4th of July - Blythe

I stood in line for the free Popsicle with my sister-in-law and we both had the odd feeling of being in our home town and knowing so few names of the people we faintly recognized. I guess that's what time away will do. 

As the program started my patriotic heart swelled and I began to get a bit misty eyed. A sweet six year old sung "You're a Grand Ol' Flag" in honor of her dad, who is currently deployed. Then the names and ages of the 19 firefighters who died in Prescott earlier this week were read, while the melody of "Amazing Grace" played. After a moment of silence and the national anthem, the show was to begin. And before a single firework went off I was thankful, thankful to be in Blythe, thankful for the small town warmth.

The fireworks began. Michael whispered from behind, "Don't you think there will be fireworks in heaven?" "No, we won't need them. We totally underestimate the glory of Jesus." "You're right." And as  the array of fireworks glittering through the night sky and the blanketing booms of the exploding color bombs continued, I was so excited - caught with the hope of the new heaven and earth bursting forth some day, the power of Jesus's resurrection fully unleashed!

As Frank Sinatra serenaded us with "God Bless America" my heart was led to prayer. 

Lord, would you return us to our former glory? To be a great sending nation? To see your gospel go to the ends of the earth? A nation's glory truly comes from declaring and demonstrating God's glory. 
O that we would wake from our slumber and walk in the light! 

I carry my sweet, tired, semi-scared, nephew back to the jeep. He grips so tightly to me. And in the back seat on the way home he holds my hand from his car seat, as leftover fireworks boom overhead. What a wonderful place to be! What a feeling to be looked to as a place of refuge by someone so meek and timid, and to confidently assure them of their true safety.

We celebrate freedom on the fourth of July, freedom from unjust oppression. I think of Jesus who came in the flesh, lived perfectly though tempted in every way, who died in my place to set me free from the power of sin and death. I rejoice! 

Thank You, Jesus! May I be strengthened for the work ahead! May I help others know You and the freedom that the truth of Your gospel brings! Lord, we are ever desperate for You! Lord, so many are fools and say from their hearts, "there is no God," but we know it is not so. You are God, You reign even now! And we ask for You to turn hearts to seek You! Lord, strengthen Your bride for the task You've commissioned her to do, and wake her to walk in Your light! How beautiful You are, Lord! 

Your way is holy

Tonight a dear friend had a beautiful, healthy, baby girl. Cause enough to rejoice is a new, precious, little life. But today I have to think of the details, the details of this pregnancy, of this mama, her family and the road they've been on these last months.

This fall brought news that my friend and her husband were once again expecting. However, with Thanksgiving weekend came the news that she had breast cancer. The days that followed included a mastectomy and chemo therapy. And four weeks ago Sunday my friend's four year old nephew, Jaden, suffered a traumatic brain injury. His mama, too, is expecting and late into her third trimester.

Shortly after her nephew's injury, my friend shared:

"Our family has dealt with a lot this past year. I believe that dealing with the breast cancer has enabled us to better deal with Jaden's horrible accident. I think of it like a mountain climber with a heavy load. The breast cancer helped us to build our muscles, so that when a heavier burden was placed upon our shoulders (Jaden's accident) our knees of faith did not buckle. Psalm 77 has been my heart:

'I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. . . . I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal. When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right," I didn't believe a word they said. . . Once again I"ll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving looks at your acts. O God! Your way is holy!' (The Message)"

I am so deeply humbled as I get text messages about Jaden and follow the posts and pictures on facebook. I am so thankful for the deepening faith my friends' have as they walk these roads, for the way that they find joy in Christ and the small victories He gives, even with great uncertainty ahead, because their eyes are on Jesus. 

He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith! We fix our eyes on Him! 

Lord, thank You for the ways that we can see and know Your faithfulness. Thank You for being ever faithful and loving in all You do. Lord, Your way is holy!! Lord, You work all things for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purposes. You are achieving in us an eternal glory that will far outweigh our troubles. May we ever fix our eyes on what is unseen, and on You. Thank You for this sweet baby girl, may the legacy of faith that is so obvious in her family be strong in her heart all her days! May many praise You for the faithfulness that You have shown and will continue to show these beloved ones. May their weeping be ever turned to joy, may they go from strength to strength til each appears before You in Zion. Continue Your work of healing and restore Jaden to himself. Lord, heal his brain and allow him to gain back the simple life functions he had already mastered. I ask specifically that you would allow Him to swallow on command and with ease soon. Strengthen His parents for the days ahead.

And Lord, thank You for this gift on a day like today where the brokenness in the world hits us in our gut. Lord, I look to You. God of all compassion, I wait for You.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness! I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'" - Lamentations 3:21-24

I would not choose the circumstances that force me to lean into You, Lord, but I would choose knowing You in this way. So thank You for authoring the details of my days and making it so my heart will boast in You alone. You are my Rock, my refuge. You are my good and gracious Father. You are my Help, my Maker. I rest, surrendered to Your care.

DIY Valentine's Shirts

I love Valentine's Day! (I may have even rambled on about it last year on Arizona's centennial.) I love love. I love celebrating! I love hearts. (They make me happy because they're symmetrical!)

This year, a friend and I wanted to do something sweet for our friends, so we decided to make them Valentine's shirts. And figured we might as well make ourselves some in the process, too.

In order to do this project yourself, you'll need:
-2 t-shirts per set (we used V-necks)
-Acrylic paint (We used hot pink, red, fuschia, pink, silver and gold.)
-Paint brush
-One plastic straw for each color used
-2 pieces of cardboard or poster board
-Drop cloth or plastic table cloth

In order to prepare your area, lay out the drop cloth. This project gets a bit messy so you may even consider doing it outside.

First, take one shirt and fold it along the v-neckline. Go along the bottom hemline of the shirt and fold it flush. Then place on piece of cardboard between the two shirt layers. (When the shirt is folded one sleeve should be in the center. See picture above, if you're confused.) Fold the same shirt in a similar fashion, but fold the v-neck so that it is facing the opposite direction. This way when the friends, or Valentine's, wearing the shirts stand next to each other, they will form a complete heart. ("Awwww!")

Super fun!!!

We used a paint brush and hot pink paint to make the base heart on each shirt. We then used the straws to splatter the other colors on the heart. If you just dip the straw into the paint and blow, there will be a pit of paint splattered. If you use a bit of suction on the straw in the paint, you will obviously splatter more paint, but it may get gloppy fast! Be careful and experiment to get the desired effect! And have fun! You're painting with a straw.

Your shirts are ready to wear!

Allow the shirts a night to dry before removing the cardboard. This will prevent the paint from bleeding through.

Happy Heart Day! 

Wisdom from my father:

"It is hard to fight when there are chocolate chip cookies in our midst."

Today

1. I woke up an hour and a half before my alarm went off...had extra time for important things.
2. I saw a dear friend from college!!! She intentionally booked her ticket home with a layover in PHX just so she could see me for a bit! Makes me cry. We got to catch up and it blows me away at how easy some friendships are.
3. Had my last one-on-one of my first semester at ASU.
4. Spent time on funding!
5. I visited my grandma and wrapped packages for her. We talked for a good while and she told me how my grandpa prayed for us all when we were in the womb. He prayed that our hearts would pant for God as the deer pant for water. (What an awesome thing it will be to one day understand the mysteries of God and prayers!)
6. Figured out how to make sweet and condensed almond milk for some delectable dairy-free and gluten-free coconut macaroons! OMG. (Praising God, don't worry!)
7. I baked with my cousin and his lovely wife across town. Oh man, I love my family. They are a great couple and it is humbling to see their faith in the midst of a hard year.
8. It rained. My car is clean!

Today, my dear friend, Lauran returns from 8 months away in Chile. It is also her mom's birthday!

And last, but very present on my heart, a dear friend started chemo today.
O Lord, grant her and her family strength. Protect the little babe inside her. We ask for Your healing hand to be upon her. Cover her with Your love, may she sing in the shelter of Your wings.

God has ears, attentive ones!

A year and a half ago or so, a friend and I spent the weekend together babysitting four siblings. It was quite the weekend, and the youngest kiddo was potty training. I was instructed by the parents that at about 5 a.m., their baby would cry out from his bed and for help using the potty. No biggie!

Well, come the first early morning with the kids, my friend nudges me awake, saying, "Liss, Liss, wake up." I am a very heavy sleeper, the youngest cries didn't rouse me. I only heard him yelling for his dad after my friend woke me! I rushed to him too late, his pull-up was wet. [FAIL]

Later that weekend I was sitting in Psalm 34. It may be my favorite psalm, but that's like a girl with a sweet tooth picking a favorite dessert! In light of my recent experience, verse 15 especially hit me. It said, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry." My ears were not attentive to early morning cries, but our heavenly Father's ears are ever attentive to the cries of His children. 

Cry out and He will hear! He will deliver you from all your fears.

About ten days ago, I was wondering what God was going to do. I was wondering what He wanted me to do. I came to God with nothing and in sheer exhaustion. As I waited, He brought to mind 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 

Psalm 27:13-14 also came to mind, and later that night I was reminded of Gideon trusting God for victory over the Midianites with only 300 soldiers.

I went through the weekend with a good friend and her kiddos, still scratching my head about what God had in store. I knew I was simply supposed to trust Him. I knew I was weak, and that He was strong. I wanted to see His goodness in the land of the living. I waited, in His strength and taking heart by His word. He gently kept my eyes on Him in faith, and He delivered. His ears were attentive to my cries. 

More on how He answered later, but for now, rest in this sweet promise and truth, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry."

Lord, thank You for making me righteous in Christ, for I have no righteousness of my own to claim. Thank You for Your great love and faithfulness, for Your Word and how it sustains us. You are good! You are able! You are alone are Father.