When All Thy Mercies

When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.

Unnumbered comforts to my soul
Thy tender care bestowed
Before my infant heart could know
From whom those comforts flowed

When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou,
With health renewed my face,
And when in sins and sorrows bowed,
Revived my soul with grace.

Through every period of my life
Thy goodness I'll pursue,
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.

Apple crisp for dinner last night. Apple crisp for breakfast this morning. Don't have a dinner plan...

But I love apple crisp.

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Yesterday Quinn had a dentists appointment following class from 9am-1pm, so even though he blew in for a fast lunch and even though I rode along with him to the dentist, our "off" day together didn't really start until almost 4pm.

Makes for a really short day, even if you do stretch your evening into the wee hours of the morning.

This morning I woke up at 8:30 to see him out the door by 9. I crashed back in bed for 2 hours, got up and watched Rachael Ray make turkey burgers on english muffins with cranberry relish that looked completely disgusting, washed dishes and fried a couple (beef) burgers for lunch. Q got in at 12:20 and was off to work by 12:50. He'll be home around 10.

Tomorrow will be a repeat of today, 'cept he doesn't have to leave until 10am, and we'll have close to an hour together after class and before work. Friday I'll leave with him before 8:45 so I can spend the morning teaching/accompanying the homeschool orchestra (which needs a website very badly) and, aside from our 40 minutes together for lunch, won't see him until his 15 minutes home for dinner break, then home by 10.

Saturday we're getting lunch with his Dad and brother to celebrate the brothers' birthdays! Q's brother Tim is turning 16 today and Quinn is turning 25 on Sunday. It'll be very fun, but by 1 Quinn will be back and work until 10...

I'm not trying to gripe. It's just facts. You can do the numbers... it's gonna be an insane semester. On top of the 9 credit hours and 40 hours a week of school, we'll be trying to fit OB appointments, chiropractors, dentists, church, family events, friends and etc into our lives and still come up with some time to spend together. It's proving to be slightly difficult. When we actually are together we tend to do very nearly nothing. Lots of snuggling on the couch watching mindless tv, lots of me sleeping with my head in his lap while he studies, lots of talking long after we've turned the lights out...

For now we're just trying to surf it out. It's honestly been kinda fun. The mad dash to get everything done, the way we both seem to do our best to absorb every moment we get to be together. The effort we put into making every minute count. Makes me wonder if it isn't how we're supposed to live. If it isn't how we should take our times with the Lord. When we go to His word, or get to take time to do nothing but pray, shouldn't we treasure each second, knowing that life is going to whisk us on to the next thing?  To go to Him with a sense that each precious moment with Him, whether we're simply laying our head against Him to rest in His presence, or trying to tell Him all the things we want Him to know, or hanging on every word He speaks, to do so with the perpetual realization that life doesn't always allow us to have that. To speak to Him knowing that the next day may have us running from dawn to dusk, for hours on end, without a quiet moment to just be with Him.

I have this tendency to beg my poor husband into studying in bed when it gets late.  No, it's not sensible, but I can't stand to be in a different room then he is, even when I'm just gonna go to sleep. When he's there I tend to sleep leaned up against him, or holding on to his arm, or with my head in his lap, always wanting to know that he's right there. He'll come help me wash dishes and I'll find myself leaning my head against his back while he stands at the sink.

Don't you think Christ would be enthralled if we were forever reaching for Him? Don't you think it would thrill the heart of the Bridegroom if we couldn't bear to go through the most menial of labors without touching Him from time to time, without laying our head against Him, or pausing to look at Him and tell Him we love Him?

Do we not owe Him such a love?

Every day my relationship with Quinn shows me more where my heart ought to be towards Christ, and I see how I'm failing as a lover to the Beloved Lamb Of God. Every little thing he does for me thrills my heart, be it taking out the trash, or folding the blankets on the couch, or making the bed.

But do I take note of the things Christ does for me? 

Do I bother to thank Him for the endless mercies He bestows on me?

Do I cling to Him, begging Him to never let go of me, never step away, never be so far that I can't hear His very breath?

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness; 

False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.