*Park pics*

 I pulled out my 50mm lens while we were at the park the other week and took advantage of the magnificent stone steps. I'm just falling in love with this lens. It's hard to use for candids because you can't adjust what is seen in the viewfinder except by moving farther away or closer, but the clarity, colors, and clear depth of field is just astounding. It's okay to fall in love with a lens, right? =)
I didn't make Caleb sit for any pictures of himself because he had a very bad case of poison ivy on his face...and he was all too happy to skip. :)

Perfect peace

You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you. 

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws

 we wait for you;
your name and renown
    are the desire of our hearts. 

My soul yearns for you in the night;
    in the morning my spirit longs for you.

Isaiah 26:3, 8&9

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~Eleonora Duse

Spring Luncheon

A few Saturdays ago these lovely ladies came over to our house for an incredibly delightful spring luncheon! I was planning to have an outdoor Picnic luncheon, but we ended up having it inside because it was raining.

I had so much fun with the bright blue and orange theme! Initially I thought about doing purple, but decided to get out of my rut and have fun with something new!

  

Pea Pickin' Cake! My favorite!

 

Our table was full after everyone brought a dish!

 

This really was the first "grown-up girl" party I've ever planned, so I enjoyed it immensely! These girls are becoming fast-friends! After learning to enjoy being in a male-dominated youth group for several years, it's nice to have some girl company for a change! We all jumped at the chance to play Pictionary together-something that does not happen when we're with our guy-friends. =) (Only one of the girls in the picture above is actually in our youth group, leaving us with not enough players for a game of pictionary on a regular occasion.) Lots of good memories made here. =)

We also played "Take-One", a version of Scrabble, and also a game that our male counter-parts generally refuse to play. =)

The afternoon ended too quickly and I'm looking forward to getting together with these girls again!

Silliness

*This week's simple thing: Picnicking by the river while Mom and Dad were away for their anniversary...we were all just calmly eating our lunch and trying to stay warm(It was damp and cold!) except for Caleb, who, as usual, was bouncing all over the place and generally being very boyish.

This is Church.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25.
I put an arm around a new friend that cried in Sunday School this morning, and I thought. "This is Church. Not the Sunday School, but the loving. If I were to just stay here and hug her and miss the sermon, that would be church, because, after all, the only commandment is to love."
  “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:9-12

It's one of those days where I just wish long for this...

Easter Sewing

While watching Pride and Prejudice I was inspired by the lovely gowns, and made a hasty decision to make a gown for Easter. And by hasty, I mean hasty. I watched the movie, went on a short walk, got my sisters in the car and went fabric shopping. I tend to lose my nerve with things that involve sewing. =) So in two weeks I put together this dress for Easter, with help from my Mom. Note to self: Make hasty decisions only when you will have plenty of time to carry them out. Staying up late Saturday night was not on the agenda.

 Finally finished late Saturday night, and ready for morning...

 Since it's Easter and I had a new dress and i was turning 18 this week! today actually! =]] we obviously had to have a photo shoot! (Compliments of my obliging sister Melody.)

 And some quite typical me...without the really weird shots taken right before and after these. Trust me, you'd be scarred.

From My Point of View

I enjoyed this Easter afternoon laying outside on a blanket with some paper and pen...see the blog post I was composing here: Fairytales by:God [or Jesus Came Before Flynn Rider]

Fairy Tales by:God [Or, Jesus Came Before Flynn Rider]

I think God invented fairy tales. Think about it. How many fairy tale plots go like this:

• Maiden is in trouble or held captive

• Knight in Shining Armour, Prince Charming, or Charming Thief as the case may be enters heroically to rescue her
• They fall in love (duh.) (Although sometimes at first one of them really dislikes the other one and it takes them a while to see that they were made for each other, at which point they finally fall in love.)

 

• The only way to save the maiden is for the hero to die in her place.
• So, hero dies.

• Maiden grieves the loss of her beloved.
• Hero comes back to life!

• True Love wins and evil is defeated! 

 

Remind you of another story? 

• We were in big trouble. Held captive by sin. Slaves. (2 Peter 2:19)
• Our King came to save us. Matt 1:21 "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
• Oh, how He loved us. John 15:9-10 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." It took us awhile though. 1 John 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son."
• The only way for Him to save us was to die. Heb 9:22 "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin."
• So, He died. 2 Cor 5:14 "...one died for all."
• Then....the Hero came back to life! "He is risen!"
• Our Hero is triumphant and true love conquers evil and death! <-------I think that's cause to be pretty happy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

A God-Centered Cross

"[Piper pointed to] Calvary, where God displayed his justice and his love. He was glorified in the death of his Son. He loves his glory that much! And how great was the glory of the death and resurrection of the one and only Christ--the very Son of God! "The foundation of your salvation," Piper said, "is God's love for His own glory.

    I'd never heard anyone speak that way about Jesus' death on the cross. I had always heard it explained in terms of my great worth. I am so valuable that God would send Jesus to die. The question Piper closed his message with deeply challenged me. "Do you love the cross because it makes much of you?" he asked. "Or do love it because it enables you to enjoy an eternity of making much of God?"
     I left[the conference] with an unsettling thought that has never left me. If I love the Cross only for what it does for me, I will have reduced it to a monument to myself. But the greatest glory of the Cross is what it tells me about God. A God of justice and mercy. A God who loved helpless sinners like me so much that he came to die so we could be free to know and worship him for eternity."
~Joshua Harris, in Dug Down Deep  page 48

Kindred Spirits♥

I realized before Susan came that we have very few pictures of the two of us, so we enrolled Mel to take a few pictures of us the one afternoon we got to hang out together.

 If you're alone, I'll be your shadow.  If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder.  If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow.  If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile.  But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me.  ~Author Unknown

 Oh, and her birthday present was a huge success. =]

She really was more excited than this picture shows, but that was the moment where I chose to live in the moment rather than capture it. =)

Road Trip!

A highlight for me in March was visiting my friend Tara at Elnora Bible Institute in Indiana. We left early Saturday morning and came home Sunday afternoon, so it was quick, but well worth it. =)

Again, most pictures SOTC and in no particular order. =)

 There was lots and lots of flat nothingness. Boorring.

 We drove past this blasting area and then decided spur of the moment to stop and take pictures. It was pretty cool!

 I went with Tara and a couple of her friends to a Mexican restaurant after shopping Saturday afternoon. The food was great and I thought the decor was pretty cool too. =)

 Elnora Bible Institute, kind of.

 I bought new sunglasses when we went shopping and I was pretty thrilled with their feminine chicness! =D

 Again, lots of nothing.

 Tara and I. We had such a great time and I was so thankful the Lord worked it all out so I could go! Being with Tara is extremely refreshing!

 

My traveling buddy Jay(on the right) and our friend Chancy that he was visiting.

All in all, it was a great first without-my-family road trip! =D