thank you

psalms

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes...Psalm 37:3-7

The 5 O'Clock Club

I am going off on a limb here and starting tomorrow, I am going to be joining the 5 O'Clock Club. As a frequent visitor to one of my favorite blogs, www.girltalkhome.com I have been reading about this "club" for a while and now have found that I am ready to join! As someone who loves to be rushing around all day long, I am looking forward to some quiet time and being able to relish in that as well.

Any others wanting to join can read more about it here, http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/The_500_Club 

I love the inspritaional messages this blog has to offer, in addition to the 5 O'clock club...I have found one other bit worthy of a share today...maybe I like this post because I love managing a calendar and effective to-do lists, but I'd also like to see what these women would say the 7 Habits of a Highly Effecitve Man would be too ;-)

7 Habits of the Highly Effective Woman:
1.    She rises early
2.    She maintains the spiritual disciplines
3.    She focuses on relational priorities for every season
4.    She sets up regular times for planning
5.    She develops an effective to-do list system and calendar/planner system
6.    She establishes an efficient routine for managing her home
7.    She organizes her house systematically

the beatitudes

last week my discipleship class was reading Matthew and we all read about the beatitudes [blessings] that Jesus taught on the sermon of the mount...some of which i'm sure we all [including me] could use a good reminder of...


the 10 second summary version of Matthew 5 [per the Harrison's refrigerator]...
*trust God
*be open to God's presence
*be humble (putting others before you)
*fight for right
*forgive
*be steadfast
*be calm
*be courageous


happy sunday! 

power of a praying wife

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.  ~Proverbs 31:10-12


opening the power of a praying wife by stormie omartian...thanks pig for the reading recommendations! i can already tell this is going to be a great book!  get your copy! 

patience is a virtue

patience is a virtue that i was not blessed with and therefore is one that i have to work on nearly all the time...wilson is a great help for this as sometimes all i want to do i have an extra moment of sleep or a bit more quiet time or not have to get up and take him out for the 10th time in the past 5 minutes as he sits on his mat at the door asking to go out.

this is something that i have prayed a lot about [not just for wilson's sake] and now have these subtle reminders to keep me in line [although inhale 1-2-3 exhale 4-5-6 does work wonders too]...when you're at your wits end and you are frustrated or being impatient say a quick prayer first and think of these [or even better, commit it to memory]...

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."  James 1:19-20

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." Psalms 37:7-9

dancing in the minefields

a new song i heard on xm 32--the message--dancing in the minefields by andrew peterson

Well I was 19 you were 21 

Everyone said we were much to young 

But we did it anyway 

We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road 

We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago 

We went dancing in the minefields 

We went sailing in the storm 

And it was harder than we dreamed 

But I believe that’s what the promise is for 

Well ‘I do’ are the two most famous last words 

The beginning of the end 

But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin 

Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down 

And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found 

And we’re dancing in the minefields 

We’re sailing in the storm 

This is harder than we dreamed 

But I believe that’s what the promise is for 

That’s what the promise is for 

So when I lose my way, find me 

When I lose loves chains, bind me 

At the end of all my faith 

to the end of all my days 

when I forget my name, remind me 

Cause we bear the light of the son of man 

So there’s nothing left to fear 

So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands 

Till the shadows disappear 

Cause he promised not to leave us 

And his promises are true 

So in the face of all this chaos baby 

I can dance with you 

The year we got engaged 

humble yourself

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
~Ephesians 2:8-10

have a little faith in me

so first off today was amazing...how often do you have those days when you feel like you had a truly great day that you really just want to tell everyone about? for me that is iffy...normally if work is great you work too late & then home is hectic or maybe worse, you leave work right at 5 only to come home and suddenly look at the time and wonder how it got to be 11 o'clock and where the three ice cream sandwich wrappers you notice on the coffee table went...


today was one of the best days with our personal trainer greer.  first the company is always great. two amazing friends [rachel and carrie] and my terrific sister in law [ann hughston] come over a few days a week to pay to get our butts whipped into shape. the four mile walk in just at 45 minutes was our first pat on the back only to be subjected to the hardest class we've ever done which afterwards seemed like a breeze [carrie seriously earned the gold star tonight]! to top it off zoe's treat for dinner and an ice cold dc.  yum! the closing of the time with greer always involves us laying down for a few moments [30 seconds probably] and catching our breath and just closing our eyes while greer gives us an inspirational message. 


tonight was a bit from Colossians 3 though they aren't always Biblical tid-bits this was resonated well with me. maybe because i still have four days worth of discipleship reading to finish by wednesday and i am blogging instead or maybe because preceding the verse from today was one of the verses from our wedding [Colossians 3:12-17] but nonetheless i will share the end of my great day with you all and hopefully i get some more reading done so i don't feel the need to fess up during "prayers & concerns" time on wednesday with why i have an half empty discipleship workbook.  


to each their own but surviving twenty somethings involves not only having faith in yourself and those you love but more importantly keeping the faith in whatever higher power you believe in...


"Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for men, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as you reward you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done and there is no partiality.  Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.  Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.  At the same time pray for us as well that God will open us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal the clarity as I should.  Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone." Colossians 3:23-4:6

a good mantra

so a great mantra to live by that just got revived in my mind tonight at discipleship...sparked by the question, what does it mean to place yourself under the authority of your spiritual leaders? surrender...rob's best logic and good logic too...you have to believe if you are doing  best you can and the Lord will take care of the rest...if you are doing something the best that you can and something still manages to happen against what you were anticipating or hoping for it is all part of a bigger [better] plan.  


use all your God given talents and do the best you can.  God isn't expecting us to be perfect. you have to take responsibility for your life to be a good disciple. be the better person, strive to do what you would want others to do for you, be understanding and appreciate differences, and don't be secretive about being a disciple of the Lord.


so tonight going to bed early for a change and reminding myself that i am going to do the best [with discipleship/work/marriage/friends/family/commitments/life] i can and sleep peacefully knowing God will take care of the rest. 


Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

-Joshua 1:9

Amen!

the Law

so i have a new found understanding for the 10 commandments and their meanings...for some reason i always thought they were black and white and the answers were all there.  little did i know until wednesday night i was very wrong. i have a new understanding of all of them and a new list of things to work on as i am no longer checking off as many items on the list as i previously though...

• have no other gods before me...have no other gods or idols or even priorities other than praising and make that a daily priority and the person you turn to
• worship no idols...don't worship physical or worldly things 
• dont use the Lord's name in vain...don't use profanity but equally important dont use the Lord or being a Christian as an excuse for anything or passing the blame
• reserve the sabbath & keep holy...do not have endless work and productivity--make a point to keep some time holy even if its not a whole day
• don't bear false witness...this includes embellishing, lying, filling in the blanks in stories, gossiping, etc
• honor your mother and father...and all elders & all other mothers and fathers and respect differences 
• don't steal...ideas, things, peoples thunder, the spotlight, or anything that isn't your own
• don't commit adultery...this one is pretty clear without much dilly dallying...includes emotional and mental thoughts that should be shared for your husband/wife
• don't covet anything of your neighbors...it all creates jealously and envy, measuring yourself against others haves and have nots...be content with what you have been blessed with
• don't murder...not just people & animals but also the spirit and well-being of others

one thing that i found the most compelling and probably the most unforgettable...is that an elder in our church says you only need to follow two of the 10 commandments and you'll by reaction follow the rest of the commandments...
the magical two are...


**"Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy" Exodus 20:8


**"You shall not covet your neighbors house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17


did i mention i love wednesday nights @ PRUMC!