"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?...Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians: 3:7-18

Really thankful for this scripture today. Thankful that God doesn't want us to wait to clean ourselves up before we can come to him. The veils concealing our hearts are taken away when we simply turn towards him.

And there we find freedom.

Loving that reality and wanted to share it!

Triple Digits

Sooo, its August in southeast Texas. I am wondering if UTMB would consider a transfer to another city named Houston???



To give you some perspective...here are some actual thoughts that have entered my brain since August 1st rolled around this town.

• This egg could probably be cooked just as easily on the pavement
• I need to go grocery shopping...but that would actually require walking into the fires of Hell.
• Who invented windshield shades? can someone please call them as my other windows need shades too
• SPF 50 - you have failed me.
• If we moved the frozen corn over I'd have the perfect resting place for my face in this freezer.
• Sorry Nellie...you are just going to have to hold it.

Houston, Alaska...I am ready for you!!!

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. –Romans 4:18-21

At risk of sounding like a teenage girl, I must say it:

I want to make out with these words.

 Too much? Maybe so. By "make out" I mean, I want to read them, breathe them, and have their Spirit-filled wisdom seep into every ounce of soul. This passage comes at a good time as I’m finding that the realities of everyday, ordinary life have been consuming me. Not in a bad way necessarily. Everything is very normal and ordinary in our lives right now. We are working day in and day out. Friends come for dinner. We jaunt around town or around the house on weekends depending on what suits us. Andy is learning more and more in the lab and I am digging into a new job and some new volunteer activities that are utilizing my talents in cool, life-giving ways. But I found myself wondering this morning what was so extraordinary about the ordinary.

At the risk of sounding like a Debbie-downer, I must mention other things that continues to haunt me. Am I the only one that notices that A LOT of crappy stuff happens here in our world. And not just sometimes. Everyday! In the space of two weeks I learned about the passing of three people under the age of 30 in freak accidents. Two of them were sisters leaving their mom without her children. I hear these things and its as though my heart doesn’t know whether to leap out of my chest in anger or cower in a corner. What, exactly, are we supposed to do with these things?

Thankfully, when these moments come, Grace intervenes. I stumble upon a passage like the one above that beckons me to think differently.

A few months ago I was in the car on the way to work. I was very much on autopilot doing my usual 9,462 stops and starts at the absurd number of red lights that dot my commute down Broadway.

Confession here: I like me some Christian radio. I will be the first to admit that some of it is really, really bad music. No offense intended for those who thinks its all wonderful. Yet, sometimes, I wonder if Christian radio stations will play anything that comes from a band that puts Jesus in its song lyrics. Or do people truly believe that its better for their listeners if every lyric rhymes just perfectly with the next without regard for communicating any depth about the nature and character of God? Shameless plug. Come on people - lets sing deeply!

With that off my chest, I will whole heartedly admit that sometimes I just need to hear it. Even as I’m dumbfounded that this or that artist just rhymed the words savior and flavor (No, Jesus is not your favorite flavor. I promise you). I find with rare exception that I need to hear a different tune in my 15 minute drive to work than the one that life will sing at me in the ensuing 9 hours.

So there I am, stopping and starting at lights, and my radio hits a dead spot. I started to change the station but then heard smatterings of the two stations that my radio was stuck between: An NPR news channel and a Christian radio program. The following 30 seconds went something like this:

Christian Radio: “living He loved me, dying He saved me…”

NPR: “Riots continued in Egypt today…”

CR: “ …buried He carried my sins far away…”

NPR: “…30 killed in suicide bombing...”

CR: “…rising He justified, freely forever…”

NPR: “…Maria Shriver files for divorce today…”

CR: “One day He's coming…”

NPR: “Famine...Thousands...Dead.”

CR: “O Glorious Day!”

Now if this isn’t a picture of the gospel news, I don’t know what is. We all know that something has gone wrong. When 30 year-olds die in freak accidents its hard not to feel the weight of the fact that the world is groaning for redemption. I sense it in my soul. I sense it in the heartaches of friends and I sense it in the 30 seconds of failed frequency while waiting for a stop light. At the same time, I sense with deeper conviction that my heart must rest on the promise that at first started as an inkling and now shouts to me from the words of man who walked the world 2,000 years ago.

So I find myself at a crossroads sometimes. I could see the horrible irony of it all and continue to sway in the winds of reality that pull me from joy back to sorrow and from sorrow back to joy. Or I could rest on these ancient promises, be strengthened in faith through the Spirit of a living God, and give glory back to the One who provides eternal hope in the midst of these crushing temporal tragedies.

I pray daily for the grace to continue choosing the latter.

O Glorious Day.

A Texas Spring

"...But I'm a citizen of Texas and try to spend most of my time there. " -Thomas Haden Church

We've had a great Spring here on the island. Andy prepared for and passed his qualifiers in April. This was a big milestone for him and his work on campus. His final project was to defend a grant proposal that he had written before a committee of professors. He spent about an hour presenting his work and then his committee fired away with questions for another hour. The thought behind this portion of his schooling is to prove that students have learned enough in their classes to begin independent research in the lab. While stressful for candidates, I can tell that this is a really valuable exercise as its completely applicable to what future PhD's will be encountering in the work world after graduation.
He celebrated in great style and headed up to The Briar Shoppe in Houston to purchase his first professorial accoutrement: a pipe. Maybe by the time he graduates he'll have a tweed jacket and a leather recliner. For now, he's enjoying the art of weekend puff on the porch with his buddies.

We had visitors the following weekend for Easter. Alex and Cindy Myers and their son Charlie came for a visit. Alex was a roommate of Andy's in college and they have remained friends ever since. An amazing feat considering the tales I've heard of smelly feet and conflicting bedtimes, among other things. We love their friendship and had a blast showing them around town.

To round out the spring, we were able to head off for a week of vacation in May. Andy's brother James graduated from college in Boston and so we took the opportunity to tour a bit of the northeast. We visited our friends Jenna and Kim in Providence and then headed off to Cape Cod for a couple of days. I ate more lobster than in my whole lifetime combined and loved it. The highlight was a whale watch tour where we were able to see humpback whales out in the Atlantic. It was awesome! Made me want to give Moby Dick another shot now that I was "on location".

By the end of the week we realized how much Galveston island has had an effect on us. Andy became his typical goofy self and started channeling his favorite scene from his favorite cartoon: Spongebob Squarepants. I leave you now with the lyrics of "Texas" - written and sung by Sandy the Squirrell.

(Spongebob)


"What's wrong with Sandy?"



(Patrick)

"Maybe it's just a squirrel thing... "



(Sandy)

'Wish I was back in Texas,

The ocean's no place for a squirrel,

'Wish I was in Texas,

Prettiest place in the world, oh no.

I guess deep in my heart I'll always be a Texas girl

I wanna go hommmme hooommmmmme hommme oh oh

Yoldle ay e oh, yodle ay e oh, yodle ay e oh, a lay-ee,alay-ee.



I wanna wake up in Texas

I miss those wide open skies.

I miss my 20 acres, bar-b-ques,

And pecan pies, oh why?



When I'm so far from you, Texas, all I can do-o is cry.

Yoldle ay e oh,yodle ay e oh,yodle ay e oh,a lay-ee,a-lay-ee

I wanna go ho-oome,

Ho-oome, (a guy)I wanna go ho-ome!