Redeemed!

Redemption…

Last night at YL club I had the privilege of sharing the cross with our high school friends, sharing they are redeemed by Jesus’ precious blood. This morning I was listening to praise music with Anna (once again) and I was reminded of my redemption with the words of this song…

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

This song sums up what I wanted to convey to my high school friends. Jesus seeks us out. There is absolutely nothing we can do to save our wandering souls. Jesus paid the price for us. Last night I used the illustration of Anna’ dairy intolerance. Anna ultimately needed the milk to quench her hunger but it left her unsatisfied and with many unpleasant symptoms-gas, explosive diapers, spitting up, inconsolable crying and sleepless nights (just to name a few). Our life is a lot like Anna’s. We are trying to quench our hunger, a longing for more. We try to fill it by being the best mommy or best spouse, trying to look good, with alcohol, making the best grades or winning the approval of others. But we are left unsatisfied. No matter how much we try to fill the void with these things we are left empty. All those things I just listed are symptoms of the bigger problem-our separation from the Father. Just like Anna could not fix her problem we cannot fix ours. I had to pay the price for Anna’s dairy intolerance. I had to sacrifice dairy in order for her needs to be met. God did the same for us, by sending his son to die on the cross for OUR sins. Anna did nothing to deserve me sacrificing some of my favorite foods-ice cream, pizza, pasta, etc. In fact the difficult weeks of not sleeping, her crying and changing one outfit after another would cause you to believe just the opposite but my love for her is not conditional and our Father’s love for us is not conditional. He is willing to meet us where we are at-we don’t have to clean up our act before we meet him at the foot of the cross. He wants our ALL. He knows we are prone to wander but he wants to rescue us from the danger, he wants to save us with his precious blood and save us FREELY. I am so thankful this morning for our Father’s redeeming love. I am thankful he chose to rescue me.

I am also thankful this morning that Kevin chose me. Today is our 4-year anniversary. I am thankful that he chooses to love me (and now Anna) despite our flaws but I am most thankful that he too has been redeemed. It is because of the love of the Father that lives in him that he is able to love us well.

For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, AND are justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. Romans 3:23-25

Happy Halloween

I got to celebrate my first Halloween the other week. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I got to help carve a pumpkin and dress up as a lady bug and hang out with some of my other friends. It was a lot of fun, although Mommy & Daddy wouldn't share any candy with me.Here I am with my friend Madison @ the party.
Here is the pumpkin I helped to "carve". I really just played with the scooper, which looked like a fun toy. Here I am at a wedding with "uncle" Benton. I think he really likes me.
I got to meet some of daddy's old Young Life guys at the wedding.

I love to sit in a chair like a big girl
If you can't tell, I LOVE to smile too.
I love sucking on my two fingers and my toes. I constantly alternate so I don't get bored with either one.

mmmm these fingers are good.
I still love bath time.
And nap time.

Here I am sporting my Young Life onsie. I don't get to go to Young Life club with Mommy & Daddy anymore since I'm going to bed before 8:00 most nights.

I also like to play in my "exer saucer"
If you look closely you can see my two bottom teeth.
I've learned to roll over back & forth from my stomach to my belly. It's a lot of fun. I haven't quite figured out how to crawl yet. Do I look cute in my jeans or what?
I just went to the doctor today for my 6 month shots. Those were not very much fun. The doctor said I'm still in the 75th percentile for height @ 26 3/4 inches, and I weigh in at 16 pounds, which is in the 50th percentile. I continue to grow and keep Mommy & Daddy on their toes. I also got to go to my first two birthday parties this weekend.

Happy 30th Birthday Kevin!

Today is Kevin’s birthday, not just any birthday. It is Kevin’s 30th birthday but more importantly his first birthday as a daddy. Saturday, Anna had her ½ birthday. 6 months, wow! Today we celebrate Kevin’s life. He has blessed my life for many years but these past 6 months have been some of the sweetest moments with my husband as we have cried, laughed, struggled, celebrated many firsts, had long days and nights as well as watched the days fly by. But above all we have experienced love in new ways. I have watched as Kevin has demonstrated 1 Corinthians 1:13:4-7 day in and day out.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Although we long for many things for our precious daughter, Anna our greatest hope is that she would come to know Jesus as her Savior, that one day she would call him Father. As I have watched Kevin selflessly love on Anna I can see how easy it will be for us to explain God’s love for her because of the example she has in her earthly father.

We often sing praise songs with Anna. She loves to have her quiet time where she is in our arms dancing or sitting rocking. She nestles her head right on your shoulder where her ear is right there to hear the words we have to say to her. One song that often plays on the iPod is Bebo Norman’s, “A Page has Turned.” This was a song that was sung at our wedding. Here are just some of the words….

A page is turned in this world to reveal a little girl

With a heart that's bigger, as it is unfurled

By the language in her soul, that's teaching her to grow

With a careful cover of love that will not fail
And the God of second chance

Picked her up and He let her dance

Through a world that isn't kind

And all this time, preparing her the one

To hold her up when she comes undone

Beneath the storm, beneath the sun

And grown up tall, here you are Your day has come

It is sweet music to my ears to hear Kevin’s voice singing to Anna these words. I am so thankful that we have a God of second chance. Each time I listen to the words I envision Anna at different stages of her life dancing through life but more importantly I see Jesus by her side. People often come to know Jesus through the relationships they have with others. Often a relationship with a believer ultimately leads someone to a relationship with Jesus that changes their life forever. Young Life is a perfect example of this. We develop relationships with high school kids. We love them to Jesus by spending time with them and winning the right to be heard.

Often in Anna’s life it will be Kevin who will be picking her up and who will be by her side as she dances her way through a life that is not kind. I am so thankful that is the case. He has already won her over. She trusts him implicitly, which is evident in the way she is calmed in his arms, the smile that is brought to her face when she hears his voice over the phone and the way her face lights up when he walks in the room. Anna is our little princess. Her daddy often tells her this but just being told you are a princess doesn’t make you a princess. However, her daddy treats her like a princess and hopefully one day because of the way her daddy loves her (and her mommy) she will decide to be a child of God’s, a princess that has a heart that’s bigger, as it is unfurled and a language in her soul that can only be Jesus. We pray the ending words of the song for Anna as she watches our lives. We pray that there is no secret to the source of this much life. May she know Jesus is the giver of abundant life and may she know that the grace that falls like rain will wash her over and over.

Kevin, I am so thankful Anna and I are dancing through life with you! Thank you for the grace and love you show us. We love you!

Happy 30th Birthday! (It must be a special one, if it is worthy of my first post!)