Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

John Stocker/Sandra McCracken


Happy Thanksgiving!

Oops! It's been a couple weeks. So busy! But happily busy.

My sister and brother-in-law stayed at our house for Memorial Day weekend. Quinn loved playing with Boo and D. And we have fed a lot of other friends and relatives at our house lately too. What a treat.

There's also been lots of playing, reading, puzzling, dancing, singing, sliding, walking, hiding, giggling, and guitar playing. Quinn loves having us play guitar for her and is pretty gentle with the strings. She's trying her best to sing Baby Beluga, Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, Wheels on the Bus, some Britt Nicole and Mat Kearney songs, Jump in the Line (by Harry Belafonte), and the "Mmm" part of Little Bitty Pretty One. We are loving the Pandora stations for Raffi and Rain for Roots around here. And current favorite new word: mushy (muffin).

I don't know about you, but I've been missing Christmas music. No other time of year has its own soundtrack really.

If you are looking for a fun new artist to listen to, you might like Josh Garrels. We heard him play at church a few weeks ago and loved his style. His lyrics are very deep and moving too. You can download his latest album for free on his website. Quinn likes dancing to "Farther Along" and "Beyond the Blue" in particular.

Just thought I'd share. Anyone out there have any recommendations?

She is here! We are so in love!

Quinn Lily Gowins, born October 1, 2011 at 5:16am, 7 pounds 7 ounces, 19 inches. The sweetest little lady I have ever met.

I read somewhere about choosing a life hymn for your child to sing to them as a lullaby. I prayed about it and God put Great Is Thy Faithfulness on my heart. The lyrics pretty much sum up the past few days:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As thou has been, thou forever will be.

Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

(Refrain)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

(Refrain)

As part of my birthday celebration, we went to a Peter Bradley Adams concert in the city on Tuesday night. It was at a sweet little music hall that offered the option of a dinner reservation. We went the dinner reservation ticket route and it worked out great. We had a great view of the stage and dinner and dessert were delicious.


I even got a picture taken with Peter Bradley Adams (or PBA as we call him). I know he's not that famous and not many people have heard of him, but I was pretty excited. If you like beautiful lyrics and a relaxing style on the guitar, you should give him a listen. I like him so much I want his music on my "labor playlist".

We're done with classes! This day seemed so far away. It seems like since we've been down here (three years in November) at least one of us has been busy with some sort of education. I'm not sure what we'll do with all this free time!


We've been caught up in the Christmas hubbub this month. And we're looking forward to another whirlwind Oregon visit. If only we (and our friends and family) didn't need to sleep, it would be so much easier to see everyone. We'll be making the usual Eugene-Portland-Corvallis-Eugene loop again, fueled by a lot of coffee.


Particularly exciting will be seeing the newly-engaged couple: my sister and Dennis! I can't wait to get all giddy about it with her in person! 

I shared my favorite Christmas cd of the year in an earlier post, but wanted to share the lyrics to the Christmas hymn that has touched my heart most this year. It's simple, but sweet. More about the big picture than just the manger scene. Maybe it will encourage you too in this Advent season.


Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
By Charles Wesley


Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.


Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

I just discovered a Christmas cd so good, I had to share. It's called Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson. The tenth Anniversary cd came out last year, so apparently it isn't new. But it's new to me and maybe it is new to you! It's full of mellow tunes and beautiful harmonies and it tells the amazing story of Christ from Genesis through his birth and beyond. Very worshipful.

Oops! It's almost been two weeks since I last wrote. Not sure where the time has gone...

Since I was last on here, we met the Woodwards for bagels, went on a runhike (or two?), watched some college football, I got sick, Jonathan went to a 49ers game, we went to The Weepies concert, and shared dinner with the Littaus.

The Weepies were so fun to see live! Deb is so tiny with a little bird chirp voice and Steve looks like a muppet. I'm pretty sure I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. For some reason we call them Los Weeps. We're special like that. 

Here are some photos from the concert and a recipe for pumpkin dark chocolate cookies that I brought to the Littaus. I made a half batch which turned out to be about three dozen. It's easy to gobble up that many though.

Ingredients:

2 c butter

1.5 c sugar

16 oz can of pumpkin

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

4c fine whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg

0.5 tsp allspice

1 tsp salt (0.5 tsp if you use salted butter)

2 c chopped dark chocolate

1 c chopped nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)

Cream butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. Finally, add chocolate and nuts.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of September! August, we enjoyed you, but you didn't stay long enough. September always makes me miss Oregon, that's my favorite time of year there. We've been taking advantage of the nice weather here though, keeping in mind that soon it will get dark earlier and be chilly at night. We swam some laps the past couple nights and ate dinner on our balcony. Barbecued beef sandwiches, watermelon, and corn on the cob, trying to enjoy the flavors of summer until they are gone. We discovered tonight that Shinobi likes watermelon. A lot. 

I went to breakfast with my dear friend Sakura this past weekend at the amazing scone place. We also joined some friends at the Shulls' house for dinner and games.

A pretty normal week still ahead: working, exercising, walking the dog, reading, cooking, home group. But we are looking forward to Jeff visiting this holiday weekend and a trip to Half Moon Bay.

Also, today a new album from The Weepies made its debut. I highly recommend it. It makes me spontaneously break out into dancing every time I play it. I think it will be my soundtrack for the month of September.

O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.

Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting, thou art God,
to endless years the same.

A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
bears all who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.

O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come;
be thou our guide while life shall last,
and our eternal home.

- Isaac Watts

This song by The Weepies summarizes our life right now. Enjoying the simple things and being grateful...

Can I get up in the morning,
Put the kettle on,
Make us some coffee, say "hey" to the sun.
Is it enough to write a song and sing it to the birds?
They'd hear just the tune,
Not understand my love for words,
But you would hear me and know,

I want only this, I want to live,
I want to live a simple life.

I dreamed you first,
But not so real,
And everyday since I've found you,
Such moments we steal,
Like little thieves, we rub our hands,
We hold our hearts between them.
But will you hear me and know?

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

Move on, move on,
Time is accelerating.
Drive on all night,
Traffic lights and one-ways.
Move on, move on,
Parking violations waiting,
Turn off the car, breathe the air,
Let's stay here.

I'll kiss you awake, and we'll have time,
To know our neighbors all by name,
And every star at night.
We'll weave our days together like waves,
And particles of light.

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.