Mark Olsen, my nephew, spoke in church today.   I heard him say that Jesus wants us to live an aspirational life.  Aspirational? what does that mean? is it similar to asphyxiation? Aspiration, is that about breathing? So I look it up in the 1812 dictionary.

Aspiration

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ASPIRA'TION, noun

1. The pronunciation of a letter with a full emission of breath.

2. A breathing after; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly of spiritual blessings.

3. The act of aspiring or of ardently desiring what is noble or spiritual.

So it does have to do with breathing. Maybe doing something with life-giving breath, particularly recognizing and petitioning Jesus as the one ready to share spiritual blessings, but is there more?

Miriam Webster says

aspiration

noun

as·​pi·​ra·​tion ˌa-spə-ˈrā-shən 

1

a

: a strong desire to achieve something high or great

an aspiration to become famous

—usually plural

a young man with political/literary aspirations

b

: an object of such desire

An acting career is her aspiration.

2

: a drawing of something in, out, up, or through by or as if by suction: such as

a

: the act of breathing and especially of breathing in

b

: the withdrawal (as by suction) of fluid or tissue from the body

the aspiration of stomach fluids

c

: the taking of foreign matter into the lungs with the respiratory current

problems caused by the aspiration of fluids into the patient's lungs

3

linguistics

a

: audible breath that accompanies or comprises a speech sound

b

: the pronunciation or addition of an aspiration

the aspiration of the letter "h" in "a house"

also : the symbol of an aspiration

So it does have to do with breath, and breathing can be a problem with its aspiration of fluids. Be particular what I aspirate or aspire to.  I am remembering Ann Vos Kamp talking about breath. Breath of life, Jesus being in every breath. Breathing, a constant reminder of the gift of life and our reliance on him.  In. Out. In. Out.  All day and every day we all need Him.

So living an aspirational life could mean recognizing God in every moment. But also not content to stay as I am.  

It means living with an ardent desire for noble and spiritual things.  So what might an aspirational life look like? Maybe it's another way to be Christ-like.  Remembering, aspiring, and being your best. Or simply coming to know Jesus and seeing him in everything.

 

Yes come

 I got to attend Savior of the World with some of my favorite people for the first time in a few years.  I didn't realize how much I have missed this performance and how much it feeds my soul. It prepares my heart to welcome Christmas but mostly to welcome Christ.

Milt, me, Debbie

Come, Lord Jesus Come.  I want him. I need him.  I miss him and am trying to figure out how He can be my friend.  How can I develop a relationship with him, my Savior?  I experienced a special moment as the shepherds began declaring the good news, Unto you is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord,  My heart opened as I joined in the words Come, Lord Jesus. I pray that he feels welcome in my life and in my heart.  

Anjolee, Debbie, Milt, me, Kianna, Isaac

Fall formal

 

Fall Formal was girls choice. Debbie took Kyle Steinfeld and had a group with Anjolee Jones, Willow Adamson, Carrie Everet, and Janey Christensen.  For their activity they celebrated a year of holidays. Then they dressed up for the dance, did pictures in the lot on our block, came to our house for bacon and waffles and headed off to the dance.

odd shape Christmas gift wrapping

New Years with pots and pans

Fixing the table after it fell apart

Halloween was celebrated by carving pumpkins.

They also had an Easter egg hunt provided by Angie Gerber, 4th of July egg toss, and a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey sandwiches with potato chips.

Valentines was cutting out hearts and heart attacking Renae Noel next door.

Harvest moon ball

 

Isaac invited Milt and me to attend a Harvest Moon ball at a castle with him and Kianna. It was great fun.

Red rose meant taken.

Beautiful old time architecture, ice cream, table games, dance instruction, performers, and live music.  It was a bit magical.  old-time

Halloween

Debbie dressed up for Halloween.  She was Rooster from Top Gun 2 for the school day.

And then she and her friends went trick or treating at each others house and I don't know what this costume is.

 

Rainbows

 

We gladly received some much-needed rain. It didn't last long. The sun came out and WOW a full beautiful, brilliant rainbow with a hint of a second rainbow above it. 

I like rainbows.  When I see a rainbow in the sky I want to share it with everyone I can. I take a picture and post it to our family chat. I drag everyone out to see it. I wonder about the colors, where it might start and end, about the luck of rainbows, the pot of gold, and especially the covenant promises that it represents.

I was thinking about rainbows and how they come to be. There are the ingredients of light and water and air that happen to always be with us. Then when each takes its turn in just the right order a visible, beautiful rainbow appears. Often there is a storm and darkness. The light returns and the beauty shines. It looks like it is in different places depending on my own location. It becomes an unexpected blessing.

I believe blessings are like that.  Everything we need and hope for is around us.  When things line up which often includes a trial and darkness on our path. When we make certain choices. When we choose obedience and love, then, if we are looking, we see the blessings coming from heaven. They are created for us in our circumstances or location.  We get to invite others to see the rainbows from where they are. And we recognize the divine gift that our blessings bring to us.  Rainbows make gratitude easy.  Suddenly the storm was not so bad. We survived and are stronger. Light and beauty and a fresh start are given and we are ready to keep moving forward. I am reminded that we are protected and blessed by the covenants that the rainbow reminds me I have made. I can count on my God, who is faithful and forgiving.

Homecoming

 For homecoming this year, Debbie attended with Jace Nielson from Ephraim. He had a mountain bike race so attending the race was the activity for the day and then they headed off to a friends house for steak dinner and then walked to the wild acre farm event place in Ephraim Janey Christenson, Debbie's good friend, went with Jackson and they both got ready at our house.

Jackson and Jace waiting for Janey and Debbie to get ready

Jace and Debbie

The day before the dance was a parade and the football game.  We won!