God Be Glorified

It is so hard to even bring myself to type this. My fingers don't want to.

It has been decided that we are in recovery mode. Not active search. This means that although they will not be rescuing, they will still be searching for their bodies. When the first opportunity strikes for boots to be on the mountain, they will look for them.

Anthony and Katie are with the Jesus they loved so much and served with their lives! My heart is SO broken, yet at the same time, I feel such a peace. We just finished meeting with the sheriffs and a good chunk of the rescue team...a step in healing. We were able to applaud, hug, and pray for the people who risked their lives to find Anthony and Katie.

I still have SO many questions for God....

*Why did the lives of 3 amazing people have to end?

*Why did God decide to show Himself through the weather, yet not bring them back to us?

*Why THESE 3?

*WHY????????

Yet, even though I have these questions.....I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is in control. HE is still sovereign. HE does NOT love us any less. HE is STILL a God of miracles. HE has a reason for all of this. Do I understand Him?? no. not at all. BUT. I know my God is TRUSTWORTHY. He knows everything. He sees and knows more than I ever could....And I claim Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a HOPE and a future! I cling to that. I also know that God has granted us the privilege to walk down this road. To suffer and grieve. To know a small picture of the suffering of our Lord. To be given the opportunity to sharpen and refine my faith...to be refined by the fire!

I also know that I am called to PRAISE THE LORD. I keep coming back to that. I have had some sweet times of worship with my Jesus in the last 2 days....and what He continues to show me is PRAISE. No matter what our circumstances may look like, HE is still God and HE is still worthy of my praise and worship! In every season of my life, no matter what the storm ahead may look like, no matter if He hasn't answered my prayers in exactly the way I wanted - I CHOOSE TO PRAISE HIM. Is it easy????? hell no. Do I want to?? sometimes. but not always. BUT. BUT. BUT......

I also keep thinking about what Anth would've wanted...and he has left us an incredible legacy! His life has set the bar for what it means to serve, to be joyful, to go beyond yourself, to live life to the fullest no matter what the cost!! What a high calling! What a great thing to aspire to! We can honor his life by living like him. Anyone remember when he would talk about his tombstone testimony??? The first thing he would want is that he is a LOVER OF JESUS CHRIST! Everything else he did stemmed from that! Everything!

I'm sure I will be processing more on here...BUT - if you are still praying...FIRST - thank God for the amazing lives these three lived. Thank God for the opportunity to know them. Thank God for being God. And pray. Pray that God will be SO incredibly glorified through their lives. Pray against the devil getting in the way of the message that is THIER LIVES! Pray that as we grieve, we will continue to praise. Pray.

*songs that I've been listening to....Desert Song (Hillsong) and Praise You in the Storm (Casting Crowns)

Word of God Speak...

Thank you so much to everyone who has been messaging me with Scripture...It's about the only thing that calms my mind and brings me peace. SO. I thought I would post some of those things there....maybe they can comfort all of us...

Romans 5:1-5: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance' and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Psalm 121:1-3. "I lift my eyes up to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from You, Maker of heaven, Creator of the earth. May he not allow your foot to slip. He who protects never sleeps."

Isaiah 43:10-13 "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he, before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed - I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses, "declares the Lord, "that I am God. Yes, from the ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?

Psalm 9:10 - "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."

Psalm 3: 3-7 - "But you O Lord are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. I lay down and slept, yet I woke in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side. Arise O Lord! Rescue me, my God!"

Psalm 91:14-16 - "Because He loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer hi,; I will be with him in trouble, I will dieliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Psalm 31: O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don't let me be disgraced. Save me ,for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe. You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Pul me from the trap my enemies set for me, for I find protection in you alone. I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me Lord, for you are a faithful God. I hate those who worship worthless idols. I TRUST IN THE LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish in my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemies but you have set me in a safe place. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away. I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Sin has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within.....BUT I AM TRUSTING YOU, O LORD saying YOU ARE MY GOD! My future (Anthony and Katie's future) is in your hands! Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me....How great is the goodness You have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. You hide them in the shelter of your presence...Praise the Lord, for He has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack. In panic I cried out, "I am cut off from the Lord!" But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help. Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to Him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. SO BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, ALL YOU WHO HOPE IN THE LORD!

2 Chronicles 20! The battle is the Lords! Sing and praise Him for His holy splendor!

Psalm 27 (assorted verses) The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?...The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek most- is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he wil hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock...Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."...You have always been my helper. Don't leave me now, don't abandon me, God of y salvation!...Teach me how to live O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me....Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Isaiah 40 (assorted verses) - Look up into the heavens. Who created the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single on is missing....Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives the power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Romans 12:12 - Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying!

Psalm 139 (various verses)

O Lord you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride on the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me and the light around me to become night - but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed...

2 Corinthians 4: 7-12

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves! We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the LIFE of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we life in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you!

Habakkuk 3: 17-19

Even though fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD! I WILL BE JOYFUL IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION! THE SOVEREIGN LORD IS MY STRENGTH! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

Clinging to Hope

It's hard to bring my fingers to even type...I don't now if I can even can think of what to say.

Hope. The only thing we can hope in...Jesus Christ. Hoping in Him does not disappoint.

Chris and I were talking last night...just about all of the possible outcomes of this situation...and where we were at with all of this. 1) Anthony and Katie come off that mountain alive...2)Either Katie or Anthony come off alive - but not both...3)They find them, but they are with Jesus...4)they never find them.

I'm trying to muster the courage to come to the Lord with all of these situations - and be at peace with whatever God decides. But it's hard. Selfishly, I only want option one. On my own, I can't handle the other options. BUT. I need to be ready for anything.

HOWEVER. I continue to cling to HOPE! My God is bigger than ANYTHING!! Any mountain, any weather system, any doctor's idea of how long they can survive. VICTORY IS IN MY JESUS!

Thank you SO much for all of your prayers, words of encouragement, scripture...you have blessed us more than you will ever know.

*Lord, give me the courage to face ANY outcome....fill my heart with a peace that can only come from YOU! I know You have control and You know what you're doing...but I don't understand! Help me trust.

This feels like a dream....

I am sitting here at Timberline Lodge...waiting. And waiting. And praying. And praying. For those of you not updated by Facebook, Chris' cousin and best friend Anthony is somewhere on Mount Hood. He went up with 2 friends - Luke and Katie. Yesterday, they found Luke's body...His family is here with us. Anthony and Katie are still up there somewhere. There will be air support sometime today, but no on foot searching because of avalanche danger.

i feel like i'm in a dream and i should be waking up any second

i'll be home, and anthony will be making some crazy concoction in the kitchen and asking if i want an espresso...this isn't real...

BUT. This is what I KNOW. 1. We serve a God who is bigger than a mountain. He is bigger than the weather. He is bigger than any scenario we can imagine. He has the power over everything. And He has a plan and He knows what He is doing.. 2. There are people around the WORLD praying. It's been so incredible to watch the body of Christ to what it was created to do. The power of prayer can move mountains! 3. Anthony knows what he is doing. He is a very capable climber, and if anyone can walk of that mountain, it's him. 4. The people in charge of the Search and Rescue know what they are doing. They know this mountain.

I hate this waiting.......if you are praying, pray for clear weather today. Pray hard. I have a hard time believing that God is done with Anthony's life...but - no matter what happens, God is sovereign and His ways are perfect..

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, feel like Christmas anyway...here's to hoping the snow will come!!

I really enjoy the holiday season - from Thanksgiving all the way till the New Year. I like the cold, crisp weather, the beautiful decorations, the lights, the food, and most of all the friends and family. The other day, I was having a super bad morning...just one of those grumpy, don't-talk-to-me mornings...and a cup of Christmas cheer (aka Starbucks Christmas Blend), a little prayer, some Christmas songs, and a slight dusting of snow turned my morning around. Thank you Jesus!

I'm pretty excited because....I'm gonna try my hand @ making some of my own Christmas ornaments this year! I'm not going to totally do away with the ones that I have, but I have been wanting to re-vamp my tree for the last couple years - and buying more ornaments is definitely NOT on the list. A good friend of mine (thanks Michelle!) gave me a magazine and I got some great ideas that I can't wait to try!! If it's successful and I like them, I'll post some pictures! Should be pretty fun!

Well, I should go to bed...only 2 more weeks till Christmas break!! YAY!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so incredibly bad at this blogging thing....if there are any of you still reading...

I am consistently amazed at how my God blesses me and amazes me! As Thanksgiving comes upon me, I am enjoying reflecting on the Savior's goodness...everything that I have is because of HIM!

First and foremost, I have a Father who loves me beyond explanation or understanding no matter what! Even when I am not the most loving or faithful daughter, He is right there. PRAISE JESUS! He has blessed me with SO many things that I do not deserve...a husband who loves me for exactly who I am, yet still encourages me to be better...a mom and dad that would walk over water for me and who continuously love and support me...a sister who has the most tender heart towards me, and towards the world (plus she married a pretty freaking awesome guy!)...a beautiful niece that reminds me how precious life is...aunts and uncles who have been in my life since day 1 and love me like their own kids...my husband's family who has taken me in as a daughter and a sister, not just the "in-law"...my wonderful, amazing friends - friends who have known me my whole life and STILL love me and friends that I have met over the years and treasure in my heart...the amazing adults in my life that have counseled and mentored me...the a church body that is indescribable - I never knew that church could be like this...a home that we've had the chance to dig in and remodel...a job...

The list could go on forever and ever...

I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families tomorrow - and remember...everything you have is because of CHRIST!

Desert Song

We sang this song at church today...it was the first time I've heard it and WOW. Spoke to my heart! Here are the lyrics! If you want to see the video and an amazing story behind this song click on this link: Desert Song by Hillsong

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

Verse 2:
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've recieved I will sow