Oh, the beautiful mountains!

We went to Boone last weekend and it was so great to be back in the mountains. Our dear friends, the Moshers, let us stay in their adorable guest cabin and we were able to enjoy a peaceful retreat before Matt starts his new job. We had forgotten what it was like to be in the still and quiet of the country, without sirens and all the other busy sounds of the city. I could actually hear the wind blowing through the trees and see the stars in the sky in the absence of street lights. I always feel God's presence so strongly in the mountains; I suppose it is because I can actually see more of His creation and I am reminded of what an awesome Creator He is. I was born and raised in the mountains so I sometimes feel overwhelmed and bombarded with all the concrete and commercialism that I am surrounded with in Greensboro. I have to remind myself to be content where I am...but moving on...

We had a great time visiting with our friends. I went to my very first ASU basketball game, which is kind of pathetic considering that I graduated from App. and we lived in Boone for 3 years after college. Then we got to visit sweet little Westminster Presbyterian where we used to eat spaghetti on Wednesday nights. It was good seeing all the families in that church again. Then Matt and the Mosher guys played hockey for several hours on the coldest day of the year...it was 18 degrees or something ridiculous like that. Me, Sue and the girls curled up on the couch and watched Sense and Sensibility and drank tea while the younger kids played. Elijah was so excited to have a playmate his age. At one point he said, "Me and Rachel are playing and playing and we are only stopping at mealtimes", which was pretty much true. We went on a trip down memory lane and drove past all of our old homes. Elijah wanted to go see his favorite park ever in Valle Crucis. Then the boys shot guns and built a bonfire. Oh, the absolute highlight of the trip for me was figuring out the name and lyrics of a song that was running through my head the whole time we were at the beach over the holidays. It was a song we used to sing at Westminster and for the life of me I could not remember it. If you know me, you know that I will drive myself crazy trying to remember something. Matt and I searched about 2 hours for it on the internet with no luck at all. When I mentioned it to the Moshers, Callie knew the song I was talking about. That brought great relief to my mind! It is such a lovely song, so I decided to post the lyrics.

"In Christ Alone" In In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all— Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev'ry sin on Him was laid— Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, Sin's curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine— Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow'r of Christ in me; From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.