No Greater Joy

Seems I've taken an unintentional bloggy break, huh? Life has been crazy lately and by the time I can sit uninterrupted to write something I'm so exhausted that lifting each finger to type a key seems too hard.


What's been going on around here? Well, let's see:


School, weekend company, more school, more weekend company, the launch of weekly services at our new church, spending time with old friends, Thanksgiving, fighting with an eBay buyer and spending hours on "live chat" with eBay customer service reps who have no idea what's going on, Christmas preparations. That last one just kinda snuck up from nowhere. I was still thinking we had at least 6 more months!


*Thanksgiving was fantastic. We head up to Knoxville to spend a week at my grandmother's every year stopping in Chattanooga on the way to see friends. The only picture I have from the whole week is on Kyle's phone. So sad.   Update: found a few pics on Kyle's phone and here they are!

Lookout Mtn. Battlefield - Chattanooga

Had to get 2 new tires on the van while we were there so we hung out at the mall with the minions from Depsicable Me movie.

Had dinner at my aunt's house one night. This is Jacob beating playing the drums.

Hiked House Mtn. in Knoxville with the boys. Noah found a new passion in hiking.

Good times with Lily, Elie, Zoe, & Sam

*Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. Always has been. I've had Grooveshark going with all sorts of Christmas albums I'm too cheap to actually purchase. The house is decorated. Most of the presents bought and wrapped. Baking planned out. Love it all.  


*This time of year, I marvel at the fact that Jesus came down and took on flesh to become our Saviour. My mind is boggled at the fact that he was all God yet all human. "How deep the Father's love for us! How vast beyond all measure"


*I also think about Mary. A few years ago I wrote down my thoughts here.


*While all this is going on around me, I received an email last night about a prayer request for a dear friend. I won't go into details but it devastated me. I truly believe that God is sovereign even in suffering. Though I will never, ever understand why some things happen. Praise God that there is hope through Christ. 


"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;......... ¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 
2 Cor. 4: 7-17