Mrs. Sedberry Goes to Spokane

First off, anyone who knows me knows that I fell absolutely head over heels, past-the-honeymoon in love with Salinas. It was an unlikely match; my entire life I heard nothing out of Salinas but stories of gang shootings, drug deals, shady characters and general shenanigans. I was apprehensive to move there because of said stories, but to Salinas my husband led so to Salinas I followed. After nearly 2 years it became home. Partly because it is just beautiful there, partly because it is minutes from the city/town of Monterey, the world renown Big Sur and the fairytale village of Carmel, partly because I did not feel scorned by customer service representatives, but by an overwhelming majority, I fell in love with Salinas because of its people - specifically God's people.

Who Is Desecrating Marriage?

As Prop 8 is overturned in California, Christian organizations are campaigning with fervor in final attempts to keep California's marriage laws restrictive to heterosexual unions. While the Bible is clear that homosexuality is not God's design, I have to ask myself if this political battle is one we should really be taking on considering our own real positions.

My Warrior, My Savior

My best friend Beth loves the Lord and she loves His Word. Every now and then she will share with great excitement what she is reading and how it is affecting her walk. She will then say, "You have to read this!" Yesterday she shared with me what she has been reading in Nehemiah. Surely at some point I have read from this uncommon book, but I honestly do not remember what the thing is about. So I cracked it open and amid the new-page smell started reading. I am at Chapter 7 and while I am certain

God Aches for Us

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…”

How often this little tune plays over our stories during the rocky course of our lives. Our pains individual, our sorrows secret, our hurts tucked beneath the coats we spend so much time weaving. A person holding a sign on the side of the road twitches like a junkie, but weeps for his beloved children

Not About the Butterflies

When a person gets married there is a feeling of excitement, beyond hopeful, almost arrogant. There is seemingly nothing in the world too complicated to navigate. It is a beautiful sort of naivety. A kind which carries the couple through unbrushed teeth and makeup-less faces. It sweetly calms a new marriage with superficial triumphs - that feeling of a "special love" allows a bride or a groom to easily forgive things which would under

Mystery by Brooke Fraser

Note: These are not official lyrics.

I want to get your words stuck in my head
I want to touch your soul with mine
I want to always be, be by you led always

Trusting God Isn't Always Easy

Now and again you hear or read something which matches words to a cry of your spirit. I listened to Mystery by Brooke Fraser for probably the 20th time, but last night it just fit the mold to perfection.


Sometimes our most basic desire shines through: to be loved. We want so badly to feel

To God Be the Glory... With or Without the Great Things He Hath Done

Being an over-thinker, my logic on nearly all subjects ends up bringing me to that "WHY?" question; you know the one… That enormous, ancient, often decorated but generally ugly elephant in the room which has sent some to an asylum and others to sheer Hedonism: Why are we here? I admit I have been depressed at the other end of this question on more than one occasion.... We are born, we live, we love, we suffer and then we die. I may

God's Charity Case

By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North:

"Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face.
Just don't turn away.

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child?
Tell me where will you run?
To where will you run?

'Cos I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall.
In the dead of night,
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands and my side.
They swallowed the grave on that night.
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life.
I want to give you life.

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall.
In the dead of night,
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.

Cause I, I love you,
I want you to know
That I, I love you.
I'll never let you go."

I'm always amazed at how God brings me back to him. Whether by a grand display of His awesome power, or a quiet whisper to my writhing spirit, He always gets his point across: "I love you." Such a paradox that love is. One so simple and untainted, yet so incredibly intricate. He leaves me feeling so small and insignificant, yet divinely important at the same time. I feel often like Hosea's wife: an adulterer against the sweet companion who gives me everything I have ("the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold, but she gave all my gifts to Baal"). I constantly deny time with my Provider, my Love, for no other reason than my selfish desires. I believe though I know better that my time is better spent with other lovers. I am callously surprised when my Husband takes away those I have betrayed Him for and still more stunned when He turns in His passion and offers me the marriage of my youth. When He offers me the gentle love and close friendship I experienced when my own passion for Him was new and unburdened. Surprised when He fights for me though He told me long ago that He would do anything to keep me. I am such a severe work in progress. When I step back and consider myself objectively I am convinced that I am not worth the work He puts into me. But He never gives up. When I am at my worst, there is that soft reminder of a steadfast devotion.... God doesn't love me because of anything I have done or any special quality I possess. He loves me because He loves. Real love isn't dependent on the person being loved. Real love is inherently unconditional and noncondemning so in order for God to love at all, He must love even the parts of me that are to anyone else unlovable. It's complete and it's overwhelming.

(Hosea 2-3)

From the Steinbeck Center

Get in the Zone

Gabe is gone. It has been quite easy to do the big things: eat, run errands, etc. It is the little things which become nearly unbearable: taking out the laundry he loaded, putting away the quesadilla maker that he last used (I always tell him to put the dang thing away), listening to a radio program he loves... But I have been doing well. This is not my first rodeo; I know what to expect and how to cope. I know now that everything really truly

Our Life In Pencil

I have not wanted to write an update until things were absolutely certain, but I am afraid that our life thus far has proven to us that nothing is ever certain until after it happens. Since I do not want to be typing up this blog the day after my husband leaves (foggy and exhausted minds do not often produce coherent sentences) I will do it now with the disclaimer that it could all fall through and I will appear to be lying should someone read

Mema

Katie "Mema" Simpson

Sept. 14, 1910 - June 30, 2009

My great-grandmother on my father's side. I have only a few memories with her (all of them very special to me), but I know that she loved her family very much and that she is very much loved by her family. She was always a sincere joy to be around at family gatherings and I look forward to being with her in Heaven someday - THE family gathering. I feel so blessed to be a descendant of her, my Gramdaddy, my father... All, as far as I can tell, amazing people.

A Night of Retrospect

The pendant I wore almost every day while Gabe was deployed.
St. Michael, Patron Saint of Paratroopers

Gabe is camping tonight with the youth group. It is the first night in a very long time that we have spent apart. Driving up to Mt. Madonna I felt faintly a familiar anxiety over the short separation. What would be a trivial weekend event for most couples was a reminder to us of where we have been.

Missing Carolina

Let's see...
I miss the way the air smelled in Aberdeen. I miss my forest. I miss hearing bombs go off at random times and shaking the house. I miss having dear friends over for tri-tip. I miss going to the Walkers' house. I miss watching Samson play with Charlie and Angus. I miss hanging out at Beth's while Gabe was at work. I miss walking around downtown Southern Pines. I miss the rude customer service (but only slightly). I miss being an Army wife. I miss having lazy days with Sam. I miss the

Quote by C.S. Lewis

Just a Drop of Monterey... and Less than that of God's Love

The other day Gabe and I were made aware of a job fair in Monterey. So of course he wanted to go. I thought, "I have not been to Monterey for a while, maybe after the fair we can go to Cannery Row or something," and decided to accompony him.

A Different Kind of Anniversary

On March 16, 2008 Gabe came back from a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. After an excruciating separation we finally became whole again. Little did we know that our battle wasn't over. We have fought - hard - for this marriage during the past 2 years. During the deployment and for a long while after we seemed to find ourselves trying to hurtle obstacle after obstacle. It was exhausting. I thought the hard part

Love is a Battlefield

Gabe and I are doing this Fireproof small group study. If you haven't seen the movie you should go rent it right away. No matter what your marital status it is a fantastic movie that speaks volumes to any heart.


Anyway we are on week one of a 6 week study about marriage and it has me thinking about things. When a

Valentine's Day 2009

Another special day! Gabe and I have not had a Valentine's Day together in 2 years and the one we did have together (which was the only in our 5 year relationship) was rather sad as he worked all day. So this year was especially importat to us. Gabe had a test to take for the CHP in the morning (which gave me time to clean and get pretty) and he returned with those roses and my favorite beverage from Starbucks (my man knows me)! It was so

Inauguration Day

Something I made with various photos I found online and
don't know where to credit... Sorry. 

Election day was exciting. For the first time our country elected a member of an ethnic minority as its President. I look forward to one day telling our children and our grandchildren that we were there, that we took part in history. Neither Gabe or I voted for Barack Obama (if you're curious we voted for Chuck Baldwin), but I cannot deny that I was proud

But Wait! There's more....

Gabe and I have a home! Well, we have an apartment which we will quickly make our home. We have been extremely grateful to the God who provides; grateful to the God who would not allow us to be homeless during this transition and put people in our lives to help us, but now we are overjoyed at the prospect of starting our life here in California. We have honestly no complaints. Even though it has been sort of a limbo kind of world for us since we left North Carolina in October (really longer than that because we had no idea when or if we

Some things I've learned from Samson

Happy New Year's

Gabe and I were reminiscing a little bit... We were talking about our first few months of marriage - how little we had and how even when all of our stuff got there we still didn't have much. And yet, without anything, we were happy. Even talking about it now we were laughing and smiling and hugging.


It got me thinking about our past New Year's...

Our World

Well, after the episode yesterday we were not going to be deterred today. We first went to Moss Landing (found some wonderful beaches there, but they wouldn't allow Sam and the one that did was a little crowded). Then we went to "our" beach, Rio Del Mar in Aptos - the beach that was once the most polluted int the state.. ha ha. But now it is clean and very inviting. It was also not too populated for it being New Year's Eve... All I had