Sunny Day in Las Vegas

These are photos from my sunny-day walk in Las Vegas. I cannot remember what god this statue represents, but I thought it was beautiful, especially with the sun behind it and the water sparkling all around...

 Look, there is flowering loveliness there, too...

I loved this statuary scene. It was near Caesar's Palace.

Behind those muscle-men, you can see some words engraved in the wall...one of the "words" was, I kid you not, "SHOPILIUS." What does that mean? Is it the god of shopping? Overspending? Gambling? Ha! Who knows. Probably a subconscious message to me that I should have been shopping...

Well, it's a tad tacky, the mirror-self portrait, but how else will I know down the road, when my memory's shot, that I really was in Las Vegas?

The hotel was quite grandiose, as I mentioned before, but some parts were truly breathtaking. If I ever do get to go to Italy, I will revel in seeing the work of the Renaissance masters...

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We just said goodbye to my mom and dad yesterday. That's always hard. You just kind of need to grieve for a day or so, you know? I am thankful for all the wonderful visiting we squeezed in between, well, the craziness of everyday life here!

Lately, the ups and downs of family life and the struggles rooted in my sinful nature have me returning often to the Reality that Jesus is with me, with me, with me - in this moment, in that struggle, during this joy and that sorrow. It's a comfort to remember His presence and His promise: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 (though He also says this in Deuteronomy 31:6,8 and Joshua 1:5, and probably other places!).

And weakness...I keep going back to the relieving place of recognizing, admitting, boasting in (gosh, that's so...contrary to my human habits) my inability to walk worthy of Him.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I say it to the kids during correction, and I say it to myself in the process: Kids, when you see that you keep falling down, that you can't get it right, this Christ-life, just turn to Him and say so - Jesus, I can't do this! I am too weak and selfish, but I know You are perfectly strong and unselfish. How I need Your help and holiness! Call on Him, cry out for His grace....and He gives and gives.

I've been meaning to recommend this wonderful CD, Scripture Lullabies. Don't let the word lullaby fool you into thinking this is a baby CD and that you don't need it. Cause you do. These are the most calming, soothing, and beautifully done scripture songs I've ever heard. I turn this on during the witching hour in the evening, when everything's extra-chaotic and falling apart and I'm making supper and everyone's saying When are we eating supper? and the baby's clinging to my leg unhappily...and it gently jolts me back to Reality: Hey! He IS here! Jesus is here, and have some Truth while you're at it. I actually love it when these songs get stuck in my head...beautifully rendered scriptures cycling through my thoughts. Nothing better.