My Resolution for 2011-Thankfully Discontent

I've always thought that contentment was a great virture to pursue.  In this case I pledge to be discontent...

“The Christian life should be a state of thankful discontentment or joyful dissatisfaction! We live every day thankful for the amazing grace that fundamentally changes our lives, but we should not be satisfied. Why not? Because, when we look at ourselves honestly, we have to admit that there is still need for personal growth and change. We are not yet all that we could be in Christ. We are thankful for the many things in our lives that would not be there without His grace, but we should not settle for partial inheritance. We should want nothing less than all that is ours in Christ! In this sense, God does not want us to be content with less than what He wants for us. He calls us to continue to wrestle, meditate, look, consider, resist, submit, follow, and pray until we have been completely transformed into His likeness.”

- Paul David Tripp & Timothy S. Lane, “How Christ Changes Us By His Grace” in The Journal of Biblical Counseling (Spring 2005), 20.

A New Year's Resolution

I don't know who said this but it's so true....

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. 
 Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly. 
Leave the rest to God."

Merry Christmas!

He's not very smiley, but his tail's waggin' and he and I wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Visions of Sugar Cookies dancing in my head...

Today I'm going to bake and tomorrow frost Christmas sugar cookies with some friends.  I love this meticulous, putsy work and the way they look when they're done.  It one of my favorite Christmas activities.

Sugar Cookies with Colored Icing (Photo: Samdogs/Flickr.com)

Advent

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Celebrating Advent means being able to wait. … Whoever does not know the austere blessedness of waiting — that is, of hopefully doing without — will never experience the full blessing of fulfillment.”

WAITING is not a  word I would use to describe the typical American's Christmas attitude.  It's more like GETTING.  I hope to slow down and remember the true meaning of Christmas during these next few weeks of Advent.

                                       (photo from Wikipedia website)

Thanksgiving

Try a familiar pattern...(something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue) I am thankful for:
The Bible
My new earrings from a friend for my birthday
borrowed books from the library or friends
my eyes

Living through the questions of life

Guess I don't need to add a thought there....JUST DO IT!

Memory Loss

When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not. Mark Twain.

Now I can't remember anything and I'm only in that "mid-life" era.  Isn't it funny how two people can experience the same event and see it and remember it in different ways?

HELP!!!!

“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I need all the help I can get!



Good News

The Good News of the Gospel of grace cries out, we are all equally priviledged but unentitled beggars at the door of God's mercy.  Brennan Manning
That's good news to me!

Minute by minute

Big things are built one brick at a time.
Victories are achieved one choice at a time.
A life well lived is chosen one day at a time.
Lysa TerKeurst

Maybe I'd better concentrate on the moment by moment issues and not even try to project a whole day at a time.
“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance…”  2 Peter 1:5-6

A Tree Planted by Living Water

I don’t know for sure, but I think that maybe God is trying to tell me that I’ve got to stop reacting so much, that I can’t allow the little ups and downs in my day to affect me to the core. Gentleness begins with strength, quietness with security.  A great tree is both moved and unmoved—it changes with the seasons, but its roots keep it anchored in the ground.  Rachel Held Evans

Similarly, I think it might be a good idea for me to work on being rooted and grounded and not worry about the winds that blow on a daily basis.

Psalms 1:2-3 (paraphrased)
 But her delight is in the law of the LORD,
       and on His law she meditates day and night.
She is like a tree planted by streams of water,
      which changes, but yet at its core is unchanged.
       Whatever she does prospers according to His will.



I used to love Pumpkin pie...

Faith

"Faith is not about everything  turning out okay,  faith is about being okay no matter how things turn out."

  Hum???  Guess I need to ponder that one for awhile.  Reminds me of that song, "Jesus Bring the Rain," by Mercy Me.  I guess without the rain there'd be no rainbows.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17af0XmPFo&feature=related

Tough times

I’d wager that perhaps 90% of the art and music worth savoring and saving in this world has come out of the crucible commonly moistened with tears. Psalm 30 rejoices in mourning turned into dancing. But Lamentations also recognizes dancing that has collapsed into mourning. God is present in both, in all. Live them fully. Live them well. Create. Live. God is always faithful. We are not alone. So our stories continue..... (AFRoger)

Compassion or not?

"Compassion is only sympathy until we cross the road and do something about it.  "  OUCH!

Maxine is right...

Don't ya just love Maxine? 

Desires

 "The evil in our desires usually does not lie in what we want, but that we want it too much."  Jon Calvin
  Hum?.....I'll have to chew on that one for a while.

Origin of phrases

Raining cats and dogs:
Origin: 17th century
Story: Some speculate that this phrase arose in the 17th century as a result of poor drainage systems in Europe. During heavy showers, drains disgorged their contents of any animal corpses that may have accumulated. This occurrence is documented in Johnathan Swift’s 1710 poem ‘Description of a City Shower’, in which he describes “Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,/Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood.”
Don't you feel better now that you know that????  



The Gospel for Everyday Life

"...we need the gospel every day. Because we are constantly, naturally, idolatrously choosing to forget the cross and look to God in a sort of "What have you done for me lately?" sort of attitude."  Jared Wilson

A Perfect Day

It's sunny and 72*, no humidity and the colors are changing.  I love fall!  This is why I live in MN.

(I'll work on trying to find something to like about a day in mid-January!)

Playing 2nd fiddle

Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, was asked what was the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation he replied, “The second fiddle! I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.”

Do you agree?

These people say this potatoe looks like Jay Leno....funny~~
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/09/24/news/doc4c9c17a7d8df9050826984.txt#photo1

Crying?

Have you ever wondered what takes place in the human body to cause a person to cry?  I'm not talking about chopping onion cries, but what happens when your throat tickles and you're trying to hold back the tears but they come anyway.  Is this part of what makes us "made in the image of God," having emotions, a conscience?  Do animals cry?

So true...

"Inner beauty never wrinkles."

Loosing my mind..

Maybe I should try reading my  own  blog once in a while, or better yet, a supplement for memory loss!  As soon as I posted this morning, I realized I had used that quote already on one of first posts.  It's funny how a quote can strike you differently at various times.  The first time I posted it, I was thinking more in terms of how I need to show love.  Today, I was thinking about the unconditional love of a pet.  So there you go, that's why I posted the same quote twice...purely accidental!  Maybe I should have gone with this one this morning instead...

"Dear Lord, please keep your arm around my shoulder  and your hand over my mouth!"

My BFF

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”  C.S. Lewis

We never planned on getting a dog when Riley happened to us four years ago.  He has become a "momma's boy."  Now, I can't imagine life without him.  I dread the day he's no longer around...but I don't want to think about it.  (maybe I'll go first?  :)  ) But like the quote says, it's better to have had and loved him than not to take the risk and have missed out.  He's far from perfect, but then, aren't we all and others still love us despite our faults.

Just Kidding

I sent out an e-mail this morning inviting friends to read my blog.  I have already heard back from one who said she was so happy that I already had my work done and it's only Tues.  I was being FACETIOUS when I said that,  friends!!!  Probably the last thing I should be doing is spending MORE time on the internet....but here I am again!  LOL 

I Can Only Imagine, Or Can I?

"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)

This verse has come up several times this week.  Now, I am not a person with a vivid imagination. I hate to read fantasy fiction or allegory.  I pretty much think in terms of black and white (maybe I'm being stretched in that area?)  But I do need to expand my dreams when it comes to prayer. 

I spent 4 hours today cleaning out the gardens. I pulled up the geraniums while they're still healthy and will try to store them over the winter. I also deadheaded zinnias and marigolds to use for seeds next year. I got a lot done but wonder if I'll be able to get out of bed in the morning? It was a glorious fall day, sunny and warm but not too hot, breezy, just the way my perimenopausal body likes it!
I'll go back at it again tomorrow and try to finish pulling weeds out of the veggie garden area. Rumor has it we may get a hard frost late next week. I LOVE FALL!!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   



To Love or Not to Love

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries . . . lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket– safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable . . . The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is hell!” C.S. Lewis

Sometimes love hurts but it's worth the risk.   Who do I need to show love to today?

Nothing in me to brag about

Martin Luther: "The Law is for the proud and the Gospel for the brokenhearted." “…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Phil. 3:9)....

Trying a quote

"Be aways at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each year find you a better man." Benjamin Franklin

Computer illiterate

I have been playing around most of the evening trying to figure out how blogging works, how to link my favorite blogs, etc.  It would be so much easier if I had a clue what I was doing.  So I am going to try to make a link....
I enjoyed this prayer I read today on Bob Hostetler's blog:
http://bobhostetler.blogspot.com/

Dithers??

What you may ask, what on earth is a dither? 
Webster's Dictionary:  a state of flustered excitement or fear (noun)
to vascillate (verb)
So this is a chance to put into writing things that I'm excited and  thinking (vascillating)  about.