a great love

we sang this song at church this morning. a great reminder....

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds that mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

by stuart townsend.

messy

for the past 6 weeks or so i've been in a Bible study discussing women and our emotions. my conclusion....women are emotional wrecks. all of us. insecurity, competitiveness and jealousy, anger, fear, fatigue, loneliness...just to name a few! we all have baggage. whether from our parents, our past, hurts, trials, beliefs, perspectives...whatever it is...we are burdened. we are all "groaning" for something more. something that this world is incapable of providing. there is an ache in my soul that will never go away on this earth...and i think that's a good thing. i'm beginning to grasp the fact that God is a jealous God, and He will pruin me back until i turn to Him...and remain in Him. it's a messy, ugly process. i fight His pruining daily. i want comforts, security, obedient kids, a sacrificial husband, more, more, more. i compare, i get angry, i'm lonely, i'm tired, i'm fearful, i'm insecure. it's a constant battle...a war for our hearts and minds and perspective. i'm slowly learning and thank goodness God is patient.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103

prayer of a child

the other day when will prayed before dinner this is what he said...
"Lord, help me to not fall when it's slippery"

i couldn't have said it better

a growing bond

i love this. it doesn't happen much, but i'm beginning to watch as will and ava really start to enjoy each other. they managed to get themselves into this wagon...with drink and snack in hand, and they stayed there a good 30 minutes. chatting and babbling about who knows what. it's so fun watching them really start to play together...don't get me wrong, we still experience our fair share of sibling rivalry. but this "snapshot" now in my head makes it all worth it.

"To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. "

i am cake

this doesn't happen to me much, but the other day while making greg's birthday cake, i had a deep thought. i was looking at his poor birthday cake that i baked...it was so ugly...torn apart...it was a sad sight. it needed some serious help. i started slatthering it with icing and swipe by swipe it became more and more beautiful...well, presentable. :-) i am that cake. without Jesus covering ALL of me up, i am an ugly, unpresentable, mess of a person. i need icing. i need less of me and more of Him. cover me up Lord...

Compassion

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dinner delivered...

For those of you stressed-for-time moms...this is a lifesaver! My friend, Kim, told me about this girl (who is one of her friends). Here is the link...

http://vanillaorchidbymolly.blogspot.com/

I've just ordered my 1st meal...so, next Tuesday, I will relish in the fact that I don't have to cook!