"Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God'?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength."

Isaiah 40:27-29

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Feeling Fragile?

What to Do If You Wake Up Feeling Fragile - Desiring God

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Calmer of The Storm

This was the best version I could find on YouTube. :-)

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Spurgeon's Devotion for This morning

Meditation for This Morning by C. H. Spurgeon

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Lies

"No one likes me" "I'm rejected" "I'm better than him/her"

Do I lie to myself? Do I learn to adopt and nourish lies about myself or my situation? Yes. And then I languish in the feelings of frustration which follow. There is a chapter in the Psalms which begins by asking who can abide in God's presence. It talks about a person of integrity, who loves God with his whole heart, and because of this, the nature of God Himself flows out through this man's life. There is one sentence which has particularly grabbed me: "[he] speaks the truth in his heart...". I have always taken this to mean that I must be honest with myself and with God - excuses for sin or denial that I am in sin (if I am and don't want to face it), or dishonesty of that nature. I have recently begun to consider another way of having dishonesty in my heart. This happens when I indulge in self-pity. It happens when I feel rejected, or sometimes when I feel envious. The lie is that others don't find me likeable. Further, the lie may say that I am better than someone. These two lies often approach me hand in hand, even though they sound like opposites. I begin to wonder why others should be accepted and liked where I feel shut out, even though I consider myself superior to them in some way. The truth is that I am neither better than any person on this planet, nor am I disliked by everyone. I am not alone, I am not superior and certainly not worthless. These are lies. And the very knowledge of that helps me to begin the battle of crushing them.

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Home.

I began to realize how fundamentally attached I am to this world. The thing that made me realize just how much value I place on this passing life was that I thought about some goals that I hold very dear to my heart. These goals are wholesome and I believe are pleasing to God as part of His plan - but their completion requires that I be here on this earth. I began to fear that the turbulence in the world as part of the end times would interfere with my cherished hopes. And then I thought, "If my hopes and affections were placed first in Christ, I would rest in His plan for my future. I wouldn't need to fear or be anxious that things won't turn out as I had hoped - whatever my Father wills would bring my deepest peace and truest satisfaction." I am so far from this love of my heavenly Father and His ways! I desire it, but I haven't fully acquired it yet. Please Lord, "create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me..."

Little by Little

"Little by little, Every day
Little by little, In every way
Jesus is changing me
He's changing me

Since I've made this turn-about face
I've been growing In His grace
Jesus is changing me

Sometimes it's slow going
But there's a knowing
That one day perfect I shall be!"


Have you ever heard this song? I hadn't until my pastor mentioned it in a sermon. Now we sing it frequently during worship service. It is such an encouragement!

Who is Our God?

"That was it! It wasn't that I needed the security of a certain amount of money; it was that I needed the security of a relationship. I walked up the crunchy pebblewalk feeling more and more certain that I was on the verge of something exciting....If I were going to give my life as a servant of the King, I had to know that King. What was He like? In what way could I trust Him? In the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? Or could I trust Him as a living leader, as a very present commander in battle? The question was central. Because, if He were a King in name only....I would remain a Christian, but I would know that my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion. Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle." -Brother Andrew, God's Smuggler

:-D

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hi there.

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Hallelujah

This must have been fun to put together :-)

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Responsibility

"We are to be self-controlled people who take heed to our own souls. God has given us power over our own spirits. You don't have to give way to foolish behavior." I view this quote by Nancy Wilson as an encouragement and challenge combined. Tap into the Vine, and stay there. Through Him we can do all He wills.

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Emily

Doing Vs. Being

"The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will" Oswald Chambers. The disconnect between life and religion, solved? When "should" becomes "be", and the whole beautiful harmony of Christlike living begins. Never achievable apart from Christ, no strength to do this apart from His strength. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Who I Am by Jason Gray

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Why I Believe Abortion is Wrong

This video is gritty...and true.

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Now's Glitter

You can buy 100 pounds of junk, or you can save up and buy a diamond. You sort of distantly know you might possibly be able to get a diamond (or at least, the people who do the right thing do, somewhere), but it takes patience and endurance and hard work, and all these flashy sort of clunky baubles dangle in your eyes like candy. You hear that they’ll rot your teeth or turn your neck green, but they’re so shiny right here and now. So shiny as they clink around together on your neck all twisting and linking, and catching on your clothes. They’re teachers you will remember though. But will they make you better after showing you their corrosion? Or have they bled just enough into you to give you a little taste for more? Or have they left enough of a mark that you’ve got to get some more, and keep getting more, just to cover up the tainted color?

Sittin' in the Sunshine

This is what happens when my Jeep sits in the sun on a hot afternoon. Within 5 minutes of starting it up the temp reads cooler (well, relatively - its been super hot in general). In case the pic is too blurry, it shows my Jeep's little info screen reading the outside temperature at 102 degrees.

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Filled to all the Fullness

"A holy, joyful expectancy is of the very essence of true waiting. And, this is not only true in reference to the many varied requests every believer has to make, but most especially to the one great petition which ought to be the chief thing every heart seeks for itself---that the life of God in the soul may have full sway. That Christ may be fully formed within, and that we may be filled to all the fullness of God. This is what God has promised. This is what God's people too little seek, very often because they do not believe it possible. This is what we ought to seek and dare to expect, because God is able and waiting to work it in us." -Excerpt from "Waiting on God", by Andrew Murray. I may have posted this excerpt before...but I still like it :-). I recommend this book; it has encouraged me so much.

Great Are You

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Patty Cake

Lol :)

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Princess Shoes

I snapped this picture in DSW while shopping for shoes to wear to a wedding. These didn't really go with the dress I'd bought, so i didnt buy them even though I fell in love with them. One day they will be mine. :-)

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God's Love

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; ..." Psalm 139:17-18

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Beauty and Forgiveness

"I'll trade these ashes in for beauty, and wear forgiveness like a crown..."

So lovely.

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The Vine

I'm thankful to Jesus for revealing more of Himself to me...It gets better and better.

I Forgot How Much I Love Pictures

I took these a summer or two ago with my brother's Canon.

Colors?

The very last ingredient on a can of Red Bull: "colors" ..........What?

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What Do I Know of Holy

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He Is

Firsts

This weekend I have experienced several firsts! It was quite a busy and varied weekend. Here is the list of my "firsts":

First 5k run! My time was 28:30 and out of the 40 women in my age bracket, I placed 8th. Next time I plan to be faster, but for my first race I was pleased. There were around 1,000 runners and walkers participating! I was a little nervous but not as freaked out as I thought I would be. The start of the race was exciting, because everyone was waiting en mass for the gun to signal the start. One good thing is that if I looked fidgety, no one need know if it was nerves or me trying to keep my muscles warmed up :-). It also helped to be there with my friend Kendra - her whole family participated either by running or walking.

First Barbecue Festival! The 5k was actually a part of Owensboro's International Barbecue Festival (it's a big deal!). After we ran, Kendra and I got cleaned up and headed out to experience barbecue heaven. Which leads me to my next first...

First taste of mutton! Kendra bought me a mutton barbecue sandwich. Apparently mutton is a big deal at the festival - and it was yummy!

And my last "first": I swished my hands around in the Ohio river. Owensboro, like nearby Lousiville, is on the Ohio, and though I have been on the water, I had never actually gotten wet from the water. The river was way over its banks. It looked sort of funny to see several light poles rising up out of the water near the edge. I can only guess, but I think there must have been some sort of docks or park area down there, all covered with water.

That's all for now. Now I am relaxing and plotting how to get into better shape for my next 5k, whenever that happens :-).

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I Truly LOLed

Watch "Ultimate Dog Tease" on YouTube

From Glory to Glory

I get so frustrated when I cannot see the fruit of the Spirit perfected in me all at once. I want to see each part of me that needs changing made perfect in a snap. But it hasn't happened like that. It is a process: a continual renewing of the mind. I learn bit by bit to defer in all things to Christ's example. One day it will all be complete, in heaven. For now, I will rest patiently in the hands of the Master Gardener.

Double Rainbow

We've had so much rain these past weeks, it was sweet to see this. I couldn't capture it completely with my phone, but it was a complete rainbow from end to end.

So...?

Pounding out a workout on the eliptical with Fur Elise pumping through my earbuds. Yup.

Birthday

A few gifts I received from my nephew :). My favorite is the pink "robot".

I Love Spring

I was driving by this field near my house and noticed the vivid yellow-orange mixed with green. I pulled off and ran over to get a few shots with my phone. It's better in person :-)

Smooth

I had the drawer open to put away clothes, and Duchess ever so coolly slid in. And would not get out. She was still there a while later, and still wouldn't get out. She's not the touchy-feely type and not my cat, so I was leery of reaching in to scoop her out. I tried faking her out and completely closing the drawer with her inside (hoping she wouldn't like that and decide drawer-sitting was too risky) but that didn't work either, and since I hadn't the heart to leave her in a closed drawer, I left it open and allowed her the coveted spot. I was a tad jealous: it did look like a perfect cozy spot.

Morristown, TN

An ode to Morristown, NJ, and only four hours from my house! I was surprised to find this place when a friend and I took a weekend trip recently. Unfortunately it was closed the day we were in Morristown. :-(

Stopped in My Tracks

These little boots! Awww :-)

Tuesday

Enjoy today!

Watch "Stronger by Mandisa (From the Upcoming Album "What If We Were Real")" on YouTube

Luigi's

Luigi's restaurant in Morristown, TN. If you are in that area, hungry, and lean towards a thinner, almost NY-style pizza, I highly recommend it.

Somewhere at Sunset

Overlook between Morristown, TN and Middlesboro, KY

Nosey!

:-D

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Self Portrait

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"Though None Go With Me"

It sort of struck me this evening while reading a Psalm that David was a real man. He really faced a lot of garbage in His life. And He really trusted a real God. And God really delivered Him. Really. The Bible is full of accounts from the lives of real people who lived real lives and experienced the living God through all sorts of circumstances. So, no matter what the future holds or how many people I know fall away or deny this gospel, I am not alone in this faith. Not only does God go with me, but I have the faithful witnesses of the countless souls who lived it before me. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2. I highly suggest reading chapter 11; it talks about particular "witnesses" who help to make up this "cloud". :)

Sound Counsel

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

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Reminder

"A holy, joyful expectancy is of the very essence of true waiting. And, this is not only true in reference to the many varied requests every believer has to make, but most especially to the one great petition which ought to be the chief thing every heart seeks for itself---that the life of God in the soul may have full sway. That Christ may be fully formed within, and that we may be filled to all the fullness of God. This is what God has promised. This is what God's people too little seek, very often because they do not believe it possible. This is what we ought to seek and dare to expect, because God is able and waiting to work it in us." - from Waiting on God by Andrew Murray

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Gulp, Gulp :)

A nice full belly. I like making my car happy.

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Surprise

You lovely Spring, you. Well, almost.

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Saturday

Saturday afternoon at Panera Bread. I needed a bit of a respite. I am glad this place exists. :-)

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Highways

"...I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer." -Ps. 17:4
It makes sense. If you wanted to keep yourself from being eaten by a lion, you wouldnt walk a path that you knew was made and frequented by lions. If we know that a particular place, behavior, etc makes it tough for us to resist temptation or hold fast to the convictions birthed in us by God's word, we ought to avoid it whenever possible. For me, these "paths of the destroyer" are sometimes small and subtle, and might seem silly to others. But each of us has limits, boundaries set by the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. When we listen, we keep from falling.

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A Little Bit of Calm

Don't you just love those snapshots in time when you find a quiet spot to just....be....still? I do. :-)

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Hurrah!

Today I came into the basement at the house of the family I nanny for and noticed this arrangement on the couch. Check out the striking pose of the right-most G.I. Joe. :-D

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Puppy Snot

I love washing dog snot off of windows. Don't you? :-D ******************Thanks for the photo goes to __gofigure at photobucket.com

...For God Has Willed...

"...And though this world with devils filled
should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us..."

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Something that Sings

I wanted to write something
And I wanted it to sing
I didn't want it to be a song, yet
I wanted it to sing in your bones
And make you feel things
Like a shock-red flower
Like deep blue velvet
Or the stars, those famous stars
That so many have looked at, and felt.

To Get the Ball Rolling Again

      I haven't written much about my thoughts or life lately. And that's OK... but I miss it. I just haven't felt like it for a while. And then there's that frustrating tendency I have to want to start typing and have it be beautiful and deep and profound and edited perfectly at the first shot. Oh, and interesting, so that you might want to actually read it ;-). I've learned that it just ain't like that, that I gotta just start typing and let it roll. Editing can come later if the impulse arrives.
     I am such an odd combination of up-tight and free-spirited. Sigh. And that reminds me of an epiphany I had recently. Let me start by explaining my position on the subject of labels (as they refer to people and life in general): They don't work. The thing is, people just don't fit perfectly into one box with a typed label on the front. They might fit mostly, but some blob of personality will stick out the handle-hole of the box, or their head will keep the lid from shutting down tight, or their stomach will start to growl, and the whole neat and orderly aspect of labeled boxes is negated.
     On the other hand, what if nothing in life was categorized? What if you wanted a book from the library, and then walked into the library and saw piles of books lying around with no order? Philosophy books buried beneath teen magazines and rubbing spines with Richard Scarry? You'd probably start feeling overwhelmed and freaked out, and be sorely tempted to walk out without even attempting to locate the book you wanted.
     You see, labels and categories are the supporting structure, not the substance, of our lives. We cannot focus so minutely on the letters and lines that we lose sight of the things of value. The real stuff...things which are slippery. The breathing substance of living. People, emotions, situations... all are slippery things. They just are what they are - and they are not the labels we place on them. The labels merely help us locate or keep track of something deeper.
     Imagine a book which expounds on all sorts of deep and meaningful and profound issues on life. The letters are formed into words, there are paragraphs and chapters and page numbers, a spine and a cover. All those things help to deliver and make accessible the ideas in the book - but the book is not the spine or pages or ink. It's the thoughts that those things try to solidify.

***photo courtesy of LuckySharp at photobucket.com

Hit the Road, Jack.

Caffeine...............such a love/hate relationship I have with you. You perk me up for a time, and then turn ugly as time wears on. I'm sick of the roller coaster! I am emotional enough without having to process through a caffeine crash. Don't be sad, for I will still enjoy you in the mornings and other occasions. But the time has come to step back in our relationship. I am tired of trusting you only to have you abandon me soon after. Au revoir, caffeine!

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