As I have considered this renovation project at The Vicarage I have had to ask myself why. We have had those offers that come from buy as is companies. We could sell and rent a condo or even buy a smaller house. So why do the renovation? I think a piece of it has to do with my past. I got thinking about that as I read fellow blogger

CEE NEUNER’S FUNFOTO CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK, COAT OF MANY COLORS.

Dolly’s music always gets me nostalgic about what seems like simpler times . Cee asked us to create a photo post based around the song, and here is what the song made me think of.

These photos are all taken in houses that are within a mile of The Vicarage.

It’s fall. The summer is over and the seasons of work have begun….at least that is how I have always viewed fall and winter….seasons of work.

It’s back to school time and done with vacation time. It is also the time when people launch into their winter routines and the daily disciplines that help them make it through the darker seasons. I have a sense that this year the church is being called to some work which will call us all deeper into the presence of the Lord and into the spiritual harvest field that is our region.

The to do list for the ministers of the Vicarage is pretty big:

1. Facilitate the Execution of the mission God has given Cornerstone Church to…DO LIFE TOGETHER….TO REACH THE LOST….TO SEND THE FOUND….TO DISCOVER OUR GIFTS…..TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

2. Relaunch our children’s…

Last night, Brenda and I headed to Logan airport. We parked in the parking garage so I could help her in with her bags.

She didn’t take much considering she is going to be gone for months. Still it was more than she could carry to the gate on her own.

Airports always remind me that there is a big wide world beyond the Vicarage’s front porch.

When I began “Notes…” I kind of thought that this day, of Brenda’s leaving, would be the end of the story. I am beginning to see that while Brenda returning to the Netherlands is an end of sorts, in God’s estimation it is only the end of the beginning. In some ways I think the story that is about to unfold about the denizens of The Vicarage is the story He always meant to be told.

So…On Sept. 1st 2021 Missionary, Brenda Lillie…

I started “Notes From the Vicarage” over two years ago just as Brenda was coming home from her mission in The Netherlands for the regular furlough required by our fellowship. The blog was supposed to help her with connection and fundraising as well as giving our readers a glimpse into life at a vicarage full of ministers. In that endeavor I failed.

I wasn’t prepared for the fact that Brenda and Amanda were not really ready to launch into the world of regular blogging on the scale I was used to.

I wasn’t prepared for how difficult the transition back into American life would be for Brenda.

I wasn’t prepared for how my life was about to change professionally.

And none of us were prepared for a pandemic that would stall the world and missions fundraising efforts for more than a year.

We have come full circle. Brenda will…

If we were having coffee or tea or whatever today, I would tell you that this week feels like fall is rushing towards us.

Even as the garden remains in full bloom I am watching as the trees in the neighborhood take on the faintest tint of their autumn colors. But this year fall is about more than the shift of seasons, it is the changing of a host of things here at The Vicarage.

Brenda is packed and ready to leave on Wednesday for her new home in Zaandam. Her team brought in her dining set today.

Those of you who have been following “Notes From the Vicarage” know that Brenda’s old landlord had gotten rid of almost all of her furniture from her old apartment without telling her. He has made amends and God has given Brenda almost a whole new House of furniture (new to her anyway)…

The summer has passed so quickly. Like the seasons everything is changing.

Brenda spent the week packing and doing last minute tasks that have to get done before she heads to her new home in The Netherlands.

Things like signing the loan paperwork this week so the Vicarage project can move forward. Yay! We have the money to fix this old house.

AfterI finished signing yesterday, one of my friends from church, came over to help me move some more brush.

Joe has come twice to take brush. I figure he has saved me about two days of brush burning. He was even able to fit a few of the pallets from the pile.

I am pretty excited about where we are going with the Vicarage project. I am also reminded that I have a whole life outside of the project. After moving brush I got ready for…

A few weeks ago I said I was no longer using the word “busy” because busy carried the connotation of stress. Instead I had determined to use the word “full” for the life I was living because full speaks of abundance and prosperity…..Yeah…..I got back to busy today.

Today is writing day. The normal course of writing day is full….prayer-pastoral reading- Digging Deeper Devo- sermon- Prayer meeting planning- scheduling the week- prepping for staff meeting and other meetings- 5 Star Man Group. Adding to that just pushed the day from “full” to “busy” for me.

When the e-mails started rolling from the insurance company and the bank doing the HELOC for us about missing paperwork that was scanned to them last week I got just a little edgy.

A thirty minute call to our insurers…most of which I…

I really love the forest garden at The Vicarage.

But the forest has encroached on the house over the years.

As we look at our big renovation project, the first thing we have to address is the trees that are rooting at the foundations and branching into the Shingles of the house.

On windy nights the branches of one of the maples actually scratch against my window like the scritching of nails in a horror film.

Today is the day! The tree guys are coming!

The work started around 7:30 A.M.

Mom needed lots of reassurance as the men worked outside her window. It sort of let me know what we will be looking at as we head into the house construction.

It seems strange being able to see every corner of the house.

Now to the trimming and cleaning work! The yard around the house will look a lot…