In Christ Alone

There is a song we have been singing in church for quite sometime now, and it pulls at my heart strings every time we sing it. I can barely make it through without crying and becoming a puddle on the floor during worship! The words are incredible, 100% Biblically accurate (which may sound funny, but it is amazing how many worship songs aren't, and Adam and I choose to sing the ones that are!) and overall, it is just an amazing, well-written song. If you have a second, take time to read the words...I pray they will remind you of God's goodness, faithfulness, and His grace in giving us Jesus!

In Christ Alone

- - -

In Christ alone, my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

firm through the fiercest drought and storm;

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease;

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

- - -

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,

fullness of God in helpless Babe;

This gift of love, and righteousness,

scorned by the ones He came to save;

'Til on that cross, as Jesus died,

the wrath of God was satisfied.

For every sin on Him was laid,

Here in the death of Christ I live.

- - -

There in the ground His body lay,

light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

up from the grave He rose again;

and as He stands in victory,

sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine,

bought with the precious blood of Christ!

- - -

(I love this next verse)

- - -

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

this is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny;

No power of hell, no scheme of man

can ever pluck me from His hand;

'til He returns or calls me home;

here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Weekends...

fly by way too fast. Especially since Adam went into the ministry. With our Sundays full (church in the morning and youth choir in the afternoons) we get home around 6 or 7 and have just enough time to get ready to start the regular work week again! Today I spent the entire day, 8-4, downtown at a seminar to further my education in elementary music. Don't get me wrong, I love learning new techniques and material to use with my kiddos, but I also love having my one day off a week at home with my hub! Couldn't we just make the weeks 8 days long, with a 3 day weekend?
And yet I am so thankful for my job, my kids, my principal...I wouldn't rather be anywhere else (other than home!) I guess the battle between choosing to work full-time and working part-time so I can be home more continues to rage in my mind.
I've been reminding myself lately that God calls me to find my joy and peace in Him, not in my surrounding circumstance, and that whatever He has put in front of me (at this point, school) I need to do 100%, as if doing it for my King. I just wish my heart didn't feel so restless! Well, now I am blabbing about nothing...I am off to enjoy the rest of my Saturday with Adam. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

The ER...

...was where I spent the afternoon with my poor husband. If you know Adam well, you are probably well-aquainted with his unusual allergies, including everything from chicken and fish and nuts (nuts are his worst and are deadly to him) to common allergens outside. Although he has had reactions a few times since we got married almost 5 years ago, I have yet to witness a reaction worthy of a visit to the ER. Well, today was the day! Adam had a pasta dish at lunch that evidently had pine nuts in it. After 6 or 7 bites he noticed something wasn't right, and popped a few benadryl. He e-mailed me at work and said it was "pretty bad" but that it would be ok. I remembered a conversation his mother and I had last time he had nuts, and she said to make sure he went to the ER b/c the reaction could worsen at any time. I made him promise me he would go to the ER if it got worse, and then I went back to teaching. I could not stop thinking about him for 45 minutes, and was determined to get him to the hospital to make sure he was ok. At 1:30 I had a break and decided I was going to get someone to cover my class so I could leave and take him to the doctor--before I could go, the phone rang and it was Adam on the way to the ER. Evidently he broke out in hives and started to swell all over! He even used his epi-pen for the first time in his life! I was able to get coverage for my class so I could leave, and by the time I got to the hospital they had pumped him with steriods and were stabilizing him. Needless to say, I am praising God that he is ok. He will stay home tomorrow and go to his allergist to make sure his body is returning back to normal. Sometimes I think that after this long there aren't many firsts left, you know, like the first holiday as a married couple, or the first time you're sick and take care of each other...but I had forgotten that we had yet to go the ER! This is one first I hope to not repeat!