Time, from the beginning
Filling the moments and days
I have a lifetime before me
And I will take the time that remains
And I will praise the God of all the ages
For giving the meaning to life
And by God’s grace, my moment in history
Will help to build the kingdom of Christ

And I’m having the time of my life
Making the most of every moment
Knowing the future lies before me
Living today to give God glory
And I’m having the time of my life
Knowing my times are in His hands
And with the saints who’ve gone before me
On His word I stand

For from Him, and through Him
And to Him, are all things
To Him be the glory forever and ever
For from Him, and through Him
And to Him, are all things
To Him be the glory forever
Amen, Amen

It’s a ten minute commute to my work. Sometimes when I have an early shift I just sit quietly and drive, savoring the stillness and fresh beauty of the morning. Sometimes I turn up the radio really loud, crank down my windows, and sing. And sometimes, I pop in a CD and listen to the music. I remember very clearly a few weeks ago listening to this song above by Judy Rogers. It almost brought me to tears because it summed up perfectly what I have been pondering lately.

This past season has been one of great blessing, but also challenges. I’ve been humbled and brought to the realization of how very far I have yet to grow and to learn. Many times I have failed to be the daughter at home that I want to be. I’ve let trivial things take priority over precious time and communion with the Lord. I have worried over the future and whether I’ll get into nursing school and where that road will take me. At the core, I am far too centered on myself.

For me it’s a continual, humbling realization that my life isn’t about me. Not in the least. It’s about our awesome God. It’s about the marvelous things He has done. Through and through, it’s about Him. When I attempt to comprehend of the vastness of who God is, my mind is boggled. That the mighty One who set the universe in motion would be interested in me and even want to have a personal relationship with me is almost unthinkable. It’s almost too good to be true. I’ve most certainly done nothing to deserve His wondrous love! He has made me, given me all I have, and is writing my story. He has been so patient and gentle with me. He has loved me when I am so un-lovable. His tenderness has melted my cold, stony heart. His love has faithfully surrounded me, bringing peace to my dry and weary soul.

I love the last verse to these lyrics because it really draw the focus back to the Lord. By His grace, our lives will be a reflection of His work in us. This makes me ask myself: am I taking the time that remains to help build the kingdom of Christ? Am identifying and acting on the opportunities God has given me to serve and minister? I pray for the grace to take my eyes off of myself and seek His will with a passion. Only there we will find true contentment and joy.

My heart is full and I wish I could write more, but I don’t know exactly how to put it into words. :) I hope, though, that you might be able to unscramble a few of my scrambled thoughts and be encouraged by Judy’s song as I was. More importantly, it’s my prayer that God will meet you wherever you are today and overwhelm you with His love. May He fill you to overflowing and may you find lasting joy in His presence.

Hello again! I considered titling this post “There and Back Again” but decided against it, as Tolkien fans may consider that sacrilegious. ;) Anyway, I have some pictures to share with y’all! As I have mentioned in this post, every year our family likes to take a small trip somewhere in the dead of winter to ward off cabin fever and enjoy some time together. Although last weekend happened to be a few days after spring, we still called it our 2014 Merry Midwinter Getaway. Mom had a doctor appointment in St. Louis (a follow-up after her hip surgery), so we decided to turn it into a family overnight outing. That weekend turn out to be c-c-cold, so we packed our warmest winter clothing.

During every Noble road trip, we have a habit of stopping at various Walmarts along the way to buy various items that were either forgotten or would add some fun to the trip. These are things such as Swiss cake rolls, gum, swimsuits, gallons of water, antibacterial wipes, caffiene-loaded drinks, etc. But this time we added something new: a PEZ candy thingamajigger for Jonathan. Turns out, he never had one when he was little like the rest of us; therefore, he didn’t know what one was! He was pretty intrigued by the idea of loading candy into a slot and dispensing it whenever he pleased. Yes, he did share. ;)

Upon arriving in St. Louis, we first stopped at the zoo. Lovely times! All of the photo credit goes to Mom and Wesley, as they used their phones to take these….

The butterfly exhibit was Mom’s favorite.

I couldn’t resist including this one….a Bobcat in a black rhino exhibit. I think someone got seriously confused. ;p

Jonathan found Mom’s wheelchair to be quite comfortable.

This little lemur seemed very interested in Austin, hence the google-eyed stare.

There was a darling little English shop down the street from our hotel. After a nice breakfast the next morning, WC and I went over to investigate. You could find all things British…books, teacups, “real” loose tea, Dr. Who shirts…ahh! A British-lover’s dream! I thought of my British-loving friends and longed to buy them all a treasure.

During Mom’s appt. we kids hung out at the St. Louis botanical center. It was lovely to sit in the warm, misty air and enjoy the greenery around us.

As a grand finale to our trip, we went visited the arch. It was very cool. WC, Austin, and I rode to the top in a tiny little capsule. Here’s what it looked like getting out of the capsules at the top:

A breathtaking view indeed!

This one’s my favorite because you can see both sides of the arch looking downward in the center.

Well folks, thus concludes this post on our merry midwinter getaway.  Thanks a bunch for stopping by and come again soon! :)

We all experience God’s bountiful provision on a daily basis. It is so real and tangible when I wake up in a warm bed each morning, sit down to dinner with my family, help Mom stock the pantry and fridge full of groceries, and come home from work with a paycheck. I’m sitting down to write out this story because it’s a unique example of God’s amazing provision: how He provided my first car.

It all happened quite suddenly and out the blue. I have been saving for a car for some time because we knew I would reach a point when it would be awfully helpful. Mom had graciously let me use our suburban for work, school, volunteering, coffee dates, and other activities I had going on, but it was not a very sustainable or long-term plan, especially with classes starting again this fall. So I was planning to get a car toward the end of the summer.

There were several things that were very important to my ever-practical self when it came to buying cars: (1) it had to be used, but in good condition, (2) it had to be gas-efficient, and (3) though I tend to be a cheapskate, I really didn’t want that ancient, decrepit, garbage-can-on-wheels look. Nope. It had to at least look presentable. So with those things in mind, I checked Craigslist a few times in the past months to see what kind of vehicles were within my price range. I’ll just say that it was not very encouraging. So I just decided to wait. And work. And save. And see what turned up.

Well, fast-forward to Thursday morning last week. After several hours of schoolwork, I just happened to pop over to Craigslist and see what was up. Why I even went there I don’t know, except that it was clearly providential. Up came this ad for a car that had been posted only 1 hour ago. I looked at it, read, and re-read the ad. I’m always a bit cautious of why exactly people are getting rid of their cars, but in the seller’s own words: grandpa goofed! Basically, an older man was selling a car he had bought for his granddaughter because she already had a car from her dad. He no longer needed the car and was practically giving it away for less than he’d spent on it. Reading through the list of the car’s qualities, I got excited: this was exactly what I was looking for. And best of all, it was within my price range!

I ran downstairs with my computer and showed the ad to Mom. She and I talked it over and she encouraged me to call the guy who was selling the car. I set up a tentative time to come see the car on Saturday morning with my daddy. I tried to not think about it anymore because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. That evening, Dad was very favorable and supportive about going to see it. He also realized (as I did not) that a car at that quality and price would be gone within days, if not hours, so we figured out a way to see it on Friday instead. When Daddy called the guy for directions, he had some disappointing news: lots of people had called about the car during the afternoon and someone was test-driving it at that very moment. The man would call us back if they did NOT buy the car and it was still for sale.

I waited anxiously. 30 minutes passed, then an hour. After an hour and a half, I concluded that someone had bought the car. I was disappointed, despite my hardest attempts to not set my hopes up. I tried to console myself by saying that at that point, I didn’t even have to have a car. It wasn’t an absolute need. Mom reassured me that God has something even better in store for me. I knew she was right. God is in complete control. He moves people’s hearts. He has a plan. I was still a bit disappointed, but I had peace about it, and moved on with the day. But hardly 15 minutes had passed when I got a call from the seller and learned the girl who was test driving the car was undecided. She liked it, but was going to wait to make a decision until the next morning. I was to call him at 10 a.m. to see if it was still available.

More waiting.

I finally called the guy the next morning at 9:52, ‘cause I couldn’t wait any longer. I was pleasantly surprised by what he said: “the young lady liked the car, but decided that it was too small for her.” I called Dad, and Wesley and I made plans to meet him in town and drive together to look at the car. When WC and I arrived at the bank, the teller raised an eyebrow when she saw two teenagers withdrawing several thousand dollars. We had a good laugh over it. :)

When we drove up to the man’s house, I saw this cute little Chevy Prizm parked in the driveway. Dad’s first comment was that it was a “wittle” (little) car. I liked the looks of it right away, but aesthetics, of course, aren’t everything. Dad and Wesley checked out the engine and all that stuff. At that moment I was especially grateful to have two men in my life who know cars, because I certainly don’t. Everything looked and sounded good, so we hopped in and took it for a test drive. It ran well and we were all very pleased. Yes, indeed, it was a little car. Wesley’s head brushed the top. But it was just my size, and with Dad’s approval, I decided to buy it.

It was a bit surreal to think that I was actually driving my own car home. I had what Mom calls a “perma-grin” on my face. I enjoyed cleaning out my new car and stocking it with necessities. It was lovely to use that 13.1 sticker Mom had given me several years ago after I completed my first half-marathon. Of course it wasn’t all fun….the licensing, gas, and insurance fees add up and there were a few stressful moments as I did all that messy paperwork, but that’s just part of it. I am so grateful for God’s provision. If the man I’d bought the car from didn’t “goof,” if I hadn’t checked Craigslist when I did, if that other girl had decided to buy it…so much could have happened differently. But in God’s perfect timing and abundant provision, I have a car today that will (hopefully) last for as long as I need it. I am very grateful.

Well, if you’ve made it to the end of this l-o-n-g story, then thank you for taking an interest! I wanted to write this out for future encouragement to look back on and because I consider getting one’s first car as a sort of milestone in his life. But now it’s time to sign off and wish you a wonderful day. Until next time, my friends!