i still ♥ durham

Yes, my friends... I still love Durham. Even after discovering a broken window Saturday morning, and a bullet in the corner on Saturday evening, I still love Durham. When I first discovered the broken window, I thought that a rock or a ball had been thrown through the window. The hole appears to be too big for a bullet hole. But Leanne and I couldn't find the projectile... meanwhile, some youth from out of town were staying at our house Saturday evening, so we had to deal with this discovery very secretively! It wasn't until Saturday evening, when Leanne and I snuck away from the youth at Frankie's to leave bit early to clean up the rest of the glass, that we found the bullet. It was laying off in the corner of the living room. From the looks of everything, the bullet looks to have been shot from a pretty far off distance, and more than likely, it was NOT intended for our window. In a way, that's better than someone intentionally throwing a rock through the window! It's not like I didn't know people around here shot guns sometimes. I am well aware of my location. I'm a little sad that the policeman today took the bullet. I really wanted to keep it as a memento! Life in Durham is never dull... I promise you that!

This morning, while the girls were getting ready, I had time to listen to a Marc Driscoll sermon from his series “Philippians: Rebel’s Guide to Joy” In the sermon he talked about how joy is not an emotion, rather joy is a lifestyle that celebrates the forward progress of the Gospel. He goes on to say that everything is an opportunity for the progress of the Gospel, therefore NOTHING (not even the worst situation) is without merit or purpose, and in THAT there is joy because it is ALL for the Gospel. God is definitely teaching me more and more about the difference between happiness and joy. He’s also making it clearer everyday that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.