Day Fourteen

The snow is melting, and its nice enough outside to play with my nanny boys! Here at work, we have exchanged the snowpants, boots, and gloves for helmets, scooters, and bikes! 


I am delighted to share that I(/We) have made the decision to go home this summer and attend the University of Montana in the fall. I am really excited about this decision. Jeremy is planning on doing the same. It will be SO great to be closer to my parents and brothers! I absolutely love Minnesota (mostly the shopping and the people), but home is where the heart is... ;) 


My mom is going to be here the day after tomorrow, which will be a blast. I am excited to show her my life here in Minnesota and to introduce her to all my friends here. Then in about 10 days I'm going on choir tour! We're going all the way to California. Long bus rides, reading books, card games, beach, ocean, sun, sand, sandals, shorts, singing beautiful songs to the Lord (14 days in a row....), sharing amazing fellowship with the people in my choir, and so much more. It's going to be awesome! 


I have been comforted this week by how unfailing God's love, forgiveness, and faithfulness is to us. It amazes me how we can be so sinful and overtaken by this world but God still loves us, forgives us, and is right there for us to come back to- No matter what we do or do not do. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God (love, forgiveness, faithfulness: Grace) is eternal life. What an amazing God we serve. 


My gluten-free diet is... dwindling? diminishing? not really happening anymore? I have been slowly reintroducing gluten-containing foods and seeing how I react, and so far, only the Chewy brand granola bars have made me sick. The breadstick at Olive Garden, the bites of apple fritter at Sbux and Caribou, organic granola bars, and other bites of foods, have not made me sick. Praise the Lord! Maybe I can begin eating gluten again! (within reason...) I am going to keep taking one small step at a time, and continue being extra cautious and aware of what my body is doing. 


Every day I continue loving Jeremy more and more. He encourages me in ways I struggle, understands me better than even I do sometimes, and never fails to love me unconditionally. I love that we can hang out when I haven't taken a shower, he lets me take naps while he watches basketball on Sunday afternoons, and he tells me I'm beautiful everyday (usually more than once a day). (Sorry, again, for ranting about him so much!) 

Romans 8:31-39 (MSG)

"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. 

   We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."