good friday

"...through His name {JESUS- the one who died, who rose 3 days later, and is alive now}, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." {acts 10:43}

remission 
noun
the act or process of remitting {to release from the guilt or penalty / to cancel or refrain inflicting / to restore}
synonyms: absolution, amnesty, forgiveness, pardon
antonyms: penalty, punishment, retribution

oh. man.
the weight of that one word. isn't that insane?!
sin deserves punishment. my sins deserve a penalty. sins done against me deserve retribution.
Christ gives the exact opposite... He not only cancels, voids, pardons all those sins, but takes it one step further and restores.

restoration
noun
a restoring to an unimpaired or improved condition
synonyms for restoring: recharge, recreate, refresh, regenerate, rejuvenate, repair, renew, resuscitate, revitalize, revive

read that list of synonyms again.
He takes our sin, our shame, our guilt, our dead souls and, in exchange, He gives us life, energy, vigor, vitality, oh and not to mention His love, guidance, peace, joy, hope, protection, and a future above and beyond anything we could think or imagine.
all we have to do is believe!!

yep, it's a good friday indeed.

by a different route...

"indeed, don't try to get there at all. it'll happen when you're not looking for it." - the professor, the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

how did it happen? so glad you asked. :)
just a few days after i blogged about not knowing where God would lead us next (the last blog i wrote actually) the husband received an unexpected call from fresh life, and quickly realized he was being offered a job. it seemed like an obvious open door, but we took time to pray about it anyways... (a good lesson we learned from joshua -- even if things "seem right", they may not be, so we need to seek God first in everything!)
after praying and talking about it for a few days, we knew we were supposed to go... so we are! at the end of the month. yeah, i know, i should've blogged about it sooner, but honestly i just kept thinking that we have another month before we leave, until my husband reminded me that we, in fact, are moving in two weeks. crazy!
it's amazing to see God work all this out... and all the ways that He's providing, confirming, and preparing for the move. He desires to bless us and give us a future - we just have to give it to Him, all to Him. love what my friend, crystal lewis, wrote on her blog about that very thing. it's not an easy thing to do... i think that's one reason why Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow or the next day, and offers new mercy every morning... we have to take it one day at a time. give God the wheel (or reigns, if you live in montana:)) today, it's not too late, it's only 3:45pm pacific time - God can still do a lot with the 7-8 hours left of march 15th. :)

"because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. great is His faithfulness, His mercies are afresh every morning."
lamentations 3:22-23

"seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. so don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries, today's trouble is enough for today."
matthew 6:33-34

there & back again...

"not all who wander are lost." - j.r.r. tolkien

march 8, 2011 :: after much prayer and various confirmations/urgings from God, i felt like it was time to focus on a book i've been slowly working on for years... so i put in my notice {a 3 month notice} at work...

march 20, 2011 :: the husband and i receive a completely unexpected, exciting email from our amazing friends in montana, inviting us to stay with them for a month or two that summer - to work on a record for their daughter, izzi, {which, btw, will be on itunes in about a month! woohoo!} and help out at the church... it was perfect timing!

april 3, 2011 :: we put in the notice to our landlord... knowing we didn't want to pay rent for our place during our six-week stay in montana.

may 1, 2011 :: moved into my parents' house to save for the big trip.

june 15, 2011 :: my last day at work

june 16-18, 2011 :: travelled through 5 states and finally made it to our much-anticipated destination :: whitefish, montana!

june - august 2011 :: the husband worked on izzi's project, and i worked on the book... then decided to stay until the end of august... but God had other plans! the skull church band wanted to cut a record, so guess who they hired? yep, the husband...

sept - november 2011 :: husband worked on the skull church project and kept playing with phil wickham, flying out on weekends, etc... i continued to work on the book, wrote another children's book {for the little tykes}, and began painting and drawing again.

a week before thanksgiving 2011 :: God provided for us to stay until early december.

december 7, 2011 :: we said emotional good-byes {ok, i was the one that got emotional} to the people and place we had come to know as "home" and began our trek back down to california.

december 9, 2011 - now 2012 :: adjusting to california life in the fast lane, enjoying holidays with our families, catching up with friends, getting our fill of portola and kean, and keeping busy with projects and the book {yep, still writing}.

i'm not exaggerating when i say that the last 10 months have been life changing and we really have no idea what's next! we do know that we're supposed to stay where we're at for the next few months but after that... we're still just praying. :) which is so exciting and maybe scary to some people, but i like to look at it as an adventure... God's in control, He knows what's next, so i don't need to worry about it. i love what beth moore said in her inheritance study - "if you're a christian and your life is boring, then something's wrong."
through this whole experience, we've learned a ton, but the one thing that sticks out the most is the calling {for every christian} to walk by faith, not by sight. where God guides, He provides. sometimes God only reveals a tiny bit of His plan, just enough for us to move - just move one step. because let's be honest, if He were to reveal His whole plan, we'd get in the way. we'd start worrying about the details and the 'how' of it all. He knows that about us, and i think that's one of the reasons he asks us to live by faith over and over in His word - it's an act of giving up our will for His, letting go of what little control we think we have in our lives and willingly asking Him to lead.
life should not, cannot, will not be boring if you are walking by faith with Jesus Christ! just do it! :)

as iron sharpens iron

have you ever really thought about that phrase? i always hear it, say it, read it - "as iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend" {proverbs 27:17} but i can honestly say that i've never really really thought about it. i mean, after some quality coffee time with one of my godly girlfriends, i always think "yeah! as iron sharpens iron - that person sharpens me!" and i'm not saying that's not part of it, but i think the word sharpen implies a little more than that.
can you picture a rough piece of iron, scraping/shaping/filing/grinding another piece of iron? ouch. that can't feel great, in fact, i think it's safe to say that has to hurt. but what's the end result? a smooth, pointed piece of metal - fit for one's use.
recently, a close friend of mine challenged me. it hurt a little initially; it's hard to listen to someone call you out on something, even if it's done in love... but it was exactly what i needed to hear. now i can't stop thinking about it, and how thankful i am for her - a friend that loves and cares about me enough to not allow me to become complacent and comfortable... sharpening me so that i can be fit for One's use - God's use.

{btw - i know the photos are cheesy but they're the best that google had to offer... and i just had to give you an illustration} :)

monday pick-me-up :: a wedding in wine country!

...and not just any wedding. the wedding of my brother in law {my husband's twin} and his lovely bride!!! jules and andrea have known each other for about 7 years, dated for about 2 1/2 years, and engaged for the last 2 months. needless to say, we have all been anxiously awaiting this moment... and it couldn't have been more amazing... i don't think there was a dry eye. i can't even describe the beauty and perfection of that gloriously happy day... so i won't try, i'll just let the photos speak for themselves. :)

i was given the honor of creating their wedding invitations and chalking the ceremony details on their handmade blackboard! maybe i'm biased, but they are by far my favorite invites i've had the privilege of making.

venue :: ponte winery, temecula ca
photography :: ryan garvin photography
dress :: vera wang for david's bridal
cupcakes :: truly madly sweetly
email me if you're in need of some hand-drawn invitations! {shameless, i know}

happy monday!!