Okay, I am realizing I haven't given an outlet to the things the Lord has dropped in my mind lately.  And I know I won't tonight at church because Emily puked in the nursery this morning, so we won't be back.  I am so sorry to all the moms of kids in the nursery.  Anyway, I have been so, so busy with taxes with no end in sight, okay so maybe April 15th, but that seems like a long way away.  But when the Lord gives and His people give, and I just sit there, well it isn't the best for your soul.

 

So I am finally reading "Blue Like Jazz" that I got Aaron for Christmas.  The guy has such a dry sense of humor.  I've really enjoyed what I've read so far.  But there was something he said that burst open in my mind.  He was describing being in a public setting where a woman was really embarrassed and she couldn't even lift her head to make eye contact with anyone in the room.  He said she just kind of slumped out, and everyone tried to act like nothing was wrong, and they didn't notice her embarrassment.  He said in that moment he wanted to "buy" her dignity back.  His heart broke for her shame, and he just wished he could do something to take the shame away.  When I read that it clicked that when Jesus died on the cross, He bought our dignity.  He made it possible for us to NOT stay in our guilt, shame and disgrace, but to be raised up and sit enthroned with Him.  Isn't that beautiful?!!!  I felt the heartbeat of the redemption story in that man's response to that woman.  It sounds too good to be true, but it is.  Just think of being brought from whatever sick place you were in, and being restored.  Being transformed into the image of Christ.  Me?  How many times I have wanted to hang my head and not make eye contact because I was ashamed and embarrassed of myself.  I'm not good enough.  I'm not smart enough, pretty enough, articulate enough, ... to merit being enthroned with Christ.  I never will be.  But Praise God there is a plan of salvation that promises complete restoration of my fallen human condition.  It's just so beautiful.  It's funny how you can hear things your whole life, and even mentally assent to them, and even feel them in your heart, and the Lord can take that same image and just make it fresh and new.  The idea of myself chained down by shame and disgrace and then someone else, a Redeemer, coming in and making me His bride.  It is a beautiful story.

Hey everybody.  I just wanted to quickly put down what we did on our California trip because I'm old and will forget!   We arrived in LA about noon on Thursday and went straight to In & Out for lunch.  Aaron says, "Why?  Why can't they make them like this in TN?"  Then we missed an exit on the freeway and ended up in Beverly Hills.  We drove down Rodeo Drive and saw all the cool stores.  Then we drove through some residential areas and looked at the beautiful houses, and especially the gorgeous landscaping.  They have all kinds of flowers blooming in February!  Then we literally stumbled onto the UCLA campus.  That was really cool.  Then we look up on a hill, and there is the Getty Center.  It was something we wanted to see, so we drove up.  It was absolutely beautiful!  And it was free.  All it cost was $8 to park.  They could have easily charged $15 or more per person.  The grounds were beautiful, with this really cool garden suspended in water.  We saw some cactus that were the shape of a rose.  It was incredible.  They had a special exhibit with icons from Mt. Sinai.  Here's a link http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/icons_sinai/  Then we drove into 1000 Oaks/West Lake Village area.  We ate dinner at Claim Jumper. 

 

The next morning we got up and ate breakfast at a place called Marmalade Cafe.  It was awesome!  Even though the hostess was kind of bossy, "You two, follow me!"  And when I asked the waiter if something was good, he said, "Of course it is, what am I going to say, it's horrible!???"  Made me and Aaron laugh.  Then we went to the Ronald Regan Presidential Library.  For some reason it made me cry.  It reminded me of being in Kindergarten and a friend asked me if I was voting for Regan (I was 5 in 1980), and if I wasn't she would not be my friend.  LOL  Then we drove back into the LA area and on to Anaheim where we had our hotel for Friday night.  We ate dinner at Northwoods Inn and then went to church at Bro. DL Jones' church in Compton.  It was a little scary going there, but the people at the church were incredibly sweet.  They all hugged us and made us feel so welcome. 

 

Saturday morning we got up and went to San Diego.  It was a short trip because there was no traffic.  We went straight to our hotel and checked in around 11:00 in the morning.  It was awesome!  It was on Mission Bay, so we were right by the water.  It was just beautiful.  We had lunch at a taco stand that Adrian and Letty and Tony had told us about, "Roberto's".  It was awesome.  Then we went to Balboa Park.  It has about 17 museums and is right next to the San Diego Zoo.  It was beautiful too.  The weather was warm and sunny, but with a nice breeze.  We went to the science center and saw "Coral Reef" at the Imax.  It was a cool Imax because it was a dome shape and the film went right over your head.  So it felt like we were under the ocean.  Then we went through this little Spanish village in the park that had all kinds of artists' shops.  We saw a miniature railroad, and then walked through the Botanical Building.  You could probably spend about 3 days there.  There was a sports museum, art museum, aviation, natural history, anthropology, etc.  There was also a huge puppet theater that would have been awesome for the kids.  Aaron said our vacation was like one giant field trip.    After we left Balboa Park, we drove over the huge Coronado bridge over to Coronado Island.  We went out and walked on the beach and saw 2 weddings going on.  We went to the Coronado Hotel and had ice cream.  Then we did some shopping there, and were headed to our car when the sun started setting.  We went and sat on a bench by the beach and watched the sun set as a cruise ship set sail in the distance.  It was too beautiful.  We went back to our hotel area and had In N Out for dinner!  We had reservations at a restaurant by the beach, but you can't beat In N Out.

 

Sunday morning we got up and went out to the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma.  It is this really high cliff that looks out over San Diego.  We saw the Naval Base there, and planes taking off and landing.  You are supposed to be able to see whales migrating from the point, but we didn't see any.  There was a really cool light house there too.  There were also tide pools.  We spent a lot of time out there by the ocean.  Then we drove through La Jolla.  We headed back north and stopped at Mission Viejo to shop at Mervyn's.  I miss it so much!  They have the cutest kid's clothes.  Then we went to Ontario and had dinner with Ann-Rene at Mimi's Cafe. 

 

Monday was our Chino day.  We started off at Manna Donuts for breakfast.  Ohhhh my goodness.  I don't know why anyone in CA would go to Krispy Kreme for donuts! ???  Then we went by my old house, but we couldn't really see it because they put up a gate.  Then we went to the church on Pipeline.  It is amazing what they've done with the grounds.  The old church is now their children's church.  We got a tour of the old sanctuary from a staff member (they have 30!).  The pews have been reupholstered, but they are the same wood.  It made me cry being in there.  I was looking at where I received the Holy Ghost, and I could just imagine all the testimonies, weddings, funerals, meetings, home school activities, etc. that we shared there.  And Jose (our guide) gave us his testimony of finding the Lord there and it was soooo sweet.  He had the sweetest spirit.  When we left he asked if he could pray for us.  He laid a hand on each of our shoulders and said the sweetest prayer over us for safety, anointing and joy.  It was awesome!   Then we drove around looking at other people's houses and stores/landmarks that only someone from Chino can appreciate!  We went up to Chino Hills and found some model homes.  We toured them and they were beautiful, but they were between $900,000 and $1.1 million!  To live in Chino Hills!  Then we drove back to Ontario and did some shopping at the Ontario Mills Mall.  Then we went to Ann-Rene and Robert's house for a while and met their dog Maddie.  It was so good to see where they live.  Then for dinner we met my friend Jeanette (since we were 5 years old) and her kids (Her husband was sick) at Spunky Steer.  It wasn't quite what I remembered.  I enjoyed seeing Jeanette so much.  She is one of those friends that I can be apart from for years, and not feel one bit self conscious when I'm with her again.  We just pick right up again.  She is very dear to me!  After dinner we drove in to LA so we could catch our flight the next morning.

 

We flew out of LA at 8:10 in the morning!  Crazy you can go from Southern California to Nashville in about 3 1/2 hours.  It was SO good to see our kids.  We missed them so much and talked about how fun it will be when they are old enough to come with us.  We had such a good trip and are so thankful to my mom and Chelsea for taking such good care of our kids.  We are also thankful for the Lord's protection, and a chance to take a break from the every day grind.  Oh well, tax season here I come ...