blessed beyond measure

At long last, Trey lost his first tooth! Still trying to figure out when it was that he became so grown up.

The older I get, the more thankful I am that Heaven is waiting for me. Not that things are terrible, you know. We're healthy and secure and well provided for. We laugh and enjoy each other and our many family and friends. We walk out of our house and gaze at the mountains, valleys, trees, and sky in all their splendor. As a rule, life is good. There are days that aren't so good. When things just aren't what they should be. When we ache . Strained relationships. Lost loved ones. A sin that you have once again succumbed to. Harsh words spoken. Sickness and disease. Helplessness. Need. Anger and frustration over unmet expectations. Failure. They're universal, these parts of life that just flat stink. Not only do we deal with them in our own lives, but then we flip on the news. And all you can do is shake your head. It's not a surprise. Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble." And then Peter, in 1 Peter 4:...

Don't get me started on my phone. It sort of just does whatever it feels like doing. I'll try to push the buttons to make a call. But the phone doesn't want to make a call. So instead, it goes black. No call for you! It's frustrating, especially when, maybe ten minutes later, the phone apparently feels bad for turning me down and then makes the call on its own. Yeah. Gotta love technology. On occasion, it will actually let me take a photo. And I realized the other day that over the last year or so, a few precious memories have wound up on my phone. So here's to sharing some precious memories. Last March. As is typical of him, Trey had a blast goofing around and cracking us up in the leprechaun hat, but refused to wear it to school for fear of anybody looking at him. Last year's The Cry of Christ , our church's Easter drama that we work so hard on all year long. I don't get to see much, but these two moments always drive me to tears. ...

Ah, polar vortex. By far the coolest weather term ever (pun intended). Much edgier than last year's snow hole . Though our version of vortex drama paled in comparison to that of the northern half of the country, still it caused quite the buzz round these parts. As the sun set on Monday, winds started whipping, schools announced their closing, and temperatures plummeted. Plummet. That's another good word. We awoke on Tuesday morning to this. Do you see it? The teeny tiny little 2 on my phone? Never, ever seen that before. Also found this. That is our front storm door encrusted with ice on the inside . The condensation between the storm door and the front door froze. Solid. Yep, cold. I couldn't remember if I had ever really felt what two degrees feels like. My Mama will so get my tail for this, but I stepped out in it for a bit. In short sleeves and flip flops. Just to see what it felt like. Trying to live abundantly here. It hurt . The first ten sec...

Thanks to a certain Granddad being wrapped around a certain boy's finger, Trey got his wish of a beebee gun for Christmas. Or, as Aden calls it, a booby gun. Yep. A booby gun that shoots bowlets . Good one, Aden. The gun is well guarded and only used when we are all together, but the boys are absolutely loving it. And on this particular afternoon, two of the four shooters (Daddy and Trey) gave the Dr. Pepper cans a good what for. Good times.

It's the word I have chosen for this new year. Choose. And I've stared at it so much that it looks weird. I had been mulling over what my new word should be, but nothing really seemed to stand out much. Then in my dear father-in-law's sermon this past Sunday, I was given a word. He said, "Every action is a choice. We can all choose to be a little better than we are." Choose. To choose, in the passing moments of life, what the Lord would want for me. To choose patience and grace when dealing with, er, uncooperative children. To choose praise when I feel like complaining. To choose to trust that God will fill me up when tempted by food. To choose a few more moments in prayer or reading His Word instead of fitting in extra chores. Choose. My one-word history is a sad one. In 2011, honor . Then 2011 happened, and amid the miry muck, honor all but vanished. In 2012, grow up . Perhaps a partial success, for a great deal of perspective came about after ...