He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater...

"He Giveth More Grace" by Annie Johnson Flint

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has not limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth and giveth again.

Here's a poem that I've really liked for awhile, but I've never posted it. But it's been on my mind this week and especially this morning after the Worship service. I wrote music for it (which also involved adding a chorus) to help me remember it and because the words are so beautiful they deserve to be on display. It was the first song I'd ever written... so it's definitely not Grammy worthy, but I think the words are the most important part anyway.

Today I visited Travis Avenue Baptist Church. The theme for the sermon was "Faith-ful Hearts" and the pastor used most of the time to let a missionary speak. She and her husband had gone to Iraq as missionaries after the war started and worked with some others who were already there. They ended up being attacked and everyone died except her. She lost her husband, fingers and had many surgeries. What amazed me so much, was that in her crisis of belief, she had so much faith in God to be able to rejoice, even in the hospital. After having lost so much, she didn't lose her faith or her love for God; if anything, it was strengthened. I wish I could relate her story more accurately and powerfully. It was incredibly moving and inspiring. It made me realize how afraid and faithless I am sometimes. I realize that not everyone is called to Iraq, but I know there have been times I felt called to do something and disobeyed because it was too scary or didn't fit in with what I thought my life should be like. Her testimony really made me stop and think about how lightly I've taken God's call recently because I've been so preoccupied with other matters.

During the service we sang "I Have Decided" and what really stuck out to me, was the last verse. "The world behind me, the cross before me..." I've sung that song a million times it seems during invitations but all of a sudden the weight of what this woman said sunk in. The cross isn't a pretty or pleasant place and it's ludicrous for a sane person to choose that over a comfortable world, but it's where we're called to go. The pastor said it better, "We all want to be like Jesus, we just don't want the cross."

A girl and her scanner...

I've gone crazy with the new scanner, so I'm catching up on posting pics rather than actually doing what I'm supposed to... when will I learn to channel productivity to the appropriate times?!

This is Halloween 2003... I'm Cher if you couldn't tell. It's hard to do an impersonation for a picture, it just looks awkward! 

Halloween 2004- I'm Jem (minus the Rockers), Becky as Frida, and Garrett as the Goth Guy. 

Zane looking very mischevious for a 2 day old. Please note the adorable amount of spiky hair and the distinctive huge Fuller hands! 

You must've been a beautiful baby...

My holiday was great. First of all it was great because I realized that it was twice as long as I thought! For some sick reason, I thought I would only have one week at home with the fam... until Stephen reminded me that I actually had two full weeks... what a wonderful surprise! I got to rock a baby every day (which if you've known me long at all, you know it's my passion) and kiss his cute chubby cheeks! It really doesn't get much better than that. I worked on my crossword completion skills, which are embarrassing especially when compared to my father and sister who have been doing them much longer. I did in fact finish a whole puzzle though! I was pretty pumped about that. Other than crosswords and the Jumble just adjacent to it I spent a lot of my break playing the piano and guitar, holding Zane, catching up on "Law and Order," holding Zane, shopping for Zane, and talking with old friends and the fam and of course, holding Zane some more.

I'm posting my favorite picture of Zane. I took it right after he got home from the hospital, so he was 2 days old. He's a whopping 3 weeks and 4 days old! Eileen and I both talked about how hard it is to imagine him actually being bigger than us some day. I did the calculations and I'll be 38 when he's able to drive... ay yi yi! It's funny how infants make you think, especially since they can't interact in conversation with you. I spent so many hours watching Zane sleep and marveling about how tiny the bones in his fingers are, and amazed at the whole development process... how did he come out so perfectly?! It does help give me some perspective and motivation for my medical studies, which is always needed. I'm excited about getting to be a part of his life and getting to know his personality (we think he might be a very serious little boy) and see him grow into his own person and hear what he has to say. But I suppose I've gushed enough about Zane... at least for now!