Welcome, Holy Week.

Just the thought of the power of this week in the life and culture of the Church stills me for a moment. The solemn joy of the sufferings of Christ made perfect by His Resurrection overwhelms me and leaves me wordless. That's why this isn't going to be a long post. I'm not going to even try to find the language to express how deeply changed I am because this week, these earth-altering events, happened over two thousand years ago.

This year I've participated in the Lenten fast for the first time in my life, and I have loved the daily opportunity to give up some fleshly desire to Jesus as a way of saying to Him that I am remembering Him and what He suffered for me.  Six weeks of sacrificing something small in order to align myself--in such an infinitesimally small way--with the trials of my Lord have made the expectation of the rejoicing to come this Sunday that much fuller and dearer.

Think with me this week about the hugeness of God confining Himself to flesh, and then to death, for us. And anticipate with me the happy celebration of the truth of the Resurrection!

[from Isaiah 25]

{v. 4} "For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat....

{v. 6} On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food...

{v. 8} He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

{v. 9} It will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our God, we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'"

[from Isaiah 53]

{v. 11} "Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities."

Awardtastic.

Both Ashley and Audrey gave me this award a long while back (thank you!), but because I am who I am and because my computer is what it is, I'm just now posting it like I should have when I got it. I know it's against the rules--and not as much fun--to post them as one, but I'm seriously doubting my ability to think of random things about myself slash come up with fourteen friends to whom I could pass on this award. I need to expand my blog-following. Anyway, I am beyond honored that they thought of me and so excited to post about the award, even if Creative is spelled wrong. Just kidding. Sort of. I just cannot suppress the English major in me.

OK, rules:

1. Post the award.

2. Thank the person who gave you the award.

3. Tell 7 things that people may not know about you.

4. Pass the award along to 7 friends.

5. Notify them that they have won.

 

So, my seven things...let's see.

 

1. I am a grammar freak. I have found a misprint/grammatical error/typo in every book I have ever read.

 

2. I walked on the University of Memphis' track team my freshman year as a high jumper. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I quickly started wondering why I thought I would like track in college if I hated track in high school. I stopped that madness quickly.

 

3. I read the Harry Potter series every fall. I've read them...quite a few times.

 

4. I love to be in the kitchen cooking, baking, cleaning, the whole bit. But I hate it when I'm pregnant.

 

5. I am getting more and more practical every year I'm a wife and mom. This scares me. I'm finding that I'm going to have to work hard to keep some whimsy and nonsense in my life.

 

6. I feel like I'm a weird mix of extreme Type-A-ness and Type-whatever else-ness. I think if I lived alone my Type-A-ness would dominate any and all things. Alas, that is not the case. And it's only going to get worse--I mean better! I would use the strikethrough function on that one if it didn't annoy me.

 

7. I have a shower routine that I haven't broken in a long time. It begins and ends with a minute of reveling in the silence and solitude.

 

My seven friends/awardees:

 

1. Charlotte: taught her in my discipleship group when she was in high school, but now I'm very proud to call her my friend. She's sooo creative--in decorating, photography, and her niche: graphic design. I aspire to her greatness!

 

2.  Emily: a dear friend who's at all times funny, honest, sincere, and edgy. She makes me smile. A lot. And she proves her love to me every time she makes the trek to Alpharetta.
 

3. Stephanie: a blogger friend who's married to a guy I went to high school with and whom I've met in Target once. She has three precious kids and every time I read her blog I'm happy and excited to be a mom too.

 

4. Maribeth: the wife of our wedding photographer who has three kids and unbridled creativity. She's funny and no-nonsense in a blunt kind of way and I love that.

 

5. Brandy: a friend from our days at FBA who has been a fellow Bible-study-er, a to the hospital food-bringer, and a fashionista. And I don't throw that term around.

 

6. Alicia: singer, humorist, lover of my babies. She and I have worn similar outfits at the same time, multiple times, which I thought was awesome but I hope didn't make her question her taste. 

 

7. Lindsay: friend, bridesmaid, poet. She is now married and expecting her first darling baby! Her walk with the Lord stuns me periodically.

 

And that's all she wrote. 

My son the plumber.

Where's Judah?

Spying? Hiding? Exploring? Getting a head scratch? We don't know.



All I know is I could EAT HIM UP. You?