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Death in the family

My father's father died today.  He's been sick for a long time, but as a believer in Jesus, he's all better now. 

My aunt died when I was in college.  Now Granfus's passing makes it just 2 of my immediate family members who have passed away.  I think it's pretty cool to be able to say at 33 that I still had all 4 of my grandparents.  Until today. 

Brian has 2 tests next week, so I'm taking the kids in the morning on a 13 or 14 hour drive to Crowley, LA.  The service is Sunday afternoon.  We'll stay with my other grandparents in Baton Rouge on Monday night, and head back to STL Tuesday morning.

I'm already exhausted just thinking about it all and prepping to be ready to go.  Please pray for me.  I need help in this.

Seeking for Less

Back in December I quoted at length from Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss about how to have peace.  Well, it's been on my mind off and on since then and has encouraged me a lot.

Well, today Scotty Smith wrote about the same concept, but tied becoming less with joy.  Thought I'd pass it along too.  It's good stuff.

I love my pants!

This past Christmas I discovered the best pants ever.  EVER.  They fit me well, they're very soft and comfortable, and they come in several great colors.  So I got some for a Christmas gift.

And because I love them so much, I wrote a song about them.  It a short, sweet one-liner that goes like this, "I love my pants!"  That's four measures of 3/4 time, if you can imagine, of the notes C#, D#, G#, C#.  And I kinda have to sway side to side when I sing it. 

Be prepared that if I have them on, I will burst into song unexpectedly when I am overcome with comfort and gratefulness for the awesomeness of these pants.

The thing is they're not cheap.  And right now is not the time for me to be dropping a lot of cash on new clothes.  So I've been watching for them on ebay and in the consignment stores (maybe twice each), but it seems that everyone likes these pants as much as I do. 

But, lo and behold, God cares about me and cares to bless me in unexpected ways.  When Brian and I were waiting for our table on Saturday night, we wandered into a few stores to kill some time.  Guess what was on the sale rack, marked down to the final price that ends in .97 (won't go any lower) AND was an additional 25% off for the holiday weekend?  And was my exact size but not the same color I already have (but I would have bought them even if they were the same color)?  Yes, it was the pants I love. 

And wouldn't you know I had just been given some birthday money with which to purchase said pants?

I'm so thankful to God to provide for me the things I love, even if I don't need them.  Because I love them.  Really....I love my pants.  (that's right, sway as you sing)

Weekend

This weekend the Browns came and took our kids away for 3 nights.  Jim had hotel points, so they booked a suite about 5 minutes from here.  It was dreamy.  The weather was gorgeous--we kept the windows open most of the weekend.  Brian hung around helping me work as much as he didn't, and we were also able to get some good quality non-work time in together.

One of the favorite things we did was go for a walk Friday morning.  We needed to return the movies to the library before it opened, so when I got back from camp we decided to head out together.  It was cool but not cold--perfect for a brisk walk--and the library is about a mile away.  About 2 min. into the walk, I looked over at my handsome husband (he'd just gotten a haircut and his beard trimmed), and told him I was so glad I really liked him so much.  That I'm excited about the idea of living the rest of life with him, especially that it will be just us again some day.  Kind of.  But in the same way it was just us that morning.

Then Friday afternoon I was reminded of how very selfish I am in general.  One of the kids got sick enough to want to leave all the fun and come home.  So there went our planned date night, and I was resentful.  I wasn't going to be able to do as much work as I'd wanted.  I was going to have to be bothered to parent during my vacation.  I was going to have to deal with another person's opinion about TV or music or food.  I was not going to be able to be entirely selfish.  I wanted my whole break to myself; who knows when I will ever have an opportunity like this again??

Then it struck me--God our Father never takes a break.  He never tires of us being his children, needing him for every little thing.  He doesn't get upset when he has to continue to teach and train us in the same thing he just addressed.  I'm NOT, not, not saying I'm able to do that, or that I don't need a real break for my sanity as well as theirs.  I'm just truly in amazement that He can do that all the time and that he wants to.  And I'm truly thankful that He is a better parent to me than I am to my kids.  I simpley realized he became a bigger God to me.  That's a good thing.

Save the Trees!

I want to throw up.  I am fightin' mad.  And I sincerely weep for Al from Dadeville.  He is a stupid, stupid man.  Here is a link to a podcast from the Finebaum show where he confesses to poisoning the 130 year old trees at Toomer's corner. 
Brian and I took our first picture as a couple on New Year's Eve, 1999, under those trees.  I pray they can save them.

Here's one of the articles going around:
ESPN article about the poisoning of Toomer's Corner Oak trees

We have this picture framed, and it used to hang in our hall in Birmingham.  It's much better in person.

Water and Love

Ever tried to push water away when you're in it?  When we were in 6th grade, my friend Lee Anne taught me how wierd it is that no matter what you do to try to get away from water, it keeps coming back. It's not like you can keep it away at all--even if you push a wave away, the water is still ON you because you're still WET, not to mention that the rest of the pool immediately fills up the empty space you made.

One year, when my heart had been bruised by a boy who I liked a lot--he broke up with me the week before Valentine's Day and two weeks before my birthday (can you say economically savvy, although more painful for me, but I digress)--my very dear friend, Rebecca, gave me a hand-written card for Valentine's Day.  Below is all it said.  It meant SO much to me to be reminded that the best and truest love I will ever know is the love of Jesus. 


Oh The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fulness over me
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Spread his praise from shore to shore
How he loveth, ever loveth
Changeth never, never more
How he watches o'er his loved ones
Died to call them all his own
How for them he intercedeth
Watcheth o'er them from the throne.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Love of every love, the best
Tis an ocean vast of blessing
Tis a haven sweet of rest
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee.


I love the idea of Jesus's love surrounding me like the water in an ocean. I can't get away from it, even if I wanted. I am saturated in it. Not even Brian, who really, truly loves me, has the ability to love me that well.

Now, Jesus is not going to be your boyfriend or your husband for that matter, but his love satisfies us as only he can.  We were created to know him.  I'd love to introduce you if you don't know him already.