Issue, Tissue, Miss You

This past week it was brought to my mind very specifically an "issue" I have.  I'd sort of noticed it before, but this week it was rather specifically defined in my thoughts.  It's something that exists for the most part in my head, but it also leaks out into my attitude and thusly into my relationships with others.

In less therapist-y language and more blunt, Bible-y language, I was convicted of a specific sin.  It seems there are Two who would like us to notice our sin.  One is satan who would like to use that knowledge to discourage us, to weigh us down, to point out how we're always screwing up, to show us how we'll never be good enough, to let us know we can never escape.  The other is the Holy Spirit who uses that knowledge to to show us God's infinite love and to work for our healing.

This week's issue/sin revelation was of the second type.  It was not upsetting to hear in my mind about my problem.  It was comforting and refreshing, because I know that Jesus does not want to condemn me.  He loves me, and he wants to help me weed this ugly thing out of my life.  Even if the process is hard and perhaps painful at times, I know his care, and that he will see me through.  It is an experience of sweet communion with the holy One.

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Also, here's our new piano before the scrubbing commenced:

Annie's new hobby is playing the piano.  She loves it!  Her other new hobby is trying to eat everything in sight.  This is especially evident at the dinner table.  Even though she isn't quite ready to ingest solids, she loves looking at all the pretty colors of the food.  She gets this wide-eyed almost maniacal look of delight and starts grabbing at things and stuffing them into her mouth with great vigor.  Her two favorites that she was allowed this week were a banana peel and some watermelon rind.  Yum, Yum!

And, we spent the weekend in this lovely place:

That would be Jared's parents' home.  Got to visit with his grandparents and brother and sister-in-law, too.

And last night we had an impromptu dinner party here with Jeffrey and Linda and Linda's mom who was in town for the long weekend.  I do love an impromptu gathering.

More visits coming up - Emily and Chad will be flying in Thursday morning!!!!

And just for fun, here's one more picture:

And bother, it seems to be sideways no matter what I do.  Anyway, I used to work for a blind theory professor named Mr. Guy, and this is exactly what he looked like when he was reading Braille.