Signs of Spring 7/30

What a beautiful day!!! Rich & I spent Gage's nap time out in the yard raking leaves & cleaning out the garden (much more productive than yesterday, eh?). I love seeing the little hints of green sprouting out from the dirt...little whispers saying, "Spring is coming!"
Our next door neighbors have a little boy who turned 1 today. They invited us over for a little playtime & birthday cake...yummy! Here's a photo of the kids playing...Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!!!

Vertical rocked tonight. Tonight's sermon was focused on having personal time with God and Pastor's challenge was to dedicate at least 15 minutes a day for this next week with God in prayer & reading the Bible. One of his points was the idea that as our relationship with God grows stronger, so will our worship...no fear of "what others might think" by how we worship. He pointed out that a true sign of maturity in a person is when they care less about what others think and more about what God thinks. That hit home for me because I've always struggled with worrying about what other people think. Who do I have to fear when God has my back?!?!

The Joy of Sleep 6/30

Overall, today didn't rank up there as one of the most exciting, life changing Saturdays I've ever had...but I did get to do something I love...take a nap! I remember "back in the day" taking a nap every weekend and it is one of my favorite past times. :-) I usually try to be productive during Gage's naps, but today I stretched out on my bed and happily drifted off to dreamland. Maybe tomorrow I'll be more productive...maybe not..hee hee!

Bunco 5/30

I'm such a homebody and today was no exception. Rich took Gage to daycare on his way to work, and I proceeded to chill out at my house in my pjs all day. Don't get me wrong, I did accomplish some tax paperwork stuff, but overall I didn't go out of my way to be productive. Then I got a call from my friend asking me if I'd be interested in subbing for a women's game night. I feel painfully awkward in new social situations where I don't know anyone but I resisted the temptation to decline because of my own silly insecurities. So, tonight I had the pleasure of meeting some fun new women and learn how to play the dice game called Bunco...I'm hooked! It really is good for the soul to break out of our comfort zones and experience something new! My territory is enlarging! :-)

Loving Life 4/30

I had a busy day at work today which is the first full day of doing hair I've had for awhile...factors like the weather, the post-holiday conserving money, etc. have made the hair business a little slow so far in 2010. But today I had some of my favorite clients with great hair, Rich was busy at work, & Gage's daycare wasn't closed...it was a productive day!!! Yeah! I'm going to go relax on the couch with my hubby and put my feet up...goodnight all! xo

Bless Me...A Lot! 3/30

I'm trying to focus on a particular point the author of the Prayer of Jabez made in his book: "He (Jabez) left it entirely up to God to decide what the blessing would be and where, when, and how he would receive them." While I do believe there is a need for specific prayer requests, this "blessing" part of the Jabez prayer focuses on giving the Lord complete surrender of our will/desires. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The Lord's blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it." I usually think I know what I need and I tend to ask God accordingly. But do I really know what I need? How many times have I been given a "blessing" (and I use that word loosely) that I didn't want but discovered down the road that it was exactly the kind of thing I needed?!? How much more powerful will His blessings be for me if I just ask? I'll let you know...

(Another) Snow Day 2/30

It has snowed a LOT this winter in the mountains of NC. I can't tell you how many times I've complained about how the snow has cancelled daycare, caused my clients to reschedule, & kept Rich from doing exterior paint jobs. This morning we woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and it hasn't stopped all day (we're up to about 5 inches this evening). I prayed the prayer of Jabez & wondered how God was going to answer me on this particular snow day. Daycare opened late which would have made me have to reschedule a client or two, but my first client cancelled so I was able to drop Gage off and go into work for several hours. Daycare closed early, but I only had to reschedule one appt. and I was able to make enough money to pay the bills that I was worried about having the $ for. Not only did God give me just what I needed, but I've also been looking back at the fun photos of other "snow days" this winter and...well, we've had a blast! Check out some of our fun moments:

Zoom Out 1/30

Last night we went to Vertical (a.k.a. awesome, contemporary evening service for us non-morning folk) at Biltmore Baptist Church. A new sermon series started this week called iWorship & I'm really excited for the growth potential I see this series having in my life. I also just finished the book The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson and today (March 1, 2010) is the beginning of my 30 day plan outlined in the last chapter of the book to help facilitate a lifelong habit of prayer (specific prayer)...so...
Here is the plan:
1. Pray the Jabez prayer every am, & keep a record of your daily prayer by marking it off (I'm going to do this blog style!)
2. Write out the prayer & tape it somewhere you'll be reminded of your new vision.
3. Reread the Prayer of Jabez book (it's only 92 tiny pages) 1X each week during the next month, asking God to show important insights you might have missed.
4. Tell 1 other person of your commitment to your new prayer habit.
5. Begin to keep a record of changes in your life.
6. Start praying the Jabez prayer for your family, friends, & local church.
And here is the prayer...
Oh, that You would bless me indeed,
& enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me,
& that You would keep me from evil.
This morning I prayed the prayer...very quickly followed by what I seem to do best...worry about s#@*. I know, I'm talking about praying to God & cussing in the same blog, but that's exactly what it is...a bunch of crap that I worry about. Today it was about money...specifically the lack there of. I could literally feel myself cowering into a little ball of self pity and then I started thinking of last night's message at Vertical. One of pastor's points was how we have to "zoom out"...I thought about a manual focus camera that is zoomed in on an object so much so that you can't see the big picture. How often do I do this in my life? All the time! I stay so focused on an issue that I can't see the larger purpose of my life, full of tons of blessings none the less! If I'm going to pray this prayer & ask God for more, I have to zoom out to see how He's answering me!