Roadtrip to Texas

Summer can begin

The month of June was a busy one for us. I kept telling myself once we got through June, our summer could start. Here's a little recap of our last month...

The first weekend in June I had a baby shower and wedding shower in Ogema. The next weekend, we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Lance and I were able to spend an evening and morning without Norah. It was a great time for us to just relax and enjoy each other. Then came Father's Day weekend. Lance was able to spend some time with his dad, while I spent some time with my dad, then we spent Father's Day just the three of us! On Tuesday, the 21st, Norah and I packed up and drove to Texas with my parents for my mom's family reunion. Norah was a trooper. She did an incredible job on the way down (it was about 20-22 hours on the road). My brother and his family, along with my sister and her family also made the trip. We spent almost a week together at my uncle's lake house. It was HOT!! Norah and I spent most of our time inside. But it was a great time to see aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpas and grandma! I was so very thankful for all the help I received from all of the family, in taking care of Norah! Thanks to all of you! Norah loved spending time with her big cousins...and I think her big cousins liked it too! Our trip home was a little more challenging with Norah. I think she, like the rest of us, was just ready to be out of the car, and at home! Overall, she did pretty well, considering she was cutting 2 teeth the entire trip! Now we're back home and summer has begun! :) We celebrated the 4th of July with our church picnic and a night with friends!

I want to share something I read today! This is from the Bible study we're doing at church. 1 Peter 1:13, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 24b-25a, "the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." There were two great reminders for me! First, my hope needs to be fully set on the grace of God! Not 50% or 95%...but 100%! Wow. It really put things in perspective when I started thinking about the things that my hope is set on. I definitely am not hoping/focusing on God's grace 100%. And the second verse reminded me again of having an eternal perspective. God's Word stands forever. There are so many things in this world that are temporary. But God's Word is not one of them...and for this I am SO thankful.

(Pictures of our summer will be coming soon)!

Always changing

Life seems to be always changing. We get used to one phase, then we're on to the next. Norah is crawling all over the place, and has been pulling herself up on whatever she can grab ahold of. She is on the move...all the time! :) She is a busy, busy girl. She is exercising her independence in little things, like meal time! She wants to do it herself...she's not very interested in food off the spoon. She wants to pick it up herself! Lately she has needed me to entertain her more often than is convenient for me (meaning some days I don't get much done around the house)! But, I have to remind myself that this is just one phase, and soon we'll be on to the next. I sometimes find myself wishing for the next phase, when I really need to just be content and thankful for the phase we're at...because all too soon she will be a big girl. Norah is 9 months old (almost), and we are so thankful for all that we have experienced in these past 9 months.

Norah recently started saying 'da-da'. I'm not sure that she is associating that with Lance yet, but that will come soon I'm sure. She babbles a lot! It's so fun to hear her in her crib after a nap, just talking to herself!

Eternal Perspective

It is Family Bible Week at our church. We have had the privilege of hearing the speaker two times already, and there are three more nights! What a blessing it has already proven to be. Tonight the speaker spoke on having an eternal perspective. (He was reading out James 1:1-4). This was a great reminder for me. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day 'things' and only think about the 'now'. As the speaker stated it, we get caught up in the weeds in our life...all the busyness, trials, victories, and just day to day circumstances. He talked about trials (vs. 2...Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds). It says whenever you face trials, meaning we WILL face them. And when we do, we are to consider it joy. Verses 3 and 4 say, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. In school, taking a test was to prove what we learned. Spiritually, the testing we go through is to prove our spiritual depth. Are we going to persevere through our testing and become mature (steadfast), or are we going to fall apart and let the devil get ahold of us? He also talked about having the right attitude through our trials. None of us are going to jump up and down in excitement when a trial comes our way. But, if we have an eternal perspective, we can say, "God, I trust you and know that You are working in this situation. You are in control and I trust that you will work this out how You see it working best in my life." Complaining will get us no where. It will actually cloud our vision and cause us not to see what God wants to do in our lives. One last quote from the speaker that really impacted me was this..."Those who have confidence in God will value character above pleasure and eternity above the present." What a good reminder.