Give Grace

Let no corrupting talk 

come out of your mouths,

but only such as is  

good for building up,

as fits the occasion, 

that it may give grace 

to those who hear.

                       {Ephesians 4:29}

God has been pressing on my heart lately about my words. 

Words can be: ugly, disrespectful, harsh, vindictive -- just down right hurtful.

Words can Tear Down

It's amazing how just a few words can affect someone for the rest of their life. How it can affect relationships. How it can affect harmony with one another.

How would God have us speak to one another? How can we give grace to each other? How can we build each other up instead of tear each other down, whether to faces or behind backs?

 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. {Colossians 3:12-17, ESV}

Praying this over my heart and over yours as well today, whoever you may be. May our Heavenly Father give us words of kindness to speak to one another. That through Christ, who lavishes grace on us daily, that we may extend that grace to those around us. May the words of Christ dwell in us, and be on our lips.

A Quiet Heart

Here I am, returning for yet another attempt at keeping this blog. I have realized that in order for me to keep up with this blog, I'm going to need to be intentional with it. No need to go into a long, dramatic, monologue of "I promise to do this, and I'm going to try to do this, and I will do this and this and this and it's going to stick this time", because knowing myself, there's a good chance it won't stick. However, I would love to be intentional with it and see how it goes. So I'm going to leave it at that!

One of my favorite theologians is Charles Spurgeon. And a dear friend of mine sent me a link to a daily little devotional called Faith's Check Book. Spurgeon had an amazing way with words...and spoke the truth and grace of God so beautifully. I love yesterday's entry on having a quiet heart. I struggle with fear, which encompasses anxiety, worry, control, and other things. In a world full of distraction, especially with technology, I find that it's difficult for me to just be still....be quiet...to listen. I love this verse & Spurgeon's words of truth:

"In quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15 ESV)

"It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mis-trusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.

Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus."

I recently came across old journals from when I was in college. At the time, I was taking classes full-time, working part-time, and newly married. I was young and was so weary in my walk with Christ. I felt as if every entry was the same thing. The same worries. The same anxieties over things I could not control. Depression. I was fearing and fuming over and over and over again. I did not know what it meant to rest. To be still. To rest in the Lord's goodness. To rest in His abounding grace and mercy that He richly bestows up on me daily and freely gives to me by nothing I've done. I was faithless and sinking by my struggles. Over the last several years through different seasons of life, the Lord has graciously revealed to me my lack of faith. He has shown me that through the good times, and the not so good times, all is grace. There is hope in Christ. Through the struggles, I can know in my heart, that the Lord is working for my good. And it's all for His glory. I still struggle, because my flesh still wants that control. I am quick to forget all that I am and all that I have in Christ. I must pick up my cross daily. I pray for the grace to be quiet. To be still. To trust. To rest.

{All is Grace}

A few thoughts (my daybook)

photo courtesy of basykes

Outside my window...a beautiful fall evening…oh how I’m loving the cooler and dryer weather.

I am thinking...how much I miss card making…it’s been a little too long of a hiatus. I think I shall start on Christmas cards soon! :)

I am thankful for...the nice walk/run that I had this evening, soaking in the autumn air.

I am wearing...black (of course) comfy pants, a tank top, and comfy slippers!

I am remembering...that I need to ship something to my mom tomorrow…hmm…

I am going...to go do my quiet time in a bit…it’s been awhile

I am reading...Tim Keller’s Prodigal God – excellent and eye opening for sure – I’ll have to write about that one at a later time…

I am hoping...to package the batch of black beans I soaked and cooked so that I can freeze it before I get to bed tonight

On my mind...I really need to go to bed earlier

Noticing that...there’s a lot I have to be thankful for in my life

Pondering these words...allow me to do my quiet time, and I’ll get back with you :)

From the kitchen...thinking about making taco salad for dinner tomorrow night with the grass fed beef I bought on sale and the organic black beans that I soaked and cooked last night!

Around the house...I’m enjoying the fall décor that I have put out and arranged. I’m resisting the temptation to run out to Hobby Lobby or Joann’s for a couple more fall items…I just love how homey and tranquil my house feels…makes me want to make pumpkin cookies!

One of my favorite things today…having a few accomplishments at work during this hectic time of the year.

*love*

....and where did the Springtime go??

Photo courtesy of lepiaf.geo

It's summer time and it is way too hot! I was born and raised in Texas and I still can't get used to the summers here. I was in Hobby Lobby the other day and walked by their seasonal items, and they already have fall and christmas stuff out! I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that anymore. Even though I think retail stores could wait just a TAD bit longer to put all the fall stuff out, not to mention CHRISTMAS stuff, it just reminded me of the season I get to look forward to. Fall is probably my favorite time of year, so looking at all the wall decor and pumpkins, etc...I could just taste it! But alas, we must get through summer first...

This summer has been great so far. First off, I got a full time position in the same department I've been working in for 5+ years, which I'm very happy and thankful for. I started that June 1. It is helping us out financially, and I'm so thankful for God's goodness and faithfulness throughout all of this. So, I've been adjusting to working full-time and re-prioritizing things at home. Things are getting better though :)

June 12 - 20 was a VERY busy time because all of my family was in town. We had a Noack (my dad's side) family reunion the 14-15 and it was a blast. We had it at Lynn Creek Park over at Joe Pool Lake. It was warm (and crazy crowded!) the first evening, but on 15th there wern't many people there, and it was crazy windy! It made the outdoors bearable but made eating a little bit of a challenge :P It was a fun day of catching up with family, launching balloons all day long with an awesome water balloon launcher my bro-in-law made, and playing games like aggravation (a family favorite!). The rest of the week was a lot of fun hanging out with all my siblings and their families. It's a blast when all 5 of us siblings are toghether and I always cherish those times because it doesn't happen often. Usually only once a year! The next that we'll all be together (hopefully!) will be next summer out in Estes Park, CO!! We're getting a huge cabin and I am very excited about that :)

The rest of June was busy in general -- working, trying to get my work outs in (eek..), and just spending time with the hubs! And here were are and it's July already! I can't believe we're half way through 2009 already. I guess it is true that time goes by faster as you get older...
This week our friends Kendra and Isaac are in town from Estes Park, CO so we're going to get together with them, and then my friend Lauryn is in town from Georgia and I'll be hanging with her this weekend! Then Tim's folks will be in town next week. In a few weeks Tim and I will be heading out on a road trip to Estes Park to visit Kendra and Isaac for a few days. I can not wait to be up there in the mountains!! It's gonna be a blast. Then less than a month after that I'll be flying up to visit my best friend April in North Dakota! She'll have just had her 4th boy and so I'll be helping her out since her husband is deployed with the Air Force. That's going to be really fun as well :)

I'm thankful that I'm having the opportunities this year to visit friends and family across the country. I love to travel and I don't usually get to do it much, and this year alone I've been able to go to Wisconsin to visit my sister, and then go to Colorado and North Dakota! I told Lauryn I need to save money to fly out to Georgia, so I'll have all my close girlfriends covered for the year :) haha...not sure if that'll happen, but one can always hope right?

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I'm happy to have tomorrow off and catch up on things at home. Maybe I'll even get a little card making in this weekend... :)

*love*

Under the weather

Photo courtesy of SubZeroConsciousness

Lemon-Honey Tea
(courtesy of my wonderful mom)

6-8 oz. boiling hot water
1 Tea Bag (flavor of your choice)
Lemon Juice (start with 1-2 tsp, and add more to taste)
Honey (to taste)

1. Boil water in teapot
2. Pour hot water in your favorite mug and steep your tea bag
3. Add honey and lemon juice, take tea bag out, stir
4. Relax, breathe in the steam, drink, enjoy, repeat as needed

Boy have I been sick. Tim and I have both had colds the past week or two, and it has not been fun. I was out of commission most of last week and spent a lot of time in bed or laying down on the couch watching too many movies and T.V. shows. Needless to say, my brain turned to mush. It was actually nice to be at work yesterday and I enjoyed working through some of the financial reconciliations I needed to do (amazingly enough). I think my mind needed to be stimulated.

During all of this I found out last Monday that my Aunt in New York (my mom's sister-in-law) passed away suddenly due to a heart attack. It was a total shock to us all since it happened so quickly. I was unable to fly out there, but thankfully my mom and dad were able to fly out on Tuesday, my sister, Holly, drove from Wisconsin with her 4 children and my sister, Beth, flew out as well. So at least we had a good representation there. I'm glad they were able to stay with my Uncle and keep him company as he is now adjusting to living life without his wife. I was able to speak with him on the phone and he was in good spirits and was so thankful for the hope that he has that she is in heaven with the Lord. Praise the Lord for that hope and the comfort that He is able to give us through these tough times.

So back here at home, I missed out on our typical Valentine's day festivities. I was at my worst on Saturday, so I was laying on the couch all day long. Tim was very busy delivering fruit bouquets, so it was just me and the kitties all day. Tim came home and surprised me with a pretty bouquet of flowers, some dayquil, and went out and got chick-fil-a for dinner :) We're going to have our Valentine's Day date sometime this week yet, which actually will be better since we won't have to wait in line at the resturaunt and deal with crowds of people. I am a little bummed that we couldn't go out on the day of because it is me and Tim's first date anniversary. 7 years ago, we went on a double date with my best friend, April and her (now) husband, Adam. We went to P.F. Chang's and I can still remember our conversation (mostly) and the excitement of getting to know this guy. Oh and I was nervous...I think we both were...but I knew there was something special about him. After dinner we went to Cafe Brazil in Deep Ellum for coffee and stayed there for awhile, then we dropped off Adam and April and he took me home. We sat in his car and talked and talked and talked until about 2am. To this day, Tim and I can still sit and talk for hours about anything and everything. OH, I love this man :)

Well, I could could go on and on, but I must stop here for now. I'm embarrased to say that it is 11:50 am and I am still in my pajamas. That's the dangerous thing about not going to work till 1:00! So, I am off to get ready for the day, grab some lunch, feed the kitties, and then off to work.

*love*