I house-sat this weekend for one of my favorite YL girl's, D'laney, and her duck, Weezy (she bought it on line last week...ha.) Here is Weezy! He is so cute and funny and the animal lover that I am had a great time!
I am slightly obsessed with the new serve yourself yogurt craze and have found a new place that I love most particularly. My niece, Abi and I frequent here a lot and I can't get enough of the fruit flavors topped with mochi...yum!
Speaking of Abi, below you will find a picture of her dancing. She gets bored watching her brother and sister's many different games. So this past weekend (when she realized that a cute, 5 yr old boy was sitting right beside me), she decided to dance right in front of us, in order to get his attention of course. Here is a picture of the ballerina in action. It did end up getting his attention. So you know what he decided to do?...Show her how strong he was by arm wrestling me. It was so cute yet so freaking hillarious. It was such a fun portrait of how God designed us. Ladies asking the men in their life, "Do you see me? Do you think I am beautiful?" And men, "Do you see me? Look how strong I am!" Oh that we would know our worth in Christ and then find someone to share our beauty and strength with!
Gabby's 17th birthday was the day after her mom's funeral. She had a good time though! Please keep praying for her! (see previous post.)
Of course I had to include a picture of one of my babies. I love my little Linus! Lucy is not on here but she is just a little ball of cuteness! :)
And lastly, the freeze destroyed all of my well-loved flowers, but one miraculously just popped it's head up and it smells delightful. Do you happen to know what it is? I have no idea what it is, nor do I have any recollection of ever planting it, but here it is and it smells and looks beautiful! Such a picture of the new things God brings us after tragedy. With that being said...
One of my mentors recently suggested that I watch the movie, Up again. I've seen it once and loved it, but she brought to my attention of how much it covers loss and all it's appropriate stages of grief. Even though I know it is of God, and have such a peace about it, I have had to let go of a huge part of my life recently and embrace some new things. It's been a weird adjustment for me and my un-risky self. So I sat down to watch Up and it was pretty healing for me. Loss comes in all different various forms. We can experience it like my sweet Gabby just did (through the death of her mom); or through a move, changes in our life, a loss of a relationship, etc. Bottom line, as I just told Gabby, we must grieve, but not grieve as if there is no Hope. So that's what I did. I "un-packed my house" and grieved the loss of a sweet "Ellie" in my life and also some things that I wish I had done different. But the best part of watching that movie came when I realized the blessing of the little boy. God too brought me a "little boy" through my loss. (Hahaha...sorry Steven!) :) Most of you know, but for those who don't, my new boy friend, Steven is younger than me and came at a "weird" time during my loss. It didn't make sense at first. However, I have no doubt that he was sent from God. He is such a blessing to me that I thank God for daily! It's un-explainable, but it brings Glory to God and blessing and healing to both of our souls...just like the old man and little boy in the movie. Just like my flower after the freeze. And that my friends, is the beauty of the grace of God.
We will have to grieve over things lost. And we must let certain things go...Just as my pastor stated yesterday (while preaching on Genesis 22.) But it's all for the Glory of God. I taught last week at Yl on Romans 7. Something I found so interesting in my preparation was when Paul said, in verse 24, "who will rescue me from this body of death?" In those days, tyrants would punish prisoners by strapping a dead body to them. But is that not what we do ourselves? We have been given new life in Christ but we can't help but strap on our old, dead, heavy selves daily. We lug our "houses" around and therefore can't really walk in newness of life. You see, the old man in the movie, Up, was too busy trying to "maintain his house," that he couldn't embrace the new blessing that God has sent his way. I have done that for too long. We need to let those things go...even the good things that God calls us to, as He did Abraham. But only so we can embrace the full life that He has for us! And we will have to grieve some. But we need not grieve as one with no hope! For we have a God who restores and send us blessings along the way! He is our hope! You should go watch Up now. :) As Ellie writes to her husband in the movie, "Thanks for the adventure- Now go and have a new one!"
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18&19.
1 comment:
i. love. you.
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