Thursday, May 31, 2012

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

More on my weekend with this cutie to come, but for now, here we are as I long for us to be - together:

Monday, May 28, 2012

Thank you, veterans!

Right now, in the midst of a great visit enjoying a super happy 6 month old redheaded sweetie-pie, I want to take a moment and stop and remember what today is about.  Remembering those that have served and are currently serving, like the Yellow Hats, to protect and fight for our freedom.  We unfortunately often take your sacrifices for granted (I am guilty of this, I know), but we are greatly in your debt. Thank you, veterans, for your selfless service to our country!!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Aunt Sarah is on her way!

This time tomorrow I will be loving on this precious red-head, who, at the ripe old age of 4.5 months when this picture was taken, was already able to sit up on her own! :)  I am hoping we arrive in time for her last Mommy & me swim lesson so I can see how sweet Kaelynn does in the water.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Redemption

Sunday, the choir at church sang "It Feels Like Redemption".  I scribbled down a few of the lyrics, but you can find them all here.

"It feels like redemption
Raining down on me
It feels like forgiveness
Has come to set me free
All my chains have been lifted
'Cause when the hands of love
Touch a broken life
It feels like redemption"

Such a powerful song.  Such an amazing concept.  To redeem means to ransom, or to buy back.  The Lord has bought me, and you, back out of the slave market of sin.  We are no longer captives when we trust in His death on the cross solely as payment for our sins.

Aside from the wonderful redemption that occurs at salvation, there are many other times that the Lord can and (I'm living proof!) does redeem us - quite often from the mess we've made of our own lives by our own sinful choices.  I know that's what happened to me.  In my selfish disobedience, I let my heart get led astray.  I wandered long and far from my Shepherd.  One night many years ago, I nearly wandered off the edge - the edge from which one cannot turn back.

And then - and THEN - came redemption.  He bought me back.  Just like that.  The Shepherd took His crook and He pulled this wayward sheep back into the fold in just the nick of time.  When His hands of love touched my brokened life, it not only felt like redemption, it was!

That was many years ago - 12.5 to be exact.  I hope I never forget what it felt like on that morning after my huge redemption when I realized I had been given (not a second, I had passed that number years ago!) but YET ANOTHER chance - it was freedom and fresh air and strength.  And it was all HIM.

Since then He continues to faithfully redeem me when I make a mess of things because I feel like I need to control everything (as if the creator of the universe and the one that knitted my heart together doesn't know better?) - or because I'm tired of waiting...His sovereign timing is perfect and he says 1000 years are like a day...

What have you been redeemed from?  Big and small, it's all significant.  Redemption is freeing, life-giving and restorative.  It's something that in the purest form, only our God can give us.  I hope we all remember to be grateful for redemption.