The Sweetest Name

Sweetest note in seraph song,

Sweetest name on mortal tongue;

Sweetest carol ever sung, 

Jesus, blessed Jesus.

Have you ever stopped to think of just how full of hope, how healing, how sweet the very name of Jesus really is?  If you haven't, you should.  Recently I was discouraged...really, I should say I was pretty hopeless...and all I had to do was call on the Name of Jesus.  That was enough--HE is enough.  

He brought me out of the miry clay,

He set my feet on the Rock to stay;

He puts a song in my soul today,

A song of praise, hallelujah!

His name is glorious...it is powerful.  Even in the darkest of times, just to say the name of Jesus gave me new hope.  

my new pink room

So, now that Micah's moved out, I get his old room...and I get to do a little remodeling first ;).  For a long time, this room has been a minty green.  And while I like minty green, it is overpowering when the entire room is that color (in my opinion).  Sooo, since I've liked pink ever since I can remember, I chose to paint some pink [the color is called Bubblegum Pink, to be exact;)] into the room.  You are not required to like it (I realize that my tastes in colors are not common :P), but I think it's pretty cool :).

looking in the door (the stuff is simply various objects that have been stored in that room ;))

 looking at the closets 

So yep, I'm pretty excited about my new pink room...if you can't tell;).

My [not so very] quiet evening at home...

All day yesterday I was so looking forward to the evening, which I thought would be my first nice quiet evening at home during this crazy week, and I knew I'd be alone.  Mom and Dad went to Bible Study, Ria went to the train station to pick someone up, and Jered was working late.  Perfectly lovely...and it was, until after Ria and my parents came home...
Around 9:00, I was down in the basement reading and munching on popcorn, Dad was in bed, Mom was at the computer, and Ria was upstairs.  Perfect quiet evening, right?  I heard a vehicle driving up the hill just beyond the neighbors, I knew it was close to the top of the hill where there is a sharp curve.  Nothing unusual...
Until I suddenly heard a loud "BOOM!!".  Now that IS unusual. 
Ria, Mom, and I came running from our various places, and out the door to the driveway.  I had my cell phone on me (not unusual, though not often this necessary)  while neither of them did.  Mom hadn't heard the engine before the boom and thought it was a gunshot, so she didn't want us to call 911.  Then we heard Jered coming home (from the other direction) so we all stood there and waited till he'd parked and gotten out to tell him what happened.  He grabbed a flashlight (I already had one but his was brighter), and Ria, he, and I started walking towards where it happened while mom drove the Subaru over.  We discovered that the vehicle (which turned out to be a pickup truck) had missed the curve, taken out the neighbor's mailbox and hit the end of the guardrail (which is what made the nice big boom),  gone along behind it for a little while before flipping and sliding down the steepest part of the bank towards the Outlet.  Jered shone his flashlight down, saw a light and the gleam of a reflector, and began slipping and sliding down to it while Ria called 911 on my cell phone, and mom parked the car with the hazards flashing to mark the spot.  Soon the first responder got there, followed by what we believe to be every single emergency vehicle and personnel that Yates County can boast of.  A few guys slid down the hill, while they sent a truck down the Outlet Trail to pick up any people.  When they discovered that it was two people, both seemed just fine (they crawled out of the truck before Jered even got there, and walked up to the Trail to meet their ride), the emergency personnel began packing up everything they'd gotten out and headed back to...town.  And it's still my belief that only about half that much ado was needed.  

And that was my [not so very] nice quiet evening at home...

Forgiveness + Surrender = FREEDOM!

God has been teaching me alot about freedom from addictions; forgiveness; and letting go.

    How I need to shift my focus from simply "not doing" the thing I was addicted to, but I needed to focus on WHY I did it and take care of that. 
    A comment from a friend awhile back kinda kick-started this.  "[You turn to addictions] in response to your own internal brokenness and unfulfilled needs." 
    And God has been using that to show me how I need to let Him heal that brokenness instead of hating myself for doing the things I really didn't want to. For awhile I resisted...I just couldn't break down my "tough" walls to let Him in. I didn't want to give Him control of me...I didn't want to let go. Then something that I read last night depicted Jesus as asking me to let Him heal me. And then I just broke down. I wanted healing more than anything else...more than control; more than being "tough". So I cried out to Him. I wrote "letters" (that I don't intend to ever send) to everyone who's hurt me in some way. I wrote down what they'd done. And I wrote that I forgive them. The longest one was too...myself. I finally forgave myself rather than simply hating myself. And then I just prayed for healing. Peace flowed in, and joy.  But, as we all know, forgiveness and healing is a journey...and I see it won't be an easy journey. With Jesus leading me, I shall win! 

life...

My gap in blogging is not that nothing happens, it's just no time to write about them!  You'd think that I'd find time to write about my own dear brother's wedding, but... And about my adorable nephew's antics but... And about interesting driving experiences but...

So I guess I'll just write a tidbit about each;)

My brother Micah got married (and gave me a new, super fun sister!) on Saturday.  The wedding was tons of fun, very bright and happy [just like them]:).  And the maid of honor and her boyfriend got engaged at the reception!  How cool is that?!  "One wedding is the makin' of another" certainly held true this time!

My lil' nephew (he's 2.5 yrs old) is looking forward to a little brother or sister the end of next month.  Today his mommy told me that recently he's been saying he hopes the baby is a boy.  And whenever something isn't going his way, he bows his head and prays to get his way.  I think he might have the right idea, but not the right application?

I've been driving for a little over 3 weeks now-learning on stick shift:).  Learning the trick of giving it just enough gas to go, yet not leap like a kangaroo is a challenge, that I enjoy when I succeed:).  I get tired of it after a few stalls, haha.  Oh, and a tip for anyone trying to learn-starting in 3rd gear doesn't work too well unless it's a truck starting going downhill.  

so long, farewell...

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

lyrics ~by Stuart Townend
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers


I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection


It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)

  I was just listening to song, and the 5th verse really sunk into me: 
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

 How often do we (I) really "boast" in Jesus Christ?  Sure, it's easy to boast about all the "good things" I do for Him, but that's not what I should boast in.  He's done so much for me, why do I not glory in His cross?  My youth group is doing a thing of each taking a specific weapon from the armour of God, a different one each day of the week.  Today mine is the Gospel, and as I was thinking about it, a way to use the weapon of the Gospel IS to boast in Christ.  

thoughts and comments?

getting started

sooo....is there like an initiation right for new blogs?  even if there is, i guess i'll skip it:).

it's been kinda crazy here lately...getting ready for Micah's wedding.  And learning to drive :P