U-hauls, pizzas, and bits of grace

It has been a crazy couple of days. At the beginning of the week Jon and I enjoyed a wonderful celebration of our two year anniversary (which I plan on writing more about when I can post some pictures). Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were super relaxing and served as a perfect opportunity to enjoy spending time together. I can say looking back that over those days my soul felt revived...however I am now running on only a couple hours of sleep and I feel like death warmed over. Ah well, I guess that is just one of the perils of moving. Yes today was our moving day and it was made so much easier by the generous sacrifices of some dear friends from church. We greatly appreciate all of you who were able to make it out on a sunny summer day to move all of our crap! We could not have done it without you!!

As of right now our new apartment is hidden beneath boxes (mostly comprised of books from Jon's vast library) but I'm beginning to see glimmers of what will be. Our bedroom seems a lot bigger than our old one. I noticed the difference even more when I discovered that my wonderful husband had made the bed and cleared the room of clutter while I had gone out to run an errand. He knows that in he midst of chaos I need one place to go where I feel some semblance of order, plus I don't sleep well when the bedroom is a hot mess. Thanks honey!

We were finally able to crawl into bed around 4:30pm or so and I think we both struggled to sleep for any prolonged amount of time (we only have blinds hanging over our windows right now which make blocking out any sunlight virtually impossible). In the midst of my constant tossing and turning I do remember waking up around 7:30pm to the sound of children laughing and yelling in what seemed like a strange language...I thought that maybe those noises sounded so foreign because my body was completely exhausted. After laying there a few more minutes trying to discern what was taking place outside our bedroom I turned over in bed and saw my husband looking at me with glazed eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds and then Jon exerted a long sigh. Poor thing. After a few more minutes of the children jabbering away Jon, in his witty humor (which is even funnier when you are running on a hour or so of sleep) quoted a line from one of our favorite shows, "Habanadah!"

Here is a little explanation:

Ray Barone: That's the restaurant where the crazy old Chinese lady yells at you while you're leaving, right?
Debra Barone: You know what she's yelling, right?
Ray Barone: Yeah, "habanadah!"
Debra Barone: She's saying, "Have a nice day."
Ray Barone: Oh. [pause]
Ray Barone: Well, maybe she isn't crazy.

So there I lay in bed completely exhausted, with the jibber-jabbering of little Chinese children ringing in my ears. The humor of the situation was too much and before I knew it I was laughing out loud. Looking back, I think the Lord gave us both a little extra grace today because with the stress of moving and our lack of sleep...He knew we needed it.

Well, I'm at work and it's 3:20am...I'm still awake, which is a good thing. We'll see what happens when 8:00am rolls around but for now the memories of the afternoon are small encouragements that bring a smile to my face. So to sum up our day here are some blessings that God gave us in the midst of a stressful and sleep deprived move:

1. We had friends give up their Saturday morning to help us out and then enjoyed some fellowship time over Domino's pizza before parting ways. (On a side note nothing was broken during the move thanks to Stephanie and Jennifer's superior packing abilities. Thanks ladies!)

2. Jon and I jumped in the pool before heading to bed (we saw some colorful people at the pool and God reminded me of the multiple evangelistic opportunities we will have at our new place and I can't wait.)

3. Despite my husband's exhaustion he went out of his way to clean up our bedroom and make a little retreat for us away from all of the clutter.

4. We woke up to some Chinese children chattering away and had a good laugh.

God's grace has been more than sufficient for us!!

Two Years

July 22, 2006

Happy two year anniversary babe!!

Revival

While I was at work last night I was blessed once again through a conversation with a friend. We spent a lot of time talking about things of faith that we were working through. During the conversation we talked some about revival and I was reminded of a revival that took place at my alma mater, Asbury College, in the 1970s. This revival is such a beautiful story of God's genuine presence coming in the midst of his people revealing sin and bringing people into a deeper relationship with him. Each of these clips are about 8-9 minutes long. I want to encourage you to try and set some time aside and listen to this account of God's grace. It's truly humbling and awe inspiring. God is so worthy of praise!!

Even though I've seen this video time and time again I can't help but be challenged in my faith. My heart cries out for more of God. This is what I want to see happen among God's people. I want a revival that leaves people changed, so changed that they must go out and share what God has done. This is my prayer!

(The picture is not the best quality and the audio at the beginning of part 1 cuts out for a minute but the story is well worth the wait.)

Asbury College Revival- Part 1

Asbury College Revival- Part 2

Asbury College Revival- Part 3

Asbury College Revival- Part 4

Hosanna!!

I can't tell you how many times I sit down at the computer to type something for this blog and I end up staring at a blank computer screen. I've never been one who is eloquent with words and I often struggle to put my complicated thoughts into coherent sentences. There have been many times I listen to beautifully written songs or read passages of books and I think, "Why can't I express myself like this?" It's frustrating to me. Tonight after talking with a friend I was just so humbled and blown away by the greatness of God that I wanted more than anything to write my exact feelings down on paper...but there just aren't words...or maybe there are words but my feeble mind cannot comprehend the greatness of them. So I will humbly attempt to write down some of what has been on my mind tonight.

I had the chance to sit down with Ashley, a friend of mine, and we ended up talking for a couple of hours about all sorts of things, mostly just trying to make up for lost time. Near the end of our conversation we began to talk about people we've known who have come to accept the Lord. We talked about the stories we have seen unfold in the lives of these friends and how God has rescued them from some amazing circumstances from the bondage of drug addiction to freedom from the baggage of abuse. What started out as a conversation turned into such a beautiful time of praise to God. Ashley and I began to think about heaven and all of the people we will see. I'm sure I'll see people there that I had never imagined would ever make that step to follow Christ. My mind wondered and I questioned what that glorious scene would look like. A vast sea of faces, people from all kinds of backgrounds with diverse stories of how they came to know the God of Creation.

I've always heard that when we finally reach heaven that we will spend eternity worshipping God but tonight my heart jumped at the thought of what that might mean. Just imagine for a moment the testimonies of millions upon millions of people praising the name of our holy God by telling of his grace that changed their lives. Stories of women who use to walk the streets to feed their drug addiction, or men who lived most of their lives behind bars. Testimonies of the lives of women who inwardly struggled with self hate and who nursed their pain through eating disorders, or men who ran after the love of money. Young and old, rich and poor all kinds of people telling of how an almighty God stepped into their empty lives showing them the depth of their sin but at the same time showering them with grace. I could listen forever to those stories displaying the greatness of our God. How beautiful, how glorious that would be!!

Of course my mind cannot fathom what that day will be like when Christ returns in power and might but my after my conversation tonight I yearn to see it. To see the face of the Almighty and to hear the stories of His greatness. I feel like my heart can hardly contain the joy of just thinking of what that day and the rest of eternity will be like. I challenge you to take a few minutes just to think of the stories you know and the lives you have seen transformed by the power of God. Think of freedom you found in Christ. Take a moment to just be in awe of the awesomeness of our God!!

Hosanna


Worthy is the Lamb

Puppies!!

Well it was a great week. Jon and I really enjoyed relaxing and spending time with his family. I would post some pictures but I don't have access to them right now but if you want to read a ridiculous post complete with pictures you should check out my husband's blog: http://thegrovesblog.blogspot.com/

I feel like I haven't been able to post in forever because every time I attempted to put something down I was interrupted. Ah well. I finally have a few extra minutes so I thought it would be nice to post more about our search for a puppy. Jon and I went to visit the breeder we met a few months ago. Her Great Dane "Bella," recently had puppies and this is the first time we've been able to go out and see them. We got some adorable pictures!! If you don't believe me just look at this one.

See what I mean?!? Oh gosh. I was ready to take one home that day but no no...we have to wait a few more weeks. The puppies are now three weeks old; their eyes are open and they are walking around, although they are quite unsteady on their feet. Anyway, we spent a few hours visiting them and during that time my heart was stolen by a beautiful black puppy affectionately given the nickname "Oreo." I picked this little girl up and she was completely content just sleeping in my arms. I tried to take it all in because by the time we bring our 8 week old puppy home with us she will be right around 25 pounds!!

Since they are still so young it's hard to see much of their personalities yet so Jon and I plan on going back to see the puppies again in a few weeks to pick ours out. We lost some sleep but it was well worth it. While we were there we took a ton of pictures so I'll leave you will a few of my favorites.

Vacation!!

Jonathan and I are traveling up to Indianapolis this week to visit his family for a couple of days. I'm anxious for a few restful days with the Groves clan and some good down time to refocus my relationship with the Lord. Hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to post when I return so until then...enjoy a throwback to Christian comedy in the 80s.









One more thing...I have a confession to make. I still loving hearing Point of Grace sing. I've listened to them ever since I was in middle school and it's hard to find a music group that can sing tight harmony like these ladies. If you want to hear some amazing a capella singing listen to this... http://play.napster.com/track/21215284

The Wind of God

The Wind of God - Kate Austin

It has been a busy week for me. Work has been rough and I'm physically and mentally worn out. It has been one of those weeks when you feel so drained that you try to offer up a prayer every minute just to make it through the rest of the day. Those days remind me just how much I must rely on the Lord. It's sad that it takes a difficult situation or even just a hard day to open our eyes to the deep need of our hearts...the need for our Savior to take our brokenness and make it into something beautiful. I am a profoundly broken woman with many scars to carry. I rely too much on the encouraging words and opinions of others to sustain my ego and my mask of self-righteousness is a heavy burden I too often choose to carry.


O God may my brokenness be an avenue for you to show your glory and may my faults remind me of my desperate need for you. I have done nothing good on my own. Any gifts or goodness others may see in me is nothing but your gracious hand upon this unworthy vessel. Forgive me for choosing to wear my mask instead of allowing your grace to shine through my inadequacies. I am nothing without you.

"Dear Christ, make one that which we are and that which we appear to be. Be Lord of naked faces." - Calvin Miller

More on Lydia...

Eric and Ashleigh have posted a video of Lydia on youtube so they could share more of this wonderful miracle with friends and family. I can't help but praise God when I see this video!! How beautiful and what a perfect picture of what Christ has done with us!! Enjoy.

News

Wow, the past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy for me and even now things don't seem to be slowing down. However, I thought I would at least give an update on where we are as far as housing plans. We went and saw a few new options on Tuesday but unfortunately they didn't work out. For our last stop of the day Jon and I decided to go by Stonemill Village and check out their one bedroom apartments. After looking over the apartment and talking Jon and I decided to go for it. So we have now put down our deposit for an apartment!! Our move in date is scheduled for the week of July 20th and we have to be out of our current apartment on July 31st. So thankfully everything worked out. Now we have the stress of moving...ugh. We would covet your prayers as we try to prepare for moving. Working 3rd shift brings some added complications to that whole process. God has been so gracious to remind us of his faithfulness during these transitions. I just need to continue to remember that when things get stressful!

Here is some more exciting news...the puppies are here!! Bella had six puppies on June 22nd. There were four girls and two boys. Three of the females are blacks and the other female is a fawn (brown). The two boys are merle and harlequin. Hopefully in a few weeks Jon and I will travel out there to pick our puppy. We should get to take ours home sometime in August, once they reach the 8 week mark. We'll keep you posted as things come together. So for now here are some pictures to tide you over.

Bella

The fawn (isn't she the most adorable little thing ever...too bad she won't stay this size for long)

This little boy is a merle...our favorite color!! I don't know if I could have one of these big guys in our apartment but we'll see.

This other little boy is the harlequin.