The goodness of God

This week I did something very out of sync with my typical self and I got on to facebook. I know, I know, like I need any other distractions in life, but I must say that it has been an absolute blast to reconnect with old friends and here how they are doing.

I was blown away by God's goodness as profile after profile of some of my closest friends from college, from youth group, and ever just around here testified to God's grace in their lives and His continued work in them, as we can be confident of for those who are saved (Phil. 1:6).

After pondering the glory of God revealed through my friends, I came across this verse the other day, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Hebrews 8:10.

Again I was reminded that it is God who so graciously reveals Himself to the heart of man and that it is "God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Phil. 2:13.

May I always remember that apart from Christ there is nothing good in me (John 15:5), but as I abide in Him, there will be much good in me (also John 15:5).

Thank Him for so graciously revealing Himself to the world and for His promise to change from glory to glory those who live through Him!

PS That's my dear friend Robyn who I surprisedly ran into at my friend Julie's wedding - we hadn't seen each other for four years and how awesome all the cool things we had to share about God's dealings in our lives!!!! How fun!

I'm a baby Reynolds...

Yep, that's our little raspberry (literally, it's only about that big)!

As of today we are 8 weeks and 1 day pregnant!

God has been so kind to us and we are thankful for all the prayers that have gone into this little one as we had a slight scare in the beginning. We of course would love for you all to continue to pray for Baby Reynolds, not just for a healthy (and painless - yeah right) birth, but for the baby to grow up and glorify God like crazy! And of course for us to be good parents and love and train it well.

I promise we weren't trying for babies when I wrote the post about changing perspectives on babies. God was really just working on my heart, I believe, and now that we're pregnant, I can't wait to have the baby! We are so ecstatic!

On a side note, I thought I had successfully snuck out of bed this morning without waking my husband, and I was so thrilled - it's terribly embarrassing to have to confess that the real reason you awoke was because you are RAVISHINGLY hungry even though we had a great dinner and ice cream from Dairy Cream Corner last night. Much to my misfortune, about 2 minutes ago he came down to check on me! Oh well! :)

Anyways, "Every good and perfect gifts is from above, coming down from the Father of he heavenly lights who does not change like the shifting shadows." James 1:17

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Jehovah Shalom...

...the Lord of peace is one of the names of our God, and a name that Daryl and I are recognizing of our God more and more these days.

While we have been facing some very perplexing and grievous trials, we are amazed at what we have learned about our awesome God.

Philippians 4:6-7 in the New Testament says this, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Though at current we are uncertain of certain things in our future, God, through Jesus Christ has been faithful to provide peace. Part of that peace comes from knowing a very precious truth about our Lord tucked away in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

God really does care for me. And while circumstances may not be as we would choose and we suffer and grieve, God is with us, every ready to comfort, ever read to heal, and ever ready to love.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39.

Like trees that grow stronger by being tossed in the storms rather than grown in climate controlled greenhouses, it is our prayer that these trials will make us stronger, increasingly full of faith, and amazed by hope as we grow more and more aware of who our God is.

The Delight of Loving My Husband

That's actually a chapter title in the book "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Maheney.

I loved the chapter because it taught me so much and reminded me not only of the high calling to love my husband, but the great joy that there is in it.

In Titus 2 we are told that married women who believe in God through Christ should, "love" their husbands.

Interestingly enough, the word in the original Greek is phileo, and describes the love between two very close friends. Christians are called to agape love everyone - sacrifice, love unconditionally, etc, but Christian wives are called to go even further with their husbands - to enjoy them as a friend.

Some practical ways I've been encouraged to phileo love my husband, by God's grace:
Speak highly of him always
Laugh with him
Encourage him
Spend time with him
Spend time with him DOING THINGS HE LIKES (i.e. one of our new favorite past times is playing Burn Out Revenge on Xbox and I'm not half bad - the point of the game you see is to crash)
Be eager to serve him (dinner, picking up after myself/him)
Welcome him warmly (i.e. lots of hugs and kisses and joy) when he returns home

He hasn't made it difficult, and it is true - loving my husband brings me absolute delight.

I praise God for such a godly, unselfish, kind and wise husband, for "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

Georgia turns four!!!

Not that I'm biased or anything, but I'm pretty sure that upon marriage to Daryl I inherited one of the cutest nieces ever :)



Georgia is only four years old but already she shows traces of a true woman. She loves ice cream...


















And yet she is tough and adventurous. Look at the little climber!




One of my favorite aspects about Georgia though is that she seems to like me :) Isn't it funny how we all want to be loved?

I still laugh when I think about how her father, Quincy had to drag her off of me on the dance floor at my wedding kicking and screaming. Granted she thought I was a true princess that day because of my dress and tiara (I wonder what will happen when she finds out the truth...), it still made me feel special.

More special still when the last time Daryl called the house she said, "Where's Lauren? Can I talk to Lauren?"

The truth is we all want to be desired. Being in relationship with Daryl has helped me see that as well. Sure he loves that I clean the house, make him dinner, etc, but what delights him the most is when I take pleasure in him.

I often wonder if this is because we were created in the image of God and it is His desire that we delight in Him.

Jesus Himself said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:37-38.

Anyways, here's to Georgia. I love her with all my heart and am so thrilled to have her as family.

Thanks for loving me!



The whole fam

Trading for pennies...

I'm don't typically divulge dirty little secrets on the Internet, but today I'm going to allow you the privy of seeing some of my more shameful side...

I remember being wangled into some very raw deals as a child. It did not take much coercion for me to buy into raw deals however, for as at a youngster I was very ignorant in regards to many things.

For example, when I was about 5 years old my brother and I decided to "trade" Halloween candy. He was so generous and offered me 3, yes 3, packs of Smarties for just 1, and only 1, of my miniature Snickers bars. "What a deal!" I thought to myself. "3 for 1! That's awesome."

It wasn't until I put the chalky pure sugar candy into my mouth and then later tasted the absolute deliciousness of a sweet and salty snickers bar with far better texture, that I realized I had been duped.

I had traded in something of infinite value for something of little to no value and worse yet, I thought I was getting the good end of the deal.

While I have grown wise enough to keep Snickers bars to myself, I am still unfortunately much more like Judas Iscariot than I would like to admit.

You see Judas turned Jesus Christ into the "cops-of-the-day" for a bag of coins. He possibly thought that they'd just beat Jesus a little and question Him a little, and then release Jesus, and life would be back to normal - except he'd be rich. But then Jesus was sentenced to death, and those beloved coins that were so alluring only days before suddenly became like chalky Smarties in his mouth - only much worse.

Matthew 27:3-5 depicts Judas' own revelation of being duped like this, "Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.' They said, 'What is that to us? See to it yourself.' And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself."

Judas realized his stupidity a little too late so he thought. I can relate. We so often trade in good things, things of so much worth, for destruction and ruin and end up with a load of regret and despair.

(Be warned: Here comes the dirty little secret)

So often I have traded in my love for God for my love of people's approval. So often I have traded in things like purity, modesty, self-control, kindness, submission, and forgiveness, to name only a handful, for things like broken relationships, lengthy and silly explanations, excuses, guilt, and regret. So often I have traded in time basking in God's grace and learning from Him for extra moments of sleep or a movie I won't remember three weeks later.

So often I have been left with so much worse than chalk in the mouth.

But oh, how we don't have to remain in regret and despair! How I wish Judas could have understood that, and how grateful I am that God has revealed this to us through His Word!

I cannot end this without a reminder of the glorious grace of God in Jesus Christ!

While Judas unfortunately didn't seem to understand Christ, we have been assured in His Word that He is perfect at forgiving and that He can impute righteousness to the unrighteous. In our moments of trading in Christ for coins, we can be assured that Jesus has already paid for our mistake and that we can quickly confess, turn from our sin and live for Him with glorious joy and freedom again.

It is "Christ Jesus, [that] God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption." 1 Corinthians 1:30.

When you taste that chalky substance in your mouth, join with me in remembering that it is Christ alone that makes us righteous, and that He is quick to forgive and abounding in love to those who call upon His name!

Oh, and if you ever get the desire to buy me a candy bar, make it a Snickers :)

PANCAKE BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER IN MORGANTOWN!!!

CHRISTIAN HELP'S PANCAKE BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER
Saturday, August 11th
Applebees
7:30-10:00am

For only $5 you can enjoy a pancake breakfast made by someone else, and cleaned up by someone else, and help those who will be in financial need in Morgantown this year! If you would like a ticket, please contact myself or Christian Help.

Hope to see you there!

Putting it back in perspective...

There seems to be a context influx of noise in my life and sometimes, if I'm not careful, I start believing thoughts that aren't true.

Some of the non-truths I have unfortunately believed at some point or another in my lifetime are:

- Credit card information gets stored on hotel key cards
- Toe jam is really tiny little invisible worms that you can't see so wear socks to keep them from crawling up your legs
- You urine will be clear if you are getting enough water (uh - that means you're getting TOO much water)

One of the more recent non-truths I have bought into in my subconscious is that children are really just a lot of work and deciding to have them means deciding to end your so-called life :)

Now married, the idea of children isn't just something that "may occur in the very far away future," but something that could occur at any time if God should so choose. To be honest, that scared me to death.

While some fear is healthy, God is teaching me that my fear is not from Him at all and that I need to be careful not to take others opinions as more than what they are - opinions.

Psalm 127 says: "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" (vv. 3-5).

Twice now God has brought that passage to me, and I believe to fulfill a specific purpose. My outlook on bearing and raising children had become dreadful, and honestly, sinful, and therefore, He wants to dispel it.

Carolyn Maheney conveyed truth to me this way in her book "Feminine Appeal":

"What words or images come to your mind when you think about your children?" (or for me, the possibility of them) "Are you inclined like I was to think: work,, responsibility, sacrifice, burden, more work?

Look at the words the psalmist used to describe children: heritage, fruit, reward, arrows. Then he followed with this exclamation: 'Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!'"

What a timely message for me. How faithful God is to renew our minds with truth, removing our doubts and replacing lies with truth.

Children do require work and sacrifice and responsibility but God says to gain life, we lay ours down. How I hope that in His perfect time He will give me this blessing, and that in the deepest core of me I will hold on to the truth that they surely are a reward that I do not deserve.

If you have children, may I encourage you to remember today that they indeed, though time, emotion and energy consuming, are primarily a reward and a blessing? Remember and tell them.

Lions, and tigers, and bears - Pt. 2

So yesterday Daryl and I spent the day at the Pittsburgh Zoo. We love going to the zoo!

I must confess I felt a little funny when we finally found a parking spot and were getting ready to go in and someone needing a spot asked, "Coming or going?" We of course had just arrived, and as they drove away I felt a little bad for taking a semi-close parking spot when we don't have any children or strollers to unload. Not bad enough to change spots, but bad. :)

Anyways, it was a blast - I am amazed by God's ability to create such awesome animals with so many neat little distinctions. I also was amazed by God's kindness - in this first picture you will note that the rare snow leopard is looking right at us. When we arrived, he was dead asleep with his back turned. (see right)










I asked God to please wake him up so we and the sweet little kids next to me yelling, "Wake up! Wake up!" could catch a glimpse of the animals grandeur and I would give Him all the glory!

Here's what happened...



I am so grateful for such a loving Father! Isn't He a wondrous Creator and generous Father?!!!!

Here are some of my other favorites...



How cute is that little guy?

One of my personal favorites - the massive and yet adorable polar bear. Have you ever seen the paws and that thing???? I'll show you - then think - REALLY BIG!


















Daryl's favs...














The hammerhead shark - aggressive and named after a tool. You can't get much more manly than that!

He also loved these wild African dogs. They aren't tamable, and their bark is much worse than their bite, which is a definite good thing since they are typically silent and when they do verbally communicate they sound like a squeaky toy going bad!



And the animal that won my heart the most this time, the sea otter.

















This little guy was so precious. He would dive and swim and stretch! I love how he's rubbing his face here!


How cute is he?! I think he also endeared me because he would come right up next to the glass where I had my face pressed against and let me wave at him. I'm sure he couldn't even see me, but it felt like we connected somehow! :)



Finally, the craziest animals in the whole park...



Lauren and Daryl

So, now that we've shared our favorite animals with you, what are your favorites?

New puppy GIVEAWAY

Hey guys,

We bought a dacshund because they look so much like doberman's - colorwise anyways. Unfortunately he and Simon don't get along very well. Simon seems afraid of him. We can't figure it out - Simon's way bigger and the little guys is just so endearing.

I know I'm always trying to get rid of pets on here, but, want him? We don't like to see Simon so stressed out.



Hee hee.

I got that picture from an e-mail a long time ago. It cracks me up every time I stumble across it. For those of you who know Lauren Byrer, make sure you show it to her - it's her favorite ;)

Tick Tock

Daryl has been talking to me a lot about perseverance lately as he has been coming across that subject a lot while he's been spending time in the Word. I've known it was important, but this week, in the midst of trying to keep my life in balance in so many areas, I've realized that maybe I need to hit the big book and study that a little more too!

When we got married we sat down and created a very detailed budget and when the cash is out - no more spending! Last week we also decided to make something similar for our calories - when we've had the amount that we need for the day - no more eating! :)

I've also been trying to make sure I stay on top of house work, make sure I wake up early enough to have my quiet time, eat breakfast and spend time with the Lord (and look nice for work out of respect for both my husband and my co-workers!), maintain good relationships with others, and exercise at night - oh yeah, and read some helpful materials and pray for my friends needs.

The budget was fun and exciting the first month. Counting calories and staying under was fun the first day. Working out is much more fun with friends.

But guess what - I can't ever stop. Sure it's okay to sleep in occasionally. I'm sure we'll break into our "emergency fund" one day for a non-emergency. And yes, someday I plan on eating the biggest ice cream sundae drizzled in chocolate that I can find!!!

But perseverance is a must. And I think maybe I need to shift my focus a little bit. It seems more helpful to focus on the fruit of persevering and maintaining self-control (like feeling better about my body, not being in debt, and growing in godliness) than on "I have to do this," or "I can't do that."

I am so thankful for God's Word and how it helps me.

Here's one of my favorites He let me slide across again this weekend...

"Have you not known Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint," (THAT'S ME!),
"and to him who has no might," (over that scrumptious looking chocolate bar), "he increases strength, even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who WAIT FOR THE LORD shall RENEW their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint."
- Isaiah 40:28-31

He has all the power I need, I just need to wait for it...er...wait for Him.

Thanks for helping me babble about this to come to some really helpful solutions! Enjoy waiting on Him - let me know what happens as you do!

Our first camping trip...

So after vacations of the more luxurious sort, we finally decided to try roughing it, although I'm sure my dear friend Andrea would laugh at me for calling camping in a campsite with hot showers less than a half mile away roughing it!

But to us, it was roughing it! We had to laugh at ourselves. Our shelter looked hysterically large compared to our tent. We had SO much stuff - a huge shelter, a
campsite table to hold our stove and lantern and that even had a cool sink, coolers,
chairs, and so on and so forth, that when we were trying to pack everything back into our Audi sudan the camp ranger was like, "it ain't going to fit." Then there was are very small two man tent...

My mom says they call it that because it was not designed for women. Daryl and I came to that conclusion on our own the first night when I awoke in a panic muttering or shouting, I'm not sure which, "I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS THING!" We had the fly on because it was raining, so I couldn't see out, I couldn't sit up or roll over because it was too small, and I was getting MUY clausteraphobic!

The next night I was fine because it didn't rain and so we didn't use the fly and I could see out and feel the fresh air.

We're leaving for another, longer camping trip on Wednesday morning which I am so excited about because lots of friends are going, but I'm hoping I don't get clausteraphobic again! Daryl and I are going to use that as our one final trial. We're going to see if I can handle the tent size or if we'll have to e-bay our tent and get a bigger one. It's so great though and he loves it so I hope we don't have to. Pray for me! :)

Anyways, here are some things we learned for our next trip:

1. Set up the shelter FIRST then unload all of our stuff from the car. This will ensure that we don't get everything soaked while trying to set up the shelter and a huge rain storm comes through.

2. Make sure we have large enough pots to cook our food in. That 5 piece set from Target just doesn't cut it.

3. Know the checkout time of your campsite so you don't look silly and surprised with a hot dog half way stuffed in your mouth when campers approach you saying they just got assigned your site.

4. Don't inflate my air mattress all the way. I just roll off and make myself closer to the top of the tent which does not appear to be beneficial for me.

5. Enjoy learning lessons - they are funny and make good memories.

Headed to make our camping menu....

Crushed down but not destroyed

I must confess that these past couple of have been very joyous and yet also very perplexing, if not downright sad at times.


Don't be too concerned, nothing tragic is going on with me personally, but it seems a number of friends and acquaintances of mine are struggling through things that I can't even wrap my brain around. I just received an e-mail from a dear friend who recently lost his mother to cancer. He shared with me that his dad suffers from loneliness and helplessness quite often.

Another dear friend just lost her mother right after her first baby was born. She suffers from not having her mom to call and ask practical questions to or ooo and ah over her baby with.

On Sunday I sat in Church next to another friend who's husband was still in the hospital being treated for cancer. They only found out recently, but their lives are already vastly different. She looked tired.

And last night Daryl and I prayed for a dear girl who still believes in God but has not been back to church since childhood because she was sexually molested there.

This world is a devastating place.

But there is a hope. A sure hope.

And that hope for my friends, that I have watched them hold fast to and even rejoice in, is not just the promise of eternity where everything is good and right and pain-free as God desires, but their assurance that God is with them, that God is for them, and that God is good - no matter what their circumstances are.

Oh, to know the joy of the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! What a privilege to understand that He has saved us from much suffering that we deserve, and that even in trials, He is working good. What an amazing, perplexing truth.

And the hope for me as I watch my friends, is the same, but it is also this:

Our "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [is] the Father of mercies and the God of ALL comfort, who comforts us in ALL our affliction...For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share ABUNDANTLY in comfort too." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

In that very same book, it says:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the SURPASSING power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4:8-11

How I have been amazed and over-joyed to see the life of my Lord and Savior so beautifully through the lives of my friends as they continue to worship Him, and yes, even as they grieve, but not as the world grieves, with hope, glorious hope.

Maintain hope dear friends; it looks GREAT on you! How you shine!!!!

PS - How cool is this? I just clicked on the Desiring God site (listed under my links) and John has an article about suffering with others! God rocks!

Kids

This picture was actually taken a long time ago, but it's one of my favorites.

It was taken just before I got married at a slumber party (aka surprise bridal shower) I was having with some of my dearest friends who I met through serving with Dv8 (the middle school ministry at CRC).

Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

Though I don't work directly with that ministry any more and see those girls far less frequently, they still have my heart. They became dear to me.

Elsewhere in Scripture Paul calls the people he leads in ministry, "my joy and my crown." How true that as I see them continue to follow Christ and reflect His glory just by being alive and believing in Him that they are my joy.

Keep pursuing Him girls. And while you're at it, no that you are a joy to me :) and I miss you. Can we hang out soon?????

(and maybe eat cake?)

Where Mercy Abounds...

This week I had the unbelievably wonderful privilege and joy of remembering what God has done for us on the cross. Daryl and I went to Fairfax, VA so he could serve on a panel for the National Science Foundation, leaving me with time alone to study the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means for me and for you.

What a joy! I read through CJ Mahaney's book, "Living The Cross Centered Life" which I highly recommend to you. (www.sovereigngracestore.com)

He so kindly reminded me of God's immeasurably personal love for me (and for you!) by expounding on Jesus' time in the garden of Gethsemane, His death on the cross and His resurrection. Not to mention my own sinfulness.

The most humbling part of the book to me, the part that most caused me to worship, was CJ's teaching on the garden of Gethsemane. CJ discussed how Jesus knew always that He had been sent to earth to pay for the sins of mankind, and how He never wavered in the face of persecution and trouble, but how He suddenly was completely distressed in Gethsemane.

"Why?" writes CJ.

"Here's why: In this garden, our Savior is beginning to confront as never before the ultimate and deepest agony of Calvary - an agony that will go infinitely beyond any physical aspects of His sufferings.

For Jesus, the cross will bring incomparable and unprecedented suffering of wrath and abandonment. His downward path into those unspeakable depths begins to plunge steeply in this garden called Gethsemane." (p. 79 of The Cross Centered Life)

The astounding thing here is that the cup Jesus kept asking to be removed from Him - the cup of complete wrath from God the Father that was anyways so that WE could drink from full the cup of salvation.

Jesus could have yelled to the men mocking him from the bottom of the cross, "Drink your own cup!" and gotten down, but He didn't.

Why?

According to Galatians 2:20 He suffered the complete wrath of God that belonged to me and to you because He loved me and you.

Amazing.

It is this demonstration of God's love that I must continue to study and focus on because it is here that I remember that God certainly loves me and all of mankind and here that I am moved to worship and here that I motivated to live for Him and here that I am inspired to tell others about Him. It is here at the cross; the most wondrous place in all of history.

Have you looked upon it today?

Written in memory of Falwell

I don't claim to be best friends with Jerry Falwell, in fact, he wouldn't have even recognized if he had bumped into me last week even though one night I had hot cholcolate with him and his wife in their home after we disturbed their evening with Christmas carols!

But during my 4 years at Liberty Univeristy I at least saw him 3-5 times a week, and here's what I saw:

I saw him teach and encourage us (and yes, sometimes I thought, "Jerry, why did you go there?"). I saw him cheer at basketball and football and volleyball games and talk and laugh with the students and families who gathered around him. I saw him hug his wife and take his grandkids out to lunch. I saw him sit on a platform at my friends' graduation the year after I had received my diploma from him, and shake each of their hands and congratulate them even though doctors had advised him not to because of his health.

I saw the fruit of the spirit in him - kindness, joy, peace and confidence, generosity, and gentleness.

And I received much from this man as well. He provided me many a free meal when we would eat in the same restaurant and he would find out we were LU students. I was the recipient of many of his prayers as an LU student and RA. And yes, despite his verbal blunders, I received much wisdom on him about how to live life, love people, and love our God.

I'm writing this blog because frankly I feel the media and even some Christians (out of ignorance, I'm sure) are cutting him an unfair deal and honestly I'm upset. Of course his reward is in heaven and Scripture teaches clearly that when you follow Christ the world will hate you, but I for one would like to stand up for Jerry.

Sure he said some incorrect things. Sure he screwed up and yes he even sinned. We all do. And praise be to God that there isn't a spot light always on me like there was on him or I'd be counted even more controversial, screwy and sinful than he.

I would like to hope that people would search for the evidences of grace in his life and remember him for the good things - his laughter, his hope, and his fight for truth. Jerry often protected us against much of what Satan would have liked to accomplish when the rest of us would have maybe liked to but didn't know how.

God bless him. He surely was a blessing to me.

Simon

This is my dog Simon.

I inherited Simon upon marriage. Although I had always considered myself a dog lover, when I actually had to live with a 100 pound, black hair shedding, inconsiderate Doberman, I started questioning if I really loved dogs at all.

Sure I liked Simon. I liked Simon outside. I liked Simon cuddling on the couch. I liked Simon when people saw us out and said, "Wow, that's a cool dog."

But I hated constantly having black hairs stuck to my socks, water drops on the kitchen floor, and his incessant staring while I lie in "his" former spot on the bed. I did not like Simon in those moments. I did not like Simon when he stunk, when he drooled or when he bowled me over coming down the stairs.

And yet somehow, at some point, Simon won my heart.

Perhaps he won it when he wiggled his stubby little tail and spun around when I came home from work. Or perhaps it was when he leaped and played with me in the yard. Perhaps it was when he very clearly warned me that there was a strange man in our yard and barked ferociously to let that strange man know he shouldn't pull any funny business at Simon's house. Perhaps it was when he looked at me with those big sad eyes at dinner for just a little bite. Perhaps it was when he snuggled with me on the couch or groaned with contentment when I rubbed his ears or the back of his legs. Perhaps it was when he started visiting my side of the bed each night and lying his head by mine for one last pet. Perhaps it was when he started following me everywhere like he wanted to be near me - even in the laundry room. Or perhaps it was the other day when he got off his leash while being attacked by little crazy yappy dogs (seriously - they were obviously crazy - they attacked someone 5 times their size) and stood still until I could replace. Perhaps it was at one of those moments, but I believe this love I have for Simon has been in process since the first day that I met him.

Who couldn't love him? He even smiled for the camera.

Proverbs 12:10a, "A righteous man regards the life of his animal," has always applied to my gracious husband, but not so much to me. I'm beginning to think that maybe God is using even Simon, a big hairy dog, to help make me a little more righteous. God does work in mysterious ways.

So Simon, this blog entry is for you...

It Is Sown in Dishonor, It Is Raised in Glory

An article I found quite timely from John Piper on his DesiringGod.org website...

May it bring clarity and comfort to us each as we evaluate life and death and all that is in between.

It Is Sown in Dishonor, It Is Raised in Glory
By John Piper October 10, 2000

Romantic death is rare. More common are involuntary groanings and screams of pain. The ignominy of dying is pathetic. It is more often hellish than heroic. The apostle Paul uses two words to capture death's degrading assault. The first is "dishonor." He says that the death of our physical body is like a seed being sown in the ground. How is it sown? "It is sown in dishonor" (1 Corinthians 15:43).

During my college days, my father's mother died, leaving my grandfather very alone in Pennsylvania. His youngest son, my father, brought him to South Carolina to live with us. I was glad, and my mother was gracious, as always. Over time, his condition worsened and my mother was unable to care for him in the absence of my dad, who traveled as an evangelist.

So the painful decision was made to move him to a nursing home. There I watched him decline from the strong tool-maker-turned-pastor to skin-and-bones. The last time I saw him alive was with my father while I was home from seminary. We drove to the nursing home together, expressing the expectation that this would be the last time I would see him alive. It was.

There he lay in a diaper, curled up in a fetal position. His eyes were glazed over and crusty. His breathing was labored. My father spoke with me about his dad for a few minutes and then suggested we pray very loudly by putting our mouths next to his seemingly deaf ears. Ignoring the others in the home, we almost shouted our prayer. When my father stopped, his father heaved with all his fading might and said, "AMEN!" That was the last sound I ever heard him make. If I had ever seen a body sown in "dishonor," this was it. And there are millions like him.

Then there is another word that Paul uses to describe the humiliating condition of death. In Philippians 3:21 he says that Christ "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" (KJV). The word "vile" translates the Greek, tapeinoseos. Before the New Testament transformed this word into a virtue, because of Christ's glorious "lowliness," the word had only negative connotations of "humiliation, debasement, defeat" (Liddell and Scott).

I recall reading a biography of Julius Schniewind, a German New Testament scholar who was born in 1883. He became deathly ill in the summer of 1948, but few knew how serious it was. Hans-Joakim Kraus was with him when he taught his last "lay Bible hour," and heard him groan as he was leaving, "Soma tapeinoseos! Soma tapeinoseos!" - the phrase from Philippians 3:21: "Body of humiliation! Body of humiliation!"

Christianity is deeply aware of the humiliation, degradation, and dishonor of the body in death. The death of Jesus stamped forever our expectation. Is the disciple above his Lord? Should we expect anything better? His back was torn from scourging, his face swollen from punching, his face bloodied from the thorns and beard-pulling, his hands and feet swollen and mangled with the spikes, his side pierced with a large spear. And he was shamefully naked. He died with a "loud cry" (Mark 15:37).

How precious, therefore, to all followers of Jesus, that he rose from the dead with a "body of glory," never to die again! And how precious is the promise of Romans 6:5 that, "If we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection." And the promise of 1 Corinthians 15:43, "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." And the promise of Philippians 3:21, "He will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." And the promise of Matthew 13:43, "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

O let us learn how to help each other die! It will not be easy. But, by grace, we will help each other say in our final pain, "To die is gain."

Preparing with you,

Pastor John

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee
/ByDate/2000/1162_It_Is_Sown_in_Dishonor_It_Is_Raised_in_Glory/

Celebrate Life

On Sunday morning Daryl and I got a call as we were getting ready for church that Grandad wasn't doing too well. We spent the day with my family beside Grandad's bed, sometimes holding his hand as he would smile and try to speak, sometimes whispering quietly to each other, and sometimes laughing over old memories.

Grandad was dying. His lungs were filling with fluid and he wasn't able to eat or drink anything. Soon his voluntary functions failed and it would only be a matter of time before his heart would give up and he would know longer fight to breathe.

That night I went to bed praying God would comfort Grandad and that God would comfort us, and that if it was best, that I could be there when he passed.

God said yes to all of those things. The next morning dad was with him, and he was still cognitive. Dad got to tell him that we all loved him and that Jesus certainly did. Dad said Grandad would occasionally look up at him as if for help, so they increased the amount of morphine they were giving him and gave it more frequently.

You die alone. People may be there looking on, but it must be slightly frightening. It's always slightly frightening for me any time I have to go into the unknown without a buddy - no matter how good you expect it to be or have heard that it is.

By the time I got there he wasn't cognitive anymore. He would gasp every few seconds for air, but oxygen was getting more and more difficult to come by. It's the first time his eyes haven't lit up and his smile didn't spread across his face when I walked in the door that I can remember.

Mom came. Clint and Phil came (his other son and daughter-in-law). We sat talking outside and I decided to check Grandad, and I noticed he didn't appear to be gasping as before. We all filed in and sure enough, his heart beat was much slower.

Within minutes, it completely stopped.

I have never seen anyone die before, but it was amazing to me how different the body looks without life in it anymore.

I remember rubbing his feet as I watched him, and watched my family, and thinking, "This is really such a good thing. He is going HOME. I know it's hard, but it's good all at the same time."

You know we celebrate the birth of a baby so much. This past week two women very close to me - my sister-in-law and a great friend gave birth and Daryl and I were so excited and everyone talked about it, but then when my grandad, who knows and believes in Jesus Christ and so has the promise of eternal life in a PERFECT place slipped from this life into his knew life, we suddenly find it harder to celebrate.

Even though I knew in my head that it was best for Grandad to be with the Lord, I was still left with so many emotions I couldn't even quite describe. Some of the hardest ones even may have come from watching my dad suffer through his father's death, and even from just thinking about the vapor of life.

As my friend Ashley reminded me the next day, death wasn't part of God's plan. I guess that's why it doesn't seem right. We kind of brought that on ourselves. But thankfully for us, out of God's kindness He has redeemed life through the blood of His Son. We die here, but if we have placed our faith in Christ, we get to live forever there.

Here - the world - sometimes good, sometimes bad; where evil resides
There - heaven - perfect, no crying, no sin, no judgment, no pain, no death

Praise God for His very dear and precious promises!

I must confess that I hope when I get there we do get to be near the people we loved and knew.

That's it for tonight...

How Can I Keep From Singing...

Easy, stick me in a room full of people I hardly know. That would shut me up real quick!

But in all serious - and I know, this is going to see nerdy and mushy for lots of you, so pardon, but I was just in our kitchen washing the dishes that aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher (wouldn't you know we use them almost every night?!) listening to the contemporary Christian station on TV and Chris Tomlin's song, "How Can I Keep From Singing" came on.

He was singing about God's amazing love for him and how it just makes him want to sing. I had to just stop and sit down because I was overwhelmed by God's love for me (and He has the same love for YOU!) and His goodness towards me.

How many times as a girl, as a young woman, and as a bachlorette had I loaded dishes into the dishwasher and hoped for the day to come when I'd be loading the dishwasher in preparation for my husband to come home?

I am so blessed!

Hebrews 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Once again, God has done more than I could have ever hoped or imagined (Ephesians 3:20)!

Not only am I doing dishes in the home of mine and my HUSBANDS, my husband is AWESOME!!!!!
He works hard at work and yet he puts me first, always
He brings me medicine and water in the middle of the night
He lets me stick my freezing toes under his legs to get warm
He thanks me EVERY night for cooking
He listens to music he doesn't like and smiles because I like it
He prays for me
He delights in me
He seeks wisdom and desires to honor God
He is honest
He lets me order dessert
He kisses me at the gym
He dances with me
He lets me sleep on the side of the bed with the nightstand
He keeps Simon out of the bed
He has cool spikey hair
He provides for us
He always empties the trash
He wipes down the bathroom mirror in the morning so I don't see the spots
He writes me notes
He brings me flowers
He is my best friend
He is my confidant
He makes every night seem like a slumber party!
He laughs with me
He reads with me
He serves me
He is handsome
He takes care of his body
He takes walks with me
He snuggles with me
He is kind to my friends
He gives me good advice
He helps me put my coat on
He got me new tires!

I could go on and on, but I won't. I am just amazed, amazed, amazed at God's goodness to me in so many ways.

I think a long time ago I used to think I deserved a great husband. Then out of God's wonderful kindness, He revealed to me that really I don't "deserve" anything and it's really never about me. Everything good that I get is merely a gift from Him, that I can never repay or merit.

This gift He has given me has again reminded me of HIS goodness and love.

I'm with Chris - my soul can't help but sing.

For all of the lyrics to Chris's song, click here