that the piano in our home office is beckoning me everday as I head of to work in Watertown (along with several other "to do"s in our home and at church)
Philippians 3:13 "Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead"
Pslam 40:3&5 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Many O Lord, my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us. No one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare!"
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Titus 2:3-5 "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
On Sunday walking into church I'm usually greeted by my "buddy" as we've coined the term for our relationship. She's a 5 year old named Megan with long blond girls and a contagious smile. Then Rachel, not much difference in age then Megan, sqeezes her way through mom, dad, and five siblings to shyly say "hi heather" in the sweetest voice you've ever heard and begin to tell me the latest adventure in homeschooling she's conquered. Last week it was counting in Spanish. These girls bring such joy along with several other little ones in our church. Each Sunday as these girls run to me with stories and wait to hear the latest compliment on their pretty dresses I'm reminded of Titus chapter 2. These little ladies watch my every move. The way I speak with other adults, the way I speak with their other little friends. They watch the way I worship. They even watch the way I walked down the isle on my wedding day. I remember Rachel's mother telling me shortly after R.Jay and I returned from our honeymoon how Rachel would recruit her little brother to play "R.Jay" and she would play "Heather" and would then rehearse "the wedding of R.Jay and Heather" in their living room. I've also heard they play "R.Jay and Heather worshipping". Such stories are fun and filled with giggles, but utimately they carry such a responsibility. A responsibility that I am hungry to grasp onto. In Titus chapter 2 we're encouraged to be a "role model" to a generation coming behind us. Though Megan and Rachel, and many others may be small now... the way I represent Jesus will be reflected in their eyes always. Do I bless these girls in their fairytale minds? Do I encourage their learning in the Word? Do I show God's glory in each conversation, each gesture, each smile? Does the way I dress encourage these little hungry minds to strive towards godliness? When they're 14 what will they say about me? Will they still see Christ's glory shining off of me? Will I have encouraged them in every way possible, inside or outside of church, to live a life wholeheartedly after Christ? Did I show them what true love is and the benefit of a godly husband? Did I show them submission to the husband God has provided me? So many questions! It isn't just Rachel and Megan... it's hundreds if not thousands of little eyes on us each day. Are we striving towards holiness, so in turn, they will?
Father, help me to walk in your holiness each day. Help me, help us all, to be a light into a generation coming behind us. Carry me. So they will all see it's you, and not me.
Heather Dowling at 9:26 PM
Friday, February 10, 2006
To Jesus
There is an applie pie and lots of pink and cocoa colored sugar cookies lining my kitchen counters this morning. Baking has always been some sort of "release" for me and last night I needed the comfort. The quiet moments when it's just me rolling cookie dough or slicing apples is when I learn to listen to Christ's direction and release some struggles, fears, or anxieties in the silence of my mind. No talking. No people. Just me and God and some yummy goods. Now, our youth group will reap the benefits of me having the baking itch last night.Why as human beings do we find it hard to hand over our lives completely to Christ? Despite the times we have learned to hand them over before, we continue to find ways to "fix" situations, problems, and trials all on our own. Don't we understand by now that Christ has allowed these trials to bring us closer to Him. Don't we see His heart is to draw us near to Him? Don't we feel His sadness as we once again add another rung to our ladder of futile attempts. Why do we allow another year of bitterness or depression sink in instead of realizing the potential and hope this trial has to offer. As my pastor says... "Don't waste a good hardship." It seems he is just waiting for me to realize this is silly, He is all I need. My busyness is no excuse, but it is a problem. Things need to change. I need more time with the Lord.
A great conversation with my husband and this song brought the truest sense of what we all need to do today:
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live...
Heather Dowling at 11:39 AM
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
L-O-V-E
One year. It really doesn't seem time has gone so fast. It's been a great year. A wonderful year. A year of growth, of learning, and a year of love. Lots of love. I'm somehow finding the nitch of marriage after one year now. I've heard it takes many. But I'm being stretched, I'm growing in my faith and growing in love for a wonderful man of God. I love being married. I love my husband. I love that God brought two people from two very different places in life and made us a family. I pray this next year and years to come will challenge us even more and our love for each other will grow into depths we haven't even conquered. I pray I will become an even better wife for R.Jay, providing him a safe haven to come home to, a loving family, and an encouragement to follow harder after Christ. I pray my husband is even more blessed on anniversary number two than he was this year. Help me, dear Jesus, to be all that you've created me to be for Rushton Dowling.Our first anniversary was special. very special. Our weekend couldn't have been more wonderful. Last week while R.Jay and I were sitting in our little living room doing our own things, reading or writing, he stopped and looked at me and said... "sweetheart, if I could describe you in one word it would be 'delightful'." What a wonderful husband! Thus, his little comment kicked off a weekend of bliss, complete with a pretty set of diamond earrings for me. (For all who were curious... I got R.Jay a brass front door knocker that was engraved with "Dowlings Est. 2005"- something he has been talking about getting since we were engaged. He also got some goodies from Gander Mountain, of course!) We spend the weekend in Niagra Falls. It was beautiful and exciting and quite an adventure. We clang to our last few minutes Sunday night (our actual anniversary day) knowing Monday would bring us back to our jobs and back to wishing we had just a few more minutes to talk with each other, snuggle, or simply just BE. All in all, it was wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a more amazing husband. Really.
Yesterday Watertown was dumped on. Completely. Snow came from everywhere, even the ground with crazy wind gusts. The weather was so terrible I was stranded. The Best Western became my home last night, with a girl-friend from work, and my husband sat at our little home wishing I could be with him. Yes, we're cheesy, or whatever adjective you want to add to describe our complete need for each other... even after 1 year of marriage. So tonight will be nice to walk in the door and feel my husbands arms around me. I can't wait. I miss him.
Enough! Many of you are thinking... but I know there may be one or two who know exactly what I mean. It's funny though, no matter how much people tell you it will wear off, or that you're completely crazy and way too mushy... it doesn't matter. What matters is I love my husband and I'll show it until the day the Lord takes me home. I think we'll be on our honeymoon always. I love that. I love being in love. I love my husband. I love my Saviour.
Heather Dowling at 12:06 PM
Friday, February 03, 2006
Just Us
We're off this afternoon to Niagra Falls, Canada to enjoy a weekend away to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We understand that such fun weekends away will one day be replaced with the joy of little presents from little people and not suites with fireplaces and whirlpools. Knowing (and hoping) that those little people will be here quite possibly by next year, we're taking advantage of a "just us" weekend.Heather Dowling at 12:55 PM
Thursday, February 02, 2006
a daughter's cry
I miss her.I miss her smell...
that fragrance that lingered after she left my bedroom or as she passed me in the hall.
I miss her giggle and the way she told stories...
just like grandma.
I miss the way her hugs felt...
perfect.
I miss each kiss on the cheek after her embrace and the way she would run her fingers through my hair and tear up each time she told me how much she loved me.
I MISS MY MOM.
This morning a song came on the radio and reminded me of great days growing up with my mother cleaning or cooking dinner and singing as sweet as ever...
Sing your Praise to the Lord
Come on everybody
Stand up and sing one more, Hallelujah
Give your praise to the Lord
I could never tell you just how much
Good that it's bound to do you
Just to sing...
(oh yeah- every one of you were just singing that little melody and bouncing with Rich Mullins and Amy Grant like you were 8 again - admit it.)
My mother would sing this chorus over and over again with joy abounding. It was so fun.
More than anything today I miss her encouragement. I miss hearing "everything is going to be Okay Heather- God loves you". I want to feel her hug me and run her hands through my hair. I want to bury myself in her sleeve and breath deep. *sigh* soon I will and probably cry at the sweetness of it all.
If I become just a small glimpse of my mother I'll be joyful. I want to hug my kids and with just that one act let them know a thousand words. Moms are good like that and mine is the best. I'm so thankful God thought up this wonderful little thing called the family and encouraged us to honor our parents throughout our life. I'm so glad He gave mothers a torch to pass on and I hope I can carry it just as strong. I suppose today is one of those days (being three days away from my 1 year wedding anniversary) that I realize I'm not her little girl anymore. But I can still pretend sometimes right :)?
You're missed. But you're loved even more.
Heather Dowling at 1:21 PM