The Desert Will Blossom

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. — Isaiah 35:1-2

San Diego is a desert, which is why our native plants are mostly succulents.

Our golden hills are brown from lack of water.

My grandfather used to call them the "golden hills of California."

But the flowers poke their heads out of the ground and the birds chirp away.

The wilderness rejoices and blossoms, bursting into bloom.

We rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

Praise Him with All My Being

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. — Psalm 103:1

Thursday I got ambitious and made pancakes for breakfast. Chocolate chip - Abby's favorite and also apparently Victoria's and Max's.

Then I made blueberry muffins so they could have those for breakfast the next day while I went to work.

Kirk got our house looking amazing, trimming our rose bushes and pulling weeds so the outside looked just as great as the inside.

We are praising God for all of these blessings and for the time we get to spend with our niece and her boyfriend.

May My Meditation Be Pleasing

May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. — Psalm 104:34

We rejoice in the Lord and in the beauty of his holiness.

Here's the beautiful sunset we saw from our patio last week. 

Yesterday we filled our patio with friends and family and had a fun dinner together. 

After the fireworks we headed back home for s'mores. Max tried them for the first time, and they were a hit.

What an incredible world we live in.

Our God is amazing.

We are blessed.

Happy Independence Day!

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. — Psalm 33:12

Today we celebrate our country's birthday.

We will have friends over for an early dinner and then head down to the bay for fireworks.

What a wonderful time we are having with our niece Victoria and her boyfriend Max.

Yesterday they hiked Cowles Mountain with Kirk while I was at work.

Then they went down to the harbor for a tour of the Midway.

Last night we took them to Third Corner, a restaurant in Ocean Beach with a huge wine collection.

We had fun choosing the Zinfandel to have with dinner and still had a tiny bit of room for the flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Very delicious.

Glorious Things

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. — Isaiah 12:6

Today the sun is shining, the flowers are poking their necks up to reach the sun, the sky is blue without a cloud to be seen.

And we are excited to have our niece Victoria come into San Diego for a visit.

Our niece is from Vienna, Austria, and we will get to meet her boyfriend Max, too. 

Kirk always flies the Austrian flag from our flag pole anytime any Kunz is visiting the USA. 

Kirk will be barbecuing steaks for dinner. Yum.

Sing to the Lord.

He has done glorious things!

Shout for Joy

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You — I, whom You have redeemed! — Psalm 71:23

We are planning for Gary's memorial service, trying to decide which foods to have afterward, who will read Scripture, which hymns to sing, and how many people to expect.

Again, we are blessed with friends who offer to help with the flowers, food, music, service, reception, and whatever we need.

Thanks to you all.

We shout for joy with praise to our God for family and wonderful memories.

For new experiences we will share together this year.

We are thankful.

Give Thanks

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. — Isaiah 12:5

Today Abby headed up to Forest Home to counsel our high school girls.

What a wonderful camp that is, with excellent speakers and music, set in Forest Falls, away from the hustle and noise of the world.

Begun by people such as Henrietta Mears and others who saw the need for a place of retreat and rejuvenation.

A place to reconnect with God and discover his purpose in our life.

Awesome.