I Want One...

Haha - 2 posts within 5 minutes. I want this house that has a slide from the third story to the first story! Slides are  like the best thing ever!

It's the small things

Well, it's Friday and I have made it through the week. Back on Sunday I knew it would be a long and tiring week, but I never would have guessed all that it had in store. But God is good, and He gives us small things to make us smile and brighten our days.

{And honestly, we have continued to be full of joy, because our hope is in Christ, and not in circumstances, and we know that when He gives us hard things it is only because He loves us and wants to draw us closer to Himself.}

And as silly as this may sound, last night God gave me the gift of a super fun night doing Zumba with some of my favorite LCA girls. I know lots of my friends have done Zumba and I've been invited before, just usually haven't had the time. But I finally made the time to join them, and that hour of shaking my hips and booty was just what I needed to put a smile on my face and re-energize me. I guess exercise will do that to you. And while it wasn't a terribly strenuous work out, it got my blood flowing and me sweating, and I'm sure I looked so goofy, but I got an hour to just dance my little heart out and work out and be with fun friends. And I'm so grateful for that.

We followed it up with a little dinner at chik fil a, some great conversation and then I had my Thursday night Bible study, where we are studying Isaiah, and this week was Isaiah 40, which is so full of hope. It's full of reminders of how big God is, and how He never grows weary, so that when we are tired and weary {and I have been most of this week} that He will give us strength and power. I'm so thankful that I am not reliant upon myself.

And so God gave me a Thursday night of small things to remind me of His great love. And I have a nice weekend to look forward to, with my husband not working on Saturday, and not a whole lot on the ol' agenda Saturday and Sunday.

I think I'm going to do our taxes this weekend and I'm really hoping for a refund {or really just not to owe any money} and as long as that is the case I might go ahead and book plane tickets for summer vacation before prices go way up! Hoping that it all works out.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Anyone have anything fun planned?

Pray

Not sure where to begin. The last couple of days have been a whirlwind. I haven't been home but to eat and sleep. We've experienced the highs of the joy of adding new people to the ministry of Young Life here in Lexington as well as the devastating blow that came yesterday when we learned that after nearly 2 years of being cancer free, cancer has likely returned to Derek's mom. So for those of you that pray, I would ask that you would lift her up in prayer. Pray for healing, pray for peace, and pray that this would allow her to know and love God in a way that she never has before.

As I was driving to work this morning, I was listening to the Christian radio station, and the song, "I'm forgiven" which I've heard a bunch of times, but one line brought me to tears this morning:

When I don't measure up to much in this life,
I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ.


I've heard it so many times, but for some reason it was just so real to me this morning. To know that I am a treasure in the arms of Christ, no matter what this world brings. It brings me to tears as I write it. I just can't describe what it means to me to know that truth.

This is her 3rd cancer diagnosis in her life. I'm sure she is questioning why God keeps putting her through this, wondering if a God that truly loved her would allow this. And my prayer is just that she would know that she is a treasure in the arms of Christ. He loves her so so much.

James 1 says:

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 


I pray that she knows that God has chosen her to face a trial because He wants to grow her and mature her. He wants to use this to show His love for her and to put her in a position where she has to rely on Him, so she can taste and see that the Lord is good. We're praying so hard, would you join us in lifting her up? Thanks so much friends. 

Monday

Catchy title, huh? I think trying to come up with a title for each post is the hardest part of blogging for me.

Anyways, hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours was delightful, however it seemed to fly by. It was Derek's  last weekend of basketball, so we get to have our Saturdays together until April when soccer starts. After Derek got off work Saturday we went to one of our high school students houses and played Rock Band and this fancy dancing game on the X-Box Kinect (I don't know how you spell it!) There's no controllers, just a camera that watches your moves and gives you a score and even sometimes takes pictures of you (a little creepy). It was hilarious and so fun and now I want one, even though I have a wii fit and guitar hero guitars in my living room that have not been used in ages.

So things have been a little busy recently and this week is definitely going to be packed full. I'm making it though, and trying to enjoy every minute, even the things I'm not super looking forward to.

So my last post I was talking about all the amazing stuff God is doing an how I feel so blessed and wouldn't you know that this morning I start reading blogs and in blog land it is so easy to start comparing yourself and to begin to focus on what you don't have. I quickly had to remind myself how blessed I am, and that not having everything I want is not a bad thing. I could focus on things I wish were different and begin scheming as to how I could change it, but I know that when I run after those things to fill me up and make me feel good, I will just find something else to be dissatisfied with.

I'm reading Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What and in it he talks about Adam and Eve, and what it must have felt like to not feel like something is missing. He says we were created to find our identity in something external to ourselves, and that something is God. We need that affirmation from God that we are good and worthy. And since the day that Eve took a bite of that silly apple, the one thing that we were created to have our identity in, we are no longer connected to. So we go to everything else imaginable to affirm us and make us feel like we have value. The problem is, none of those things can do that. So we are constantly searching, and as a result we have made up our own value system and resorted to comparing ourselves to each other, finding someone that we can feel better than to slightly fill that void that nothing can seem to fill.

He pointed out that nearly everything we do is an effort to establish where we are in comparison to others. If we look at sports, the whole purpose of any sporting event is to see who is better. Same with reality tv, find out who is the best. We've had our little ranking systems since elementary school - who is the most popular, the prettiest, the best athlete. It seems like a lot of people are having babies these days, and crazy to see everyone's updates of what percentile their baby is in. Before our kids have the awareness to compare themselves to their peers, we are doing it for them. (I'm not saying it's bad to say what percentile your baby is in - I know a lot of it is just out of a desire to make sure they are healthy and for you to remember if they were big or small or whatever.) But it's just crazy how our whole lives we are trying to always better ourself in this value system that we have completely made up and that has no eternal significance.

And so in times when I begin to focus on what I'm lacking, and how my life isn't as full with as many great things as theirs in, I NEED to remember truth, and that my value comes from God, not relationships or material possessions or experiences. It's so easy to say, but so much harder to remember and believe. But I think if we could truly believe this, we would find so much peace.

Those are my thoughts for today. I also have a really hard time trying to end blog posts. So I'll just stop now.

John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing."

This is the verse I memorized for the first half of February. It's one of those that I could always paraphrase, but I figured it was a good one to commit to memory. 


Right now, I feel so full of joy I could burst. It's one of those seasons in life, where God is doing awesome things, and I not only get to sit back and watch, but also be an active participant. I was just telling my friend, Keith, who leads young life with us, that  I wish I could take the next three months and make it last 3 years. Which is kind of an exaggeration, but I really would make it last like another year. And all of this is not to say, look at my life that is so perfect, because it is not perfect. There are struggles and there is sin. But I feel like God is blessing us in huge ways throughout everything. And that's why this verse is so important to remember, especially the last part - "apart from me you can do nothing". I think that's where the joy comes from. Knowing that all of this is not just fun times, but because it is not done apart from God, it matters eternally. And that because we are connected to God, we can be involved in something that will have implications in God's kingdom forever. It's so cool. And so I can look at everything that is going on and not feel good about myself, because I cannot take credit for any of it. It is not a result of my being awesome or whatever. It is 100% a result of remaining in the vine and seeing God show up. And so I can give Him all the credit. And when we look back at this time in our lives, we can praise God, because He is faithful, and allowed us to bear fruit. And when we are tempted to rely on ourselves, we can remember that part from God, we can do nothing. Such a great promise!

Happy Heart Day

Happy Valentine's Day, love of my life!

Today I feel so blessed to call him my Valentine. Here are a few reasons I love this one:

1. He loves Jesus ALOT. To the point that everyone who knows him knows that about him. He is unapologetic about it, and the way he lives his life backs it up. He isn't afraid to talk about it, and his actions don't leave room for there to be any question.

2. He loves me a lot too and I never am left doubting it. He also enjoys loving me. It is not forced and is not something that is a burden to him. He would always prefer that I am with him.

3. He's hilarious. We have lots of fun and I laugh every day.

4. He treats everyone the way everyone should be treated. He loves people. When he walks into a room he doesn't look for who he knows best and who can make him feel cool, he looks for who needs to be loved, who no one is talking to and then goes and tries to do something to make them laugh or feel good about them self. He can talk to absolutely anyone about anything.

5. He loves to dance.

6. He loves kids and kids love him. He is great with them and can totally relate to kids of all ages.

7. He's very creative. We're rarely bored.

8. He always gets the words to songs wrong, but sings them anyways.

9. He makes up his own songs all the time. (I guess this is an extension of #7.) He also tries to rap. (This goes along with #3.)

10. He's real good at sports and I like his muscles. (I'm allowed to have one superficial one, right?)

Happy Valentine's Day, D! I love you lots!

Today...

...is Friday!

...the weather will warm up to above freezing!

...all that has caused me to not be able to breathe out my nose the past few days is finally exiting my body (gross, I know, but it feels so good to be getting it all out!)

...I will be chaperoning a high school dance. And not a school sponsored dance, but one the students are putting on themselves, in which we young life leaders along with some friends will be the only chaperons. Prayers are welcome and appreciated.

 It will involve keeping these jokers in line.

...my blog friend Callie is getting ready to have her baby!

...I am trusting that God's plans for my life are better than any I could come up with on my own.

...I am enjoying the contents of this lovely package that came from Kristin over at Living Graciously for winning her Gracious Maven Quest in January!

...I ate chocolate with my breakfast.

...I will love my husband.

...I will love on my pup and my 2 kitties.

...the sun is shining.

...is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Ready for Valentine's Day

I don't know what got into me this year. I've never decorated for Valentine's Day before. I'm not a big seasonal decorator, Christmas is really the only holiday I decorate for. But for some reason I got motivated to do a little V-Day decorating this year. And by a little, I just mean the mantle over our fireplace in the family room. But since that is where we spend most of our time, especially since we've both been sick, the decorations have made me happy. Here's the end result:

In my efforts to not spend money I did it on the cheap. I used the flowers Derek got me, a yummy smelling candle that was a Christmas gift from Frankie, my Bible study leader, and I cut out a bunch of hearts from some scrapbooking paper I had and strung them up on the mantle. I bought the little pink hearts that are in the vases at the dollar store and the vases we already had, they came from Ikea and were super cheap.

I know, they're kind of tacky, but they were $1 and I was having fun playing with my camera :)

The little votive holder was $2.50, bringing the grand total that I paid for my decorations for $3.50 (if you don't include however much Derek spent on the flowers!)

So there's my cheap-o Valentine's decorations. The pink and red has really brightened up my mood. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Unavoidable

I tried my hardest to avoid it, but I guess chances are, if your spouse gets the flu, it's only a matter of time before you end up with it yourself. Derek and I really didn't do anything this weekend because he wasn't feeling well and I felt like I was coming down with a cold. I was really hoping all it would be is a cold. But yesterday the achy body and fever that lets you know that it's not just a cold, arrived. So today I am home, trying to take it easy.

The biggest bummer of all is that I am working from home, even though I am sick. My company doesn't give sick and vacation days, you just get paid time off (PTO) and I get 16 days a year. So every day that I am sick, is one less day of vacation. And I love vacation. So I will work from home with the flu, to save my precious vacation days.

The good news is my fever is gone and I don't feel so achy. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back at work and feeling more like myself. Now all I have to do is figure out how the heck to clear up my sinuses. I cannot breathe through my nose, and it is getting annoying.

I'll be back with something more fun soon! Hope everyone else is staying healthy!

Wednesday Thoughts

Happy Groundhog Day! This is Derek's favorite non-holiday holiday. The groundhog did not see his shadow today, which means hopefully spring is coming soon. It's cold here today though, but not as cold as in Dillon, Colorado, where my sister lives. At 8:00 our time this morning (6 am there) it was -31 degrees, and the high today was -3. So I really can't complain.

Other things going on in our world today...I had a dentist appointment today and I have 3cavities!!! I'm so annoyed. What good is brushing twice a day, flossing every day and using listerine if you're gonna get 3 cavities in 6 months? They are all around existing fillings, which I'm not sure if that makes it any better or not. I really don't like getting fillings though :(

Also, Derek has the flu. Double bummer. It was confirmed at the doctor this morning, but he seems to be feeling a little better tonight. They gave him some Tamiflu and at $55 for the prescription I'm glad that it seems to be working. Even though he has the flu, apparently Derek was getting restless sitting around the house all day, and I came home to a clean house and fresh flowers. I absolutely hate seeing Derek feeling bad, I won't complain if he isn't allowed to go out and be around people so he stays home and cleans and buys me flowers :) There was also a fire in the fire place. Here are a few photos:

So even though the day started out not so great, it ended well. Now we're snuggled up by the fire (actually we're on separate couches because I really don't want to get the flu!) and spending some quality time watching Boy Meets World. Hope everyone is staying warm tonight!

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him."

2nd memory verse. Love these verses. I still need to meditate on this more and more. I need to better understand the wrath that we have been saved from by the death of Jesus. I don't fully understand that, and I think if I did really understand that wrath that I have escaped and that Jesus faced in my place, my life would look different. I would love Christ more. I would never ever complain. I would have a much greater urgency to share Christ with the world. And the thought of living together with him, whether awake or asleep would mean so much more. That is my prayer. That God would make it real to me. It's so easy to say it, but to really know it,  the way I know how gravity works, in a way that affects how I do everything, that is my desire.