Lake weekend at Bannister’s incredible lake house, just incredible beauty and comfort. Dinner together at Eagle Mountain Boat Club and relaxing all weekend

Humble yourselves, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Believing you for this, Lord.

Icy Monday night at the Rodeo with great people

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New Morning Mercies

What is the most needed, yet most dangerous, prayer you could ever pray? It is the one prayer that takes you beyond the small-picture hopes and dreams that kidnap so much of your prayer. The one prayer Christ calls us all to pray requires us to let go of our momentary agendas and take up his eternal one. It requires us to surrender our distorted sense of need to his perfect sense of what is best.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, right here, right now in my life as it is in Heaven.” Matt 6:10

We have been gifted with a King, who gives us every good thing we need. Why live for what will pass away? Why give my searching heart to what will never satisfy? Why tell myself that I know what I need, when the One who created me knows better AND has promised to deliver?

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My therapy

Essie’s bright heart, strength, optimism

Bran skiing with about ten friends in Telluride (and that they all came home uninjured)

Corbin’s date with Essie at the Drover – 97 West

A WEEK of cancelled school and work with the ice storm, a week of sitting by the fire in PJs

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How much Basden loves Auburn and her friends

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ChiO Crush

“Prayer in the night” – I was dreading reading this, because it seemed sad to me. But it’s a message of freedom to grieve the ordinary hard things of life, and freedom to not have to pull myself up to manufactured joy.

  • “The Psalms are dramatic. And life – even ordinary life – is dramatic, drenched in meaning, full of glorious beauty and deep pain.”
  • “The practice of praying the Psalms teaches us both to weep and to laugh – and it teaches us what to weep and laugh about.”

Ps 13 – How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death… but I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

Becca here, especially during the ice week – all shut in together, working from home during the day and eating meals together in the evenings. She is so so easy and a total joy.

“This is my doing.”

Long solo walk in the snow

Liv and Becca here, makes it more fun for Essie and all of us

Playing marbles and jokers

Watching tv at night with Corbin, knowing we can sleep later

Cross and Ruby, how happy they make Essie. That you protected them the other night when I accidentally left them outside during the Rodeo (!)

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Basden’s full week, how hard she works and remains joyful even in stress

Makes all the difference that they’re in Auburn together – pic from a dinner date

Allison and Noodle staying with us – they are our people!! So loved our time with them!

Bran – good friends and a precious girlfriend who made his 23rd birthday so special

Bran’s 2nd Fencetrees album released on his birthday

Formal Canwick with Charlie – Essie said it was a 10/10, most fun dance she’s been to. Casino night, she got to see her Paschal friends and won Texas Hold Em, so fun. I’m so thankful she had a fun evening

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Our family Valentine cards, truly going down memory lane to read the captions year to year. Essie’s help getting them out this year!

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Rodeo  with O’neals and two sets of grandparents for the finale. Dinner together at Flower Child, then rodeo – they are just precious friends

Lord, trusting you to replace the weight of my concerns with the weight of God’s glory – Kavod– let his cloak, armor, be our comfort and shield

Such a full weekend, it was lovely with lovely people, but now I’m ready for another ice storm (!)

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles… 1 Chron 16:11-12