Trey Erwin Day

I have been trying for almost a month to write today's post, but I never really felt like it was the right time, or that I had the words, or that I even wanted to say anything. But today seems like it is the most fitting day to open up.

On July 5, my brother's best friend and my mom's best friend's son went home to be with Jesus after a fight with pancreatic cancer. (There are a couple of previous posts that you can dig around and find with a little more detail about the Trey's journey.) Today would have been Trey's 16th birthday, and in the town where he grew up, the mayor declared today to be Trey Erwin Day.

Yes, today is a difficult day, in some ways. But I can't help but remember our sweet time of worship at Trey's Celebration (and yes, that's what we call it because that's what it was). There were 2,000 ish people in attendance in our home church, all singing and worshipping the Risen Lord Jesus. You want to talk about awesome- that was it! We had glowsticks, bright colors everywhere and while there were tears, the Joy in the room was so palatable that you couldn't help but recognize the presence of the Spirit. If you would like to view the service, here's the link.

The past month, the Lord has been using Trey's life, battle and celebration as a powerful teaching tool in my life. I will openly admit that I asked the Lord how he could allow His 16 year old child to have such an awful disease- how are You just when this seems so unjust? The Lord quietly and lovingly taught me about his character- God is GOOD and JUST not because of the circumstances that I can observe with my senses and my mind but because it is Who He IS.

You may have heard the following chant: "God is good all the time. All the time God is good." I have said this countless time, meaning every word but not fully understanding the implications of what I was saying. This is an affirmation of God's character. When we talk about God being good, we are making a statement about His character, not merely the circumstances that surround us.

If God's goodness is dependent on the circumstances in our life then he ceases to be all-knowing, all-loving all of the time. Which would contradict Scripture. Seeing as how that isn't possible, there must be more to it. God transcends our circumstances. He is GOOD even when our circumstances are not. He is JUST, even when our circumstances are not.

How does this relate to our daily life? I'm still trying to learn this part of the lesson better, but what I understand so far is that God's character doesn't change and that when I walk through something wonderful, He is there. When I walk through something painful, He is there too. In each situation he is there, and He is holding me, and I never have to walk through anything alone. The situation will still be filled with emotions, but He is there, collecting each tear (Ps 58:6). He is working it all together for His Glory and our Good (James 1 and Romans 8:28).

This is where I've been the past month or so. The Lord is so gracious to me, patiently teaching me how to walk closer with Him. Even though Trey was not my personal friend, he was by brother best friend, the son of my mom's best friend (and my friend too). We grieve for our loss, but we are jealous because Trey is with Jesus, and it doesn't get any better than that.

Tomorrow is my Favorite

Tomorrow is Saturday. I LOVE Saturday!!!!! Do you know why? Saturday is date day. Recently, my hubby and I have started to go on a brunch date every Saturday morning (well, morningish) because it's some of the only time during the week that we have together when one or both of us isn't working (long story but the short part is that we have 2 very different work schedules so we take time together when we can get it). 

We have "discovered" a little bistro at our new favorite bookstore. (Ok, I knew it was there but hadn't been inside in a while because we had lived across town and he had never been in. Oh my, don't I enrich his life?!) Let me tell ya why this is our favorite bookstore: they sell BOOKS!!!! I know, amazing, life changing, even EARTH SHATTERING; a bookstore that sells books (if you've been to Barns and Noble lately, then you understand the significance of this). Well, that's not the only reason. We also love it because it is a local store. We love supporting local businesses, artists, restaurants, pretty much anything! We believe it is importnat to support your local establishments because it is those shops, restaurants, artists, authors, etc that give back to the community and that's pretty awesome. 

Anyway, the bookstore has a bistro and that's where we've been having our brunch dates the past few weeks. Tomorrow, I think we will branch out and try something new. Dunno just yet. 

In other news, it's late and I'm waiting for the hubby to get back from a movie with his brother and I've heard there may be a late night Sonic run or something too... Fingers crossed on this one! Also, I will post soon about all that has gone on the past month or so- it's been CRAZY!!!! We've walked through a lot but I have learned sooooo much through it all- above all the Lord is GOOD and He is FAITHFUL! I'm finally at the point where I think I can share with you what has been going on. 

And you will also be glad to know, drum roll, please. . . . . . . I BAKED PIES! Yes, that is correct, p-i-e-S, as in PLURAL, meaning more than one! I decided that I had been wanting to make my husband's grandmother's chocolate chess pie and that now was as good a time as any. Since pie crusts come 2 to a package and my freezer is insanely small, and I had extra evaporated milk (read: I bought the big can and not the small one), I decided that I'd make another one. Pictures soon, they are on my phone (sad i know, but it was handy) and once I pull them off the phone I will share. 

I think that's all for now- I need to go make sure I can find shoes for that Sonic run! More to come soon! 

Partial Summer Recap and a 30 Day Challenge

It's summer!!!!! I'd say that means a break from everything but, being a grown up means that summer isn't quite like it used to be. Oh well. To get you caught up on a few things:

1. Last week, we went on a mini vacation with my family to see my brother graduate from Army AIT (Advanced Individual Training) and bring him home. After graduation, we all went to stay with sweet friends at their lake house. (Bob and Joyce, you are the BEST! I can't tell you how wonderful it was to spend time with you and just relax- THANK YOU!!!!! We love you!!!!) Our friends actually happen to be some of my parents closest friends from when they were all newly weds/young marrieds. What's really great is that Bob and Joyce have a daughter and three sons and my parents apparently thought it was a good idea since they have a daughter (me!!!) and three sons!

2. I will post pictures soon from the above mentioned trip. I got a new camera lens for my baby Nikon and it was awesome! But I'm still wading through all the photos (and trust me, that's  TON, well, actually somewhere between 800-1000) and once I can get rid of the bad ones (aka, closed eyes, fuzzy faces, back of heads, etc) I will post pictures.

3. I have another blog post coming out soon (like today, or tomorrow) but have to finish reading the article that sparked the idea to post about this topic.

4. Our "little" (aka young) cat is running spastic circles around the house right now.

5. This post is more than just a list of randomness.

Ok, so here's the REAL point this post: a challenge. I have been reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young as part of my personal Bible study. This book is wonderful! It has been used by the Lord to draw me closer to Him in the midst of friends being ill with cancer, crazy schedules, etc. I Highly recommend this book. (And I think you know that I don't recommend Bible studies/ devotional books very often, so this is kind of a big deal.)

I have recently discovered that right before I go to bed is a good time for me to have my quiet time. I work late most nights (not by my choice but because that is just the way my job is) and usually the house is quiet and hubby is asleep or almost asleep when I get home. This allows me the time to spend with the Lord, when everything is quiet and there are fewer distractions (even the kitties are tired at that point). Last night's entry in Jesus Calling made me wish I had read it month ago!

I have been struggling with being thankful for all things in my life, specifically the difficult stuff that's painful, not the way I like it and just down tight yuck. But we are supposed to count trials as joy (James 1) and be thankful in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and rejoice in the Lord regardless of circumstance (Philippians 4:4-6). To say I haven't been very good at that would be accurate, ok, it would be an understatement. I have been anything but joyful, thankful and rejoicing.

Yesterday, I began learning about praying in faith and thanking God for the difficult things in my life. I get the idea that prayer and faith go together, like praying in faith that God will heal someone, but it never really occurred to me that I should be praying in faith to give thanks to the Lord for the stuff in life that is difficult. So... I have decided to start a challenge: for the next 30 days, I am going to daily thank the Lord for the things in my life that are trials, painful, difficult, and just plain "not fair" in my view.

Recap from day 1: It hurts. It is incredibly difficult to give thanks for those situations, etc that cause me pain. It is peaceful. I know that I am turning it all over to the Lord and He can handle it. It is like being forced to apologize as a child. Remember, when you were a kid and you hit your brother/sister and you mom made you say, "I'm sorry" and hug? Well, giving thanks for trials and difficulties is just like that right now: I don't feel thankful and I'm not really thankful, but I am going through the act of giving thanks, in the hope and faith that I will learn to be thankful, or something like that. I am trusting that God will use this to work in my heart.

So, that's the challenge. 30 days of giving thanks for the difficulties and trials in your life, in faith that God will show you more of Himself, make you more like Jesus, etc. Are you up for the challenge?

Fifty Shades of Grey: the reasons I won't read it

I love to read. I have mentioned this fact before. I do not claim to always read excellent works written by the most brilliant of authors on the planet, filled with all four syllable words that can't easily be pronounced. BUT, I don't like to read things that are not well written. There are many topics that catch my interest and so I will read a variety of books, on a variety of topics, written in a variety of styles, but if it isn't well written then I won't finish the book. 

Recently, there has been a book that has come to the top of the NY Times Best Seller List. This book has been the "talk of the town" and made the circuit of almost all the major television shows. This book has created some controversy, too (and not, controversy isn't a requirement for great literature, more on this in a minute). Some libraries are talking about banning the book. Yet, thousands of people, many of whom women, are flocking to read this book and getting on waiting lists for copies. What is this book? "Fifty Shades of Grey". 

I won't be reading this book. And at this point, I'd like to stop and say that if you have read this book, are reading this book or have decided to read this book, then that is your decision and I am totally alright with that. I am not judging anyone. I am in no place to determine what kind of a person you are based on what you read, etc. I might disagree with you, but I'm not passing judgment on whether or not you are a good person, etc. 

I won't be reading this books for several reasons. The first reason is because I didn't think it sounded like a book I would enjoy. Yeah, I know. Not a very "scholarly" or "godly" reason. Oh well. It's true. If I don't think I will enjoy a book and it's not required for something, then I'm not going to force myself to read it. Originally, I didn't give it much more thought than that. 

But wouldn't you know, that shortly thereafter, everything changed? I read this article by Dana Gresh and I started thinking. I realized that there were more reasons I didn't need to read "Fifty Shades of Grey". Read Dana's article and decide for yourself if you should or shouldn't read this book. I'm not here to make any decisions for you, but the article is interesting and I would rather share it with you so that you can make an informed decision than not. 

I don't think that this books is good reading. I don't think that it is well written. Personal opinion. And I'm not going to get into all my reasons for not reading this book. Dana's article covers them very eloquently so I'm not going to try and do it again. But please, read the article. Think about what you are going to be putting into your mind and heart by "ingesting" the material in "Fifty Shades of Grey". 

Today I am thankful for...

Today, I am thankful for a God who knows what we need before we do.
Today, I am thankful for the stability that Jesus offers (Is33:6).
Today, I am thankful for a husband who loves and supports me.
Today, I am thankful for precious friends who pray for me when I need it most.
Today, I am thankful for my God still being on His throne.
Today, I am thankful for Jesus, my Prince of Peace.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Books and Reading

I have loved books for the majority of my life. Since I was very young, I have had what would probably be an obsession with books. This doesn't mean that I always enjoyed reading. I actually struggled when I was learning to read and it wasn't exactly my favorite thing to do, but I still loved books. Weird, I know.

Eventually, I got the whole reading thing down and have been on a roll ever since. I read everything, even cereal boxes... and I read those more than once, not on purpose though, only because they are in my face when I eat cereal. But I digress.

Anyway. One of the reasons I love to read is that my parents, particularly my dad. My Dad and I had a very special way of spending time together: he would read to me almost every night. This tradition stated when I was very young. So young that I could barely write my name on the check out card at our church library but that didn't matter. I can remember that although I could barely write my name, I would still check out a Nancy Drew Book (I felt very much like a big girl for choosing such a big book) and my Dad would ask, "Now, are you sure you want me to read this to you? It might be kind of scary.". But I told him that I didn't care and to read it anyway. (To this day, I still love Nancy Drew books.) This tradition with my Dad slacked off for a few of my teen years but right up until I got married, my Dad would still read to me and as I listened, I would work on a knitting project (yes, I know, I'm a very boring person) or something similar. 

I have always felt that the characters in books we my friends and that by reading books, I could be part of their story. It's time traveling and flying around the globe without buying the plane ticket or having a time machine. Bliss. 

For my college graduation, my husband bought me a Kindle eReader by Amazon. I had originally thought that I would never like an eReader because "I like to turn the pages. Books must have real pages and a real cover. Anything else is fake..."... Yeah. I was a book snob. And discovered that I was wrong about the Kindle after playing around with one. I LOVE my Kindle! {Please note, this is not an endorsement of any product. Amazon doesn't know me and doesn't care what I think.} I love that I can read a trial section to determine if I like the book and want to buy it. I love that it is so light and holds 3,500ish books. I love it. 

This is not to say that I don't still buy "real" books, you know, the ones with the cover and binding and pages made from paper. I definitely still love real books. I will always love real books and will continue to purchase them when I feel so inclined. 

My husband and I have quite a collection of books. See: 

What's kinda sad is that most of them are mine and that's only about 1/2 of the ones I own (most of my children's books are in storage). {The reason they are on the floor under a table is because we were painting the living room and had to more the book cases.}

Yes, we like to read. Yes, we like books. And yes, we are okay with that. I hope that someday we will instill in our future children a love for books and reading too. Silly, I know, but it's true. Then again, they might not stand a chance with book addicted parents like us! 

Happy Thursday!

Blog Love: Photography

One of my newest favorite blogs is improvephotography.com. I love taking pictures but I am in no way a photographer. I have my totally great Nikon camera and haven't used it as much as I'd like. This blog is fantastic because the instructions are simple and the topics range from basic to more advanced- great for someone like me who wants to learn how to take better pictures without spending $100's-1000's of dollars in classes and stuff that I don't need right now.

If you like photography, check it out- you will be glad you did!