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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Thanksgiving Thanks and Christmas Cheer

I had an excellent Thanksgiving.  My brother, a good friend and I headed out to hit up Golden Corral at about noon.  We perused the parking lot and found it packed with cars and the line out the door in the cold air.  The boys quickly vetoed the wait, so we went in search for our thanksgiving dinner.  We ended up at IHOP and had ourselves a nice meal.  We finished it off with sparkling grapejuice and cupcakes at home made ourselves comfortable and watched Elf.  It was an awesome day just to sit back and relax.

I am thankful for so many things in my life.  Here are a few:  my family, my church family, my Stars at work,  my health, and my relationship with Christ.  I hope you had wonderful thanksgivings as well.

Now the Christmas seasons is upon us.  It is full of busy schedules, celebrations, and gift giving.  Most of all it gives us a chance to celebrate the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ who would become the Savior of the world by sacrificing himself, so we could fellowship with Him.  That is worth celebrating.

I will try to get my blogging rythmn back soon.  Have a blessed Christmas, and remember if there was no Easter there would be no need for Christmas.

Monday, November 22, 2010

WOW What a Week

Sorry it has taken me so long to post.  So much has happened and it is tough to carve out those moments to get on.  I had an amazing Birthday weekend.  I ran the City on a Hill 5K and made my best time of 35 minutes 34 seconds.  It was amazing.  My number was 313 which 13 was my birthday and the day of the race and something I found to be kind of cool.  My brother figured the odds to be less than 1/5th of a chance to have both a 1 and 3 in my number and I had both.

IHOP was next on the agenda and a day of shopping with my mom and aunt who was visiting from out of town.  My parents surprised me with flowers on Monday at work which I got to enjoy all week. I got busy and did not make time for any Our Daily Bread THOTs.

Memories to look back on would be previous birthday weekends.  I have had so many Bowling Parties I have lost count.  One of my best birthday memories was my 13th birthday.  I had a sleepover at my church.  We had homemade pizza and a cake mix cake that looked like a smiley-face.  My classmates from school and church attended.  We played games and didn't sleep much.  It was awesome.

This birthday didn't feel like a birthday really.  Partly because I count down in May, so I pretty much feel like I have already aged before my birthday.  I think the flowers are what made it feel most like a birthday and I love my parents for it.  They are the best.

This week I will do my best to get back on track for each day. 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

THOTful Thursday

First off, Happy Veteran's day to all the military.  Thank you for your sacrifice.  We would not be able to be free without men and women willing to sacrifice their lives for our freedom.  THANKS!

The thought today was of selfless love.  I have listened to KLOVE recently and have been surrounded by love songs.  They absolutely amaze me.  One of my favorites is More Like Falling in Love by Jason Gray.  I hope I can live up to the message.  God is first, the rest will fall into place.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tuesday Thankfuls/Wow Wednesday

I am thankful for spare keys to my car.  I recently purchased a new car and knew I was going to need a spare key at some point.  I got one about a week ago.  Yesterday was the day; I left them in the cup holder.  It could have been so much worse without that extra key.

My Wow God moment is realizing the sacrifice that was paid for me to enjoy the freedoms I possess.  God blessed me with a free country, but that freedom didn't come without a price.  Remember to thank a Vet tommorow.

Monday, November 8, 2010

M.A.D. Monday

"Everyone was filled with Joy"
Well, I tried to come up with something simple to do today and was at a loss.  I was thinking of the little things such as smiling and giving away hugs as a way to make a difference.  I wanted to consciously smile at at least 5 people.  Smiling is fairly easy for me to do, but the hard part is to consciously smile.  I think I succeeded with about 2 people.  I think I will resort to my book and search for more ideas.  Remember details matter and that is what most people will remember most.  It's the thought that counts more than the act rendered.  In the end you are blessed by blessing others.  Remember to smile. A smile improves your face value.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Flashback Friday

Hello again,  I have come up with a new alliteration for Friday as of right now, Flashback Friday.  I will take a moment and share a memory of something cool, fun, good, etc. and so forth from the past.  This alliteration evolved from my work's Wayback day today where we dressed through the decades. I sported my mom's poodle skirt from "way back in the day."  It was fun and all the kids loved it. 

So my flashback Friday moment today is remembering family times.  I don't have one story in particular but I will start to flashback and pick out the right stories to tell.  I am always open for stories of your own and look forward to hearing them.

THOTful Thursday on Friday

Thursday came and went with THOUGHTS focused on the GRE test I have to take this Saturday.  So I didn't get around to posting.  Today I read both Our Daily Bread Devotions (http://www.odb.org/)  for yesterday and today. 

Yesterday's Bible Reading was from II Kings 5:1-15 about Namaan the ruler struck with leprosy.  He hears of a way to be healed and packs up all of this stuff and sends a note to the King of Israel.  Long story short,  Namaan goes to Elisha's house, a prophet to the Israelites, to be healed.  T

The servant comes out and tells Namaam this (paraphrased) "Go to the Jordan river and dip yourself seven times."  Namaam got very angry and threw a temper tantrum saying, "He didn't come meet me!  Wasn't he supposed to come out and touch me and tell my disease to go away?!?"  Namaam brewed a bit, "And why does it have to be the Jordan river? Aren't Abana and Pharpar or the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?" 

Wow, what a reaction.  Namaan is a man of stature and honor in his kingdom but suffers from an incurable disease of leprosy.  He would do just about anything to get rid of it such as seeking out a prophet from an enemy camp for help. He wanted healing on his terms.  He thought he was grand enough to deserve an audience with the prophet Elisha.  Does this resemble our approach to God sometimes?  Do we come before God and ask for help in a matter, but with strings attached?  Do we say "God, I need your help, but I would really like you to do it my way?

I have.  Surrender is the hardest but most rewarding parts to our walk with Christ.  I have had a very tough year with surrender. But each time I have given everything to God and not been limited by my own expectations, God has surpassed my wildest imaginations.  I still struggle with this and am learning that this a daily, every growing process and will get better as I keep on keeping on.

The blessing in the story of Namaan is that he too surrendered his will to the Lord and the words of the prophet Elisha after he calmed down and his leprosy was healed and skin made new.  Praise the Lord.  Help us to always remember to surrender to God and His will and not dictate our will to Him.  We will never win without surrender.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wow God, Wednesday

God is amazing and so good. I will share a quick Wow God moment that happened a few Wednesdays ago. God has been so good to me and blessed me with a new to me car. I purchased it and got to keep the current license plate on it which reads 371 something. I like numbers and singing, so the plate on my old car I picked out to correspond with a hymn that we sing at church, "Love Lifted Me." It always made my tag easy to remember.

Well, I went to get the car titled and almost bought a new plate but decided to keep the one already on the car. I didn't think anything of until at church later that night. I was singing or trying to sing, when I remembered a song. I looked it up and there it was 371, my tag number. I was so excited that I walked out of church to make sure that it was indeed my tag number. The song was "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" and to this day I will not forget my tag number and God will have His way in my life.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

MAD (Make a Difference) Monday/Tuesday Thankfuls


MAD Monday's blog post experienced some technical difficulties yesterday. The abbreviated form is that I have committed to "Party with a Purpose" for my birthday. On my birthday there will be a local 5k in my area and I plan to run/jog/walk it on my birthday. This is my way to make a difference and give to others and still have a great birthday at the same time.


Now for Tuesday Thankfuls, I am thankful for God and His provision for me. I am thankful for the right to vote, a privilege that I hold quite dear as a woman. We have an awesome responsibility to make our voice heard in our government system. I am also thankful for study guides for major tests like the GRE which I will be taking this Saturday.


There are so many things to be thankful for especially in this season of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Feedback Friday

This is Feedback Friday where it is your turn to tell me whats going on. How is God working in your life?

As of right now I only have an audience of two, but hopefully that will change shortly as I practice becoming more consistent.

I am a big fan of aliteration hence the themes for each day. If Feedback Friday doesn't pan out the way that I had hoped I will work on thinking up a new word for this day, but right now I will hold out hope.

So what's new with you?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

THOTful Thursday

THOTful Thursday is inspired by a childhood tradition of reading Our Daily Bread devotionals. My parents would read and when they got to the end to read the bolded thought at the bottom, they always said "Thot, T-H-O-T without the T-H-O-T." I thought nothing of it, but carried on the tradition. It wasn't until recently my parents explained why they said that. When the devotionals were originally printed it said THOT at the bottom along with the thought for the day. Then soon after the THOT was dropped from the devotions, therefore explaining the phrase my parents said without fail as they read each devotion. It's kind of funny looking back, and when I happen to read the THOT for the day, I sometimes mumble that phrase just because.

Well, what better place to start than Our Daily Bread for today's THOT, T-H-O-T without the
T-H-O-T. You can find the Our Daily Bread devotionals online at www.odb.org. Todays devotional is entitled Emergency Kit and the THOT for the day is God provides the armour, but we must put it on. Wow, what a true and profound statement. God gives us many resources and protective barriers from the enemy, but he also gives us the choice to use them. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation are ours for the taking. God gives us his plan through His Word and through prayer. Help us to think clearly, especially in times of need and to come prepared for the fight we are in against principalities and powers.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wow Wednesday!

Wow, it has been awhile. I decided to stop blogging this year because I started to notice a trend. All I blogged about was time and how I didn't have any. I took a break but am back. My original intent for this blog was to be a ministering tool about a topic near and dear to my heart, purity. I have witnessed over the years a lack of training and a more accepting view of impure lifestyles.

I have declared my desire to be pure and to "be found." I have struggled with the latter issue in the last few years. I don't want to trust God for my future mate even though that is what He wants of me.

Long story short, I have changed and been influenced over the year in different areas and would like to share them in a carefree, thematic way. KLOVE has been one of my biggest inspirations this year so the format of the blog will be my direct influence. My main passion is purity and a godly sense of beauty which will most likely be evidenced in posts to come, but the new format will look something like this:
MAD (Make a Difference) Monday
Tuesday Thankfuls
WOW, God Wednesdays
THOTful Thursdays
Feedback Friday

I want to challenge myself to post everyday for the next month. For me, this is a tall order. I give up way too quickly. I hope to complete this well and grow closer to my beloved.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Time?

What is time? Is it something by which we measure certain accomplishments, milestones, or events? Is it something we squander away with no regard for how many other things we could accomplish as the minutes tick by and the hours turn into days?

I have noticed that many of my posts deal with time and how I use my time. Most of the time it is about how to use it better. So my plan is to set aside some time for some very specific things.

First, I will set aside time for God. He is the most precious relationship I have in this world and yet I don't always treat Him with respect or give Him the time He deserves.

Second, I will set aside time for my health. I plan to exercise and eat less this year. I have several more pounds to lose, and I know that this is the only successful way to do so.

Third, I will set aside time for my family. I love them and would do anything for them.

Fourth, I will set aside time for friends. I love my friends and hope they love me. Relationships are hard to maintain and time is the best way to grow a friendship.

Last but not least, I will set aside time for me. Alone time for me, gives me perspective. Spending time on myself helps me spend my time more wisely.

Time is such a beautiful thing in that everyone has the same amount each day, but each of us gets to decide how we use it. Don't waste it.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

To Resolve or Not to Resolve?

I have this weird theory about New Year's resolutions. The years that I made resolutions; they always failed within the first month. This last year I made no resolutions, and have found my calling, was "lucky in 'like'," been blessed with more friendships, and grown closer to the Lord who has so richly blessed me.

So what I was thinking, I would resolve NOT to resolve this year. There are a few things that I will keep my eyes on but not make any real resolutions. When I make resolutions, I set myself up with certain expectations. Then I have a fear of failure, so when I don't reach the goals I set I beat myself up, and it discourages me. So to avoid all of that frustration, I don't make resolutions. Then any amount of progress becomes a success rather than a failure.

So in reality, it becomes a mind game. I have unwritten resolutions and plan to see what happens in this year that I resolve NOT to resolve.