9.29.2010

I always, I sometimes, I never...

I was reading this blog today, and thought it was such a cute idea!

I always


Drink coffee and eat breakfast
Make the bed in the morning
Shave my legs
Tell my hubby I love him
Wash my sheets at least once a week
Rub Hershey's belly when she rolls on her back


I sometimes


Jam to Michael Jackson while getting ready which sometimes makes me dance :)
Wash my sheets two maybe three times a week
Hunt with Jonathan


I never


Eat pickles


Yuck!
Smoke and never will
Watch scary movies
Go to bed without washing my face and brushing my teeth

9.28.2010

I smile when I think about...


I smile when I think about
The way You've turned my life around
I smile when I think about
The happiness in You I've found
I'm so amazed at what Your love has done
And when I think the best is yet to come
I smile!
I smile!

'Cause You've turned all my gray skies
To the brightest blue, yes, You did
And my life feels like sunshine
And it's because of You
All because of You.. I smile

This song is from Russ Lee. Today when I heard it, it really made me smile! What makes you smile? I was looking through some pictures and here are some of the ones that really made me smile!






"A happy heart, makes the face cheerful." Proverbs 15:13

9.27.2010

A Few Random Things

Man I am loving this weather! It seems like I have been waiting for this type of weather for a long time! This is definitely my favorite time of the year! I really want to plant some mums and pansies, but my summer flowers still look like this:


I have never kept flowers this long, especially through a summer like we had! I guess I will wait for these to die or possibly just have a mix of summer and fall flowers.

Nothing much has been going on lately. It has been nice. Jonathan and I have been dog sitting Benji this week. My parents went to NYC, so jealous! They are coming back today, so I will have to tell Benji goodbye. It will be sad to see him go! Hershey and Benji were in my lap during the entire Razorback game! I think they will miss each other:


There are so many new books I want! I am the type of person to buy a book, never read it and then buy another one. So, I am making myself read what I have before I can buy myself a new book. It is kinda like going to the library in my own house. I bought the book A Heart Like His by Beth Moore four or five years ago and never read it.


I can't believe I haven't read this book until now! I am not finished with it yet, but I can't put it down! The life of David is fascinating to me. I have read about David in the Bible, but this book really digs deep into David's life and what we can learn from him. If you are looking for a new book to read, I would definitely recommend this one! Another one I would recommend is The Lost Art of True Beauty by Leslie Ludy.


She is one of my favorite authors. Sometimes it is so hard to be a Christian female in America. There are so many worldly standards we are supposed to live by. We should have the nicest house, best job, perfect body, top brand clothes, etc. This book was so encouraging and showed me how to be a woman with feminine grace. I definitely recommend this book to all females!

Like I said, nothing much going on. God has been good though. He shows me his love everyday.


9.14.2010

Everyday Blessings


I have a lot on my mind, so bear with me if I ramble.

So yesterday I had this goal to be more positive. Well I must say it is working. Unfortunately, when things are going good, Satan does not like that. He wants to tear you down and I can feel that he is trying to do that to me now. I have been a little sick lately, just allergies, but enough to make me want to sleep all day long. I get cranky when I don't feel good. I was a tad bit, ok maybe a lot grumpy to Jonathan last night and this morning. I blame it on not feeling good, but what I really think is that when I am sick his world and everyone else's should revolve around me. Totally not true, what was I thinking? So, when I think about it, I know I should be nicer and remember to be positive. Sorry Jonathan for being a grumpy head.

So back to this morning. I was not feeling good and really didn't want to go to work today. But I remembered that I have a responsibility to do my job and that these kids need me. I am so thankful I went in this morning. I went to see one my girls and she is going through so much. She needed me this morning. She needed someone to talk to and needed to know that someone cared about her and that she had someone to support her through this hard time. All I could think of was, what if I had stayed in bed this morning? She would not have had anyone there for her. Again, there are people out there who are going through so much more than I could ever imagine.

Some of you may be thinking will she just get off her soap box and talk about something else. But I really do think the world would be a lot better off if everyone would be thankful for what they have been blessed with.

Yesterday, I had about thirty minutes between seeing kids so I ran to Christian Book Outlet. You can always find great deals there! I was wondering around and found a book called "Give Thanks: Powerful Prayers for Everyday Blessings." It was the perfect book for me and only $1.99! It is just a small book that literally has a prayer giving thanks to anything you can think about. This book will help me turn my negative thoughts into positives ones. For example, there is one called Sick with a Cold. It says:

"Lord, I hate being sick. How could I ever take feeling well for granted? I'm miserable right now, but I know I'll be back to normal soon. Thank you for creating my body with the blessed ability to heal itself."

Reading that just made me feel better! Some others are Mondays, washing dishes, My 3rd cup of coffee, Standing in line at the DMV, etc. It has something for everything! This will be a book I keep in my purse at all times!

Oh and Fall is only 9 days away!

9.13.2010

Glorious Conquerors

Sometimes as a Christian I think I should have it together all the time. If I go through a difficult time I feel as if I am doing something wrong and there is a reason why I am "suffering." What I must remember is, that I am going to go through ups and downs. Everyone will. The problem is, when I get down it is real hard for me to get back up. I start comparing myself with other Christian women. I look at them and think wow they have it all together, but really they don't. No one does.

This morning, I was reading in Romans 8, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It is such an encouraging chapter and a reminder of God's love for me. There are days when all I want to do is complain. I get frustrated when I get behind a slow driver or behind a slow person in Wal-Mart who stops in the middle of the isle, I complain about working out then complain about feeling fat, I complain about not finding a teaching job, I complain about Jonathan not putting his clothes up or closing drawers, I just complain about stupid little things all the time. I know that every Monday morning when I get on Facebook so many statuses will be a complaint about another Monday morning. Why do we complain so much? When I really think about it, I haven't suffered at all.

Jonathan has an aunt and uncle who are suffering from brain cancer and heart disease, a friend of mine from high school just had a brother who was killed in a motorcycle accident and her dad passed away not long ago of cancer, I know a missionary in China who gave up everything she had to move to China by herself and share God's love, two of our friends are leaving for Thailand next year to spend the rest of their lives spreading God's love. These are people who have room to complain. But you know what, I have never once heard them complain about their situation. There are definitely people in this world who are suffering. Katherine Arnold Wolf has a blog that I read daily. Please read her blog, she is very encouraging. Romans 8:18 says "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." We are glorious conquerors not because our lives are free from suffering but because we triumph in spite of our suffering.

I want to change the negativity in my life. I am not negative all the time, but I do catch myself wishing I had more or thinking that God does not hear my prayers. I have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed me with so much! I must remember that God is constantly working to accomplish his purpose for me. God does not bless us so that we can have things, but so that we can bless others. I am a glorious conqueror. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Right now I feel extremely happy. Things are going good in my life and I feel that I have no reason to complain. I think it is very important that I am reminded daily of God's love so that in times of suffering I will remember that God is with me even when I feel like he isn't.

I want to set a small goal for myself. I will start with today and work on it every day. Anytime I have a negative thought, I want to replace it with a positive one. Instead of thinking I don't want to workout, I will think working out will make me strong and healthy! Instead of thinking I don't want to go to work today, I will think I am excited about making a difference in a child's life. When I look in the mirror I won't see my legs as fat, but that these legs helped me run 3 miles today. I think this will be a good goal for me.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 38-39)




9.10.2010

Family Memories

Like most Fridays for me, today has been relaxing. If you know me, you know that family is very important to me. Sometimes I get in these moods where I love to look at old pictures. Not pictures of me, but pictures of my family. Today was one of those days. My grandmas have given me so many pictures of my family. I have pictures of my grandparents when they were kids, when my grandparents were dating and my parents wedding pictures. I absolutely love looking at them!

Here are some of the wonderful pictures I am talking about!

My mom and dad's wedding

Love this picture!

This is a frame I have on our book shelf.
The top left is my dad's dad, the one below it is my great grandma (Granny) and great grandpa,
the top right is my mom's dad and the one below it is my cousin and I at a Christmas thing at our church (we of course were being goofy.)

This is my cousin and I with my grandpa

My mom and her brother and sisters on her birthday

This is my dad's dad

My grandparents have also given me things over the years that mean a lot to me. For example, I have one of my grandpa's harmonicas, I have some unique jewelry (which I do wear), and I have two of my great grandma's aprons. I could definitely see her all June Cleaver with the pearls, heels, and apron!

Apron #1:

Apron #2:

See what I mean? This is definitely my granny!

This was my granny's chair. I loved this chair from the moment I saw it. My granny and granddad re-upholstered this chair. It now sits in our bedroom.

This is a napkin from my grandma and grandpa's wedding. They were married June 22, 1953!

I have a lot of my grandmas' and great grandmas' jewelry. I have even made some rings and necklaces out of their old earrings. My grandma always tells me it is just junk, but to me it is treasure!

My great grandma's jewelry box

A ring one of my great grandmas crocheted.

Two rings I made using my grandma's old earrings

Of course there are so many more pictures I could show you! Are there things about your family that you treasure?

9.03.2010

The One About Fall!


Fall is almost here! 20 days left of summer! I consider summer over after Labor Day though.

Why I can't wait for Fall:

Candy Corn


I can watch Hocus Pocus and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown over and over and over


I get to put out my Fall decorations
It is the start of the Holiday season
Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks


Pumpkin Bread
Leaves change into beautiful colors
The coolness in the air
Football
Halloween and Thanksgiving
Apple cider
Pumpkin scented candles
My birthday!

My Fall Wish List:

Go to a pumpkin patch and ride hayrides
Go Hiking and camping
Bake pumpkin bread
Dress up for Halloween


Go hunting with Jonathan and Hershey
Go fishing
Pass out candy to little kids on Halloween
Go to the Harvest Festival at Wildwood Park
Go to as many Razorback games as possible


Carve a pumpkin
Plant mums
Sit by the fire and make Smores
Make a gingerbread haunted house