Rocks

For some reason I have always been fascinated by rocks. Kent has made fun of me countless time for suddenly stooping down to pick up a rock in the middle of walk or hike. It's just amazing to me how there can be billions and billions of rocks out there, but that they are all different. Some may be made up of similar materials, but still they are laid out in a unique pattern. What usually catches my eyes are the colors. This summer hiking through the mountains to the sand dunes let me see such beautiful rocks. Purple, blue, green, teal, brown, and yellow rocks.

This Sunday's sermon was about us viewing Christ as our Rock and our Fortress. Pastor Doug had pictures projected with different well known rock formations. He talked about the permenance of these structures and because of that how throughout history they have barely changed. In the same way God does not change, no matter how much the world changes through time. That got me thinking about how much I desire and need to be a rock myself. Being a rock to me means knowing who I am in Christ and not changin that for anyone. I once heard it described that we should aim to be rocks that others are crashed against in the storms of life. I had to think about that for quite some time, but I've come to realize that that's so true. I want to be someone that challenges others, and sometimes that may mean that I feel the waves crashing up against me, but I want to hold strong.

I don't want to be just any rock though. There are so many rocks out there. The beautiful glittering diamond, granite with it's many colors, or rose quartz with its soft welcoming glow. I want to be fashioned off of the same rock that my Lord is Savior is made of. A chip off of the old block as they say. Rocks aren't very good at hiding, not big rocks anyway. I want to be a bold image an the landscape. Something that people can recognize and find solace in. I don't want to change for the world. I want the world to see me and see Christ. I want the world to see me and want to become a rock for Christ themselves.

I am listening to Shawn McDonald's "Here I Am", which is coincidentally the name of my blog. This song so beautiful sums up what I feel right now. "Here I am tonight, with my arms open wide...I'm in need of your love...I need you." God is, as David put it so perfectly, our "Rock and Fortress." He hides us in the secret place (Psalm 31).

A Might Fortress is Our God
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

On the road again....and again....and again....

Home at last! At least for a while...

This summer has been filled with adventures on the road. Kent and I were reflecting the other day that within six months time we will have been in six states: Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Washington! For someone who has not been a huge traveler, this is quite an accomplishment haha.

Though the road has been fun, I'm very relieved to be at home, although the "coming home and unpacking" part is not that wonderful. Kent helped me put together some much needed shelves in the storage room yesterday. They are perfect! I now have a wonderful pantry area in the storage room and have finally cleaned out most of the boxes that were in there. We are also excited that we now have a deep freezer. Now I can freeze leftovers, and Kent's favorite part is that we can buy in bulk at Sam's Club. I get such a kick out of him at that store. He's like a little kid, running around to see what cool deals we can get!

Now that we are back home I'm hoping to get back into my routine of working out of the YMCA. I've become addicted to their spin and yoga classes. Kent doesn't have his own membership right now, so he asks me to teach him what I've learned. The problem is that he likes to improvise the moves to fit his own style. You should ask him to show you his warrior yoga moves! They are quite entertaining! His family filled the role of audience at Horn Creek last week during his yoga session :) Watching his outstretched arms moving in windmill movements, legs bent in all directions, and super-concentrated face as he moved to his indian flute music had me bent over in laughter many times. To be fair, he is acutally getting quite good, he just likes to clown it up a bit!

Well, I know this is a short post, but I've got to get caught up on the rest of my life I've left behind since vacationing! Time to work!