Brick by Brick

A couple of weekends ago I took my four oldest grandsons: Lane (almost 7), Eli (5), Corbin (4) and Caleb (almost 4), to Brickworld in Schaumburg, IL.  Brickworld is a convention  for adult fans of LEGO (AFOLs) to display and share their creations made of LEGO bricks.  We picked up Karsten and he went with us.

Waiting in line to get into Brickworld!
Waiting in line to get into Brickworld!
Getting tired of waiting to get it:)
Getting tired of waiting!

The creations were very elaborate and well done.  We saw lots of Star Wars, trains, impressive buildings, forts, space shuttles, carnival rides,  sports events and many more.

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D-Day, Normandy France replica

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Lane, Eli, Corbin, Karsten with Caleb; “Look at that!”
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This castle is amazing!

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Our favorite display was on tables outlining an area of about 25 feet by 15 feet.  We walked all around the display and watched as little LEGO balls moved from one contraption to another moving through bridges, mazes, a Ferris wheel, elevators, volcanoes and many other amazing devices.

Round and round....
Up, up, up…..Down, down, down… round and round…

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One brick out of place could have made the creation weak or not look complete. All the pieces were important.  You may think that you are not important or that you have no value.  God says that each of us are important to him and are created by him as a masterpiece.  (Ephesians 2:10)

All of us are welcome into God’s family no matter our past, race, employment, financial situation, looks, or personality.
Ephesians 2:19-22The Message (MSG)”….You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building….  He’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.”

God is the architect.  He wants to give us His design.  He has a plan unique for each of us fitting us into His bigger design and plan.  We each have value and are important in God’s picture.  The creation isn’t complete until all the pieces are in place.  We won’t see the final creation until we get to heaven.  The day following the LEGO convention was Father’s Day so of course I was thinking about Neal in heaven.  What will it be like there?  I am sure it will be amazing, breathtaking, far better than we can even imagine.

God is using you, fitting you in brick by brick with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.  The cornerstone in Bible times was  more important than the foundation.  It was the first stone laid.  It was the thing that framed everything.  It had to be accurate because the walls all conformed to the angle of that stone.  It was the support, connector, provided strength and unity.  It bore the weight of the walls.

LEGOs come in different sizes, appropriate for different ages.  The big ones for toddlers, DUPLO size for pre-school aged children and the smaller blocks for school aged children.  A toddler could never make a creation like the Ferris wheel pictured above.  God gives us what we can handle at the time, yet still stretching and challenging us.  As we prove faithful in smaller things, God gives us bigger challenges and opportunities.image

God is fitly framing us together, harmoniously joining several parts together.  He is compactly joining us to add beauty, strength and unity.  We are not ill-arranged  or ugly.

Just as the creations we saw at LEGO Brickworld took time and patience to assemble, so we too are being created brick by brick in God’s time.  He is in control and is the Master Creator!

After we spent some time at the Brickworld convention we headed over to The Rainforest Cafe for lunch, finishing off our time with a roar!

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On the journey,

Trish

 

PS. Some other masterpieces came to visit this past weekend:

Loving the beach!
Loving the beach!

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Whitney, Ty and Banks
Whitney, Ty and Banks
Mr. GQ
Mr. GQ!

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Road Trip!

Last weekend I went on a road trip with my two other widow friends that lost their husbands after stem cell transplants also.  A couple years ago we sat down and made a bucket list.  This trip fulfilled three items on the list.  The first fulfillment was to take an RV trip.  We decided we should go someplace rather close to see how we liked it.

Ready for the adventure!
Ready for the adventure!

After picking up the Cruise America RV in Elkhart , IN, we headed down to Brown County State Park about an hour and half south of Indianapolis.  I figured since I drove a 15 seat passenger van for many years when all the kids were at home this should be no problem.  ?  The RV was a driving billboard for Cruise America, which screamed “Watch out!  Here come some newbie campers.”  When I backed out of our campsite to leave, the neighbors all stood to watch to see if I was going to be okay.  No problem!

I was the appointed driver!
I was the appointed driver!

Beautiful 16,000 acre Brown County State Park is called “the little Smokey’s.”  We enjoyed many of the hiking trails.

Got lost this day and walked a loooong time!
Got lost this day and walked a loooong time!

 

 

 

 

 

What’s camping without a fire and s’mores?

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We played lots of cards!

Cards, cards, cards!

And what comes with an RV?  Learning how to fill the water tank and dumping!

Filling the water tank
Filling the water tank
Dumping our tank
Dumping our tank

 

 

Another fulfillment on the bucket list was to go to the quaint little town of Nashville, IN.  It’s right next to the state park.  While we were there we attended a murder mystery dinner, another bucket list fulfillment!

The bride's sister, Ida Hoe and the groom, Hubert Dinkle III. The bride's name was Garden How and the other sister was Avacad. Cheesy I know but it was fun and the food was good!
The bride’s sister, Ida Hoe, and the groom, Hubert Dinkle III and me.  We were guests of the bride.  The bride’s name was Garden Hoe, (who was murdered) and the other sister was Avacad. Cheesy I know but it was fun and the food was good!

We ended our trip with a night at Potato Creek State Park in Indiana.  It was only a half an hour from where we needed to return the RV on Monday morning.  The three of us said we would go camping again, with an RV of course!  I don’t think I would be up for tenting it.  Too much work.  Maybe next time we will go glamping!

We were very thankful for GPS, Waze, and the RV instruction booklet.  The traffic in Indy was terrible to Waze alerted us and we were able to take an alternate route.  The Bible is like a road map, GPS, etc.  It guides our steps (Psalm 119:133), tells us how to live and how to love God and others.  It instructs us how to be patient, kind, gentle, humble and a servant.  It helps us get through difficult times and so on……  In order to get the instructions in the bible we have to read it.  Just because you may keep your bible on your night stand close to you doesn’t mean you are going to know what is says inside.    You have to open it and read it.  People used to ask me a dental question when I was married to Neal.  I guess they thought because I slept next to him I would know those things through osmosis!

God doesn’t want us to aimlessly wander through life.  He wants us to live as the child he created us to be and be full of his joy and peace.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Proverbs 3:5,6

I have my road map in hand and am ready for the next adventure!  I pray your journey is following the unique road map God has intended for you.

On the journey,

Trish