Crucifixion And Resurrection

O Lord,

I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,
   be crucified, dead, and buried.
The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,
   for it is empty and thou art risen;
   the four-fold gospel attests it,
   the living witnesses prove it,
   my heart's experience knows it.
Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,
   for I wish to be as dead and buried
   to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
   that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
   and might be delivered from his lusts.
O Lord, there is much ill about me -- crucify it,
   much flesh within me -- mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness,
   the fear of man, the love of approbation,
   the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
   the desire to be cultivated or modern.
Let me reckon my old life dead
   because of crucifixion,
   and never feed it as a living thing.
Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour,
   to be content to be rejected,
   to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
   and to hold fast despised teachings until death.
Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials,
   and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
   free from every wrong desire,
   from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
   may it rule me,
   may I walk in its power,
   and be strengthened through its influence.


THE VALLEY OF VISION
A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

By Popular Demand

All 2 of my readers have been begging for a new video, so here's a recent clip of Lila being silly before bedtime.

All Interpretations Welcome

Christmas 2012

This Christmas season was wonderfully busy. We traveled quite a bit, but Lila did so well. We kicked off the season by decorating the house. First, the tree....

....which was promptly accessorized with a wrap-around baby gate.....which she still managed to open, ha!

We squeezed in some time with Chase's family, including the hilarious task of taking family pictures for their Christmas Card...

 ...And a weekend trip to Nashville to shop at Opry Mills, see the lights at Opryland Hotel, and meet Santa Claus.

We made a second trip to Nashville the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with the Walker side of our family. 

Among other things, you opened a new Ms. Potts tea set that you are still obsessed with filling, emptying, and carrying around.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Chase's parents house and celebrated with his Grandmother. We started the evening by opening a few gifts (Lila opened everything with tissue paper, even if it wasn't for her).

After gifts, we moved to the dining room to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by my Mother-in-law and a very formally decorated dining room courtesy of my brother-in-law (complete with elegantly folded napkins and place cards!)

We soaked up our first Christmas morning as a family of three, just enjoying Lila's reaction to all of the new toys. 

Chase's family joined us for a delicious brunch (where I learned that my oven takes a looong time to cook things when it's chock full of dishes). We cleaned the kitchen, packed the car, and drove out to my parents house to celebrate with the Tucker side of our family. We were greeted by the cutest little pink kitchen, complete with a handmade apron!

We can't wait to celebrate again this year!

Month by Month: 11 & 12 Months

I'm combining these posts in the hopes of having them published before she turns 13 months, ha!

Look at those gums! Your first two teeth came in, and boy did we all earn those. You now proudly show everyone your bottom 2 teeth, and it looks like the top ones will be coming in soon too.

You're still in size 3 diapers, but you're chunking up quite a bit. Most of your 12 month clothes are fitting much better, but you wear a couple leggings in size 18 months. You have longs legs and an itty bitty waist.

You enjoyed your first Thanksgiving by kicking off the week visiting family and friends in Nashville. You decided after a trip to Pucketts that you were done with baby food, and only wanted table food. You love sweet potatoes, bananas, wheat crackers, any kind of pea or bean, and grilled chicken. Oh, and anything that is on my plate. You eat more of mine than I do.

You are into absolutely everything, and walking from couch to coffee table, etc. When you're in the mood, you also walk to me.

You started picking up small stuffed animals and placing them on your shoulder and patting them. I have no idea where you learned this, but it cracks us up.

Your mischievous nature has resulted in washing your hands several times a day, a chore you thoroughly enjoy. Now you rub your hands together to let us know you need to wash your hands, and you pretend to wash your hands when you are playing in your little kitchen.

You slipped in the bath tub once, and then refused to take a bath for a week. You absolutely would not sit down. I had to get in the tub with you twice before you decided it was okay again. Now you're back to swimming laps and drinking as much water as you can.

We needed to make a quick trip to Publix early one morning, and the race car shopping carts were aplenty (a rare occurrence). I strapped you in to see if you might like the new ride, and you loved it. You turned the wheel the whole way, and waved to every shopper like you were the grand marshal in the Christmas parade.

Speaking of Christmas, it was a whirlwind of activity. All good things, but we were all exhausted when it was over. I'll save Christmas festivities for another post. But I will include a picture of you doing a little last minute shopping with a mistletoe headband you found.

You have a fascination with toilets and trash cans - my worst nightmare. At least once you've turned the trash can over, and unrolled half a roll of toilet tissue.

Remember that post about how you like to help me with my housework? That used to be cute, but now you empty the dishwasher and the dryer as fast as I'm putting in dishes and clothes. You can be halfway across the house, but you know the sound of the dryer door or dishwasher opening.

You.are.a.mess. And I love you, oh so much.