He Is Risen

Today is Good Friday.  It is the day that commemorates the crucifixion of Christ and His death on Calvary.  Praise the Lord, the story doesn't end there.  The Bible tells us that on the third day, He rose and defeated death!  The tomb is empty, friends!

My Savior Lives!

As I write this,  I am listening to "Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns.  If you've never heard it, please take a minute to listen here.  The words to this song touch my heart.

Living He loved me...
Dying He saved me...
And buried He carried my sins far away.
Rising He justified freely forever...
One day He's coming...
Oh, glorious day.

I can not comprehend that kind of love.  


The kind of love that would cause a Father to send His Son to die so that I could live.


The kind of love that would cause the Son to freely and willingly give up His life to pay a price that I couldn't pay.


The kind of love that sees my sin, my failures, my brokenness, and yet still wants me for His own.


I can't comprehend that kind of love.

How can the Creator of the universe love me that much?  


The One who hung the stars in the sky and makes the sun shine during the day?


The One who can calm a raging sea,  who spins the planets in orbit, who took on MY sin so that I could have eternal life with Him?


How could a God so powerful and mighty love me so much?  

It's because of grace, my friends.  God's grace is possible thru the blood that Jesus shed for us.


It's unmerited mercy; a gift from God of salvation.  


Praise God for His precious gift!  This Easter season, don't forget His love.  And His mercy.  And His grace.


May you have a blessed celebration of His victory over death!

Marriage Is Hard Work

Tonight, I feel almost compelled to write about marriage.  Being married just shy of two years, I hardly feel qualified to offer any insight into it at all.  But I'm going to anyway. 


*Smiles*


So, here goes...


Being married is hard work, folks.  Yep, that starry-eyed, mushy, married-life-is-the-best-thing-ever feeling...it's just not there every day.  Life happens, and those "just starting out" feelings fade.

Before we go on, let me insert here that I am madly in love with my husband.  God has blessed me so much by putting us together and I can not imagine my life without him.  


Do I love him more every day?  Most definitely.  


Do I feel absolutely giddy every day?  Nope.


Marriage takes work.  You have to adapt, grow, and mature as you go along.  You have to pray, trust and believe.  And you have to make a conscious effort to do this every.single.day.


Building a Godly marriage is not easy.  It takes commitment.  And grace.  A whole lot of grace.

It takes submission to your husband.  This is sometimes a hard one for me, as I am sure it is for some of you ladies.  But the Bible tells us to submit to our husbands.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (Ephesians 5:22-23)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25)

Wow...that kind of love sure makes it much easier to be submissive.  Praise the Lord for a husband who loves me as close as he can to the way that Christ loves the church.


Isn't it wonderful, the way that God designed marriage?  Each spouse gives to the other what the one lacks.  In this way, they complete each other and the two become united as one.

...For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh (Matthew 19:5)

God's design for marriage is perfect.  However, we have a sinful nature.  And sin separates us from God's perfect plan.  Because of this, being married takes a daily determination to give of yourself for the good of your husband.


God created man and woman for each other.  Marriage was planned for the good of man.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18)

It's hard work.


It's a day-to-day intentional effort to be the wife that your husband deserves, to put his needs above your own, and to honor God in your marriage.


But it's rewarding.  A happy marriage is a true blessing.  And I am blessed.

Kristy Ketterman Photography

Thanks for listening, friends.  Much love to you all!

Thinking and Reflecting

Boy, oh boy, has it been HOT outside this past week!  Today is the official first day of spring but it feels more like the middle of July.

Hubby and I went for a nice little drive after church on Sunday, just enjoying the afternoon together.  Everything is so pretty this time of the year.  The trees and flowers are blooming so beautifully!  God has brought the earth to life one more time.  He is good.

And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. (Psalm 72:19)

I started reading The Hunger Games series this week.  Wow!  I am surprised by how good the first book was.  I'm over halfway through the second book (Catching Fire) and it's just as good as the first book was.  Definitely a recommended read.  Hubby is even enjoying them, too!

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And now, we must insert some photos because after all, what kind of blog post would this be without pictures?

*Smiles*

This photo is so serene.  When I look at it, I see just a small portion of how big God really is.

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:10)

 

Cherry trees are in full bloom in the Bluegrass state.  Beautiful, aren't they?

The dogwood tree is one of my favorite trees.  This bloom is still green, but it's beautiful, just the same.  When I see it, I am always reminded of the story about the legend of the Dogwood tree.  If you've never read it, you can do so here.  The flower in the shape of a cross is a reminder of the sacrifice Christ made for us.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

And here's a picture of Hubby, just because I love him.  And because he's so cute!

Isn't God good, y'all?  He's blessed me so much more than I deserve.  I am so thankful that, even when I mess up, He still loves me and His grace is sufficient.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

Happy Spring, my friends!

Welcome To My Crazy Life

What to write for my very first blog post....hmm....


An introduction, maybe?  A glimpse into this crazy, beautiful, wonderful life I'm living?


M'kay...this is us, Hubby and me:

Aren't we sweet?  I heart him.  I heart black and white photos too. *sigh*


He's just too cute.  OK, on to other things.  


This is my sweet fur baby.  His name's Jasper:

It's a little blurry, but you get the jist.  He's spoiled.  But we love him.


And these...these are the four most beautiful blessings I've ever received. My nieces and nephews:

Correction:  Five beautiful blessings, since Hubby's in this picture too.


Are they not the.most.precious kids EVAH?  Yep, I think so too.  They are so much fun and I love them tons!  My sister's a wonderful Mommy and being an auntie to these four is amazing.


So, that's us.  Hubby and I both work full-time.  We enjoy each other, visit the kids as often as we can, and strive daily to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to our Father.


I'm totally excited about getting this blog started, if only to have a place to reflect on our memories.  Our life is sometimes crazy, sometimes wonderful and beautiful, occasionally stressful, but always blessed.  This is where you can join us in our journey, through the good times and the bad, as we continuously praise God for His grace.


Have a blessed week, y'all!