He Loves Me! He Really, Really Loves Me!

I know you think this is going to be about Troy. It's not. Troy loves me more than anyone else in the world, but only in the capacity that a human can love.

After 20+ years of having a personal relationship with Jesus, it occurred to me yesterday morning that I really didn't believe He loved me in the way He says He does. No doubt, He loves me, but there are billions of people in this world that He loves just as much as He loves me. I'm one in billions that He splits His time between. Nothing special. He says He knows my name, the number of hairs on my head, even knew me before I was born. But He knows that about everyone, what makes me special? I'm just like everyone else in His eyes and in His heart.

And then it happened....

I heard the phrase, "God is NOT a big human." I've heard this before, but it struck a different chord in my heart. I was treating God as if He were just a bigger, better, new and improved human. He's not! Of course He can "split" his time between everyone. Time is nothing and everything to God. "Splitting" time between people or things is not an issue. He is everywhere at every time. He's rejoicing with me as I finally make this connection and at the same time comforting, healing, loving people everywhere.

My mind doesn't comprehend this Awesome God. I think I'll stop trying to "read" His mind and just bask in the knowledge that the creator of the universe created me. He had a plan for my life before the universe was formed. He knows all my flaws, yet only sees my righteousness through Jesus. He knows everything about me, my deepest thoughts, dreams, and fears. He laughs with me and weeps for me. And He loves me! He really, really loves me!

Troy Versus the I-Pod

Troy works as a Field Service Engineer in a company that installs and maintains batteries and generators for large companies so that if their power goes off, they still have back-up power so that the computers and other vital electronics in the building don't shut off. Very intense, technology-driven work. At any time, Troy is called upon to diagnose the origin of a problem in order to save a company thousands of dollars in lost productivity if the power is lost. I'm very proud of the work Troy does.

Just don't leave him alone in a room with an I-Pod!

Troy got an I-Pod yesterday. If you listened to him, you would think the I-Pod was a futuristic device inadvertently left behind by some alien life form during their last exploratory trip to Earth!

Let's just say that after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Troy is a (disgruntled) registered owner of a new I-Pod Nano. He's learned to sync his new gadget with his music library and even downloaded a few podcasts.

I just hope God and the Colorado State Patrol are merciful with him as he tries to find his favorite song while driving on I-25!

My Remodeled Blog

So, I can't take all the credit, but isn't the new format adorable?!?! My blog feels much more like me now! I owe the majority of the change to this great blog called cutestblogontheblock.com . This sight has free backgrounds and all sorts of other fun stuff.

PaintShop Pro 8 kicked my butt again! I think I have a skill mastered and then I realize that something is just not right. ARGH! I finally gave up on creating my own background but I did finally use it to make my title picture a little fancier.

More about Our New Friends

Okay, finally I'm actually writing what I promised weeks ago.

Our new friends, Ivan, Vicky, and Ivonne are from Basconcobe, Mexico. They are a part of Rava Ministries. Rava Ministries houses and arranges missionary activities for the youth group in our church as they travel to Basconcobe and the surrounding areas between December 26 and January 1 each year.

This year as our church was planning the annual Vacation Bible School, God planted the vision to reach out to the Hispanic community in Castle Rock by offering Backyard Bible Club in local parks. God also used the relationship with Rava Ministries to make this vision a reality. Some of the Rava Ministry team members traveled to Castle Rock and stayed with members of the church while they helped to facilitate the Backyard Bible Clubs.

Troy and I were blessed to have Ivan, Vicky, and Ivonne Medina stay with us for the entire week. They would get ready early in the morning, leave for a day of Bible Club, and then return late in time to get ready for bed. Just time to rest and relax before another day out in the sun. Ivan doesn't speak English, and I don't speak Spanish, so Vicky and Troy were doing a lot of interpreting! We did share a common love for breakfast burritos, Indiana Jones, and of course Jesus Christ.

My favorite part of the visit was watching Ivonne play with a Play-Do kit I brought home for her. She LOVED it. Ivonne also loved coming down stairs in the morning to visit with me before Vicky was ready. She would chatter away as she was eating her cereal. I had no idea what she was saying, so I would just smile and nod. No telling what I was agreeing to!

After taking them to the airport on Saturday, the house seemed very, very empty. I've thought about them often. Last week we received a beautiful letter, two t-shirts from Rava Ministries, and a plaque that said, "Bienvenida, Mi casa es tu casa" ("Welcome, My House is Your House"). This was one of the only things I could say in Spanish!



God has a beautiful, special way of reminding us of Christian Love. That blessed week was such a precious reminder.

Nuevos Amigos (New Friends)

Our new friends, Vicky, Ivan, and Ivonne, left our house on Saturday to travel back home to Mexico. I will write more later about this experience. My heart is full of wonderful memories.