To Infiniti and beyond....

First of all I have to preface this with this; I cannot believe that Beth posted about this very same thing. I began my post this morning but my blogged was "locked" because blogger is checking to see if really people are posting on blogs, blah, blah... so I had to save it as a draft until now. Anyway,check out her post here. She is so great!

So every once in awhile lil' ol' me needs a bit of a reality check.
Yes, moi'.
I sometimes get caught up in stupid things.
Stupid, I know.

I can justify buying almost anything. There have been plenty of times I have walked away from things but more so than not I tend to just go for it. I like to shop, this is a known fact.
I have had 6 strollers. Yes, I said 6. I have not bought any since Evan has been born, and I say that with a sense of accomlishment. I am seeing more and more that I will have to get a double stroller, even though I loathe the idea. Evan is getting heavy to carry in a bjorn or sling, and it is hard to manage Max that way. So, eventually.
Point is I had a travel system, jogger, two umbrella strollers and a really nice (and expensive) lightweight Peg Prego stroller. I have sold two umbrellas strollers, and donated the travel system but I still own three strollers. Do I even need three, no. But I have them. I always complain to myself about how much money we waste, people waste, but what about me? All those strollers were a waste. Granted people are using them still but I wasted our money on them all. Money that could have been much better spent, donated to missions, or just for other needs of ours, or even into a college fund for our boys.
Justin is VERY good at saving. He spends nothing. He puts gas in his car and eats out for lunch sometimes during the week. I am usually pretty good about consulting him before I buy things (unless it is tolietpaper or something like that).
He and I make a pretty good balance though.
This past week he has been calling me "Infiniti."
He thinks the name (which is the same name as the type of car I now drive) is suiting me well. Everytime I talk to him about buying something for our house, he says, " Not now Infiniti lady."
A good reminder to be content that I did just get a new car, and that things can wait. Because they are just things after all.

Grandma comes for a visit.

This past weekend, my Mom came to visit. She arrived a day late, due to good ol' airline issues but she got to stay an extra day instead. It was a fun visit, we even went downtown one day to the main library, that was cool! She also got to enjoy some clean ground as we have not a snowflake in sight compared to the many that are resting on the ground in Wisconsin!

boys room- wall two.

Another one of the four walls of the boys room. Of course things will be all switched around I am sure once we get Max his big boy bed. I swear I am not going to put those "Nodisms" all over my house, just in the boys bath and in their room. They are cute though! The chicken painting is an exclusive piece of art painted by Maxwell and Evans Aunt Jaimee (who is 8)! It is such a adorable painting! We love it! Now unto those last two walls!

Easy Peasy Cheesy Loaf

So it does not take a genius to think this up, but we have been enjoying it with our dinners lately so I thought I would share.

Buy frozen bread loaves. ( really good for making Calzones too!)

Spread some olive oil on your loaf.

Let thaw and rise for about 4 hours.

Wet a knife with some olive oil and slice your loaf almost in half, folding it open. Add some cheese blend. I like to add Mozzarella, fontina, and Monterrey jack, and cheddar with a little Italian seasonings. Fold loaf up and seal (leave small hole for air to escape). add a little Italian seasonings and mozzarella on top and bake at 375 for 15-20 min. Yum.

Really good with an Italian dish and some red wine. :)

my new ride.

Ok...for some reason I about died laughing at this cartoon, so I had to share.

Justin makes fun of me and that I laugh so easily at things.

So as most of you know we purchased a new car. I still feel sick about the whole thing(as wirh any big purchase..and the fact that our heating unit broke), but having a car is SO great. Not having one for about six months to having a really nice new one does have it's benefits. I also have always wanted a bigger car, and so I am enjoying it.
After lots and lots of research, and running out to test drive, advice from friends we narrowed our search down to two cars.
A Nissan Quest van (I really loved the Honda Odyssey too but there were only a few around and they were out of our price range...except for one but it had too many miles)
and a Infiniti Qx4.
We weighed the pros and cons of each ride and made our choice. Gas mileage was a biggie but they both got the same gas mileage. The Quest was calling my name;
"Anne, you swore you never would own a van, but now you know you need me, you want me, and I am yours. I am practical, convienent, and comfortable. You will grow to love me. I have become more attactive since 2002, and am now, sleek, stylish, and fun. Buy me!"

I swore I would never buy a van because I was always told that I would be a minvan mom, and for some reason loathed that idea. Also, both Justin and I grew up in families who had vans and so it made us not want one.
That Quest almost had me. I was liking the van, and Just was even buying into it, and he was even more against it then me at first. Then along came the Infiniti QX4. We took a few days to think about it, and decided on the Qx4. I actaully went in and worked on all the negotiations (since we did not want to bring the boys) and got it for a few thousand less than they were asking. The car has leather (which I do LOVE but it is just a added perk) but also has a DVD player which will be great for the boys when we go back to Wisconsin/Illinois to visit family and friends.

We are probably going to have at least one more child and so then we can get the van. Maybe. I don't really care for the super huge SUVs they are just too big, so then I suppose I will have to give in. I do have to admit they are beginning to look much more sleek than before... BUT, until then I am going to be enjoying my new ride.

sigh...

Funny, Right? I laughed outloud.

Here is our week so far...

Monday...we got a new car. A good thing, I can now leave the house during the day and do errands and such instead of at night and on the weekends. But Monday night we noticed our heater pretty much sounded like an airplane was constantly flying over the house.

Tuesday...

Our downstairs heater, needs to be replaced...a couple thousand dollars cost. Sigh.

We also remember (we thought if maybe we forgot the problem would go away) that our (brand new) water heater is not working. (No, we have not been taken cold showers; we have a seperate heater for our bathroom. ) The guy that came out to look at it was really sweet. He was probably in his 70's and was calling me honey and stuff. He was really helpful and even recommended and called a friend of his to come out and give us an estimate on the new heater and furnace. He told me to also call a few more people to get a few estimates on the job. He was a nice man, and he did not charge me a dime to come out and look at the heater, and he even checked out our water heater, and gave me some tips to make our heat run more effiecently. That was a good thing.
Which brings me back to Monday and the car...still good, but makes me sicker than I already felt (I always get that sick feeling after a big purchase) because now we are going to be shelling out thousands of dollars in the next few days.! I feel guilty for getting it since we have all these other expenses and just feel stupid. I have spent a good portion of today crying. I know that it is just money and that there are MUCH bigger things to worry and be upset about, but it is still stressful.

Needless to say I have been on the phone for endless amounts of hours trying to get this all worked out. There are some long stories behind all the problems too, but I will spare you the boring details...not that this post really is exciting or anything...but anyway.

Sigh...

On a good note though, I had an amazing quiet time this morning...God is so comforting, so awesome, so perfect. I am thankful to know him.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Birthday...to the Skeets and the U.D.

Don and Peter at a family get-together.
Peter doing what he does best...

A big Happy Birthday to my brother Peter (18 years!) and my Uncle Don (29ish...ok we won't go there)! Love you both.

E.

Growing up so fast. I cannot believe you are already six months old! I have not been very good at keeping a journal about your life so far, but I figured I would put an entry here.

You have gotten amazingly good at maneuvering wherever you would like to go. The other day you were playing in your exausaucer and it has this curved worm that has beads on it that you can move back and forth, and you always grab the curved plastic thing and suck on it. Well, I look over and you had snapped it off on one end. You have some serious muscles! Now you are working on that star (in the above picture).

You are so sweet in the mornings, smiling and chatting away. Who am I kidding you are always smiling. Laughing. You have the best little laugh. You have a lot of different laughs. I think one of my favorites is when you are eating some baby food. With every bite you eat it up and give a laugh of approval and joy that you finally get to have food like the rest of us!

Your brown hair is coming in thicker as days pass, I know around this time your brothers hair began to turn blond, will yours? I love to see those big brown eyes light up as you peek them out while you play with your blanket. Peek-a-boo is a great game...I have to agree. Your cheeks and legs beg to be squeezed, and you rumble with laughter every time someone does.

You adore your older brother and soak up every word he has to say. He loves to help out and has been pretty good about sharing his toys with you. I can already see your many differences which will be interesting as it unfolds as you both grow. Theses difference will challange you both, but help you both. I pray that you two will become close friends.

I think one of my favorite things you do is your signature Evan move. Your "knee slapper" as we call it. Whenever you get really excited you wave your arms (as most babys do) but then you usually get one arm going really good on your knee, like you had just heard the most hillarious joke. It is so cute when you do that.

You just woke up, and are chatting away to me, begging to play, so this is all I will get in for now. Before we know it you are going to be one and into your toddler years. I will miss these times but am so thankful to have them to begin with.

the boys room- wall one.

This wall is not much of a wall since it contains two closets. Decorating a boys room, or any room for that matter is difficult. Difficult for me, because I cannot make decisions, and I don't want to have regrets. I always do though anyway. I have to get over it and just be happy. One thing I did decide, (and am happy with) was to have a colorful room for them. Lots of (primary) fun boyish colors. Oh yeah, and don't make fun of my disproportionate letters, they were done by freehand!

month one.

It is hard to believe we have been here just over a month. I have to admit it has gone by rather quickly. I have unpacked all but a few boxes (boxes of papers to be filed away...mostly my pack-rat husbands:) and even though there are not places for everything I would rather be staring at books stacked on the floor (because we have no shelves) than at brown Starbucks boxes. I saw enough of those when I worked there.
I met one of our neighbors the other day while outside. They are probably in their late 50's, (have children our age) and were really nice and welcoming. For buying a home sight unseen we have really been blessed in a wonderful neighborhood with a private park. Just beyond our fence and tree line there are horse farms, very beautiful horse farms. I have never thought of horses as a beautiful animal but I have a new appreciation for them since we have taken some beautiful drives around us.
Owning our first home has been interesting. Any problems are "our" problems whereas before we could just make a call to our landlord to come fix any problems we had. But there is definately a satasfaction to owning your own home, own lot, own space, not being attached to neighbors. Although, we have had some fun stories of neighbors who we could hear through our shared walls.
One of the best things about our new home is our master bath. It is beyond nice. The double head shower is great but the whirlpool tub...pure luxury. I feel very spoiled. Everytime we have used it, we always comment about how it feels like we are in a hotel. It is going to be hard when we move because more likely than not we will not have a bath like this.
Last night I got the oppurtunity to get about 20 minutes alone in the tub to relax. It was blissful. I don't ever feel like I need to "get away" from my boys for "me" time every week but I do get time to myself of course, but they are not usually planned and I really don't mind that. I guess it just makes me enjoy the moments I do get to myself all the more!

the chikitas

Dancin' -Julia, Jaimee, Maxwell

Joelle & I enjoying some Kentucky goodness.

Maxwell & Jaimee playing trains

Julia & Evan relaxing.

Jaimee & Mom Jane - UK fans!

photos : courtesy of my MIL-Jane

This past week we had the privlage of having Justins Mom and three sisters come spend time with us and check out our new city. Unfortuantely that thing called "work" got in the way of Justin being around during the day but us gals and the little babu's had a blast together! We had plenty of Ketucky goodness to eat, and lots of laughs...lots of laughs. Always a good time together...we hope they come visit again soon! Yeah, we know, we will be back up to Wisconsin to visit soon too! :)

Da Bears!

Go BEARS! Win it all boys!

Catching up with M.J. & E.J.

You know I have to be honest, there are days where I think to myself, "What am I doing here? How did I end up in Kentucky with no friends or family nearby (not to mention I have no car right now) with two young boys and no idea what to do?" I have always wanted to be a mother (who stayed at home), never wanted a high-profile career, but there are days where I think to myself ,(like the other day when Maxwell was sick and threw up all over himself and me while Evan cried) "Is this it?" I love being able to be home with my boys, we do have a lot of fun together and the good times way outweigh the stressful times. Just an attitude change is what I need, and to make some goals for my self. It is a new year after all, right?! Alright enough of that...Mondays are for complaining you know. Just in case you didn't now you do. I am an expert.

Now about these boys of mine. The boys have adjusted SO well to our new home here in Kentucky. I guess I did not know what to expect; I thought there would be more of an adjustment period, but they jumped right in and are doing really great.

Maxwell is now 2.5 years old. He is quite the toddler, and has been really a joy to have at this age. His fine blond hair and blue eyes are not what we pictured before we met him, but we would not want anything different. He has been working on his basketball skills with Daddy while following their favorite college team (the Fighting Illini...who are doing...well lets just say there have been better days for the Illini team) , and he spends time nearly everyday playing with his trains. He loves those trains. It is so fun to listen to him playing on his train table, his 2 year old imagination running wild.
"Percy, where is James? Go over bridge and to house."
or
"No, No! Look out Salty! Over there!"
He is pretty cute. I swore I would not have a three year old with a pacifier and so far we have weaned him off it during the day. He gets it at night when he goes to bed, but he has been showing signs of getting rid of it completely lately.
Then there is potty training. Two words.
Not Interested.
He is actually scared to sit on his "throne" we got him. No, I take that back he will sit on it with all his clothes on but once those pants come off, there is no way he is sitting on that thing. Sigh.
So, I am reading up on it, a lot of people say not to push it too hard on them but I am going to have to make out a plan to spend a hardcore week of potty-lovin. We will get it done, but for all my young Mom friends out there I am taking ideas, and books that were helpful to you.
I love hearing him get up in the morning and calling out for me or Justin. It is the sweetest sound. He is always willing to give a kiss and hug and never turns down playing with play-doh. His coloring skills are developing as his imagination is growing.
He is pretty compliant. I use the word pretty loosely. He will usually eat what is in front of him. But if you cut in the wrong way, touch it to the wrong food, he tends to lose it. I have noticed he has been copying (Just and I...or any adult for that matter) lately and so if it looks like ours he likes it. He loves his broccoli, yogurt and cheese and crackers. His food ALWAYS has to be in a bowl even if it is a cracker. He only likes certian sippy cups. He has a little of the Justin obssiveness in him. Sometimes he just loses it for no good reason. A toddler thing I guess, but he is a sweet boy for the most part.
We also have been working on memorizing Bible verses. John Piper put out a great little booklet for younger ones with shorter verses for them to memorize. He just repeats the verse after me at this point but he is learning!
When I begin cooking dinner he picks out a DVD; Thomas the Train, Dora the Explorer, and lately it has been Blues Clues (which I have to admit I find entertaining...I know it's sick) and sits on his pile of blankets (since we have no rug yet...rugs are hard to pick out!) with his brother Evan. They are both pretty enthralled with that blue puppy. :)
He is oh so sweet with Evan. When he cries he says; "oh, he's sad." and tries to console him with a pacifier. He is gentle around him and looks lovingly into his face and talks with him, and Evan adores it all. He soaks up every word that comes out of his older brothers mouth.

Speaking of Evan, I cannot believe how old this boy is! He is nearly six months old already! A week after we moved in I looked at him and wondered where the newborn had gone because now I had an infant. His big brown eyes are the best sight in the morning. He always wakes up so peaceful and smiles looking around for someone to "talk" to. He has these legs, that are beyond chubby...they are so fun to just squeeze! He giggles so hard when you do. His hair is coming in darker, much darker than Maxwell's blond that came in around this age. It is so interesting to compare the two and see how different they really are.
Evan loves to be constantly held, it is hard to get housework done with him around! But mostly I don't mind, because I know these times will be gone before I know it. When I do set him down he is rolling all over the room searching for things to grab and put in his mouth. Maxwell did not put anything in his mouth...never has, but Evan, he wants it all in there. Just the other night he was trying to stuff a newspaper Justin was reading in.
His smile is to die for, it really makes my days. He smiles so much his chubby cheeks must hurt!

It really is true how fast your children grow. Mine are not even that old yet but I know they will be off to college before I know it. Crazy to think about that! These are the days!

worth reading...

Staying Married Is Not About Staying in Love, Part One
January 28, 2007By John Piper
Read, listen, or watch this resource on their website.


Genesis 2:18-25
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Between our more substantial sermon series I am taking up a few subjects that seem to me to be urgent. Marriage is always urgent. There never has been a generation whose view of marriage is high enough. The chasm between the biblical vision of marriage and the human vision is, and has always been, gargantuan. Some cultures in history respect the importance and the permanence of marriage more than others. Some, like our own, have such low, casual, take-it-or-leave-it attitudes toward marriage as to make the biblical vision seem ludicrous to most people.
Jesus’ Vision of Marriage
That was the case in Jesus’ day as well, and ours is vastly worse. When Jesus gave a glimpse of the magnificent view of marriage that God willed for his people, the disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). In other words, Christ’s vision of the meaning of marriage was so enormously different from the disciples, they could not even imagine it to be a good thing. That such a vision could be good news was simply outside their categories.
If that was the case back then with the sober, Jewish world in which they lived, how much more will the magnificence of marriage in the mind of God seem unintelligible to the world we live in, where the main idol is self, and its main doctrine is autonomy, and its central act of worship is being entertained, and its two main shrines are the television and the cinema, and its most sacred genuflection is the uninhibited act of sexual intercourse. Such a culture will find the glory of marriage in the mind of Jesus virtually unintelligible. Jesus would very likely say to us today, when he had finished opening the mystery for us, the same thing he said in his day: “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. . . . Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:11-12).
The Biblical Vision of Marriage
So I start with the assumption that our own sin and selfishness and cultural bondage makes it almost impossible to feel the wonder of God’s purpose for marriage between a man and a woman. The fact that we live in a society that can even conceive of—let alone defend—two men or two women entering a relationship and with wild inconceivability calling it marriage, shows that the collapse of our culture into debauchery and barbarism and anarchy is probably not far away.
I mention all this in the hopes that it might possibly wake you up to consider a vision of marriage higher and deeper and stronger and more glorious than anything this culture—or perhaps you yourself—ever imagined. The greatness and glory of marriage is beyond our ability to think or feel without divine revelation and without the illumining and awakening work of the Holy Spirit. The world cannot know what marriage is without learning it from God. The natural man does not have the capacities to see or receive or feel the wonder of what God has designed for marriage to be. I pray that this message might be used by God to help set you free from small, worldly, culturally contaminated, self-centered, Christ-ignoring, God-neglecting, romance-intoxicated, unbiblical views of marriage.
Marriage Is the Display of God
The most foundational thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God’s doing. And the most ultimate thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is for God’s glory. Those are the two points I have to make. Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. Most ultimately, marriage is the display of God. Let’s allow the Bible to impress these things on us one at a time.
1. Marriage Is God’s Doing
First, most foundationally, marriage is God’s doing. At least four ways to see this explicitly or implicitly are here in our text.
a) Marriage Was God’s Design
Marriage is God’s doing because it was his design in the creation of man as male and female. Of course, this was plain earlier in Genesis 1:27-28, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’”
But it is also clear here in the flow of thought in Genesis 2:18-25. In verse 18, it is God, not man, who decrees that man’s solitude is not good, and it is God himself who sets out to complete one of the central designs of creation, namely, woman and man in marriage. “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Don’t miss that central and all important statement: God himself will make a being perfectly suited for him—a wife.
Then he parades the animals before him so that he might see that there is no creature that qualifies. This creature must be made uniquely from man so that she will be of his essence as a human created in God’s image as Genesis 1:27 said. So we read in verses 21-22, “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman.” God made her.
This text terminates in verses 24b-25 with the words, “They shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” In other words, it is all moving toward marriage. So the first thing to say about marriage being God’s doing is that marriage was his design in creating man male and female.
b) God Gave Away the First Bride
Marriage is God’s doing because he personally took the dignity of being the first Father to give away the bride. Genesis 2:22, “And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” He didn’t hide her and make Adam seek. He made her; then he brought her. In a profound sense, he had fathered her. And now, though she was his by virtue of creation, he gave her to the man in this absolutely new kind of relationship called marriage, unlike every other relationship in the world.
c) God Spoke the Design of Marriage into Existence
Marriage is God’s doing because God not only created the woman with this design and brought her to the man like a Father brings his daughter to her husband, but also because God spoke the design of marriage into existence. He did this in verse 24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Who is talking in verse 24? The writer of Genesis is talking. And what did Jesus believe about the writer of Genesis? He believed it was Moses (Luke 24:44) and that Moses was inspired by God so that what Moses said, God said. Listen carefully to Matthew 19:4-5: “[Jesus] answered, ‘Have you not read that he [God] who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said [Note: God said!], “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”’”? Jesus said that Genesis 2:24 is the word of God. Therefore, marriage is God’s doing because he spoke the earliest design of it into existence—“A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
d) God Performs the One-Flesh Union
Which leads us to the fourth way that marriage is God’s doing: Becoming one flesh, which is at the heart of what marriage is, is a union that God himself performs. Verse 24 is God’s words of institution for marriage. But just as it was God who took the woman from the flesh of man (Genesis 2:21), it is God who in each marriage ordains and performs a uniting called one flesh that is not in man’s power to destroy. This is implicit here in Genesis 2:24, but Jesus makes it explicit in Mark 10:8-9. He quotes Genesis 2:24 then adds a comment that explodes like thunder with the glory of marriage. “‘The two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
When a couple speaks their vows and consummates their vows with sexual union, it is not man or woman or pastor or parent who is the main actor. God is. God joins a husband and a wife into a one-flesh union. God does that. God does that! The world does not know this. Which is one of the reasons why marriage is treated so casually. And Christians often act like they don’t know it, which is one of the reasons marriage in the church is not seen as the wonder it is. Marriage is God’s doing because it is a one-flesh union that God himself performs.
So, in sum, the most foundational thing we can say about marriage is that it is God’s doing. It was his doing:
because it was his design in creation;
because he personally gave away the first bride in marriage;
because he spoke the design of marriage into existence: leave parents, cleave to your wife, become one flesh;
and because this one-flesh union is established by God himself in each marriage.
A glimpse into the magnificence of marriage comes from seeing in God’s word that God himself is the great doer. Marriage is his doing. It is from him and through him. That is the most foundational thing we can say about marriage. And now we will see that it is to him.
2. Marriage Is for God’s Glory
The most ultimate thing to see in the Bible about marriage is that it exists for God’s glory. Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. Most ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It is designed by God to display his glory in a way that no other event or institution is.
The way to see this most clearly is to connect Genesis 2:24 with its use in Ephesians 5:31-32. In Genesis 2:24, God says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” What kind of relationship is this? How are these two people held together? Can they walk away from this relationship? Can they go from spouse to spouse? Is this relationship rooted in romance? Sexual desire? Need for companionship? Cultural convenience? What is this? What holds it together?
The Mystery of Marriage Revealed
The words “hold fast to his wife” and the words “they shall become one flesh” point to something far deeper and more permanent than serial marriages and occasional adultery. What these words point to is marriage as a sacred covenant rooted in covenant commitments that stand against every storm of “as long as we both shall live.” But that is only implicit here. It becomes explicit when the mystery of marriage is more fully revealed in Ephesians 5:31-32.
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in verse 31, “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’” And then he gives it this all-important interpretation in verse 32: “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” In other words, marriage is patterned after Christ’s covenant commitment to his church. Christ thought of himself as the bridegroom coming for his bride, the true people of God (Matthew 9:15; 25:1ff; John 3:29). Paul knew his ministry was to gather the bride—the true people of God who would trust Christ—and betroth us to him. He says in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
Christ knew he would have to pay the dowry of his own blood for his redeemed bride. He called this relationship the new covenant—“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). This is what Paul is referring to when he says that marriage is a great mystery: “I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Christ obtained the church by his blood and formed a new covenant with her, an unbreakable “marriage.”
The most ultimate thing we can say about marriage is that it exists for God’s glory. That is, it exists to display God. Now we see how: Marriage is patterned after Christ’s covenant relationship to the church. And therefore the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and his church on display. That is why marriage exists. If you are married, that is why you are married.
Christ Will Never Leave His Wife
Staying married, therefore, is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant. “Till death do us part,” or, “As long as we both shall live” is sacred covenant promise—the same kind Jesus made with his bride when he died for her. Therefore, what makes divorce and remarriage so horrific in God’s eyes is not merely that it involves covenant breaking to the spouse, but that it involves misrepresenting Christ and his covenant. Christ will never leave his wife. Ever. There may be times of painful distance and tragic backsliding on our part. But Christ keeps his covenant forever. Marriage is a display of that! That is the most ultimate thing we can say about it.
I have so much more I want to say at this point. So I have decided to stay with this topic next week. Here is where we will go, Lord willing. Genesis 2:25 says, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Why does the biblical story of the foundation of marriage end on that note just before the Fall? The answer will lead us, I think, to some very practical counsel that I pray will help us in our marriages fulfill the great purposes God has for us.
For now, would you pray with me that God will replace in the church and in our land self-exalting, marriage-destroying, unbiblical commitments to cater to our emotional desires with Christ-exalting, marriage-honoring, biblical commitments to keep our covenants?

Sammie

Samantha and Evan at Christmas.

Pray for my cousin Vanessa( and her husband Wally) and their baby girl Samantha today. Today little Sammie (who is nearly six months old) is having surgery on her mole like thingy on her chin. Vanessa and Wally are very nervous (as any parents would be!) and sad for her to have to endure this! God is in control and years from now Samantha will say what surgery? But for now keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Rock, Paper, Scissors...

Today I added this "Nodism" to the wall in the boys bath. It was fun, easy to do, and I think looks pretty stellar.

"reading" together

"

While changing the sheets on our bed and cleaning up our bedroom I catch Max "reading" a book to Evan. It was too sweet. He wanted to share his love for books with his brother!

Recommendation Monday

The Land of Nod...

Friday Funny(at least to me)

This morning while the boys were jammin' to Justins new My Morning Jacket concert DVD I was getting some cleaning done. I have been keeping my floor cleaning supplies in the garage as it is just off the kitchen. So here I am sweeping away and I am thinking to myself; "something does not feel right here." I look at the broom and it is completely flat in the middle! Flashbacks of putting the broom away in the garage yesterday and hearing the broom fall after back in the kitchen and telling myself I would get to it later pop into my head, and I realize Justin must have run it over when he came home last night. Not only does the thing feel funny it definately had me laughing pretty hard this morning.

Taking suggestions...

I love having my own kitchen to do whatever I want with. The previous owners did update it, but it is still a little too white for me. So I need ideas for adding color without re-doing the whole kitchen! :) The first picture is of the custom blinds (above our kitchen sink and in the breakfast nook) but I am not crazy in love with , but they are still better than nothing, so I am willing to add splashes of whatever! Lets just say I do not love red but love greens and really love blue (but can it be done?). So lets hear your ideas!

What the heck we are actually doing here in Kentucky.

Bechtel and Parsons Joint Venture Selected by DOD to Destroy Chemical Weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot (6/13/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO, June, 13, 2003—Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass has been selected by the Defense Department's Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program to design, build, operate and close a plant to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.
The Blue Grass program is a multi phase project spanning a decade of work, with an estimated life-cycle cost of about $2 billion. Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass is a joint venture of Bechtel National, Inc., of San Francisco, CA, and Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, Inc., of Pasadena, CA. The joint venture has four teaming subcontractors: Washington Demilitarization Company, Battelle Memorial Institute, General Physics, and General Atomics.
Under the contract’s first task order, a design-build plan will be developed for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. Subsequent tasks will be awarded for design completion, construction, systemization (start-up testing), pilot testing, operation, and ultimately, closure.
The plant will use neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation to destroy the Kentucky chemical weapons stockpile comprised of blister agent in projectiles and nerve agent in projectiles and rockets.
Blue Grass Army Depot is located in east central Kentucky, just southeast of the city of Richmond and approximately 30 miles southeast of the city of Lexington. Since 1944, the Army has safely stored approximately two percent of the nation's original chemical weapons stockpile at Blue Grass. The Army conducted studies to evaluate potential impacts of the elimination of these weapons using incineration and non-incineration methods. The Department of Defense selected neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation for use at Blue Grass based on technical and environmental studies and input from the community.

Maxwell 2 years 5 months. Evan, 5 months.

Lovin' me some Chick-Fil-A

Last night we had the oppurtunity to experience Chick-Fil-A. I have found a new weakness(and another way to gain all the weight I lost back)! It was amazingly good and I found it a little strange to be so obsessed with some chicken but it wan't just the chicken, it was the AMAZING waffle fries too. Justin (and his best friend David) went back for seconds. Davids fiance' already knew all about it, I could not believe she did not make us go sooner! I think this is just a southern resturant as I have never heard of it before so if you want to go you will have to come down to see us if you want to go! And trust me, you want to go. :)

Book Meme

I was tagged by Ashleigh for this book meme. As Bethany and then Ashleigh explained, it’s kind of like an online game of tag. One person posts questions and answers them, they then “tag” the next person who is “it.” Here’s what you’re supposed to do:
1) Grab the book closest to you.
2) Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence.
3) Post the text of the following 3 sentences.
4) Name the author and book title.
5) Tag three people to do the same.

Mine is:

"She tiptoed forward and leaned beside Thomas. They could see that the door was open. An indistinct murmur of voices came from within."

from: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (which I began just before we moved but forgot about and was in my nightstand basket, now I am intrigued!)
I tag Beth, Nicole, and Sara.