it never ceases to amaze me...

...that God would see fit to use people of limited means and stature to carry out His ultimate plan in this world. that God would somehow want to involve ME in that plan is mind-boggling... a lot of days i just can't seem to see past my humanness, my corruptible flesh, to fully grasp the big picture. i have always thought (incorrectly, i might add) that there must be something else i need to DO to gain access to God, to positively influence Him enough to find me worthy of blessing... the concepts of unconditional love and unmerited favor are often lost on me. we tend to assign human qualities to the Almighty, Omniscient, Omnipresent God of the Universe - but He is beyond all that! His love for me knows no end and is perfect. Isaiah 30:18-21 says this "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. (i love that image) For the LORD is a God of justice, blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" what a beautiful image of God - to think that He "longs to be gracious" to us... He is not sitting, waiting for our next failure with a massive lightning bolt in His hand, ready to strike. He is rising to show us compassion. He is Abba Father. He is a jealous God but I believe right now God is calling me to focus on His great love for me. And for me to fall in love with Him so deeply that every aspect of my life reflects that passionate pursuit.



Psalm 103 is a perfect picture of God's great love for us... verses 8-14 especially...

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."



so remember with me today, when the enemy tries to whisper in your ear that you are not worthy, that you are undeserving of this great mystery of grace, that God has told you, in His word, that you are unconditionally loved and has promised you His mighty right hand to uphold you and to protect you.



"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:22-26



my prayer for all of us today is that God would continue to reveal to each of us, in the deepest, innermost parts of our beings how very much He loves us and how precious we are in His sight. and i pray that it will then inspire us to be the compassionate, unconditionally loving, merciful, grace-giving women, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters that He is calling us to be...

due to popular demand...

i thought i'd post some more pics from our fabulous summers in maine :) since i'm sitting home, snowed in under a good 6 inches of the white stuff, it's nice to reminisce of good times in warmer climes :) so here goes...

i love this picture of the girls and pres. bush - it looks like they're just sitting there chatting with their grandfather :) every other year the bushes host a summer barbecue for the agents and their families at their home in kennebunkport. our first summer in maine, 2005, was by far the most exciting :) when we got to the picnic, agents and their families were chatting and milling around, people were taking turns approaching the president and mrs. bush saying hello, pretty informal setting near their pool outside walker's point, their family home in kennebunkport... when we walked over to greet them, makenna noticed other agents' kids were swimming in the pool. well, guess what? this mom forgot their swimsuits! so, in front of the president, makenna starts FREAKING OUT. (the girls are 5 and 2) i am doing my best to maintain composure as my daughter is going nutso in front of the former president of the united states :) i'm like "it's okay, honey, we'll go swimming later!" in that high, sing-songy, stressed out voice :) well, president bush senses my distress and says "well, i think we may have an extra suit in the pool shed if you want to look" and i said "oh, no sir, thank you, it's okay..." and he insisted we go check it out... so makenna, president bush and i go to the pool shed, a little 10x10 sauna-type room near the pool, and start sifting through the swimsuits hanging in there. now, i know you've probably seen the old dana carvey SNL skits with him portraying president bush and his voice and let me tell you - he's spot on. :) "what about this one?... would this one work?... how about this?..." so so sweet - unfortunately, every suit he held up was a women's size 10 or larger - nothing appropriate for a 5 yr. old twerp :) after about 10 mins., one of the other agents' kids knocked on the door and had an extra suit for makenna - thankfully, david had a better offer for her. he took both girls out on the secret service speedboat, the one that accompanies pres. bush on his ocean excursions, and they were fired up to go for a boat ride. i, personally, was not so i had the opportunity to sit by the pool with the former president and a couple other wives for about 30 mins. just shooting the breeze... we talked about the aggies, the astros, all kinds of fun stuff, and i just remember thinking "this man has sat with world leaders and dignitaries and here he is, sitting with me!" it was surreal, to say the least :) after the girls and david got back we had a few more photo opportunities, a fun tour of their house by mrs. bush and some great food. it was absolutely an afternoon to remember :)

can you see the stress on my face as president bush is inviting makenna, in an effort to assuage her, to sit on the diving board with him?? love it!

i don't know why this pic won't turn but i'm not that computer savvy so it'll have to do - and it's one of my fave shots so i HAD to include it :) this is the president helping the girls (makenna and my friend's daughter, lauren) get some ice cream bars out of the cooler - again, makenna had NO CLUE as to who was standing next to her - she was just thrilled that he was getting her some ice cream :)

i absolutely adore this picture - as i have said before, these two people are thoroughly genuine and wonderful - i cannot express how humbled i am to have been given the chance to meet them and interact with them. there are so many people in this world who disrespect their family and spew hatred towards them but they are loved by so many more, i am convinced of that!! our nation is greater having been led by such amazing men of conviction, courage and integrity. i am sad to see current pres. bush's term coming to an end - have i agreed with him on everything? no. do i think he could have done more? yes. but do i believe, with every ounce of my being, that he always made his decisions based on the foundation of his faith and for the honor and protection of our country!

so forgive my rambling... after watching the commissioning of the George H. W. Bush naval carrier today, an event which david was able to attend with his dad, it has made me nostalgic and so grateful for the chance to witness history from a vantage point that most people don't have - and imagine how many stories david has after spending years with them, on a daily basis! :) lots of fun memories... what a blessing!