Satisfaction

I finally stopped at the grocery store today on my way home from work, after about a week of complaining that I didn't have any of the ingredients to make anything decent for dinner. So after an hour in Safeway, I made three trips from the car up to our third story apartment (yeah, I got my stairs in today!). Then I realized that our refrigerator was full of leftovers that should have been tossed eons ago, so I had to spend a while cleaning everything out. Another hour later, I have a clean and freshly-stocked fridge, the trash has been taken out, and I even made a special trip to the recycling bins. This, my friends, is satisfaction.

A Prayer for Our Church

Often, John Piper says exactly what my heart needs to hear...

"O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at Bethlehem . . .

Who don't love the world more than God,
who don't care if they make much money,
who don't care if they own a house,
who don't care if they have a new car or two cars,
who don't need recent styles,
who don't care if they get famous,
who don't miss steak or fancy fare,
who don't expect that life should be comfortable and easy,
who don't feed their minds on TV each night,
who don't measure truth with their finger in the wind,
who don't get paralyzed by others' disapproval,
who don't return evil for evil,
who don't hold grudges,
who don't gossip,
who don't twist the truth,
who don't brag or boast,
who don't whine or use body language to get pity,
who don't criticize more than praise,
who don't hang out in cliques,
who don't eat too much or exercise too little;

But

who are ablaze for God,
who are utterly God-besotted,
who are filled with the Holy Spirit,
who strive to know the height and depth of Christ's love,
who are crucified to the world and dead to sin,
who are purified by the Word and addicted to righteousness,
who are mighty in memorizing and using the Scriptures,
who keep the Lord's Day holy and refreshing,
who are broken by the consciousness of sin,
who are thrilled by the wonder of free grace,
who are stunned into humble silence by the riches of God's glory,
who are persevering constantly in prayer,
who are ruthless in self-denial,
who are fearless in public witness to Christ's Lordship,
who are able to unmask error and blow away doctrinal haze,
who are tough in standing for the truth,
who are tender in touching hurting people,
who are passionate about reaching the peoples who have no church,
who are pro-life for the sake of babies and moms and dads and the glory of God,
who are keepers of all their promises, including marriage vows,
who are content with what they have and trusting the promises of God,
who are patient and kind and meek when life is hard.

Pressing for all there is in Christ,
Pastor John"

A Prayer for Our Church

Rejoice

Our pastor said on Sunday that joy doesn't always equal happiness. The joy of the Lord is something that we as Christians can experience and count on even in times of pain and sorrow. Our joy comes from the assurance that the suffering of this life is only temporary, and we can look forward to spending eternity in Paradise with the Lord. The struggles of my day-to-day life pale in comparison to the trials of others, yet I find myself becoming laden with the pressures that creep in every day. Paul tells the Phillipians in chapter 4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (vs. 4) It is so important to constantly live in the joy of the Lord that he even repeats himself, in case we didn't get it the first time. I often need this reminder.

Rejoice always... rejoice!

Summer 2006 - Rome, Italy

The last six days of our vacation in Italy were spent in Rome. These are just a few of the many pictures we took...

Piazza Navona at night



The Pantheon




We had dinner at Original Alfredo's - where fettuccine alfredo began!



The Forum



A gladiator and me outside of the Colosseum

Summer 2006 - Venice, Italy

Venice was by far our favorite city in Italy. The three days we spent there were fabulous and relaxing like none other.

While I didn't particularly like the pigeons in Piazza San Marco...

...Ben made several new friends!

View from the Bridge of Sighs

View from the top of the Campanile

We took the obligatory gondola ride on our last night... so worth it!

Summer 2006 - Florence, Italy

Florence - Duomo




















Florence - View from Michelangelo's Lookout















Florence - Ponte Vecchio

Our First Year in Pictures

August 8, 2003 - Our Wedding













Honeymoon in Kauai - at Waimea Canyon















The Borders Family visits in October - at the Crazy Hat Shop on Pier 39 in San Francisco

Thanksgiving in Lancaster - with the Borders Family

Our first apartment decorated (however so sparsely!) for Christmas

Starting Over

So I have this blog here... and I haven't posted on it for nine months. How pathetic is that? Now that I have a couple of friends who have linked their current blogs to it, I really feel the need to update. But something about the fact that there are six or so posts prior to this one bogs me down... so consider this a new beginning!