Steadfast Love Never Ceasing

So, last week, Michael wrote me an old-fashioned love letter. Well, old fashioned in every sense except that it was typed ;) This letter melts my heart - because it was written out of true love - biblical love - for my soul. One night after being particularly discouraged about finding a house EVER (no..i don't exaggerate...never...), Mike sent me a 6-page letter full of encouragements and truths to think on - and part of it was a section called "Truths to Cling to when Buying a House (And Every Other Time)" And listed under it is several truths with scriptures that support each one. It has been like a personal devotional study for me! It's been so helpful, and I wanted to share one that spoke to me in particular this morning.

Truth #2: Because of the Cross, we have been brought near to God, in whom our hope is found. Once we are His, He will never abandon us.
Lamentations 3:21-24 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"

I have been brought near to God - that's why I'm sitting here at 5:50 AM, reading my Bible, listening to the rain falling outside, aware that there are new mercies for me - like a package waiting for me as soon as my feet hit the ground. They are here for me today, and there will be new ones tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that! God will never abandon me - there will never be a day that I will wake up and find that no mercies await me. New EVERY morning! How amazing is that?! And therefore, I have hope. For I know, on a future day, when it may be hard to spot the new mercies waiting for me at the foot of my bed, they will be there all the same, and it will be because God has promised them to me in this very verse.
On that day, sometime in the future, when we're looking for a house - God's mercies will be there. On the day we buy a house - God's mercies will be with us then. When we move in, when things need fixing, when little feet start pattering around that house, when we use that house for hospitality and serving, when those little feet turn into teenage stomps, when trial and sadness come to that house, and joy and laughter, whatever the days may bring into that house, one thing will be sure to arrive new each day: the steadfast love of my Lord, and the mercies that He showers on me because of what Christ has done for me on the Cross!
So on this I will think, and call constantly to my mind. For God is my portion, and the One I need - He is the only constant and sure thing in this world, and He will never abandon me.
Steadfast love NEVER ceasing, mercies NEVER coming to an end! What an amazing promise! And all this because I have been forgiven and brought near to God! He truly is our hope - I will cling to this truth, and I will wait for Him. Great indeed is my God's faithfulness.
What do you need new mercies for today?

Andy-Bob

Where do I even begin? Andrew is honestly the best brother I could have ever asked for. God has been so good to give me such an amazing brother. I think back to when we were younger, and we really couldn't stand each other. Well, I couldn't stand him - he seemed to have all the fun annoying me and driving me insane :) I still remember my mom telling me we would be friends one day and not believing her! But that is what has happened!
Andrew, Mike and I love hanging out with you - you make us laugh to no end, and your joy in the Lord is so refreshing. I think one of the things I admire most about you is your purposefulness in everything that you do. I really respect the way you went about choosing a college. You have not only done well academically, you have sought to honor God in what you will do with your future, seeking what HE would have you do. You have been very thoughtful throughout the entire process - praying, getting counsel, thinking through all the pros and cons about being close to home or going away. You have been mature and responsible in a way that is far beyond your years, and I cannot wait to see all that God has in store for you :)

Some favorite memories:

- me mispronouncing 'Oregano,' (ore-a-GAH-no) and you quickly corecting me with still another mis-pronunciation of the word. (Ore-a-GAIN-o) And mom being convinced that neither one of her kids was any good at words :)

- me playing doctor and sticking a Q-tip in your ear...causing it to bleed....which led to Mom having to take you to a REAL doctor. I'm glad your hearing was not permanently damaged :)

- the year you dressed up as a dice for Halloween, and you didn't get past the front yard because you fell off the front porch and landed on your side. And being stuck in a huge box, all you could do was to flail your arm and yell for help until someone came and picked you up :)

- our first day in G-burg when Dad took you to soccer practice, and before you left you thought it would be nice to let Felix out of his cage and let him roam around your room. Except you forgot to mention this to mom, and she walked into your room and stepped on him and screamed bloody murder? That was a fun time.

- remember in Lake George - you and Angela were making pancakes one morning and somehow the smoke set off the fire alarm.....and the entire condo complex had to be evacuated...and you wandered out and asked an old guy what was going on? Even though you were the main culprit and knew exactly what was going on? that was a good one ;)

Andrew - thank you for being my brother :) I pray that your years at PSU will be some of the best years of your life, and that God will meet you in ways you can't even imagine! I love you!

Russell Boys

So today Mike and I watched Silas, Micah and Levi. And we had a blast :) Vicky, yes, I do have much more respect for what you do as a mom (not that I didn't respect you before....but, well you know what I mean!)
Silas had a Tee-Ball game in the morning so we went and cheered him on. Even with one broken arm, that kid can throw and hit like you wouldn't believe!
Micah had quite a few good one-liners today as well, but they are not blog-appropriate :) he sure keeps us laughing!
And Levi is the most content, cuddly, loveable kid ever. Whenever we watch the boys, I tell Mike, "I call Levi!" Gotta call my dibs - that's the only way to ensure you get the baby :) Mike said he wants all our kids to be just like Levi :)










Also, a highlight of watching the Russell kids is that they call us Mr. and Mrs. Eyebrows. This stems from some kind of joke that Mike told them a while back, which none of us can remember. So, the story is, we can't remember it :)

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and the plan is to go out to brunch with my mom and then hang out at the Smiths later so we can spend time with Cyndi too. The Smiths are going to Hibachi for lunch, and since our brunch is earlier, Mike was thinking we could go staight from America Bar and Grill to Hibachi and just double up on lunch. I think I will be vetoing that plan :)

The weather is finally warming up it seems. I LOVE it! We are determined to go to the beach as much as possible this summer - i NEED the beach :) we're also looking for fun things to do on the weekends when we can't get to the shore, so if you have any ideas, please do share :)

sUprise!

So this past Friday, Mike had quite a surprise up his sleeve. April is a special month for us - we got engaged a year ago, we started dating two years ago, and it marks 6 months of marriage for us. So he rolled all three celebrations into one by taking me for a night out on the town.
The plans for Friday were that we were going over Margie's for dinner after work (or so I thought) - but it turns out that was just a cover. (Margie, you have some 'splaining to do haha) When I went out to my car after work I found a sticky note sitting on the driver's seat that said "Lover, hurry home, there's a BIG surprise waiting for you!"
No offense, love, but I was thinking flowers. Or maybe, the teapot I'd been wanting for a long time.
Imagine my surprise when I found a note on our apartment door telling me that the plan for the night was NOT what I was thinking, but rather an overnight in Philly! He came home with beautiful red carnations, and after I got ready we went to El Vez for dinner and then spent the night at the Loews Hotel! It was wonderful.
The next day he took me to Bubble House and we had some fun just walking around Penn's campus. We wanted to stick around longer, but it was super windy so we decided to head to KOP to do some shopping.
Mike, you definitely got me good - I had NO idea at all that you had this up your sleeve.
Also, I should include that my initial response was one of guilt, as earlier in the day I had told Mike that I wished we were more creative and got out and did more spontaneous things. *EEK* I wonder what was going on in his head when I said that, seeing as he has had this planned for quite some time. :) Oh well!
Here are some pictures of the beautiful flowers Mike got me as well as some pictures we took on our trip to the Bubble House.

this is what i need...

yes this. i have dust webs hanging in the corners of my house, and they are threatening to catch me and eat me for dinner. So I have to go find one of these things......

But I have started a new cleaning method, and so far it seems to be working out. What is it you may ask?
Clean one thing. (Maybe two). Each day.
I've been trying this since Wednesday, and I really like it so far!! I can actually relax when I'm at home now :)
So each day I am trying to always do the dishes and maybe a load of laundry. And then I add one other cleaning project to that (dusting, vacuuming, kitchen, etc.) That way it's not so overwhelming. And the best news of my life is: Mike's job is the bathroom :) What a guy....I sure lucked out!

But yes, the dust webs are the one thing I am not prepared for...and they are taking over....so that is on my shopping list for this week.
But what cleaning tips have you found helpful?? Please share if you have a favorite.

****POST EDIT****
Margie just informed me these are spider webs. Most likely. Worst news of my day. But there is a bright side. She told me about this website www.flylady.net - has great tips for housekeeping. check it out! and if you know more about these webs lurking in my house....please speak up...

Oh Iowa

So last weekend we went out to Iowa for Mike's grandmother's 80th b-day, and we had a blast! It was a lot of travel, and we were only out there for a weekend, but it was definitely worth it. I am so glad that I got to meet Grandma and Grandpa Smith! And of course we all had lots of fun - we were out there for Pi Day, so what did we do? Buy 3 pies of course and eat them while watching SNL :)
Each morning we were there we went out for breakfast at this place called the Village Inn - definitely some good breakfast food! They had every kind of pancake imagineable - I think Shannon got Chocolate Chip Cookie dough one morning - crazy!!
Travel was....fun :) Here's how it went:
Itinerary Out: 2 Groups
Group 1 - Tom, Cyndi, Mike, Sarah, Shan, Megs, Dan, Amy, Chris. Leave home at 7AM Friday morn, drive to Newark airport, fly to Kansas City Airport, Drive 3 hrs to Des Moines. Arrive at 6:45 pm.
Group 2 - Michelle and Sean. Leave Saturday morn, fly out of Philly, to Chicago, to Des Moines. Much Simpler. But granted it's amazing they survived Chicago.

Itinerary Home: 3 Groups
Group 1 - Mike, Sarah, Shan and Megs. Same thing as above in reverse. Done all over again on Sunday starting at 1 pm. Home arrival time - 2:30 AM :)
Group 2 - Sean and Mich - same thing in reverse about an hour after our departure on Sunday.
Group 3 - Tom, Cyndi, Chris, Amy and Dan - Same as above in reverse beginning on Monday at 1 pm.

It was a crazy trip, but definitely a fun one! Here are some pics!

My Dad

Psalm 92:12-15
"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
they are planted in the house of the LORD.
they flourish in the courts of our God.
they still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

I read this verse the other day, and it struck me. It struck me because God's ways are not ours. No, they're so much better, and they excite me!
Dad, this verse is to encourage and honor you. You have been faithful and patient, humble and willing, eager and obedient, trusting and confident.
And God has been faithful.
I remember when you told Uncle Dean about the church plant, he said, "Dave - you did everything opposite - most people are slowing down at age 50!" :) And that is just another way that God's ways are not ours. You still bear fruit in "old age," and I love how you make yourself available for God's agenda. And He uses you! Thanks for how you have always put the Lord first; you never cease to declare that the Lord is upright. He has blessed that eagerness, and He will carry onto completion the good work which He began in you.

I thank God that He gave me such an amazing Dad. Praying for you. Always.
Love.
Sarah.