Week Sixteen - Homeland

 

It was a “hallelujah” moment - crossing the Arkansas River bridge into my home state. Winding through the Ozark Mountains, through a tunnel, watching the hills dotted with fall color glowing in the sunset, then topping a hill overlooking the city lights, there in the valley lies Fayetteville - my birthplace. 

The house beneath those beautiful maples is where my parents lived. My sister still lives across the street and my niece next door. My parents developed this neighborhood and named streets after us. One is Jana Place (my claim to fame).

 

Fun fact: We’ve been in 15 states, 15 National Parks in 16 weeks and traveled 14,000 miles. 

In our trek across Texas we loved spending a few days with Jeff’s cousins - Cherry, Tomi and Gary (from left). 

This is our Fayetteville fam! On the left - Lisa and Dan (sister and BIL) On the right - Josh and Staci (my niece) and their kids - Emeri and Eli. 

A quick peek of the U of A campus 

A Sunday afternoon of “tree peeping”

Overlook of Fayetteville from Mt Sequoia 

Family hike around Lake Wedington 

Three generations plus an aunt - 

My great niece Emeri graduates from high school in May. It was a treat to go on her senior picture photo shoot. 

Coming home to your “old stomping ground” stirs your heart  full of memories. To think back seems like another life. Kids grow up and graduate in a heartbeat. All of a sudden I’m one of the “old people” in the family. 

We’ve just finished studying Daniel in BSF. It begins with his capture and exile to Babylon as a teenager all the way to his 80s. Did you know he was probably 80 years old when thrown into the lion’s den? Anyway, God gave Daniel prophecies of the near and distant future all the way up to the time of the end. The book ends with Daniel perplexed about the meaning of it all and asks, “What will the outcome of all this be?” I love how the book ends and God’s answer for Daniel personally. If you don’t mind a spoiler, here is God’s answer in three Rs - rest, rise and receive. Here it is in God’s words exactly - “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” For those with faith in Jesus this is our promised outcome, too. Because of Jesus, death for a believer will be “rest” from a badly broken world of pain and suffering. Like Jesus, believers will “rise” to live forever and “receive an inheritance” as a child of God. We will finally be HOME.