March Madness...Or Something

Aha, it is March, and I am writing a blog post! While March hasn't ended yet, it has been quite packed...In addition to surviving my second-to-last subterm, I spent time with dear friends, road-tripped to the beach with Sweet Pea (to also be joined by the rest of the family later), and explored a nearby town with a dearest friend. 

My Lord is faithful, and has been revealing so much to me lately. Specifically, about just how sinful I am, how amazing his grace is, and the magnitude of His Spirit inside His children. I mean, how crazy is it that the Spirit of God -- the Holy God, the Creator of the World -- indwells those who are saved by Christ? God loves us so much that He gave His Son -- God in flesh -- to die a gruesome death to offer a means of salvation to humanity -- humanity who by nature live in opposition of Him! Seriously amazing.

In closing, here are some pictures from the first half of this month.

 Lovely spur-of-the-moment visit with this lady! We enjoyed exploring downtown, getting a free tour of a historic building, and even got a free truffle!

Spring is coming!

 Sweet Pea (16) and I had a lovely time road-tripping down to the beach to surprise our grandmother for her birthday! The rest of the family joined us about three hours after we arrived, and we all had a lovely time spending time with our grandparents, each other, and at the beach!

 Sweet Pea. 💗

 Amazingda, The Chunk (1), Strong Ox, and Mini-Man (11)

 The Chunk, Squish (4), and Strong Ox "playing" Frisbee with a boomerang...It worked decently well with those of us above 4 threw it around (as in, we didn't know how to throw a boomerang correctly so we threw it like a frisbee)...

 Love these two, so very much.

 The Chunk started eating the sand when no one was looking. Contrary to appearances, we quickly removed the sand from his mouth upon discovery.

 Strong Ox and I playing "Frisbee"...sort of. Let the record note that I do sometimes do sports! Also, when you're trying to compete against your big and tall older brother, he's likely to win if you're both headed toward the same frisbee and you value your life! 

 Auntie Sweet Pea and Squish reading before bed.

 A few of us stayed in a rented condo; this was the morning view of the backyard. It was truly beautiful.

 Sweet Pea, Munchette, and I briefly stopped in town after a morning walk on the beach.

 I seriously love this child!

 Footprints in the sand.

 This dear sister, the beach, and messy, windblown hair!

 Peachy and I found a Groupon in January for a fancy hotel in a nearby town! We planned this trip as a Christmas present for me from her, a birthday present from me to her, to celebrate her two-year graduation from nursing school, and to celebrate the beginning of my last spring break before graduation! 

 Our room had a balcony with a private hot tub!

We watched part of a "Spongbob Squarpants" show, and were slightly traumatized and also a smidgen amused...But mostly traumatized. haha

 Visiting the Saturday Market

 We also went to a fancy chocolate shop that has all sorts of (nice) chocolate...chocolate snob that I am, I ended up purchasing three (expensive) bars...oops....Peachy was wise and just purchased 1 bar and a shot of chocolately espresso.

After lunch at a vegan cafe (because I'm dairy free and we wanted something delicious we could both have), we discovered this lovely wall, so we took a picture of it. 

And this concludes my mandatory March report reporting much miscellaneous mischief! And now to wait for my grades from this last subterm to come through... 

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia

Two Years Since Our Last (Earthly) Goodbye

As my grandmother's passing approached its February 18 two-year mark this week, her life and her death have frequently been on my mind. She loved selflessly and deeply to the very end. Her last words were directed toward Squish: "I love you too." 

May we never forget to thank our Lord for the time we had with her on this earth. I pray that someday I will see her again, where death has no power and all of our tears are wiped away. 

Roses from her memorial service, where we comforted one another and shared precious memories of her kindness, snarky attitude, and giving spirit.

Those roses are still in my room, and serve as a sweet reminder of the precious grandmother we had. 

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

Revelation 21:1-6 (English Standard)

February Reflections: School, Singles Awareness Day, and Miscellaneous Memories

Aha, I'm actually following through on my "goal" to post something once a month! (Ignore that this is only the second month of the year)

Okay, so I'm in the middle of studying right now -- drafting a discovery plan for a hypothetical divorce, and it is a beast, so I'm actually procrastinating -- and decided now would be a good a time as any to post some reflections on this past month...

First, school has started again (I can't believe I'm halfway through my second-to-last term!) and, thankfully, my post-break blues are wearing off so I only have moderate senioritis. In other words, God has been gracious and helped me to be able to focus and get assignments done on time. 

Second, since it is February and -- I supposed -- duty demands it, Valentines Day happened. Here is where any readers discover I'm single (haha). However, contrary to many individuals' feelings of the day raising awareness of their singleness, while I felt kind of sad about not getting free flowers or dairy free chocolate, I was not bothered or "made more aware" of my singleness. When Paul wrote about single people using their singleness to promote a single-minded focus on Christ, he knew what he was talking about. While I'm not perfect, and do sometimes struggle with fears of being eternally single, I really want to take this time to grow more in my relationship with Christ and his people, serve the church, and get to know and minister to (and be ministered to by) my peers at our new church. Also, I selfishly like being independent, and having a significant other does limit such independence...

 My grandparents on New Year's Eve (sorry, I know it's not from February - but they are so sweet).

 The side of the front desk that clients don't see. The "Farside" comic has an interviewer with a puppet in his hand saying "Mr. Whiskers always comes with me on interviews." It is amusing.

 "Poppi" and The Chunk at church...The Chunk (1) fell asleep on Poppi and it was very cute.

 Saturdays spent at coffee shops with coffee (although I am NOT addicted to it anymore!), Family Law, and Organizational Business Law. 

Nicole and I went to a folk dance several weeks ago, and it was fun watching her dance (I danced too, but not during this dance)! She's a super cute dancer... 

 The heavens declare his glory!

 Clari and Cowboy got a house! And it's only ten minutes away! Squish (4) and The Chunk were "helping" Clari move a box. Clari asked for help, and The Chunk promptly climbed on top of the box, waiting for a ride.

 Squish loves SnapChat and snuggling. 

 And making silly faces. 💗

 What is a post without a bowl of dairy free ice cream? ...Just that.

 The Chunk and his daddy, Strong Ox. 

This is how I usually feel while watching the Super Bowl. This year, however, while I didn't know what was going on during the game, I rooted for the Eagles! Not because I knew how well they played, but because the quarter back, Nick Foles, goes to Liberty University Online (just like me!) and he and other players are Christians!

Anyways, I must return to my studies, but can now check writing a blog post off my February "to-do" list.

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia

2018: Non-Resolution Hopes

Bring'n in a totally groovy new year at our church's New Year's Eve Party! (left to right: Pollywog (19), Sweet Pea (16), Munchette (too old to mention), Mozarella (18), and me)

George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior, Rule the 6th:  "Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not when others stop." 

I've never really been one to make official resolutions on a New Year's Eve. Certainly, the beginning of a new year is a perfect opportunity to resolve to make changes in one's life, and I've even done some of that, but wouldn't go so far as to say they are resolutions. I don't want to make promises to make myself "better" and fail to follow through. So, this year, I've made some changes but am not titling them "resolutions"; they are more like "goals I hope to meet by God's grace." 

One of those (which I'm not sure I'll maintain) is to post on this blog once a month. Upon reflection of 2017, I realized that reflection on the past year was actually a struggle; my hope is that by blogging at least once a month, I'll have a bit of a "paper trail" about the past year and be able to recall how far the Lord has brought me since the beginning of the year.

A few other hopes I have are as follows:

1. Consistently spend more time in God's Word -- not just reading it more, but actually meditating and slowing down enough to allow His Word to transform my thoughts and actions.

2. Love others more -- Our Lord commands us to love Him first and then to love others. These are tremendous commands, as the true definition of love goes against sin nature; true love is presented by God giving us His one and only Son to die (and be killed by those He came to save) so that we (who deserve nothing but condemnation) might have communion with Him. This saving grace God had on us should be shown -- as much as is humanly possible by the Lord's grace -- to others. Are we loving others simply because we love them or just because we feel good by loving them? 

A few weeks ago, we watched the new "Ben-Hur" movie. While this movie is very flawed and does not even paint an accurate picture of the gospel, the crucifixion of Jesus (a very small portion of the movie) stuck out to me. The masses, full of hatred for Jesus, ridiculed, tortured, and ultimately murdered Him. Him who created them. While they reviled Him, he did not revile in return. Instead, he rose again to justify us, that all who simply call on His name in repentance may be saved from their sins. We are saved by the very LORD we rejected and murdered. Wow. 

3. Serve seflessly at church -- My family and I started attending a different church in early May of last year. Working and going to school has made it challenging to serve at our church; but so has self-centeredness and fear.  My hope is that -- possibly after graduation -- I'll be able to faithfully invest time and effort into serving this body of Christ that has been such a blessing to me.

4. Graduate from college -- this is on a different, much lower level than above. By the Lord's grace and His grace alone!), I hope to graduate from Liberty University Online. While four months is not far off, the four classes remaining are going to be some of the most challenging I've ever taken. With a full-time job and these classes (which are full-time as well), I'll only finish strong by my Savior's help and strength. I struggle with anxiety, time-management, writer's block, feeling stupid, and laziness. 

With those resolves (but not resolutions since I know I can't follow through on any of them by my own strength!) in mind, I hope that 2018 brings glory to Christ as he gives grace to trust Him more.

In closing, here are some pictures of a trip my family and I took to the mountains on January 2. Enjoy!

 His creation declares His glories.

 So, so thankful for my Daddy. He is one of the most loving, talented, and selfless people I know.

 Gubby (14), Dad, Munchette, and Pollywog.

 Mozzarella 

 It was very icy snow, so we enjoyed sledding on normal sleds and on our stomachs, like penguins. 

 Pollywog and me. Pollywog is growing up so fast -- she started nursing school earlier this month! She would appreciate your prayers as she begins this rigorous new lifestyle!

 Sweet Pea -- she is such a sweet, talented young adult. 

Mom, Sweet Pea, Pollywog, and Munchette trying to look "too cool for school."

 Sweet Pea and Si, a dear friend who is currently staying with us.

 These little birds  -- which we grew up calling Camp Robbers -- were flying onto our hands for corn chip bits, and making us feel like Disney princesses and princes in the process!

So, so thankful for family.

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia