Camera Date with Heidi

This is Heidi. She just got the same camera I have for her birthday, so we promptly scheduled a camera date at Texas Tech University. Doesn't she look official photgropherish?

Our husbands dutifully sat at one of the benches on campus while we took advantage of the great light and architecture. Here are a few pictures to enjoy!


I didn't edit these sunset shots at all! They remind me of Romans 1:19-20:
"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

Dreams

This is the house I lived in from 7th grade until my mom sold it the end of my freshman year of college. It's a beautiful house - peaceful and serene. The back windows overlook an empty lot, railroad tracks, and an open field of cattle. (This picture is somewhat misleading because when I lived in this house there was no fence or pool. My dad was an engineer - way to practical and cheap to have a pool.) I loved this house.

It was also the last house that I lived in with my full family - my mom, dad, brother, sister, and I.

For some reason, this house haunts my dreams. Every six months or so I will have a dream that this house plays a prominent role in. They aren't bad, sad, or significant dreams, but they include this house. In fact, I had a dream I was in this house just a few weeks ago. Strange, huh?

Does anyone else have reoccuring dreams or dreams that regularly have something like this in it, or is it just me?

I love these guys.

I graduated high school from Brazosport Christian School (go eagles!) in 2001, with 20 people. 20 wonderful people, who grew to be almost like family to me. Pictured about is 1/4 of my graduating class, plus some multiplications. A few weeks ago I made a quick trip home. It was good to my soul.

These friends put up with me for several years, had fun with me, skipped class with me, prayed for me, went to my dad's funeral, and became like family to me.

Like I said, it was good to my soul.

By the way - you know you are from West Texas when you make a trip to South Texas and say, "Wow, even the bar ditches look good here!" (Andy)

Augustine's Confessions

It's been several years since I've read through Augustine's Confessions, but when Andy and I were cleaning through our living room last week we stumbled across a book called "Prayers From the Confessions" and have been reading a few every night. He thinks it's terribly boring when I post quotes on my blogs, but this was just so great that I wanted to post it. If you find quotes boring, I'm sorry! This one is well worth the read.

You owe us nothing, yet you pay our debts

"You are most high, O God, excellent, most powerful,
omnipotent, supremely merciful and supremely just,
most hidden yet intimately present,
infinitely beautiful and infinitely strong,
steadfast yet elusive,
unchanging yourself though you control
the change in all things,
never new, never old, renewing all things
yet wearing down the proud though they know it not;
ever active, ever at rest,
gathering while knowing no need,
supporting and filling and guarding,
creating and nurturing and perfecting,
seeking although you lack nothing.
You love without frenzy,
you are jealous yet secure,
you regret without sadness,
you grow angry yet remain tranquil,
you alter your works but never your plan;
you take back what you find
although you never lost it;
you are never in need
yet you rejoice in your gains,
never avaricious yet you demand profits.
You allow us to pay you more than you demand,
and so you become our debtor,
yet which of us possesses anything
that does not already belong to you?
You owe us nothing,yet you pay your debts;
you write off our debts to you,
yet you lose nothing thereby."

The 2009 Love What You Have Challenge

You are cordially invited to join me in the 2009 Love What You Have Challenge (I made that up). Here's what the challenge is: work on caring for and using and keeping up things that you have, thus being content instead of wanting new things. I realize that I often find myself wanting to buy new things, instead of appreciating what I have. So, I've given myself this challenge.

Here's what Andy and I have done so far:

• Painted our living room.
• Changed all the electrical outlets in the living room from almond colored to white.
• Cleaned and organized the shelves, hutch, closet, and bookshelves in the living room.
• Organized and deleted files on our computer.
• Installed Office 2007 on our computer (for only $9.95 thru my work).
• Cleaned and organized our pantry.

Here are a few things I've already noticed:

• I was wanting to buy a scarf to drape on my mantle and I had one that works nicely that I didn't even realize that I owned in my entry way closet.
• I also found attachments to my shop vac that I didn't know existed.
  
• We own several duplicate books. I'm pretty sure our church would love to have them in the church library.
• We own books that we didn't know we own that we now are wanting to read.
  
• I have lots of crap that I don't need or want that I've already thrown in the garage for a garage sale in the future.
• Drawers are the worst/most rewarding things to organize.
  
• We need to eat random foods in our pantry. I didn't realize just how much there is.
• I love the feel of a freshly painted room. It makes it seem all brand new.
• White outlets really do make things look updated.

I have big aspirations to paint, organize, and go through all the rooms in my house. We'll see if it happens...

In the meantime, I cordially invite you to join me in my made-up challenge. I'd love to hear your results!!! I'll try to keep you updated on mine.

San Antonio Wedding

The last weekend of May my cousin got married in Bulverde, TX, just outside of San Antonio.

A wedding reception in an unairconditioned old dance hall the end of May in San Antonio
=
Extremely Hot

You can't tell by the pictures, but it was pretty dadgum hot. Here's a few pictures for you all to enjoy!

Can you guess who all I'm related to? (Hint: Only one of the people in the pictures above is not related to me.)

Campo, CO

Where on earth is Campo? Don't worry, I asked too. It's on the border of Colorado, about a 4 1/4 hr. drive from Lubbock.

Andy and his music accomplice, Andy Wilkinson, had a show in Campo towards the end of March for the grand opening of Ray's BBQ. Right before the show, it turned icy cold. Ray's is an open air bbq joint, which made it quite cold even with space heaters. Here are some pictures from the show and from the thriving metropolis of Campo, CO.

(Sidenote: If I was to own a camper, I would want one exactly like this one.)

If you're ever passing through Campo, CO, I highly recommend stopping at Ray's. Excellent bbq, atmosphere, and chipolte strawberry shortcake.

P.S. - March was a long time ago. Better late than never.

Such a High Priest

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Hebrews 7:25

I'm going to be honest...

When I read this verse recently, I sighed. Sometimes I feel like such a mess, full of sin, and so far from looking like Jesus did, that I feel like salvation (in the sanctification sense) is an impossibility. I mean, just this week I feel like I spent more time sinning than glorifying God. I don't mean the obvious blantant sins, but the ones that are so subtle and dangerous. Like pride, selfishness, arrogance. The kinds that wrap around your heart and you don't even realize that they're there until you spew venom at someone in customer service on the phone, just because you can't see them face to face.

But, sanctification is not an impossibility. Thankfully I have Jesus. Jesus who came to earth and lived through perfectly all the nasty things that I fail at. He perfectly loved people who were hated him, was never rude or short when he was exhausted, loved his enemies, never loved fame or money, made himself nothing, glorified God in everything even death, cared for the poor and needy, was kind to rich snotheads... and the list goes on and on. He was perfect. And he became the high priest to all who will believe in him.

Why does this matter?

Because he is the high priest to all who will believe in Him, that means that all who will believe in Him will be made right before God. When God sees me, he sees Jesus, my high priest, and all of his righteousness counts for me even though I suck. And I have Jesus, who is at the right hand of God pulling for me, interceding for me. And everything that Jesus does he finishes. Including my salvation, which right now is in the "already-not-yet" phase.

Thank you Jesus for being my high priest and for interceding for me!