Blooming in the Desert

"The desert and parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy." Isaiah 35:1-2

Before I moved to Arizona I thought the desert was always brown and because it is so dry here flowers would not bloom and flourish. I was wrong. I have been in awe of all the beautiful blooms I have found in the desert. I love how the Lord designed each flower and made it so unique and beautiful. As I think of the flowers blooming, I also think of my move to Arizona two years ago. It was hard to adjust and to be content in a new city. I can say now, after 2 years of being in the desert, that the Lord is causing me to "bloom" and no sandstorm (trial) can cause my petals to wilt. God is so faithful and good as He continues to love and lead me. I pray He will keep blooming me!

Pray for Katherine Arnold Wolf

Katherine Arnold Wolf (a girl I went to Samford University with and had many classes together in Christian Women’s Leadership) is in need of our prayers. You might of seen her on "Smarter than a 5th Grader" a few weeks ago; it was taped when she was 8 months pregnant.

On Monday Katherine was rushed to the hospital after collapsing and underwent emergency brain surgery which lasted about 13 hours.

"It ends up that Katherine had a congenital condition called Arteriovenous Malformation, which as we understand it essentially means that she had a huge tangle of veins and arteries at the base of her brain, some of which began to rupture. It was the brain’s exposure to blood from this massive rupture which has potentially caused much of the long term damage. The surgeons would not speculate as to her potential for recovery, coma or time in Intensive Care.
Praise God! Katherine has started to respond. Last night a nurse was able to get Katherine to wiggle her toes and hold up two fingers from each hand. Later she repeated this for her husband and also squeezed his hand. When her husband told her his cousin was there, she turned slightly and opened her eyes briefly. We are all bursting with gratitude to God at this wonderful glimmer of hope. Katherine is not in a coma and in fact is not under any sedation any more. She's not awake yet, but things are moving in the right direction. Keep praying! That said, we want to emphasize that her situation is still VERY CRITICAL, and prayer is needed even more than ever today as swelling and complications are always the most serious on the 3rd day. The Lord is all we have to hold on to right now!”

Katherine lives in LA with her husband who is in law school at Pepperdine. She is the mother of a 6-month old baby. Please pray for her recovery and check the caring bridge site for updates and prayer requests.

Thank you for praying!

Fun Times

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend! It was so wonderful spending time with our good friends! It went by too quickly! I am hoping Avril will come in September when Kurtis is out of town and help me do a faux finish in our bedroom!

The tortoises at Kurtis' parents house

GQ Models

Avril is so funny!

A bobcat! What a rare sighting!



Playing golf at Starpass

They Made It!

After hours in the Dallas airport and many flights cancelled, our good friends from St. Louis made it to Tucson! They arrrived on Friday at 2 in the morning. I just can't believe they are here. I will blog more about our time with them, but for now we are having an amazing time catching up and just enjoying one another. After a few overwhelming weeks I was looking forward to refreshing conversations with Avril and Kevin! Sure enough I got what I hoped for!

Below are some pictures from Avril's Birthday Celebration at McClintock's!

Curious

I am interested in knowing about some events in your life!

What is a recent blessing you have received?

What has challenged you recently?

A Miracle Story

My heart has been touched by a family I have never met! One of my college friends had a link to their blog on their facebook page. I have been following their blog for many months and have been encouraged and inspired by this family's journey! I have wept many tears.
This amazing story can be found here!

The blog is written mostly from the husband's perspective! The wife has cystic fibrosis and has been waiting for a double lung transplant. They dreamed of having a family, but doctors told them it would be too risky. But God blessed them with a miracle baby! She was born 15+ weeks early! The baby remains in NICU and doing well. Today, they got a call that there is a donor for Tricia! She is in surgery! The match appears to be good. Tricia will wake up with new lungs tomorrow! God is so good!

Please visit their blog and pray for this family! It is amazing to see how God is using their story to touch millions of lives!

Clay Pots

2 Corinthians 4:7-12
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

I love how this passage uses the phrase "Jars of Clay"...what an amazing image.

Clay pots on the outside are very ordinary- you can find them anywhere and there is nothing special about them. But it is not our outside that Jesus is interested in. It is our inside, our heart that is the treasure!
I am but a clay pot- cracked in places, scrapped at times, and chipped off on the edges! However, God chose me, with all my cracks to bear His light!

My treasure is that Christ loves me, a plain pot! He has given me Himself to live in me, to be my treasure!

Things that bring me JOY

*The Lord
*Kurtis
*family
*friends
*Africa
*Costa Rica
*people who care
*random acts of kindness
*notes
*a kind word
*answered prayers
*friends and family visiting
*weddings
*good books
*humor
*nature
*Starbuck’s
*gerber daises
*children
*going out to eat
*picnics
*fellowship
*great sales
*snow
*the ocean
*massages
*pedicures
*home cooked meals
*my iPod
*a good parking spot
*leisurely drives

Backyard Project

Our backyard has been nothing but dirt for too long! It is time to do some construction and landscaping. Kurtis and his Dad have spent many weekends working hard! They have dug a few holes for trees, dug a trench and installed an irrigation system, and leveled out the backyard for a planter. Kurtis and I purchased flagstone to be delivered this week and then laid on our back porch. I am still deciding on patio furniture, so many choices! There are still plans to come and we hope to have the renovation complete before summer!

Digging a 6 foot hole for our first tree!

The tree is planted!

Digging the trench for the irrigation system!

The trench with pvc pipe and secondary irrigation line.

Kurtis with the pick! I love the expression on his face!

Another 6 foot hole for our citrus tree!

If You Want Me To

Right now I find myself at a low place and I am not sure when it will pass. I know the Lord is faithful to not give me anything more than I can bare, and that He will provide me with the strength to stand up under any test.
However, I don't want to look beyond my present situation because I don't want to miss out on what the Lord wants to teach me in this moment.

This song by Ginny Owens really illustrates where I am in my life.

If You Want Me To

The pathway is broken
And the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to

No I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to You
Then I will go through the fire
If You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When You lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'll never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through
And I will go through the darkness
If You want me to

I will walk through the valley if You want me to
Yes, I will walk through the valley if You want me to

Psalm 13

"How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?
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 LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
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."

This Psalm has been challenging and comforting to me this week. When I hide my face from the Lord I only have despair, but when my face is turned towards Him it shines and blessings and deliverance come! Thank you Lord for pursuing me in my restlessness, holding me in my brokenness, and freeing me from my loneliness. Thank you for exposing my heart! The Lord is ALWAYS Good!

Our Trip to Flagstaff

Kurtis and I had a great trip to Flagstaff. His family has a cabin south of Flagstaff. We enjoyed all the snow and fires! It was so fun to play together, relax, and take a trip as a married couple.

There was about 2 feet of snow on the deck that we needed to shovel.

Notice how deep my feet are in the snow!

We bought sleds and headed to the slopes!


The San Francisco Peaks

The snow was coming down and we needed to get our car out!