Where Is the Monster's Sting?

Maybe this is morbid, but I think about my grandmother's death a lot.  She'll be 86 in August; she could live 10 more months or 10 more years... one of those things over which I have no control (those things are hard for me!).  

It's hard for me to explain just how much I love my grammy.  She and my grandfather (who passed away when I was in college) practically raised me; she is like a mother to me.  She's my confidant, my biggest fan, and my best friend.  It was so hard to leave her in Morgantown when we moved to Kentucky, but I know she loves it there and is being well taken care of.  

We got to visit her this past weekend and take her to Wes's Nana's house to have lunch.  Aren't these pictures sweet?

(Grammy & Nana are good friends.  They write one another frequently.  HOW CUTE IS THAT?)

Anyway, tonight as I was driving home from the gym I was listening to Sojourn's latest CD, and this song came on ("Over Death").  The lyrics made me think of grammy and how I will handle her death someday, whenever the Lord chooses to take her home.  Check them out:

I long for an overcoming faith

To cheer my dying hour,

To triumph over the monster death

And all of his frightful powers.

Joyful, with all the strength I have,

My trembling lips shall sing:

"Where is your boast of vict'ry, grave?

And where is the monster's sting?"

If sin be pardoned and secure

Death has no sting beside;

The law gives sin its damning power,

But Christ, my ransom, died!

Joyful, with all the strength I have,

My trembling lips shall sing:

"Where is your boast of vict'ry, grave?

And where is the monster's sting?"

So let us praise the God of victory,

Immortal hope for mortal flesh!

So let us praise the God of victory,

Who makes us conquerors of death!

I hope that my trembling lips will be able to sing those words when Grammy is no longer here with me.*  But I know she is a Christian; there is immortal hope for our mortal flesh through Christ, and that is worth singing about!  Don't you agree?

*Yes, I know I'm talking a lot about grammy's death when, in reality, I could be faced with anyone's  at any time -- my mom's, Wes's, even my own!  None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.  Doesn't that thought make you reevaluate your priorities?  It definitely has that effect on me.

A Thousand Years

I'm titling this post "A Thousand Years" because that's how long it's going to take me to live this down.














Tonight was the George-Bergen wedding. I loved it. My poor hubs was sick and couldn't go with me, so that was a bummer, but I had a great time catching up with old friends.

Two of those friends, Chelsy and Jonathan, were with me after the ceremony, and we decided to sign the guest book together.

Chuck and Bethany had a great idea: to commemorate their desire to go overseas together (eventually), they had everyone sign a book of pictures of Africa instead of a typical guest book. How creative!

Chelsy and Jonathan flipped through the pages, trying to figure out which one to sign. They giggled over a picture of two lions who were roaring, looking quite mad at one another, but then decided on an up-close shot of a horse. (Actually, I don't know if there are horses in Africa... I could be wrong about that detail.)

At any rate, I flipped through the pages, but couldn't find anything special. Eventually I decided to go for the roaring lions. I mean, let's face it: marriage isn't always fun. Sometimes you just feel like fighting. But ultimately, God is faithful and you have fun. So I began to write on the page:

Beth & Chuck,

Sometimes, you will feel like this about one another...

At this point, Chelsy leans over and looks at what I'm writing as I ponder how to keep it short and sweet, yet poignant. She says, "Um, Beth, do you understand the picture?" Then Jonathan looks and bursts out laughing. I quickly realize that the lions... well, the lions aren't fighting. Do you get my drift?

Oh my. Where do you go from there?? I was so flustered that I couldn't even think of something clever and/or witty to save myself from total embarrassment that would be frozen in time in their guest book. I hastily picked up my pen and wrote,

... and then you'll realize you didn't understand the picture. HA!

Love you,

Beth

"Don't worry," Chelsy consoled me (through fits of laughter, I might add), "Bethany won't get it either." To make myself feel better, I'm telling myself that she's right.

In my defense, my statement was right no matter what those lions were doing. I'm just sayin'.

Again: oh my. Why do these things always happen to me?

I think I'm in love.

Update: 160 GB HD.  But yes. We are very happy together!

Here's what I'm thinking:

13" MacBook Pro
2.26 GHz
4 GB Memory
250 GB Hard Drive

Sounds wonderful, yes?

Birthday Wish #2784

For my 25th birthday, I'd like...

... a lot of things. (See my wist scrolling happily on the lower right!) One of them is a new duvet cover.

(Ok, so I'm not really one for lime green, but I think this design is great. I also think it would be especially delightful if paired with solid-colored pillow cases.)

I am also thinking that this lamp from Pier One is super cute:

Just sayin'.

Any suggestions for a cute new look?

Tuesday Giveaway: Over The Grave

AND THE WINNER IS... #8, Aaron!

Please note that I did not succumb to Aaron's threat about our air conditioner (Aaron is a good friend... and a maintenance guy at our apartment complex!); he actually did win. :) Also, sorry for the lateness in posting a winner -- it's been a crazy week!

Let's do it again soon. If anyone wants to host a giveaway (up-and-coming etsy entrepreneurs??), let me know!

...

I promised you a giveaway....

You've already heard me mention (a couple of times!) that my church, Sojourn, just released Over The Grave, the first volume of a two-part CD set dedicated to "revamping" the hymns of Isaac Watts. Here's a little blurb about the CD (written by our Pastor of Worship & Arts, Mike Cosper):

In the midst of the Reformation in England, Isaac Watts recognized that people needed to see the gospel in the psalms and hymns of the church, and they needed to sing them in language and metaphors that they understood. In this, he became not only the father of the modern hymn, but the pace-setter for contextualizing the gospel for the people of God.

As musicians, pastors and songwriters, our desire was to explore the hundreds of hymns that Watts wrote during his lifetime, to learn from the incredible range and depth of his lyrics, and to re-envision those songs with modern language and melodies. In particular, we gravitated towards themes that seem unfortunately absent in modern worship — themes about God’s wrath and judgment, His righteousness, and a dramatic vision of the cross and atonement of Christ.

This CD is the first installment of the Isaac Watts Project: songs inspired by and adapted from his hymns. The record was written and performed entirely by musicians from Sojourn Community Church — 35 in all. It is our hope that this project, like Watts’s hymns, will point us beyond the music and lyrics to see the glorious Savior who inspires them.

The release party was last Friday night, and it was awesome. Southeast Christian Church (which is the largest church in KY, I think!) was kind enough to let us use their new 75,000 square-foot youth building, "The Block." It is a truly incredible facility. Check it out:

(Since I'm not a great photographer, the images above were all stolen borrowed from Chuck Heeke and Ryan Harvey, two very talented photographers. You can see more pictures of the event by clicking on their names.)

Sojourn ended up signing a record deal (read more about it here) with Bonded Records (part of Universal Music), and I can't wait to see where Over The Grave goes. I love it, and I think you will, too! In order to win your very own copy, leave a comment on this post. A winner will be selected at random on Saturday (the 27th) at noon.

Good luck!

A Fitting Sunday Post

I don't know about you, but I find this to be absolutely hilarious. What if God text messaged the 10 Commandments?

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.
2. dnt wrshp pix/idols
3. no omgs
4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
5. pos ok – ur m&d r cool
6. dnt kill ppl
7. :-X only w/ m8
8. dnt steal
9. dnt lie re: bf
10. dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

I think #1 and #10 are my favorites. But myob!

(PS: My next giveaway is coming up, and it's a good one! Be on the lookout, srsly.)

Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

My last attempt at making dessert failed; maybe this one won't. Tonight, instead of working out, I'll be trying my hand at crisp salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.













I hope they taste as yummy as they look! I'll keep you posted.













(Thanks for the heads up on the recipe, Lauren!)