We are coming down from an amazing week and Easter weekend. We had house guests over the past week. Mac and Whitney lived with us, while waiting to close on their new home. I am happy (and sad) to say they are now getting settled and loving their sweet new digs. I loved having them here. It was so fun to wake up with them in the morning, and hang out together in the evenings. Camden enjoyed Aunt Whitney and Uncle Mac because they made funny faces and made him laugh hard! Easter Sunday was wonderful. We got up around 830 (Camden always sleeps in when Daddy is home). We ate breakfast and then dyed our eggs. I have pictures, they didn't turn out great and I was reminded last night to put vinegar with the dye. I knew I was mising something. We successfully dyed four....I will attach pix tomorrow. Colin found the perfect place for them during our Easter brunch at mom and dad's. Speaking of brunch, we got to enjoy some time with the family. We ate and spent some time outside swinging. It was a gorgeous day. After brunch we went out to the pond to celebrate baptisms with our church. 150+ people lined up to be baptized. It was incredible! What a day. We are so thankful for Easter and that the tomb is empty. We have hope and a future in Jesus.
During the past week Camden was waking up super early, so I wasn't getting my quiet time.....and I missed it! I really look forward to having about an hour before he wakes up to read, pray, and blog. Soooo, he was stirring a little this morning but so far so good. I finished my book, The Me I Want to Be this morning. I think that I am going to read it again. It is such powerful book. It really got me thinking about my life and becoming the person God wants me to be.
"Living the adventure God planned, becoming the person God created you to be, is not one pursuit among many. It is why you were born. It is worth wanting above all else." Ortberg
It makes me question, am I becoming the person God wants me to be or am I comfortable in who I think I should be? I am a girl who doesn't like risk, change, or "mountains." This book is all about risk, change, and mountains. I love Jesus, I trust Jesus, and I want nothing more then to become the true woman of God he has called me to be. My prayer is that I not get in the way of His plan. That I stef aside, not matter how uncomfortable, and trust him.
Easter weekend pix will be posted tomorrow! Love you guys.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Shape
"If God loves you and wants to shape you, he will send some difficult people your way. But take heart. you are the dificult person he is sending to shape somebody else!" Ortberg
This made me smile. I know that we all have difficult people in our lives. We all have a few people who tap, stomp, pull on that last nerve, and we smile through it, watch the clock, and just hope we can leave soon. I am an avoider, if I feel like someone is challenging me, confronting me, or doesn't like me....I run. I don't put any effort into that relationship because I would rather avoid the conversation and miss out on the growth God has intending for me through that relationship. I am learning that difficult people are placed in my life to increase my ability to love.
Ortberg says that between the time of calm to anger there is a quarter second. That quarter second is a God-send. It is available for us to pray and tap into the Holy Spirit and ask Him to intercede and help us with this difficult person or situation. If we choose not to pray or ask for help....WATCH out!! I can think of many moments in my life where I didn't take advantage of that quarter second...sorry mom.
My prayer is that I become the "shape" God is calling me to be. If that means I am the difficult person in your life, I am sorry. Know that I am a God-send...haha.
"God loves people who love him. He loves people who don't love him. God does it because love is the only way to life." -Ortberg
Thick skin and a thin heart...
Em
This made me smile. I know that we all have difficult people in our lives. We all have a few people who tap, stomp, pull on that last nerve, and we smile through it, watch the clock, and just hope we can leave soon. I am an avoider, if I feel like someone is challenging me, confronting me, or doesn't like me....I run. I don't put any effort into that relationship because I would rather avoid the conversation and miss out on the growth God has intending for me through that relationship. I am learning that difficult people are placed in my life to increase my ability to love.
Ortberg says that between the time of calm to anger there is a quarter second. That quarter second is a God-send. It is available for us to pray and tap into the Holy Spirit and ask Him to intercede and help us with this difficult person or situation. If we choose not to pray or ask for help....WATCH out!! I can think of many moments in my life where I didn't take advantage of that quarter second...sorry mom.
My prayer is that I become the "shape" God is calling me to be. If that means I am the difficult person in your life, I am sorry. Know that I am a God-send...haha.
"God loves people who love him. He loves people who don't love him. God does it because love is the only way to life." -Ortberg
Thick skin and a thin heart...
Em
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Open
"When you can step into openness and stop pretending, you find yourself coming alive. Hiddenness and pretense are always the enemy of flourishing." Ortberg
This morning I read about the importance of having authentic realtionships...the kind that you can let your guard down and be real. The kind that you can confess and conquer fears, past, and failures. I loved the quote Ortberg wrote above. When you find a person whom you can stop pretending and become relevant with....you can flourish. Jesus is always aware...he is all knowing, always present and knows every thought and fear. From experience, when I sit down with someone and become real, there is something that happens inside of me....I feel free, I feel new, I don't feel so bad anymore. Someone has listened to me and they still love me. They don't see that ugly confession or struggle, they see growth they see the real me.
"I can only be loved to the extent that I am known. I cannot be fully loved unless I am fully known. To be fully known and fullyloved is the most healing gift one human being can give another." Ortberg
I am so blessed to have friends in my life (including a husband) who can hear me out and still love me. I am never going to be perfect, I am always going to sin....and I will turn around and confess that to my friends. I struggle, but it is so encouraging to know that I have people in my life that will listen to my imperfections and challenge me. They will cry with me, they won't judge me, they will LOVE me.
"Go ahead and stumble. Failure isn't falling down; failure is refusing to try. We ought to celebrate failure." Ortberg
This morning I read about the importance of having authentic realtionships...the kind that you can let your guard down and be real. The kind that you can confess and conquer fears, past, and failures. I loved the quote Ortberg wrote above. When you find a person whom you can stop pretending and become relevant with....you can flourish. Jesus is always aware...he is all knowing, always present and knows every thought and fear. From experience, when I sit down with someone and become real, there is something that happens inside of me....I feel free, I feel new, I don't feel so bad anymore. Someone has listened to me and they still love me. They don't see that ugly confession or struggle, they see growth they see the real me.
"I can only be loved to the extent that I am known. I cannot be fully loved unless I am fully known. To be fully known and fullyloved is the most healing gift one human being can give another." Ortberg
I am so blessed to have friends in my life (including a husband) who can hear me out and still love me. I am never going to be perfect, I am always going to sin....and I will turn around and confess that to my friends. I struggle, but it is so encouraging to know that I have people in my life that will listen to my imperfections and challenge me. They will cry with me, they won't judge me, they will LOVE me.
"Go ahead and stumble. Failure isn't falling down; failure is refusing to try. We ought to celebrate failure." Ortberg
Ecclesiastes 4:10 (New Living Translation)
10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Relationships
So now I know why God placed my friends on my heart last week. He wanted to talk to me in depth about how important they are in this life.
"Every day, everyone you know faces life with eternity on the line, and life has a way of beating people down. Every life needs a cheering section. Every life needs a shoulder to lean on once in a while. Every life needs a prayer to lift them up to God. Every life needs a hugger to wrap arms around them sometimes. Every life needes to hear a voice saying, "Don't give up."
-John Ortberg
I hope that I am this friend. I want to bring joy to others. I want to lift people up in prayer. I want to cheer people on. I want to encourage and love. Through these actions, I ultimately will be filled.
"If you can't do great things, do little things with great love. If you can't do them with great love, do them with little love. If you can' do them with little love, do them anyway."
-Mother Teresa
This waking up at 7 each morning, having a cup of coffee, turning on music, and reading/reflecting fills me up. This time gives me the ability to love more.
"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love so that we may sing for joy and be glad all your days." -Psalms
Right now I am reading through The Me I Want to Be, it continues to focus me on who Christ is, and who HE wants me to be. Who He created me to be.....Today I read about the importance or relationships. John Ortberg wrote about parenting and how God created parents. One quote that I loved was; "....(child) and then those little arms and hands will open and reach out and wrap around that neck, and it is going to feel to that grown up that for the first time now they understand why arms and hands were created." I see this two ways, of course my relationship with my sweet boy, but also my relationship with Christ. I was created to be wrapped in His arms, in his love. Each time I remember this, I know that my relationship with Christ is most important. If I focus on that...I can focus and love the other relationships I have been given.
Thank you God for friends, family, and a living relationship with you.
"Every day, everyone you know faces life with eternity on the line, and life has a way of beating people down. Every life needs a cheering section. Every life needs a shoulder to lean on once in a while. Every life needs a prayer to lift them up to God. Every life needs a hugger to wrap arms around them sometimes. Every life needes to hear a voice saying, "Don't give up."
-John Ortberg
I hope that I am this friend. I want to bring joy to others. I want to lift people up in prayer. I want to cheer people on. I want to encourage and love. Through these actions, I ultimately will be filled.
"If you can't do great things, do little things with great love. If you can't do them with great love, do them with little love. If you can' do them with little love, do them anyway."
-Mother Teresa
This waking up at 7 each morning, having a cup of coffee, turning on music, and reading/reflecting fills me up. This time gives me the ability to love more.
"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love so that we may sing for joy and be glad all your days." -Psalms
Right now I am reading through The Me I Want to Be, it continues to focus me on who Christ is, and who HE wants me to be. Who He created me to be.....Today I read about the importance or relationships. John Ortberg wrote about parenting and how God created parents. One quote that I loved was; "....(child) and then those little arms and hands will open and reach out and wrap around that neck, and it is going to feel to that grown up that for the first time now they understand why arms and hands were created." I see this two ways, of course my relationship with my sweet boy, but also my relationship with Christ. I was created to be wrapped in His arms, in his love. Each time I remember this, I know that my relationship with Christ is most important. If I focus on that...I can focus and love the other relationships I have been given.
Thank you God for friends, family, and a living relationship with you.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Friends...
I am so thankful for good friends. I have been blessed with some amazing people in my life. They bring me good belly laughs, smiles, tears, advice, encouragement, and prayers. Thank you God for good friends.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Prayer
"God is the constant gracious listener to our every thought, and prayer begins when we bring what we most naturally think before God."
Sometimes I forget that God is always present and listening. I feel bad if I don't have scripture to quote, friends to pray for, catastrophies, ect. I feel like what I think is mediocre. I fail to remember that HE already knows my thoughts, my fears, my hopes, my dreams. I just need to pray...anytime, anywhere. I have tried to start praying for friends when they come to my mind. I have one friend that I always pray for when I am drying my hair. Every morning, I think of her and take that as a prompt to lift her up.
As I was reading my book this morning, one of my favorite scriptures appeared again. The word EVERYTHING stood out. It means I need to pray through everything....if I am worried about finances, pray. If I am anxious, pray. If someone cuts me off, PRAY (that is tough). Pray through everything.
I am so thankful for the ability to pray. I am so thankful that God is always ready to listen. I am also grateful for the friends and husband He has placed in my life to pray WITH.
Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes I forget that God is always present and listening. I feel bad if I don't have scripture to quote, friends to pray for, catastrophies, ect. I feel like what I think is mediocre. I fail to remember that HE already knows my thoughts, my fears, my hopes, my dreams. I just need to pray...anytime, anywhere. I have tried to start praying for friends when they come to my mind. I have one friend that I always pray for when I am drying my hair. Every morning, I think of her and take that as a prompt to lift her up.
As I was reading my book this morning, one of my favorite scriptures appeared again. The word EVERYTHING stood out. It means I need to pray through everything....if I am worried about finances, pray. If I am anxious, pray. If someone cuts me off, PRAY (that is tough). Pray through everything.
I am so thankful for the ability to pray. I am so thankful that God is always ready to listen. I am also grateful for the friends and husband He has placed in my life to pray WITH.
Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Truth...
This is a prayer that I have been praying each morning and it has helped me with my anxiety SO much. I know that God is with me and that since I have acknowledged my struggles, He can give me peace
Jesus,
You are my leader. When I wake in the morning, you lead and I will follow. Whatever I need to do in my relationships, body, health, finances, are in YOUR hands. I won't try to figure out the rest of my life. I won't try to solve everyday, JUST TODAY. You lead, I will follow.
To look at life one day at a time is less overwhelming, and I really do have peace. So thankful that God is available and with me....
Some scripture and quotes that I read every morning. (I have all of this in my journal and I am running out of room!!)
Phillipians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"
Phillipians 2:4
"Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage."
Romans 12:3
"Do not think of yourself more highly then you ought, but with sober judgement"
"search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." (this one makes me worry....kind of defeats the point...don't like "test")
"There is not fear in love. Perfect love casts out ALL fear"
"Peace doesn't come from finding a lake with not storms. IT comes from having Jesus in the boat." Ortberg
I hope that this prayer, scriptures, and quotes speak to you. If you have any...send them my way.
Em
Jesus,
You are my leader. When I wake in the morning, you lead and I will follow. Whatever I need to do in my relationships, body, health, finances, are in YOUR hands. I won't try to figure out the rest of my life. I won't try to solve everyday, JUST TODAY. You lead, I will follow.
To look at life one day at a time is less overwhelming, and I really do have peace. So thankful that God is available and with me....
Some scripture and quotes that I read every morning. (I have all of this in my journal and I am running out of room!!)
Phillipians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"
Phillipians 2:4
"Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage."
Romans 12:3
"Do not think of yourself more highly then you ought, but with sober judgement"
"search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." (this one makes me worry....kind of defeats the point...don't like "test")
"There is not fear in love. Perfect love casts out ALL fear"
"Peace doesn't come from finding a lake with not storms. IT comes from having Jesus in the boat." Ortberg
I hope that this prayer, scriptures, and quotes speak to you. If you have any...send them my way.
Em
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