I am happy to return to the blogging world! Due to my increasingly busy work days and the broken land line at our apartment, I have been unable to update until today. Phone line fixed and a moment to spare I thought I would post an update…

Last weekend was Bobby’s birthday. To celebrate we went to Carmel on Saturday afternoon to an awesome place called Rocky Point Restaurant. The restaurant is right on the rocky pointed cliff over the ocean. It was overcast and picturesque and Bobby got some beautiful pictures of the coastline. After lunch we decided to pay a visit to the new shark exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Rumor had it that the aquarium held the first Great White shark to ever be kept in capitivity. Barely a year old, she was only 5 feet long. And despite all of the signs and proddings to re-think the fear of great whites I wasn’t convinced. Especially after talking to an employee about her feedings. Divers never go in to feed her or they might loose a limb or two. Though she kept saying, “Isn’t she a beauty” after studying her for almost 2 hours I remained firm in my conviction that she and her family are dangerous predators.

We still have not finished celebrating. Bobby holds to a celebrating-life mentality. Every day he lives like it is a great one and finds ways to make any day special for me. The other night I made a pie and we decided it was in honor of his birthday…even though it was days later. For Bobby a birthday celebration is like those old Jewish feasts…2 weeks long!

On Monday I sprained my back moving something (I’m still not sure exactly what!), and have a 2 inch bruise on my lower back from the pulled muscles. I quickly visited my chiropractor who had a difficult time adjusting it because it is so inflamed and causing much pain. Doing all she could, she ordered me home to ice, stretch and take anti-inflammatories. My return visit on Friday will hopefully yield better results.

A few difficult things have crept onto our plate this week and as we spend late nights discussing together and talking with friends I have been giving some thought to the idea of perseverance. When circumstances are overwhelming I always seem to start thinking how can I escape this? But I think that when we are obeying God’s will and taking heed to the events that He is orchestrating in our lives escape, ignoring it, or denial are never even options. Someone once told me, “A Christian has the ablility to live un-infected and un-affected by circumstances.” I find this idea of such a dynamic life focused so whole and complete on the Lord to be something very worth aspiring to. There is a verse that says “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) Though the external things are not falling into place like I want, I can have hope and persevere by fixing the eye of my heart on the Lord. I like how Bobby put it when he said, “Are you alive or living?” He explained how there are two main heart attitudes towards life: One is a half-hearted, going through the motions of your life. And the other is a whole-hearted, intentionally living for God’s will. I was encouraged when he said that we can’t just believe that God is a good idea, but we must believe that He is better than the world, or the way we want things. He has to be the best. So, instead of getting all caught up in the happenings around us, we’re standing firm, each day at a time, believing that we will “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)