The Lord has been constantly reminding me of His grace... I don't have words to express how I treasure His salvation. But, good thing, in times like these when I'm speechless, bands like Sanctus Real write songs like "I'm forgiven" to say exactly what's on my heart.
"I'm Forgiven" By Sanctus Real
Well, the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just won't let me forget
In this life
I know what I've been
But here in Your arms
I know what I am
I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been
'Cause I'm forgiven
And my mistakes are running through my mind
And I relive my days in the middle of the night
And I struggle with my pain
And wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone and I cry
And in this life
I know what I've been
But here in Your arms
I know what I am
I'm forgiven, yeah
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been
'Cause I'm forgiven
When I don't fit in
And I don't feel like I belong anywhere
When I don't measure up to much in this life
Oh, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ
'Cause I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been
'Cause I'm forgiven
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Penned Words
I have devoted this overcast Sunday afternoon to writing. It should be no surprise to you that I have an agenda for doing so... well, of course I do - me, the obsessive list-maker. There are a few things that are necessary when I set aside time for writing: a warm beverage, a blanket, and headphones. Some might think it's strange that I listen to music while I write, especially if I'm writing something in particular. But this is how I drown out the cheerleaders on Mac's basketball game, the sound of the dishwasher (YES, I have a dishwasher!), and focus my thoughts. I actually gain a lot of inspiration from lyrics as well. So, here I sit... A WEASel mug full of my newly purchased Vanilla Red Tea, my heavy red blanket wrapped around my lap, and the new Needtobreathe Album streaming through my ears, ready to put the pen to paper. Figuratively speaking.
Everyone knows that no one uses pen and paper anymore. When I speak of this writing, I really mean typing. And that's what I'm doing. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly appreciate the art of actual writing, like practicing my handwriting. And I do, every day at 6:30 am. But, when I'm on a roll, working on my blog, my letter to my dearest husband or my novel that needs some tender loving, the speed of typing is mandatory.
Oh, well there ya go. On the agenda for writing this afternoon:
1. Blog. I've been pretty good about updating the food blog lately, been okay about updating this one, and terrible about updating the family one. Today, I'm accomplishing a post by writing about how I'm going to write.
2. A letter to my husband. During our dating years, especially when we would be 7 hours apart in the summer, we used to write each other letters. There's something inexpressibly romantic about writing a letter to the one who makes your heart skip a beat. We've been married for 1 1/2 years and I haven't written him a letter once during our marriage. I think its time to do so.
3. My novel. A while back I let out a little secret that I would be writing a book. The topic remains undisclosed as I don't want to set myself any expectations. Also, there is no outline. No timeline. No deadline. Nothing. It's just coming about as the Lord leads and puts words on my heart to add. I have a couple pages done. Not nearly anything to rave about yet. It's just a baby.
So now, I shall move on to agenda point #2. Have a wonderful Sunday!
Everyone knows that no one uses pen and paper anymore. When I speak of this writing, I really mean typing. And that's what I'm doing. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly appreciate the art of actual writing, like practicing my handwriting. And I do, every day at 6:30 am. But, when I'm on a roll, working on my blog, my letter to my dearest husband or my novel that needs some tender loving, the speed of typing is mandatory.
Oh, well there ya go. On the agenda for writing this afternoon:
1. Blog. I've been pretty good about updating the food blog lately, been okay about updating this one, and terrible about updating the family one. Today, I'm accomplishing a post by writing about how I'm going to write.
2. A letter to my husband. During our dating years, especially when we would be 7 hours apart in the summer, we used to write each other letters. There's something inexpressibly romantic about writing a letter to the one who makes your heart skip a beat. We've been married for 1 1/2 years and I haven't written him a letter once during our marriage. I think its time to do so.
3. My novel. A while back I let out a little secret that I would be writing a book. The topic remains undisclosed as I don't want to set myself any expectations. Also, there is no outline. No timeline. No deadline. Nothing. It's just coming about as the Lord leads and puts words on my heart to add. I have a couple pages done. Not nearly anything to rave about yet. It's just a baby.
So now, I shall move on to agenda point #2. Have a wonderful Sunday!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Real Simple
I get these emails from Free Snatcher for special deals and samples. My favorite item of note are the magazine samples. I've received free issues of all sorts of magazines: Gourmet, Organic Gardening, Tennis (for the husband), Remedy, and Real Simple.
Real Simple just came today. Oh. my. goodness. I was already aware that I LOVE this magazine, but this was the 10th anniversary edition. That means it was twice as big as normal. It also means that it was AMAZING. I love it. I asked Mac if I could have a subscription to Real Simple for my birthday (3 months away, mind you) and he didn't seem to agree with the idea. Oh well, a girl can wish. It's the little things in life.
Anyways, there were so many good cooking, housekeeping, decorating, and beauty ideas in this one, I can't even share them all. I have pretty much every page dog-eared. It's THAT good. The article that stuck out most to me was this: "22 things that are really, truly worth your time"
I dare you to do one.
-Stop and smell a gardenia
-Read the wedding announcements in the Sunday newspaper
-Curl up with your favorite childhood book
-Call someone's supervisor to praise a job well done
-Make the bed
-Let your toddler set the pace (ok, if you don't have a toddler, just slow down your pace)
-Take an affordable class or workshop not related to your career
-Eat something you grew
-People-watch on public transportation
-Spring the kids from school for the day (or yourself from work)
-Put down the box and bake a cake from scratch
-Hold the door open (for someone else)
-Enjoy a civilized breakfast
-Go on a "man date" (or the female equivalent)
-Write thank-you notes
-Document just one week of your life (photograph daily routine, collect receipts and stuff, write a daily message to yourself, then make a scrapbook of that)
-Spend "floor time" with your spouse (basically talk)
-Listen to an entire cd in one sitting
-Toast the sandwich bread
-Take a road trip and stop at every cheesy roadside attraction along the way
-Train for, then run, a race for charity
-Watch one of these YouTube tearjerkers: Christian the Lion, The Patrick Henry Huges Story, Kseniya Simonova's Sand Drawing (by recommendation of Real Simple)
Real Simple just came today. Oh. my. goodness. I was already aware that I LOVE this magazine, but this was the 10th anniversary edition. That means it was twice as big as normal. It also means that it was AMAZING. I love it. I asked Mac if I could have a subscription to Real Simple for my birthday (3 months away, mind you) and he didn't seem to agree with the idea. Oh well, a girl can wish. It's the little things in life.
Anyways, there were so many good cooking, housekeeping, decorating, and beauty ideas in this one, I can't even share them all. I have pretty much every page dog-eared. It's THAT good. The article that stuck out most to me was this: "22 things that are really, truly worth your time"
I dare you to do one.
-Stop and smell a gardenia
-Read the wedding announcements in the Sunday newspaper
-Curl up with your favorite childhood book
-Call someone's supervisor to praise a job well done
-Make the bed
-Let your toddler set the pace (ok, if you don't have a toddler, just slow down your pace)
-Take an affordable class or workshop not related to your career
-Eat something you grew
-People-watch on public transportation
-Spring the kids from school for the day (or yourself from work)
-Put down the box and bake a cake from scratch
-Hold the door open (for someone else)
-Enjoy a civilized breakfast
-Go on a "man date" (or the female equivalent)
-Write thank-you notes
-Document just one week of your life (photograph daily routine, collect receipts and stuff, write a daily message to yourself, then make a scrapbook of that)
-Spend "floor time" with your spouse (basically talk)
-Listen to an entire cd in one sitting
-Toast the sandwich bread
-Take a road trip and stop at every cheesy roadside attraction along the way
-Train for, then run, a race for charity
-Watch one of these YouTube tearjerkers: Christian the Lion, The Patrick Henry Huges Story, Kseniya Simonova's Sand Drawing (by recommendation of Real Simple)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Out of the abundance of the heart...
... the mouth speaks." - Matthew 12:34
At church on Sunday, our pastor taught through Proverbs 10. Do you know how many verses in Proverbs 10 talk about how our speech reflects our character? Enough to feel convicted!
"... a chattering fool comes to ruin" v. 8
"...a chattering fool comes to ruin." v. 10
"the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." v. 11
"Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning." v. 13
"Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin." v. 14
"He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool." v. 18
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." v. 19
"The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value." v. 20
"The lips of the righteous nourish many..." v. 21
"The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out." v. 31
"The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse." v.32
33% of chapter 10 talks about our mouth. This has been my focus this week... learning how to hold my tongue unless what I'm going to say is beneficial and uplifting to others. When I actually focus on it, I realize just how much I say that is NOT edifying. I don't use profanity or cut people down, but I definitely have a lot of room for improvement. My biggest goal this week in particular is to just keep my mouth shut.
At church on Sunday, our pastor taught through Proverbs 10. Do you know how many verses in Proverbs 10 talk about how our speech reflects our character? Enough to feel convicted!
"... a chattering fool comes to ruin" v. 8
"...a chattering fool comes to ruin." v. 10
"the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." v. 11
"Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning." v. 13
"Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin." v. 14
"He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool." v. 18
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." v. 19
"The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value." v. 20
"The lips of the righteous nourish many..." v. 21
"The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out." v. 31
"The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse." v.32
33% of chapter 10 talks about our mouth. This has been my focus this week... learning how to hold my tongue unless what I'm going to say is beneficial and uplifting to others. When I actually focus on it, I realize just how much I say that is NOT edifying. I don't use profanity or cut people down, but I definitely have a lot of room for improvement. My biggest goal this week in particular is to just keep my mouth shut.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturdays
I was going to sit down and write a nice, long, inspirational post on this Saturday morning. But, as you might guess, based on the entry sentence, I will be doing no such thing. No... all week long (and this was a long one), I look forward to Saturday. I love my job, I love my co-workers, and I love the unpredictability (who knew executive assistants, business managers, and human resources coordinators dig and lay gravel paths??) of the five days spent at work. But, I also love my Saturdays. Throughout the week, when I'm short on sleep, busy hanging out with friends and family, trying to coordinate two people's schedules in two different cities with one car, figuring out what's for dinner, and spending the majority of the day on the job, all I can think about is how excited I'll be when it's Saturday and I don't HAVE to do anything. And when Friday comes (only one more day til Saturday!), I think, "Oh MAN. I get to sleep in tomorrow. I can do nothing tomorrow. I can go on a run in the sunshine tomorrow."
Who am I kidding?
No, no. This Saturday (not unlike the rest of them) is packed to the brim with no resting available. Of course, it's different kind of work, the kind that I choose to do, but still, it's not being lazy. This Saturday began at 6:45 a.m. because my stupid brain thinks it's time to get up. And when the brain thinks, there's no stopping where it goes. Therefore, I'm up at 7 this morning, trying to be quiet so as not to wake my peacefully sleeping (jealousy stirs in me at the mention of sleep) husband. Well, there's really no being quiet when I decide to start a load of laundry. One might think I could wait until later, but no, not when there's 5 loads to do, one of which is mud-caked clothes thanks to two days of digging in the rain with my lovely co-workers. So, in goes the laundry.
Then, I realize that the recipe I've landed on for the rolls I'm bringing to dinner tonight at our friends' house are more time-consuming than planned. Thus begins the baking. And while looking on the website for the recipe (which is amazing by the way - Pioneer Woman), I feel ambitious and decide I'm going to make these at the same time. It was a good thought. Until I made the classic mistake of beginning the mixing process before double checking that I have all the ingredients. Ran out of flour. Not good when making a batch of rolls and a batch of breakfast puffs. Good thing is, all my kitchen commotion woke my amazing husband who went to the store for me in his sweats to get more flour. I didn't have to twist his arm too much once I promised to make him a latte and showed him the photo of what was for breakfast. Thank you, husband, for letting me bake for you. So, the rolls begin, the breakfast puffs (as I like to call donut muffins) begin, and I throw all my prep dishes in the dishwasher. That's right, I have a dishwasher. A working one. How bout that!
And in the process of all this, I begin folding and putting away the laundry, realizing that while it is only 10:36, I still have a lot to do in the next 7 hours and 24 minutes before we go to dinner. All of which will be interrupted by a much needed trip to look for a couch... again. Yes, the couch-looking is a never-to-be-completed quest. There's lots to do today, but, it's the only thing I really want to do... look for a couch. That and listen to my dishwasher run.
So, that's what my Saturday has become. And, now, I've taken up just as much time explaining my busy Saturday as it would have taken to write something inspirational. Sorry, this will have to suffice as inspiration. And please don't get confused - this busyness was by choice. I realize that I am inducing self-inflicted work. No big deal. It's life, right?
Who am I kidding?
No, no. This Saturday (not unlike the rest of them) is packed to the brim with no resting available. Of course, it's different kind of work, the kind that I choose to do, but still, it's not being lazy. This Saturday began at 6:45 a.m. because my stupid brain thinks it's time to get up. And when the brain thinks, there's no stopping where it goes. Therefore, I'm up at 7 this morning, trying to be quiet so as not to wake my peacefully sleeping (jealousy stirs in me at the mention of sleep) husband. Well, there's really no being quiet when I decide to start a load of laundry. One might think I could wait until later, but no, not when there's 5 loads to do, one of which is mud-caked clothes thanks to two days of digging in the rain with my lovely co-workers. So, in goes the laundry.
Then, I realize that the recipe I've landed on for the rolls I'm bringing to dinner tonight at our friends' house are more time-consuming than planned. Thus begins the baking. And while looking on the website for the recipe (which is amazing by the way - Pioneer Woman), I feel ambitious and decide I'm going to make these at the same time. It was a good thought. Until I made the classic mistake of beginning the mixing process before double checking that I have all the ingredients. Ran out of flour. Not good when making a batch of rolls and a batch of breakfast puffs. Good thing is, all my kitchen commotion woke my amazing husband who went to the store for me in his sweats to get more flour. I didn't have to twist his arm too much once I promised to make him a latte and showed him the photo of what was for breakfast. Thank you, husband, for letting me bake for you. So, the rolls begin, the breakfast puffs (as I like to call donut muffins) begin, and I throw all my prep dishes in the dishwasher. That's right, I have a dishwasher. A working one. How bout that!
And in the process of all this, I begin folding and putting away the laundry, realizing that while it is only 10:36, I still have a lot to do in the next 7 hours and 24 minutes before we go to dinner. All of which will be interrupted by a much needed trip to look for a couch... again. Yes, the couch-looking is a never-to-be-completed quest. There's lots to do today, but, it's the only thing I really want to do... look for a couch. That and listen to my dishwasher run.
So, that's what my Saturday has become. And, now, I've taken up just as much time explaining my busy Saturday as it would have taken to write something inspirational. Sorry, this will have to suffice as inspiration. And please don't get confused - this busyness was by choice. I realize that I am inducing self-inflicted work. No big deal. It's life, right?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
That thing called the Olympics.
Every two years there's this thing called the Olympics that countries first compete to host and then compete to win. And every two years I watch this thing called the Olympics in mass quantities. I think the television and news-webpages consume me more during when these thing called the Olympics are on than total for the rest of the year. What a waste of time. And, it's not always necessarily my decision to watch the sports or not - that is partially credited to my lovely husband. Any Olympic sport, you name it, I've watched it. And let me tell you, I've learned a lot of new things.
For example:
A. Curling. Who came up with this sport, or should I say hobby? Ok. seriously. curling? Curling. According to the dictionary curling is:
Main Entry: curl·ing
Pronunciation: \ˈkər-liŋ\
Function: noun
Date: 1620
: a game in which two teams of four players each slide curling stones over a stretch of ice toward a target circle
Simple enough, I guess. I watched it for the first time two nights ago and I found myself saying repeatedly "What the heck?" I'm sure that it is much more difficult than appearance lets on, but still. It's weird. Brushing ice with a broom is weird. Hearing "CLEAN! CLEAN" yelled in twenty different languages is also weird.
B. Ice Dancing. No longer ice skating, but ballroom dancing on ice. WELL oookay... It's actually pretty impressive. I will secretly admit that I enjoy watching ice skating, especially pairs. But don't tell anyone.
C. Nordic racing. Wow. These people get going really fast. It's incredible how they zoom down a hill at like 90 miles an hour. Is it bad that my favorite part is watching people face gnarly crashes? Ouch. These people are studs. I wish I was a nordic skier. Too bad chairlifts and me don't get along. That's a historical story for another entry.
D. Speed skating. I put on my leggings and underarmor and said to Mac, "hey, look, I'm Apolo Ohno!" Disregarding the aerodynamic spandex suits, and the fact that they go round and round on the track with what seems to be zero effort, the last 2-4 seconds of these races is actually kind of exciting. Why do I watch 4 hours of television a night for literally 4 seconds of excitement? Apolo Ohno is awesome.
E. I almost forgot - hockey. I love hockey. I didn't use to, but then I watched Olympic hockey and it's much more exciting... there's more strategy, more goals, and more passionate victories. My kind of game.
This is a cop-out first entry in 4 months. I'm trying to ease myself back into the writing nonsense that I use to do so regularly. Hope you enjoyed it.
For example:
A. Curling. Who came up with this sport, or should I say hobby? Ok. seriously. curling? Curling. According to the dictionary curling is:
Main Entry: curl·ing
Pronunciation: \ˈkər-liŋ\
Function: noun
Date: 1620
: a game in which two teams of four players each slide curling stones over a stretch of ice toward a target circle
Simple enough, I guess. I watched it for the first time two nights ago and I found myself saying repeatedly "What the heck?" I'm sure that it is much more difficult than appearance lets on, but still. It's weird. Brushing ice with a broom is weird. Hearing "CLEAN! CLEAN" yelled in twenty different languages is also weird.
B. Ice Dancing. No longer ice skating, but ballroom dancing on ice. WELL oookay... It's actually pretty impressive. I will secretly admit that I enjoy watching ice skating, especially pairs. But don't tell anyone.
C. Nordic racing. Wow. These people get going really fast. It's incredible how they zoom down a hill at like 90 miles an hour. Is it bad that my favorite part is watching people face gnarly crashes? Ouch. These people are studs. I wish I was a nordic skier. Too bad chairlifts and me don't get along. That's a historical story for another entry.
D. Speed skating. I put on my leggings and underarmor and said to Mac, "hey, look, I'm Apolo Ohno!" Disregarding the aerodynamic spandex suits, and the fact that they go round and round on the track with what seems to be zero effort, the last 2-4 seconds of these races is actually kind of exciting. Why do I watch 4 hours of television a night for literally 4 seconds of excitement? Apolo Ohno is awesome.
E. I almost forgot - hockey. I love hockey. I didn't use to, but then I watched Olympic hockey and it's much more exciting... there's more strategy, more goals, and more passionate victories. My kind of game.
This is a cop-out first entry in 4 months. I'm trying to ease myself back into the writing nonsense that I use to do so regularly. Hope you enjoyed it.
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