Celebrations

Thanks for the great response to my last post! Writing honestly to an unknown audience is an odd sensation, but your responses were a great encouragement! I've been intending to write earlier, but we've been getting ready for quite a few celebrations (including a surprise party, and I was paranoid about giving away the secret!). Here's a little recap of the festivities.

The Celebration of Two Beautiful Friends

A little over a week ago, two of my dear friends were married. Krystal is one my Fab Five, and she and I have journeyed down many roads together--from loving Northwestern as RAs to going through major surgery and recovery to seeking godly relationships with our men, we've done life together. I've known Jordan for the last 5 years, as well, so it was a very special weekend. I was so blessed by celebrating Krystal on Friday night and celebrating Jordan and Krystal as a couple on Saturday! Plus we got to see several of our Northwestern family which always has a way of refreshing my soul.

© Hannah White Photography 2011

Not only is Hannah our friend, she is absolutely brilliant!

Please click on the link above to check out her work.

The Fab Five reunites at a wedding at last.

Steg RAs 2008-2009: An experience to bond us for a lifetime

Celebration of Nate

Since the wedding was nearby, we were able to host our friends Ryan and Julia overnight. Then on Sunday, Ryan, Julia and a host of wonderful friends helped me throw a surprise birthday party for Nate's 25th birthday! I found out in a hurry that surprising the person with whom you share both an apartment and a bank account is a little tricky. Thankfully Nate interpreted my secret-keeping as planning frenzy for Krystal's wedding, and it ended up working splendidly. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and I more than enjoyed surrounding Nate with people we love while he remained unaware! I neglected to get a group picture, but I do have these.

My birthday boy! Thanks for supplying this genius cake, Michael!

These two men mean so much to Nate, and

I'm thankful they were willing to be here to celebrate.

Celebration of Lydia

Last weekend was much more about getting together with my family than just Lydia, but since it was the first time we've seen her for a few months, she may have been our primary focus. :-) We had a great time enjoying our city with Nathan, Tara, Lydia, my parents, and family friends. My mom has the far better pictures, but here is a little sampling of our favorite 9 month old and the family that loves her dearly.

She may not be the first woman to fall for

James Bond, but she may be the cutest!

She's surrounded by toys, but Nate's

guitar playing has her completely enthralled.

My family out for dinner

Miss you so much, Andrew and Lisa!

This ended up being a bit of a marathon post, but thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm hoping to get on a more regular writing schedule now that these wonderful yet busy weekends are behind us. I hope you're finding celebrations in your summer, as well!

Unbreakable

Friday night is pizza night in our home. Nutritionally worthwhile? Not exactly. Emotional comfort + intentional bonding time + easy clean up after a long week? Yes, yes, and yes! Last Friday we were relaxing on the couch waiting for the pizza to finish when we heard bit of a crash the kitchen. I was unaware stoneware could break from such an innocent act as baking a frozen pizza, but lo and behold, this is what we found.

Cracked like the Stone Table of Narnia! Nate and I were both pretty incredulous, but there was no denying the literal hot mess housed in our oven. And that got me thinking about the other things in life we take for granted until destruction takes its place. Whether its a city mangled by a tornado, a parents' marriage failure that rocks a home, or any of life's losses in between, devastation has a way of revealing things we treasure too much. Are we putting our faith, our pursuit of stability into things of this world? people of this world? Or are we putting our hope, our trust, both daily and eternal, in the everlasting, unchangeable Lord and Savior?

Yes, I know it is just a broken pizza stone, but it seemed to be physical manifestation for the many cracks and fissures in my own life. Do destructive changes still hurt? Yep. No doubt about that. But they also turn us, sometimes quite forcibly, toward the One who never changes. When Moses first asked God what He should be called, God replies "'I Am Who I am.'" (Exodus 3:14). Isn't that such a great promise? The God to whom Moses spoke is the same God to whom we speak! He has not changed. He will never change. God is just as faithful as He was thousands of years ago. He is just as powerful. He is just as good. He goes on to say, "'This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations'" (Exodus 3: 15). Guess what? We are part of those "all generations"!

Isn't that a humbling truth? My life seems so important to me. When a pizza stone cracks, I am annoyed that I have to bake the next one on a cookie sheet. I'm frustrated with the slightest inconvenience. And yet here is the God of the Universe, who was and is and is to come, waiting for my selfish soul to turn to Him and give Him praise. So if it takes a little breaking and brokenness to keep that truth in mind, I'll work on worshipful perseverance.

"And the four living creatures...

day and night they never cease to say,

'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!'"

Revelation 4:8