Monday, January 9, 2012

Death and the Search for Rest

Last weekend we went to Austin to celebrate a late Christmas with Sam's sister, her hubby and Mom and Dad Harvey. On Sunday we all went to Amanda and Tim's church, and the pastor reminded me of a thought I had a few weeks ago. He was talking about how humanity in general is essentially looking for rest. Our lives tend to be so jam-packed, that we're constantly running around trying to catch up with the whirls of this life. Meanwhile, Jesus promises us... rest.

The pastor discussed Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The only way we've been able to get through all this is clinging to Him. He is our medicine. He gives us relief unlike anything else. After the months we've had, I came to a realization a few weeks ago that may sound a bit creepy to some. I thought, "I cannot wait to be in Heaven with Him!" To be free from all burdens, free from pain, from stress, from menial earthly things... to spend eternity with Him. Every single thing that clutters my mind... gone. For the fist time in my life, I didn't fear death. What a wonderful joy it is to know that this imperfect world and my imperfect self are not "it".

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Bidding Adieu to my Bear

Happy New Year!

Sooo in the spirit of "new year, new beginnings", blah blah, I decided to go through stuff and get rid of anything I hadn't used in a while: clothes, knick knacks, you name it. I've had this flippin' ADORABLE bear for a couple of years now; Sam saw it at a store and bought it for me and I was THRILLED and melted when I first laid eyes on him (you'll see what I mean in a sec). Unfortunately since I'm not 5 years old, I can't carry him around everywhere I go and (blame watching all Toy Story movies this past week) I felt sad for the bear because all he was doing was collecting dust instead of being some kid's plaything.

So I decided to give him up.

But not before taking a bunch of parting shots. I HAD to share them.


Cuddliest stuffed animal ever!




Awwwww


Even his bow is cute...


...so are his paws.

Thanks for the good times, buddy!