The Solid Rock

The OSU vs. Utah game yesterday... the Cowboys lost in spite of a strong 4th quarter comeback, but it was still a fantastic time!  (Mom and Kyndal had a last-minute change of heart this week, and unfortunately, no one else was able to rally and join us on such short notice.)

I feel happy and at home in this crowd, and I'm thankful for loads of great memories in Stillwater!

Once again, the north side sun and heat were intense... yay for this fan from my fav realtor! lol

Dad and I had a good talk on the drive there... then we got there early enough to grab some food and still be outside in time to see the band, Bullet, the National Anthem, and the Kurt speech as the players came in... all fun!!  We went back in through the second quarter, but spent most of our time outside!  We also ran into Lisa and Andy, CHA parents from Rachael's class, so that was fun!

This morning was my first Catholic Mass experience... really interesting.  I Googled large Catholic church near me and found "The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine."  (I wanted to sit in the back and not feel obligated to converse, and that worked out well).  The building and the sanctuary are very pretty and ornate!

Lots of things about this experience were interesting for me.  When someone got up to use the restroom or to take their kids out or to leave the service, they would take a knee or bow or curtsey toward the altar at the front as a sign of respect for Christ - I love that.  I wanted a program or bulletin to fill me in on all the things they said in unison - I was never sure and the building was large enough that it all became a muffled echo.  Anyway, this is for a paper in my Spiritual Formation class where we were supposed to visit a church in the Protestant/Catholic spectrum that was culturally different than what we grew up in.  Then write a paper about the experience and how we might tailor our counseling for someone from that religious tradition.

In lighter news, here's J&K in their 2024 Halloween costumes - they were so excited to FaceTime and show me - I was pretty excited too!! lol  

Diving deeper, I deactivated my social media on Friday and felt a sharp wave of emptiness and ambiguous grief that night.  I've been surrounded by distractions like scrolling, audiobooks, podcasts, and music - but now, I'm choosing to embrace more solitude, confront newly-discovered blind spots, and take full responsibility for my energy, my relational impact on others, and my sincere obedience to God. Praying to hear from Him and walk with Him in new ways in the 4th quarter of this year!  In the meantime, I’ve been redirecting my habitual phone-checking toward practicing for the NCE exam. =)

September has been deeply challenging... but I trust that God is at work, even if I don't fully understand it yet.  On this restful and rainy Sunday, I’m reminded of my 2013 conversation with Jeffrey Edward - that Jesus is my solid foundation, and all other ground is sinking sand.  For now, I'm staying close to Him as other things continue to shift, fade, and/or settle into a new place.  With major decisions ahead, I sense that God is shaking everything that can be shaken, so that only the unshakable remains (Heb. 12:27). ❤

And as always, He is not going anywhere.
On Christ the solid Rock, we stand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

❤ ❤ ❤