1st Birthday

Milestones. This year has been marked by them. More than any other this year has been all about steps and major hurdles. Lilly is an amazing blessing that has challenged me to be more than I thought I could be. Today we are celebrating a day that we doubted would ever take place. More than most this birthday signifies a relationship and reliance on God that is deeper than I thought possible. We have been to the doctor more times this year than I care to count and Lilly still has work to do but she is progressing beautifully! It has been amazing to continue to watch God work through this little miracle.
Lilly is in a very fun stage right now. She has a crazy desire to crawl and gets so mad at her body when it doesn't do what she wants. It is so funny to watch. Is it wrong that I get entertained by my daughters frustration? Question for another time. But it does give me pause about how we should pursue God in our lives. Lilly will continue to attempt to crawl until she gets it and then will move on to the next challenge in her life. She has taught me that we should have the same attitude with the trials that God presents in our lives. We need to work with all our might towards pursuing God in our lives and then faithfully rely on Him to handle the rest. Basically Lilly has taught me that even when the odds are stacked against you to fail, having your heart in the right place will reveal God at work in your everyday lives. Thank you Lilly, Daddy loves you! Happy Birthday!

30

Do you ever feel like life is one of those country songs where the dog dies, car won't start and the bills aren't paid? Do you ever say to yourself, "I just want one thing to go right?" I turned 30 a few weeks ago and I have been trying to figure out what some of the important things are that I have learned. For one, the realization that life doesn't get easier has come crashing down around me. For some reason years ago I felt like if I could just get through the hard moments life would settle down and get more simple. Which when I think about that now doesn't really make any sense at all. Maybe it was a way to cope with difficult times. Who knows? The reality is that if life gets anything, it gets harder. I think this is because there is a cycle that takes place. When God feels that we have mastered a given skill He simply says, "There's more." And we move on to the next skill. There is a progression to life that exponentially scales with how willing you are to learn what God has to teach you. This has brought the importance of humility to the forefront of my thoughts. Until I can humble myself before God and fully surrender to Him I will not hear all that He is trying to teach me. The ebb and flow of life are those pivotal moments in which God asks, "Are you ready?" And our actions respond with "yes" or "no". In the midst of my lack of readiness God still manages to get His will accomplished. Through my iniquity His light shines forth. It helps me to understand how the heroes of old did what they did with all of their flaws on full display. Moses with his anger and moments of doubt, Abraham and his impatience, David and his lust and Peter with his lack of self control. All of these men struggled with life. None of them had it easy. But through them God chose to work. Through them God brought about the fulfillment of His love for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. So through the hurt, joy, pain, laughter, tears and hugs we get to live a life at peace with the knowledge that God loves us so much He was willing to give His one and only Son to save us from ourselves. To me life can not get hard enough to change how that makes me want to respond to such a loving God. He is Risen!