Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Journey to 30 #6
Wow. It's been a long time since I've done a journey to 30 post. sorry I'm a terrible blogger, and a horrible goal-completer.
Anyway, here is the start of Journey to 30. Number 3 was to commit more Scripture to memory, and even though I wrote that post in August, I had done nothing to accomplish it. But now I'm doing something! I've joined Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team and I am so stinkin excited!!! You could join too, tomorrow is just the second verse. There are 24 verses over the course of the year, and you have to do 22 to go to the conference next January. I doubt I'll make it to the conference, but I'm loving the accountability.
Join with me!
Next week is Chloe Belle's first birthday. I'm hoping to do lots of fun posts all week to celebrate her!!
Anyway, here is the start of Journey to 30. Number 3 was to commit more Scripture to memory, and even though I wrote that post in August, I had done nothing to accomplish it. But now I'm doing something! I've joined Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team and I am so stinkin excited!!! You could join too, tomorrow is just the second verse. There are 24 verses over the course of the year, and you have to do 22 to go to the conference next January. I doubt I'll make it to the conference, but I'm loving the accountability.
Join with me!
Next week is Chloe Belle's first birthday. I'm hoping to do lots of fun posts all week to celebrate her!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
the one where I'm feeling grateful
I'm bursting with gratefulness this morning. Here's why:
1. A stolen day at home with my husband. I know that this just means he won't get to stay home on another day this semester, but I don't care. Just knowing he's asleep in the other room instead of at school makes my whole world warmer. I love him.
2. A BEAUTIFUL, happy, active, and alive little girl. Her life brings never ceasing joy into mine.
3. UMin. I love being a part of a ministry with good friends, where I can love college students, and feel God's pleasure. And I love watching them join the church! Yesterday was a great Sunday!
4. Feeling the little nugget movin and shakin inside of me.
5. Pregnant friends. :)
6. that the power is on...
7. Being a part of Living Proof's Scripture Memory Team. I'm excited about this year! Join with me! Here's my verse (from memory!) "When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." Gen 17:1 (I just checked-I got it all right!)
8. My family. There's so in love with Chloe Belle. I'm grateful for a sister who is so loving and supportive, and parents who come over at the drop of a hat to babysit just because Adam wants to work and I want to hang out with Holly.
9. Crafting. Been doing it non-stop lately. Excited for her one-year bday party so I can unveil all that I've been working on!
Tell me what you're grateful for today!
1. A stolen day at home with my husband. I know that this just means he won't get to stay home on another day this semester, but I don't care. Just knowing he's asleep in the other room instead of at school makes my whole world warmer. I love him.
2. A BEAUTIFUL, happy, active, and alive little girl. Her life brings never ceasing joy into mine.
3. UMin. I love being a part of a ministry with good friends, where I can love college students, and feel God's pleasure. And I love watching them join the church! Yesterday was a great Sunday!
4. Feeling the little nugget movin and shakin inside of me.
5. Pregnant friends. :)
6. that the power is on...
7. Being a part of Living Proof's Scripture Memory Team. I'm excited about this year! Join with me! Here's my verse (from memory!) "When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." Gen 17:1 (I just checked-I got it all right!)
8. My family. There's so in love with Chloe Belle. I'm grateful for a sister who is so loving and supportive, and parents who come over at the drop of a hat to babysit just because Adam wants to work and I want to hang out with Holly.
9. Crafting. Been doing it non-stop lately. Excited for her one-year bday party so I can unveil all that I've been working on!
Tell me what you're grateful for today!
Monday, January 3, 2011
the one about Christmas #3
I love Christmas traditions. My family has a few that I really enjoyed, but AK and I wanted to make all of our own together. It happened quite organically our engaged Christmas. This was the 5th year we lived out our tradition together. Every year on Christmas Eve we
1. go pick up Chinese take out for dinner [then eat till we're stuffed and happy]
2. write each other love notes and stick them in our stockings [at some point during the night we pull them out and read them]
3. think of something fun to do. this year we played the Super Nintendo.
4. dance around the Christmas tree to Christmas tunes. AK got to pick our playlist this year. we went from cheek to cheek dancing, to the pretzel, to shaking booty. good times.
5. generally imagine ourselves to be the happiest and most in love people on earth. and I reckon we are.
do you have any super fun Christmas traditions?
1. go pick up Chinese take out for dinner [then eat till we're stuffed and happy]
2. write each other love notes and stick them in our stockings [at some point during the night we pull them out and read them]
3. think of something fun to do. this year we played the Super Nintendo.
4. dance around the Christmas tree to Christmas tunes. AK got to pick our playlist this year. we went from cheek to cheek dancing, to the pretzel, to shaking booty. good times.
5. generally imagine ourselves to be the happiest and most in love people on earth. and I reckon we are.
do you have any super fun Christmas traditions?
the one about Christmas #2
sigh. Christmas break is over. I'm really trying hard to have a good attitude about it all, because I know I'm super blessed. Most people don't get to spend 2 weeks off at Christmas. But I think maybe that's what makes it even harder: I've just spent two perfectly lovely weeks with my hubby. I'm so sad it's all over. We spent two weeks:
1. taking turns sleeping in. it was magnificent.
2. watching lots of movies. AK even voluntarily asked to watch all three LOTR. it was a Christmas miracle.
3. playing with CB. she's growing so fast. its beautiful and tragic all at the same time.
4. crafting and cleaning. I did the crafting, AK did the cleaning. bless him. I've gotten in way over my head with this birthday party nonsense. I so desperately want to be Homemade by Jill that I'm actually trying to be, and it's taking all of my time and energy.
5. laying around all lazy like. we had very little family obligations, so we mainly just hung out together. perfect.
1. taking turns sleeping in. it was magnificent.
2. watching lots of movies. AK even voluntarily asked to watch all three LOTR. it was a Christmas miracle.
3. playing with CB. she's growing so fast. its beautiful and tragic all at the same time.
4. crafting and cleaning. I did the crafting, AK did the cleaning. bless him. I've gotten in way over my head with this birthday party nonsense. I so desperately want to be Homemade by Jill that I'm actually trying to be, and it's taking all of my time and energy.
5. laying around all lazy like. we had very little family obligations, so we mainly just hung out together. perfect.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
the one about Christmas #1
Here's another apology about being a terrible blogger. I'm so bad at it I've been thinking about giving up all together. We'll see.
I named this #1 because hopefully there will be multiple Christmas posts to follow. We'll see on that one too.
Read this. It's by Jonathan Merrit, who I think is super awesome. It's from his blog, called How to win the war on Christmas and how to stop fighting it. good stuff.
I named this #1 because hopefully there will be multiple Christmas posts to follow. We'll see on that one too.
Read this. It's by Jonathan Merrit, who I think is super awesome. It's from his blog, called How to win the war on Christmas and how to stop fighting it. good stuff.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
the one about my heart
I'm sorry I've been a terrible blogger lately. I have about 80 blog posts in my head, but just haven't had the time to catch up. Maybe I will over the two week break...in between family, cooking, cleaning, and catching up on my to-do list that's 100 pages long. Sigh.
So, I'm going to start back with the Deeper Still conference I went to Dec 3 and 4.
Wednesday night, Dec 1 I was at Worship + Study where Chad spent the night focusing on our role in the AIDS Pandenic, as Dec 1 is World AIDS Day. He shared several stories and videos with us, and had us pray throughout the night for different issues. During our last time of personal prayer he asked us to focus on what our role in the AIDS story is. At first I couldn't even pray because I was so frustrated. We had just seen a video about Living Hope. I was frustrated because I want to be on the front lines in Africa fighting AIDS and shepherding people to their Hope and Healer. Sometimes I just get so mad because it's not like I'm ignoring the problem here in all of my American oppulence; I desperately want to be among the sick and dying, but that is just not where God has me right now in life.
For one of the first times ever in my life, I told God I was frustrated. Normally I'm just head over heels in love with God and just rarely ever have a bad thing to say to Him, cause He's awesome. So being honest with God about my frustration with where I'm not was hard for me. I said all that was on my heart and felt silence. I was pretty ok with that; I trust that God hears me and I wasn't looking for any kind of immediate apology from Him or anything. But I told Him. I cried out and gave Him the hurt places in my heart.
Friday night Beth and I arrived a little late for the conference, as per our usual style. We got into our seats right as they were dimming the lights and the worship set was starting. I had been excited about the weekend because I'm a Beth Moore junkie, but I hadn't taken the first second to quiet and prepare my heart for a word from the Lord. He didn't need my preparation, He was ready.
Almost as soon as the music started, the Lord started ministering to my heart. He didn't answer a single question that I had raised on Wednesday night. He didn't provide any answers for where I'm not, but He gave me an overwhelming gratefulness for where I am. I started thinking about the ministry I have with college students right here in this city, and I was overcome with gratitude. My ministry is so full, so rich, so vital, and so alive. Why have I wasted time wanting for something else?
I thought I'd share with you some of the specific things (mainly girls) God called into my mind that I am grateful for:
-the girl who has turned her incredible loss and grief into an opportunity for spiritual growth and maturity, and who is so quick to minister to others. She challenges me.
-the girl who is being so relentlessly pursued by the redeeming love of God. I look into her life and I am reminded by how much our God loves us.
-the girl who is drowning in a pit of sin, but she is reaching her hands and her face up to her Savior, seeking rescue from herself. I am privledged to walk alongside her.
-the opportunity to teach the Word of God.
-the girl who has a sweet relationship with the Lord, and who is always hungry for more. I hope Chloe Belle grows up to be like her.
-the girl who I've seen change from a happy-go-lucky freshman to a junior who is serious about sharing the Gospel and making a difference in the lives of people around her.
-the Godly people I work with
-the opportunity to share the Gospel
I loved that moment that the Lord soothed my heart. I was reminded that thankfulness can radically change your heart. And I was overwhelmed at how absolutely incredible this place is in my life. It's a place of beauty, and I couldn't ask for more.
So, I'm going to start back with the Deeper Still conference I went to Dec 3 and 4.
Wednesday night, Dec 1 I was at Worship + Study where Chad spent the night focusing on our role in the AIDS Pandenic, as Dec 1 is World AIDS Day. He shared several stories and videos with us, and had us pray throughout the night for different issues. During our last time of personal prayer he asked us to focus on what our role in the AIDS story is. At first I couldn't even pray because I was so frustrated. We had just seen a video about Living Hope. I was frustrated because I want to be on the front lines in Africa fighting AIDS and shepherding people to their Hope and Healer. Sometimes I just get so mad because it's not like I'm ignoring the problem here in all of my American oppulence; I desperately want to be among the sick and dying, but that is just not where God has me right now in life.
For one of the first times ever in my life, I told God I was frustrated. Normally I'm just head over heels in love with God and just rarely ever have a bad thing to say to Him, cause He's awesome. So being honest with God about my frustration with where I'm not was hard for me. I said all that was on my heart and felt silence. I was pretty ok with that; I trust that God hears me and I wasn't looking for any kind of immediate apology from Him or anything. But I told Him. I cried out and gave Him the hurt places in my heart.
Friday night Beth and I arrived a little late for the conference, as per our usual style. We got into our seats right as they were dimming the lights and the worship set was starting. I had been excited about the weekend because I'm a Beth Moore junkie, but I hadn't taken the first second to quiet and prepare my heart for a word from the Lord. He didn't need my preparation, He was ready.
Almost as soon as the music started, the Lord started ministering to my heart. He didn't answer a single question that I had raised on Wednesday night. He didn't provide any answers for where I'm not, but He gave me an overwhelming gratefulness for where I am. I started thinking about the ministry I have with college students right here in this city, and I was overcome with gratitude. My ministry is so full, so rich, so vital, and so alive. Why have I wasted time wanting for something else?
I thought I'd share with you some of the specific things (mainly girls) God called into my mind that I am grateful for:
-the girl who has turned her incredible loss and grief into an opportunity for spiritual growth and maturity, and who is so quick to minister to others. She challenges me.
-the girl who is being so relentlessly pursued by the redeeming love of God. I look into her life and I am reminded by how much our God loves us.
-the girl who is drowning in a pit of sin, but she is reaching her hands and her face up to her Savior, seeking rescue from herself. I am privledged to walk alongside her.
-the opportunity to teach the Word of God.
-the girl who has a sweet relationship with the Lord, and who is always hungry for more. I hope Chloe Belle grows up to be like her.
-the girl who I've seen change from a happy-go-lucky freshman to a junior who is serious about sharing the Gospel and making a difference in the lives of people around her.
-the Godly people I work with
-the opportunity to share the Gospel
I loved that moment that the Lord soothed my heart. I was reminded that thankfulness can radically change your heart. And I was overwhelmed at how absolutely incredible this place is in my life. It's a place of beauty, and I couldn't ask for more.
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