Every day is a gift from God...God is sovereign!

Well, I had intended to put up some pictures of our life here in the wonderful state of California, but that can wait. We received news today that our dear friend Tom and his cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer last fall, and after treatments, he was doing much better this summer. The cancer came back this fall, and although the initial tests presented conflicting results and it appeared like the medicine was working, he is back in the hospital, and tests now show that he has lymphoma in his bone marrow.

Tom is a strong Christian, and he has a godly wife and daughter who take care of him. He is always so positive, and we know that he knows that the Lord is in control. There have been so many times that we've gotten bad news about Tom, and then something changes, and the Lord allows him to feel better and gain his strength. Now, with the news today, it could be hard to realize God's purpose.

I know that every day is a gift from God. I don't always live that way. I don't think about how we are here today and gone tomorrow. We don't know what the future holds. I think about my dear friend June who died in 2002. She was so special to me, and I'll always remember how I saw her that last time at her house. June was 79 or 80, and we worked together for several years at HSLDA. I loved to visit her and her husband Ott, and one day in February, I dropped by her house. She had a huge smile when she saw me. The next time I saw her, she was unconscious in the hospital, and June died the next day. Every day is a gift...

I know that the Lord is sovereign. We don't know why things happen the way they do. The Lord has known since before time what each day holds, and He is not surprised. His plan is always carried out. Things happen for a reason. Tom's cancer is not a mistake. June's death 3 years ago was not something that was out of the Lord's control. We may not know why we go through what we do, but we will know at some time, either later in life or when we get to Heaven. We should be able to look back at what we experience and see God's purposes. If we are bitter and mad at the Lord, then we are saying that the Almighty God doesn't know what He is doing. But if we change, become more Christlike, lead others to the Lord through our witness through hard times, influence other Christians for good, and rejoice in the faithfulness of the Lord, then perhaps that is the reason.

May you all grow in the grace of our Lord as we our on the journey to Heaven.

36 Hours!

Last weekend, I realized how much I could do in 36 hours - I flew to Virginia and back to California and was in Virginia for a grand total of 36 hours! Joshua and I were invited to three different weddings on three different weekends in October (all in Virginia), and I really wanted to be at a least one of them. Well, as it turned out, since I have no vacation time at work, and two of the weddings were held on Sunday evenings, I ended up flying back for Joanna and Chad's wedding, which was beautiful!

I left Sacramento at 11:00 pm Friday night and I arrived at Dulles International Airport at 7:00 am Saturday morning. I picked up my rental car, and drove to my parents' house where I hung out for a couple of hours. Then I drove to the wedding in Maryland and had a great time since I hadn't seen anyone from Virginia since June when we drove to the other side of the continent! It was hard to believe that I was actually back on the East Coast. Anyway, after the wedding, I headed back to my parents and had a relaxing time with them and my sister Louisa, who in the time I have been gone has grown about 3 - 4 inches! She's catching up to me! Since I knew I would be having a packed day on Sunday, I stayed up as late as I could, which considering the red eye flight the night before meant I was functioning on little sleep. But it was worth it.

On Sunday, we went to church, and I saw most everyone from our Wednesday night shepherd group. I was able to see our friends Courtney and Eric who got married at one of the Sunday night weddings in October, and see how pregnant Elizabeth is. (She and Matt are having their first in February!) After church, my family and I had a quick lunch, and I drove to see our friends Tom, Mary and Carol Shumaker. I almost didn't go over to their house due to time, but I am so thankful I did. Tom is struggling with cancer, and as of Sunday he looked ok, but he is now back in the hospital, and everyone is waiting to hear the results from the latest tests. All of the Shumakers are dear friends, and Tom has been a special part of our life. The Lord's will will be done.

After visiting with the Shumakers, I drove to our friends' Jonathan and Christine's house to get together with our Tuesday night Bible study. It was great to fellowship with everyone. Jonathan and Christine's little Timothy is crawling and has changed so much since June. Kate is very pregnant now, and it was fun to see all of the couples. We miss both of our Bible studies so much!

I left that gathering and drove to the airport. My plane left Virginia around 7:30 pm, 36 hours after I arrived. It is good to be back home, especially since Joshua couldn't come with me.

I realized during my time in Virginia that I am feeling more like California is my home. I miss my family, and it was wonderful to see my mom face to face when we were talking. I miss friends from HSLDA and PHC, I miss our Bible studies and church, but life has changed. California is beautiful, we have jobs here that we like, we have a church, and God has been working on my heart to allow me to feel at home here. It was hard coming back to California, but my life is here now. Joshua and I are together, and I know that our home will be wherever both of us are.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to visit this last weekend. To all of you that I didn't see, maybe we'll see you in December at Christmas time, but remember that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Yes, we are coming back at Christmas!! We'll be back from December 21- 28!!!

Our Apartment

Here are pictures of our apartment.



Harrison in the living room. The cat also likes to sleep on the dog bed.

Another view of the living room, kitchen table that we never use, and

the hallway to the bedroom.

Our bedroom...

Our computer on our dresser.

As you can see, we are quite comfortable in our apartment!

Weekend Fun and Thoughts

Last weekend, we finally drove up to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is only about 1 1/2 - 2 hours from us, and I had been wanting to see it since I've heard so much about Tahoe. The drive was beautiful, and the lake is awesome! We only went up for the afternoon, but we had a nice time walking around the town and on the beach. As Joshua always has grading or something related to teaching to do on the weekends, I enjoyed the trip even more because it meant that he was giving up time to take me to Tahoe. We will be going back, hopefully for a longer period of time, but now I can say I've been to Lake Tahoe.

Oh, Janice came over on Friday night, and we all had a good time, even with spending part of the evening looking for a missing wallet, which turned out to be in our car all the long!

If you ever get a chance to listen to sermons by Tommy Nelson (pastor at Denton Bible Church in Texas), take it. We had some series given to us in June, and I've been listening to them as I get a chance. He has a series on church history that is very in depth and thought provoking. Right now, I'm listening to his series on Ecclesiastes. The sermon today reminded me that God is sovereign in everything, and although His purpose may not be made known to you, there is a reason. That is always encouraging.