a settled place

I loved these verses we read in church on Sunday in Proverbs 30, because they echo my own thoughts and longings for a comfortable life: "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee and say, 'Who is the Lord?', or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." (vs. 8-9) This is my own plea for our little family, although I've never been able to put it quite so eloquently. I want to be comfortable. I think parenting gets harder every day, and the future looks scarier. I wonder how in the world I'm ever going to raise children who follow the Lord, in a time and place so hostile toward His Truth. I read this morning in Hebrews 10:31 and again, felt my own thoughts were echoed, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."  It is! It's terrifying to live by faith, to open the calendar to a Monday again and just plead...

May 21 was a lovely day for a wedding! It was a good weekend - we got to officially welcome Adrienne into the family! There were a few tears and not a lot of sleep, but it was all beautiful and such a blessed day. Weddings always make me realize how much we aren't newlyweds anymore, and I'm increasingly thankful for that. There was a time when I wished to go back - when it would have seemed fun to fall in love for the first time all over again. But, definitely not anymore. I love Grant more than ever, and I'm so thankful that it's not new love - it's love that has grown deeper and stronger because of what we've been through together, because of how we've grown together, and because we work together and refine each other. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

In the seven days between May 14 and May 21, we celebrated several really big and exciting life events with both of our families. We kicked it off on Mother's Day morning with Seth's graduation from the U of I College of Aces. The kiddos did amazing through the 2 HOUR AND 40 MINUTE ceremony, BUT they were ready to do things like run around campus and climb on fire hydrants when we were done. :) It was a gorgeous day, and we are excited for Seth! We were even more excited for the following weekend, but I still don't have wedding pictures yet, so that will have to come later! On the Wednesday in between, we went to the courthouse in Bloomington to see Carl & Ayden's adoption finalized and celebrate with Matt & Kim and family. It was a great afternoon and so exciting to be there for it! We went to Miller Park afterwards and Ivory and Titus loved the splash pad. :)

He Calls You Beautiful has been my go-to read during nap time and my morning quiet time, and that's saying a lot. There are plenty of other things calling for my attention during those moments of rest, but this book has drawn me in. I chose it skeptically, never dreaming how much of a bright spot it would be in my day. Just as the Song of Songs relates in equal parts to earthly marriage and our church-to-bridegroom relationship with Christ, so does this book. And it is also equal parts teaching/Bible study and stories that are so well-placed, so interesting, that you just want to keep reading. Dee Brestin is a very talented author; she tells the Song of Songs like a story and simplifies it, yet brings it to life. I was so impressed by this book. It has opened my eyes to the Song of Songs, the love of Christ, and the countless beautiful ways that earthly marriage points to the eternal. I've been so encouraged and filled by this study. I received a copy of this book from Blo...

I loved Bread of Angels . I knew I would, because Tessa Afshar is an excellent writer who brings biblical times to life so effectively! I've always been so impressed by the way that she portrays the women of that day - their struggles, their emotions, their normal lives - just like ours, but distinctly different. And it brings so many biblical concepts into perspective. Bread of Angels  is a fictional account of Lydia, loosely based on Lydia, the believer in Philippi. It details her struggles as a single businesswoman and demonstrates the very clear differences between her life before and after conversion in Christ. It is a story about overcoming fear and learning to trust - a story we can all relate to. I'd highly recommend it. :)  I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for my review.