It bears repeating

Over and over and over again...

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

I am the work of his hands! I am part of his creation, he will fulfill his purpose for me, even on the days when I don't trust him enough to know what he's doing. As a parent of teens and almost teens, I have that feeling a lot, questioning why God put these lives in my care. But then I'm reminded from a devotional calendar that I don't always keep up-to-date to

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
We can be the mothers our children need because each of us is divinely chosen to be the mother of each child under our care. Don't doubt it. He knows what he is doing. And aren't we glad!
(Mom's Devotional Bible Calendar by Elisa Morgan c 1996 by Zondervan)

I am glad. Especially on the days when it is hard to trust, that there is a peace that resonates within my soul testifying to this truth.

Verse of the Day

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
Some days this feature of my blog hits me square between the eyes. Today is one of those days, this coupled with the sermon Aaron preached (follow link for Bridge) today makes me realize that I'm too cocky in my faith. As much as I would like to believe that who God is and what God does depends on me and how I believe in Him, that is just not the case! God is God, and that is that. I don't have to know more than He gives me to know for the moment.
Like Mark Shultz said last night at his concert, "If you're going through a spiritual desert, wait and see, God has something GREAT planned for you." He's right, it's all in the Bible, and like Mark said, "some dudes have experienced this, like say, Jesus...and Moses..."
So I'm hanging in there, and relying on the Lord's strength for my day-to-day trials and the jabs the evil one throws at me.

More Vacation Photos

So we were in Washington, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, what did we think it would do but rain? We set up tarp city, even over the fire...nephew Tim got accused of being a tree hugger...and we enjoyed huddling around a warm dry spot.
We also enjoyed renewing old friendships, as you can see from the "that was then, this is now" photos...

Home again, home again

Our campsite at Silver Lake.






Other than graduation, we enjoyed being near various bodies of water, whether it was the ocean, the creek at the park or the lake where we camped.

Now that we're back, there are things I'd rather be doing than settling back in after being gone for any length of time. They include, but aren't limited to: reading Karen Kingsbury's latest novel, finishing reading the novel I started while on vacation, blogging, checking email, napping, and just about anything else other than a root canal or childbirth....

ah, well, the work must get done, so I will carry on...

Ugh!

From the Pacific Northwest...

Since I had opportunity to briefly be online, I thought I would quickly post. We're on "vacation" visiting family and celebrating the graduation of a niece from high school. Good times, and we're grateful for them. It was hectic getting to this point, after recently celebrating a grade school graduation of our own, but we're here and are enjoying a relaxing time with family. Pictures should follow, but probably not until we get back home and settle in for the summer there.
God is good, and I am thankful!