this week in review

i do have to say that i'm kinda glad this week is over. it has been a wierd week where a lot and not a lot happened all at the same time. as i'm sitting here with dillon and petey on the couch, covered up with the best blanket in our house, i'm reminded at how quickly life can change drastically. at the beginning of this week, i found out that one of my friends's house had been broken into and the man that broke into her house beat her up and sent her to the hospital. then the next day, i found out good news, two of our friends are pregnant! (rachael greenway and jennifer hooper...they're sisters-in-law and they're due two days apart! yea!) so, that brings us to wednesday. i called my sister to tell her the good news and she had horrible news. a dear sister, amber mathenia, was killed in a tragic car accident on tuesday evening, leaving her husband and two kids, 4 and 6 months old. on that same day, i found out that one of my longest and best friends in the world received some terrible news from a doctor...that she and her husband would not be able to conceive children natrually. so, that brings us to thursday. i was talking to one of my best friends, holly cossiboom, and she told me that a 3 year old from their church had drowned that weekend in 19 degree weather. on friday, mom and i got to hang out for the evening...we went to englewood's women's conference. that was good. and on saturday, i enjoyed dillon all day, along with pancakes in bed, staying in bed until noon, going to see some old friends for dinner and hanging out with new friends after dinner. praise God that He is faithful.
on friday, as i was reading in psalm 4 and reading an email about amber that i had received, i was reminded that the Lord is so faithful to his children. although this week has been hard and i've been reminded of bad things in life, i would not trade it for the fact that my God is a sovereign God. Psalm 4.8 says "in peace i will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, o Lord, make me to dwell in safety." and again in psalm 116.15 "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." the second verse sounds somewhat morbid you might think, however, i love that it is precious to the Lord when someone goes to be with Him forever. also, the psalm 4 reference is such hope...not just for the life to come, but for now, there's nothing for us to be fearful of. the Lord allows us to dwell in safety. we have nothing to be afraid of.
i realize that this might be a ramble, but i wanted you to first of all, pray for all of these tragedies that have happened this week, and also rejoice with those that are rejoicing right now. Praise the LORD that HE is sovereign and that we are not...that HE is faithful...that HE is our best interest at mind...and that HE loves us. i pray that all who read this will have a better week and live in the peace that passes understanding.

here's a little picture to show you how big dillon is getting...