The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

[Chorus]
-10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman


This morning, Justin and I woke my best friend, Keri to a guitar and morning-voice rendition of Happy Birthday. Then, my sweet husband said, "Alright. Now are you ready to worship?" and commenced an hour of praise and worship music, ending with my personal fav right now, 10,000 Reasons, which we sang at our wedding. Love it. 


We really are blessed. Truly. I wish my heart went to thanks each day instead of complaining about whipped cream that is light rather than regular... instead of wishing my kiwi was a bit more ripe or my peach a bit more juicy. Thanks, God, for awesome food to eat and traffic to sit in and a beach to look at off an eighth floor balcony. Thanks for bloody noses and headaches, too. 


Last Tuesday in US Comm devos, we watched a Legacy video about the Big Thompson flood that took 8 staff women's lives. We watched Dr. Bright saying how he didn't know for over 12 hours if Vonette was alive, but he chose to give thanks. 


Wow. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, Let me be singing when the evening comes... For all your goodness I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. 


My prayer is that this would be ever true of my walk with the Lord, my marriage to Justin, my relationship with my family and friends... O, Lord, let my lips always praise You and give thanks in all things. In. All. Things.

grandparents

I don't have any living grandparents and never had the privilege of meeting a great grandparent, although mine were pretty great.

In 1970 my mother's dad, John Hall Parsons, died when she was 13 years old; her first day of high school.  

My mother's mom, Adele, whom we affectionately called, MomMom was widowed with nine children, ages 6-24.  A few years later she moved to St. Petersburg, FL from Moorestown, NJ with her two youngest girls. A few of the older siblings followed and established homes in the Miami and Crystal River areas of Florida.

My mother moved down after high school in 1975.

MomMom never remarried, but met a PT Boater/Veteran, Jay Williams who moved in with her sometime in the 1980s. After five years, they were "common-law" married according to the state of Florida. Pop Jay became the only grandpa I knew on my mom's side of the family.

My father's parents lived in Butler, PA for most of his life until the 1970s when they also moved to Florida. Only a mere 2 miles from my mother. 

PopPop and Grandma were what we called my father's parents, Domer and Annabelle Kinneer.

PopPop died in 1996 of heart failure. It was a sad time. Besides my wedding day, PopPop's funeral is the only time I've seen my father cry. 

My family lived within 3 miles of all our grandparents until the day we moved to North Carolina, December 5, 1998.

After we moved, I would drive or fly down to Florida for the summers to stay with MomMom and see all my friends.

Pop Jay died in 2000 after battling fluid in his lungs, pneumonia and other various hindrances, including old age.

On June 6, 2008, after a few years of dealing with dementia, my MomMom died two months after her 85th birthday. She was probably my favorite. Close tie between her and Grandma. They were great. Many good memories and stories... 

And finally, on September 18, 2010 my 86-year old Grandma passed away at her daughter's house in Pennsylvania. Her heart was bad and her health had been fading for many years.

All of my grandparent's deaths were sad, but MomMom and Grandma's deaths were especially significant because they ended the role of "parents" in my parent's lives. My mother and father were both left without a parent and us kids were left without grandparents. 

It's weird to think about but Justin will never know them. Our kids won't have great-grandparents just like me. And I won't ever know Justin's grandparents either... the last of his died a few years back. 

I didn't mean for this to be a gloomy post, more of a memorial. And I have so many stories to tell that I couldn't rabbit-trail off into those... but maybe for another post. :) 

I feel like those are stories I need to tell or at least write down. I'd like to tell my kids about them one day...

rediscovering my normal

My routines, systems, daily habits, schedules, menu, sleep cycles, timeliness: busted. 

Spending time in the Word with my husband every day: our only constant.

I guess when you compare the two, at least the one that should be important, is. Right?

Marriage has not only enlightened me even more to my own insecurities, but completely defines and daily reaffirms the vows I made to Justin on June 9:

I promise to respect you. To honor you. To put you before my own selfish needs. 

I promise to listen to you and to listen to the Lord with you... earnestly seeking to experience the presence of our Living God. 

I promise to pray with you. Every day.

I promise to give thanks in all things.

I promise to subject and submit myself to you, in the fear of Christ, knowing this union is not about my happiness or what I will receive from you, but about our sanctification.

I promise to always stand up for you, never belittling you in front of you or behind your back.

I promise to be gentle and kind. Quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. 

I promise to daily lavish you with love, keeping your cup full so you never have to look for it elsewhere.

I promise to always bring out the KING in you, calling out and praising your gifts and strength.

I promise to love you well.

I promise to live life with open hands, not holding tightly to the things of this world.

I promise to represent our family well, as your wife, living confidently and also humbly as a woman of God.

I promise to be filled with faith, even when you are not or don't feel like it.

I promise to live willing to lay down my life for you.

I promise to die to myself daily, following and obeying Christ first, then you.

I promise to be a wife to you, and a mother to our children. In that order.

I promise to fulfill this covenant we are making today before God, one another, our family and friends.

Justin has made achieving these vows rather easy, save for "giving thanks in all things." That has been one that I've had to make a conscious effort to keep... and sometimes I say it sarcastically and yet the Spirit grabs hold of my heart moments later and I repent, go to Justin and ask forgiveness. It's been incredible, really. The "iron sharpening iron" that takes place almost moment-by-moment this past month.

So... yeah. There's a lot more to be said and that I've had rolling around in my head. But for now, this will suffice. Many lessons to be learned = many more blog entries of me admitting what a mess I am and how desperately in need of a Savior I am. :D