day no. 18

april 13, 2012
an afternoon in Annapolis and an evening show in Baltimore

all other ground is sinking sand

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

—Edward Mote (1797-1874)

it’s that time of year

This is becoming a fairly normal occurrence on Monday afternoons.
I love making chili 🙂

Through His Life and Death

“Christianity not only leads its members to believe people of other faiths have goodness and wisdom to offer,
it also leads them to expect that many will live lives morally superior to their own.
Most people in our culture in our culture believe that, if there is a God, we can relate to him and go to heaven through leading a good life.  Let’s call this the “moral improvement” view.  Christianity teaches the very opposite.
In the Christian understanding, Jesus does not tell us how to live so we can merit salvation.
Rather, he comes to forgive and save us through his life and death in our place.  God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.” – Tim Keller, The Reason for God, 19

Baby Judah

Baby Judah arrived about a month ago and I finally got to meet him last week!
Heidi and Raphael made one beautifully complected baby 😉
And I can’t wait to see that curly head of hair.
Congrats, my friends.

six thousand balloons

O Love of God How Strong and True

O love of God how strong and true
Eternal and yet ever new
Uncomprehended and unbought
Beyond all knowledge and all thought

O wide embracing wondrous Love
We read thee in the sky above
We read thee in the earth below
In seas that swell and streams that flow

We read thee best in him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame
Sent by the Father from on high
Our life to live, our death to die

We read thy power to bless and save
Even in the darkness of the grave
Still more in resurrection light
We read the fullness of thy might

By Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

a beautiful promise…

stretching across the Grand Valley from Mount Garfield to Orchard Mesa

^“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Genesis 9:8-17 (emphasis added)

***

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”
Deuteronomy 7:9

Thanks, Mom ;]

garden fresh

I look forward to spending time at my grandparent’s house, for many reasons. For one, they are wonderful.
And eating fresh from their garden is very much inspiring.