catching up

i think that should be my blog post title each time, due to the lack of posting i've been doing lately. tonight i find myself getting under the covers before 9:30, reading my Bible, and thumbing through OLD journal entries from my time as a counselor one summer at K-Colorado (camp KIVU), and reading some of my old blog entries. i am amazed at how much i write. i have always enjoyed writing, but there are some days from this blog and in my journals that i think- why did i write that? but i am glad i've recorded as much as a i have. it is awesome to look back and see God's faithfulness and plan and perfect timing unfold in my life.
my heart, as is with so many, is heavy over what happened friday morning in newtown,CT. all day yesterday and today i've had fox news on in my room at work. occasionally, i would change it to kelly/michael live or the food network- but i couldn't help thinking how the world continues to move on and the focus will slowly move away from that tiny town in connecticut that just experienced one of the worst school shootings in our nation's history which left 20 elem school children dead and families torn apart. my mind is blown away by what has happened. my hope and strength through the past few days has come through the Bible and the promises of the only hope and God capable of giving comfort and peace.

in my journal from camp i came across these 2 quotes which i found encouraging at that time:
"the things we fear (pain, failure, disgrace, rejection, limitations) are ultimately some of our finest teachers, educating us in compassion, grace, wisdom, and understanding."
"A calmer faith- that's the quiet place within us where we don't get whiplash everytime life tosses us a curve, when we don't revolt when HIS plan and ours conflict. where we relax in the midst of our answerless season. when we accept (and expect) deserts in our spiritual journey as surely as we do joy.
my most painful experiences have given me my greatest strength and fiber- what i most needed to mature...through them I was forced to rely on the LORD, deal with reality for what it was, defer reward- in short, quit griping and grow up. the very things i hated have been the making of me".