Iced Coffee in January

oh people, if only this stuff came out of faucets!

The past few days have felt so uncharacteristically warm, I've strolled with David sans gloves, hat and zipped coat. Mind you, I've worn the mega winter coat because I just don't trust Chicago winters. Yesterday was a good day for a few reasons...

1. Jan 10 - high of 52!
2. With baby #2's pregnancy I've had no taste for coffee, until today and went for a Starbucks iced coffee (which is much cheaper than hot cider and hot chocolate).
3. That iced coffee was so delicious and pared with it being 'clean the house for Tuesday root group', I had one productive day.
4. David's officially down to the one nap a day routine, if he can keep his wits about him. So, I finally got a chance to catch up on some freelance work for a good solid 3 hours.
5. Finally, on top of the productive day I was BLESSED by my dear friends Emily and Sara's early arrival to Root Group. Thanks to Emily's generous dish washing, our kitchen was not a pile of dishes per the usual post-root-group night! I could go on, thank you so much ladies.

Sometimes I feel like you can search far to hear someone bragging about themselves online - look no further than our dear friend Facebook. So, let me print this disclaimer - This was NOT a normal day and productivity has been very difficult the past few months due to fatigue, nausea and laziness. I am praising the Lord for this good day, knowing that it could set the stage for good days to come. I'm really hoping to continue on as a freelancer through baby #2's entrance into the world. I love the work and we need the work to meet our monthly budget. The Lord did not have to provide this way, and I in no way deserve these good days. Glory to God for His mercy and Iced Coffees in January!

Round 2 - ding, ding!

We call this the 'gummy bear stage'

Baby #2 is measuring to arrive July 20th of this year, however my calculations say just a bit earlier. David is excited about this photo shoot and let's hope he's just as excited when a new buddy enters the picture. According to my nurse practitioner, "He's not going to know what hit him"!

Christmas 2011, check!

We're sticking to our usual road-trip Christmas, but cut the stops short to only Jackson, Mississippi this year. Driving down, we stopped 6hrs into the night (by midnight) and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I have never thought I'd be so thrilled to see a hotel bed! Poor David started the trip with a double ear infection, but was a surprisingly content backseat rider both ways. I thank those who remembered to lift up our road trip to the Lord - safe and success!

We stayed with Grandmama this visit, due to David's early bed-time and our love to party with the family. And I mean the whole family, 88 year old Grandmama Grant included! We enjoyed her dear company, encouraging conversation and of coarse - sweetly (I'm talking candy, cookies and cake) generous hosting. I regret that I didn't get more photos with those that we love to spend time with in Jackson, but let me name them here by order of appearance: Uncle Jerry and Aunt Olivia who beat us first place to Jackson by 2 hrs; cousin Jerry who David loved to be loved by; sister Seale and her ever familiar family warmth; bro-in-law Matt and his manly presence; Grant, Stephanie & Addison who have all become family I love to chat with; David, Kelly, Cole & Noelle a growing family I can relate to; and finally our beloved Grandpa G and Mimi who completed our Christmas with more cheer than we could have expected! I've said before and I'll say it again - this group is incredible gift givers and as I find homes for each gift in our home now I'm absolutely thankful. I'm thankful for the thoughtfulness but more so for the memories of time with our precious family.

Till next year in Jackson...

Here are some highlights from the trip and photos of Christmas at our Bosworth apt.

Christmas 2011, a set on Flickr.

Reflection on 1 Kings

King of the playroom, visor and all

Beloved King David's death gives birth to Solomon's reign at the beginning of 1 Kings. King Solomon's wisdom and wealth is unmatched through biblical history. The Temple he built, in my mind, rivals the fragrance and glory of a cedar and pine sparkling mansion. Before reading 1 Kings, I related the look of the Lord's temple to Roman ruins I saw on a trip to Italy - not so. Following a prayer of dedication for the Temple, the Lord speaks to Solomon in what is known as one of the key verses in 1 Kings:

"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel' "

(1 King 9:4,5)

David was not perfect, but the Lord notes his integrity of heart and uprightness. He did not serve other Gods... unfortunately all the other kings to follow couldn't help themselves. Among Solomon's plentiful supply of resources were a plethora of wives. 1 Kings 11:3 says he had 700 wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives lead him astray. v.4 Says his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

From here, the book of 1st Kings falls head first into a tug of war between idolatry and repentance. There were schemes to kill prophets and the building of golden calf shrines. Yet, there were glimpses of succeeding kings who wept and tore their clothes in regret before the word of the Lord. The Lord had made clear that Israel's security and unity rested in their relationship with Him. Still, the Kings of Israel and Judah fall to idolatry and self sufficiency and STILL you'll see in the book of 1st Kings, God persistently forgives.

I reflect on 1 Kings with great gratitude for God's mercy through history and in my life now. I can see myself in those wild and wicked kings. Idols galore. Yet in that olden day before Jesus's ultimate sacrifice and fulfillment of the law, God still forgave. For some reason I thought he was more wrathful and angry then. Nope, same forgiving Lord. From the moment I received the gospel, the Lord made clear that my security and unity with Him rests in my relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus. Yes, we're in new testament covenant now so I don't have to give sacrifice at Solomon's glorious Temple. Glory to God for the blood of Jesus that cleansed us once and for all!

One final thought, the Lord was continuously speaking to each King about what he wanted to do with their life. God's voice was so present and the events of each King's life was precisely knit to God's movement. I'd like to end my reflection with Acts 17:26-28

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that  men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."