Thoughts on recent events...

We have been married for almost a year already (July 21st)! How time flies! We have LOVED being married. We so enjoy one another and enjoy seeking Jesus together and pursuing the furthering of His Kingdom and His rule in our lives. In the last year, we have been through some very difficult times - the loss of two babies to miscarriage, the loss of my (Dana's) Grandma Agre (though we are so happy she is with Jesus now), and numerous health issues. There have been, for both of us, the questions of why God sometimes chooses not to heal in the timing and in the ways we want Him to... of why we don't see more evidence of His supernatural power in our lives... of why we must endure physical and emotional pain... Life is so full of things that we don't, and probably can never, understand fully.

However.... Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the GOOD of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." This verse has become so much more real to us in these times. When life is hard and painful, we are learning to press into the truth of this scripture, the truth that God is GOOD and is ALWAYS, even when we can't see it, working for our good. For Him to do otherwise would be to deny His own character, His own heart. We are precious to Him, His heart is turned toward us in love and affection.... and in EVERY circumstance, with NO exceptions, He is calling to us, asking for more of our hearts. We are learning to respond to His invitations, to say "YES" to Him even when it's painful. He meets us in times of grief often more deeply than at any other time, if we're willing to go there with Him in our hearts. I am so thankful for His goodness, for His sweet love toward us, for His protection of our hearts from bitterness. Truly, God is good ALL THE TIME.

With all of that said, I wanted to share some pictures with you of our lives as of late. Our church family here at the ROCK has been such a blessing to us.... The members of our house church, and others, are becoming so dear to our hearts.... I, (Dana) have been blessed in the last couple of weeks with sweet time with my parents, grandfather, and extended family in San Antonio as we grieved my grandma's death and celebrated her life.... Stan's job is going well, though still stressful at times, and He has the favor of God on Him there... We have had several friends come and visit from Colorado already, and will have more in the next few months.... Overall, life is just SO GOOD and we are THANKFUL for the MANY ways God has poured out His blessing and favor and love over our lives. Sooooo, here are some pics (and a video! isn't technology amazing...) Enjoy! :)

Below are pictures of my family and I in San Antonio (June 16-21). Stan, my sis-in-law Paige, and my youngest brother John, along with 5 of the grandkids, weren't able to be there. :( But the other 5 grandkids WERE there, along with all of my grandpa and grandma's children and their spouses, my grandma's brother Richard (my great uncle), and my 2nd cousin Doug. We had a great time together even in the midst of the grief. What a gift from God!



One highlight of our trip was getting to see my brother Aaron fly into Kelly Air Force Base in San Antone in his T-38. His commander let him take a jet from Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi to San Antonio for Grandma's memorial service. It was so much fun to see him in action. :) My Grandpa, who was an Air Force pilot himself for many years, couldn't be prouder of him...



These are our friends Jeff and Danielle. They are becoming very dear to us, as we've decided that they are ALMOST as weird as we are (as you'll see in the pics below)!! :) Weird in a good way, of course... ;) These pics were taken in our apartment here in Mission, KS. Since they were taken, Danielle's belly has changed in size.... Little Eliana was born just 2 and a half days ago! We got to see her last night....such a little cutie!!!


We have had Jules, our parakeet, for about 4 months. This past week, we decided she must be lonely :) and so we got her a "friend," Angel. They are still getting used to each other, so we're keeping them in separate cages for now. (Pics of Angel to come in future posts.) Anyway, Jules has moments of being very friendly with us, and more often than not, moments of not wanting much to do with us, except from a distance. Below, we caught her on an "I like Stan and Dana" day. :)



Several weeks ago, we went with several friends of ours to a small cafe near downtown KC, MO called YJ's. This is one of my favorite places in the city. The pic below was taken there.


The other night we had the most awesome lightning storm! I credit my Uncle Ed, who's a meteorologist, for my LOVE of storms.... It started when I was a kid and has followed me into adulthood....to the (sometimes) chagrin of my poor hubby! :) I'd go chase tornadoes if he'd let me! lol Anyway, this video is sorta long but there's some sweet lightning in it. It was almost constant....so crazy. Unfortunately, the video only picked up the brightest flashes...which there were still lots of.