Last Thursday at a church service, the speaker focused on a portion of Isaiah 53, and a couple of verses definitely popped out at me. To give you a bit of back-story, I was having a difficult couple of days last week as I heavily reflected on the last couple of years of my life and all that has transpired. I started to feel really sad and heavy hearted again. I asked questions like, "Why did that have to happen?" "How could things have turned out this way?" etc. etc. Thankfully, days like these have become fewer and farther apart from one another which is such a testimony to God's healing!!! (Yay, God!)

So, back to Isaiah 53! A portion of verses 3 and 4 gave me such comfort and truly renewed my strength: "He (Jesus) was despised by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain...Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering..." Wow! I don't quite know how to put it into words, but reading those words and letting them seep deeper into my heart felt like a warm, snuggly blanket that made me feel safe, cared for, and comforted. Jesus experienced pain (the worst pain of all). I am not alone. I am not expected to carry the pains that I feel on the weight of my own shoulders, but I can give them to Him and He will carry them for me! "Cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

So, I had my sad day, but I shared it with the Lord and some trusted friends...I cried, I talked about it, I heard a great message of truth, and experienced God's comfort. Yay!

On Father's Day, my dad and I took Copperfield to Dog Beach in OB. We walked along the water, watching Copperfield run into the water after seaweed and then bring it back to us.

I love this picture! Copper looks so distinguished and my dad just looks like my dad! :)

Along with a having a nice morning, later on that day my family came over to the house for a BBQ. We had country-style ribs, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, and beans. Delic!

I am definitely thankful for these good times!

Here is my friend's baby, little Emma. Isn't she cute? She was only 5 days old here--I've never held a baby that young because I've always been too scared. Haha!

Well, just wanted to show you little Emma. Babies are miracles, that's for sure!

i'm thankful for:

- faithful friends
- blue sky and warm sun
- a great job
- country music
- my family: dad, mom, danny and jay
- joy and hope
- music
- new beginnings
- lessons even if it means we have to go through hard times
- smiles and hugs
- YOU! :)

God's love is enough...

"Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. You are precious in my eyes, because you are honored and I love you...the mountains may depart, the hills may be shaken, but my love for you will never leave you and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken." Isaiah 43:1, 4; 54:10

Dear Friends,

I don't know who or if anyone stops by and reads this blog, but if you do and you've ever been through a very difficult challenge, or maybe you're going through one right now, I think you'll be blessed by the below quote--I was brought to tears.

One of my dear friends just had their second baby and have found out some very difficult news about the health of their new little one. She may have mental retardation and continued physical challenges. What they once thought their lives would be like has been drastically altered. Though, of course, they love her just the same, the reality of their new lives brings tremendous sadness and burden.

They have set up a blog to keep us updated and welcome encouragement through posts. The below quote is one of the posts. Though it talks about having a baby...it seriously can be applied to any of life's challenges...and let me tell you: life is full of them! :)


Welcome to Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to help people who have not shared this unique experience, to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.

It's like this.

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo David. The Gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. And you begin to notice that Holland has windmills. And Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy. And they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.

And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain will never, ever go away. Because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to go to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things. About Holland.