And she's off!

Beauty in Wasteland

I remember two years ago I saw these daffodils come up from a pile of stones near our house, but by the time I thought to capture them on film, the flowers had lost their bloom. I am not sure what strikes me about these particular flowers...I think it just seems so out of place to have these beautiful flowers, promising of Spring, in the middle of a pile of rubble.

Quest for More....

This week I started Paul Tripp's book: Quest for More: living for something bigger than you. It is excellent, and I highly recommend it to all reading this entry. The premise of the book (from what I've read so far) is how we all have a tendency to shrink the glorious kingdom of our Savior down to the size of our life and desires. It is about building God's kingdom instead of our own "kingdom of one." I have written down a ton of quotes that are so very relevant to my life and thought I'd share some here (this is long, but good!):

"In a fallen world there is a powerful pressure to constrict your life to the shape and size of your life. There is a compelling tendency to forget who you are and what you were made for. There is a tendency to be short-sighted, myopic, and easily distracted. There is a tendency to settle for less when you have been created for more." pg. 22

I think this is particularly true in this season. It's so easy for me to become so focused on day to day things like getting all my chores done, nap schedule, my schedule, messes, decorating the house...etc.

"Ask yourself: What makes your good day a good day? What are the things that tend to make you happy and satisfied? What gives your life a sense of meaning and purpose? What are the things you faithfully pursue, and what are you hoping to experience once you get them? If I watched the video of your last year, what treasure would I conclude you're after?" pg. 53

"Things as mundane as wardrobe, menu, schedule, workload, location, traffic, weather, being right, getting affirmed, money, housing, employment, gardens, family rooms, sex, leisure, who's in the bathroom first, who did what with my newspaper, who ate the last of the cereal, etc.--all of which are important in some way-- rise to a spiritually dangerous level in the heat of the moment...day after day, week after week, year after year, these little moments set the character of a person's life." pg. 31

"There is a rich and satisfying life to be found. There are delights to be known that will transcend anything you could plan or achieve for yourself...But these things will never be found as long as you are holding tightly to your life." pg. 121

And lastly:

"Hope. What are you hoping for? What basket have you put all of your eggs in? Where do you tend to say, "If only I had_____, then my life would be great"? What do you look forward to and hope that you can experience? What occupies your mind and controls your dreams? Are you constantly investing in what can't deliver and won't last? IS Christ your hope? IS he the solid rock on which your life stands? When Christ is my hope, he becomes the one thing in which I have confidence." pg. 107

You can buy the book here.

Birthday pics

Kathryn is taking a long nap today, which is a nice chance to catch up on some things that I've been meaning to do the last few days...one of which is post a new post. Here are some pictures from Kathryn's birthday. She loved eating the cake! Sorry, not too deep for this post but at least some new pictures so you don't get too bored checking my blog. :)

Our new little friend

Baby Girl Lechner #2 (name still is being decided) joined the world yesterday! We are so excited for this new little friend and neighbor! She is a cutie.