2013 - What a Year!

You know you're old when....you say things like, "time flies!" and you really mean it.  I mean, come on!  How is it that we're already wrapping up 2013 and welcoming in 2014?  Also, how is it that I'm still so horrrrrrible about capturing moments by taking pictures?  I don't know if I'll ever master snapping photos, and because of that, this post is pretty lame photo-less...(okay, I lied...I creeped on instagram and got pics off my phone - this post ended up being photo-filled!  It's a Christmas miracle...or something like that)

Here's a look back on a super fast year - 2013, you were pretty uneventful, but that's okay with me!

January:

-Embarked upon my self-appointed "No-Jiggle-January" and was rather successful at losing a few pounds.

-Celebrated having Princeton one full year!

-Bought this dresser off Craigslist and turned it into a t.v. stand for our family room.

-Found out I was going to be an aunt (again!) because my sister (Melissa) was pregnant!

February:

-Convinced my husband to ditch the tube television and get a 40" flat-screen.  That was a hard task! (total first world problem)

-Enjoyed a week off of school thanks to built-in-snow-days.

-Traveled to Johnson City, TN with my 2 sisters and nephew to visit my Aunt Shirley, Uncle Gene and cousins Tressa and Wendell.

-Continued on with No-Flab-February and continued to rock it out.

March:

-Worked hard to get through this month.  Totally ready for Spring but still suffering from winter-like weather in KY.

-Started the seeds for my garden (better late than never, right?)

-Came down with strep throat...uggggggghhhhh

-Longed for a break!

-Fell off the wagon and jumped ship on No-Munchy March (maybe it was because the name was lame?)

April:

-Ventured to Destin with my good friends Julie, Katie, and Jenna for Spring Break.

 

-Officially began rereading the Harry Potter series (yesssssss!!!!)

May:

-Feverishly awaited the arrival of summer...it couldn't come fast enough!

-Transferred my seeds to the garden out back.

-Opened our pool for the second year, but this time we did it ourselves and were very successful at it!

-Made cake balls in the design of a flag...lame to include that in here, but as a teacher that was quite a feat to accomplish during the school year!

-Hung a new light fixture in our foyer.

June:

-Completed my 2nd year teaching in Louisville and my 5th year teaching altogether.

-Weeding the backyard took over my life.

-Continued reading the Harry Potter series...why hello book 3!

-Began taking doors off the hinges and repainted all of them.

-Attempted a return to blogging...decided that good things can't be forced.

-Began running with the help of Couch to 5K.

July:

-Hosted a 4th of July swimming party during the middle of a monsoon in Louisville.

-Stephen passed his CFP courses and tests!

-Ventured to Outerbanks, NC with Stephen's family.

-Continued running with the help of Couch to 5K.

-Began reaping the benefits of a backyard garden!  Tomatoes, peppers and squash, oh my!

-Spent a weekend in Chicago for my dear friend Debbie and Stephen's wedding.

-Kept on trucking through HP - I forgot how much I love you, book 4.

August:

-Began prepping for my 3rd year of teaching at my current school.

- Cut 13 inches off my hair (despite Stephen's pleas not to) and donated (well...am planning on donating) it.

-Ventured to Pittsburgh for Stephen's cousins wedding.

-Continued running - thank you, Couch to 5K.

-School started and I vowed my life would not end just because of this.

-Keepin' it moving with HP...oh book 5, how long and a little painful you proved to be.

September:

-My niece (YAY!  We didn't know if she were a boy or girl until she came!), Emerson Lee joined us :).

- Running became harder, although I was trying really hard to keep up with it.

-Hosted a co-ed Baby Shower for my good friends, Katie and Kyle.

-Reading began to slooow down....school began to take over....noooooooooooooo!!!

October:

-Stephen and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.

-To celebrate, we hit up the Bourbon Trail.

 -I came down with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (you just read that correctly).

-Hand, Foot, Mouth officially ended my love-affair with running.

-Our good friends Mike, Amanda (their daughter Emma), Stephen and Debbie came to visit from Chicago.

-We enjoyed a trip to Hubers Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch with our Young Life friends.

-We celebrated with our friends, Katie and Brad as they got married here in Louisville.

-Stephen and I were characters from Shrek for Halloween (I was Donkey {or an @$$ if you ask Stephen} and he was Gingerbread Man) along with our friends, Seth and Julie.

-Stephen and I officially became adults when we got new windows for the front of our house...and were excited about it.

November:

-We drove...yes DROVE to Dallas, Texas for our good friend's (Brian and his now-wife Amber's) wedding and got to hang out with a handful of great friends there!

 

-Despite the pain I endured in book 5, I welcomed HP book 6 into my life.

-We headed north to Chicago for our friend, Emily's wedding.

-My best friend, Katie, had her baby!  As of today, I still have not met this bundle of sweetness...stay tuned...

December:

-We followed along in last year's steps and got another real tree to decorate in our dining room.

-I got 2 snow days....ugh - so early in the year...I'm fearful for January and February!

-Finished book 6 and reluctantly began book 7 - I want to finish HP so badly, and yet I don't want it to end!

-We celebrated Christmas in Kentucky this year, which made my break seem so much longer and more relaxing, although I did miss seeing our Pittsburgh family!

-I turned the big 3-1 and got to spend some quality time with my bestie, Donielle.

-Stephen and I were officially old hags: we stayed home on NYE, watched HP and ate left-overs.  Ugh.  At least my company was good :).

What a year!  I look forward to making this list again a year from now - I wonder what all will be on it then?  What fun did you embark upon in 2013?  Did you begin running and actually stick with it? What about a diet - did you stick with that as well?  Am I the only one who made these resolutions and then fell off the resolution boat?!

New Day, New Goal

So my goal yesterday morning was to come and show my blog some loving.  I failed miserably at that goal.  But, I'm here to redeem myself and do this morning what I wanted to do yesterday afternoon!  Also, just to keep people from being in the suspense for too long, no, I'm not pregnant :).  I guess exciting news is a relative term, and while it may be exciting to me, it's probably not that exciting to everyone :).

So last week was the last week Stephen and I could officially call Chicago "home", although I think a little piece of us will live there forever.  It was where Stephen and I lived right after being married, figuring out the other person and what married life for us looked like.  It is the home of our rock-solid church, The Moody Church, where on any given Sunday, you can walk into the breathtaking sanctuary and hear the truth of God being spoken.  It's also the home of a lot of our friends, friends that I didn't necessarily have 2 years ago, but in a short time became dear family to me.  I kicked and screamed (figuratively, not literally) when Stephen first told me that he didn't think Lexington was where we were supposed to live right after we were married.  I wanted nothing to do with the conversation.  Didn't he know how amazing Lexington was?!?  Didn't he understand that God had blessed my life over and over again in Lexington and that we had such amazing friends in Lexington?!?  Didn't he know that I was serving in a ministry I loved, had a job I loved and had zero complaints about my city?!  The real question is, didn't I know that God had an amazing journey planned for me?  Silly, Kari, always forgetting how big God is!

Now I'm going on and on and on and on and on about how much I love Chicago and how much I miss it, but don't get me wrong - while there are MANY things that I miss desperately about Chicago, there are just some things that I won't miss about that city.  I will share my misses and my easily forgets list :) below:

Things that I will most definitely miss.....

My Small (or teeny) group

great friends

Sad doesn't even describe the way I felt when I moved away from all of my dear friends in Lexington in the fall of 2009.  I had many teary moments following that move, some even happened a year to a year and a half later.  I missed my friends, I wanted to be with my friends and I wanted to continue to serve in ministry with them.  As soon as I was able to let go of my sadness of missing my friends, and understand that just because I lived in Chicago didn't mean that they were no longer my friends, something strange happened.  I was able to finally see what God had been trying to show me since I moved to Chicago: I could make friends there (very elementary-ish revelation, but unfortunately, I still have them)!  God blessed me with amazing Chicago friends that I hold very dear to my heart.  These friends love the Lord with all their heart and I know my relationship with God is stronger because of them.  I know that is why God blessed me with them!  Stephen and I both loved to spend time in fellowship with our friends, our small groups and church family and we will most definitely miss that!

Our 1st Home

I absolutely loved almost everything about our apartment.  It was a great first home for us to share, and it served a great purpose of hosting many-a fellowship gatherings, small groups, small group parties, sewing dates, intimate dinners, game nights, etc. with our friends.  Stephen and I made memories in that apartment that we will never forget and those memories, and the people in them are memories that I thank our amazing Father for and will hold close to my heart forever.  

Our Church home

(picture was stolen borrowed from Wickepedia)

From Sunday services, to our Covenant Sunday school class, to Christmas festivals and Fall festivals, to just about anything, Moody Church was definitely beginning to feel like home to me, and I know that it was home to Stephen.  We will miss hearing Pastor Lutzer teaching on how to live a Biblical life from the pulpit every Sunday morning.  We will miss going to our Covenant Sunday school class and sitting with friends and learning how to be more like Christ to our spouse and to others.  We will miss everything about Moody church and look forward to visiting it soon!

While I won't miss my night grad-classes, I will definitely miss the great friends I made at UIC and all of our fun times together.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of these great friends, but I'm confident that we will keep in touch!

Now, onto a short list of the things I won't miss (no pictures for these, sorry):

-Traffic; it seriously takes a long time to get anywhere. period.

-Parking; I'm over driving around our apartment for 20-30 minutes looking for a spot because it's the wrong time of day.  WA-HOO for driveways!  Double WA-HOOS for garages!

-Honking; seriously people, chill out.

-A long winter; where I grew up winter was from late December to mid March...not in Chicago!  Winter is from early November to late April.  Ugh!  But I will miss Chicago summers!  (I got confused, this is the "not-missing" section, why am I talking about what I'll miss?!?)

-No laundry room; my parents water bill will most definitely lower now that we won't be bringing our laundry home from Chicago all the time!

-Free nights!; okay, so technically this wasn't Chicago's fault, but I was in grad-school 95% of the time we lived in Chicago and was taking night classes.  Now that I have my nights back, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!

When I first moved to Chicago and was so sad about not being in Lexington with all my sweet friends, my amazing Bible Study leader, Frankie said some hard truth to me.  In her words exactly:

Kari, regardless of what happens or doesn't happen, is Jesus enough for you; if Chicago is to be your home for the rest of your earthly life, could you live with that, is Jesus enough for you?" Once we've settled on that issue what else do we need? What else could we possibly need?

Jesus was enough and IS enough.  As soon as I got that through my thick skull, I was freed up to see the blessings that He had planned from the beginning.  I learned a lot of lessons while living in Chicago, and I have stories upon stories where God's mighty hand prepared our ways and placed us where we were.  Because of that I have a renewed since of hope, joy, faith and gratitude.  

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy;  I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

-John 10:10

When God calls your life to begin taking a different path, fight the urges to kick and scream.  Cling to Him and trust that His blessings are abundant and that only He can give you life to the full.  Even though Frankie doesn't live in Chicago, I'm so thankful for her in my life.  Find someone who can love you enough to speak truth that you don't want to hear, but need to!  They will definitely be part of God's blessing.

Whelp.  This is a long post and I still have so much to say.  What about the exciting news?!  I'm going to be ANNOYING and hold off.  I feel as though I've typed all I can for now.  Don't get too annoyed with me that you don't come back!  I want someone to share in the exciting (no, I'm not pregnant) news with!!!

Praise the Lord!

Do you remember the 4th of July weekend, 2010?  If you were reading my blog back then, you might remember me asking you to pray for Stephen's 93 year old Nana (if you don't remember or weren't following at the time, you can read that post here).

Last year, on the 4th of July, Stephen and I had plans to stick around Chicago and enjoy a weekend laying low (kinda like we did this year).  Our weekend plans quickly changed as we got phone calls from Stephen's parents telling us that his Nana was not doing well and things did not seem promising.  Without hesitating or waiting a moment, we left Chicago on Friday afternoon and began our trek to Pittsburgh.  We spent the weekend with Nana, unsure of what the future may hold, but prayerfully hopeful and expectant to see the mighty hand of God at work.

A year later, I want to thank you for praying for Nana.  Not only did she recover from her most serious ailments that caused her to be hospitalized, but she was able to return to her home with the help of family.  I was reading through my blog and realized that I had asked for prayers and then casually went on with life and didn't fill you in on the blessings that God had provided.

How often do I do that in my personal life?  You know the deal, prayerfully asking God for something, receiving the blessing and then *forgetting* to have a thankful heart.  I'm definitely guilty of that.  I would love to be more reflective of God's blessings in my life, as I know they are numerous and overflowing.

So, here's a delayed, "thank you".  Thank you for praying for Nana, even though you do not know her.  Thank you for caring enough about me to care enough about Stephen, to care enough about Nana.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below; 

Praise Him above ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

-Doxology

Proverbs 31

*created using wordle.net

The first time I read Proverbs 31:10-31, I knew that that's exactly the kind of wife, the kind of woman that I wanted to strive to be....

The Bible tells us that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies (31:10)...funny, the world tells us that external beauty is what matters, not character.

In verse 31:11 Solomon tells us that that this wife of noble character will have a husband with full confidence in her.  How many reality television shows portray this picture?

31:12 tells about this wife bringing her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life.  Talk about a tough job - it's hard to love someone all the time!  However, with God, it is not impossible!

In verse 31:17 we see that she sets about her work vigorously.  I searched the rest of the chapter to see if she was complaining while working - I found nothing.  I bet it's safe to say that she wasn't.  I'm not scoring high in that category!

She opens her arms to the poor and extends help to the needy (31:20) - such a different picture than just focusing her time and energy on herself.

She is clothed with strength and dignity and can laugh at the days to come (31:25); wowzers.  Talk about impossible unless you have faith in the truth and promises that our God is in control and that He loves you.

This faithful wife speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue (31:26).  This is something that cannot happen unless she is spending time with the Lord daily.  Am I spending time with the Lord daily?  Nothing is more important than that...NOTHING.

And perhaps my most favorite part of this entire chapter:

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised," (31:30).  I pray that I come close to this someday, that I know the Lord so deeply and so intently that I'm even more like Him and more afraid of His Almighty powers all at the same time.  This chapter serves as a huge push for me - a push to know God on a deeper, more intimate level for my myself, but most importantly, for my family.

What about you - what's your favorite book/chapter/verse of the Bible?

I can't even handle it!

Meet my pretend dog, Nutmeg (or 'Meggy/'Meg for short):

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She's dang cute isn't she???  Too bad she's not really mine (or really a she either - her tag says, "Angus").  

I've loved dogs since the day I took my first breath (I know, I'm being really dramatic here).  I grew up with all different kinds of dogs.  Thankfully, so did Stephen.  We both have a strong love for them and we can't wait for the day (someday soon!) when we get to satisfy that desire by going and getting a love child (also known as a puppy) of our very own.  We have both always been on the same page by wanting to go to the Humane Society and rescue a lab-mutt of some sorts.  While I still want to do that, I really want to get 'Meg first.  It all started in February when our neighbor was outside walking their pet Vizsla named Kiwi.  It was instant love at first sight!  This dog was beautiful, so well behaved and SO sweet!  My heart melted into a tiny puddle around my feet and then instantly froze as it was right after the Blizzard.  

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Some positives about Vizslas:

1. They don't get very big (45-65 lbs full grown)

2. They're known to not shed a lot

3. They respond well to training

4. They a incredibly friendly dogs (different opinions on the internet tell me that, not just my encounter with Kiwi).

5. They thrive on human companionship

6. They do well with lots of exercise (Stephen loves to run.....)

The only negative I can figure out:

1. They cost more than a pet at the Humane Society

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Be still my heart...maybe one day!  What about you?  Do you have puppy love for a certain breed/type of dog?  

Team Libby

Hello to all my fantastic blogging friends!  I hope you're having a wonderful Monday!  I apologize for my lack of Magnificent Monday posts (for those of you who are avid fans - I know that's all of you) ;), I haven't been on my A-game and this week I have something better for you!

If you've been around awhile, you might remember a post that I shared at the end of July regarding my friend, Libby.  If you don't remember it, or you weren't around then, I highly encourage you to go check out her blog and see how she is inspirationally living her life for Christ - through the good and the bad.  And when I mean bad, I mean like cancer bad.  Libby was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma to be exact) in July of last year.  She started her blog (Don't Waste Your Cancer) and journaled her thoughts, fears, hopes, prayers, dreams, feelings, etc. throughout the whole thing.  Miraculously, God healed Libby of her cancer a few short weeks ago - but she will forever be changed!

With cancer, came incredibly high medical bills that Libby and her husband, Justin were left to pay off.  My sweet, sweet friend, Angie, conjured up a wonderful idea to help raise money for them to take care of their looming medical expenses.  Angie came up with "Team Libby" - a group of people committed to running and raising support to go directly to knocking down the medical debt.

To find out more about Team Libby, watch this video:

What does this have to do with you?  Well, dear friends, if you are moved by this at all, would like to help out our dear friends in a time of need, there are 2 different options for you.  The first and most important way you can help out is to pray.  Lift Justin and Libby (and their sweet daughter, Ava) up to the Lord and ask for His hand to guide and protect them during this financially hard time.  The second way you can help out is to support Libby and Justin financially either through direct support or through buying a t-shirt.  Some of my friends are selling Team Libby t-shirts to help raise money.  These shirts will be worn by the runners, and hopefully you too.  Each shirt will have light orange and aqua blue writing.  They are being sold in the colors Silver and Safety Green.

and here is a picture of the "Safety Green" color:

The deadline to order shirts is March 21 so you'll have to do it before you lose out on sporting this awesome shirt! (I'll be sporting it in the silver) :)

***IF YOU WANT TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT JUSTIN AND LIBBY OR PURCHASE A TSHIRT - VISIT MY FRIEND ANGIE'S BLOG HERE!!!

Happy Monday!

A little late getting to the "new" year...

I’m super behind with sharing my resolutions for this year, sorry!  It took me forever to make myself sit down and type them out and as a result, I’m not actually starting them until more like the end of January instead of the beginning of the year.  My bad.  After I reflected on my past year and looked at the New Year ahead of me, I felt so proud of myself for getting that far.  Unfortunately, the most important step – the implementation of these resolutions have been put off.  I’m finally biting the bullet, sitting down and making these resolutions much more official by posting them on my blog for the world to see.  Here ‘ya go world!

First let’s start by reviewing my resolutions for 2010…we’re going to start backwards and work our way up…

8. Visit at least 3 different states besides Illinois and Kentucky. 

-I succeeded with this resolution by visiting Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Alaska, Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania – shoo!

7. Fix my sewing machine/get a new one.

-I succeeded with this resolution when my wonderful husband supported my purchase of my *new Brother sewing machine.

6. Learn to sew.

-Check.  I took a sewing class at JoAnns and since then, I’ve been a sewing fanatic.  I can’t seem to get it off my mind and I’m constantly looking for and coming up with new projects that I can try my hand at.

5.  Maintain a 3.0 GPA in grad school.

-This resolution was kept, and at the time it seemed like a really ambitious resolution as I hadn’t started school yet and I didn’t know what to expect.  Getting good grades has simply meant that I stay on top of my work and give my best effort.

4. Complete at least 25 hours of grad school.

-In the year 2010 I got 27 hours of grad classes under my belt, soundly securing my 25 goal.

3. Train to run; 5 miles regularly (2-3 times a week)

-Big. Fat. Fail.  If you’ve perused my “Work-out Diaries” page you can see that I started the year out by really making an effort to become a runner.  I was going strong until about March-April and then I fell off the wagon and haven’t seemed to be able to get back on. Ouch.

2. Memorize Scripture on a weekly basis.

-This one hurts even more to admit that I also failed at this.  I don’t even think I made it to April in trying to keep this resolution; I just flat-out failed it from early on and then continued to live life without even thinking about it.  It’s incredibly embarrassing/humbling for me to even type that out.

1. Be in the Word daily.

-I would be lying if I told you that every single day, 365 days in 2010 I was in the Word reflecting on God’s truth.  Again, I fell incredibly short at living out this resolution.

What have I learned by going through these resolutions from 2010?  That I was really good at keeping the unimportant, of this world type of resolutions and I fell flat on my face when it came to keeping the resolutions that actually matter in my life.  As a result, my resolutions for 2011 look a bit different than they did for 2010.  I steered clear of making resolutions around things that would be considered fun for me to do (and that I’d probably do with or without a resolution) and I stuck with making resolutions that were much more relevant to my relationship with Christ and my relationship with my husband.  My small group decided to come up with a word to share with each other that summed up what we wanted to work on in this “new” year.  I came up with a word after looking through my resolutions and realizing that they all had a theme.

If you’ve actually read this far, I’m impressed and am blessed that you care so much J.  I’m also sorry to tell you that I’m going to hold off sharing my resolutions until tomorrow as I realize that this post developed a mind of its own somewhere along the way and it’s way out of control now!

To be continued…

My Week

I realized the other day that I don't spend enough time talking about what's going on in my life here at what is supposed to be a blog about my move to a new city...oops!  I've gotten into new hobbies and crafts of sorts and have neglected any of you who may be interested in what's up.  So, for those (few) of you who care what's up, here's a bit about my week :).

I had a good start to my week on Monday because I had just finished having a wonderful time with my dear friends, Anne, Derek and Sarah who came in (except Sarah who lives in Naperville) from Lexington to spend the weekend with me and Stephen.  The only thing that stunk about Monday was that I had been used to having a full apartment of 5 of us and it dropped to only me.  Sarah left on Sunday morning before church, Anne and Derek split town after lunch on Sunday and then Stephen left me early before anyone should even be awake on Monday morning to head to work and then to hop a plane to New York City for the week.  That's right - I've been alone for a week...ugh. Thoughts on that will come later.

I had classes all week and I've had this new "pressure" of my new job as a research assistant on campus.  I put the words "pressure" in quotations because I feel like I'm the one that's putting pressure on myself.  The people I work with are incredibly lenient on when I come in and my hours but when I'm not there, I'm constantly thinking, "should I be there?"  "do they think I'm slacking?"...that's me - overanalyzing e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  I really need to get over that!
I feel incredibly blessed to have this research assistantship for so many reasons!  The first reason is because it's such a great opportunity for me professionally.  My role is to act as a "liaison" to the elementary schools we work with and our project.  Our project is one that helps schools go through a reform to create more intentional teaching, which in return will create stronger students.  I feel like I'm constantly learning how I can be a better, more intentional teacher when the time comes.
The second reason that I feel blessed to have this assistantship is because it pays for my tuition.  You just read that correctly - I'm currently going to grad school for free.  On top of that, they pay me a stipend on top of it.  Unreal.
The third and most important reason that I feel blessed that I have this assistantship is to share my life with the gals who work in the office with me.  It's an interesting work situation - interesting because it's so different from what I've experienced in the Bible belt of KY.  I'm praying that God will show me how to love the people I work with and how to share my life with them in a way that glorifies Him and shows   how much He loves them.  Prayers are appreciated.

School is sucking my life out of my life.  It's okay, it's only because the end of the semester is creeping closer and things are drawing to a close, which means I have a lot to do before the beginning of December...eeek!  Did I mention that I'm enrolled in an Independent Study and my wonderful teacher who is working with me is going to allow me to turn my paper in after winter break?  You know what that means, don't you?  Yup!  I'm going to have to be working on that dang paper over the break...ay yi yi!  That's okay - don't feel too bad for me because after this semester has concluded I will only have 1 more semester and 1 measly class to take over the summer and then I am DONE - DONE-ZO - FINISHED!  ahhhhhhhh!

I started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) officially for the first time this year and we've been studying the book of Isaiah.  Let's talk about how intense and difficult the book of Isaiah is, then let's talk about how incredibly happy I am that I'm reading it and diving into it through BSF because I'm getting SO MUCH information that I don't think I could have ever gotten if I had tried to read this book alone.  Talk about conviction and stretching.  I feel so loved by our Father who has every reason to wash His hands of me but doesn't because He loves me.  I feel blessed by BSF, my small discussion group in BSF and my discussion group leader.  It was hard for me to not compare her to my beloved Frankie (my old Bible Study Leader) and I finally snapped out of it.  Frankie will always be near and dear to my heart and she'll ALWAYS be my sister and mentor in Christ but I've moved into a new phase of life and God will bring new people into my life to show me His love and how to better know Him.

I feel like I just left you on overload...big time overload.  I'll stop for now.  I'll leave you with a video from a song I heard on the radio while I was driving to my friend Amanda's apartment on Friday (Amanda also shows me Christ's love, especially when she calls me throughout the week and invites me over because she knows I'm all alone this week while Stephen's gone).  I love this song because it makes me think about all the truths of the Bible, specifically from what I've been reading in Isaiah.  Despite who we are and what we deserve, God loves us.  More than I can possibly try to explain here.  I pray that you feel His love for you in this moment and throughout your day - it's unlike anything else you could possibly experience.

I could listen all day...

He is jealous for me, 
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, 
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. 
When all of a sudden, 
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, 
And I realize just how beautiful You are, 
And how great Your affections are for me. 

And oh, how He loves us so, 
Oh how He loves us, 
How He loves us all 

Yeah, He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves us, 

Oh! how He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves. 

We are His portion and He is our prize, 
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, 
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. 
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss, 
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, 
I don't have time to maintain these regrets, 
When I think about, the way

And oh, how He loves us so, 
Oh how He loves us, 
How He loves us all 

Yeah, He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves us, 

Oh! how He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves. 

Do you know how much God loves you?

He does...a lot.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

1 John 4:9-10

What's Your Biggest Fear?

I've mentioned before that I joined a women's small group this summer and we are working through Beth Moore's study on the Book of Esther.  I couldn't help but being struck with conviction when we got to the part where we started studying Esther 4:16.  In Esther 4:16 Esther is quoted saying (about trying to stop King Xerxes from killing off all the Jews in Susa): "and if I perish, I perish."

Let that sink in for a second...

Esther was fully prepared to do what she felt she should do regardless of the outcome.  She had tremendous fear that the King would dismiss her, worse yet, would order her to be killed (she approached him without a summons).  Do you think she got that strength from herself?  No way.  That mindset, that determination, that trust and faith comes from a power MUCH bigger than she.

Let me spend a bit of time quoting Beth where I was really convicted (I hope I don't lose you here):

"Once we are in Christ, Satan has no authority to destroy us, so he settles for the next best thing: threatening to destroy us...
Our natural human defense it to grovel before God and plead with Him not to let our fears happen.  Our conditional trust not only makes us an open target for enemy torment; it also positions us as negotiators and beggars before God instead of secure children who trust their lives to their faithful Father.  Those times when our fears become reality we feel devastated.  We think God is unfaithful, and Satan essentially gets what he wants - us to believe that life is over.  Unless our belief system changes, for all practical earthly purposes, it is.  After all, as a man thinks, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).  
Don't misunderstand.  I'm a huge proponent of praying AGAINST what we fear and FOR the desires of our hearts.  I also believe we're free and safe to voice our worst nightmares to God.  In times of crisis and demonic attack, however, our vulnerable souls need something more.  The most critical breakthrough of faith you and I could ever experience is to let God bring us to a place where we trust Him - period.  We don't just trust Him to let us avoid what we fear most.  We trust Him no matter what, even if our worst nightmare befalls us.  We have no greater victory and can render Satan no harsher blow."




Not only was I feeling convicted by this, but I also found it to be true in the lives of one of my sweet friends and sisters in Christ this week.
Meet my friend, Libby:

About a week ago she was diagnosed with Lymphoma.  I'm sure that if Libby (or her husband, Justin) had to tell you what one of her fears would be, she would tell you that this could be amongst them.  You see, Libby is young, newly married of 3 years and a mom to a beautiful 6.5 month daughter.  MOST importantly, she's a believer in our Lord and Savior and she trusts Him with her life no. matter. what.  I could keep going, but I really urge you to head over to her blog that she created to share this experience that she believes is all a part of God's plan for her life.  There you can find her story and prayer requests. I hope that you will add Libby, Justin and baby Ava to your list of prayers and that God's healing and peace might be abundant in their lives.

(click the picture to go to her blog)

I've been humbled and shaken by Libby and her response to everything that is going on in her life, it has been a blessing for me to see how much she trusts in our Lord.  I pray that when I'm faced with my fears that I might have a response as Beth discussed and as Libby (and Esther) is demonstrating.  I know you won't leave Libby's blog without feeling God's presence!