Oh How He Loves Us

I am completely obsessed with the song "Oh How He Loves Us" by Jared Anderson. Here are the lyrics:

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these
Afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are to me and
How great Your love and affections are for me.

He is our portion and
He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So if Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

That He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
How he loves us so!


My finite mind cannot fully comprehend the love God has for me! It's hard for me to accept this kind of love because I know the kind of person I am. There is absolutely no good in me...yet God chose me, loves me, and pursues me completely and wholly!

"What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it-we're
called the children of God!" -I John 3:1
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." -I John 4:10

I am so thankful that God looks past the mess that I make of myself daily, and loves me despite of who I am. Without this love, I am nothing.

Hard to Say Goodbye

We said goodbye to our beloved dog, Bailey last night. It was difficult for us all, but especially hard on Austen. From the day we brought Bailey home, the two have been inseperable; they practically grew up together!

Bailey came into our lives because our other dog, Flo, was failing in health and we knew she didn't have much more time left on this earth. Sure enough, Flo died shortly after we adopted Bailey. Bailey was a young puppy and full of life and energy! She brought so much joy in our lives at a time when we were saddend by losing a faithful companion. Austen trained her, chased after her, and Bailey kept Austen on his toes for sure.

About 3 months ago, a stray dog ended up on our farm. We have tried for 3 months to find a home for Brown Dog (as we affectionately called her, for fear of getting too attached) because we didn't need two dogs, nor wanted two dogs!! This past week, quite suddenly, Bailey's health failed. We discovered she had a large cancerous tumor and given little hope of surviving due to her age. And so, the decision was made to let her go before she had to suffer from this horrible disease.

Soon after she was buried, Brown Dog came bounding up to me licking my hand. I suddenly saw her in a different light-a gift from God. How ironic that Bailey was there for us when we were grieving over Flo, and now Morgan (aka "brown dog") has been here as we mourn the death of Bailey. How amazing that God cares about supplying our needs, even when it comes to our pets...

Goodbye Single Digits

It is official, AJ has enterd the world of double digits! Happy Birthday, my little man, TEN is such a great number!!!

I'm So Mad!!

As I loaded little Z in to the van, I went over the to do list with him. The first store on the list had bouncy balls that Zach loves, so I gave him two quarters and said we would get the bouncy balls first, then I would do my shopping. We entered the store and headed to the bouncy balls, but they were not in there usual spot. We tracked down a sales associate who explained they had run out of bouncy balls, but she had ordered a new shipment. Little Z was devastated. His head went down and his lower lip came out; there was no hiding his disappointment. His disappointment soon turned to a different emotion, as he exclaimed out loud, "I am so mad!" I tried to console him and tell him that we might find something even better at the other stores, but nothing worked. Plain and simple, he was mad!

At our last store, we happend to spot a toy hammerhead shark (Z's facorite animal) with no price tag anywhere to be found. I tracked down a sales associate who told me the toy had been on clearance for quite awhile. His response was, "How does nineteen cents sound?" I looked at Zach and said, "See? You can buy this toy and still have money left!" He didn't have to say anything, his huge smile gave it away. As we got back into the van, he exclaimed, "I'm so happy, mom. I can't wait to put him in the water!"

Aren't we like little Z when it comes to God? We read His promises and are eager to start receiving them. We pray for blessing, healing, prosperity, ect...and when we don't get what we want, there's no hiding our disappointment. Infact, we get mad and nothing can console us. I love the Scripture in Jeremiah where God says (this is from the Message)

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

God knows us and He loves us. He has it all figured out and knows what lies ahead. He declares in Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Just like Z finding the bigger and better toy at the other store, God has something bigger and better for us at another time. Its hard waiting and its hard thinking anything could be better than what we want or long for right now, but God has plans for us and He promises to "give us the future we hope for."

A New Look

Life has taken a hold of me and has pulled me away from the blogger world. I needed to be away from my blog to adjust my priorities and focus a bit more on the world around me. Now I am back with a renewed spirit, and hope to share with you the drama with its comedy, tragedy, and action that has been my life to date!

"Spook"tacular evening

Since I can remember, I have always celebrated Halloween by going to a haunted house. I don't know why I go every year because I really do get incredibly scared. I am usually the one whose voice carries out into the parking lot, the one who gets followed by the monsters/villians for extra scare practice, and the one who gets put to the front of the line so my friends can get a good laugh at my screaming. But, every year I can't wait to go back. So, this year I decided to bring the boys along. We went to a town near Bloomington where they have a haunted house, an optical illusion ride, a hay rack ride, and all-you-can-eat hotdogs all for a $2 a person. Yep, for $10 ( we bought some glow in the dark bracelets for the kids) our family laughed, cried, screamed, and ate to hearts content!! The boys were scared out of their minds, but couldn't stop talking about the experience the rest of the night! It's like I always say...the family that screams together, stays together!! :) I think the Manahans have yet another family tradition!

Here are our pictures from this family bonding time:

The Journey

I am amazed daily at the journey God has taken me. Sometimes I review the map of my life looking at all the places I have traveled. I see all the routes, highways, interstates, and even the back roads. There are times when the roads are straight and it is very clear where I am headed. Other times the road twists and turns back and forth and it is uncertain the destination. Even the driving conditions have effected the journey. There were sunny days, when I drove with the top down allowing my hair to whip in the wind enjoying the freedom of the road. Other days were windy and rainy and I drove gripping the steering wheel until my knuckels turned white; it took all my strength to stay on the road. I can picture the rest stops where I've stopped along the way trying to make sense of the journey, too tired and disapponted to go any further. I also remember the roadside attractions that were so unexpected, but inspired me to keep driving.
I thought I had the journey all figured out, I was almost sure I knew the destination. But lately God has taken a hold of the steering wheel and has me riding on a crazy ride that keeps me guessing all along the way. I want to hurry up and race to the next bend in the road to see if I recognize anything. Yet, I find myself perfectly content looking out my window at the scenery enjoying the ride and fellowship of my Driver. It has been awhile since I have enjoyed such a journey, but how thankful I am that God loves me enough to take me on such an incredible roadtrip.