Friday January 21-Sunday January 23

Weekend away in CT with the Zietz =) 

We spent the weekend visiting Max and Erin. Its really nice to get away sometimes, especially when you have hosts like these guys. It was awesome getting to spend time with people who have meant so much to Chad. Max and Chad have been friends for a while and spending time with them gives me chances to catch up on parts of Chad's life I didn't get to see. I feel like there is so much to learn about him still. Its strange that you can live for 26 years without knowing someone and then one day, meet them and not want to live another day without them. Its the fun part... that every day I get to know him even more. Whether its from time spent with him, or with friends from way back... or stories... or from 4 hour car rides...or a few months of marriage... it all brings me to the same conclusion... I made the best and easiest decision on 10.10.10

January 20, 2011

 I  used to work night shift. I would get off of work, go home, sleep, and go right back to work. Other women would come back to work and explain how they went home, sent their kids off to school, did laundry, went to their son's baseball game, cooked dinner, took a quick nap, and came back to work. I was tired just imagining it all. I never understood how they did it. Now, I work day shift, which is much more compatible with life, yet I still feel like there is so much to do and not enough time.

Helllllo crockpot. 

I thought this contraption was for grandmas or church pot-lucks or for the people that bring meatballs to parties..but as it turns out, this thing is incredible.

I can leave and go to work and it will basically cook dinner for me. This morning I put all the ingredients in...and after working all day, came home to a house filled with slow-cooked deliciousness... barbeque beef brisket. As I pulled it out of the crockpot, you could tell how tender the meat was. I got so excited at the amount of work I did and how delicious it looked. Chad came in, and pulled out the electric knife. Entirely not necessary, but incredibly exciting to use. This is his "I don't even have to pay attention, this is so easy because of my manly knife" picture, and my "I did no work and look at the way this meal looks" picture. And there you have it, the gadgets that make life so much easier.

Wednesday, January 19

What is one thing you lack, but you desire to grow in? I was asked this question on Sunday. My answer? An un-offended heart. I want to live in truth and never waiver. In the good times and the rocky times, I want to be steady. This is why i love this passage....
Jesus had come, saying that he would "preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release the oppressed" luke 4:18... The disciples walk with Jesus day to day and witness this first hand. They watch Jesus heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and deliver people from demons. They leave their families and give their lives to following Jesus, because they believe he is the ONE who God sent.
Later, John the baptist is thrown into prison. I would assume that while in prison, one has much time to think. He must have thought about Jesus' words. "I will set the prisoners free"....and as he waited for his release, he must have had some time to question what Jesus said. John sends two people out to ask Jesus a question. (Luke 7:18-23)...
“John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. 
²² Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” 

I find myself in this situation so many times, not in prison, of course.... but, I hear what Jesus says, believe him, and then find myself in a place that doesn't line up with what I know to be true. I create my own prison when I start listing the things I don't see him doing. I start building walls of offense up around my heart when I realize, I'm not being rescued. Jesus tells John the baptist, look at all that is happening and do not be offended. So, no matter what my situation may look like, Jesus is who he says he is, and will do what he says he will do. It may be hard to see what he is doing from behind big metal bars, and at times, I may feel trapped...but even in prison, I can't let my heart get offended.
So I'm signing up for the offenseless heart, that all my struggles lead me to press in for greater breakthrough instead of  building brick walls of offense. I have been thinking about this for the past few days....and after reading this, it only made me more aware of what I lack, and strengthened by desire to seek it out.

Tuesday, January 18

City Life. This is the name of the "life group" we go to on tuesday nights with our church. We meet at this cute little coffee shop on Pine Street called Good Karma. What is not so cute about it, is the parking. We drove around for 20 minutes looking...and after no success we ended up parking in the Superfresh parking lot, where if you spend $10 there, parking is free for 2 hours. As we were driving around, I was ready to give up. Ready to turn the car around, go back home and do something different. Chad, thank goodness, is much more persevering than I am. Apparently, patience is something I may need to acquire more of. When we arrived, 25 minutes late, I got tea... I love when you open your tea and the little piece of paper at the end of the string has a cute little saying. Its like the fortune cookie in Tea world. Tonight, mine was all about patience. Ok ok ok... .I need to work on it. Anyways, City Life was refreshing as always, and at the end of the night we spent our $10 to get free parking on the most necessary items. Coffee. Olives. And my new found, just introduced love, Black Cherry Ice Cream. Shhhh... don't tell Jillian Michaels.

Monday, January 17

I have a love hate relationship with Jillian Michaels. I love how I feel after doing one of her work outs, but hate the way I feel during it. To ease the pain, I convinced Heather to come over and participate in the torture. Why is it that it's easier to do something when you know someone else is sharing your pain? After getting yourself into a routine, its not so bad... but getting to that point always takes a little work. Today, I remembered my hate for Jillian Michael, every single time I went to sit down; A task that is usually thoughtless, stretched muscles I forgot I had. Cheers to sore legs, and hopefully motivation =)

Sunday, January 16

 Italian Market, oh how I love thee.

11 dollars. A week of fruit and veggies and a happy Chad when he comes home to a fresh cut pineapple. Every time we come home from the Italian Market, we lay everything out on the kitchen table and marvel at how much we got and how much money is still left in our pockets. 

Often when I'm at the grocery store, I watch the price add up as they scan each item. I leave with a few bags full and on my way out, I look over the receipt to make sure they didn't charge me for a 22 pound turkey by accident. I come home and put away the groceries without any display, with no proud ---look what I got--- type attitude; which brings me right back to my first point, 

Italian Market, oh how I love thee!

Saturday, January 15.

Delicious, stress-free goodness.... Capogiro Gelato. 

Located across the street from the apparently, stress-filled Lolita. I missed all the action, showing up late for dinner. There are more rules at this modern mexican restaurant than my friends were ready for. Not sitting your party until everyone has arrived (which somehow they negotiated this), only taking orders when they can all be placed at once (which explains the phone call where Heather read me my options on the menu), and don't forget about the minimum price requirement of $18/person, oh and cash only (I really need to start carrying cash). Tiny and crowded, it did have a redeeming uniqueness of byoT. Bring your own tequila for specialty margaritas. Unaware of all that had gone on prior to my arrival, I had a bit of a different feel of the place. Even though I couldn't figure out exactly what I was eating, it was good. Walking out of Lolita and into Capogiro, the land of no rules, was a delightful end to the night. Bring your own spoon though, unless you like eating gelato with incredibly miniscule spoon-shaped objects. 

Philly has so much to offer, everywhere you turn, there's something else to do. Especially when you spend your time navigating the city with people just as spontaneous as you. I love that plans don't have to be made weeks in advance...but at the drop of a hat, people are in; up for dinner or dancing or a game night... or just life together. 

Friday, January 14

I love this bridge. I love this city. I know that one day, when I don't live in the city anymore, I'll drive over this bridge and reminisce about all the memories the city streets hold. My most favorite time in life, is right now. Surrounded by family. Blocks away from people who we have come to know and love. Tonight, I had strength poured into me as truth was spoken over me by people who believe in me. It is incredible what someone else's belief in you can do. Tonight, this truth re-awakened my heart to fight for the things my heart desires to see. My expectations are high, because He's really good...and I know He loves this city and the people in it, even more than I do. 

Thursday, January 13

Tonight we went to dinner in Media, a quaint little town with a lot of character. There is nothing better than good food, good company, and good wine. We went to Fellini's, a great little Italian spot. Their menu is laid out similar to a Chinese place, all the options are listed by numbers. They must have gotten really tired of people mispronouncing their extravagant dishes. Despite our inability to order, we had a great time. Isn't it the best feeling in the world to not see someone for months and months and be able to pick up right where you left off? I love it. Even more so, I love being with people who love to laugh just as much as I do. Next time you go to dinner, you should bring Jordan & Allison Gerrard with you...perfect recipe for a good meal.

Wednesday, January 12.

Every year I have a list of things I want to do. One year, at work, I wrote out an entire page of things I wanted to do in the next 5 years. I wanted to move to California, move to Boston, work in an ICU (intensive care unit), learn piano... a whole list of things. There is a difference between wanting to do something, and actually doing it. Your desire must supersede your obstacles. One of my co-workers looked over my list and she probed a little bit about each goal. She started to ask me about the piano. I told her I used to play when I was in 2nd grade. I quit because I was too busy then, it was taking up too much of my free time. I didn't want to practice. For a long time I regretted not ever getting back into it. So, it was actually a desire for years, to learn it. She asked me two questions. 1. Are you willing to practice now? to which I said, yes. She asked me another question... Do you have a piano to practice on? a great, relevant question, to which I answered, no. Mmm... how is that going to work? A few weeks later I bought a keyboard. I ambitiously went to buy sheet music, which I soon realized, I couldn't read. Soon after purchasing the keyboard I moved to California, and I packed that keyboard into my car and brought it across the country. I never took formal lessons, but my friend taught me some chords. I would sit for hours and mess around, and although, I still have no idea what I'm doing, its one thing that continues to inspire me. When I moved home, I shipped the keyboard, but somehow, not the stand... and since I moved to our place in philly it has been collecting dust on the floor, until today,

when I decided not to let my desire to play be overcome by an obstacle, especially not by something as small as a piano stand.

1.11.11

Hebrews 11:11.... because she judged Him faithful, she was able to bear a son. This has become my favorite verse. I just i can't get enough of it. I want to remind myself of it daily so I never forget what can happen when I just believe what He says. I make it my email, my blog spot, my go-to verse when I lose my footing.... I do everything I can to ingrain it into my being. I talk about it, over and over, like a broken record, because this verse, it changed me. I read it one night and I have been studying it for almost 3 years now, and I can't find a verse that strengthens me more. You have to understand the context of the verse to really get the full effect. In Genesis 12 the Lord calls Abram to leave everything and travel to a new land, a land that his offspring will inherit. At this time Abram is 75 years old and has no children. Later, in Genesis 13 God tells him that his offspring will be like the dust of the earth, too many to be counted. Still, at this time, he is childless. Later God tells him again, in Genesis 15, your offspring will be like the stars in the sky, too many to count.  24 years (!) later, God changes his name from Abram, to Abraham, "father of many nations". God spoke to Abraham years in advance about a promise that was coming. For 25 years Abraham didn't see it come to fruition. 25 years is an extremely long time to wait, don't you think?However, in the midst of it, Abraham never lost hope. After 24 years when God told him, "in one year, your wife will bear a son"... it says that "Abraham believed Him". To me, this is completely stunning. Years and years of seeing nothing happen, Abraham believed that God would do what he said. It didn't matter to him that his wife was way too old to even possibly have a child, he didn't question it, he just believed. He didn't pick it apart and try to figure out all the details, he just trusted Him. Abraham made it seem so simple.

Hebrews 11:11 says that because they (Abraham and Sarah) believed God, because they judged him to be faithful, they were able to have a son. It stirs my heart. He is the God of the impossible. He isn't limited by time or money or resources. He can create life out of nothing. He can heal the brokenhearted. He can restore the broken family. He can change your life in an instant. He can set you free, entirely free. He can heal your body, your disease..... he can. The greater question, is do I believe it?

A few years ago my sister, Laura, was trying to get pregnant. She had been told by the doctors it would be really hard because of some underlying medical issues. I remember her calling me while I was living in California. She said she kept feeling like she was pregnant but all her tests had come back negative. She said she was getting her hopes up that God was blessing her, feeling like if she actually was pregnant, it would be a miracle. I don't know what happened in me at that moment, but this faith rose up in me. I told her, take another pregnancy test tomorrow morning, I think it's going to be positive. In the morning I got a text message with a picture of the pregnancy stick.... PREGNANT! 

I can't remember how many days later it was, that I got a phone call with Laura crying on the other end, saying the doctors thought she was having a miscarriage. Again, I felt this faith rise up in me. I felt like God told me, I can choose to agree with what the doctors were saying, or with what He was saying. He was saying life, they were saying death. He kept saying, who will you believe? Over and over, we prayed for life in her womb... We all had a choice who to believe. Who will you judge to be faithful? I'm so glad I chose Him. look at this beautiful promise fulfilled.

I remember this verse every single time I get to see Kaylee Grace, and how great is it, that on 1/11/11 I got to hug and kiss this little face. 

I don't care what it is you are going through or how long you have waited to see what He has been telling you will come, do not give up. Do not lose heart. He is faithful. He will do what he says He will.   

Monday, January 10

Well, I only made it 9 days. I didn't take a picture for Monday. I left for work before the sun came up. I think that should be a rule or something, that if the sun isn't starting the new day, either should we. I was at work for 12 hours and if I could take pictures of how cute this one little kid was, I would have. Every single time I walked into the room, he would smile and laugh so adorably. This little 14 month old, with no words, got me through the day. His parents, were equally as pleasant, with just as many smiles and almost as many "thank you's" as the little guy's laughs.
I know we aren't supposed to do things just to get thanked, but how incredibly refreshing is it when you hear those two little words. Holding a door for someone, or letting them in front of you while your driving, a thank you is always so appreciated. When I let someone out in front of me and I don't see a little "thank you" wave coming from their front seat, automatically a sarcastic "you're welcome" slips out of my mouth. Grr. I hate when I have this realization- That I have such an easy time being helpful and nice when someone appreciates it. Their appreciation seems to validate what I am doing... which, in reality is never why I should be doing anything! Jesus is so sneaky. He uses little things like this to get me back on my knees. I do things, watched or unnoticed, because He calls me to do allllll things well. He tells me to love...love... love..... theres never too much... theres never a time when my love should run out. Not for Chad, not for my family, not for the person who doesn't say thank you...not for myself. When I feel my love for people trickling out like a broken faucet, its time for some serious intervention. I need time with Jesus. In worship. In his WORD. and last night, after I got home and had dinner, (cooked by my fabulous husband) i laid on the couch with worship playing. When my heart is full, or trickling, worship always increases my passion, my desire, my love.... Its one place where you can offer nothing, and leave with everything. As this one phrase played, it breathed life and love back in... "your love never fails. it never gives up. it never runs out on me, on and on and on it goes, it overwhelms and satisfies my soul."... it still makes me want to worship. everything i have to offer, everything i lack, when met with his love, is enough. He has equipped me with everything I need to carry out what He has asked me to do. Love and never stop loving.

Sunday, January 9

Football. I try so hard to pretend like I like it. Actually, even that, isn't true. I usually use 4pm gametime on Sundays to go to the grocery store. It's actually a brilliant idea. There are no men wandering down all the aisles trying to find what their wives asked them to pick up. They crack me up with their lists and their faces that look like little lost puppies. To be fair, I didn't do my own grocery shopping until college, and I would have looked exactly the same way, except I used my resources really well. Every week I would call my mom and ask her what aisle I would find "xyz" in. She would always know. Sometimes now, when I use Rachel Ray cookbooks, I'll still call her because, as easy as Rachel Ray claims to be, I never ever have all the needed ingredients at home.  Okay, off subject. Football... There is one thing I DO like about football season. I like when the big games are on. I like having people over to finish up our Brie, so we can still button our pants. We made wings, which i have never done at home before. Turns out, you actually have to saw off their cute little raw legs. You have to break their bones and tear off their cartilage. What kind of people are we? I don't think I'll ever eat wings in the same way. I mean, I still ate them, they were delicious. But now, I won't question why they are 10 bucks for such a small amount of meat, or I'll understand the amazing deal of 50 cent wings. What goes on behind the scenes is quite intense =)

Clint and Angie brought their boys over. They are in a tie with Joey and Kaylee for being the cutest kids on the planet. Our house is not made for kids. We have no fun kid games, no "kid" foods, not even markers to color with. Luckily, they came prepared with toys and pizza. You should have seen their little faces though, when I asked them if they wanted to make cookies with me. Their eyes doubled in size. They made the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. How can you resist a plateful of cookies with Rowan and Foster smiling like this?

January 8, 2011

Saturday.

snow. snow. snow. I remember living in California over the past few winters, how exciting flurries would be. Except there, flurries are SNOW. Flurries make people go and buy bread and eggs and milk and stand in line at the REDBOX to rent the dollar movies. Its crazy how different it can be when you live somewhere else. 40 degree weather in California left me in scarves and gloves and layers upon layers, with complete failure to ever warm up. I would have never walked an hour and a half anywhere in that kind of weather. Largely because, with an hour and a half of walking, I would have made maybe 4 trips around the city of Redding =) Its all about your perspective though, isn't it? Snow, is well, still Snow! Whether its a flurry or a blizzard it calls for the same recipe. Sweatshirts. Movies. Hot Cocoa. Trapped inside. The feeling that you are trapped, can't go anywhere, plans are canceled type days, are so, reviving! Well, for me at least. I guess that says something about the way that I live. Maybe my schedule should be a little less packed so that I don't need snow days to keep me at home. Lets be honest, Saturday's snow was just a few inches... but our morning date for breakfast with friends was canceled. Our appointment to give blood. Cancelled. Out of our 10 person bible study, only 4 people showed up, including Chad and I; Which left us with more Brie Cheese Puff Pastry than 4 people can possibly eat...or maybe I should say SHOULD eat... because we did a really good job at tackling that block of goodness.

Well, this year I'm going to have a lot of snow days. Whether it's a flurry, or 90 degrees and in the middle of July. I'm taking snow days throughout the year. Trapped inside kind of days, where my soul can get reminded on what I live for, who I live for...to work on myself without all the busy mess.

January 6, 2011

Thursday night dinner with Gammy.
Taking Gammy out, my 80-something year old grandma, is always a good time. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth. I can guarantee there will be laughter and perhaps even some moments of slight shock in response to what she says. There is no one else like her. Unique to the utmost, Gammy is my most favorite grandma.
I love that she is skinny as a rail but has 3 packages of frozen doughnuts in her freezer. I love that she knows all the employees at her assisted living home and goes out to lunch with them once a month (the only "non-employee" invited). I love that she loses her cat and makes the entire building search high and low, for hours on end, only to find out that the cat got into her own dresser drawer. She trapped him, and as he was searching for air, she finally heard meows coming from her bureau.


We got into her apartment and I found this odd picture in her kitchen. When I asked her what it was, she said it was from when she was little. Interesting. i love it. She always makes me laugh. love love love.

january 7, 2011

Friday, January 7
oh, how lovely Fridays are. I love when Friday afternoon hits, you have the entire weekend to look forward to. Weekends are like freedom from the structure of the week. They mean pancakes for breakfast or coffee in an actual mug; They mean movies past midnight or time out with friends. The start of my freedom Friday didn't turn out quite so magical. Chad had driven me to work because I was going to meet him in West Chester later that night, so I had planned on taking the train out there. The train is absolutely glorious on a Friday, the conductor drives you past all the red lights and traffic jams. People watching is in full force as they try to squeeze everything they own onto their laps and jam their bodies in between two strangers, just to get a seat. One little set back of the train is that it actually follows a schedule. It doesn't wait for people who are running, out of breath and stuck behind a wall of people, who apparently are NOT attempting to make it to West Chester that evening. Hence, I missed the train by 30 measly seconds. Annoyed and frustrated I looked at the next train schedule, only to find that the next train wasn't meandering through this neck of the woods for another hour. I decided, at that moment, home seemed much better than the wait. I called Chad to let him know I wasn't going to be able to make it.
Since I wasn't planning on this, I had no car to get me home. Luckily we live in the city, where cabs are easily accessible with just one lift of an arm. About to hop in a cab, I realized I had no cash (which i have come to find out they take cards, good to note). I finally found an ATM, withdrew cash, and as it was spitting the money out at me, I realized, I don't want to spend this on getting home. My stubborn, money conscience self decided to just walk. HOME. Across the city. It was a long walk in my paper thin scrub pants. In the time it took for Chad to drive from West Chester to Philly I walked from CHOP to about 3 blocks from home. Which, ended up being a good thing, since I had no house keys.
 He picked me up on the side of the road and we began the, slightly delayed, Friday night freedom. We ventured a few blocks and had dinner in a tiny little greek place, that we ended up loving, called Dimitri's.
Its a little ridiculous how frustrated I can get when something doesn't go as planned. How my mind gets stuck on how I believe it should have happened. On my walk home, I got to soak Philly in. I got to think. I got to have time, alone, in peace and look at the architecture of the buildings. I got to cool off and realize that most of the things I get frustrated about, can be fixed, and what an amazing thing that is. Turns out that my frustrating afternoon of missing the train, not having any cash, or car, or house keys, met me with an unexpected, and always enjoyable, date night with the man of my dreams.

passing through the city with frozen fingers makes the pictures a little blurry =) frozen or not, city hall's beauty takes my breath everytime.

January 5, 2011

Typical newlywed's night stand.....oh wait....nevermind. we have had a bit of a rough few days. One little thing I forgot to mention was that on Monday, on my way home from work, I got attacked by a fierce lion. I wrestled him to the ground, threw him over my shoulder and drop kicked him right into the Schuylkill River. .....I wish that actually happened though, because at least it would explain how I pulled my muscle in my shoulder, and hence the slew of prescriptions.
Have you even been by yourself, thinking of something that happened, and laughed out loud? I feel like I do that a lot. It happens to me most when I'm driving, or at the grocery store. I'm sure I probably look crazy, but once I start thinking of something funny, there's no turning back, my laughter can't be held in. I've never been good at that, which explains a lot of detentions in high school. Everyone else could pull themselves together, but not me... I'd be laughing so hard I would have tears running down my cheeks. Anyway, today was one of those "laugh out loud by myself" days as I sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor and was thinking about this....

January 4, 2011

One great reason to be a nurse-you can have off random days during the week. I don't think I was, or ever will be, built for corporate America. I honestly don't understand how most people have to work 5 days a week. Today was my day off, which turned out to be quite rejuvenating.  I woke up without an alarm telling me I had to, for starters. I got to sit down with my husband and have breakfast, and somewhat more importantly, coffee with peppermint creamer. Which technically, I'm not sure if its still called coffee when the color of it is khaki at the end. Even before Chad had to leave for work, I experienced a moment that, although it wasn't photographed, went straight to my heart. If it was the only thing that happened to me all day long, it still would have been a day to re-count. I have no idea how it happened, but yesterday, I pulled a muscle in my back. It was still pretty sore this morning and as Chad was rushing out the door- he stopped and put all of his things down. He came back into the kitchen and said that God told him to stop, and pray over his wife. Even as I write it, it does the same thing for me all over again. The thing is Chad will pray over me every time I am sick, but there is something powerful when you literally STOP, set everything aside, and do what God tells you to do. There is so much power in that. After he left, I listened to a message by Heidi Baker. Heidi and her husband have an organization in Mozambique called Iris Ministries. I went there a few years ago and my life has never been the same since. They have seen unbelievable things happen as they live entirely by faith.  One of the things that Heidi is notorious for preaching about, is stopping for the one person that God puts in front of you. She mentioned it again today in her message, and it made me stop. I always pray and ask God to show me who I can minister to, who I can reach with my voice or my presence, and today, He made sure that Chad stopped for me. I love that he will use everyone that is willing to listen to his quiet promptings. I love that he is teaching me how to listen better, and I love that my husband hears his voice and responds. You can't ask for a greater quality in a husband than that
So, whether it was because of what Chad did this morning, or from hearing Heidi preach, I was thinking about Africa all day long. Before I left to go there, Bob Hazlett, a pastor and longtime family friend, prayed for me. He told me that God told him that while I was there, people would call me by a nickname. He said, when they call you by this name, it is so that you understand God has been with you from the beginning. My "real" name is Rebecca, I rarely ever get called that, and for some reason, everyone seems to have some kind of nickname for me. My mom calls me boodles, boods, scootch, my sister calls me beck-a-la, some call me beckster, beaks, the list goes on and on. I was curious to which one Bob was referring to. There is one nickname, that for some reason, I feel like is personal. If I meet someone and they call me this too quickly, I feel violated, like they jumped all over my bed with shoes on or something. At the same time, when I meet people, who I haven't known long, but love already, if they call me by this name, I feel like we are family. And that name is, BECK.

I was in Africa for one month. I introduced myself as "Becky", every single time. When anyone repeated it back to me, everytime, for ONE month straight, they said "BECK?" I said, yes, BeckY, and they would repeat back, BECK.
oh, Jesus is funny. I thought about that today. I thought about how good he is, that he has always been with me, that he has never left, that he is faithful and that he will always stop for me, for us...and as I was driving today, I was reminded again.

January 3, 2011.

Angie and Clint, (MY NEW FAMILY!) are adopting a baby girl from China. We have been praying for sweet Emery Lin, and can't wait to meet her. I was holding a little baby at work, who needs a home and couldn't help but think of how powerful adoption really is. When you are adopted, you are chosen. You are grafted into your family, as if it was your own. You are prayed over, you are longed for. Your family cries over the times you are not yet theirs. They will wait for you. They will allow strangers to come and do a "home study" to see if the environment is worthy enough to raise a child in. They will spend money on fingerprints, background checks, and applications. They will spend hours on paperwork. They will sacrifice for you, and in all they give up, in all the money they spend to travel overseas just to hold you, the sacrifices will be blown away like dust, slip through their hands like sand, because everything they know, is not complete without you. I can't wait to see the joy on their faces as they bring Emery Lin home, because even in that, I will see Jesus a little clearer. God sacrificed everything, even his Son, so that you and I could be grafted into His name. We now carry his name with us, just as Emery Lin will bear the last name Weldon. What a daily reminder, a testimony of what God has done for us.
^{Ephesisan 1:3-10.3} Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he^[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

hours and hours of sleep NOT had by angie, to make these "Emery Lin" bags, to help bring their girl home. 

January 2, 2011

Another thing I want to do this year is train for a 1/2 marathon. The only thing is, that anytime I run more than 5 miles at a time, my left knee is really sore. I was thinking about it while I was running the other day at the gym. I was asking Jesus to heal it, to take the pain and allow me to run. This is my inheritance as His child. Not necessarily to run, but to see the power of His name bring healing. He tells us to lay our hands on the sick, and they WILL recover. I woke up, January 2, to this email in my facebook.

Jason Chin January 2 at 4:07am Report

this is random but i had a wok (supposed to be word, like word of knowledge) of a becky with a left knee problem on facebook:) thought id ask if that made sense? how are you? 

 

Becky Weldon January 2 at 3:22pm

crazy, i have been running and my left knee hurts after i run for a while, but i want to train for a 1/2 marathon.... so yea.... pray for my knee!! i love jesus. he's so outrageous! thank you. 

 

so, even though this might be a weird picture, I need to show off how incredible His love really is, enough to use a friend on facebook, to pray over my knee and see his promises fulfilled. I'm standing on that and I'm going to keep on running =)

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year! I decided that this year I need to take a picture each day, of something significant that happens. Every day there is at least one moment, that makes us pause, take a deep breath, smile. I want to remember the little things, because it's not hard to remember the big, great, exciting days. Its the days in between that are tougher to keep track of...the days that nothing really happens except dinner and laundry. I know that with every day is a new promise, a new chance to love people better, to experience Jesus differently, to appreciate what I've been given. So, in doing this, my new years resolution is to stop, take a moment, and enjoy.

There can't be a better way to spend the first day of the year than tinfoil and the mummers parade.