Kissy Kissy!

That's Landon, my nephew.. and ooooh, he knows he's gonna get it! I just think he such a cutey!

So, we are moving in 23 days and still don't know where we will be living... crazy huh? We might as well start a count down. I do know it will all fall into place- thanks be to God!

So...it's official...

We are definitely moving back to Birmingham! I am really excited about our move but also sad to leave the people that I work with. They have truly been a family to me down here as I live 45 minutes away from every other young person I knew down here. I have learned so much about myself, others, skincare, and business in general. I will miss them a lot but am also looking forward to working for Dr. Jenny Sobera at Village Dermatology. When I first started at Haley Dermatology she was Dr. Haley's partner. Well, around May they ended up moving back to Birmingham where she started her own practice with a medical spa on the side called "Bare MedSpa". So, it will be a realllly smoooth transition for me...or at least I hope it will :)!

Why are we moving? Well, mainly for Mac's job. He will be working at Little Savanah. His partner (in the culinary world- they will one day have a restaurant together) called him up and mentioned this opportunity to him. One thing led to another and here we are...moving back to da Ham. So far everything has just fallen into place... Mac has a job, I have a job, we have a date for our move...now if we could just sell our house and find our new abode that the Lord has in store for us. This is what makes a relationship with the Lord so fun! I can't wait to see what is next. I am praying over our next location, the people I will work with, for the Lord to bless us and expand our territory, etc...But, there is always that lingering stress that weighs anyone down in a transition time. Thank you Lord that YOU are in control!!!

Lunch and Learn

Lately I have been doing a lot of ads for HDG. Here is one on a lunch and learn to promote and discuss Obagi products and the laser treatments we do to get rid of sunspots. The laser is called IPL it stands for Intense Pulse Light and it targets the pigment in your skin. If we don't wear our sunscreen ladies...the older we get the more they will pop up! But when in doubt there is a laser that can treat it but its about $300 for a full face procedure. (Average is about 3 treatments about a month apart).

Plannin' a Party

I never did discuss this party.... so I will now! I came up with this idea last year and it was funny to see Dr.H's face when I told her my idea. It was kind of like she was on the fence if this was a good idea or not. But, let me tell you....it was packed! We had ladies there just to play bingo! Mac catered incredible food while I greeted the guest and eventually called out Bingo numbers. My precious mom and mom-n-law came down to help-- and little did I know that we truly needed their help!! They were great! So, we are having the 2nd Annual Botox and Bingo party the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Mac won't be doing the food this year...but the party will probably be even bigger as the word gets out. This year I was able to do the invitations and the ads in This That and The Other and the Newspaper. I will have to say the mailer is my favorite.... don't you like the phrase "Pretty in the City" instead of "Sex in the City"!?!

This is the front/address side:


and back:

The Art of BreakFeast

Mac loves to cook breakfast but he rarely has the opportunity. Have you ever had a poached egg omelette!? Well, neither have I, but I love poached eggs. Here he has it over English muffins with pork sausage and on top is a delicious Hollandaise Sauce! To the side is the other half of the English muffin with my grandmothers famous fig preserves!!? Yumm!

Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice using eggyolk as the emulsifying agent, usually seasoned with salt and a little black pepper or cayenne pepper. It is a French sauce, so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch Sauce. Hollandaise sauce is well known as a key ingredient in Eggs Benedict. The sauce is one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire.


I am trying to be crafty and paint for wedding gifts... here is one I just did. More to come...

Prank Funnies

I have always loved to play pranks on people... apparently Jay Leno does too... and, for some reason, I am cracking up over these!

photo booth 1
photo booth 2
photo booth 3

Dinner Idea

How about....
"Orange Peel Pork with Fresh Gingered Spinach and
Savory Spicy Garlic Stone Mill Grits"
Click Here

Now that is a mouthful...literally!!

Act of Congress

One of Mac's friends just got engaged to the fiddle player in this band. They are great! They have more songs on iTunes.....

Fox News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_Z17MPLcA

Promotional Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97urmrjCvBU

Playing in the Birmingham Apple Store:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPsSV1Zswqw

Eye drops get rid of blemishes???... interesting...

Tips from Eve Pearl's (5 time Emmy Award- Winning Makeup Artist) website:

• To diminish a red blemish quickly, freeze eye drops on a tea spoon. When the liquid turns into ice, place it directly on the blemish. The cold will help shrink the swelling and the eye drops will take away the redness.
  
  
• Exfoliate your lips by using a tooth brush and some Vaseline. This will increase circulation and plump up your lips.

You Tubin' It for Celebrity Hair Styles

When in doubt "You Tube It"

I have come to realize that if you "do" makeup you "do" hair. Well, I don't know if believe that to fullest extent, however, I don't mind researching and giving things a try. In the midst of researching I came across this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDEW_0E08kA

check it out! (And, you have to see the final product!)

My Top Skin Care Products

After working for a year and a half at a Dermatology office and Medical Spa I have learned a lot about skin care. If I had to narrow it down to my top 3 favorite products (not including a moisturizing sunscreen that includes either Zinc or Titanium Dioxide) it would be Retin-A, a bleaching cream, and a product including an antioxidant with collagen/elastin promoters. It's never to early or too late to start taking care of your skin!
There are different percentages of Retin-A. I would advise starting off at a lower dose and then working your way up. Expect peeling/sluffing the first week or two. Eventually it will stop the major peeling and your skin will have a healthy glow! What's nice about Retin-A is that you can be as aggressive as you want to be. It is advised to use at night (hopefully you can get up to using it everyday, but it is okay to do it as little as twice a week).

When it comes to bleaching cream, I am mostly familiar with Obagi's brand. It is called Clear and it has 4% hydroquinone, which will lessen the appearance of those sundamaged aged spots or any pigment issue on the skin for that matter. You can use it twice a day- make sure you use it regularly because it takes a steady consistency to see maximum results.


My favorite collagen and elastin products are from Clayton Shagal. This a a great line for someone who wants a simple regimen. Unlike Obagi's 6 step system, you can have great skin by just using a cleanser with some kind of glycolic acid/AHA's and then using Clayton Shagal's collagen and elastin products.

Mac's Catering Business...Shindigs

This is a menu from a previous party they did...check it out!

Food, Skincare, Cooking, Makeup, Clothes, Graphic Design, Art, Ideas...my life, etc...

What will I blog about? Well, obviously things that are going on in my life. So, what goes on in my life? Well, let me tell you a little about myself...I am a graphic design major who currently works at a medical spa and is married to a chef. I have studied art just about my whole life and am using much of my creative eye at my work where I apply makeup, help with advertising, and plan parties...they say my job title is "Clinical Coordinator and Makeup Artist." If you had asked me 10 years ago what I would be doing now I would probably have said "I'll own a clothing boutique!" I love clothes! I actually majored in fashion design my first semester in school. Then I quickly realized I don't want to MAKE clothes I just LOVE clothes. So, I transfered to graphic design. I really enjoy the job the Lord as graciously led me to because of the variety it has.

Alright, so I have covered graphic design, art, clothes, makeup, and now let's touch on food. Like I said my husband is a chef and after reading the previous post one should understand that we met through the love and appreciation of food. We like to splurge on fine meals. I still laugh at the moment when Mac told our premarital counselor that our date nights would be averaging around $300-$400 every two weeks...hahaha! The counselor was a little shocked and didn't know what to say. Anyway, Mac is just so precious, but do we really splurge like that every two weeks? No. We actually enjoy cooking together- we do it all the time. Do I feel pressure? No, I love to learn! And, I look forward to sharing tips and tricks that Mac has taught me over the years.

I can't wait to share about my interest, loves, and hobbies through a typical day in the life of Lacey and Mac. As Mac would say,"It might just spank your tastebuds."

A Divine Appointment

Alright, so I have been "decorating" this blog for the past two days now. And, the whole time I am thinking "what am I going to say on my first blog?" I know many of you have read this story before, but I figured it would be a great introduction to "A Taste in the Life of Lacey and Mac." This is the beginning of our life together. It is, what I call, a 'divine appointment.' I know Mac and I are together for a reason and am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us.

Her Story...

Piles of rocks were placed so that the Hebrew children would ask their fathers, what is this rock pile all about? They took the time to remember the dying stories of life, the ones that shouldn't die. There are many rock piles in Scripture, making it pretty easy to come across such stories with some regularity. But, in our own life, it is important to have rock pile stories to help us run the race well that takes us past them.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Hebrews 12:1

On Friday January 23, 2004 I randomly drove up to Birmingham to visit a friend that I worked with at JH Ranch. Little did I know that it was going to be a night that I would never want to forget.
So, this is a rock pile story...

To preface the story, recently the Lord has pressed upon my heart to take advantage of the time when I am alone. On my way to pick up Maggie, I saw this moment as an opportunity to pray. I began to pray out loud, about everything from family, friends, to confessing my sins, and surrendering different situations to the Lord.
Towards the end of the prayer I said, "Lord, I pray that you would bless the conversation Maggie and I will have tonight. I pray that you would be there and, I don't know, Lord…just, I don't know…reveal something. Reveal something to me tonight." I didn't even know what I was praying; it was completely the Holy Spirit interceding through my prayer. At that point, I arrived at her house. Maggie hops in my car and we go to Hot and Hot Fish Club (my favorite restaurant in Birmingham).
Maggie made the reservations. Since she had never been there, I told her to make sure that she got them at the "chef's counter." Which allows you to see them cook right in front of you. It's a lot of fun! We sat down and began "girl talk". Not even five minutes had gone by and this young chef brings us a sample of the Butternut Squash Soup. We accepted it, and enjoyed the free sample. I had never been given samples at Hot and Hot, so it just made it even more exciting. Well, after the soup, our salads came. Two bites into the salad, the same chef comes up and offers us extra toppings the seasoned pecans and the ripe pears. This was so exciting! All this free delicious food was just being served to us. I told Maggie that I needed to come with her more often, because when I came with my dad I never got free food!
Throughout the meal, we had small conversations with this chef. We found out that his sister, Rayne, is an Alpha Gam at Auburn, which is what Maggie was. She knew exactly who his sister was. She said that Rayne was an awesome girl and that they have a great family. We found out that he went to Alabama for a while and then he transferred to Hamden-Sydney to play football. He asked me how I liked Auburn. I told him that I loved it, that it is exactly where I need to be, and that it has been such a blessing to be there. I could tell that he completely understood what I meant…there was a sort of spiritual connection.
After some small talk, our main course came. We split the lamb and then ordered two desserts. I got the chocolate soufflé and she got their famous doughnuts. After we told our waiter what we wanted, the same chef came up to us and asked us if we liked chocolate. I said, "Yes…Thank you." I thought he was going to make the chocolate soufflé that I had just ordered. At this point, Maggie and I finally acknowledged that this chef was HOT and he was serving us free food!! Well, apparently, he didn't hear us order any dessert because 10 minutes later he brings us this HUGE chocolate sampler platter with two of everything on it! Gourmet cookies, a champagne glass full of pudding with whipped cream and cranberries on top, two huge spoons filled with caramel chocolate mousse and glazed peanuts sprinkled on top, two filled cinnamon-sugar doughnuts with chocolate glazed on top, truffles, and my favorite, the chocolate volcano cake…It was amazing! Absolutely gorgeous!! I told him that we had ordered the soufflé and the doughnuts. I was going to see if there was any way we could cancel that order. He left immediately to go "fix" the situation. Well, he didn't "fix" anything. He just brought me the chocolate soufflé and he offered to put the doughnuts in a to-go box.
As we continued to eat, I waved him down to ask him a question about our assortment of desserts. At that point, he leaned forward, stuck out his hand, and said, "It's Matt,” or so I thought that is what he said. I told him my name and asked him my question and thanked him again for the dessert. Amazingly, everything was gone in 15 minutes. I have never eaten so much chocolate in all my life! We got our checks, and it was half the price it should have been. He had paid for the desserts we had ordered!!
Signing the check, he came up to us again and asked us if we were going out later. Maggie told him that she was planning on taking me out. From the look in his face, you could tell he was encouraging Maggie to do so. He eventually asked if he could get my number. I could tell he was a little nervous about asking. And, if anyone knows me at all, they know that I absolutely hate giving out my number to guys. I never see the point because I know that I will never see them again and I think it is just a waist of time. But for some reason, I had a peace about it. Immediately, I thought about the prayer I had prayed in my car before I came to the restaurant and what an unusual night it had been at Hot and Hot. I knew that it was the Lords doing. I gave him my number and we left the restaurant expecting to meet up with him later.
Maggie and I get in my car and are freaking out! We couldn't believe that this hot chef was serving us free food at my favorite restaurant, that he got my number, and that he was going to meet us at the bar later on that night!
Maggie decides to call her friend Margaret, who is friends with Rayne, and tell her that we are meeting up with Rayne’s brother later on that night. It just so happens that Rayne was with her at the moment! It was a small world that night!
We arrive at Maggie's house and offer her roommate and her friend the doughnuts as we tell them about the night that we had had. Giving them a short biography of his life, Ashley, who went to Alabama, had told us that she knew a guy that went to Alabama for a little while and then transferred somewhere to go play football. She said his name was Mac Russell. She remembered that he was cute and so nice and that he loved to cook. It made us question if we were talking about the same person. We weren't sure because we thought that the person we met at Hot and Hot was Matt, not Mac. Well, being excited and confused, I borrowed a shirt because I had absolutely nothing to wear. I was going to be in Birmingham for less than 24 hours. There was no need for me to bring any cute “going out” clothes. So we get dressed and go to the bar at 11:30 and wait for Matt, or Mac, to call.
After calling once to make sure that we were there, he arrived around 12:30 a.m. I was sitting alone on the furnace in the corner of the bar anticipating his arrival. When I looked up he was staring at me from a distance with a smile from ear to ear. I will never forget that moment.
He walks straight to me and sits right next to me. We talk for 2 hours straight. There were so many little connections through out our conversation. I found out that he was from Selma, had gone to JH Ranch, loved to hunt, and that he was going to be in Florence, Italy on May 19 and then travel Europe for three weeks. (By the way, I almost got a gun for my birthday in January and I was already signed up to study abroad in Florence, Italy that summer moving in on May 19). I also found out that his name was Mac, not Matt, and that he did go to Alabama.
At 3:00, we finally decided that it might be a good idea to head on home. Offering me his sweater and walking beside me on the way to my car he asks if we could do a quick lunch together the next day. He mentioned having sushi in a park. Smiling, I nodded my head and said, “Sure.” Although, I was laughing inside, because I do not eat sushi, not only that, I never got near any sort of seafood. I knew I would like it one day, because I do like nice restaurants and food, but I never knew when that time would come. And, of course, the time would come when I am with a boy on a date. We say goodbye and anticipate seeing each other the next day. When he shut my door and walked away, I looked at Maggie and all I could say was…. "Wow!"
He made such an impression on me that night. From hearing his testimony, I knew that he wasn't just a Christian, he was a Godly man with a heart for the Lord. I couldn't sleep that night. I could not get him out of my head. I kept thinking about the unusual night we had and what an amazing guy he was. I couldn't believe that I was actually okay about meeting up with this guy the next day. That shocked me!
Saturday morning I woke up around 10:00 and went directly home to get a shower. So many thoughts were going through my head. I was nervous, excited, and had absolutely no idea what to wear! I had none of my clothes with me, so, of course, I start going through my mom’s closet. After trying on many shirts, I finally found the right one and was ready to go. At 11:30 he called. He told me that he really wanted to see me, but it was going to be hard because they had to prepare a ton of food for an upcoming party. He said that he threw these plans on his co-workers at the last minute because he didn't want them to tell him that he couldn't do it. He was taking a risk, but he didn't care. His co-workers agreed to order out Surin West, a Thai restaurant that serves wonderful sushi. Again, if anyone knows me at all, I do not eat seafood, and especially not raw seafood! But I made no comment when he said he was going to order some sushi for me to taste. After he picked up the sushi, he called me and told me to start driving over to Hot and Hot. My mouth dropped when I arrived at the site of him hustling around setting up this table for two. It was adorable. Picture this...a single table, two chairs, two glasses of ice water, with a gorgeous arrangement of sushi on one plate and a bowl of curry chicken. As he pulled out my chair, I expressed my appreciation for everything and took my seat. I, again, told him that I have never eaten sushi. He began telling me how to eat it by showing me the correct way to hold the chopsticks. Beginning to eat, one of his fellow workers pulled him aside and told him that we shouldn't be doing this because everyone would probably get in trouble when Chef arrives. Disappointed, Mac came quickly came back to the table, explained to me this situation and offered to put the food in a to-go box. I told him I completely understood and didn't want to be in the way at all. After being there about a total of 15 minutes he began to walk me to my car. He asked if I would like to go ride horses and go hunting at his farm or even go to a movie with him. Surprisingly, I was okay about that. I told him yes as he opened my door and thanked him again for the food and the effort put forth in arranging this lunch. Seeing him again that day just made me more anxious to get to know him. I couldn't wait to talk to him again.
Ever since we met on January 23, 2004 we have talked everyday. Communicating over the phone allowed us to get to know each other for who we really are. I learned about his family, what he enjoys, his testimony, what he desires to do in the future. Blowing me away with his wisdom and knowledge of the word, my attraction just grew stronger and stronger. But, obviously, it wasn't to his physical appearance; I was beginning to forget what he looked like! His face was such a blur. I had only seen the guy for about three to four hours and half the time it was in this dark bar.
After about four days of talking on the phone, I asked him why he served me the soup and gave us extra food? I had to know what inspired him to do that, because for me it was such a spiritual thing. He was hesitant to tell, he told me he would tell me one day but not yet. Anxious to know, I began to tell him about the prayer I prayed before I came to the restaurant. I told him that it was unusual for me to give my number out but I felt like meeting him was from the Lord and that is why I felt okay about it. After telling him my story, he began to explain why he served the soup. He described it like this: "Lacey, I don't even know, it is hard to explain. It was almost like it was out of the corner of my eye you were beaming purity. I could completely see Christ in you. It was as if there was a white screen behind you and you were this mosaic. It is so hard to explain. I knew, though... I knew that I had to do something! All I knew to do was so serve you some soup. If you had not given me your number by the end of the night, I would have chopped my arm off until you did!" Hearing this, I was heating up inside. I had never had that kind of feeling before. At this point, I knew the Lord was doing something and I didn't know what, but I was excited to find out!
As I got to know Mac, my time with the Lord became more intimate. All I could do was trust the Lord with this situation. There was no way I could have any control. I was brought to a point in my life so that I would rely on Him with unquestionable belief. I became totally dependant on the Lord. Of course, I did my research…I will admit it, I looked Mac up on the Hamden-Sydney website. I had to see if he was telling me the truth! He could have been some sketch guy making up stuff. I also was asking friends from Selma about him and his family. Still today, there have only been wonderful comments about Mac and the whole Russell family.
Spending much time in the word, scripture was given to me from the Lord. Four days after we met, the Lord gave me Psalm 27:13, "I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." I desired to know why God had brought Mac into my life. With as wonderful as I thought Mac was, my heart was completely guarded by the Lord. I didn't have the desire to start dating him, it was more of a desire to see what the Lord wanted me to learn or what He wanted to reveal to me. I thought: " Maybe He just wants me to see His power, and the fact that he does work in miraculous ways, or maybe He is just preparing my heart for a relationship in the future." I had no idea, but I just wanted to be in the center of God's will.
The next verse the Lord gave me on January 30, was I Corinthians 2:4 " My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the spirits power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." A few months before I met Mac, the Lord had put on my heart to pray for mercy, something I never really felt worthy of praying. I had always asked for His grace and many blessings, but never for His mercy. I felt almost guilty asking the Lord to give me something I do not deserve, but I did it. I asked for the Lord's mercy and after meeting Mac, I feel like the Lord, through His power, poured His mercy on me. I had never had a guy treat me the way Mac had. From the things he would say to me his thoughtful actions, I truly felt like through Mac the Lord was revealing His love and mercy. With my faith resting in the Lord, the Lord revealed His power to me.
Just a week had gone by and I had learned so much! I had to know if Mac was experiencing anything remotely similar. I shared with him what I felt like the Lord was teaching me, and asked him if he was learning anything through this as well. He responded as if it was a stupid question. He said, "Lacey, ever since I have met you, things have just fallen into place. Things that you have said, without even knowing it, was exactly what I needed to hear right at that moment. I can't even tell you how much I have learned and how much meeting you has impacted me. The power of the Holy Spirit has been so real to me. When you asked me the other day why I served you all that free food, I couldn't even sit down when I was describing it to you. I was shaking all over, I could completely feel the power of the Holy Spirit on me at that moment." As he was sharing this with me, I thought back on that night and remembered the feeling I had at that same moment. I then realized that me "heating up inside" was the presence of the Holy Spirit. Without even acknowledging it to each other, the Holy Spirit was on us at the exact moment while we were talking over the phone!! What an awesome God!
A week had gone by and Mac was going to come to Auburn. I was anxious, excited, but a little nervous as well. Mainly, because I was forgetting what the guy looked like!!! All I could remember was his blue eyes and sandy blonde hair! His face was a blur! I really had forgotten what he looked like. I felt so bad because Mac would say the sweetest compliments to me over the phone, and the whole time I am thinking to myself, "How does he remember, or even know what I look like!??" In fact, I felt so bad, that I got one of my best friends, who is friends with his cousin, to email a family picture! Not only was I nervous about that, but I was also nervous about having a conversation with him in person. We got to know each other over the phone, so it was going to be weird to actually look at him while I am talking.
He hit the plains late Saturday night. When he arrived, we sat in my dorm room and looked at some of my old pictures and briefly caught up with each other. You would have thought that it would have been so awkward, but it really wasn't. The next day, we went to church and lunch together with his sister. His sister already knew who I was through rush, so it was nice for me to get to know her and put a name with a face. When Mac dropped me off at the dorm to change out of my church clothes, he gave me a Daily Walk Bible. We had talked about it earlier in one of our conversations. He said that he thought I would enjoy the Daily Walk as well. It is always fun to discuss what we learn from our Bibles.
The afternoon rolled around quickly. Mac wanted to take me somewhere. He kept asking me where I wanted to go and I kept saying that I didn't care just as long as we could hang out and get to know each other. He decided to take me to a nice restaurant in Atlanta and then to a movie. I got dressed and we were on our way. The Lord could not have made the weekend any better!! The drive was a great time for us to get to know each other better, the conversation never died. As we sat down to eat dinner at Pricci's, his eyes lit up. He smiled and said, " I never thought about what it would be like to sit across from you! To be honest with you, Lacey, I had forgotten what you looked like after the first week of talking to you!" I began to laugh out loud! I confessed that I had forgotten also! What a blessing it was that we got to know each other for who each other really are! Knowing that made me even feel so special. The Lord was just pouring his favor on me and still is today! The night was very successful. We stuffed ourselves with delicious food and then watched a movie at Phipps.
I could go on forever telling this story…I don't think it will ever end. Still today there are things that the Lord blows me away with regarding Mac. The Lord works in a miraculous way…that is for sure! I love to tell this story because I think it is such a testimony to other people…girl or guy. It is so neat to look back and see how the Lord prepared my heart and his heart for our encounter. Mac and I are blown away! We met January 23 and knew we were going to get married by February 14...when we started dating! That is not me at all, which is why I know it is all the Lord.
Mac says that our relationship is going to be not ordinary but extraordinary…the Lord is in control. I have always heard, while growing up in a Christian household, to fix your eyes on Jesus and everything will fall into place. And through this specific situation with Mac, I feel like I was given the opportunity to do that. Because, I know it was all in the Lord's power, it almost forced me in a position to just completely trust Him. What a freedom we have in Jesus. I am just sitting back and watching the Lord work. He is so powerful! I hope this story is only encouraging to those who read it!!
I rejoice, Lord, in the mirror of Your love, where I can see so accurately who I truly am. Thank you for the security that comes through Your word, where you reveal the real truth in me, truth that is both humbling and uplifting. Thank you for surrounding me, now and forever, with Your favor and loving kindness. Your perfect and intensely personal love is my only real home, my dwelling place, my shelter and my shield. Thank you for allowing me to see Your love for me, so that I may truly show love to my husband.
Lord, day by day give me a deeper and richer understanding of Your truth, a growing awareness of how You view me so that I may humbly forgive those who have sinned against me. May Your truth keep me from pursuing my sense of identity and security in the wrong ways, by looking in the wrong mirrors. You know how my prideful flesh wants to depend on myself and other people to meet my inner needs for a secure identity , rather than looking to You. But, Lord, I acknowledge that You and You alone are the answer to those needs. How I praise You that You are available to meet them so lavishly and generously with Your own fullness! I have no reason to ever turn elsewhere!
Thank you also that this security You provide frees me to relate to other people (especially my loved ones) in a loving, up building way. It gives me a firm control of my activities and pursuits, of my commitments, of my relationships. I want to be Your child in Your place doing Your will. And in whatever place and circumstances You see fit, I am willing to wait eternity for the rewards You promise. In faith and hope I look to You. All that I am I give to You. Amen.