A Few of my Favorite Things

Hi!  This is my 51st post today.  I can't believe I've stuck with it this long!  Blogging is kind of addicting, I suppose.  Here was my first post on this blog about my lunch break experience at Barnes & Noble.  It involves sitting next to a man snoring quite loudly, oblivious to the fact that he was being noticed...or blogged about.

If you want to join in the Scripture Memory, I'm a bit behind, but it's better late than never!

And thirdly, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite blogs.  I love reading my friends' blogs, but they don't always update them every day (They have other things to do?!  Crazy.), so I have to occupy my blog time with other reading.  I'm not even sure where or how I came across half of these, but I look at them often, and find them humorous, inspiring or just plain interesting.  Enjoy!

The Pioneer Woman is so funny.  She also has great ideas--from cooking, to decorating, or just plain living.  She often has guest bloggers, and so that spices it up a bit.  I LOVE love stories, so her "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" story is so, so funny.  This is how she met her husband, "Marlboro Man." And it might even be made into a movie with Reese Whitherspoon playing PW.

Not too long ago, I stumbled upon Fly Through Our Window.  This is a sweet Southern family with a really cool blog.  In her About Me section, Darby writes, "I will also remind you this a BLOG, this is NOT a full real life account, but merely a tiny glimpse into our life."  Just keepin' it real.  Love it. 

Darby has a twin sister, Erika, who's an interior designer.  Her blog, Urban Grace Interiors, is really a great read, too.  She says, "I aim to inspire."  I like that.  Me too.  Her interior design work has been featured in several magazines like Southern Living and Coastal Living.  Pretty legit.

I've followed Kelly's Korner Blog for a while now.  She's from Arkansas, and has a sweet country accent and uses expressions like "chawed" and "she is such a mess."  She writes about her daughter, Harper, and all the cute things she does. 

I also really like Amanda Jones' blog, Baby Bangs.  She works with her mom, Beth Moore, and has encouraging, inspiring and thought-provoking posts about real life with her sweet family. 

These are just a few I thought you might enjoy.  Let me know what else you love to read!

Happy Monday.

Scripture Memory and a little update

Hello, bloggyworld.  I've been a little MIA these last few weeks because I was traveling.  And then I misplaced my camera.  It's been found and returned from Nashville, just a few days after I brought my own self back.  Now we're in the same state, but it's in Colleyville, and I am not.  So, I will have to post the photos from my Baylor Roommate Reunion at a later date.

Then, I went with my fam to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for Easter.  I got to brush up on my Espanol (I know my favorite Spanish teacher would be proud), and spend some sweet time with my family.  Troy and I each got to bring a friend, so I brought SMoo and Troy brought Will.  That was a first (to each bring a friend), and it was quite a treat.  I'll post some fun pics from that weekend as well.

Who knew I would spend s much of my first year as a true adult traveling on the weekends?  It's great fun to visit friends who live all over everywhere, but sometimes I wish they'd just live here!!  :-)

I am well-rested and more than a little sunburned, but now it's back to work again.  Hooray for four day weeks!  Now if I can just get my brain in gear...it's still on vacation.

I hope you each had a wonderful Easter weekend and celebrated the Resurrection of Christ!

If you'd like to jump in and learn a Scripture memory verse, just leave it in the comments.  I am really trying to hone in on the part of my verse that says "and lean not on your own understanding..."  from Proverbs 3:5-6.  Easier said than done!

Happy Tuesday.

Three little words

If you've been reading this blog for a bit, you might have read my Ode to Papa back in January.  If not, welcome. Let me introduce you to Papa:

I just got off the phone with him.  We're squaring away some plans for later this week.  I get to see him tomorrow night at choir, and we might even have dinner together beforehand--we do that sometimes.  Love it. 

Papa's not one to tell you how he feels very often, although he is never short on words.  :-)  But my favorite thing is when we say goodbye, and I say "Bye Papa, I love you."  And he pauses about five seconds and then says,"I love you TOO."  Like he really means it.  And it makes me smile. 

Last weekend, I babysat for this family.  I put the big boys down for bed, and then the youngest, who's two and a half, I cover up with a blanket and kissed his forehead.  I said, "Night, Night.  I love you." (Because I really do love them as if they were my own).  He said right back,"I uff oo too, 'Aye." Seriously melts my heart.  If I melt at this, can you imagine what I'll do when it's my own kids??

And as Palm Sunday and Easter approach, I am reminded that no matter how much I am loved here on Earth or how much I love others, there is nothing that compares to the Love of Christ, and I am humbled and so grateful.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-9

Scripture Memory & Stuff

Just a few things of note for today...

Scripture Memory
If you want to jump in and jot (ok, type) down a memory verse you'd like to memorize, feel free!  I missed posting this yesterday, but I figure it'll still work.  :-) 

Hanging out with the Band
Last night Claire and I spent the evening at my parents' house with the band.  My dad grilled steaks and mom made all the fixins--mashed potatoes, fruit salad and Sister Schubert rolls.  It was delicious.  The guys were thoroughly entertaining, and they even asked our opinions about if we liked a song or not!  (This never happens.  Ha!)  I tried to educate these non-southerners on the finer points of Dr. Pepper and Blue Bell Ice Cream.  I think they really loved the Blue Bell (who wouldn't?).  Tonight we might try to take them to Yogurtville so they can see what all the fuss is about with 15 flavors of frozen yogurt and all the toppings you could imagine.  I love having my brother home.  It just makes me so happy.  I love me some T-Roy.

Blog Stuff
On another note, I've been meaning to blog about my blog.  I chose the backgound from shabbyblogs.com and then with the help of one of my Baylor blog friends, Wynne, I was also able to make a few more changes, editing HTML code (not as daunting as I thought!) and doing a little PhotoShop work.  Hopefully when I have a bit more time, I can make a few additional changes as well.  But I just wanted to give a shout out to her and let you know that she as a very helpful section of her blog called "Blog Help."  Check it out here!

That's all for now.  Happy Tuesday.

Scripture Memory Verse

It's March 1 already!  Crazy.

If you want to jump in on the scripture memory verse for the 1st and 15th of each month, just leave your verse in the comment section.

Remember:  God's Word does not return empty!

Scrpiture Memory Verse 3 and other random things

I haven't blogged in a while.  No weather post today...promise.  Except, I will say that I'm thankful for the sunshine.  I had a fun weekend with Roomdog's PINK party, and then headed to Waco for the very exciting BU/Missouri basketball game, and some much-needed catch-up time with sweet, sweet friends.  I'll add pics of those things soon, if I can get my act together!

If you want to put a verse to memorize here, just add it to the comments in this post. 

Also...So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore will rock your world.  I promise. If you have a chance to read it, I would highly recommend it.  She also has a website wehre you can comment on the chapters here.

In other exciting news, Baylor chose Judge Ken Starr as the next President.  It's caused quite a stir.

And, Beth Moore's daughter Amanda has a blog, and although she lives in Houston, I could totally relate to her post:

I love feeling at home in my big city - knowing how to navigate our ridiculous freeways, understanding that you can't slow down or you'll get hit...I love the way men hold open doors and give up their seats for women...I love that Texans are generally warm-hearted, even if we do have a lot of pride. I love that in a span of 48 hours I can shop at the Galleria in my nicest outfit and then turn around and do something a little country like stomp through the woods in an ugly coat...

I love Texas.  And I love sunshine.  Enjoy!

Scripture Memory Verse 2 & New Beth Moore Study

2/1 Update:  Apprently I got a little excited about this post.  I'm generally going to try and post on the 1st and 15th of the month for Scripture Memory.  I just got a little ahead of myself.  Happy Monday!

Since it's January 30, I thought I'd post another entry about Scripture Memory again.  Feel free to jump in whenever, if you'd like.  Just leave a comment with your verse you're working on committing to memory.  You can read more about my original post here.

This Scripture memory was inspired by Beth Moore's blog, so while I'm on the topic, I thought I'd mention the study she is going to do about her new book, So Long Insecurity.  Her book comes out February 2, and I'm really excited about it.  I just love the studies Beth Moore does, and I love blogs, so this is a really good combo! 

Every Thursday (starting Feb. 11, I think), she will post new discussion questions from a couple of chapters of the book.  The details are all written out here on her blog.  I've already pre-ordered my book from Amazon.com so that it will just come right to me.  (I'm really excited.  And online shopping is addicting.)

On a more personal note, I was really inspired by one of my life-long and dear friend, Allison's post.  Here's my favorite part of the Oswald Chambers devotional from January 27, "Look Again and Think":

“Take no thought for your life.” Matthew 6:25

"A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment all the time, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood."

 

I also like the Message version from Matthew 6.

 

And you count far more to him than birds...Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

 

Easier said than done, my friends, but I have found life is much more manageable when I let God figure it out. 

 

Happy Weekend.

His Word Does Not Return Empty!

I was just trying to come up with something to blog about today. One of my favorite sites to check is Beth Moore's Living Proof Ministries blog. It is uplifting, insightful and very funny, too.

Last year, they had a Scripture Memory Team, where you committed to memorizing a specific verse on the 1st and 15th of each month, and if you did 20 out of 24 verses, you could come to a special event Beth Moore was putting on just for this group of people. I was pumped to hear about it & also excited to start it up in 2010.

As today is January 15, I was hoping they would post more information on this, and they did. Alas, it was not what I wanted to hear! LPM isn't doing the Scripure Memory Team this year, but that doesn't mean we can't memorize it this year on our own!

So, if you would like to be a part of the 2010 Scripture Memory Fiesta (I'm open to naming this differently!), just add a comment with your verse that you would like to commmit to memory over the next two weeks. Write it out in whatever version you find can relate to best, and leave it in the comments section. This way, others can get ideas for which scriptures they might want to learn.

It doesn't have to be really long, but it could be. Just as long as we're hiding God's Word in our Hearts, I think that's a great start! (Does anyone else remember Steve Green's Hide 'em In Your Heart music? Tell me yes.)

I will leave you with this, from Isaiah 55:

10 As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 So is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD's renown,

for an everlasting sign,

which will not be destroyed."

Happy Friday!

ps. For the Deltas: I just loved the pine tree reference in verse 13. Made me smile.