In pictures

I am at home recovering from knee surgery, and wanted to share something with you... I love the BBC's "Day in Pictures"... It posts pictures from around the world all taken on the current day, mentioning different things that have taken place. I love that it is big events and tiny personal events too, all mixed together. I like this because sometimes my world feels so big but really it so small- there is a whole world out there of several billion people doing something today. Crazy. Anyways, looking at "Day in Pictures" gives me that perspective.

Two books that rock

I am reading both of these books right now and they are powerful. (click on the picture for a link to more info)

The first is my favorite because it is written about the needs of a child-- whether my own child or the children around the world, and how to address the problem of children of the world who are so often ignored and victimized . So beautiful,


The second is the main one for the class I go to on Tuesdays, and it has been really great. It's point is that Jesus always focused on people's heart as being where the work needs to be done, and the rest will overflow, so we need to be the same way with children- focus attention on their heart and what needs to be nurtured or corrected there, instead of the behavior.

She likes jewlery...

Tara's video & talk in Orlando

About 45 seconds is missing from the middle of Tara's talk because my camera had trouble-- argh!

Beautiful You

So I've heard this song on the radio a lot, and though it is a little cheesy, how differently would I have been at 14 if I had really understood this. So, if for no one else but for my 14 year-old self, here is part of the lyrics..

"...There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you..."

This post is dedicated to the girls in our youth group... May you embrace how beautiful Jesus has made you to be, and seek to see yourself through his eyes.

Back from Disney World

We got back yesterday- such a wonderful time for us to spend together with Tara and the crew. Susannah and Jacob loved the rides, Tara did a wonderful job speaking at the conference (I'll post a video soon of her talk), baby Micah was cute as always, and Giselle and Mallory were sweet to watch Susannah so that Jonathan and I got to go on Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain by ourselves!

More pictures coming soon of our fun times. It was especially good to be there on the 15th, as it was one year ago that we were all together for a different purpose, reeling from the shock of Preston's death. It still affects so much of our lives. We're so grateful that we had the chance to be in a place where we could watch the kids laugh and be in wonder of the rides and parades on that day in particular.