Royal Wedding: Prince William and Catherine

Sarah reminded me that today was the Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding.
I was eager to see what Kate Middleton's bridal gown would look like and found myself pulled into the Royal Wedding vacuum. It was so beautiful to watch--the dresses, the ceremony, the exchange of vows, and the priestly blessing were all so elegant and perfect.
Watch the Royal Wedding Live!
The Royal Wedding Page
William and Catherine become Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Strathearn, and Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus
'First Kiss' on Balcony of Buckingham Palace
Royal Wedding Hats
Duchess Catherine's Dress:

"Workers washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean."

It was a Fairy Tale Wedding...like stepping between the pages of the Cinderella in the Brother's Grimm.
But it made me so excited...
For the wonderful gift of salvation He has given me:

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."~61:10

I also thought it interesting that Kate Middleton is not nobility, yet she married Prince William and can be Queen Catherine the Sixth.
It reminded me that, although I am not of royal blood, the Son has chosen me for his Bride and His Father has adopted me as an heir to his eternal blessings.
What a blessing it is to be called an heir and child of God:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."~Galatians 4:4-7

If I could not hold a pen I would write of You on my heart instead You have bought me with Your blood And I am painted red by Your love

Until You found me,
I was all alone;
My soul was black and cold,
But You loved my heart of stone.

Now Sonshine showers me

From Your storehouse above...
And You wash my heart red
With Your raindrops of Love.

poem/pictures: "Sonshine and Lovedrops" by me
post title: JJ Heller, "Painted Red"

The Beauty of the Bible...

I've recently been reading as the Spirit leads me...or trying to. It's hard to fall out of a reading program because I'm so fond of schedules. This morning, I read Psalms 40.
When I reached the end, I thought, "I need to share this on the blog today!" Then I reconsidered. "But it's just a Psalm," I thought, "Nobody will want to read it."
But I still felt like I should post it.
I felt ashamed that I would think that I should share a special blog post that I had written and would blow your mind with the revelation of it...
I think too often we get caught up in words of our own when we should be consumed by the Word of God.
And I have to ask myself, "How often do I sit in awe of the fact that the God of Eternity used humble human hands to write letters of love to me?"
There shouldn't be anything that captures my heart or my love more than the beauty of His Words:

"To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth--Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me."

What is your 'One Thing'?

A few days ago, my mom and I were listening to Francis Chan’s talk on the Desiring God conference. We are both big fans of his speaking and love his books. This time, he was speaking about prayer. He talk was on Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love, A Personal Journey. When he spoke of prayer, it hurt my heart. I longed for and greatly desired to have a relationship with God like he does.

It’s not that I don’t love God…I just feel like I’ve become numb over the past few years.

When I was little, I would jump at the chance to pray for anything. My dad called me a little “Prayer Warrior.” I loved praying to God and I thought that prayer must have been my Spiritual Gift.

Over the past few years, I’ve become awkward when I pray. I stumble and feel embarrassed when I’m done. I don’t feel eager to pray; I avoid it at all costs. The only time I don’t feel this way is when I am alone. I can pray to God then, when there’s nobody around to hear me except Him. But I’ve found that prayer for me has not been a walk of love, but a walk of requests and thanksgiving.

Mr. Chan opened my eyes to my sins—I haven’t been walking with God in love. I can’t imagine if I only went to my Dad just to ask for something or gave him brief thanks for something he’d given me. Our relationship has been built on spending time with one another.

That’s how it should be with God. I’ve found that the way love speaks to me the most is through time and gifts. In my relationship with God, that should mean giving up my time to read the Bible and speak to God, sacrifice idols in my life, offer praises sweet as incense to Him.

Mr. Chan spoke of times when God had answered his prayers. Sometimes the prayers were crazy—like the time he went golfing with his friends. They all had new drivers and he had an old, used one. On his drive home, he prayed to God, telling Him about how he felt about the drivers and how he wanted a new one, but felt selfish for doing so. The next day, Mr. Chan went to speak at a church and they told him, “We’ve heard that you don’t accept honorariums, so we wanted to give you this driver instead.” Isn’t that crazy?

In the end, he said he’d been “camping out” on this verse from Psalms 27:

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

He said he was trying to have this as the one thing he desired for a week.

I always jump at the opportunity to do something proactive. So, I tried his challenge.

Let me warn you: it’s really hard.

But it’s brought me to realize that my God hasn’t been the God that I actively love and actively loves me. He’s been the background God—a dead God that did something that changed my life a long time ago, but isn’t important enough to be my friend.

Now let me ask you, “What is your one thing? What is the one thing that you desire, the one thing that you seek? Is there room in your life to give up asking for other things—at least for a week—and seek after this one, beautiful thing?”

My lovely Mother and Father...

My Mother is the most beautiful person I know. She and my Dad have such a heart for God. I'm so thankful God put me exactly where I am in life, in my family...

My Mom posted yesterday about the 25th anniversary of her and my dad's first date. They are so sweet and romantic.

From her blog:

"A few years ago my husband and I started celebrating the day we became a couple.

"It was the day I gave him my class ring and he committed to write only to me while he was away. It was a snowy, January day, and he was returning to the Army base where he was stationed, almost five hours away.

"That was our beginning.

"We married 18 months later and our story has it's ups and downs just like most people's do.

"It wasn't until five and a half years later that we started to live for God as a couple."

Please read the rest here...

Frantic Friday: Broken Relationships and Grace that Mends Broken Hearts

I know, I just added the title and I kind of like it.

It definitely fits the way I jump out of bed (or want to roll over with a pillow over my eyes) on Fridays. The last weekday is usually hectic for me.

Starting the morning with blogging, I have to catch a shower after slouching over the computer for way too long, make myself look as presentable as possible for my day to be Maid! Yeah, I'm the “housekeeper” for our family.
It might not sound too bad—as it really isn't so difficult—but I've always been a procrastinator.

And I have definitely procrastinated in the last few years of my life.

As a result I was not ready when this year came around.

When I was little I didn't get along with my older brother. I was mean to him and blamed him for all of our disagreements. I lived in anger towards him for many years. I blamed my discontent and our lack of friendship and love on him. As I grew in my teen years, I realized with bitterness that he had changed greatly into a humble, Godly man. And I—in my self-absorbed world—had not.

I was rude, rebellious, disobedient, and ashamed of myself.
Then, about a year or two ago, God opened my eyes and I finally understood what true Grace was. He began to change my heart and now I know it's only by His grace that I now have a true love for my brother. And I do love him. And he teases me and I try to laugh instead of getting angry. It's still a struggle, but now that God has changed my heart, I have no excuse.

I have never felt more bitterness and utter shame for anything I've done than what I did to my relationship with my brother. Yet there is not a more glorious feeling than knowing that God's Grace has saved me—an unworthy daughter, sister, and friend.
2010 brought many changes to our household, leaving my oldest brother in a neighboring state and my other brother across the country. My sister is also out of the house very often because of work, and this fall I'll be taking classes full-time. Our family is entering a new stage in life. But more than feeling sad and forlorn, I greatly praise God that He gave me such Grace in my relationship with my brother—and in all my relationships—before our family spread apart.
My whole point in this post is that you never know about life. You never know if next year the brother that's “so annoying...it's all his fault we can't get along...” or “he’s too little to be my friend…” will suddenly be grown up and leave home to start a new life. Or leave this earth for heaven. Now that God has opened my eyes I watch with pain as I see broken relationships in families.
God put us on this earth to glorify Him and if we're in a family where there is no brotherly or parental love we are failing to honor where He has placed us in life.
I'm not saying this as a person who has conquered...but as one who is daily praying for the Grace to win the battle. Just as Jesus told His disciples,

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” Luke 9:23-25

And now may the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
In Christ,
Anna