Oh, I'm patting myself on the back. See, it's the little things.
Like Thursday night, I finally figured out how to stop my text messages to Wallace from going to Caleb's Imac. I spent a couple of days being infuriated because Wallace was ignoring my text messages... only to discover that he wasn't even getting my messages. Caleb was... somehow... and while I still had to turn Imessage off on my phone, at least the texts are going to the right person.
And then, tonight... I have been having trouble the past couple of days with my blog page. Couldn't get to the new post page. On one computer, I could get there but could only write in HTML. Tonight, I updated my Internet Explorer... and here I am. Not saying I completely figured it out, but at least I'm writing.
I am so technologically un-inclined... and that is ok. While I do love my social media sites, love my Iphone, and love my Kindle, I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box when it comes to upgrades and lingo and troubleshooting...
But tonight I can go to bed knowing I figured a couple of things out.
2014 is turning around, people.
It's a beautiful day.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Blind but Now I See
I once was blind, but now I see... I can relate to that statement. I've had glasses all my life, since I was three years old. I grew up going to the doctor's office, learned to read by looking at letters on billboards so I'd be able to identify them during eye exams. I wore a patch my kindergarden year, and learned in 5th grade that my glasses were so thick that you really could kill ants by the reflection. (Thanks to my lovely guy friends, who wanted to try an experiment. It really WAS NOT my idea.) And Caleb got glasses when he was three, too. The change was amazing. He had no idea where his Dad was at in the gym during ballgames. He couldn't see pictures clear enough to color... and then he could. The first thing I do every morning, before I brush my teeth or wash my face or use the restroom, is put on my glasses. And the last thing I do every night is take them off. I was blind. Now I see. When I don't have those glasses on my face, I can't see anything but blurs. I can make out smaller details in very bright lights, but to be able to read, no way. Amazing grace... when we look at life through our filter, we can't see, either. Life is dingy and dark. Shadows overwhelm us. In His grace... we see life through His filter. It's brighter. Clearer. Details are easier to make out. While the path may not always be clear, we can see the general direction. With His Word, we see hope. Otherwise, we see darkness. Was blind... but now I see. Linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Fridays, where she gives a prompt. Today's prompt was see.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
One of those Weeks...
Dear friend,
2014 slipped in on me. This first week has been a blur... and it may seem like that for you. Across this great nation, temperatures are low and it seems like the whole world is frozen.... but that doesn't have to be any indication of how this year will go.
2014 can truly be anything we want it to be. And I don't say that lightly.
As we look back and look ahead and try to figure out where we are and where we're going, let me encourage you.
It won't be winter forever. You may feel alone, you may feel like noone understands...
but you're wrong.
And it's ok to be wrong. Life is not about being right. It's not about being perfect. It's about living, breathing, dreaming, holding on to what we know and what we hope for.
Your pipes may be frozen. Your heating unit might have gone out. Your hot water heater may not work. Your grandma or your best friend might have died. (And, sadly... three out of the four have happened to me this week. Thank God no busted pipes!)
But His grace is sufficient. His power is in you. And He loves you... no matter what. And when you think you just can't take another step, when you are so tired you can't keep going and you really don't even see a reason not to just sit down and cry...
He's there. You can cry out to Him, and He'll carry You.
You are His...
And He's such a good Daddy.
Linking up with Holley Gerth for coffee and encouragement today at http://holleygerth.com http://holleygerth.com/coffee-for-your-heart-love/
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Make it Through Winter
The view out my office window right now is strangely deceptive. Nothing but blue skies. No clouds. No snow to be seen on the hillside across the way, unless you look really hard.
But I know it is cold. So cold that when you step outside it makes you inhale a sharp breath.
Too cold.
The beginning of the new year has been one for the books.
I'm still processing the coldness, the weather changing. It seems kind of symbolic.
My heart aches, but it is a sadness I don't have words for. It's one that I really can't comprehend.
I spent yesterday in a daze. I had so much to do, housework and schoolwork, yet I sat there.
Yet I have peace.
My Mom made the comment the other day that this would make six funerals for her in two weeks. Endings in 2013, beginnings in 2014... winter time, with the trees bare and the wind howling...
but then there is the sun outside my window. While not yet warm, I know that heat will come.
I know that even in death, there is life, and there is purpose, and that it really isn't as senseless as it seems.
Weeeping endures for the night, and joy comes in the morning.
So, today, I work. I look ahead to classes next week, knowing that even as the world feels like it has stopped, it's still spinning.
And I look up, to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. He's writing my story right now, even as I don't know where it is going.
He writes them all.
And death, which seems final, really isn't. He will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Ener into the joy of the Lord."
We just have to make it through the winter... make it through the night.
But I know it is cold. So cold that when you step outside it makes you inhale a sharp breath.
Too cold.
The beginning of the new year has been one for the books.
I'm still processing the coldness, the weather changing. It seems kind of symbolic.
My heart aches, but it is a sadness I don't have words for. It's one that I really can't comprehend.
I spent yesterday in a daze. I had so much to do, housework and schoolwork, yet I sat there.
Yet I have peace.
My Mom made the comment the other day that this would make six funerals for her in two weeks. Endings in 2013, beginnings in 2014... winter time, with the trees bare and the wind howling...
but then there is the sun outside my window. While not yet warm, I know that heat will come.
I know that even in death, there is life, and there is purpose, and that it really isn't as senseless as it seems.
Weeeping endures for the night, and joy comes in the morning.
So, today, I work. I look ahead to classes next week, knowing that even as the world feels like it has stopped, it's still spinning.
And I look up, to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. He's writing my story right now, even as I don't know where it is going.
He writes them all.
And death, which seems final, really isn't. He will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Ener into the joy of the Lord."
We just have to make it through the winter... make it through the night.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Five Minute Fridays- Fight
Linking up with LisaJo Baker for five minute Fridays, where a topic is given and we write for five minutes, no editing, no stopping, just words straight from the heart. Today's word?
Fight...
Seems funny to be writing on "fight". If I had chosen a word for this first Friday of 2014, I don't know that it would have been something so... violent. I would have chosen something like "new" or "goal" or "opportunity."
But fight it is. There are a couple of things that come to mind when I think of fight. Endurance. Training. Blood, sweat, and tears.
Relay For Life... where we celebrate, remember, and fight back.
Fighting to get what you want. Fighting to keep what you want. Fighting to keep going.
A fight is a vicious thing. Full of emotions. Putting physical means to something that is otherwise untangible. Fighters must be courageous, strong, and spunky. They must be willing to log long hours and work hard.... or just throw themselves into the fight with everything in them.
Physical fights usually don't involve words, no thinking, no hem-hawing around.
Often, though, verbal sparring is more harmful.
But fights aren't always negative. Sometimes a good fight brings much needed conversation to the forefront. Sometimes, a good fight makes you realize that there are things worth fighting for.
Love. Trust. Friends. Family.
So, maybe fight isn't such a bad word to describe the beginning of a new year. As we face challenges, we must be willing to fight for new opportunities, willing to fight for changes we are making, willing to fight for our lives...
Because our lives really are at stake.
Check out other thoughts on "fight" at Lisa Jo's blog.
Fight...
Seems funny to be writing on "fight". If I had chosen a word for this first Friday of 2014, I don't know that it would have been something so... violent. I would have chosen something like "new" or "goal" or "opportunity."
But fight it is. There are a couple of things that come to mind when I think of fight. Endurance. Training. Blood, sweat, and tears.
Relay For Life... where we celebrate, remember, and fight back.
Fighting to get what you want. Fighting to keep what you want. Fighting to keep going.
A fight is a vicious thing. Full of emotions. Putting physical means to something that is otherwise untangible. Fighters must be courageous, strong, and spunky. They must be willing to log long hours and work hard.... or just throw themselves into the fight with everything in them.
Physical fights usually don't involve words, no thinking, no hem-hawing around.
Often, though, verbal sparring is more harmful.
But fights aren't always negative. Sometimes a good fight brings much needed conversation to the forefront. Sometimes, a good fight makes you realize that there are things worth fighting for.
Love. Trust. Friends. Family.
So, maybe fight isn't such a bad word to describe the beginning of a new year. As we face challenges, we must be willing to fight for new opportunities, willing to fight for changes we are making, willing to fight for our lives...
Because our lives really are at stake.
Check out other thoughts on "fight" at Lisa Jo's blog.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
What I'm Reading in January
Articles about substance abuse. And more articles on substance abuse. And a Fundamentals textbook, a dosage calculation textbook, and a pharmacology textbook as I gear up for the start of another semester.
Pretty exciting stuff.
I did make up for it in December, though. Before I jump into what I'm reading now, let me touch on some of my favorite books from last month. I read some good ones. I started another Sherryl Woods trilogy, and finished the first one, Sand Castle Bay. I love Sherryl Woods. She has loveable characters, and an easy to follow plot. Her books are usually ones you don't have to think a whole lot about, which is good. I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, a fictionalized story of Dinah from the Bible. I really enjoyed this one, too, and can't wait until I get to her story in my Chronological Bible to remind myself of the actual story. I devoured Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly. Wonderful account. Left a few more questions in my mind, and I found several other good books that he used as resources that I've added to my to read list. I read several Christmas books, too, including Starry Night by Debbie Macomber, The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtiss Higgs, and The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp. I loved Calico Joe by John Grisham, about a baseball player. So... what I'm reading now...
I'm currently reading the second book in that Sherryl Wood trilogy, Wind Chime Point. This trilogy follows three sisters, with one book devoted to each one of them.... and a meddling grandma. I just started Killing Lincoln, also by Bill O'Reilly. Just on chapter 4, but it is pretty good. Never knew John Wilkes Boothe dated the daughter of a senator. I've always loved the story of Lincoln. I also just started My Heart Remembers, by Kim Vogel Sawyer. This book follows children on an orphan train. I first learned of the process of orphan trains in another book last year, and it has fascinated me. I'm reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. It was one of my favorite books when I was in high school, and I haven't read it since then, so I've been looking forward to rereading. My drive-thru read is Miracle Road by Emily March. Haven't read much of that because I've not been driving much =)
On my Kindle, I'm reading Grace by Max Lucado. I thought I had finished it, but then discovered there was a series of questions for each chapter, so I'm slowly working through them, with hopes of finishing by the end of the month. Still reading Freedom From Performing, too... love how these messages interweave. I'm reading Stress Proof Your Life, because who couldn't use less stress? Already got one idea about how to work on my procrastination. It worked day before yesterday. Not so much today. I'm reading When Dreams Cross by Terri Blackstock. I read the first book in this series a few months ago. This one is about an amusement park designer who runs into a long lost love... which is complicated. Good story so far. I'm also reading The Story of Your Life by Matthew West and Angela Thomas. Matthew invited his fans to write their stories, then retreated to a cabin to write an album based on what was submitted. This book has some of the others. I love the idea of our lives being a story. Angela adds in appropriate Bible verses. I'm really enjoying it.
So, there you have it. My to read list is long, as usual. Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, The Fault in Our Stars, Mary Poppins She Wrote (the movie Saving Mr. Banks, which I'm dying to see, is based on it), the Divergent series (also coming out in movies in March), Sycamore Row by John Grisham, Killing Jesus, which I've been told is spot on historically, The Longest Ride.... I could go on and on. I'll also be starting Made to Crave with the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study team January 19th, reading through March.
This winter break has been awesome. I have work to do, a paper to write, laundry to put up... but I've got lots of reading in. If there's anything you've read that is particularly good, comment below and I'll add it to my list. Until next month... Happy Reading =)
Pretty exciting stuff.
I did make up for it in December, though. Before I jump into what I'm reading now, let me touch on some of my favorite books from last month. I read some good ones. I started another Sherryl Woods trilogy, and finished the first one, Sand Castle Bay. I love Sherryl Woods. She has loveable characters, and an easy to follow plot. Her books are usually ones you don't have to think a whole lot about, which is good. I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, a fictionalized story of Dinah from the Bible. I really enjoyed this one, too, and can't wait until I get to her story in my Chronological Bible to remind myself of the actual story. I devoured Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly. Wonderful account. Left a few more questions in my mind, and I found several other good books that he used as resources that I've added to my to read list. I read several Christmas books, too, including Starry Night by Debbie Macomber, The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtiss Higgs, and The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp. I loved Calico Joe by John Grisham, about a baseball player. So... what I'm reading now...
I'm currently reading the second book in that Sherryl Wood trilogy, Wind Chime Point. This trilogy follows three sisters, with one book devoted to each one of them.... and a meddling grandma. I just started Killing Lincoln, also by Bill O'Reilly. Just on chapter 4, but it is pretty good. Never knew John Wilkes Boothe dated the daughter of a senator. I've always loved the story of Lincoln. I also just started My Heart Remembers, by Kim Vogel Sawyer. This book follows children on an orphan train. I first learned of the process of orphan trains in another book last year, and it has fascinated me. I'm reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. It was one of my favorite books when I was in high school, and I haven't read it since then, so I've been looking forward to rereading. My drive-thru read is Miracle Road by Emily March. Haven't read much of that because I've not been driving much =)
On my Kindle, I'm reading Grace by Max Lucado. I thought I had finished it, but then discovered there was a series of questions for each chapter, so I'm slowly working through them, with hopes of finishing by the end of the month. Still reading Freedom From Performing, too... love how these messages interweave. I'm reading Stress Proof Your Life, because who couldn't use less stress? Already got one idea about how to work on my procrastination. It worked day before yesterday. Not so much today. I'm reading When Dreams Cross by Terri Blackstock. I read the first book in this series a few months ago. This one is about an amusement park designer who runs into a long lost love... which is complicated. Good story so far. I'm also reading The Story of Your Life by Matthew West and Angela Thomas. Matthew invited his fans to write their stories, then retreated to a cabin to write an album based on what was submitted. This book has some of the others. I love the idea of our lives being a story. Angela adds in appropriate Bible verses. I'm really enjoying it.
So, there you have it. My to read list is long, as usual. Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, The Fault in Our Stars, Mary Poppins She Wrote (the movie Saving Mr. Banks, which I'm dying to see, is based on it), the Divergent series (also coming out in movies in March), Sycamore Row by John Grisham, Killing Jesus, which I've been told is spot on historically, The Longest Ride.... I could go on and on. I'll also be starting Made to Crave with the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study team January 19th, reading through March.
This winter break has been awesome. I have work to do, a paper to write, laundry to put up... but I've got lots of reading in. If there's anything you've read that is particularly good, comment below and I'll add it to my list. Until next month... Happy Reading =)
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2014- The Year to Be
I rang in 2014 with much laughter, lots of good food, a little football on the TV, sounds of kids laughing upstairs and the Caleb and Emalee (or Emalee and Caleb) New Year's Eve Spectacular. A kiss from my favorite guy. And a tumble in the floor from Caleb, who is bent on showing how strong he is and picking up everyone around him, which led to me knocking him off balance and us both landing in the floor.
Memories that I'll not soon forget.
It's hard to believe it is 2014. Seems like yesterday it was 2000, my first year of married life. Or 2003, the first year I entered as a Mom. Things change, time marches by, and we live to tell our story, again... writing a new story every day.
There's always something hopeful about the new year. Regardless of whether your previous year was great or just flat stunk, it is always good to think of how we can make things better, of how we can improve, of how we can keep seeking...
As I finished up 2013, struggling through school and feeling overwhelmed, a verse really stuck out to me. Psalm 46:10a, "Be still and know I am God."
I'm not good at being still... ok, I like to sleep. And I can sit and read. And I can sit for ten hours straight and write papers...
but to sit still and let God? Nope. Not that. I'm a doing person. Making lists. Planning. Acting... and a lot of the times, acting before I'm supposed to, creating a big mess.
As I pondered this verse, and thought about what it meant, and what my direction for 2014 should be, I kept thinking about being "intentional" and being "focused", both things that I want to do.
Then, the first word stuck out to me.
Be.
Be- To exist. To take place. To have identity with. To have an objective existence. From Middle English, from Old English bēon; akin to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, futurus about to be, fieri to become, be done, Greek phynai to be born, be by nature, phyein to produce
Synonyms: Breathe, exist, live, subsist. Simliar/related words: abide, endure, thrive (from Merriam Webster's online dictionary).
Two little letters sum up what I want. As I was reading in Genesis this morning, a verse hit me. Genesis 2:7, " Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being."
A living being. I've often heard it say, God didn't create a human doing. He created a human being.
The word used in Genesis 2:7 is "Hayah" (Which, by the way, is pronounced just like what you would say when you were kicking something in karate. Isn't that cool?)
It means, "To be, to become, to come to pass, to exist."
He created us to be. To become. To come to pass. To exist.
And that's what my goal for this year.
2014- A Year to Be. To be active. To be intentional. To be empathetic. To be disciplined. To be inspired.
My verse? Psalm 46:10- Be still and know I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. (May He be exalted in me, through me.)
My song? Thrive by Casting Crowns: Just to know you and to make you known, we lift your name on high. Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide. We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives. It's time for us to more than just survive. We were made to thrive." (Which just happens to be a similar word to be.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ71RWJhS_M
Lots of goals for the year- Write every day. Learn something new every day. Read my Bible through. Chronicle my year in pics. Read, at least 100 books. Bible study. Make exercise a habit. Lose 35 pounds by my 35th birthday. Count my blessings.
But above all, learn to be... to live... to thrive.
Have a blessed 2014! Stay tuned for more on how I'm making the most of it.
Memories that I'll not soon forget.
It's hard to believe it is 2014. Seems like yesterday it was 2000, my first year of married life. Or 2003, the first year I entered as a Mom. Things change, time marches by, and we live to tell our story, again... writing a new story every day.
There's always something hopeful about the new year. Regardless of whether your previous year was great or just flat stunk, it is always good to think of how we can make things better, of how we can improve, of how we can keep seeking...
As I finished up 2013, struggling through school and feeling overwhelmed, a verse really stuck out to me. Psalm 46:10a, "Be still and know I am God."
I'm not good at being still... ok, I like to sleep. And I can sit and read. And I can sit for ten hours straight and write papers...
but to sit still and let God? Nope. Not that. I'm a doing person. Making lists. Planning. Acting... and a lot of the times, acting before I'm supposed to, creating a big mess.
As I pondered this verse, and thought about what it meant, and what my direction for 2014 should be, I kept thinking about being "intentional" and being "focused", both things that I want to do.
Then, the first word stuck out to me.
Be.
Be- To exist. To take place. To have identity with. To have an objective existence. From Middle English, from Old English bēon; akin to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, futurus about to be, fieri to become, be done, Greek phynai to be born, be by nature, phyein to produce
Synonyms: Breathe, exist, live, subsist. Simliar/related words: abide, endure, thrive (from Merriam Webster's online dictionary).
Two little letters sum up what I want. As I was reading in Genesis this morning, a verse hit me. Genesis 2:7, " Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being."
A living being. I've often heard it say, God didn't create a human doing. He created a human being.
The word used in Genesis 2:7 is "Hayah" (Which, by the way, is pronounced just like what you would say when you were kicking something in karate. Isn't that cool?)
It means, "To be, to become, to come to pass, to exist."
He created us to be. To become. To come to pass. To exist.
And that's what my goal for this year.
2014- A Year to Be. To be active. To be intentional. To be empathetic. To be disciplined. To be inspired.
My verse? Psalm 46:10- Be still and know I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. (May He be exalted in me, through me.)
My song? Thrive by Casting Crowns: Just to know you and to make you known, we lift your name on high. Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide. We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives. It's time for us to more than just survive. We were made to thrive." (Which just happens to be a similar word to be.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ71RWJhS_M
Lots of goals for the year- Write every day. Learn something new every day. Read my Bible through. Chronicle my year in pics. Read, at least 100 books. Bible study. Make exercise a habit. Lose 35 pounds by my 35th birthday. Count my blessings.
But above all, learn to be... to live... to thrive.
Have a blessed 2014! Stay tuned for more on how I'm making the most of it.
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