"We cannot, then, believe in the sovereignty of God, we cannot just believe in the teaching of the Word of God, if it somehow strips us of the passion to pray.
Prayer then is a heart longing to unite with the holy purposes of God for their accomplishment. . . .Prayer is the act in which I line up with the purposes of God and through which He works those purposes to fulfillment. Prayer moves God, God moves His people, who move in response. So that's the resource and whatever you may believe about the sovereignty of God, no matter how firm your confidence that He is in charge of everything, it cannot diminish your prayer life."

John McArthur

HT: Carolyn McCulley

Any day now....

My second niece will be born! What an incredible blessing it is to be an aunt...watching Ava grow these past couple years has been such a joy. I sometimes think, if I love her this much - I can't imagine what it will be like to love one's own child. The Lord is so kind to have blessed me with the privilege of loving, caring, and praying for a niece and I cannot wait for this new beautiful life to come into the world. I also love being able to watch Joy and Daniel parent Ava with love, correction, discipline and sacrifice.... I am so grateful for this opportunity. I often take it for granted, but I thank God placing such godly examples right in my own family.

LIMIT 2/DAY

Black Coffee Shot

Warning: High Caffeine

Not for those under 18, pregnant or caffeine sensitive.

I'll let you know how it goes.... I'm already typing faster.

From "Valley of Vision"

O Spirit of God....

~

...Deliver me from carking care,

and make me a happy, holy person.

~

Help me to walk the separated life with firm and brave step,

and to wrestle successfully against weakness;

~

Teach me to laud, adore, and magnify thee,

with the music of heaven,

And make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee.

~

I do not crouch at thy feet as a slave before a tyrant,

but exult before thee as a son with a father.

~

Give me power to live as thy child in all my actions,

and to exercise sonship by conquering self.

~

Preserve me from the intoxication that comes of prosperity;

Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.

~

Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,

not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.

~

I request only to see the face of him I love,

to be content with bread to eat,

with raiment to put on,

if only I can be brought to thy house in peace.

Holidays: White Christmas

My mom got tickets for us girls to go see White Christmas at Memorial Auditorium!! It was so much fun! We got dressed up for the occasion and Dad took some pictures...


I got some pictures at Memorial....but - oops.... my flash wasn't on at first....

Holidays: Parties

Dad, Mom, Julie, Jo, and I all went to the youth group Christmas party -- it was a red carpet 'Oscar night' theme....

Here's my good looking family entering...


I also went to a nice dinner party hosted by the guys in our church's singles ministry --

Me and my good friend Kristin :)
The two dancers getting into the chocolate....

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY!!!!!!
I love having new years eve parties -- There was a lot going on...I tried to remember to get a few pictures....not sure they are the best but here they are....

Football and cards....

Pool....

Fire on the patio....

Ping-pong (must have been a dangerous game!)


Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of the late night festivities:
The New Year toasts led by Matt Noel, Wii boxing (someone out there has video of it, though...so check back later, it might show up on here.), ginger ale shots from the peppermint shot glasses, and apparently the guys found the poppers and sparklers that I forgot about when they went out on the patio to smoke their cigars. Fun times!

Holidays: Family!

One of the things I love about the Christmas season is getting to spend lots of extra time with my family.... even though I didn't get as much time off from work, God still blessed me with some great time with my wonderful family! Here's a few random pictures from Thanksgiving through New Year's --

The Darrows came over for Thanksgiving -- it was nice enough for some Bocce outside.

We had several visits with Dan, Joy, and Ava!

Dad, Julie, and Joy went to the Maryland vs NC State football game Thanksgiving weekend. As you can see, there was a little tension before the game - haha.

Holidays: Baking!

One of our favorite traditions is making cutout cookies....we let Ava try a few this year....

Warning: I didn't realize I had my camera on video during this first one, so it gets a little jerky! The 2nd isn't though.