Good Grief!

Read the following out of "Streams in the Desert" today:

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. (Mat. 27:61)

Oh, how slow grief is to come to understanding! Grief is ignorant and does not even care to learn. When the grieving women "were sitting there opposite the tomb," did they see the triumph of the next two thousand years? Did they see anything except Christ was gone?

The Christ you and I know today came from their loss. Countless mourning hearts have since seen resurrection in the midst of their grief, and yet these sorrowing women watched at the beginning of this result and saw nothing. What they regarded as the end of life was actually the preparation for coronation, for Christ remained silent that He might live again with tenfold power.

They did not see it. They mourned, wept, went away, and then came again to the sepulcher, driven by their broken hearts. And still it was only a tomb - unprophetic, voiceless and drab.

It is the same with us. Each of us sits "opposite the tomb" in our own garden and initially says, "This tragedy is irreparable. I see no benefit in it and will take no comfort in it." And yet right in the midst of our deepest and worst adversities, our Christ is often just lying there, waiting to be resurrected.

Our Savior is where our death seems to be. At the end of our hope, we find the brightest beginning of fulfillment. Where darkness seems the deepest, the most radiant light is set to emerge. And once the experience is complete, we find our garden is not disfigured by the tomb.

Our joys are made better when sorrow is in the midst of them. And our sorrows become bright through the joys God has planted around them. At first the flowers of the garden may not appear to be our favorites, but we will learn that they are the flowers of the heart.

Here's an up-close picture of a lizard Jon found in my grandparents' yard. Isn't it cute?

This is me super close to a wild lizard we discovered on our walk!!! It is kind of hard to see, but if you look closely, it is on the rock. 

This picture was taken just down the road from my grandparents house. We actually trespassed in someone's yard to get a picture with a cactus! Hope they forgive us. 

This is me tryin my first In-N-Out burger which I've heard so much about. Was pretty tasty, but in the end is still fast food! 

This is me with my dad. 

Me and Jon taking a walk in the desert during one of Arizona's beautiful sunsets. 

Believe Me Now...

Been working through some personal stuff lately. Why is it that when life takes an unexpected turn, my response (at least initially) seems to be, "God how can Your word be true in this?" Yet, deep down, I know that to be a Christian does not mean to not suffer or face hardships, but rather usually means the opposite. It is unrealistic for me, a sinful being, to expect to be expempt from hardships, when Jesus, the perfect Lamb, was not! Anyhow...as I have processed my current issues, God brought this song along my path. By the end, I was crying my eyes out and saying in my heart, "Yes, I believe You now."

Believe Me Now, Words by Steven Curtis Chapman

I watch you looking out
Across the raging water
So sure your only hope
Lies on the other side
You hear the enemy
That's closing in around you
And I know
That you don't have the strength to fight.
But do you have the faith to stand and

Believe me now. Believe me here.
Remember all the times I've told you loud and clear.
I am with you and I am for you.
So believe me now.
Believe me now.

I am the One who waved my hand
And split the ocean.
I am the One who spoke the words
And raised the dead.
And I've loved you long before
I set the world in motion
I know all the fears you're feeling now
But do you remember who I am?
Do you...

Believe me now? Believe it's true?
I never have, I never will abandon you.
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be.
So believe me now.

I am the God who never wastes a single hurt
That you endure
My words are true
And all My promises are sure
So believe me now. Oh, believe me now.

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am you God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
God in Isaiah 41:10

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? ... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."
Paul in Romans 8:35 & 37

"Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done."
Paul in Colossians 2:7

Back from the Land of the Sun!

Whew! Am I tired! We just got back tonight from our week long visit to my grandparents in Arizona. I'll try and post some pictures later. It was a good week. My grandparents literally live in the middle of the desert. It is always nice to get away and reflect, spend time with family, read and commune with nature.

Today was a long day. Our flight was supposed to leave at 11:05 am Arizona time, but the plane had some technical problems and they had to get a different one. We left an hour later. This now meant we would probably miss our connecting flight in Nashville. We got to Nashville when our next flight was supposed to leave. Thankfully, there were enough of us that they held the flight a few minutes and after running through the airport, we made it! I had to go to the bathroom the whole time, not to mention no lunch or dinner. We got home, though, for which I am thankful. Just finished downing my Wendy's dinner. Tomorrow it's back to the grind! One bad thing about returning from a slow-paced week is trying to adust back to fast-paced life.

Girls Rock!

Whew! It's been a very busy couple of days! I got a late start on finishing up planning for the Princess Party due to some personal stuff I had to weed through. It was good to have the party to distract me, though.

The party was awesome! I can't believe how God pulled it all together in only about a week's time. I ended up having more activities planned for us then we could do. The sad/funny part is that I had this whole small group discussion thing prepared about how they are true princesses because they are daughters of the King. I wanted to have at least a little of spiritual significance to the night! Well, I didn't realize that I'd forgot to do it until about 1:30-2 am. By then, I knew it was pointless because experience has taught me that students don't really think real deeply after midnight! Oh well, I can save it for next time.

There's just nothing like hearing a room of 30+ girls belting out "Part of this World" at the top of their lungs, losing all inhibition! I loved it. It seems like all the girls had a great time and a chance to connect with each other. I ended up sleeping only 45 minutes the whole night - I was afraid I'd fall asleep and not wake up in time to get everyone up.

Yesterday I slept for about 5 hours. Then Jon and I went to O'Charley's. yum! Got some work done for next week at the office (since we leave town tomorrow). Cleaned up around the house. Went over to the Shirock's (our pastor's house) to talk with them and they prayed for us - a very encouraging experience.

Today was still crazy. Staff meeting during first hour - last one of the school year (where does time go?). Then during second hour we had our first contagious Christian class. We had a great turn-out and I think students are getting excited about their part in evangelism. Then we had a ministry council lunch/meeting at the office. Now I am eating dinner and then off to girls' Bible study. I'm really excited about Erin teaching tonight!

We leave tomorrow for Arizona to visit my grandpa who's struggling through cancer. It will be nice to have a change of scenery (and some sun). Looking forward to seeing my family, even though it is bittersweet. Thinking of reading Randy Alcorn's book on Heaven to my grandpa - maybe it will help him look forward to where he is headed.

Thanks to everyone who is praying for us!!! It means more than you could ever know. Man, this has been probably the hardest year of my life (probably would be harder w/out your prayer support)!!!

Anticipated Caffiene Overdose!

Well - the much anticipated princess all-nighter is tomorrow night! I can't believe how much has come together in such a short period of time. I spent pretty much the whole day shopping for supplies.

I got supplies for us to make our own wands (mostly because my small group all gasped the other night when I mentioned the idea)! I got some cool princess decorations including streamers and a princess party banner.

The find of the day, however, was the tiaras. I have been looking in all the dollar stores around here, convinced that they woudl sell such an item. I had had no luck and was in the parking lot of the last dollar store I knew of around here. I actually prayed, "God, please let them have tiaras. Oh, and I need like 50 - could you make sure they have at least that many?" It was one of those hale mary types of prayers - not expecting God to take it seriously or even think of it as important. I was getting discouraged as I looked around the store until I got to the very back aisle. There in the very bottom bin lay a gazillion tiaras!!! There was even variety - ones w/ colorful fluffy feathers, ones with blinking lighted jewels and plain ones. I hurredly grabbed a cart and began counting out! Not only did I get 50 of them, but they still had some left over - believe it or not!

I also lucked out Tuesday when I talked to a mom who called me to offer help. Turns out, she sells Mary Kay and is going to donate a whole bunch of pedicure and facial kits! Woohoo! She must have seen the vision inside my head. Now the pampering part of the party is definitely going to rock.

I'll be spending most of tomorrow doing last minute set up type stuff and then up all night I'll be!!! I think the girls are going to have a blast!

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. Starting Thursday, I was coming down with a cold and it went full blown by Friday. I was having regular sneeze attacks which was really fun!!! The good news is that my eye healed 90% within 24 hours so that drama is over. My dad came in town Friday night to Saturday morning. He took us out to eat on Friday for dinner. We went to Bahama Breeze. I've always been curious about that place. It was pretty good, just wish I'd felt better so I could enjoy it more. We also met up Saturday morning for breakfast before he had to leave to catch his flight. I tried to go in and get some work done after that, but I was feeling so yucky that we ended up going home. After a good nap, I worked on girls' Bible study stuff. Later I hooked up with Denise from my small group. I love that God is willing to use me to touch others' lives! Spent the rest of the night watching Disney DVD's for ideas on our girls' all-nighter (btw according to my princess personality profile I am most like Belle).

We have girls' Bible study tonight. We are talking about 1 Cor. chapter 3. It's been really interesting preparing for it - thinking about what it means to be a Spirit-filled Christian. I think it will really challenge the girls - I know it challenges me!

I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal. Hope this cold goes away soon...