Monday, November 19, 2012
So Shutterfly has some cute options for the annual Christmas cards swap;) I really love snail mail, so I SO look forward to this season of sending and receiving greetings and love through cards. Use code Card40 to get 40% off and ship30 for free shipping. Here's the one I'll be sending out this year! Counting my blessings indeed! Happy Thanksgiving,friends! Receive and give lots of grace and enjoy the blessings of friends and family!
Stationery card
Chalkboard Blessings Holiday Card
Click here to browse Shutterfly's holiday card collection.
View the entire collection of cards.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Accountability blog
I think I will start blogging about my days, as I journey through this somewhat foreign thing called homeschool. So far, I am not very scheduled. I do life with my boys and as time permits we read books together, read The Bible, work on phonics (almost daily) as time permits, do easy addition and subtraction,talk about our humanity and our need for a Savior, go on nature walks( and lately name every leaf we find ..we checked out an Autumn leaf book at the library, so Josh is just over-the-moon with leaf identification).....to be continued...just downloaded a few photos for Christmas cards:)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Running the Race
The following is an old excerpt from my blog that I wanted to share. Hope it encourages you.
Today, I was led to Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
I recently finished a marathon with my twin sister,so the above verse hits me in a new and compelling way. You see, I start the race with more comforts than I really need. By mile three, I take off four articles of clothing which are keeping me way too hot and additionally "weighing me down". I wonder, what in my life is keeping me from living the abundant life that God has for me? What sins do I wear so comfortably that I don't realize their weight keeps me from His best.. God's call for my life.
"Running with endurance" also hits home. For one, it hurts sometimes, running. I mean, running with pain... Life with pain...major calf crampage at one point and for a couple miles, I'm doing some kind of a jog-limp, where I swing my right leg and use my left leg to push off the weight (I'm sure I look ridiculous)and all of this in the pouring rain for 26 miles...seems like forever, until it's over... A picture of running my spiritual race with Christ? You come up with all the metaphors, Father God. This life with Christ is not meant to be a cake walk. As a believer, I am promised tribulations WILL come with my spiritual race on earth, so what will I do when they do? Show me, Lord. Hopefully, like the marathon, just keep running with endurance toward the prize, Him, relying on Him. My prize and my strength?! It is all you, Lord. You are my prize!! You are my Strength!! What hope! I AM..I AM! Amen!
A race like this teaches me about my need for fellowship. I pray my way through a good bit of the race, but I know I would not have run the entire challenge if my sister-in-Christ, Debbie Richie, and twin sister(also my sister-in-Christ), Shahla, weren't there to encourage me. Shahla and I meet Debbie around mile 15 and she says, "Good job! Keep it up!" We immediately attach our selves to this sister of encouragement all the way to the finish. We find out right away what she is all about. She is a track and cross-country coach. A sister, with experience;she lives for our Lord. She quotes scripture, stops to rub bio-freeze on my calf and just keeps encouraging with motivational stories and words of affirmation. It is Debbie's 33rd marathon, so not surprising that she is prepared with everything imaginable in her fanny pack to help those around her. She later tells us that she considers running these races a part of her ministry of coaching. She does not have to tell us this.You can not imagine how thankful Shahla and I are as we run with her by our side! Fellowship...oh the power of fellowship and accountability!!! Before Debbie came running next to us, Shahla and I talk to each other wondering if we have to give up our goal of running the entire race and resign to walking, but once we enter the fellowship of Coach Debbie, compromise is not an option. You know people like that in your life? That keep you looking at Him.
No doubt that's what fellowship does in my spiritual life. I know that when I am surrounded by those that are living a holy life unto the Lord, sins that seem optional become undesirable in the light of His Best. Thank God for my sisters in Christ!!
Lastly, it's all about looking forward towards Christ. What has lasting value? Living for Him, the prize that is eternal...even more? There is a joy set before us, which no eye has seen no ear has heard! This is real...I mean I finished a stinkin marathon for a t-shirt and a medal!! How much more willing to be stretched and tested for my Savior? Counted as tried and true...Hopefully, a lot more each day with His strength! Amen!
Like the race, sometimes it is about taking one step at a time. I remember a wise woman once told me to Love your Lord one day at a time in His strength and sometimes one hour at a time...perhaps sometimes it will even take one minute at a time, but always in His strength. One more thing...I felt a need to pray throughout the marathon.
Perhaps whenever I really set my minds to run THE race Christ has called me to, I am more eager to pray in my need to recieve His strength. Essentially, I'm called to live in and through Him, so if I'm still living in my own strength then maybe there's more in store that I'm missing...maybe certainly.
I have been reading a blog called A Holy Experience by Ann Voskamp; It is such a blessing to be in fellowship via her blog. Recently, Ann invited those interested in the ministry of sharing life in Christ through writing to share a post from their personal blog, so that is what I've done. I hope and pray you have been encouraged. I have butterflies in my stomach as I reflect on the "maybe certainly" of which I ended my post. A ministry through writing is something I've always felt strongly about, yet I've always been fearful that I just wasn't good enough
...so if I'm still living in my own strength then maybe there's more in store that I'm missing...maybe certainly.
If you share the same desire of sharing Christ's handprint on your life through writing, then you should join this opportunity to attend the She Speaks Conference http://shespeaksconference.com/ . The following link gives you the details to enter your blog entry for a chance to go tuition free. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/03/how-christians-create-art-she-speaks-scholarship/
Today, I was led to Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
I recently finished a marathon with my twin sister,so the above verse hits me in a new and compelling way. You see, I start the race with more comforts than I really need. By mile three, I take off four articles of clothing which are keeping me way too hot and additionally "weighing me down". I wonder, what in my life is keeping me from living the abundant life that God has for me? What sins do I wear so comfortably that I don't realize their weight keeps me from His best.. God's call for my life.
"Running with endurance" also hits home. For one, it hurts sometimes, running. I mean, running with pain... Life with pain...major calf crampage at one point and for a couple miles, I'm doing some kind of a jog-limp, where I swing my right leg and use my left leg to push off the weight (I'm sure I look ridiculous)and all of this in the pouring rain for 26 miles...seems like forever, until it's over... A picture of running my spiritual race with Christ? You come up with all the metaphors, Father God. This life with Christ is not meant to be a cake walk. As a believer, I am promised tribulations WILL come with my spiritual race on earth, so what will I do when they do? Show me, Lord. Hopefully, like the marathon, just keep running with endurance toward the prize, Him, relying on Him. My prize and my strength?! It is all you, Lord. You are my prize!! You are my Strength!! What hope! I AM..I AM! Amen!
A race like this teaches me about my need for fellowship. I pray my way through a good bit of the race, but I know I would not have run the entire challenge if my sister-in-Christ, Debbie Richie, and twin sister(also my sister-in-Christ), Shahla, weren't there to encourage me. Shahla and I meet Debbie around mile 15 and she says, "Good job! Keep it up!" We immediately attach our selves to this sister of encouragement all the way to the finish. We find out right away what she is all about. She is a track and cross-country coach. A sister, with experience;she lives for our Lord. She quotes scripture, stops to rub bio-freeze on my calf and just keeps encouraging with motivational stories and words of affirmation. It is Debbie's 33rd marathon, so not surprising that she is prepared with everything imaginable in her fanny pack to help those around her. She later tells us that she considers running these races a part of her ministry of coaching. She does not have to tell us this.You can not imagine how thankful Shahla and I are as we run with her by our side! Fellowship...oh the power of fellowship and accountability!!! Before Debbie came running next to us, Shahla and I talk to each other wondering if we have to give up our goal of running the entire race and resign to walking, but once we enter the fellowship of Coach Debbie, compromise is not an option. You know people like that in your life? That keep you looking at Him.
No doubt that's what fellowship does in my spiritual life. I know that when I am surrounded by those that are living a holy life unto the Lord, sins that seem optional become undesirable in the light of His Best. Thank God for my sisters in Christ!!
Lastly, it's all about looking forward towards Christ. What has lasting value? Living for Him, the prize that is eternal...even more? There is a joy set before us, which no eye has seen no ear has heard! This is real...I mean I finished a stinkin marathon for a t-shirt and a medal!! How much more willing to be stretched and tested for my Savior? Counted as tried and true...Hopefully, a lot more each day with His strength! Amen!
Like the race, sometimes it is about taking one step at a time. I remember a wise woman once told me to Love your Lord one day at a time in His strength and sometimes one hour at a time...perhaps sometimes it will even take one minute at a time, but always in His strength. One more thing...I felt a need to pray throughout the marathon.
Perhaps whenever I really set my minds to run THE race Christ has called me to, I am more eager to pray in my need to recieve His strength. Essentially, I'm called to live in and through Him, so if I'm still living in my own strength then maybe there's more in store that I'm missing...maybe certainly.
I have been reading a blog called A Holy Experience by Ann Voskamp; It is such a blessing to be in fellowship via her blog. Recently, Ann invited those interested in the ministry of sharing life in Christ through writing to share a post from their personal blog, so that is what I've done. I hope and pray you have been encouraged. I have butterflies in my stomach as I reflect on the "maybe certainly" of which I ended my post. A ministry through writing is something I've always felt strongly about, yet I've always been fearful that I just wasn't good enough
...so if I'm still living in my own strength then maybe there's more in store that I'm missing...maybe certainly.
If you share the same desire of sharing Christ's handprint on your life through writing, then you should join this opportunity to attend the She Speaks Conference http://shespeaksconference.com/ . The following link gives you the details to enter your blog entry for a chance to go tuition free. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/03/how-christians-create-art-she-speaks-scholarship/
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snowy day- January 12, 2011
I Am-Redeemer
You see me beautiful
It's so good to know
you know it all and
love me so
and see me beautiful
and pure as snow
for that is who you know, I AM
more than all my outside can prove
it's quietly true without
anything I can do, without
anything I can do-
you've deemed me pure and beautiful
I Am-Redeemer
You see me beautiful
It's so good to know
you know it all and
love me so
and see me beautiful
and pure as snow
more than all my outside can prove
it's quietly true without
anything I can do, without
anything I can do-
you've deemed me pure and beautiful
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Have an Incredible Christmas and Happy New Year
So it has been forever since I last blogged, and I really want to be more consistent with it!! For me, too often,Want and Follow- through are on two different sides of the world, practical strangers. If I could some how make them bosom buddies in my world of productivity, I would be... THE most incredible woman you've ever met!
Anyway, one of me besties (Monica Gresh...her last name is Rodriguez now cause she got married, like 5 years ago) just posted her top 10 highlights of 2010 which motivated me to also list 2010 happenings for which I am thankful. For now, just making a quasi-list will be my consolation for not being Mrs. Incredible.
I'm not putting them in any order because that would take too much time, and I would have to decide which event meant more to me and so forth, and I am waaaay too analytical about things like that, SO in order to save myself from such mind-chaos, I am going to just jot things that happened that meant a lot to me...I am also forgetful and already thinking to myself that I am going to leave something or someone out (I'm sure the 5 people that read my posts will be so offended), but here it goes anyway:
*Moving to Baltimore , Maryland
*Moving to Kansas City, Missouri
*Moving to Kent Island, Maryland and settling there :)
* Opening our Chick-fil-A on September 23rd... family and friends came to celebrate with us :)
*Paul turning one. Paul learning how to walk and saying a few things(especially, "I love you" and watching him dance when he hears music.
*Josh turning two. Josh singing his ABCs and other songs and recognizing letters, shapes, and numbers and watching Josh absolutely engrossed in building castles, buildings or towers (though the building does not change that much, he does call them different names) with Lego blocks.
*Welcoming my two nieces, Sophia and Hannah to the world this year (Congrats to Matt and Diana and Chad and Christina). Also welcoming Presley, Mia and Kate, our dear friends baby girls (Congrats to Christian and Ashley, Mark and Mallory and Matt and Brooke). Also, finding out another niece or nephew is on the way (Another Congrats to Matt and Diana) .
*Having family and friends together on Thanksgiving
*Getting a blue tooth (Robo mom is way more productive with free hands)
*Being with tried and true friends
*Making new memories with my best friend, Chris
*Learning more and more that His Grace is sufficient
*Visiting Great Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles in New York and Ohio
*Chris becoming a hunter
*reading good books, The Excellent Wife, Shepherding a Child's Heart , The Celebration of Discipline, Treasure Principle, currently, From Rebellion to Redemption and of course tons of Dr. Seuss :)
That'll do...Paul is up. gotta go
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
yours truly,
Mrs. Incredibly Inconsistent
Anyway, one of me besties (Monica Gresh...her last name is Rodriguez now cause she got married, like 5 years ago) just posted her top 10 highlights of 2010 which motivated me to also list 2010 happenings for which I am thankful. For now, just making a quasi-list will be my consolation for not being Mrs. Incredible.
I'm not putting them in any order because that would take too much time, and I would have to decide which event meant more to me and so forth, and I am waaaay too analytical about things like that, SO in order to save myself from such mind-chaos, I am going to just jot things that happened that meant a lot to me...I am also forgetful and already thinking to myself that I am going to leave something or someone out (I'm sure the 5 people that read my posts will be so offended), but here it goes anyway:
*Moving to Baltimore , Maryland
*Moving to Kansas City, Missouri
*Moving to Kent Island, Maryland and settling there :)
* Opening our Chick-fil-A on September 23rd... family and friends came to celebrate with us :)
*Paul turning one. Paul learning how to walk and saying a few things(especially, "I love you" and watching him dance when he hears music.
*Josh turning two. Josh singing his ABCs and other songs and recognizing letters, shapes, and numbers and watching Josh absolutely engrossed in building castles, buildings or towers (though the building does not change that much, he does call them different names) with Lego blocks.
*Welcoming my two nieces, Sophia and Hannah to the world this year (Congrats to Matt and Diana and Chad and Christina). Also welcoming Presley, Mia and Kate, our dear friends baby girls (Congrats to Christian and Ashley, Mark and Mallory and Matt and Brooke). Also, finding out another niece or nephew is on the way (Another Congrats to Matt and Diana) .
*Having family and friends together on Thanksgiving
*Getting a blue tooth (Robo mom is way more productive with free hands)
*Being with tried and true friends
*Making new memories with my best friend, Chris
*Learning more and more that His Grace is sufficient
*Visiting Great Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles in New York and Ohio
*Chris becoming a hunter
*reading good books, The Excellent Wife, Shepherding a Child's Heart , The Celebration of Discipline, Treasure Principle, currently, From Rebellion to Redemption and of course tons of Dr. Seuss :)
That'll do...Paul is up. gotta go
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
yours truly,
Mrs. Incredibly Inconsistent
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
from "guilt" to "grace" to "gratitude"
I'm reading From Rebellion to Redemption by Randal Working; it is written to be read over a year in reflection of the Christian themes of the Heidelberg Catechism, not something that would necessarily attract me, but the title did draw my attention, and I'm so glad it did. I'm already enjoying the thought and heart so many God-seekers of the past have put into knowing God. I'm especially reminded of how universal, even over space and time, our need for God truly is. Here is a looong quote within the book that encompasses this universal need:
"Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejections makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me....The worlds's love is and always will be conditional. AS long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain 'hooked' to the world- trying, failing, and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart."
---Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A story of Homecoming
For me, the deepest craving(s) of my heart, I've had most all my life, and I have found it satisfied in my Savior...The craving for goodness, belonging unconditionally, a life that lasts forever and has profound worth,grace... all in God through His sacrifice.
Honestly, it is sometimes still too simple for me. I am used to earning and working hard toward a goal (the ways of the world), I'm ever asking "what do I need to do next?". I guess it's my pride, but today, I will to remember, His Love is to be received as a child. Not like the "adult" I've become. I mean getting a gift can conjure some thoughts a child receiving a gift never has( a child is just grateful toward the giver), like thoughts about how I might repay to keep someone happy with me. For instance, someone gets me something for my birthday and my first thought is, oh geez, what did I get for her on her birthday? Was it good enough? or Okay, I need to remember to do something for him/her. This mentality is almost ingrained to the point it's sometimes subconscious. Could I be treating God's Gift the same way? I'd say I probably do, whether I'm conscious of it all the time or not, but today I will to surrender to the Gift of His love through my Savior. I will allow my heart to be grateful for the unconditional gift of His love.
Here is prayer I found in the book, as well:
Lord, in all the uncertainties of this world, it's good to know I belong to you. Please help that reality to sink into the deepest levels of who I am, so that I can live my life with peace, confidence, and joy. In Jesus' name, amen.
"Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejections makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me....The worlds's love is and always will be conditional. AS long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain 'hooked' to the world- trying, failing, and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart."
---Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A story of Homecoming
For me, the deepest craving(s) of my heart, I've had most all my life, and I have found it satisfied in my Savior...The craving for goodness, belonging unconditionally, a life that lasts forever and has profound worth,grace... all in God through His sacrifice.
Honestly, it is sometimes still too simple for me. I am used to earning and working hard toward a goal (the ways of the world), I'm ever asking "what do I need to do next?". I guess it's my pride, but today, I will to remember, His Love is to be received as a child. Not like the "adult" I've become. I mean getting a gift can conjure some thoughts a child receiving a gift never has( a child is just grateful toward the giver), like thoughts about how I might repay to keep someone happy with me. For instance, someone gets me something for my birthday and my first thought is, oh geez, what did I get for her on her birthday? Was it good enough? or Okay, I need to remember to do something for him/her. This mentality is almost ingrained to the point it's sometimes subconscious. Could I be treating God's Gift the same way? I'd say I probably do, whether I'm conscious of it all the time or not, but today I will to surrender to the Gift of His love through my Savior. I will allow my heart to be grateful for the unconditional gift of His love.
Here is prayer I found in the book, as well:
Lord, in all the uncertainties of this world, it's good to know I belong to you. Please help that reality to sink into the deepest levels of who I am, so that I can live my life with peace, confidence, and joy. In Jesus' name, amen.
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