[my intended]

[one twenty seven] 1.21.11 My intended.

World, meet Bertie. Uncle Dale heard that I needed a man in my life, so he brought me Bertie for a Christmas present. Isn't he adorable? So manly. And all that. All I can say is, we were *made* for each other. Uncle Dale, I'm eternally grateful. Haha. I can't say he's everything I've ever wanted, but love is blind I guess. ;)
I've been reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan that I borrowed from a friend, and I decided to post an extract from it that I really liked. To begin, I will belay any concerns you may have (like I did) that it is all about emotions and touchy feely stuff. Which is good in its place, but it's not all about that. Anyway, just from the title, I was thinking it might be like that, but it's not ) =)
"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.
Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace to others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's ok to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance.They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we're headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed. Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?
I find myself relearning this lesson often. Even though I glimpse God's holiness, I am still dumb enough to forget that life is all about God, and not about me at all.
It goes sort of like this....
Suppose you are an extra in an upcoming movie. You will probably scrutinize that one scene where hundreds of other people are milling around, just waiting for that two fifths of a second where you can see the back of your head. Maybe your mom and your closest friend get excited about that two fifths of a second with you... maybe. But no one else will realize it is you. Even if you tell them, they won't care. Let's take it a step further. What if you rent out a theater on opening night and invite all your friends and family to come see the new movie about you? People will say, "You're an idiot! How could you think that movie is about you?" Many Christians are even more delusional than the person I've just described. So many of us think and live like the movie is all about us. Now consider the movie of life... God creates the earth. (Were you there then? Was God talking about you when he called what He had made good? Then people rebel against God (who, if you hadn't realized yet, is the main character in this movie) and God floods the earth to rid it of the mess people made of it. (Francis Chan goes describing the movie of life with God scattered throughout) And then, the climax. The son of God is born among the people whom God somehow still loves. While in this world, the Son teaches His followers what true love looks like. Then the Son of God dies, is resurrected, and goes back up to be with God. And even though this movie isn't quite finished yet, we know what the last scene holds. The throne room of God. Here every being worships God, for He alone is worthy to be praised. From start to finish, this movie is obviously about God. He is the main character. How is it possible that we live as though it is about us? Our scenes in the movie, our brief lives, falls somewhere between the time Jesus ascends into heaven and when we will all worship God on His throne in heaven. We only have our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live. I don't know about you, but I want my two fifths of a second to be about making much of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. That is what our two fifths of a second is about.
So, what does that mean for you?
Frankly, you need to get over yourself. It might sound harsh, but that's what it means.
Maybe life's pretty good for you right now. God's given you this good stuff so you can show the world a person that enjoys blessings but who is still totally obsessed with God.
Or maybe life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and knowing Him brings peace and joy even when life is hard. Like the psalmist who wrote, "I saw the prosperity of the wicked... Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure... When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me until I entered the sanctuary of God." (Psalms 73:3, 13, 16-17) It is easy to become disillusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to others'. But in the presence of God, He gives us a deeper peace and joy that transcends it all.
To brutally honest, it doesn't really matter what place you find yourself in right now. Your part is to bring him glory-whether eating a sandwich at lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 a.m. so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four month old take a nap. The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift."

[standing on the promises of God]

Our "Finishing Herodotus Party" ;) This is the "good" picture.

This is the one where we were all the animals we were in King Frog. Ha.

And then Justin said, "Let's all howl! So we made the wolf sign and howled for this one.

‎Hahaha I saw this quote today on facebook and loved it =) "There are moments, Jeeves, where one asks oneself, 'Do trousers matter?'" "The mood will pass, sir." ~P.G. Woodehouse. I love Jeeves and Wooster.

Tomorrow is Christmas!! Haha. We put off Christmas till now for multiple reasons, and tomorrow we're having it =) So the kids are really excited. 

Thoughtfully,
Shaina

It's the super dog!