Busy Weekend...

Quick update before crazy Thanksgiving week...

Richard and I finished painting the kitchen at the beginning of the week :) I am so happy with how it turned out; I think we did a pretty good job.  It was really good time spent with each other, too... we had a lot of fun.  Anyway, this is the color before...

And this is after we painted it... same idea, we just decided to lighten it up some.  We got the table from the lady I babysit for; she sold us the whole set for a wonderful price because she got married this summer and has furniture in their old house still... such a blessing :)

Next project is the master bedroom :) On Thursday night, Harry Potter premiered... needless to say, David, Richard, and I were there and it was awesome!!  I'm beyond obsessed with all things Harry Potter, and I'm going to be extremely upset in July when the last movie comes out... I can't even think about it.  On Friday night, Richard took me to the University of Mobile Christmas Spectacular and it was amazing.  We had such a good time and all the groups that performed were just unbelievable... and let's be real, dates are just fun in general :) On Saturday, Richard officially moved into the house, so there's boxes all over the living room right now.  Richard's brother and his wife came over for dinner on Saturday night and we really enjoyed spending time with them.  It was really encouraging and I'm really looking forward to spending more time with them over Thanksgiving.  We all head out to Arizona on Wednesday to spend a few days with the rest of Richard's family.  Richard is beyond excited... I'm excited (and slightly overwhelmed).  We're going hiking on Saturday... there will be many pictures to come :)

"Obedience is Better than Sacrifice"

I've been thinking a lot about obedience the past few days.  I'm doing a devotional by Kay Arthur ("Lord, I Want to Know You") that is a study of the names of God.  This week I studied Jehovah-nissi: the Lord is my Banner, which focused on the story of Saul and the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15...

In this chapter, the Lord tells Saul to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites.  He gives clear instructions that no one is to be left alive, not even the livestock.  Saul attacks the Amalekites and kills all the people except the king, and all the livestock except the very best.  He keeps the best livestock in order to make sacrifice to God, praising Him for the victory.  Samuel, who was the prophet at the time, goes to Saul and asks him why he did not obey God... because of Saul's disobedience, even though it was for "good" reason, God rejected him as king of Israel and said that He was "grieved" that he made Saul the king.

I was struck by how like Saul I am.  So often I pray that the Lord would make His will clear to me, that He would guide me.  I tell the Lord that I will do whatever He asks; that I will be His servant for whatever His purpose for me is.  I say that I am willing to sacrifice so much, yet so often I miss simple obedience.  And as with Saul, the Lord has made his instructions clear--He has given us not only His very words but the perfect example to follow in Christ Jesus.  He has given us a new heart and a new Spirit to keep His laws and His decrees (Ezekiel 36:26-27)--there is nothing more He can do to make it clear to us. 

I am not arguing that obedience is easy.  We still have to battle the flesh and as Christians, we are certainly attacked by Satan.  Even Paul says that what he wants to do he cannot do, because of his flesh (Romans 7:19-20).  We live in a culture that frowns upon obedience and submission and advocates self-rule.  But God calls us to not be conformed to the pattern of this world.  Even in Saul's story--it was common practice for a conquering army to keep the spoils that they found and divide them among the soldiers.  But God instructed Saul to be set apart from the cultural practices of his time just as much as God calls us to be set apart now.  And Saul even followed most of God's orders: but nominal obedience is not obedience at all.  Jesus did not go most of the way to the Cross; he obeyed unto death.  I believe that kind of radical obedience is what God is calling each of us to, and it's a way that we can live a radical, sold-out life to Christ exactly where we are now.

Such Joy

I babysit two kids after school everyday, Emmi and Jacob.  Em is 11, and Jacob is 6.  They bring me an extraordinary amount of joy :) This is a real live conversation from the car today...

Jacob: Miss Brynn, I know what Veterans Day is.
Me: Really? What's that?
Jacob: It's to honor people who have died for our freedom.  In some countries, they don't have freedom... like, they don't have parents or food or houses.
Me: Right, and other things too.  In some countries, people are only allowed to have two babies.  And in some countries, people aren't allowed to go to church.
Jacob: Yeah, and in Texas you can't even go outside because of the scorpions.

We were really on a roll there for a second... we made cards for mom today :)

Sweet Home, Alabama...

First of all, let me say that four years ago, when my parents and I were driving from Mobile, AL, to Buffalo, NY after my orientation @ South, I was in absolute hysterics.  This is not an exaggeration.  I was not a fan of moving across the country and being completely alone.  I never, in a million years, would have dreamed of the things that would happen while I was in college.  Needless to say, with graduation in 7 months and a wedding shortly thereafter, it's been interesting to reflect on how much my life has changed.  Upon graduation, Richard and I will be living in Mobile (for the time being), so he can continue working and I can go to graduate school.  With that being said...

This is our new home!!  Well, I guess it's not "ours" yet, technically, but Richard bought this house from our friends from church who moved to Florida, and I will move in once we are married next summer.  The house is beautiful and is such a blessing, and we are so thankful for this gift from the Lord and the opportunity to use this house to serve Him.  Anyway, there will be more pictures as we start to paint and touch everything up... we can't wait to get started on this together :)