Two for the Road, Grandpa

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

On Jordan's stormy banks I stand
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land
Where my possessions lie

All o'er those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal day
There God, the Son forever reigns
And scatters night away.

I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land
I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land

No chilling wind nor poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore
Where sickness, sorrow, pain and death
Are felt and feared no more

I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land
I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land

When shall I see that happy place
And be forever blessed
When shall I see my Father's face
And in His bosom rest

I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land
I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the Promised Land

Shopping Surprise!

In the Fall, Janice came down from BC to visit. I love when Janice visits. I love her and also the fun that she brings. Somehow, we usually end up shopping, and usually end up on 23rd. On that particular visit, I hadn't shopped that area in quite some time, and so hadn't been aware a hat store had opened.

I love hats, and I love this hat store. It is fabulous. They do a "frequent hat buyers" card. Yes, they do. And yes, we are almost at our free hat.

I have been saving for a particular hat I found at Goorin Bros for a little while, and we finally went to get it today and it turns out they have a Winter sale!

Hat sale!

Needless to say, we bought more than the one hat.

Mt St Helens is Out

In Portland we often refer to days when "the mountain is out", referring to whether or not we can see Mt Hood. Recently, we've had days with just partial clouds where the base of Mt Hood was visit, which mostly counts. I can still see how much snow is on it, and it usually means it's not raining, and there is at least some sun coming through.
But today, while Josh and I were driving across the Marquam bridge, after I had distracted him by pointing out the gravely area just South of OMSI where a scene from Leverage was filmed in the episode we watched last night, I spotted St Helens. Haven't seen that mountain in ages! It felt sort of like seeing an old friend - ah! Mt St Helens, we've missed you! I felt almost like I'd forgotten what she looked like.
Now this evening at work, the sky is blue with pink and grey clouds. I stood up from my cubicle to walk around for a few minutes and spotted her again, this time with a cloud casting a shadow on the top half, but she was not enveloped.

Re-Reading

Owning books is a strange thing: you read a book and it becomes a part of you, so why keep it? Why re-read? Why buy when the library exists?
For me, I love going to the library, and knowing it's there in case I have a book I really want to read and can't pay for, or am not totally sure I want to read it, but want to give it a try - a temporary try.
Books that I really have loved I want to own. Sometimes I buy books just based on how they look. Sometimes if I have loved a book I want to have it on hand to share with other people.
I think I enjoy re-reading. I don't do it terribly often (with the exception of children's books) and I think I ought to do it more. There is always the push-pull of the desire to read new books and the desire to relive forgotten ones. So many books are out there to be read! And then again, so many books sit on my shelf as if they were never read, either because they were read when I was of a different reading/maturity level and had a different experience of them, because I read them hurriedly for school, or because they were read so long ago I have simply forgotten the words inside.
So I usually opt to not re-read. I figure I should move on to new books.
I recently started re-reading "The Pressure's Off" by Larry Crabb. Last year we read "The PAPA Prayer" for small group and it was pretty impacting and life changing. I read this one while I was at Taurenhoff for our one assigned book. I decided to re-read it because I remember close to nothing about it, and because I know Larry Crabb writes things I should read. Funny that I shouldn't remember any of this book because I'm pretty sure I wrote a paper on it.
Anyway, here is a tidbit I read today that I found poignant (if you find it depressing, I'll let you borrow the book and you can read the exciting, helpful stuff).

"The great tragedy in modern Christianity is that pools of living water are bubbling in the burning sand of our souls and we don't know it. We haven't dug deep enough through the debris of our self-deception, through the strategies we carefully follow to make life work, to drink from the divine stream within. We're drinking polluted water and thinking it's pure. Worse, we're feeling refreshed"

Sisters

I Want I Want!

Lamp
If you have not yet clicked on this link because you aren't sure what it holds - if it will be a waste of your time, something you aren't interested in, or something you will have to explore in order to find what was actually meant to be linked - have no fear! I understand. I also do not like to click on mostly unidentified links. I am often not interested in what you're interested in. I came to your blog to see what you think about something, not just see the thing itself. That being said, I think you'll want to check this out.
I do have one word of warning, though: you may face an overwhelming desire to find out where in the world you can purchase one of these (or find the evil person who posted it on the internet when you really actually can't buy it and have them jailed).
I love this item because it is both technologically innovative and visually/emotionally pleasing.
Did I mention I really want one?

Another year, another year older

As Josh and I attempt to join the real, responsible world of adults, we have found it necessary to purchase things on credit cards. It's something you have to be good at if you want to be a homeowner. (Please try to envision the faces I am making.) If you have spoken with us recently, you might have heard us mention how kind of irritating and sort of backward we find it that we have to be sort of irresponsible to be considered responsible.
Hmph!
Well, it's not all that bad. We had a bigger than normal Christmas - one idea for putting things on a credit card. But then we paid it off. Oops. So, we now have a new addition to our living room! A beautiful, not ghetto, leather couch! Great fabulousness!
It fits us both with room for more. It does not require a slipcover. It has it's own pillows. It will be easy to clean. It has legs so we can clean under it. It fits in the room. It is ... what you've all been waiting for ... comfortable to sit on.
Welcome, brown couch!

Schreck's Year End Review

Daily Life and Highlights: it's good to remember.

January: Not much work for either of us - God does a whole lot of providing and sustaining. Picked up big blue desk! Josh started teaching Biblical Background and the Big Picture.
February: still not working much - learning to go with God's plan rather than ours. Spend Valentine's at the beach and went snowboarding with the college group.
March: Josh started working more, I get a part time job - God knows what we need and what we can handle (part time is all I can handle). We start watching kiddos at church Wednesday nights. Started off the soccer season early with a pre-season Timbers game.!
April: planning for Women's Retreat worship consumed most of my spare time - so joyous and rewarding. Josh spent a lot of time working on sunday school and his photography business plan.
May: Josh continues to play indoor soccer. I help plan and attend various showers/parties for friends getting married and having babies and Grandma and Grandpa's 60th anniversary. Timber's season starts.
June: Weddings, soccer and Sizzle! Sunday school session ends, and I take a new route - 4 weeks of floral design classes.
July: Josh has the month off work; I take two weeks off for vacation in SC (again we see God's blessing). HP6 comes out!
August: Three camping trips (college, 1 year anniversary, and all church). Josh's work season starts with a bang, I pick up more hours at work, and we contemplate house buying.
September: lots of work. We get a gym membership and spend our evenings between the gym and friend's houses.
October: Work gets crazier as I take on a new role, Josh picks up more responsibility, and we start working dances.
November: More work. We get the official "okay" to go ahead with our plans for a college service at Temple. We take a mini vacation over Thanksgiving and talk about how to trust God when there's a lot going on as much as when there's little).
December: Work, various Christmas fun, and lots of planning for Night Church and Bramble (floral design business starting soon!)