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Monday, February 25, 2008

Sleepover!


I guess it's been a while since I've had a sleepover. Maybe I'm showing my age. Friday night, 9 little giggly girls, too much sugar, lots of movies, nail polish, hair spray and Nintendo Wii equals one tired mama on Monday morning! It WAS a good time, but I think it's safe to say that it will be a while until the next one. (It might take that long to catch up some my sleep!)

Invitations to the Sleepover: $20

Food for 9 little hungry tummies: $30

Sleep lost: 3 hours

Creating magical moments with my daughter that will last a lifetime: PRICELESS!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Do it Anyway!










God's been working on me this week.

You see - I don't have much patience. To those who are frequent readers of my blog, you know this already. I've spoken about my lack of patience many times. One of the things that I don't have much patience with is poor customer service. I just don't get it. Rude people. Lazy people. Passion-less people. People who don't smile and can't say thank you. These are the types of things that drive me nuts! Seriously! It can just send me off a cliff when I run into a rude person behind a service counter. It can honestly set the tone for my entire day.

But didn't I say earlier that God has been working on my this week?

Oh but He has!

This week as I was pondering yet another encounter of rude and un-loving behavior, I heard the voice of God say to me, "Do it anyway."

At first, I didn't understand what it meant.

I tried ignoring it, but it kept coming to me, "Do it anyway." (Let me just insert here that when God is trying to get your attention about something... it's really hard to ignore. My advice: don't try to ignore Him.)

So - when I got home that night, I wrote it on a sticky note and put it up on our refrigerator door - DO IT ANYWAY.

As I began drifting off to sleep that night, it dawned on me what God was trying to say to me. I believe it was this...

When people don't treat me the way I think I deserve to be treated - treat them lovingly anyway!
When people don't respond kindly to me - treat them with kindness anyway.
When people don't listen to me - listen respectfully to them anyway.
When people don't trust me - trust them anyway.

Do it anyway! Why? Because didn't Jesus die for THOSE people too?

Wow - what a lesson, God. Thank you. I needed that this week. You love us even during those times when we don't show you our love back. You're kind to us - even when we don't always show you kindness. You listen to us - when we don't always listen to you.

You teach us in your word in Matthew 25:40,

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’


I'm so thankful today for the God who loves me and who shows me grace even when I don't deserve it.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Fell off the Wagon...


...Saturday night! Wow! I can't tell you what

happened. My body was just craving chocolate - so I caved!





Had a Swiss Cake Roll!




It was good!




Felt a little guilty.




I'm over it!




It's a new day!


Friday, February 15, 2008

A Better Way

Watched this today. I need to watch it every day. I love the words to this song, but I think the lyrist forgot to include an important part. Jesus laid down his life for his friends, yes, but you know what part blows me away? When laying his life down for his friends, he also laid His life down for those He KNEW would reject Him. He laid his life down for those who would later try to distroy Him. Those who would later become murderers, liars and thieves. He suffered the greatest pain for those who would mock Him, deny Him and use His name in vein. And amazingly, he still called them His friends?

Yes.

He did.

He did it for you - and for me. He calls us friends when we aren't worthy enough to be called friends. Jesus loves us THAT much. It's incredible. It's indescribable. It's amazing.

This morning I am so thankful He calls me His friend.

THAT is the true definition of friendship.

Thank you Jesus!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last week we did a Volunteer Celebration for the wonderful volunteers of Crossroads Community Church. It was a nice evening of celebrating the lives that make our church what it is. A time to honor the men and women who so selfLESSly give of themselves week in and week out to help people who are far from Christ take that one step closer to Him. It was a nice night.

During the course of the evening, my husband was approached by a dedicated volunteer who told my him "thank you." Looking at this man a bit confused, my husband said, "why are you thanking me?" to which the man replied, "the staff spouses don't get much recognition and I just wanted thank you for all you for all you guys do and go through, too." (I'm paraphrasing here.)

I was blown away by this comment. And it's so true. Husbands and wives of church staff don't always get the recognition they so deserve. I've said it before and I'll say it again, ministry work is, by far, the hardest work I've ever had the privilege of doing, but by far, the most rewarding. Staff spouses have to endure a lot of sleepless nights, long Sunday's and short vacations. They have the distinct gift of listening and get signed-up to do things they, sometimes, didn't ask to be signed-up for.

Without a doubt, my husband deserves a gold metal for having put up with me for 11 years now (in March). I cannot tell you the times I've kept him up until 2am just listening to me ramble and the nights he's foregone sharing his day with me because I just couldn't wait to get out all I had to share out to him the minute he walked in the door! He's been patient, encouraging, supporting, understanding, sympathetic, realistic, honest, gentle and uplifting. He's been my comfort, my rock and my best friend.

The reality is, I could not do ministry without the love and support of my better half. He is truly the better half. He has made me a better person and I thank God every day for him. Thank you, Trevor, for loving me, for supporting me, for dreaming with me and for serving Christ alongside of me. I cannot imagine doing life with anyone else. Happy Valentine's Day! I love you!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Living with Passion

This has to be one of the best posts I've ever read (if not the best!) God doesn't want us to be luke warm when it comes to our faith and trusting in Him - - - He wants us to live out passion-filled lives! He desires for us to live with passion for what is right. In my opinion, this is what the world lacks - PASSION and enthusiasm.

I have been accused of being many things over the course of my life and being passionate is one of them. But I'm not going to apologize for that passion. When I work - I do it with passion. When I play - I do it with passion. When I devote myself to anything - I do it with passion. And I want to be a person who is accused of living with that same passion for Christ. I truly, passionately, desire to be all that God has called me to be. I'm not apologizing for that. This is my favorite part of the above post: "...the world needs churches with men and women FULL of passion, who actually believe that God loves people and sent His Son Jesus to prove it…and do EVERYTHING it takes to get that message out!" Jesus had passion for what He came to this earth to do and with every ounce of my being - I want to live out that same kind of passion for Him.

So the next time someone accuses you of being too passionate about what you feel God has called you to do, turn to them and say, "Thank you." My guess is that this will leave them scratching their heads.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

20 Smart Snacks...

for 150 calories or less (might I add!).

Got this from a really cool website. Been thinking of ways I can incorporate more healthy snacks into my daily routine. This way, I am boosting my metabolism AND eating less at meals. Here's that list...

1 Dill Pickle Spear
1 Jell-0 Gelatin Sugar Free Snack
1 Kiwi fruit
1 Chocolate Sugar free Jell-O Pudding Snack
1 Mozzarella String Cheese Stick (reduced fat)
1 cup Orange Sections
1/2 cup Post Grape-Nut O's with 1/2 cup blueberries
2 Strawberry Newtons
Jell-O Smoothie Snack
1 Pear
1 Banana
10 baby carrots dipped in low fat Ranch dressing
1 Kraft Single with 1 medium apple, sliced
1 container of Breakstone's Cottage Doubles - Pineapple
3 cups air-popped popcorn sprinkled with Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Post Brand Flakes with 1/2 cup fat free milk
2 Tbsp. Hummus with 1/2 whole wheat pita
1 South Beach Diet Cranberry Almond High Protein Cereal Bar
1 Oreo (yes - I said Oreo) Thin Crisps 100 Calorie Pack with 1/2 cup fat free milk
1 oz. Planters Mixed Nuts Trail Mix

Friday, February 08, 2008

I Love Lucy!

Lovin' it! It's Friday night and I just discovered an "I Love Lucy" marathon on TV Land! Kicked back in my lazy boy, home all alone (hubby took Chloe to the Daddy-Daughter Dance). Let the good times roll! :0)

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Losing it!

I'm losing it... weight that is. I'm actually amazing myself. To date, I have lost a total of 12 pounds. I don't know where I'm losing it from... but it's come off and I am geeked! Been eating less carbs, more fruit and veggies and no snacks. Drinking lots of water and been downing O.J. like it's going out of style. Why O.J., you ask... because I've been afraid of catching one of the nasty bugs going around. So - in my effort to remain healthy, I've been drinking 2 full glasses of O.J. a day with my b-complex and b-12.

My friend Jen shared with me last week about this awesome website - www.e-mealz.com. THANK you, Jen! You have to check it out! It's a neat website that allows you to choose from several different menu "plans". In addition, you even get to choose the shopping location you wish! For instance, I have signed-up for the low-carb menus from Wal-Mart. What e-mealz will do is every Thursday, they will email me a menu schedule for each day AND a shopping guide specifically designed for Wal-Mart SuperCenter. All I need to do is take my handy dandy shopping list with me to Wal-Mart and shop for the items on the list and then go home and follow the low-carb recipes for a new dish every night! I KNOW my hubby will be excited about this! It seems we have gotten stuck in a "chicken and rice" rut. I get home to defrosted chicken, stare at it for a minute and think to myself, "Okay, now what?" Taking advantage of e-mealz will allow for more variety in our week-to-week meals. Good news - it's only $15 per month (which equates to only 50 cents per meal! Yeah! I'll keep you posted as to how it works out for us.

In the meantime, I would appreciate continued prayers for my ongoing weight loss. I am fully relying on God to get me through. Discipline is not always easy, but I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength.

Pressing On...

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