So, as much as I love our new apartment there are a few things about it that I'm not a fan of. One of those things is that there are no overhead lights in any of the rooms except the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms. Which leaves the two bedrooms and living room with a necessity for light producing objects. We got the bedrooms taken care of with lamps we already owned, but we were unsure about what we wanted to do for the living room. So for the last month and a half the lights from the dinning room and kitchen have been the lights we've had on at night to try and illuminate the living room. Which has left the living room fairly dim.
But thankfully I have a new friend here, Beth Randall, and she has some creative juices flowing through her veins. So over the last few weeks we have been brain storming some lamp ideas and we finally came up with one we liked. We spent a Sunday afternoon with my other new friend, Gracie McGeehon (Beth's sister), and retrieved all of our parts and built our creation.
It began with 6 Dollar Store frames.
We added fabric.
Attached them to a wooden embroidery hoop.
And the shade was complete!
Then we simply used twine and attached it to our awesome looking rope which held the light fixture.
And then we hung it up!
Here's our victory picture!
And here is Eddie mesmerized by the awesomeness of the lamp.
I think this may very well be one of the coolest things I have ever worked on. Thanks Beth and Gracie for your help in bringing some light into our lives!
I just got done reading a book called "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn and I think I would say that it is probably one of the most influential books I have ever read. I know, that's some high praise for a book. But let me explain.
For me, I resonate with books that tell stories, either fiction or non-fiction. Not that I don't like or am not affected by theological or instructive books, I just find myself more convicted and changed by stories. For example, I am more convicted by my lack of faith when I read about Hudson Taylor than I am when I read a book about faith, how to have it, and what it does in my life. When I see faith, grace, love, etc lived out in other people, fictional or not, I am affected more than if I just read books that talk about faith, grace, love, etc. And because of that, I tend to read more biographies and Christian fiction.
"Safely Home" is a fictional story based on some real life events and people. Here is a short synopsis:
Executive Ben Fielding hits upon a perfect plan: he will make his company millions of dollars by using Chinese labor to manufacture its electronic components. To kickstart his plan, he visits China, where he stays with college roommate Li Quan, whom he hasn't seen in over 20 years. From Li, Ben learns that his initial impressions of China from his research and from visits over the years are false, but Ben doesn't believe Li's stories of the persecution of Christians until Li is taken to jail. As Ben rediscovers Jesus through Li's faith, he discovers the truth that God does not promise an easy life on Earth, only eternal happiness after death.
I don't want to give away too much of the story, so I won't give specifics. But I was convicted of a lack of reliance on and love for Jesus Christ, a lack of love for the lost, too much love for the comforts of the world, and not setting my eyes and my heart on eternity and eternal things.
If you enjoy reading a good book and want your faith and your heart stirred and refreshed for Jesus, I recommend reading this book. And if you do read I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
The truth that the Lord will provide for me is probably the one truth my heart has the hardest time believing in. When circumstances arise in my life where I think I won't have what I need, my heart goes immediately into panic and manipulation mode. And it's taken me to evil places in the past.
Thankfully, the Lord is gracious and wants me to have a solid faith in his provision and so he keep pushing that tender place in my heart. Here's the most recent example of that.
Last Friday I took our car into Breaks Plus for an check-up and oil change because we got a coupon in the mail for $25. They first came out to tell me that the breaks were almost at a critical point, that they needed to be changed and that it would cost about $500. I called Eddie and he said that he could take care of the breaks and to just have them do the oil change. And so that's what they did. But then as they were ready to pull the car out of the garage and give it back to me, it wouldn't start and "made a clanking noise" according to the mechanic.
Long story short, after being there for 3.5 hours they determine that the timing chain probably broke and that it was going to be about $600 to fix. After calling Eddie (in tears) he told me to leave the car there for the night and that he would deal with it tomorrow. Eddie and several others were quite suspicious that our car just up and broke while at the mechanic and so he wanted to go in and get the story from them directly.
So on Saturday, Eddie and I went back to Breaks Plus and ended up having the most weird conversation with a guy that worked there who is also a youth pastor at a local church. He was clearly very excited about the Lord and even wanted him and his girlfriend to hang out with us sometime. So though we walked suspicious in ready take our car somewhere else, we left in faith trusting that this guy was genuine and really wanted to take care of us like he said he did.
And the Lord is faithful and does provide. It turns out that they weren't trying to pull a fast one over on us. There really was a problem with our timing chain and it's the Lord's good plan that it broke there. If we had been driving the car while it broke, it could have done serious damage to our engine and we might have been in an accident. Our car was fixed by Monday and they even gave us a huge discount. We are very thankful for our new friend Kevin who was a tool for God's provision in our lives. Our car runs great and is even more safe now than it was before.
Thank you, Jesus, for taking care of us. And thank you for refining my faith.
So, I think I can officially call us "Arizonans" now that we have an apartment and are completely unpacked. To check out our new apartment you can watch the video tour here. Yeah, it's pretty great.
The whole moving process was crazy. We finally got our proof of income from Eddie's employer on Thursday, Jan 20th (read about that story here) and we took it straight to the apartment complex. We got our application completed and were told that we could have our apartment by Saturday the 22nd. So that Thursday night at midnight we caught a Greyhound bus from Phoenix to Albuquerque. We arrived in NM at about 10am, had breakfast with Eddie's mom, picked up our truck and made it to Eddie's parents house around 1pm. We rested up for a little while and then loaded our truck. Eddie's mom graciously made us dinner, we spent the night and took off about 8am on Saturday morning. We arrived back in Mesa around 3pm, signed our lease and unloaded our truck with the help of the Pullen's and Gaudy's and spent the next three days unpacking.
So it was a whirlwind of a weekend but I am so thankful that the Lord worked it all out. He has been beyond gracious to us. We have received financial gifts from friends to help us get settled down here. We have been blessed by the Lord answering the prayers of our friends and family for protection and provision for us. And we have been hugely blessed to lock arms with a solid group of men and women down here who love Jesus Christ and yearn for him to be glorified in this city. And though I miss everyone back in Fort Collins I really believe that God has transitioned our hearts and made a home for us here in Arizona.
So Colorado, you were a great place to live and we were blessed to be Coloradoans. But our relationship with you must change and we can no longer be claimed or labeled by you. It's not you, it's us. We've been called elsewhere. Our memories of our time with you will always be with us, but we are out to make new memories. We are now Arizonans.
God has been really good to us. Eddie and I both got jobs within 2 weeks of being here. (Eddie is working in the tech department at Mesa Community College.) We've also been so blessed to have the hospitality of the McGeehon family; I'm pretty sure that they would have us living here permanently if they could.
But my heart yearns for my own home. We have been "couch hopping" now for about 7 weeks and I am ready to have our own place with our own bed and our own stuff. I also really want to be able to use our place for inviting people over for meals and coffee, but I can't really do that when I am the invited guest. So although we have been truly blessed by the hospitality of our brothers and sisters in Christ, I am ready to get an apartment.
We didn't want to get an apartment before we got jobs here, since that seemed unwise, but within 48 hours of being here I had been hired at Paradise Bakery, so we started our apartment search. We looked at a couple different places and decided that we wanted to live in the same apartments as the Gaudy's (who had already signed a lease) and so we started the paperwork with The Montego Apartments. But most apartment complexes want proof of your income in order to approve you. After explaining our situation and showing a bank statement of how much we have in savings they said that we just needed income proof for one of us.
And so it began. Apparently Paradise uses a third party company to provide proof of employment and income, but because I haven't actually gotten paid yet I can get the proof we need from that company. So that has been a dead end. But thankfully Eddie was also hired and so we decided to get proof of his employment instead. And yesterday we were so close. Eddie went in and got a signed letter from his HR department and we took it over to the apartment. But we left the apartments dejected after being told that the information the apartment needed wasn't in the letter Eddie was given.
I was so disheartened. I had really thought that yesterday would be the day when we would finally be able to put in our application and hopefully have our apartment by this weekend. And I realized by the way that my heart was reacting to the situation that I needed to give this whole apartment thing up to the Lord. I wanted an apartment so badly that I was unwilling to trust in his timing for when we would actually get one. So after a little alone time with the Lord and some gospel preaching to my heart, I was able to repent of my lack of faith and put it back into my Saviors hands.
Today we plan on trying again. We'll drive back to Eddie's work and see if they can put the pertinent information into another letter for us. And by God's grace we'll be able to finally get the ball rolling on our apartment. But if it doesn't happened today, then I will praise the Lord that we are not homeless and that we have a place to stay as long as we need it. God has provided even if it isn't exactly the way I want him to.
Never before have I lived in a place where I could walk outside into the back yard and pick fruit at will. But here in AZ, I can! The McGeehon's have a really awesome house with a big beautiful back yard filled with citrus trees.
A lemon tree, from which they make fresh lemonade.
Grapefruit Trees
(Eddie has been enjoying fresh grapefruit for breakfasts)
Orange Trees
And Tangerine Trees
And I can just walk out and pick whatever I want! It's Amazing!
I'm liking Arizona! You all should come visit us and we'll send you home with some fruit!
I am writing from sunny Mesa, AZ, where the sky is clear and it's a nice 63 degrees outside (which is apparently a little chilly for winter). We've been here for about 5 days and it's already starting to feel like home.
The first night we arrived a bunch of people had a potluck for us at Owen and Shirley McGeehon's house (Owen is the other pastor of the church down her). We met a bunch of people from the church and felt very welcomed. We've also been staying at the McGeehon's, which has been really fun. We've taught them how to play 50 and the List Game.
I got a job at Paradise Bakery. I barely had to work for it. My manager from Panera called down and told the manager here that she should hire me... and so she did. I have orientation this Wednesday and will be able to start training after that. So that is a definite answer to prayer and we are thankful for God's quick provision.
Eddie is still looking for a job. He has been really faithful in sending out his resume and applying for jobs. So we could still use prayers for that. I am praying that Eddie will find a job that he really enjoys, will provide for a family and one that he will be able to have for many years. And we would like to wait on getting an apartment until he finds a job.
So there's a quick update on how things are going for us. God has been so good to us in this transition and so we praise him for that. But we also still need him in so many ways, so thank you for your prayers.
And here are a few pictures from our drive. These are all in northeastern AZ. Sorry the quality isn't so good, I took them on my phone.
November 14th marked our one year anniversary. Woohoo! I'm so thankful for the grace the Lord has given us in our first year. It was a great year for us, full of learning experiences, growth and lots of joy. I'm thankful for the husband God has given me and I am looking forward to many more years with him.
I also spent most of the month packing our apartment. Our lease was up on the 27th, so we packed a moving truck and drove all of our stuff down to Eddie's parents house in New Mexico. It's currently being stored in their work shop and will stay there until we find a place to live in Phoenix. We spent Thanksgiving there with his parents, grandparents and sister, which was a blast. The time was full of good food, Settlers of Catan, and some shopping. I love his family and am thankful to be apart of it.
But not having an apartment means we are living out of our suitcases and "couch hopping" for the month of December. We're currently staying at Ryan and Christy Klumph's apartment. Next week we'll be at the Majeski's and the following week at the Alvarado's. Then we'll do Christmas with my family, head to Faithwalkers, come back for Nick Power's and Steph Jordan's wedding, and then we'll head down to Phoenix.
So it seems like we are in a crazy whirl wind right now, just holding on to our anchor, Jesus Christ. And as I have realized that we are in our last month here in Fort Collins, I have begun to feel the bittersweetness of what's ahead; excitement for the adventure, and a broken heart for what's being left behind. Fort Collins has been my home now for 8 years. But I am even more attached to Summitview Community Church and the home I have found there. I will miss my heavenly family very much, but will be glad to catch up with all of you in our eternal dwelling.
So here begins our last month before Pheonix. I'm going to soak in as much of Fort Collins as I can and hang out with as many people as I can before Christmas. So, if you want to hang with me and/or my husband in the next couple of weeks feel free to call us!
As some of you already know, Eddie and I are moving to Phoenix, Arizona. Our new pastor, Brandon Pullen, and his wife, Jen, are moving down to Phoenix to be the full time pastor for our sister church down there and he has asked Eddie and I to join him. At this time our plan is to move down to Phoenix in early January, immediately following a couple of weddings we would like to attend.
Things I am looking forward to:
1. Being apart of a small tight knit body of believers.
There are 6-7 families that live down there right now. And with the handful of people that will go down from Fort Collins that means there will only be about 30 people laboring together for the advancement of the kingdom in one of the largest cities in the U.S.
2. How God is going to grow my faith.
There are a lot of things that we need to trust the Lord for. And I am praying that the Lord would stretch and strengthen our faith through this adventure.
3. Doing something new.
It's hard to not be excited about a whole life change, doing something completely new.
Things I am NOT looking forward to:
1. The heat.
Even today, Nov 4, the high in Phoenix is 89 degrees. In the summer, it gets up to 115 degrees. Yeah... not excited about that.
2. Scorpions
Yep, there are scorpions in Phoenix. My plan is to find every trap and scorpion repellent thing I can get and utilize them all, cause I am pretty freaked out about the idea of having them in my house/shoes/bed/anywhere near me.
3. Not being able to start a fire in the fireplace, cuddle up with a blanket and some coffee and watch a movie while it's snowing outside. Because it doesn't snow in Phoenix! Lame!
Things we need prayer for:
1. Jobs.
Eddie and I are both going down jobless and will need to find jobs when we get there. I've been praying that the Lord would provide Eddie with a solid, permanent job quickly. It's not quite as big of a deal for me, since I can basically get any kind of temporary job until we start having kids.
2. A place to live.
We also don't know where we will be living as of right now, but I am praying that we would be able to live close to the Pullen's and other people in the church.
3. For the Lord to use us.
Us going down there will do nothing unless the Lord works through us. Pray that we will be available and ready for what he might call us into and that he would save people through our efforts down there.
I will try and keep my blog updated with our adventures and with all of the cool things that the Lord is going to do. Thanks for caring about our lives and praying for us!
As I shared in my last blog post, I have been trying to reconnect with the lover of my soul. And one of the verses that has really been burrowing into my heart is Psalm 18:19b.
"he rescued me, because he delighted in me." (ESV)
I have been camping on this verse for the last couple of weeks. I've been trying to picture what it looks like to have the Lord of the universe delight in me. A basic definition of "delight" would be "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment". And it's just really crazy for me to think that the Lord has a high degree of pleasure/enjoyment because of me. And every time I let that verse sink into my heart, I am filled with so much joy and thankfulness for what God has given me in Christ, namely himself. And what's even crazier, is that he delighted in me before he rescued me! Even when I was dead in my transgressions and sins, he delighted in me and therefore he saved me.
I don't think I can or will ever comprehend the goodness of this God who takes great pleasure in me and gave his life for me in order that he might continue to do so.
Some of you may have noticed that I haven't blogged for about 2 months. Part of the reason for that was simple laziness. But the main reason is that I have been processing and wrestling through a few things in my heart in regards to my relationship with the Lord and I felt like I didn't have much to contribute over the last couple months.
Here is my confession.
I came to a point near the end of August/beginning of September where I felt like I didn't have a personal relationship with God. I felt like I had a bunch of head knowledge about the Lord and about the Christian life, but I couldn't call God my friend. My prayer life was next to non-existent and to read the word was bland and uninteresting to me.
I began to realize that I had a far off view of the Lord. I still saw him as a powerful and good God, but he was distant. When I thought of the fact that God loved me, I knew it was true, but it was more of an uninvolved love from that distant God that had much better things to worry about than my life. And because I had a distant view of the Lord, I had become very self-sufficient and self-reliant. If God was far away, then I needed to take care of myself and therefore prayer would do me no good. And when I read the Bible, I was reading the instruction manual of what God wanted me to do while he was off taking care of the world, and instructions aren't very interesting. I still saw God as my Savior and Redeemer, but I was just a face in the crowds of people that the blood of Christ covers. I felt spiritually dead.
It finally came to a breaking point as I sat in the Majeski's kitchen trying to explain all of that to Shelli. And as Shelli so often pin points exactly what the root issue is in my life, she hit this nail right on the head. I had forgotten that God is my Lover, just as much as he is my Savior, Redeemer and Powerful Creator. He cares about me personally and even delights in me.
And so over the last few months, I have been trying to reconnect with the Lover of my soul. I have been reading a book called "Because He Loves Me" by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, which Shelli recommended and then "coincidentally" we are also reading at Women's Coffee House. One of her main points in the book is that "even though many of us love and believe the good news about Jesus Christ, we rarely take that news as personally as it's meant to be taken." (p. 42) And that is a true statement about my life.
I have also been trying to read the Bible as a love letter instead of an instruction manual. To see all the little treasures that the Lord has written in order that I might know the depth of how he feels for me. And it seems like every time I find one of those treasures now, the tears start rolling. Slowly the Lord has been softening my heart and showing me how much he loves and delights in me even as he shows me more of the depths of my sin and my need for his grace.
I feel like I have come back to the beginning of getting to know my Savior; And not to just know him intellectually, but to know him experientially. But I am excited to learn how to trust and rely on him more and more and to see my need for him more and more.
So that's just a little update for you about the last 2 months and why I have been so silent on my blog. I will try and not have another 2 month gap between posts. :)
Thanks for caring about me enough to read my rantings!
In chapter 12 of 1 Samuel, Samuel is addressing the people of Israel.
v 17-19
"I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."
At first sight it seems like Israel understands what they have done and that they are truly repentant. But I'm not convinced. Why? Because they kept their king. If they were genuinely repentant wouldn't they have given up their king and returned to the Lord? But they don't. Which tells me that they didn't really recognize the evil in what they did, they were simply afraid of the consequences. They still didn't want the Lord to be their king, they just didn't want him to destroy them.
I've felt that before. It's the fear that comes after you have been caught doing something wrong. It's not like you are sorry for what you did, you're just sorry that you got caught and now there are consequences. So you apologize and plea for mercy, but in your heart you still want whatever it is that you were busted for. That's not repentance. If it was real repentance I would hate my previous action and run from it into the arms of my merciful Savior. I would see how much better He is than what I was chasing before. There would be life change, not just a plea for mercy so that I can keep that which was evil to begin with.
I am reading a book called "What is the Gospel" by Greg Gilbert. In Chapter two he talks about God and his character. This is how he starts.
Let me introduce you to god. (Note the lowercase g.)
You might want to lower your voice a little before we go in, He might be sleeping now. He's old, you know, and doesn't much understand or like this "newfangled" modern world. His golden days - the ones he talks about when you really get him going - were a long time ago, before most of us were even born. That was back when people cared what he thought about things and considered him pretty important to their lives. Of course all that's changed now, though, and god - poor fellow- just never adjusted very well. Life's moved on and passed him by. Now, he spends most of his time just hanging in the garden out back. I go there sometimes to see him, and there we tarry, walking and talking softly and tenderly among the roses. Anyway, a lot of people still like him, it seems - or at least he manages to keep him poll numbers pretty high. And you'd be surprised how many people even drop by to visit and ask for things every once in a while. But of course that's alright with him. He's here to help. Thank goodness, all the crankiness you read about sometimes in his old books - you know, having the earth swallow people up, raining fire down on cities, that sort of thing - all that seems to have faded in his old age. How he's just a good-natured, low-maintenance friend who's really easy to talk to - especially since he almost never talks back, and when he does, it's usually to tell me through some slightly weird "sign" that what I want to do regardless is alright by him. That really is the best kind of friend, isn't it? You know the best thing about him, though? He doesn't judge me. Ever, for anything. Oh sure, I know that deep down he wishes I'd be better - more loving, less selfish, and all that - but he's realistic. He knows I'm human and nobody's perfect. And I'm totally sure he's fine with that. Besides, forgiving people is his job. It's what he does. After all, he's love, right? And I like to think of love as "never judging, only forgiving." That's the god I know. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Alright, hold on a second.... Okay, we can go in now. And don't worry, we don't have to stay long. Really. He's grateful for anytime he can get.
Oh Lord, may I never have such a ridiculous view of you.
I've been listening to hymns in my car lately and it has been so good for my soul. When I first started to follow Christ I loved the contemporary worship songs like "Blessed Be Your Name" and "I Rest". I connected with the straightforward truth of what they were saying and I loved the repetition of the lyrics. And though I still like to rock out to a lot of those songs, hymns have become more and more of a joy to sing as I have continued to grow in my relationship with Christ. I love the richness and depth of the lyrics in hymns.
And though it's good to sing songs that have minimal, straightforward, repetitive lyrics, lately I have found myself wanting to sings songs with more "meat" to them. Which is why I like hymns so much; they are very meaty. Sometimes they are so meaty that I'm not even sure what they mean and I have to stop and think about what is being said. But when I figure out what those lines really mean, they become even more meaningful to my heart as I sing them out to the Lord at the top of my lungs (while the person in the car next to me gives me a strange look).
Don't get me wrong I still love when hymns are redone to be upbeat and loud. I'm not one for standing in my pew with my hymn book drearily singing "How Great Thou Art". But I think I would prefer to sing "In Christ Alone" rather than "He Is Good". Not because "He Is Good" is a bad song, not at all, but because my heart connects more with the truth that I sing in "In Christ Alone".
And let me let you off the hook.... you don't have to agree with me. But if you struggle with singing hymns, like I once used to, let me help you out a little. Some of the hymns I have been listening to in my car are by a band called Page CXVI and I think they have done an amazing job with the hymns they sing. Here are some of my favorites.
In Christ Alone
Come Thou Fount
Joy
If you wish to buy any of their albums you can find them here. Enjoy!
This is an excerpt from "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller. He is speaking about the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son and how the older brother lacks an assurance of the fathers love for him.
"But perhaps the clearest symptom of this lack of assurance is a dry prayer life. Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations with God. Think of three kinds of people - a business associate you don't really like, a friend you enjoy doing things with, and someone you are in love with, and who is in love with you. Your conversations with the business associate will be quite goal-oriented. You won't be interested in chitchat, With your friend you may open your heart about some of the problems you are having. But with your lover you will sense a strong impulse to speak about what you find beautiful about him or her.
These three kinds of discourse are analogous to forms of prayer that have been called "petition," "confession," and "adoration." The deeper the love relationship, the more the conversation heads toward the personal, and toward affirmation and praise. Elder brothers may be disciplined in observing regular times of prayer, but their prayers are almost wholly taken up with a recitation of needs and petitions, not spontaneous, joyful praise. In fact, many elder brothers, for all their religiosity, do not have much of a private prayer life at all unless things are not going well in their lives. Then they may devote themselves to a great deal of it, until things get better again. This reveals that their main goal in prayer is to control their environment rather than to delve into an intimate relationship with a God who loves them."
It's a known fact that marriage is difficult. It's also a known fact that you really have no idea how sinful you are until you get married. But one thing that I was unaware of before I got married was how hard it is to be a Christian and be married. Not that the two are incompatible, they're not, but that I have had to start relearning how to be a Christian as a wife, because it's different than being a Christian as a single woman.
My life has completely changed from how it was a year ago. My schedule is different. The things that I spend my time on are different. And my priorities are completely different. Through all this change in my life I have lost an affection for Christ. Not because I wanted to, but more because I've been distracted and my heart hasn't been set on him. I've really only been going to church because that's what I'm supposed to do. I read my Bible because I'm supposed to. And I've just gotten way to caught up in other things, and my heart has started to grow indifferent.
And frankly, it's started to scare me.
So I am in the process now of learning how to cherish Christ again. I am attempting to fill my life with Christ centered things like listening to teachings and reading Christ centered books. Prayer is starting to ignite my heart again, especially when it's with other believers. And I am starting to feel a burden for the lost that I haven't felt in a while.
But I don't want to just try and be a better Christian. I don't want to muster up my faith in order that I might do they right things. I want my heart to truly cherish Christ. I don't want Christ for his stuff, I want Christ for Christ.
I have been reading a book called The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It's a great book, I highly recommend it. In the book he talks about the parable of the Prodigal Son, which he says should really be called the parable of the Two Lost Sons, because it's just as much about the older brother as it is about the younger brother. And he says that both brothers were really only interested in what the Father could give them instead of just wanted the Father himself.
Once I'm in a place where I don't cherish Christ above all else, I am in a place of sin and disunity from Him. And I don't want to be there. So if you think about it, you can pray for me. Pray that Christ would stir my affections for him and him alone.
It's official. "In Christ Alone" is my favorite hymn. The title in and of itself is amazing, but with the addition of such rich lyrics, I feel myself choking up every time I listen to/sing this hymn. Especially when I get to the line that says "no power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck my from his hand." This song is such a clear presentation of the gospel. It over and over again challenges my faith to rest and rely "In Christ Alone". Below are the lyrics with my favorite lines highlighted. Also here is a great version of the song to listen to.
A couple months ago I had a post about how Eddie and I were growing some plants on our back deck. Well I am excited to say that we have some amazing plants now. Here are some pictures!
