Reflections

I am feeling a bit reflective tonight. I ran across a prayer-poem on a friends blog and it has caused me to ponder the love of God.

"The risen Christ meets us at the tomb,

and turns our fear to joy.

Christ comes through our locked doors,

and turns our fear to courage.

Christ comes to daily life and work,

and turns our failure into new vision.

Christ breaks the bread,

and turns our despair into hope.

For your love and goodness

we give you thanks, O God."

I don't know where Pastor Paul got that poem, but I am struck by its truth in my life. The risen Christ has met me at the door of death and I now have eternal life with him - joy. He has broken into the darkest corners of my heart and helped me to battle fears and step forward in faith - courage. He is daily a part of my life and he picks me up in spite of my numerous failures and shows me the path to follow - vision. And the greatest gift of all, fellowship through the breaking of his body - I have fellowship with my savior and I no longer despair, I hope. 

I know that not all of you believe like I do, and some of you are searching trying to figure it all out...you should know this is a reality for me. I am honestly filled with joy, and empowered by his courage. I have vision and purpose and I do not despair because I have hope of greater things to come...Even when I forget these truths and I am wallowing on the floor in self pity, these things are true. They don't change. And the craziest part of the whole thing is that all of this is offered to each of us. All of these things can be true for you too. God loves you that much. No joke. Ask me anytime, I'll tell you all about it.

So, that's what I'm reflecting on tonight. I am amazed at who my God is and what he has done for me. Yes Lord, for your love and goodness I give you thanks!

Changes

Thought with us heading out again, I would change the blog. What do ya think?

Funny Story - this morning Benson laid down on the couch and said "I'm dead Mom. A bad guy got me." A few moments later he sat up and said "I'm not dead anymore. Jesus woke me up." Gotta love it!

Thats Life.

Whew. Life. Just when we think we've got a moment to get comfortable God throws an adventure our way and we're off.

I just finished purchasing tickets to head back overseas. We leave Wednesday. Yep, thats right, Wednesday. My wonderful Hubby and first born son headed overseas almost a week ago. I am anxious to get to where they are. So, so anxious. Talking on the phone is no comparison for squeezing chubby little boy cheeks!

How did all this happen you ask...its a long, slightly complicated, story that most of you know. But if you don't and you'd like to hear the gory details of what God is doing and where we're headed. Shoot me a comment, with your email and I'll fill you in.

Yep, thats life. Always changing. Some days its hard. I want to get off the merry-go-round and stand still for five minutes. But even when its hard I have peace. Deep, deep peace. I know that I am in God's will, I am loved by Him and that He is good. And, its only hard some days, most other days it is an exciting adventure that I feel privileged to live. I wouldn't change my life for a minute, nope not even a second. 

Happy Birthday.

Today is my favorite person in the whole wide worlds birthday. My hubby Joey. A man like no other. Seriously, he is the very best. He's not perfect, but he's wonderful. He has faults, but they pale in comparison to his gifts and talents. I cannot describe to you how much I love him and how thankful I am to have him as part of my life. I cannot explain how blessed I am to be his wife and to get to walk through this life with him. 

Anna ken hebbik, Youssef dellie... bezef!

Milkshakes and Faithfulness

Last night I went on a run/walk. It was nice. Something I haven't done in a while, and something I was feeling the need for. See, life is a bit full lately. Full in both good and hard ways. Joey's grandpa, Papa, passed away last Saturday, just 7 weeks after his wife, Ma, passed away. It is an end of an era, a point of transition in our family. As I was out last night I was reminded of the Lords faithfulness. In the big and the little. He knows our every need and he meets it, time and time again. There have been so many times in the past weeks I have seen him move and do incredible things, and I have known his faithfulness. There have been even more times in the past weeks that I have felt peace or joy or awe and again I have known his faithfulness. I want to tell you all about Papa, the kind of man he was, the life he lived, etc. But if its ok with you all, I think I'll wait. Just let it all sink in and wait and see what sort of incredible moments of peace the Lord brings. Until then here are a few photos of life...

Joey made the boys milkshakes. They LOVED it!

Reading has become the newest pastime here in our house. Even William gets in on it.

Before

After

Quite possibly our cutest kid yet! We cannot get enough of this boy!

These two kill us daily with crazy statements and random stories.

The middle 5 cousins. There are three older cousins, and three babies. These boys have too much fun. Here they are watching a movie together. I love getting to hear them laugh and play together. Praise the Lord for this year living next door to cousins!

The Spit

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day so we headed down to the spit. The Purdy Spit that is. Yup, thats right we live next to the purdy spit and it is sure purdy! Sorry, couldn't resist. For those who don't know a spit is "

a narrow point of land projecting into the water." and our particular spit happens to connect us to the rest of the world by cutting through the Burley Lagoon. 

 

The Purdy spit is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Ok, not the spit so much itself, but what you get to see while driving over the spit. The sunrises and sunsets are incredible. The water is never exactly the same color or texture and the wildlife is an added bonus. I never thought I'd be that excited about living near water, but I find that I absolutly love it!

  

We've recently discovered that our boys like to throw rocks into water (what can I say they're boys). The Spit is a great spot to do this. I grabbed a book and the whole family headed down for a quick adventure. We had a great time. Throwing rocks, reading and going on a little walk. They even found a crab, which Josiah informed me was "broken", aka dead.

 

  

It was a fun afternoon, I can't wait for many more to come this summer!

*Sigh*

Sometimes the day ends, the boys go to bed and I find myself sitting in front of the computer. There are things to do, school to organize and I really should be sweeping the floor. But instead I sit down and let the cares of the day fall away...

Tonight is one of those nights. Life is full and I am tired. There is LOADS I could tell you about. Ways God is working and moving in my heart. Funny little tidbits about the boys. General information about what we've been up to and the business that has found us again. Yes life is full, but more importantly my God is good and he faithfully carries me through joys and trials, dishes and diapers. Not a moment passes that I am not in his hand and under his care. I don't know...I guess it just fills me with peace to know I am his and he is mine...and I guess I just wanted you to know too, cuz the same thing applies to you...He's got you in his hand and under his care. So have a seat and rest...