From Nater

Greetings my missed blogsters,

Clearly, I haven't had a single moment to blog over the past month. My excuses are as follows: I started a temp job that is keeping me busy, at least for a few more days! Add that to the mix of the long drawn out process of me trying to learn to cook each night when I get home, grow in my marriage, and work on my theology class, and you hopefully can understand why I'm a goner.

Soooo, since I'm still officially a 'goner,' I'm posting something that Nate wrote in response to another blog. That man challenges me in ways I never imagined . Grin. And I love my Jesus all the more so for it. He is good for me.

I'm not typically a blogger but I wanted to share something with you. My buddy and I were having a conversation about freedom. What does it mean to be free? Thinking back over the exchange later my mind wondered to one of those snapshots that all of us have of our past. A distinct scene in our lives illuminated by the flashbulb of our memory and vivid in every detail. Fourth grade.

I was sitting in my little cubical in the middle of a row of identical cubicles struggling with the complexities of diagramming a sentence with more than one prepositional phrase. As hard as I tried I couldn't concentrate on anything but the insane slowness of the big black hands of the big white clock that hung mockingly on the opposite wall of the class room. It was a beautiful day outside and the sluggish heat of the early summer had affected that clock with a serious case of lethargy! I was a typical boy and I was born to be outside. I wasn't much happier than when the prickly feeling of scabby knees and the guilty awareness of grass stains were the foremost realities in my life! Neither the scabs nor the grass stains are present in my snapshot! Just me, my work book and that clock.

Have you ever actually felt realization wash over you? You know that 'felt' since a truth? That since is the brightest part of my fourth grade picture! In that second I had the most profound since of eternity! In the space between prepositional phrase one and two I saw eternity! I knew with all the certainty that a fourth grader can muster that I was trapped! My life as a student would never end! I would be trapped in an endless battle with the minions of sentence structure, presided over by a clock with frozen hands! I wonder if I have ever craved freedom like I did that moment! It was longing that I had! Oh, to do whatever I wanted! No more hour bells, no more detention for being late from our laughably short recesses, no more grown ups telling me what to do! Just me and... whatever I wanted to do! How wonderful! How Magical!

That's an old snapshot. I can scarcely believe that more than 20 years have passed since then. Of course school did eventually let out for the summer. I did eventually graduate, never to diagram another sentence as long as I live. I can now do whatever I want to... no grown ups.

Here's the funny thing. Doing what ever I want hasn't made me free. In fact because I can now do what ever I want I have often found myself not able to do much of anything. Freedom isn't at all what I thought it was 20 years ago confined to my fourth grade English prison. It's not at all the allowance to do whatever I want. In fact I'm learning that freedom is quite often the opposite of that. Most often 'whatever i want' is a reaction to my emotions, my circumstances, my selfishness, my pride. Freedom is a result. Not a prerequisite. It is as much restraint as it is movement. I just got married. In planning our wedding I began to experience all kinds of new and exciting things about the death of bachelorhood! Most of them had to do with um... female dynamics. Now I am a man and as such I tend to very quickly snap into 'fix it mode'. I responded to my beautiful bride to be in very logical ways. So business like and straightforward... Okay, the point is that I could respond to her any way I wanted to. I quickly learned however that if I didn't learn the 'correct' way to respond I would seriously impede my ability to function freely around her! Aka: Dog House! Please don't get me wrong! My now wife is wonderful to me! She is far from a diva. I just had/have a lot to learn in the marriage department. It's the same in all aspects of our lives. The choices we make determine our freedom!

I've long since left the fourth grade. I haven't diagrammed a sentence in a couple of decades and time seems to be passing at an ever increasing rate. Today, for just a moment though, I was back there, at my desk, craving freedom.

nate griffin

My wannabe friend

My name is fear. I'm not your friend.

But thank you for welcoming me my dear
for I easily invade your thoughts day and night
Paralysis my goal, no strength left for you to fight

I've many disguises, forms, and ways
And I'm often the cause when you disobey
I lie, exaggerate, distort, and repeat
Sowing me instead, you reap defeat

I'll pervade your heart, teaching you distrust
Your lack of authenticity thought to be a 'must'
Self-made walls keep all away
Life-giving Words ineffective held at bay

You've forgotten the foundation on which you stand
The unchanging, unshakable, Great I AM
For I am the god on your heart's throne
And to my delight, I rule not alone

My sister 'Worry', and my brother 'Fright'
My cousin 'Dread', my father 'What might...?'
Tirelessly help me remain in command
Fear is my name, your life I demand

I hope you allow me to stay quite awhile
For there is much I hope to taint and defile
Upon only this condition must I flee:
When you believe His tabernacled Spirit of Truth, choosing Him over me.

A spiritual soap box...should I apologize beforehand?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " Genesis 3:1-3 (NIV)

The dialog between the serpent and Eve once again struck a spiritual nerve of mine, rooted in conviction from the Spirit. Many of us have heard one of the important messages drawn from this story of Scripture, that being of not engaging in conversation with the enemy. By listening to the enemy in conversation, we may already be giving him power, for his words are death, not life.

I do not propose the following as the main exegetical idea of Genesis 3, but God has mercifully struck me to the core with it: Talking to and with God is imperative to our abiding in relationship with Him, rather than talking about God.

I wonder what the 'Fall' story would have looked like had Eve done a couple of things differently. Her response is painfully void of the relationship she actually has with her LORD God. First, just as the serpent deliberately avoids using God's personal name Yahweh (LORD) when he addresses Eve, she responds in exact fashion. Though brought to life by His very hands, she does not use the more intimate name of her Creator. Secondly, Eve talks about what God said (though the words are marred by her human modifications) rather than turning towards God and discussing with Him the previously uttered words. Sad day...

I do pray that we are demolishing arguments and pretensions that set themselves up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5) through the use of Scripture and prayer. His Word is our offensive weapon against the enemy. But sisters, I hope we are not skimping over the very relationship in which we know God! We can attempt to stand our ground against the enemy all day long, but if we are not standing our ground in the Holy of Holies to start with I don't think we're going to last very long!

It is frighteningly easy to behave as Eve did in her response to the enemy's deception. We can respond immediately back to that liar, foregoing dropping to our knees in spirit, calling on the LORD by name, and allowing Him to bring back to mind the truth of what He has said in His Word. Perhaps what has been more disturbing to my spirit, in a most holy of discomforts, has been the propensity for this type of action in my own spiritual world. I love getting to talk about my Jesus with you siestas, with my girlfriends over the phone, and with my man. If anybody has the capacity to listen to me, it is one of my unspeakable joys to boast in Him through verbal or written word. He has just been so good to me; I need others to fall in love with Him. It's that simple. But, my blogging about Him does not equate itself to my being in unveiled constant communication with Him.

It is our blessed position as a child of God to 'cry out to God Most High, who fulfills His purposes for us.' (Psalm 57:2) We can draw near to the throne of grace, for we have a Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). Oh sisters, I plead with you to remain bowed down before Him, speaking to Him, before we run off speaking to others about Him.

In continuity with this privilege of speaking to our Jesus, might I add our need to listen to Him before going to hear of Him from another?! Y'all, you know that I am the biggest fan of learning from others, be they teachers, pastors, theologians, your very own child, writers, or those your elder. For crying out loud, I went to seminary for nearly two years, and could not write notes fast enough of the professors whose classes I had the privilege of attending; they are spiritual heroes in the faith to me, their lives sacrificed and dedicated to learning and teaching.

But for a plethora of reasons, my generation in particular falls into the hole of dashing off to the next conference, bible study session, or iTunes teaching for their spiritual health as opposed to the living and God-breathed words of the Bible sitting before their laps. We are 'fans' of Mr. So-and-So, or Mrs. So-and-So. My heart beats for us to be 'fans' of Jesus instead. Just as we are given the privilege to talk to God, we are given possibly the even greater privilege to hear Him. Ours is a God who speaks. His chosen possession, the Israelites, were marked time and time again by their ability to 'Hear oh Israel...' Girlfriends, He wants to reveal Himself to you. I pray we seek His voice before another's. And I pray we learn to talk to Him as well before we find ourselves only talking about Him. I fear if we don't, we place ourselves at risk of paraphrasing His truth in an impersonal way, tainting it in our fallen fleshly state, and naively believing that we are powerfully defending the enemy.

Dear sister, take your rightful inheritance as the child of God that you are. Call on His name. Hear His voice that created the very heavens and the earth, and then speak humbly back in response. He disrobed Himself of His glory to give you such access. Those of us in Christ have the miraculous privilege to dialogue with the One whose Words never fail.

Domesticity ... or something like it

Hey my lovely siestas!

I have returned to siestaville, after I myself could not even handle the bombardment of thoughts in my head. I have been thinking about y'all a lot lately. [Pause] Actually, I think I have actually been talking to some of you in my head and to myself. Does that make me crazy???? Yes, I do believe so...

Nate and I got back to Nashville about 2 weeks ago. He hit the ground running with work. I hit the bed in sleep, trying to overcome a brutal cold I got when we had returned from our honeymoon. Four days later, I drove my new husband to get on a tour bus that would take him away from me for a total of about 3 weeks. I don't like that tour bus...don't like it one bit. I would go so far as to call it ugly, but it's carrying precious cargo inside, so I'll refrain.

And thus began my newlywed life in Nashville. And thus began some loneliness. And thus began my short conversations about Scripture with some of you in my head. And thus began my realization that I needed to get a life! Bless my dear Nashvillian friend Abby Lane for her sweet presence. She was in town long enough to take me to church with her last Sunday. I stood beside her, torn between joining in the incredible worship and wanting to sit right down on that cushioned pew with her and talk one another's girly hearts slap out. Rest assured; I behaved. Thank goodness the God I get to serve is bigger than a woman's need for girlfriend time. Grin.

Let me add somewhat intermittently here that I wholeheartedly support my man, which means I support his being gone for this moment as well. This tour was a last minute opportunity of provision that arose for us, and thus he took it. We are both downright miserable apart from one another. Those ahead of us in years of marriage tell me that I will get used to his being gone when he has to travel. Part of me knows that I will come to appreciate those moments of solitude b/c I love nothing more than to hide with my Jesus and some books. But most of me prays, not in disrespect towards my elders, that I don't get used to his absence. If God can sustain and renew my love and excitement for Him through each season, then He can sustain and renew my love for Nate enough so that I will delight in his returning home the 200th time as much as I will this time!

[Insert: Y'all might want to skip this part of you have an insanely weak stomach]. In light of no longer eating in a school dining hall, and wanting to serve my man, Miss turkey sandwich herself has entered the domain of the kitchen. Y'all, I was really coming to enjoy finding recipes and attempting to bring them into fruition. I hadn't burned something in two full days. And I think that's why it happened, b/c y'all know pride comes before a fall. I had just set out what I needed for dinner, and then I did it. I received my merit badge for newlywed domestic activity. I cut the index finger on my right hand with a gigantic knife of ours. (cringing still). Yes, yes, I did. After I caught my breathe from the pain and shock, I ran into the bathroom to run cold water over it. Apparently, in my unconscious, to have just stayed put at the sink I was at and run cold water over it would have been a most harmful decision, since there was a profuse amount of blood. And we mustn't contaminate the kitchen sink, right???

In my 'fight' or 'flight' response, I resumed my 'fight' position as always. In awkward left-handed fashion, I grabbed a ziploc bag, added ice, and made some type of compression over it with a rag so that I could try and get myself to the ER. Oh wait! But not before I ran over to my laptop, pulled up my theology syllabus, and checked to see which book I would need to bring with me to read while I wait. (Oh yes I did, even in the midst of all that pain....y'all know one should not leave home to sit in an ER waiting room for 4 hours without one's most recent theology book. I am highly embarrassed with myself). I actually only read a few chapters of it; I got to have a long-awaited phone date with my Mandy Lu while there. A few stitches later, I returned home, drained and famished. I'll end my story with letting you know that I have eaten a lot of cereal lately and have had nothing but bad hair days since the damage was done. I would pay someone to come brush my hair and fix it, b/c I can't do it with my incapable left hand.

As for these most recent days, I'm mainly job searching and working on my theology class. I can't figure out why there aren't any job openings for someone who loves the Word, lives in Nashville, loves to write, is fairly young and inexperienced, and hasn't yet fully completed her master's degree. It must be my hair y'all....I do so believe it is.

Love y'all. Miss y'all! And will write soon with something the Spirit has been working out in my heart.

Saying mahola to Kauai

My top 16 favorite Kauai memories upon mine and Nate's 16 days of marriage. Grin.

1) Seeing double rainbows right from the view of our cottage porch. Neither of us had ever seen anything like this particular set, for they landed right smack in the depths of the ocean. Nate stood behind me, arms wrapped around me, and we remained silent except for the name of Jesus coming from our lips a few times. It was breathtaking. He is breathtaking.
2) Not wearing make-up during my time here. I never even broke out my set of curlers y'all. Praise Jesus Nate still thinks I'm beautiful without the beauty products. Bless him...
3) Waking up beside my husband. I love it if I manage to wake up before him so I can see him still asleep; this is a rare occasion however :)
4) Sitting inside our cottage, doors open, reading my book. I allow my focus to be easily interrupted to take in two things: the amazing ocean view Jesus gave us, and watching my man paint. I love the look he gets on his face when he is so wrapped up in it. I can only imagine the look of delight on the Heavenly Father's face so wrapped up in Nate praising Him one paint stroke at a time.
5) Getting mad for a brief moment at Nate during our kayak'ing trip. And then laughing at myself for how stupid I was acting (he did nothing wrong...) And then, he and I cracking up over another couple who was yelling at each other; you could hear them even when we passed them. Nate and I decided that if we ever did marriage training, we were going to make couples take a similar kayak'ing trip. The trip is worth a post in itself, and I haven't made the time for such yet, so I'll get back to it once we return to Nashville and I can attach pictures.
6) Piddling in a number of towns here. Our favorites: Hanalei, Koloa, and Ka'paa. With that, visiting numerous art galleries and watching Nate become mesmerized. I too became mesmerized, just in a different gallery. Well, more like a display of delights. Well, not a gallery at all really. But our discovery of Lapparts - an amazing coffee and dessert place - was quite the beautiful display to me. Hehe
7) Sleeping in, and waking up with absolutely nothing to do, except that which we wanted to do.
8) Cell phones turned off!
9) Reading our Bibles separately, but often in the same space...I felt the Spirit just invade our room with His Presence. I could weep over this one, so I'm moving on...
10) Continuously cracking up when out-of-the-blue I would realize I'm married, and married to Nate at that! We'd grin at each other, shake our heads, and remind the other we were husband and wife. I'm still very much in transition. I asked Nate if it felt so weird (in a good way) and unusual to him as well. His response: "Well....kinda. (Pause) I mean...yea. (Pause) But not really. It feels so natural. Like the way it's supposed to be. The way it's always been." Oh! Be still my heart...
11) Deciding to walk like roosters when we were out walking one day. There are so many of them here, and I jokingly and rhetorically asked Nate, 'What if we walked like that?!' So he did. And so I did....Neither of us caring about any passerby.
12) Discovering that the strawberry pancake I had ordered for breakfast one morning was really more like strawberry shortcake in disguise. Delicious....
13) Taking in the landscape of Kauai: ocean, mountain, and lush tropical foliage. We paused along one of our walks today and I tried to wrap my finite mind around the fact that God 'spoke, and it was so...' (Gen. 3). By His very Word, the Universe was formed. How on Earth (no pun intended) could you and I not believe with every part of our being that His written Word is that true and that bound for fulfillment through Him...It is ours girlfriends. How I long that we walk in obedience to His Truth.
14) Being able to celebrate Nate's birthday here in Kauai, four days after we got married.
15) The praise Jesus hand flings we did in the Jacksonville, FL and Dallas, TX airports on our way here. We realized the day before we were supposed to leave that my tickets were booked as Shelly Griffin, but that we had no copy of our marriage certificate as they were to mail it. And I had no other form of ID that showed Griffin. Y'all, one of the guys got distracted talking to us at 7 in the morning, and dropped my ticket. He picked it back up and just passed us on. I just flashed the other security guard in the following airport the best smile I could manage, and God granted us favor on that round too. You better believe we knew God's favor was on us.

16) How well Nate loves me, even in our inexperienced marriage days totaling only sixteen. That imperfect man loves me so so well...I am thrilled with the privilege to learn how to do life with him as we return to Nashville.
Mahola. Grin.

Day #10 in Kauai!

Aloha from Kauai,

I just forced myself to close my reading in the Mark of the Lion series. Not that my opinion matters one iota in the literary world, but my oh my this book is amazing! The characters in this book have become so vivid to me, I nearly spoke about a couple of them to Nate yesterday in wondering if he knew how they were doing. Oh dear....I do need a life. Grin. 

A couple of noteworthy things have occurred since my last post, so I'm here again, sitting on our porch. My Jesus tunes are going, the oceans waves are roaring, and a rooster is crowing near. [Side note: When we arrived, we learned that roosters would be greeting nearly every island corner we embraced. A hurricane in the early 90's set the farmed-ones loose, and needless to say, they have done quite the job of increasing their boundary lines, outside of their inheritance if you ask me.]

Nate is just a few feet from me, sitting in a chair and painting. He's wearing camo pants, and I've rubbed his back in such an amount of sunscreen, that those tattoos of his all have a nice white glare upon their shapes. Grin... To my absolute delight, Jesus got a hold of that man's mind and heart again in the past few days over an area of gifting that Nate doesn't get to walk in much - that of his art. I have been praying over those holy hands of his, asking them to be an extension of the very magnificent and creative mind of our God. I am increasing in passion for the world of art to be redeemed for our El Roi - the God who sees, and who has created mankind in His image. We are visually-minded people, who are consciously and unconsciously pulled into worship by the visual, be it our strong sense or not. "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20). 

Nate wants his art to be a reflection of His Glory. His canvases are nearly all filled with nature, as he wrestles with the holy tension to take joy in the gift-Giver and reflect His Glory back to Him in the minute way that he can with the stroke of a brush . I wonder what it would take for us to be filled with the same sense of awe such as that which floods us over a sunset and that of our own human bodies, created in the image of the Most High God. Yahweh made them both, and they are a demonstration of His Glory; we are not to worship that which we see, but the One who has given us eyes to catch a mere glimpse of His Glory here on this Earth.  Before I get myself in a holy hissy fit, don't misinterpret my summarized thoughts here: Girlfriend, you better keep on walking by faith and not by sight! But for a world paralyzed and demoralized in a 'worship' of that which this culture visually displays to us, I am beginning to sense a moving in my spirit for God to redeem the eyes of His people, spiritual and physical. May what we read, view, and look upon reflect the day in eternity where the breathe of God spoke, 'and it was so.' May the literal that we see only feed our minds with what is true and noble. And may we ask Him for a godly view of those around us, realizing that it was YHWH's hands that knitted them together. 

A second matter of importance during our honeymoon, and not in the least bit spiritual, has been another favorite local dining spot discovery. Well, uhmm.....it's not exactly a 'dining spot.' [Let me go get my handy tourist book that I grabbed from Barnes & Nobles before we left.] Yes, here is the description of 'Duane's Ono-Char Burger: 3rd decade, still serving some of the best burgers on the island, specialty burger is the teriyaki burger (scrumptious)...most opt to eat at the cement outdoor tables (ahuh) where marauding wild chickens compete for your fries (yep).' We were straight up Kauai hippie beach bumb styling it for this lunch experience. Y'all, I'm not much of a red-meat eater, but this place was so good, Nate and I have plans to go back and order 2 burgers a piece instead of the 1 per individual we ordered for our first experience. That was a lame move... :) 

Sigh...this post was supposed to be about mine and Nate's adventurous kayak'ing trip. Clearly, I never made it that far, and I've likely already bored you sweet things who are still reading. I'll save it for tomorrow, m'kay? 

*THANK YOU for your prayers regarding the weather! It has improved drastically, and we keep giving Jesus the praise for it! 

*We have plans to go hiking in the Waimea Canyon tomorrow or the day after. My Tarzan could run and climb in this jungle, but princess Jane has not yet recuperated from the kayak'ing trip. [Laughing at myself even now...] 

Love y'all to pieces. Asking for more of Jesus for you right now...you are so dear to me.

Closing with a few photos

Kauai...

I'm currently sitting on the porch of our honeymoon cottage, with some good Jesus tunes going, but not so loud as to drown out the powerful roar of the ocean's waves that are right below me. I prefer my Creator's natural songs of praise; it is absolutely glorious. Nate and I keep the sliding glass door of our cottage open all day and night, with the screen door as the covering, so that we can hear it. I wish the photos I have taken of our view do it justice. They do not...they provide an absolutely pitiful display of the majestic view God has given this Jesus-brat of His.

My man and I have had a wonderful past couple of days. Wait, let me rewrite that...my husband and I have had a wonderful past couple of days (insert me with a big goofy grin on my face). We wake rather early, a fact this sleep-lover shamelessly accounts to the five hour time zone difference. We hop in our tan rental car and embrace one of the most rewarding and seemingly endless twelve minutes of our day. It is rewarding because of the breathtaking views that just envelope us: lush jungle spotted with the most vibrant white, orange, and yellow flowers, rolling mountains on one side, and a turquoise ocean on the other. I comment on their beauty every morning as if we haven't taken this drive before, pointing them out to Nate for the umpteenth time. He nods and smiles ... saying warmly, 'I know baby...' I'm a gush for the beauty of creation - I really do feel like God has just fashioned it for me. I know... selfish and ridiculous, but it's our time together and I love it. 

A seemingly endless twelve minute drive because of what awaits us. The breakfast selections that we have eaten here the past few days have unarguably become my best breakfast meals ever. No joke y'all. Fluffy, light banana and macadamia nut pancakes with freshly made coconut syrup, eggs benedict, and fresh papaya, mango, grapes, and pineapple that leave me so water-heavy from my fill of them that Nate and I both require walks afterwards. 

The second day we were here, we made our way to the pristine beach right by our cottage. Me, being the ever-hungry one, packed Nate and I a cooler. Nate hauled that, along with our little chairs, and water bottles to a sunny spot. We dug our chairs into the soft white sand, and smiled goofily at one another, hearts speaking the unspoken. He opened his 'War and Peace,' and I flipped open the Mark of the Lion series book number one. I forced myself to not bring an academic or technical book with me on our honeymoon. It was a fight y'all: I love to learn and study, but I really felt like the Lord was calling me to learn to rest in all areas, including my mind! I have not read this series yet, and thanks due to school, I am hopping on board four years later after I should have in terms of relevancy. Grin....

Five minutes of beautiful weather passed. And then...well, I got a little cold. Well, more like, I got really cold. I didn't want to complain (who is supposed to be cold when it's 74 degrees outside for crying out loud??! I get on my own nerves in this arena...), so I threw my long sun-dress back on, and a jacket, resuming my reading. Poor Nate ... he was soaking up whatever sun his epidermis apparently had discovered, untouched by the cool ocean winds. And then y'all, it came. That dreaded afternoon shower swept upon us so quickly that we ran back to the car, laughing, flip-flops flapping, and Nate still hauling that untouched cooler. We have sadly not been able to go to the beach yet; the weather has been uninviting. We're asking Jesus to do a miracle for us, because the forecast doesn't seem to be improving. We have plans for kayaking in a couple of days, and I better not get wet :) 

It hasn't been too disheartening yet though. We have greatly needed the rest. The ugly weather has given us an excuse for such. For the first time yesterday, I think I was finally able to rest after everything. I have taken long afternoon naps the past two days, and have had a couple of cry sessions for no apparent reason. I think they are rooted in the emotions from the past week catching up with me. Sweet Nate just holds me patiently, suggesting chocolate and a long walk afterward. Good man  :)   

That's about all for now. Oh yea, we went exploring in this cave today. I am pitifully ignorant of the appropriate terminology to explain it, so I'll just say it was amazing, and post some pictures later :) We've wandered into a number of art stores here; most of y'all probably didn't know Nate was an artist, so he appears in there looking like what I would look like if I were in a library or something. I love watching him stare at the art. He has been living high on his ahi wraps and fish tacos; I have preferred the fresh coconut that I was given yesterday. I walked back down to our car with it, holding it clumsily in my hand for another two miles, drinking out of my umbrella straw. Could someone puh-lease write tourist on my forehead. :) Oh well. 

*My second disclaimer: Again, don't you sweet little ladies worry about my being on the computer on our honeymoon. Nate and I both love to write; this down time has been renewing for us both. He was so inspired yesterday, he poured his heart out over a film script he has been stumped upon in terms of writing while yours truly was napping. That's my sweet Jesus...allowing me to love Him more by giving purpose and vision to do that which we love to do, and which brings Him glory. 

'Our God Reigns' just came on my iTunes mix. And Nate just came out here to give me a kiss, letting me know that he's going to make us some chicken and zucchini. I'm totally undone, and totally in love. All the more for my Jesus....

Love y'all to pieces...

PS - I so appreciate some of you long-time hidden 'lurkers' leaving your sweet comments. My heart has just swelled over the power of the Father to bring His body together here in blogworld. May my words be ones that denote my joy in 'knowing' you here, and the privilege we have to serve the Most Glorious One...I do so smile at the thought that he takes note on a scroll as we boast in Him (Malachi 3:16).