For fun

Here's a new picture of my co-author.

A Doozy for Today

I don't usually go too deep with my posts, but here is a thought from the Desiring God blog today:

"When the ground of justification moves from Christ outside of us to the work of Christ inside of us, the gospel (and the human soul) is imperiled. It is an upside down gospel."

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:4-9

My sister (the one who's not 6) and I had a conversation yesterday about how sin in our lives is not so much each individual heinous act, but rather the condition we were born into, the condition we live in apart from Christ. Therefore, it was Jesus' work alone on the cross that justified us with God, because we would have been unable to do so even if we wanted to. Nothing I have done, am doing, or ever will do could bring me closer to God. In Christ alone my hope is found.

How it all began

Before 2004, I had never given much thought to the four branches of our military. I'm sure that if I thought about it hard enough, I could have come up with their names, but I knew little other than that. And I'm sure I would have made the mistake of calling any of them soldiers. Soldiers are in the Army. Sailors are in the Navy, Airmen (and women) are in the Air Force, and Marines are, well, Marines. All of this to say, I never thought I'd be married to any one of them.

B and I were married one month before he started law school. This was expected. But he began law school like many, planning to change the world one case at a time. It became evident within the first couple of weeks that we needed some sort of plan for after law school. There are many areas of law in which a fledgling law student can specialize. B had become friends with a guy named John and John was considering joining some branch of the military and becoming a JAG. B and John share an affinity for copious amounts of coffee, so they became good friends fast and soon the military lawyer idea began to swirl around in B's head too. Around this time also, B had lunch with my uncle who mentioned that B should look into joining the military. After this, it was time to talk to me. I can remember it like yesterday. It was a Thursday in November. We had just turned the lights out when he says to me, "What would you think about me joining the Marine Corps?" (Actually he started the conversation with, "There's something we need to talk about.." which he quickly learned is not the way to begin anything you don't want your wife to automatically freak out about.) Oddly, I felt a really strange peace in that moment and told him that I thought it was a good idea. He signed a law contract shortly after the beginning of the next year.

Now, almost 5 years, an OCS graduation, a law school graduation, a passed bar exam, a Superior Court clerkship, a TBS graduation, 5 months at a permanent duty station, and two promotions later, we are 5 weeks away from NJS graduation. (Whew!) This means that B will finally, FINALLY be a completely trained and official attorney for the Marine Corps.

Oh, and a Captain!

It's been a month

I'm such a sap this summer-I fully realize this, but bear with me. Today marks one month since I last laid eyes on the man that I love. That's the longest period of time we've ever gone without seeing one another since we started dating almost 7 years ago.

Earlier this afternoon I got my hair cut by my favorite stylist at bob (SALON) and since I had some time, I drove around Athens a little bit, taking in familiar sights and seeing lots of new things they're building on campus. As I did so, memories began to crash over me like a flood. Feelings of a different time in life. My mind kept repeating, "Gosh, I love this place. Gosh, I miss this place." And then it hit me. All of the memories that are so special to me are special to me because of B. Running at Intramural, meeting in the Founder's Garden for lunch, living in an apartment together for four years, riding B's motorcycle around town, rescuing said motorcycle from abandonment in several north campus parking lots, countless dinners with friends, rescuing several cats from precarious situations, etc, etc. Nothing is the same without him. He is my best friend, and I feel equally as fond of the memories that we have in Stafford, VA and Beaufort, SC. I've cried both times I've pulled back into Beaufort since he's been gone. It's not these places that are the thing I miss, it's that man I love. (A sap, I tell you! I'm a sap.)

But I have to tell you, there is such joy to be found in the Lord. It is beyond circumstances and I am learning that this summer.

All This Mercy

I began this post last week by writing about depravity, but I don't feel like that's what it's about. Until this summer, I've never given more than a cursory thought to mercy, but now it's rolling over me in waves. So instead of more words on depravity, here is the prayer I prayed this morning while rocking Elli to sleep:

Lord,

Help me love as I have been loved;
Have patience with her as you have had patience with me;
Endure as I have been endured;
Give grace as I have been given grace;
Show mercy as I have been shown mercy.

There is nothing good that I deserve and nothing bad that I don't, but in Your GREAT MERCY, you rescued me while we were enemies. And in full view of my indwelt sin, you come after me still.

Amen.

Mercy beats in my blood, giving more life than oxygen. It hems me in, behind and before, it prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies.

My Girl and Me

I got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I got the month of May...