May Mundanes

What a month! I can't believe it's almost over. We celebrated. Played. Traveled. Loved. And balanced life the best we could. 

And thankfully, by the grace of God, by Him, we were [able] to. 

And thankfully, He continues to use daily life to teach, mold, & shape us! 

Paul David Tripp's article, Ringing in the New Year, has stuck with me since January and stirs in my heart daily. It stirs my heart for the gospel. It stirs my heart for real-life. And this quote from it perfectly describes our May! It perfectly describes every month. Every day: 

"The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday. And where do we live? We all have the same address - the utterly mundane."

Take a moment and read it sometime! You won't regret it. 

[ http://paultripp.com/articles/posts/ringing-in-the-new-year ]

Here are some of my May Mundanes. 

I've sort of kept my flowers and plants alive. This is the best they've looked- it was the day we brought the little beauties home! ;) 

Kyle found some "good" soap at Whole Foods that smells heavenly and will help us stretch the liquid soaps! [The scent name is Sunshine!]

I'm also learning to use leftovers! It's a real struggle. ;) 

Kyle and I had a date night once a week. And plenty were at the Lookouts Games! One of which, we got to see the best pitcher in the major leagues! [the first two pictures are from the end of April...oops! It was basically May, right? ;) ]

And some dates were at home! He's a master griller now! ;) 

  

My Momma's graduation [<-----read about her story there!] brought us together for celebration of her hard-work and the Lord's grace given to her and our family- in all of our trials, heart-ache, and reconciliation. Such redemption our Savior gives! 

And on the same day, we sent off my brother and his sweet, girlfriend to her prom!

We also got to play and love our nephews and niece TWICE! [in Cookeville & Georgia, at Memom's!] Such fun! We love those little ones. And our dear, family! 

And Dooley had tons of fun, too! Especially, at Aunt Laura's Cheerio party! Just not the traveling part...

We also hosted Robert and Patricia [my lovely in-laws!] Mother's Day weekend! We had a great time of fellowship and Chattanooga Market Fun!

We were also reminded how much we love our community in Chattanooga. They truly are family and beautiful pictures of Christ. And I LOVE their souls filling our home every Thursday! 

Then to end the month, my body decided to be cute and have an allergic reaction to something and I almost died. Not really. But a burning throat, fever, rash, then throat closing up and tongue swelling was not in my Friday plans! ;) But oh, how thankful I am for the Lord's sovereignty, even in that scariness! My coworkers were so caring, and I'm truly thankful for Epi, Steroid, and Benadryl shots and the knowledgeable medical staff that treated me! Sweet mercies, for sure. 

We're spending the last day of the month in our hometown for a wedding! I'm finding myself missing this place more and more- every day. 

It definitely makes me so thankful for the little things. Even for a tree that I always anticipate to see on the drive here. [Even a tree can be a reminder of how precious life is.] And how we can truly live a full life- with Christ providing that fullness! Yes, fullness in the mundane. Yes, fullness in the midst of chaos. 

Even in the mundane, we can find peace- we can find true joy. Our life has big moments, but like Paul David Tripp reminds us, our life is made up of more little mundane moments than the big ones. And as hard as that can be sometimes, it can be embraced. It can be welcomed. At least in the best ways that we can...

Because [The Lord] is in the mundane, too.