On to the fourth verse already! Where is the time going? For any of my friends who may read this and have no clue what in the world I'm talking about, let me back this train up for a second and explain... I, along with several others, am participating in Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Verse Team. We have committed to choosing and memorizing Bible verse every two weeks for all of 2013. I am so glad to be part of this, so far it has been amazing to see God working in my life through this!
So my verse for this week is simple, yet effective...
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24 NLT
For Lent, I chose to give up negativity. I prayed and prayed about what I should give up and this just kept coming back to me. I think I was hoping for an easier answer! I'm not always a negative person - I'd like to think that more often than not I'm pretty positive. But it is the one quality about myself that I really, REALLY can't stand. Sometimes I jump to negative conclusions, sometimes I see the bad in things instead of only looking for the good. Is this God-honoring behavior? Or loving how Jesus would love? I don't think so. My hope is that by giving up this bad habit for 40 days the habit will be broken!
Will anyone else take up their cross and come along too??
Friday, February 15, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
SSMT Verse #3!
So...on to verse #3 already! I am so glad that my pal Nicole asked me to do this with her!! I was way excited about my verse last week. I felt like God really laid it on my heart to learn...but then I'll be darned if I could commit it to my memory! Never fear...I got it done! :)
This week snuck on me (as they all do). Why does time fly by so fast?? As I was pulling in to the Y last night for Dylan's swim team practice, I realized today was the first day of February and I hadn't picked a new verse yet. Again, never fear...with my Bible app on my phone and an hour of practice to sit through, I could certainly find a verse that spoke to me. So, I dropped Dylan off at the door (because we were naturally running late), said a quick prayer for some guidance of where to start in the Bible and headed down to the pool. Would I be able to concentrate with all the noise? I'm always intent on watching Dylan practice and he likes (??) my feedback after practice, so this was going to be a challenge. First stop...Colossians. Nah. How about Hebrews? Oh yeah...right where God led me to. The pool and all the kids in it could have gone down the drain and I would have never known it, I was so sucked in. Most specifically chapters 11 & 12. Whoa, baby. Moving words right there! It's so funny how you can read something 100 times, but the 101st time something moves within you and it's like the words jump right off the page and directly into your heart. I'd recap the chapters for you, but instead I'll challenge my four faithful followers to read them yourselves. Hopefully you'll be as moved as I was. :)
By the way, I did get scolded from Dylan for having my "face glued to my phone" the entire practice. He was kind enough to give me some grace when I told him I was reading the Bible and not on Facebook. It made for good conversation on the way home, talking about the verse I had picked!
God is clearly telling me to put the ways of the world aside and put more focus on Him. Something I thought I did a fairly good job of, but the verses I keep being led to, I know He is telling me I can do a better job! You have my attention, Lord, I'm listening!!!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 NLT
This week snuck on me (as they all do). Why does time fly by so fast?? As I was pulling in to the Y last night for Dylan's swim team practice, I realized today was the first day of February and I hadn't picked a new verse yet. Again, never fear...with my Bible app on my phone and an hour of practice to sit through, I could certainly find a verse that spoke to me. So, I dropped Dylan off at the door (because we were naturally running late), said a quick prayer for some guidance of where to start in the Bible and headed down to the pool. Would I be able to concentrate with all the noise? I'm always intent on watching Dylan practice and he likes (??) my feedback after practice, so this was going to be a challenge. First stop...Colossians. Nah. How about Hebrews? Oh yeah...right where God led me to. The pool and all the kids in it could have gone down the drain and I would have never known it, I was so sucked in. Most specifically chapters 11 & 12. Whoa, baby. Moving words right there! It's so funny how you can read something 100 times, but the 101st time something moves within you and it's like the words jump right off the page and directly into your heart. I'd recap the chapters for you, but instead I'll challenge my four faithful followers to read them yourselves. Hopefully you'll be as moved as I was. :)
By the way, I did get scolded from Dylan for having my "face glued to my phone" the entire practice. He was kind enough to give me some grace when I told him I was reading the Bible and not on Facebook. It made for good conversation on the way home, talking about the verse I had picked!
God is clearly telling me to put the ways of the world aside and put more focus on Him. Something I thought I did a fairly good job of, but the verses I keep being led to, I know He is telling me I can do a better job! You have my attention, Lord, I'm listening!!!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 NLT
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Blessed Beyond Measure
I know I don't take time to sit down and blog like I intend to. I want memories captured in one place that we can look back on down the road and remember. Most days I get too caught up enjoying life (and chasing kids) that I don't take the time to sit down and write about it. Since Drew is down with the flu-bug today and won't let me get more than three centimeters away from him, I figure today is a good day to attempt to put into words just how abundantly blessed I am....
While I may not be good at sitting down to blog, I do generally have my phone in hand to snap a picture or video in the moment. Drew is good at taking pictures for me too...and it's always interesting to go back and see exactly what ''moments" he's captured when I wasn't looking! :) We're sitting here together this morning and Drew is scrolling through all the pictures (and sneezing repeatedly on my phone. Hello, bleach!) and I'm overwhelmed with so many feelings of love and joy for my family that I can't even describe it. Even though Drew is sick and I'm fairly sure his bug will pass through to the rest of us, no matter how much I clean, I know that this, too, will pass.
The whole world should know what a wonderful man my husband is. He loves me unconditionally and definitely way more than I ever deserve. It's so amazing to me that the biggest blessings in my life happened when I had pushed God the furthest from my life...a true testimony that He is always there even when you don't fully acknowledge Him. Who knew that I would meet my future husband that night three years ago...but for everything to fall together like it did for us to meet was not a coincidence! Our journey hasn't always been easy, but the love we share and our faith in God is always enough to see us through.
Looking at the pictures and videos on my phone, we have so many fun times with our kids. While we never get enough time with any of them, the times we do have are priceless. I can't help but laugh looking back at the memories. Impromptu dance parties in the kitchen, new puppies wrestling, the MANY faces of Super Drew (oh how I love this phase), sports, sports, sports, and all of them growing right before my eyes....yes, I am blessed beyond measure!!
While I may not be good at sitting down to blog, I do generally have my phone in hand to snap a picture or video in the moment. Drew is good at taking pictures for me too...and it's always interesting to go back and see exactly what ''moments" he's captured when I wasn't looking! :) We're sitting here together this morning and Drew is scrolling through all the pictures (and sneezing repeatedly on my phone. Hello, bleach!) and I'm overwhelmed with so many feelings of love and joy for my family that I can't even describe it. Even though Drew is sick and I'm fairly sure his bug will pass through to the rest of us, no matter how much I clean, I know that this, too, will pass.
The whole world should know what a wonderful man my husband is. He loves me unconditionally and definitely way more than I ever deserve. It's so amazing to me that the biggest blessings in my life happened when I had pushed God the furthest from my life...a true testimony that He is always there even when you don't fully acknowledge Him. Who knew that I would meet my future husband that night three years ago...but for everything to fall together like it did for us to meet was not a coincidence! Our journey hasn't always been easy, but the love we share and our faith in God is always enough to see us through.
Looking at the pictures and videos on my phone, we have so many fun times with our kids. While we never get enough time with any of them, the times we do have are priceless. I can't help but laugh looking back at the memories. Impromptu dance parties in the kitchen, new puppies wrestling, the MANY faces of Super Drew (oh how I love this phase), sports, sports, sports, and all of them growing right before my eyes....yes, I am blessed beyond measure!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
SSMT: Verse #2
So I had in my mind that I was going to do our verse for Ground Zero this time for my memory verse - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? you do not belong to yourself, for God bought you for a high price. So you must honor God with your body."
It seemed fitting to use this verse as Ground Zero kicked off this week, however I was feeling a tad guilty because I have most of it memorized already (but not all of it!) and it just didn't seem very authentic because I didn't search it out and pick it for myself. So in typical God-fashion, He slapped me in the face this morning with a verse that I know I was meant to commit to my memory! Oh how I love our God and his sneaky ways! :)
So INSTEAD my second verse is "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
How perfect is that?! We all face temptation every single day....but our God is so mighty and faithful that there's no mountain (or molehill) we will face that we can't overcome. Can I get an Amen?!
It seemed fitting to use this verse as Ground Zero kicked off this week, however I was feeling a tad guilty because I have most of it memorized already (but not all of it!) and it just didn't seem very authentic because I didn't search it out and pick it for myself. So in typical God-fashion, He slapped me in the face this morning with a verse that I know I was meant to commit to my memory! Oh how I love our God and his sneaky ways! :)
So INSTEAD my second verse is "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
How perfect is that?! We all face temptation every single day....but our God is so mighty and faithful that there's no mountain (or molehill) we will face that we can't overcome. Can I get an Amen?!
SWW - Rookie Version!
So here we go with my rookie version of SWW......
So what if I'm not smart enough to get Sabrina's SWW picture to copy to the top of my blog. Clearly I'm not as smart as my darn computer. Ugh.
So what if I haven't blogged one single time since I (more like Nicole!) set up my blog. I guess I don't make time to sit down at my laptop very often.
So what if I am so tired of headaches that I am ready to rip my eyeballs out and stomp on them next time I get a headache! I guess at least my kids would have a valid reason for looking at me like I'm a monster??
So what if I completely fell of my own healthy-eating train yesterday. Two fudge rounds for lunch and Reeces Peanut Butter cups at 11:00 at night constitute healthy eating...right?? I didn't even think I liked Reeces? Apparently the side effects listed for prednisone is spot on....increased appetite...check, disrupted sleep....check...nausea...check....
So what if I only got two hours of sleep last night. At least I was awake when Rory came upstairs from working in the basement....plus I watched all kinds of old sitcoms on late night TV. Again, thank you prednisone. Stupid headaches....
So what if the last seven days were consumed by ugly, nasty headaches. Guess what, today is a new day and so far headache free. Praise God! No more whining about that...whew!!
On that note...I'm out....
So what if I'm not smart enough to get Sabrina's SWW picture to copy to the top of my blog. Clearly I'm not as smart as my darn computer. Ugh.
So what if I haven't blogged one single time since I (more like Nicole!) set up my blog. I guess I don't make time to sit down at my laptop very often.
So what if I am so tired of headaches that I am ready to rip my eyeballs out and stomp on them next time I get a headache! I guess at least my kids would have a valid reason for looking at me like I'm a monster??
So what if I completely fell of my own healthy-eating train yesterday. Two fudge rounds for lunch and Reeces Peanut Butter cups at 11:00 at night constitute healthy eating...right?? I didn't even think I liked Reeces? Apparently the side effects listed for prednisone is spot on....increased appetite...check, disrupted sleep....check...nausea...check....
So what if I only got two hours of sleep last night. At least I was awake when Rory came upstairs from working in the basement....plus I watched all kinds of old sitcoms on late night TV. Again, thank you prednisone. Stupid headaches....
So what if the last seven days were consumed by ugly, nasty headaches. Guess what, today is a new day and so far headache free. Praise God! No more whining about that...whew!!
On that note...I'm out....
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
I've Arrived!
Well....here we go. I'm off and running in the blogger world... thanks to my dear friend, Nicole. I have no idea what I'm doing or how this works, so this may be a total fail great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and try something new! It's January 1st and I've completed my New Years Resolution already...go me! I guess I can't actually claim success until I manage to post more than once or successfully share this link with others.
So here it is....short and sweet. Happy New Year to all!
So here it is....short and sweet. Happy New Year to all!
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