My friend Patty and I have been reading the One Year Bible together, sort of as an accountability thing. She often sends me thoughts on what she is reading and learning, and today she sent me the following paragraphs. They were encouraging to me, so I'm sharing them with you. I respect and love Patty. She is a fighter, an all-or-nothing kind of girl. She is brave and beautiful. Thank you, Patty, for sharing these thoughts with me.
"Today I reflected on the extreme differences between David and Paul. Both mighty men of God, but so incredibly different.
David was ordained to be a mighty man of war. He struggled with his flesh a lot. Maybe it was partially because of the violence and bloodshed that came from his hands & the mindset that he had to have in order to live out his calling. Maybe it was just a personality thing. Maybe both? He went through so much agonizing as he struggled with his flesh. I wonder if a lot of it was self inflicted. Even though he cried out to God for help, he focused a lot on himself and his circumstances. He had many wives and still committed adultry. David was a hot mess; yet he was still greatly loved by the people because his heart desired love, peace, and good will even though he didn't always know how to maintain it. He loved his people & he would fight for them to the death. It's amazing to think about how many thousands men were loyal to him because of this... loyal to the death as well. They were not only selected to fight under him, they chose to willfully fight under him with honor and pride, and even though he was such a sinful man, God considered him to be a close friend. His sin was extreme; yet his praises were also extreme. Whether good or bad, he put his full heart into whatever he was doing & he went all out. I identify greatly with David.
Then there's Paul who had the type of charactor that we would hold as ideal for the Christian man. He suffered and I'm sure he went through many emotions as well... depression, sadness, fear, ect... He never stayed fixed on himself, but rather he was truely a man who was dead to his flesh. He was not a murderer (well, not anymore), but he suffered over and over again for the sake of Christ. He never complained and regardless of the circumstance, he carried God's peace with him. He was the perfect example of a man who was merely living on this earth as a foreigner, but he did not make this world his home. He went without; yet God always provided. He held nothing earthly dear to him except for the Gospel & the love of Christ... whether he was receiving it or giving it. Perhaps he was better able to uphold this demeanor because of the evil that had once existed in him... because of the suffering that he caused other... because of the innocent blood he had shed... to go another step, and to breathe one more breath alone displayed amazing grace and mercy from God & how dare he complain, right? I dunno know. Maybe it was because of his evil past that he could not help but remain completely humble at all times regardless of who or what he faced. Or maybe it was again due to his type of personality and perhaps even a greater maturity?
Maybe if David was like Paul, he would not have survived for a moment. And maybe if Paul was like David, the Lord would not have tolerated his behavior as much because of his evil past. One thing I know is that we always feel this pressure to live our Christian lives to resemble Pauls life more than we would David's, but is one better than the other!?! I know we hold both of them in high esteem, but you have to admitt that we have this ideal Christian living in mind that we are supposed to meet up to. Maybe it's okay that I'm not exactly like Paul, but more so like David. I have a fighting spirit. At times I think it comes from my flesh, but I also think it's been given to me for the purpose of Christ.
Then again, the only one we ought to compare ourselves to and try to immitate is Jesus Christ, right! He did not fight against flesh and blood. He brought peace and truth wherever he went. Other's may beg to differ because this peace & truth brought controversy. Still, if controversy surrounds us, we assume that God is not involved, and I'm learning that that is not true."
Today, Jesus gave me the greatest anniversary gift - I felt the baby move for the first time. What an amazing and mighty God we serve. 
It's hard to believe, but on Saturday JP and I will celebrate our one year anniversary. Although...I don't know if it's harder to believe that it has ALREADY been a year or that it has ONLY been a year! :) I mean that in the best way - sometimes I feel as though we've been married forever. I can barely remember what life was like before marriage. We've been through so much, one year seems too short. 
(Special thanks to Brenda Larson for making this picture "less blue" for us.) :) 
So today, I am the proud new owner of a BRAND NEW Toyota Scion Xb. You know, those boxy-looking cars you see every now and then. We decided to go with the Scion because it's very affordable, has the lowest cost-to-own in its class, gets great gas mileage, and has a really good resale value. It's also cool-looking and very roomy. 
I have to say, I am deeply disappointed that the ABC series "Lost" has not been nominated for any noteable Emmys this year!!! JP and I started watching this show a few months ago and were so hooked we watched the first two seasons in no time at all. We are anxiously awaiting the start of the third season this fall. 
