"You complete me."

The quote is from Ice Age, and is the common saying of the wonderful, the amazing, the one-and-only Ashlie Mae Keimig.  There's a lot of situations I could apply to that statement, but in this post, we're going shallow... the loveseat and chair complete the newly purchased sofa!

For those of you who don't know, my parents offered to buy us a couch back in September.  Well, being the ridiculously frugal and picky people that we are, it took us 7 1/2 months to decide on which one to purchase.  On Wednesday we finally landed on this Pompeii-Natuzzi, dark brown ("llama" to be official)  Italisofa from The Inkwell.  It was on a close-out sale and we got a killer deal for my parents.  

Well of course, I am never content (it's something I need to work on), and when I saw the WHOLE set, I wanted it.  We wrestled with the best option, whether or not to purchase it and eventually (3 days later) decided to go ahead and get it.  So now, our little living room is all set and the sofa is happy with it's friendly counterparts.  You complete me.

C.M.

I just needed to take a moment to tell everyone something... I absolutely adore these people! Josh & Krissa Dorfner are amazing, wonderful people and I love them so much. They bring wonderful joy to my life. Okay, now I'm done saying "they". Yes, I love Joshy very much, but really, I just want everyone to know how much I love the lovely lady in this picture! (I'm cut and dry, brutally honest)... So, Josh, enough about you...

... Krissa Jeanne Stephens Dorfner. Cookie Monster. My best friend. Going on 12 years of friendship. Sisterhood. She's been with me through thick and thin, and taught me so much about life and God's love and grace. I had the immense privilege to be used by the Lord to tell her about His salvation in 2002, 8 years ago.... I'm so happy she let me be part of her decision to follow Christ, and allowed me to help baptize her. She reminds me everyday of the power of prayer. When I cry, she cries with me and then makes me laugh. She rejoices with me when I'm happy, and always brings me back to reality. Honesty is always in her words. Basically, I just really love this girl to death! And I thought everyone should know. Enough Said.

The Wonderful Cross

Candy. For children especially, that's the first that comes to mind when they hear "Easter". The "Easter Bunny" (usually grandma) gives a basket full of fake grass and plastic eggs that contain chocolate, jelly beans, cheap toys, and marshmallow chicks. After church, there's always a big Easter Egg Hunt where some kids feel left out because they didn't find the golden egg. And then everyone sits down and eats lots of food... usually some deviled eggs and ham are involved. Thus concludes Easter in the average American home.

I don't want to lose sight of what this day is really about. It's easy to get caught up in even the simplest parts... I treasure the family time, and definitely enjoy all the good food. But, why exactly do we celebrate? Is it because of the candy? The Bunny? The eggs? No. We celebrate because one Man took the weight of the world on His shoulders. How deep the Father's love for us, that He would allow His only Son to die. And He didn't die just any death. Can you imagine bearing a cross? Christ carried His on His bleeding back, up a hill to the spot where he would die. For you, for me. Can you imagine having a rod driven through your arms and your legs, attaching you to that cross? Christ bore the pain. For you, for me. He died, hanging on that cross, suffocating because it hurt too much to push himself up to fill his lungs with air. And when He died, everything was shaken... it changed, for you, for me. And the most amazing part - He rose again! On that first Easter Sunday, Christ was resurrected from the dead, and gave us the promise of freedom that came from His dying breath. How amazing, how wonderful the Cross of my Savior.

Letting Go.

Church was incredible this morning; Pastor Rob felt led to have the whole service be worship and prayer instead of teaching what he had prepped. I had the Lord give me to images that really tugged on my heart....

I'm on a dusty plateau holding a thick boating rope. The rope trails down over the edge of the cliff and halfway down is a net containing my life. I hold onto the rope for dear life, but I can only feel the net's weight slipping away. My hands are red with rope burn, my shoulders and legs shake with muscle strain. I desperately want to hold onto my net, to keep it from crashing to the earth below. Behind me, where the dust meets the pine trees, I hear God's voice. Calm. Let go. Come to me... walk with me in the woods. Let your net go; trust me.
I'm scared. The net contains all of who I am. How does He know it will be okay? Everything will shatter when it falls. Trust me. Let go, my Beloved.
The rope is slipping out of my sweaty palms. I can't hold on any longer. I cry out in exhaustion and frustration, but His voice covers my cry: Come to me! Let me show you. Let go, Mikaela. Let go. I listen, eyes shut tight, I release my weary grip and turn, running with all I have left to His embrace. Safe in His arms. I am able to rest and be freed from the worry of what happened to my net. He supports me and leads us through the woods down a gently sloping path. As we walk, He breaks off an aloe plant and rubs its slave on my burnt hands. Immediate relief. The further we walk, the more my net fades from my thoughts. He hums softly a love song. The path winds along His stream until we are in a clearing at the bottom of a towering cliff. I realize we are where my net should have fallen. I begin to fear of its shattered contents, but He wraps His strong arm across my shoulder and points. There is an empty net, the rope coiled about it. Empty? He redirects my attention and I see elgantly wrapped presents at the base of the cliff. For you, my darling. Trust me with them. Enjoy them. This is your life - open them. For you, my darling. My life restored... unwrapped, not trapped in a net, not covered with dust, not shattered to pieces. Restored.

A knot. Complete tangle of string. I keep trying to pick it apart, but the more I try, the more damage I do. I see His hands... one reaches out to me, asking for the mess. The other holds a pair of scissors. He's going to cut my life apart? I don't want it to go to pieces... Trust me, He says. Eyes shut tight, I timidly hold the knot out to Him. He takes it gently and all I can hear is the sound of His sharp scissors snipping. What have I done? I open my eyes and see my string in a million little pieces, but the knot is gone. And then, like a magician, He gathers all the pieces in His hands, rolls them together, and pulls out the long smooth strand. Restored.

It eats away...

My prayers are with my best friend's family today... Grandpa Olson passed away last night after a battle with cancer. We thank the Lord that he no longer suffers, but grief is never easy.

I only meant Grandpa twice. The first time was about 6 years ago; Krissa invited me to join the family for a vacation to Ontario, Oregon to visit her grandparents. For those of you who don't know where Ontario is, it sits right on the Snake River across from Boise. Her grandparents house sat on a quiet little street with lots of space.... They made such a peaceful escape for us... Her grandfather was a master artist in woodwork, stained glass, and landscaping. I wish I had a photo of him, but this is Krissa and me (and Abby) enjoying his creations outside the house. I don't know much about grandpa besides that he was a retired military man who loved his family.. a quiet spirit in my mind. I can only sympathize with the pain of loss but also rejoice in knowing he is at peace rather than misery.

The Lord has been reminding me lately of how short this life is. I'm currently in the book of Ecclesiastes, which is all about how meaningless life is. Solomon, believed to be the wisest man ever to live, found that after all his wisdom, all his wealth and riches, still life was empty. He kept searching for fulfillment and came up short. "For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?... death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart." (Ecc. 6:12, 7:2)

Death hurts. Each time it comes and swallows up a loved one I am reminded of its sting. We lost Mac's grandfather in December, and I am reminded yet again of the ache that constricts my chest. When there is nothing you can do to bring them back. Nothing you can say to make the ones that were closest to them stop hurting. Death is ugly.

But God's grace is beautiful. I'm so thankful for the sermon on Sunday, the consistency of my quiet times, the conversations I've had lately, and even the recent passing of loved ones. God intended us to enjoy His creation and that which he gave us while having a vision of eternity. He has a way of speaking through every possible vessel around me, whether it be my husband who exercises outstanding patience with me, my grandma who loves to just spend a minute with me, a co-worker who sees the best in me, or a best friend who helps me through the difficult times... all conversations remind me that this life is full of His beautiful grace and love.

Our family friend passed away almost 2 years ago this April and I will never forget the last moment I spent with him. He gave me this little card that had a picture of St. Francis of Assissi on one side and his prayer on the other. He told me to make it my life goal, just as he has. Well, Superman, you succeeded - your life has touched so many...

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Heaven

I had the divine privilege to listen to our worship pastor preach this morning at church. He gave us a "break" from Proverbs and dove in to a sermon that he titles, "Heavenly Minded". The first question he asked was: What do you picture when you think of heaven?

To be perfectly honest, I don't think of heaven all that often. It seems there is plenty to worry about here in the current life... so much to want, to buy, to need. Thing is, we're supposed to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:2). This life is going to come and go. In less than a century, we'll waste away. And in another century, we will be completely forgotten. That's a sad and morbid thought, apart from the glorious hope we have in heaven.

Heaven isn't just some place in the clouds with vapors of people with wings and halos. No, the Bible has so much more to say about what heaven will be like, and we just seem to skim right over it. Ryan gave us a bunch of different passages today that refer to the heaven to come as the best things of this life: there will be all of God's glorious creation (mountains, oceans, forests, sunsets), food, wine (yes, wine!), singing, and so much more. The best part - I'm going to get to see God face-to-face... and it's going to put me on my knees...The things we enjoy here on earth are just an appetizer of the heaven to come. Randy Alcorn wrote a book called "Heaven" that I've put on hold at the library... I want to be excited for heaven, and "get a grip on heaven so I can loosen my grip on this life."



I'm so thankful that Christ lead a sinless life and took the punishment for my sins, resurrected again, and forgave me that I might live in eternity with my Maker. Wow. Have you ever stopped to think about that? It really changes my mindset on daily life. Am I living in a way that brings glory to His name? Do the choices I make and the words I say reflect His love and forgiveness? I want everyone to have that same hope in eternal paradise that I've found. And I always find that I could do more to share...

Do you have that hope? Just as heaven is reality, hell is also a very real and scary place. Do you know where you're going? It may be cliche, but check out John 3:16. God's grace is abundant in Christ's salvation.

Library

Confession: I love the library. Yes, I'm a nerd. I don't care; the library is cool, okay?

I went to the library today for the first time in a long time... haven't been there since August except to pick up my books on hold, but even then - I picked up 11 books at one time and then kept renewing them online until I couldn't renew them anymore. (I didn't finish all 11, by the way). In all honesty, I was only hitting up the library today because Grama had some books to be picked up, but while I was there, I fell right into the "oh, I'll just check if they have..." trap. I was there for 45 minutes. I came home with 4 books: 1 Dekker novel, 1 on the history of coffee (okay, really REALLY obsessed with that black beverage), and 2 that are well... cookbooks.

Yep, nerd. I check out cookbooks from the library - what of it? Which brings me to my next point. Is it wrong that I have an obsession with cookbooks? And cooking magazines... I just have this constant need to look at new recipes, read all the procedural tips, and so on. I would spend all day looking at cookbooks if I could. Especially if there are pictures. Which is what I've been doing since I got home at 6:30; looking at cookbooks. From the library.

So, the one cookbook that I have decided I absolutely, 100% need and cannot live without is The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. Oh. my. goodness. Stuffed French Toast, Rustic Italian Bread, Calzone, Turtle Brownies, Cinnamon-Swirl Cookies, Granola Bars, Whoopie Pies, Rustic Fruit Tarts.... ah, my mouth is watering. I think I might've just drooled a little. And not to mention all the amazing kitchen supplies/utensils and equipment that it recommends. I want, I need.

Okay, I don't NEED any of this, but boy do I love America's Test Kitchen Baking Book. And all cookbooks. And the library.