Travel Fever

Why is it that there is so much beauty in the world, but Houston got none of it? Maybe it's because we live in an apartment building or maybe it's because I work inside all day, but sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating in a world of concrete.  Sidewalks and ugly buildings and packed highways.  I've been dreaming of gardens and trees and patios with potted flowers and fields with wildflowers and sparkling blue oceans and rugged mountains.  Since we have none of that here, I've been looking at pictures of beautiful places that I can only dream of visiting.  One day...

A Greek island

Mt. Ranier, Washington

Cinque Terre, Italy

Somewhere in France

Prince Edward Island, Canada

Somewhere in Slovenia


 

He is Risen!

This is my favorite hymn of all time (as you probably know if you went to my wedding) and so appropriate for Easter!  My favorite are the last two verses. Rejoice in the Lord for today He has risen!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

It seems almost sacrilegious to call this day "good" Friday. 

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
 ³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”   Matthew 26:38-39

⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?” Matthew 26:67 - 68

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.      Matthew 27:27-31

¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.   
John 19:17-18

Such awful cruelty I can't even imagine.  I've heard this story so many times that I've almost become numb to the brutality of it.  Honestly, I don't like to think about it.  I love to thank Him for his sacrifice, but I focus on the good that resulted, not the actual event.

But on this day, I have to think about it, to feel it.  And I am amazed at how horrible people can be, that they would do this to anyone, much less the savior of the world.  I shudder to think what part I would have played had I lived then.  I grieve for Jesus' mother and family as they had to watch their loved one die, their hopes crushed, not fully realizing what was to come.

Most of all I thank God for His sacrifice on that dark day.  Through it my life is forever changed.

When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of glory died

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Update on the car situation

Yesterday I said that the mustang is in the shop due to a part that was installed incorrectly when he bought the car, but that Ford wasn't going to pay for it.  We thought it should be covered under the warranty, so James called the dealership that he bought the car from (several times) and today they finally said that they would pay for it!  So they are sending a check to the dealership down here and we will have a fixed car this week without having to pay for someone else's mistake.  Yay!!  God is gracious!

4 Things

1.  My little brother and cousin were in a play with Christian Youth Theater (CYT) this weekend directed by my older (but still younger than me) brother, and it was great! They did The Jungle Book (the Rudyard Kipling version, not the Disney version) and Scott was the father wolf that raised Mowgli.  I was very impressed with how well he did. I love it when my young relatives star in plays because that means a night of free entertainment for us!

2.  Yesterday I started reading Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose.  I read until we had to go to church (5:00 service) and then I read when we got back from church and then I stayed up until 11:30 to finish the book because it was just that good.  Darlene Deibler was a missionary in New Guinea during WWII and she was taken as a POW and held captive for 4 years.  Much like Corrie Ten Boom, her stories are horrific, but she had amazing faith and trusted God to bring her through.  My favorite anecdote is when she was malnourished in prison with very tiny rice rations and craving bananas.  She asked God for one banana, not really expecting to get any.  God miraculously gave her 96 bananas! You have to read this book.

3.  We are currently operating on one car because James' Mustang is in the shop.  They have determined that a part was installed incorrectly and needs to be replaced.  The part costs $37.  Our total bill will be $350. We're calling around to see if anyone else can do it cheaper, but so far no luck.  I cannot imagine why the labor costs that much, it seems rather outrageous to me for such a cheap part.  Being an adult is expensive.

4.  I have a bad case of traveling fever.  I've been dreaming of a quiet cabin by the mountains, preferably the Tetons, with a trip to Yellowstone National Park.  Unfortunately I don't think that trip is in the cards anytime soon, but I've been having fun planning it out in my head. Just look at that breathtaking scenery!  I've been feeling very cooped up lately in our apartment with no yard in our city with no (few) trees.  I never thought I'd say this, being a city girl and all, but I need nature. Growing up we had a large backyard and I played outside all the time.  We went camping and traveled to beautiful national parks.  In college we had a beautiful campus with trees and flowers and benches and I would sit out there and study, basking in the sunlight. Here I don't even have enough sunlight to grow herbs in my windowsill.  So a trip to the mountains sounds like heaven.  And now I will leave you with these beautiful photos of the Teton mountains in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Spring meditations

It's Spring!  This is my favorite time of year.  This morning I stepped out of the house to a crisp, cool, sunny morning.  The air smells good and there are wildflowers in all the green spaces along the side of the road.  Then in the afternoons it warms up to mid 70s and 80s. It makes me want to take a sick day just so I can spend the day outside and soak up the beautiful weather before the heat and humidity swoop in all too soon. 

Spring also brings Easter.  This year I have been anticipating it more than usual. I have found that observing Lent really brings about an awareness in my heart of the beauty of the gospel by forcing me to meditate on what Christ did for me. That is really what it is all about.  I am convinced that God is not interested in posturing or observing something religious just to do it.  This is evident over and over in the Bible, from the Old Testament and the New.  He wants my heart, and actions will follow.

He wants my heart.

The closer I am to Jesus, the more I realize just how sinful I am.  The more I see His perfection, the more I can identify with Isaiah.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
   and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
   and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

There is a song by Sidewalk Prophets that I heard on the radio this morning.  Here are the lyrics that really caught my attention, and the video is below.

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway

See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway
Oh, God… how you love me

God's love, the sacrifice that He made on that cross, doesn't mean much until I know the depth of my sin.  Once I realize that I am the reason He had to die, I am one of those who spit on Him and beat Him, I am Judas' kiss - then, I understand.  And His love, the beautiful grace of the gospel, astounds me.

Only when I recognize my wretchedness can I truly celebrate my salvation.

And I will definitely be celebrating on Easter morning.  I can't wait!

The waiting game

I hate waiting.  Particularly when it's for an indefinite amount of time with no guaranteed result at the end.  I have had two such periods of time in my life and hated both.

The first time was when I was in college and I had to wait for two years to officially start dating my (now) husband.  It was emotional torture for me because I did not know when the waiting would end, and I didn't have a guarantee that it would work out anyway.  James could have decided I wasn't worth the wait and gone after some other girl.  (Fortunately he is very patient!) Obviously it all worked out in the end and I certainly believe that God's timing is best and I learned a lot through that period of my life. In hindsight, I wouldn't have changed it, but in the moment it was no fun.

Right now I am in another season of indefinite waiting. And let me just say, it is hard. With the uncertaintly of NASA, we've had a couple of years of preparing to be laid off at any time.  Now James has been told that he will be laid off for sure this summer.  While I am grateful that God has provided us jobs for this long, it is also frustrating to not be able to make any solid plans. I am a planner!  I thrive on knowing what is going to happen when, so this is difficult for me.

Should we sign another lease at our apartment?  I don't know, that depends on whether or not we will need to move due to getting another job in another city. (We ended up going month to month which is SUPER expensive.)

Can I sign up for volunteering as a mentor to girls at risk for human trafficking for 6 weeks this summer?  I really want to but I have no idea whether or not I can commit to that.

Additionally, I've been putting off trying to get another job for the past two years because it never seemed like the right time.  James could get laid off and find another job in another city and we'd have to move and I'd have to leave the job I just started.

Right now it seems like this will never end.  I will be stuck at a job I hate forever and James will always be wondering if he will be part of the next layoff and we will never be able to make any solid plans for anything.

I know that eventually this will all be in the past and we will look back on it and see God's hand in it.  I know that we are learning to trust God through uncertain times, and that being faithful through hard things builds character.  I know that God's vision is so much bigger than mine and following Him is better than any plan I could devise on my own. 

Sometimes it's just frustrating to know so little.

2 years down, the rest of our lives to go

Two years ago today, I was getting ready to walk down the aisle and say "I do."  I can't believe two years have gone by! We celebrated by going to the Spindletop downtown for dinner and then to the Hobby Center for the musical Curtains.  It was fun!

Here are some things I have learned about marriage in the past two years.

1. The movies' portrayal of marriage and relationships is not realistic.  Probably most of the romantic comedy scripts were written by women - men are not actually like that in real life!  And that's ok.

2.  Men cannot read their wives minds.  This means they will not instinctively know that you want flowers for your anniversary or that they had better write a sweet, romantic note to you for special occasions. See number 1.  This means you need to learn how to communicate.

3.  Marriage is a refining institution.  Now you have to think about what is best for both of you, not just what you want. It has the tendency to bring up some selfish habits that you may not have known you had.  This is good.

4.  Sometimes, after you realize that your spouse is not perfect, you may start focusing too much on what you don't like about him/her. Take a deep breath and realize that you are both only human and make mistakes, and make a list of the things you love most about that person.

5.  Men and women do not speak the same language.  Sometimes you will say something and they will completely misunderstand you even though you were being as clear as possible and vice versa.  Patience and good communication skills will get you through.

6.  Being able to laugh together is so important.  Don't take everything so seriously.

7.  The mushy romantic feelings come and go.  This is normal.  A good friendship with your spouse and God at the center of your relationship will carry you through those times and deepen your relationship in the long run.

8.  It is important to make time for each other.  Schedules get really busy really quickly, and suddenly a week has gone by and you have hardly had any time together.  Sometimes you have to put aside what you are doing because making time to be with your spouse is more important.

9.  Compromise!  Sometimes you have to do/watch/read/whatever something that you are not so fond of because it's important to your spouse.  But by doing this you are showing him that you care.

10.  Relax and cut your spouse some slack.  Everyone has bad days and nobody is perfect.

I am sure I will learn a whole lot more in the years to come.  But for now I am grateful to have had two years with the best guy a girl could hope for.  They've been two of the best years of my life. Here's to the rest of our lives together, I am looking forward to it. I love you!

Exciting Times

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a future goal.  I've always loved architecture, and interior design, and I always dreamed that one day I would own a home of my own to decorate to my hearts content.

Well, after much planning and saving, my dream is coming true.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

I am so excited!  No more apartment living!  No more waking up in the middle of the night because the neighbors decided to blare their music through our walls!  No more carrying groceries up to the third floor!

The house is great.  It is perfect for us!  But before I show you our house, I want to show you a few of the houses we looked at.

First, we looked at this cute little house.

But it didn't quite have what we wanted.

When we passed by this house, we just had to take a look, but it wasn't quite what we were looking for.

This house really caught our interest, but we decided that the grounds would be WAY too hard to keep up.

In the end, we found the perfect house for us.  It is absolutely amazing, and unique, and in a GREAT neighborhood.  Here it is!

APRIL FOOLS!!!