photos of late...

here are some pictures from this fall that i just have not taken the time to post. they start back in october with keri and eric's wedding in kerrville, where our motto for the weekend was "what happens in kerrville stays in kerrville." that is why only some of the stories will be told.

this one is of my dear friend adrianne and i. i love and admire this woman! 

"ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus."

this is all of us with keri at the saloon in the YO ranch.  we just kept the party going.

this young man was my dance partner at the saloon. one of the many dares that night that i could not pass up. he was delighted!

here we are with the BEAUTIFUL bride!

all the single ladies...

on the way back after the wedding, crammed into the excursion limo. chris is not pictured here because the old ladies were busy flirting with him.

now, fast forward about 5 weeks to november 21 for a friend's awesome 30th birthday party! here are the roomies and i.

then of course, the necessary look awesome portrait.

 

and then on the dance floor.

then fast forward a few more weeks to my traditional thankmas party.  these are just a few pics from our photo station.and yes, i was a reindeer.

 

this was the most creative costume by far, a black friday shopping mom.  unbelievable marie!

[valley of vision] reproofs...

i did not want to pray this one. seriously. it has been a battle.

reproofs
from the valley of vision

o merciful god,

when i hear of disagreeable things amongst christians,
  it brings an additional weight and burden on my spirit;
i come to thee in my distress and make lamentable complaint;

teach me how to take reproofs from friends,
  even though i think i do not deserve them;

use them to make me tenderly afraid of sin,
  more jealous over myself;
  more concerned to keep heart and life unblameable;

cause them to help me
  to reflect on my want of spirituality,
  to abhor myself,
  to look upon myself as unworthy,
  and make them beneficial to my soul.
 
may all thy people know how little, mean, and vile i am,
  that they may see i am nothing,
  less than nothing,
  to be accounted nothing,
  that so they may pray for me aright,
  and have not the least dependence upon me.

it is sweet to be nothing and have nothing,
  and to be fed with crumbs from thy hands.
blessed be thy name for anything that life brings.

how do poor souls live who have not thee,
  or when helpless have no god to go to,
  who feel not the constraining force of thy love,
  and the sweetness of communion?
o how admirably dost thou captivate the soul,
  making all desires and affections centre on thee!

give me such vivacity in religion,
  that i may be able to take all reproofs from other men
  as from thy hands,
  and glorify thee for them
  from a sense of they beneficent love
  and of my need to have my pride destroyed.

[valley of vision] humiliation....

so i have not been able to move past this prayer in a week. i love it!

humiliation
from the valley of vision

sovereign lord,
when clouds of darkness, atheism, and unbelief come to me,
i see thy purpose of love
  in withdrawing the spirit that i might prize him more,
  in chastening me for my confidence in
   past successes, that my wound of secret godlessness might be cured.
help me to humble myself before thee
  by seeing the vanity of honour
    as a conceit of men's minds,
    as standing between me and thee;
  by seeing that thy will must alone be done,
    as mush in denying as in giving
      spiritual enjoyments;
  by seeing that my heart is nothing but evil,
    mind, mouth, life void of thee;
  by seeing that sin and satan are allowed power
    in me that i might know my sin, be humbled,
      and gain strength thereby;
  by seeing that unbelief shuts thee from me,
    so that i sense not thy majesty, power, mercy,
      or love.
then possess me, for thou only art good and worhty.

thou dost not play in convincing me of sin,
satan did not play in tempting me to it,
i do not play when i sink in deep mire,
  for sin is not game, no toy, no bauble,
let me never forget the heinousness of sin lies
  not so much in the nature of the sin committed,
  as in the greatness of the Person sinned against.
when i am afraid of evils to come, comfort me,
    by showing me me
  that in myself i am a dying, condemned wretch,
  but that in christ i am reconciled, made alive,
    and satisfied;
  that i am feeble and unable to do any good,
  but that in him i can do all things,
  that what i now have in christ is mine in part,
  but shortly i shall have it perfectly in heaven.

the lesser told part of the christmas story...

as i was preparing curriculum to teach to our kids, i just felt the lord leading me to write about things pre luke 2. to talk about things not often told in the christmas story, but the things that are essential to understanding it.  most kids could tell you the story about the baby in the manger, but many of them and many of us, lack an understanding as to why it is that big of deal. in fact, i think we know it should be a big deal, but do not feel as if it is.  that is part of the reason i think there is so much hype and busyness around christmas. the busyness can be an effort to make up for what we think we should be feeling.

so this week, we are teaching the kids a lesson that made me cry as i wrote it. (i totally used the jesus storybook bible pages 170-175 to write the lesson.)  i thought i would share it with you guys, in hopes that the lord uses it to help you start the christmas season with the right worship in mind, before we all get too wrapped up in the other fun stuff (like my big thankmas party in 2 weeks). so here is the gist of what we are teaching the kids this sunday. (it will a bit more polished by then, but you get the idea.)

Good morning boys and girls! Can anyone tell me what month it is? That is right, December!And what big holiday happens in December? Yes Christmas!!Well today we are going to talk about the Christmas story, but probably about a part that is usually not talked about that much at Christmas. Today our story is found in the Old Testament.And we have lots to cover, so lets get after it!

First, we are going to start with the story from the book of Ezra.Before we read this section, let’s talk about what is going on. The Israelites were the people of God. Remember how they followed Moses out of Egypt. Then they went into the promised land.Then they had some good kings and then they had some not so good kings and they quit following God. So God had other countries come in and attack them and they became slaves again and had to live in other countries and by others rules.Then we come to Ezra chapter 7, and we see that God is rescuing his people.He lets them go free and go back to where they were living.They are excited and Ezra and Nehemiah are helping them rebuild their cities (remember Nehemiah and the wall?). Well Ezra and Malachi begin reminding them about all of God’s law.

Now let’s take a quick look at God’s law and all he expects.

(show some slides or read some scripture with examples)

And that is only a small piece.God is a holy God and he had rules and laws that he expected them to obey. They could not. They tried and tried and they kept failing. Even their great king, David could not do it. As Ezra was reading the law to them, they were reminded that would always fail. And they wept. They could not do it.They would never succeed.

God used many men to tell his people that he would send someone to be their king that would not fail. Someone that would be able to do all God asked them to do. Someone that would rescue them. They had a feast to celebrate this good news, but not too long after this, many fell back into a sense of hopelessness. And you know what, not too long after this, God was silent. He did not speak through men for a very long time. All they had was this promise that God was going to send someone.

Many forgot. Many gave up. The hopelessness was too much to bear. BUT, then one night, there was born a tiny baby in a manger. A baby that was God with us. After being silent for so long, God sent his son in the form of a baby. And we know that baby would grow up and live a perfect life. He would be crucified on the cross to pay for all of our sins and all of the sins of those before us.And he would not stay dead, but he would rise again.

Don’t you see boys and girls, why Christmas is such a big deal. Without Jesus we, just like the Israelites are hopeless. We cannot keep all of God’s laws. We cannot be perfect. We mess up. Our hearts forget about God and run after other things. Before we know it we are in trouble, just like the Israelites. Trouble we cannot get out of. But that night, in a manger, the Hope of the world was born! The one, the only one who could free us was born! God was not silent anymore!! In fact he came closer to us than ever before!

We can learn many things from this story. God is holy and expects a lot from us. But he also loves us. He loves us enough that he sent his son to live the life that we could not.He showed compassion on us!This also reminds us that God has a plan. Even when he is silent and does not seem to be around, he has a plan.

This is why we can sing Joy to the World, because the good news of Christ should bring joy to the entire world. This is why we can talk about this Holy night, because this night the entire world found its hope.We sing come let us adore him because we love him so much! How great is our God?! Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, we are so thankful that you sent your son. Lord, we just like the Israelites always fail and we are hopeless! Thank you for sending Jesus in a manger. Thank you for saving us! Help us to remember your compassion and to celebrate you this season!Lord help us understand what this means. Amen!

(the follow scripture is what we referenced: ezra 7, malachi 1,3, nehemiah 8-10, romans 8:1-4)