A life well lived!

Friends, thank you for praying with me yesterday on behalf of Lana and her family. Lana is now with the Lord and I can only imagine the fun she's having with Him this very moment.

It is times like these that I am reminded and even more grateful for the hope we have in Jesus Christ, specifically His death and resurrection, which makes eternal life with Him possible. Without this hope, death would be final and no redemption would be found. 1 Corinthians 15:19 puts it this way, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." But thanks be to God, we do not have hope in Christ ONLY for this life, but also for eternal life. God takes what was perishable and makes it imperishable, giving us victory over death through Jesus Christ. What a redemptive God we serve!

When I think of Lana, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Lana was a woman that not only abounded in the work of the Lord, but took great delight in the Lord...even in the face of death. And we can rest assured that her labor was not in vain.

Would you pray?

I found out a few months ago that a childhood friend of mine had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma. Her name is Lana and she has fought a long, rough battle, while maintaining her trust and delight in Jesus Christ. Lana and her husband, Chad, have decided to stop treatments, as they would only harm her already weak body. Would you be praying for Lana, Chad, and their family and friends these next few days? 

You can read her story here. Get ready for a challenge and make sure you have a kleenex nearby.

One Year...Hip Hip Hooray!

I try to not always point out how long it's been since my last post, but it's hard to ignore the fact that I've been blogging for almost a year now and all I have to show for it is 19 posts. Seriously? Working on that...

Let's talk about August 9, 2009...our one year anniversary! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Here are some of my favorite highlights from this past year:

• Getting married! Obvious, I know, but my FAVORITE highlight :)
• Our travels together. We visited Jamaica, Philadelphia, Boston, Destin, Estes Park, and countless travels to Dallas and San Antonio. Traveling with a buddy is always better than traveling alone. 
• Getting my tonsils taken out. This, in general, is a highlight because this marks the 8th month in a row that I have not been sick. Those who were familiar with my "throat woes" know this is a wonderful thing. AND, it allowed Jon and I to bond in a way that only surgeries can bring...oh the joys of being a caretaker and caregiver!
• Seeing the Lord provide for us in unique ways. Jon and I have learned to rely on the Lord with one another through raising support. God has shown his abundant provision for us in ways that cause us to praise him. What a joy to receive those provisions together!
• Watching Jon grow in God's Word and gain a better understanding of where God is leading us. Enough said. :)
• Making big decisions together. Jon and I have learned so much about each other as we've been faced with some difficult decisions. Some of our greatest growth has come from making decisions and learning to communicate with one another.

Marriage is just so fun and I'm so glad that I am married to Jon!

I'm sure you're dying to know how we celebrated...and guess who's dying to tell you?! Here's a picture of us on our anniversary:

We spent a lovely, relaxing afternoon together and topped it off with a homemade dinner by Jon himself! He made us Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken...a dish he made for me when we were dating. It was fun reliving the memories of what seems like so long ago!

Our big celebration came the following weekend. My sister's in-laws let us stay at their lake house on Cedar Creek Lake. We had a BLAST! We spent the weekend reading, relaxing, and watching Harry Potter. (Sidenote: Jon and I have recently become big fans of Harry Potter. We've watched all the movies and I'm in the middle of reading the books. We're a little late, I know, but fans none-the-less!) Here we are on the back porch, about to go to dinner:

We could have stayed there for another week, but decided to come back to the real world and enjoy life in College Station once again!

In other news, both our siblings are officially moved in and ready for college! Claire moved to Waco this past Thursday. Here's a before picture of Clairee in her super cute dorm room:

And here's a kinda-after picture. We weren't quite done...

All-in-all, we've had a great past couple of months. Apparently, this weekend is move-in weekend in CS. Traffic, it's bad nice to have you back. 

And blogging world, it's nice to be back. Here's to frequent blogging!!

Proud of my man!

I know, 2 posts in 2 consecutive days. But have I told you lately how proud I am of my husband? Well, I just swelled with pride this weekend as Jon gave a talk about the call of discipleship to our college class. Matt, our College Pastor, described Jon as being a man who loves God's word. I am so grateful to be lead by a man that loves the Lord and loves his word.

All this to say, I wanted to link you to the audio of his sermon this past weekend! Enjoy!

The Call of Discipleship

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I'm sayin' a lot.

No, your eyes do not deceive you! I promised pictures, and now I deliver. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our trip to Colorado!

Jon hiked up the mountain that overlooked

our house. Here's the view he saw:

Oh, just a picture of my mountain man! Sorry,

Ladies, he's taken!

Me and my man on a rock by a waterfall.

No big deal.

This little chipmunk was too cute not to take

a picture. These things were everywhere!

Our view from the waterfall:

Jon and his brother, Tim:

We got to meet up with some friends who were

in Colorado for staff training. Here's Jon 

and his good friend, Jeremiah:

Me and my good friend, Emily (Jeremiah's

wife), and their precious baby, Hosanna:

Aren't they just the cutest?

Hosanna braved this little creek with

the boys. This was moments before they

were swept away! (Just kidding!)

Imagine our surprise when we stepped off the 

shuttle and saw this little creature. By little, I

mean huge. And by creature, I mean elk.

Just in case you thought that was a statue, here's

another picture in a different location. We

were scared for our lives excited!

Jon: "This is so cool."

We also rode on the backs of horses. Here's 

my back. Don't worry...most of the other pictures

look like this, too. I'll spare you.

Then, we went to the top of the mountains. You

know, the part where the treeline stops and all

you see are mountain tops, deep valleys, and sky.

Two words: Humbling and Anxiety. Just past that

tundra is a huge drop-off.

Me and the hubby in front of the railing that

was to keep us from falling to our deaths.

While in the town of Estes Park, Tim and I were

stars of what will soon be a feature film, I'm SURE!

I'm sure you're as impressed at our ability to walk

into a store as our director was. 

Jon and I went on a date! It was wonderful!

On our way home from the date, we saw a storm

roll in over the mountains. It was crazy how the 

rain would cover the peaks of the mountains!

Here we are in front of Bear Creek Lake:

We even saw a bear!

Jon did some climbing:

And I'll finish it off with a view of the mountains

from Bear Creek Lake...pretty awesome!

All in all, we had a great time and enjoyed getting away for a bit. It feels good to be back in College Station, back in our own routines. Hope you're having a great week!

Contentment

You may have noticed the quote at the top of our blog which says, "May Christ be treasured in our hearts and in our lives always." I've been thinking about that a lot lately as I have been reading "Calm My Anxious Heart; A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment." I expected the book to challenge me, but let's just say I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was for the challenge. 

In Matthew 13:44, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure that was hidden in a field. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Jon and I have been talking about this verse often lately and what a challenge it is. As many of you who are in ministry, or know someone who is, you know that it's not the highest paying job in the world. Jon and I are continually challenged in asking ourselves if the value we place in helping to build and extend the kingdom of God outweighs the value we place in our material things...the things that are fleeting and passing away. And, if we were honest, it is often a hard task. What a beautiful picture Jesus gives us in describing this man that sold everything he had in order to possess the ultimate treasure. 

God has been teaching me that treasuring Him in my heart and in my life is an all-encompassing thing. He has shown me that treasuring Him begins in my heart and is evidenced in my life. And if that's not enough, He's shown me that often times my heart and my life don't always match up. 

So that's where we are. We are humbled and grateful that God chooses in His grace and mercy to provide for us in abundant ways. And, we are on our knees asking Him to reveal to us the true treasure of knowing and serving Him. Would you join us in praying that? 

On a different note, there's lots of things to catch you up on. We've moved, our good friends got married, we travelled to Colorado, then to San Antonio. I promise a picture post soon. I won't let you down! Love!

WE DID IT!

Move, that is. We are all moved AND settled into our new place with a BIG thanks to our friends! We had a total of six people helping us move and clean. We were thrilled to have so much help and it made the entire process much easier. Pictures coming soon!