Today we remember

On a day that is often clouded by our earthly sadness, as we grieve the loss of our beloved brother and friend, we cling to the hope of our heavenly reunion, and the promise that He "will make all things new."

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, LordStill I will say
Blessed be the name of the LordBlessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, LordStill I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious nameYou give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

lyrics by Matt Redman

"And Can It Be"



"The Perfect Wisdom of Our God"

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

Isaiah 26:3-4

the perfect wisdom of our god,
revealed in all the universe:
all things created by his hand,
and held together at his command.
he knows the mysteries of the seas,
the secrets of the stars are his;
he guides the planets on their way,
and turns the earth through another day.

the matchless wisdom of his ways
that mark the path of righteousness
his word a lamp unto my feet
his spirit teaching and guiding me
and o the mystery of the cross
that god should suffer for the lost
so that the fool might shame the wise
and all the glory might go to christ!
o grant me wisdom from above,
to pray for peace and cling to love,
and teach me humbly to receive
the sun and rain of your sovereignty.
each strand of sorrow has a place
within this tapestry of grace;
so through the trials i choose to say:
“your perfect will in your perfect way.”

 lyrics by Stuart Townsend

A bit o' Mudder action

"Show!"

Our little man is a sensitive soul.  If he has sustained an injury, or endured a verbal lashing from a certain disgruntled four-year-old, or has been reprimanded by his father, he is quick to call out for his mommy.  However, if mommy is in plain sight, he then resorts to calling out for a "show" to calm his aching heart.  His cries are loud, dramatic, and slightly pathetic; however, effective as his enormous blue eyes well with the largest of crocodile tears.  "SHOOOOOOOW!" (sniff, sniff) "SHOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!"

This week as I endured cry after cry, attempting to pacify our sweet boy with cuddles and less television (the American Academy of Pediatrics would probably frown upon TV for soothing purposes), it occurred to me how many times I have sought temporary forms of relief, settling for a generic and quick fix to soothe my weary and troubled soul.  This thought is especially convicting, when faced with the reality that because of my relationship with Christ, I have direct access to the One who is able to provide lasting comfort and peace in the face of any trial, minor or significant. 

"But if we hope for what we do not have yet, we wait for it patiently.  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:25-27

 I pray that as my faith matures through life's many seasons, my heart's cry will be that of, "Lord, Lord," that I might save the television for entertainment, and the Doritos for snack time.  In a perfect world, I would eliminate the Doritos all together.

from Streams in the Dessert

He will do this. (Psalm 37:5)

I once believed that after I prayed, it was my responsibility to do everything in my power to bring about the answer. Yet God taught me a better way and showed me that self-effort always hinders His work. He also revealed that when I prayed and had confident trust in Him for something, He simply wanted me to wait in an attitude of praise and do only what He told me. Sitting still, doing nothing except trusting in the Lord, causes a feeling of uncertainty, and there is often a tremendous temptation to take the battle into our own hands.

We all know how difficult it is to rescue a drowning person who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally difficult for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that God will not but that He cannot, for our interference hinders His work. C. H. P.

Spiritual forces cannot work while we are trusting earthly forces.

Often we fail to give God an opportunity to work, not realizing that it takes time for Him to answer prayer. It takes time for God to color a rose or to grow a great oak tree. And it takes time for Him to make bread from wheat fields. He takes the soil, then grinds and softens it. He enriches it and wets it with rain showers and with dew. Then He brings the warmth of life to the small blade of grass, later grows the stalk and the amber grain, and finally provides bread for the hungry.

All this takes time. Therefore we sow the seed, till the ground, and then wait and trust until God's purpose has been fulfilled. We understand this principle when it comes to planting a field, and we need to learn the same lesson regarding our prayer life. It takes time for God to answer prayer. J. H. M.

Parks and reflections

These two have come a long way in just a year.  I'm not sure why this is such a surprise to me.  As I watched the little lady and man this morning at a local park, I was taken aback by their new feats of strength, clever and daring tricks, and ability to manuever in, out and around the equipment independently, free from helping hands.  It was yet another reminder of how quickly time passes, as our sweet ones mature and develop, outgrowing the precious days of infancy to become little people full of life, movement, expression, and personality.  I'm thankful for mornings such as these that allow me to pause, study, refelect upon and appreciate.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - it takes a village...and an ipad



Dirty

I admire my husband for many reasons, but I especially appreciate his continued desire to experience new things, learn new skill sets, and challenge himself with new goals.  A few months back, he was presented with the idea of training for and participating in the Tough Mudder.  I'm not sure that I buy it's claim of being one of the "toughest events on the planet" as my husband completed it with a smile on his face and is already toying with the idea of doing it again.  However, I will admit that it is NOT something I would ever desire to take on, fully accepting my role as spectator and adoring cheerleader.  In fact, several of us wives agreed that even if presented with a large monetary incentive, we would not endure the challenge of the Mudder. 

Since January, I have watched my husband train for the TM, rising early to run in dreary and frigid weather, hang from a detachable pull-up bar in our kitchen doorway in an effort to build upper body strength (it wasn't at all amusing), modify his diet, and Shred his way to fitness.  For a man who already leads a very busy and active life, watching him dedicate such time to training for the sole purpose of participating in a 10 mile obstacle course filled with mud, climbing walls, electrical shocks, small tunnels, and more was inspiring.  Truth be told, I thought he was a little nuts, but I have a special place in my heart for his crazy antics.

On his 32nd birthday, we rose early as a family to send off our fearless leader along with his two buddies to Amherst, OH.  Our cheering crew would arrive later, to watch the daddies in all their muddy glory.  It was a day filled with rain, mud, laughter, hoopin' and hollering as we watched the guys successfully finish the course.  What a way to ring in your 32nd year of life! 

Supporting Team "Complete and Mudder Failures." 

Arriving in less than ideal conditions, our little ones didn't seem too phased.

Feeling the need to demonstrate just how tough she is.

Almost finished, and handsome as ever.

"Band of Mudders"

Scott, Mike (the TM instigator), Jeff and Mark

Go, go gadget arms!

I will always be a cheerleader at heart.

Success!

Happy Birthday, to the man who keeps our lives interesting, fun, and exciting.  We love you!

Marriage and the Gospel

"The reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once.  The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.  This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us.  Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws.  Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it.  God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us.  The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent.  The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God's mercy and grace."

from The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - "Thank You" note etiquette



Easter Blessings 2012

Post-church service inspirational song.

Heading to The Fresh Market for an Easter egg hunt.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - confident in his masculinity



"Magic Trick"



Four and fabulous

Months ago while driving through town, the little lady announced that for her forth birthday she would like two things: a pink cake with blue polka dots, a crown, and candles and for her party to be held and Nany and Papa's house.  This simple list later turned into a list of five when she added that she would also like to receive a piano and scooter for her birthday and be granted the privilege of chewing gum upon turning four. 

 And, so began our preparations.  Taking inspiration from her cake, we decided upon a dress-up themed birthday party, a very fitting party theme for our very fancy and fashionable little lady.

 

Nany (and friends) scoured local retail stores for countless creative dress-up options.

Dresses, purses, jewelry...oh my!

One of my favorite aspects of party planning, turning her cake inspirations into sweet creations.  

The little lady and cousin Kendall.

I believe they changed outfits every half hour.   They needed no encouragement to pause, pose, and smile for the camera.

Even the little man got in on the action, favoring a doctor's white coat, which seemed fitting.

Charlotte's award for favorite costume went to her Uncle Bobby, who cleverly came up with a pirate's costume on the fly after the little lady requested he dress up as one.   Bob and Dawn are always up for a good time.

Perhaps my favorite look of the day was Doc's cowboy costume, a throw back to his Houston days.

It was a very grand and fashionable gathering.

Ending the day with a little self-serenading.

"Happy Birthday to Charlotte..."

Sweet Charlotte Marie, you fill our lives with such joy, excitement, and love.  You never cease to amaze us with your creativity, plans, schemes and dreams.   Watching you blossom into a lively four-year-old has been one of my greatest joys in life.  To me, you are simply lovely, and I could not be more thankful and grateful to the Lord for blessing us with you four years ago. 

You are loved by so many.

xo