What the Bible Says About Grace

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:14-17 (ESV)

(My emphasis in bold)

Almost!!!!!

It's Very Nice, But Quite Deceiving...

After her morning feedings, I would put Ava down in her playpen next to our bed and try to make Aaron's lunch or do light housework. As a newborn, when she would wake-up alone in our room, she'd cry and cry and cry. But now, she knows that even though I'm not right next to her, I'm still there and could get her when she needs me. She feels safe and loved. So, in the morning, after her feeding and she lulls to sleep in my arms, I put her in her playpen and make my husband his lunch. With the house quiet, I tip-toe into our room to check on her, thinking she's sleeping sweetly, only to find...

It's nice to get things done in the morning without her crying because she's alone, but, just as I'm about to sit down and have a moment to myself before our day starts, I find that the baby I thought was sleeping, is a baby wide awake!

But she's just so cute!

My Day

I graduated on Saturday, May 23rd. I had not been able to sleep the night before. I think it was a mixture of Christmas Eve Syndrome and last minute details that kept me lying awake. I slept for almost two full hours before our alarm went off at 5:00. We got ready, got coffee and found a great parking spot, which is almost unheard of.
The weather was beautiful and the ceremony went surprisingly fast. It was so amazing to look over and find my husband in a whole crowd of people, smiling and looking so proud of me. I'm not used to seeing that look on peoples faces, let alone on the people closest to me. My dad was so happy. He said that I had done three exceedingly good things in my life: I got married, had a baby and now graduated from Chico State. At my parents house, after lunch we had cake and champagne. My dad's toast was simple and sweet, he said " She finally did something I asked her to do!" He then thanked my husband for keeping his word in promising to help me finish school.
The afternoon was full of surprise and emotion. My grandma gave me the diamond and ruby wedding ring my grandpa had given to her. so we stood, me, my mom and grandma hugging and crying. I wish he were still here. There has been so much I would like to have shared with him. My grandma pointed out, I am the only one in our family to graduate from a University. My mom's a nurse and I have the education and degrees to be a teacher, but for now, I think I'm going to work on growing my family.

Let Them Eat Cake...

I love to bake, which is probably an understatement. I have had a few job offers for some bakeries in town, and I had been too scared to accept due to my self-taught decorating techniques (if you could call them "techniques"!) So, when my mom and I went to one of my favorite stores, The Galley, for a quick demo, I was overjoyed to sign-up for a full cake decorating class. What made it even more enjoyable was the fact that my mom and I are taking the class together. For the first class we decorated cupcakes and for our second class, a 9-inch cake. The class was Tuesday and I had Bunco on Wednesday so I used that to my advantage and took my cake with me.

Before class, we had to have had the cake baked and frosted so it would be ready to decorate. I ran out of white frosting, so my cake still looks rugged and not as smooth as I had hoped. I did three Posies and the purple star boarder in class. I wanted to practice and continue playing so, Wednesday before Bunco while Ava napped, I got busy.



I began with a flower for Aaron, I used it as a practice opportunity!






Aaron's finished flower.


Ta-dah!



Yummy! There were only three slices left.

I Turned Away for Just a Moment...

It's Almost Time!

As I was ironing my gown, I couldn't help think about my High School graduation and how my mom had ironed that gown. Now I'm the mom, ironing my own gown for my college graduaton. I also thought of how I got here. My family knows how long it has taken me to earn my Degrees, but looking back it seems like just yesterday I was at Butte. I can't believe how nerves I am!

There's a Letter I Need to Write

It seems as though when one thing in your life falls apart, it starts a landslide and everything around you crumbles. Friday night God answered a prayer that had overwhelmed us as a family for quite some time. We had wavered in the follow-through with what seemed His direction. Tossing different possibilities back and fourth. Talking out all the things that would prevent us or aid us in a decision we were not ready to face. God had presented us with such a clear answer, we just couldn't ignore it anymore. We left our church, we left my family, and soon we realized that we had to fully rely on God's grace, God's providence and God's sovereignty like we had never really had to in the past. Perhaps the final catalyst was so hard and painful because we failed to take the path God had for us. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to my sister and my beautiful nieces. I spent all night Friday feeling emotionally raw, like I had been gutted out with a dull knife, but when Saturday morning came, God provided us with beautiful encouragement. We thought that we had to leave behind everyone we had loved, but I found that we still had friends. My heart jumped and I knew that we were finally doing what God had directed us to do. There was utter peace in that.

However, my mind was still a little clouded as I set about enjoying my Mother's Day weekend. My loving, strong husband said I could do whatever I wanted to do. So, I got my hair done. We went to my old workplace and I was able to catch up on friends that I hadn't seen for awhile. That's when I got the news. Shortly after I had left work to be a housewife, my closest friend and boss moved out of state with her husband and two sons. A few weeks ago, her 15-year-old son was hit by a car and died. Dealing with such loss that I couldn't imagine, a crumbling marriage and emergency quadruple-bypass heart surgery; she was alone. States away from her family and friends. When I just wanted to reach out and hold her, to comfort her and love her; I prayed and I haven't stopped praying for her. Trying to mull through all of the thoughts, ideas and fears, I went on with my weekend. We had planned to go over and spend Sunday with my mom, so I made potato salad and a Waldorf cake. I must say that it was hard to focus on baking a cake with my mind so befuddled, but it turned out beautifully. We had decided to visit dear friends of ours that we had known from our previous church. It was so amazing to be embraced by our fellow brothers and sisters! It felt calm and I enjoyed every moment, even the awkward "I think I know you" ones. My mom as it turned out caught the stomach bug so after the service we dropped her gift off and picked up some chicken. I set the table and with my husband and daughter, we had lunch.

With all the grace God has seen fit to show us, I have been able to take every thing in stride. I'm learning to not focus on what I want, but on what my family needs and what the people God has surrounded me with need. So there's a letter I need to write, I pray that God will guide my thoughts and words as I try to express my sorrow in what my mentor and friend has lost and is losing. I pray that He gives me the words to encourage her, just as He had given to those whom He sent to encourage us.

The Ninth

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

Exodus 20:16 (esv)

Soli Deo Gloria

I Really Do Feed Her...

She just gets a little impatient.