oh how he loves us

there are days where the lord simply makes his presence known.  today was one of those days.

getting ready this morning, i was listening to pandora and i felt overwhelmed with david crowder's oh how he loves us.  such a simple, yet powerful truth; one that is often difficult for me to live out.  so sometimes the lord has to remind me...more than once. 

i have been reading psalm 139 this week for my small group study.  the truths of those verses were once again written on my heart during service this morning.  repetition in the same verses of the bible is proving to be so valuable and beneficial to me.

"you have searched me, lord, and you know me."

{i am a personal god.}

"you know when i sit and when i rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar."

{i listen to your greatest need.}

"you discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways."

{i watch over you.}

"before a word is on my tongue, you, lord, know it completely."

{i have compassion for you.}

"you hem me in behind and before me, and you lay your hand upon me."

{i am present in your life.}

when the lord speaks, he speaks.  he wasn't finished yet.  after the worship leader read this portion of psalm 139, he transitioned into oh how he loves us.  remarkable.  the lord clearly wanted me to know today of his love today.  and for that i am thankful!

happy birthday, facebook

facebook is celebrating 10 years.  way back when, facebook was for college kids only.  i remember the days of waiting for liberty to join.  likewise, i can remember the day when news spread, it was our turn.  we could finally join.

happy birthday, facebook.

mark z and company are apparently programming videos for each user to look back at all the memories facebook has captured.  i seem to be getting just a few pictures.  and they're mostly fairly recent.  not what i would really call a look back, but still enjoyable.  maybe my video will be available later today...or at least that's what they are saying.

everyone sing with me...happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...happy birthday dear facebook.  happy birthday to you.

**update:  my video is now working.  please note:  that link will go directly back to your own, i believe. so really the link is just for my own benefit on here.**

books to read in 2014

my reading list was neglected last year.  i did make some progress and failed to even document that, but it was not a success story (pun intended), by any means.  with my progress so far this year, i am hopeful that i will have much more success.

1.  a christmas carol {charles dickens}

2.  a lion among men{gregory maguire}

3.  a long way down {nick hornby}

4.  anna karenina {leo tolstoy}

5.  becoming myself {stasi eldredge}

6.  behind the beautiful forevers:  life, death, and hope in a mumbai undercity {katherine boo}

7.  beneath a marble sky {john shors}

8.  brave new world {aldous huxley}

9.  decision points {george w. bush}

10.  duty {robert m. gates}

11.  east of eden {john steinbeck}

12.  hector and the search for happiness {francois lelord}

13.  invisible man {ralph ellison}

14.  killing lincoln {bill o'reilly}

15.  life of pi {yann martel}

16.  made to crave {lysa terkeurst}

17.  mary poppins {p. l. travers}

18.  mary poppins and the house next door {p. l. travers}

19.  mary poppins from a to z {p. l. travers}

20.  mary poppins in cherry tree lane {p. l. travers}

21.  mary poppins in the kitchen {p. l. travers}

22.  mary poppins in the park {p. l. travers}

23.  mary poppins opens the door {p. l. travers}

24.  oliver twist {charles dickens}

25.  one day in the life of ivan denisovich {aleksandr solzhenitsyn}

26.  one thousand gifts {ann voskamp}

27.  out of oz{gregory maguire}

28.  perks of being a wallflower {stephen chbosky}

29.  seven {jen hatmaker}

30.  shadow on the crown {patricia bracwell}

31.  son of a witch {gregory maguire}

32.  the best of me {nicholas sparks}

33.  the birth order book {kevin leman}

34.  the book thief {markus zusak}

35.  the count of monte cristo {alexandre dumas}

36.  the fitting room {kelly minter}

37.  the end of your life book club {will schwalbe}

38.  the fault in our stars {john green}

39.  the giver {lois lowry}

40.  the great divorce {c.s. lewis}

41.  the hobbit {j.r.r. tolkien}

42.  the house girl {tara conklin}

43.  the prodigal god {tim keller}

44.  the reason for god {tim keller}

45.  the silver linings playbook {matthew quick}

46.  the storyteller {jodi picoult}

47.  the wettest county in the world {matt bondurant}

48.  thinking fast and slow {daniel kahneman}

49.  this side of paradise {f. scott fitzgerald}

50.  wicked {gregory maquire}

due to my lack of progress from my 2013 reading list, i have carried over several of those books.  we will hope for a better outcome in 2014.  i should have a few updates soon as a couple of these have already been crossed out.

what are you reading this year?

miss you. love you.

the start of the new year brought a sense of heartache that i have never before experienced. 

my dear poppop had been fighting cancer for a few years now, for the second time in his life.  christmas was difficult, though looking back, i am ever so thankful that he was able to share this last christmas with us.  even in his pain and weakness, he was ever so present.  he was with us.

he was with us.

and then just days after the new year, he went home to be with our lord and savior in eternal healing and peace.

there's a great deal of the first two weeks of the new year that keep playing over and over again in my mind; some of which i wish i could change, most of which i know i can't.  i can almost picture every moment of each phone call with updates about his progress and then every moment of being home for the funeral.

some moments will be ingrained forever on my heart.  the drive home to pa in hopes to hold his hand one last time and to kiss his cheek one last time. the moment of opening poppop and grandmom's door and my dad walking around the corner to say, "poppop's gone, sweetheart."  i missed him.  and now i will miss him forever. 

there was a bittersweet blessing in being home for the entire week with family, celebrating poppop's life.  his honorable military funeral was a gift to our family.  a gift that will be treasured in his honor and in his memory.

miss you, poppop.  love you.

"for this god is our god for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." {psalm 48:14}