Four Eyes

Just got my glasses in the mail today!

This is a big deal.

like.

Big Deal.

Excited, aren't you?!

Thats what I thought.

Here they are in all their glory

I desperately needed new glasses. But I didn't want to spend the money. We have crappy vision insurance but it covers nearly nothing and I can't find any place that accepts it. And needless to say, I wasn't excited about spending $200 + on an exam and glasses (having a baby and all, expenses add up!). Plus, I know that pregnancy changes your vision so I didn't want to get one prescription only to need another one in a few months. 

Then on Facebook I saw that Coastal Contacts was giving away 10,00 pairs of FREE glasses. Yes, FREE. All you needed to do was know your prescription (-0.75 thankyouverymuch) and pay shipping ($18 yo). I thought, why not? So I ordered them.

I especially wanted my glasses for Easter. Our church is having Easter service at Qwest Field, praying for 20,000 people to attend and over 500 baptisms. I so wanted to be able to see for that! But when I ordered the glasses they said due to the high volume of orders it would take 3-4 weeks, not til mid-May. 

But I got them today!!!! Thank you Jesus!

New Update:

Since I started this blog post, Easter came and went and was amazing! And I could SEE! Praise the Lord! It was a huge blessing to be able to celebrate Jesus with 17,500 others and saw over 700 baptisms! For more info, and to watch the Easter sermon, check out Mars Hill here.

Beloved

I was going to post on this a while back, but got distracted with everything else thats been going on, hah!

So.

I got a tattoo.

Ok, so it's not the best picture, but it was right after I got it done and so far I don't have any other pictures of it! Didn't realize how hard it would be to take a picture of the side of your foot, lol

So here's the story behind the tattoo:

I had been contemplating getting a tattoo for a while. Actually, lets go back further. Tim has 3 tattoos, and I saw him get each one. Every time he got one, I always told myself that I never wanted a tattoo. For one thing, I had no idea what I would get, and for another, it looks ridiculously painful. 

But the past couple of months I was thinking about getting a tattoo, and how I would love to have "Beloved" written somewhere on my foot. Nothing big or fancy, just "Beloved".

So, after talking with some friends of ours and getting an awesome referral to a tattoo artist, I decided I would get a tattoo. Like, tomorrow. If I was going to make this decision, I had to do it now before I chickened out.

Fun Fact: Needles have never bothered me. I've never been one to get nervous about blood tests, I saw Tim get all of his tattoos and it didn't faze me. However, the day before I was getting a tattoo, I went into the naturopath to take a simple blood test to find out if I had any food allergies. By simple I mean, they pricked my finger! Thats it! But for whatever reason I nearly passed out! I'm not sure if I hadn't eaten enough that morning, or the room was too hot, or what, but I felt faint, thought I was going to puke, and the dr. had to bring me juice! So, freak out time for tattoo? I think yes.

So when the day finally came, the tattoo literally took 5 mins and was a piece of cake! Especially compared to my blood test the day before (what the heck?). So, not scary and I'm so glad I got it.

Now for the meaning of the tattoo.

I never wanted to get a tattoo just to get one. I wanted one that had deep meaning that would stay with me. Since I first met Jesus one of my favorite books of the Bible is Isaiah, especially chapters 40-55. The initial inspiration for the tattoo was this:

"I will pour out my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessings on your descendent's. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel." - Isaiah 44:3-5

I love this idea - of writing "The LORD's" on my hand; constantly reminding me who I belong to and who I am. Below are the other verses that influenced my decision to write "Beloved" on my foot; because that is who I am to God. Because when we are loved, we have courage to not be afraid. When I trust that God loves me deeply, He has my best interest, and my fears can melt away.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strength you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

"But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy  One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you'." - Isaiah 43:1-5

Do you see the beauty here? Jesus is the answer to our fears, not changing behaviors or circumstances or even attitudes. Jesus is the answer.

And my favorite, I have broken it down into two parts:

"Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity." -Isaiah 26:1-2

^This verse is describing those that have made idols from themselves, that are worshiping something other than God. They are the ones who carry them, the idols are heavy burdens that are worthlessly lugged around by those worshipers. The idols do nothing but weigh them down and lay burdens on them. But see how good God is in the next verses:

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save." -Isaiah 46:3-4

How wonderful is God that He carries us!!! So that is why I got the tattoo. It serves as a beautiful reminder of who I am, why I don't need to worry, and who God is.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" - Matthew 11:30