what happened to sleep-in sunday?

bfp woke me up at 6am to go to the 7am service. i was not a happy camper. :( remember when sunday used to mean sleeping in... no, not really? me neither, but i had a dream that it happened once.

happy news

my sister got engaged last night! she has been wanting this for a while, so i am really happy for her. i can't help thinking about how the wedding will have one missing person though. if i am thinking about it (and it's not even my wedding), i am sure it is also on my sister's mind as well. bittersweet.

tough questions

just a thought today: what is obvious about you? for example, red shoes are obvious. an orange pea coat is obvious. purple hair is obvious. those are all external. do internal traits show through?

is God's grace and mercy obvious in you? do you shine with God's love? is your passion for doing 'right' obvious? do you practice what you believing with your children and co-workers?

is there a difference in what you think is obvious about you, and how your closest friends and family would answer?

i'm low on words today, so that is all i have to say.

using my time?

a friend told me to look for ways to use my time to honor God and bless others. so it made me think about how i use my time normally. am i using it to honor God? am i using it to bless other? to be honest, no. i use my time selfishly.

i am going to work on that.

free your mind

there is an old song (i'm not going to date myself by saying how old) with the lyrics 'free you mind and the rest will follow' and i find that to be true. as i was running today, i let my mind wonder and the workout just flowed. free your mind and your feet will follow. :)

change

Romans 12:2 talks about letting God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. do you find it as comforting as i do that i am not required to change on my own? God will help me change, or be renewed. as i pray about my dreams, goals, resolutions and aspirations, and do the work to achieve them, i feel God bringing about a change in me - my thoughts... my actions... even what my goals and aspirations are. he is transforming me, little by little, to become more like him.

work

i started work again. as much as i loved doing it, i was also dreading it (and i couldn't fingure out why). when i pulled up to the client's building, i got this overwhelming sense of guilt. i realized that my last day of work was the day my dad died and that i missed being at his bedside because of feeling responsible to my clients and fulfilling my shift. :(

it was hard walking in the door, but my client was so grateful to see me again and i am happy to be able to help her. :) it hurts my heart to be there, but it is healing as well. please pray for me and my emotions.

if you want something, do something!

in addition to my new year's resolutions, i also have a few hopes for the year: continue running longer distances, lose the last 10 pounds, do p90x once, stick to our (new) budget and find a publisher for my children's book.

i submited my book to a well-respected editor and she has agreed to take a look at it and give me some feedback. next step will be to revise and then find an agent. whoo!

as for running, i have already signed up for 3 races already this year - a 15k in new york city for colon cancer in march, a half-marathon in deadwood, sd in june and a 5k for prostate cancer in denver in september. i hope to compete in a race a month.


**what do you want to accomplish and what are you doing to make it happen?

productive saturday = lazy sunday

i love it when we have a productive day. i love it even more when that productive day is on a saturday, which means our sunday will be couch-potato-land. :) we went to the elks hoop shoot for the oldest to compete (he had fun), took cocoa to the vet for her yearly check-up (she did not), did a load of dishes (put away clean and loaded up again), completely cleaned the kitchen, dusted and vacuumed the living room, had a nice family meal for lunch, cleaned the dining room, exercised (ouch! poor thighs), completed six loads of laundry (i normally do a load a day but this week i didn't, so it was all done today), oldest son went to his first reconciliation at church, the boys picked up their room, i cleaned the downstairs bathroom, we all watched some football, and then took the boys to barnes and noble as a treat for helping us so much today. :) whoo-hoo!

thank you, Lord, for this wonderful day.

walking across america

i found a neat website that will walk you across america. it is http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html. my user number is 63754. come join me!









gqvd63754

10 things that make me smile

1. a roaring fire in the fireplace
2. reading a book that i have been anxiously waiting for
3. caramel apple spice from starbucks
4. the puppy dog laying across my feet
5. a surprise call from bfp saying he loves me
6. scrapbooking a new page
7. the color turquoise
8. lilacs blooming in spring
9. raspberries
10. sparkling kitchen countertops

early morning send-off

this morning i got up with bfp and made him breakfast before he left for work. he commented that he wished i did that more often, so i am going to try. :) i love and appreciate him and this is one way that i can show it.

worry

today is the first day that i didn't wake up with the death of my dad the first thing on my mind. in fact, i was talking to someone on the phone and i actually forgot the exact date that he died. at first, i felt relief because i was moving past the grief; then i felt guilty for forgetting a date that is so important to me. now i am worried that i will start forgetting more and more about him until he is just a wisp of a thought in my mind.

mister memory come to remind me,
be my steadfast witness.
memorize precious moments in my mind,
display my recollections there for always.

bible

gratitude
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ~Colossians 3:15-17

strength
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. ~Psalm 28:7

joy
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. ~Psalm 97:10-11

purpose
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21

grace
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. ~2 Peter 3:18

wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ~James 3:13

inspiration

my mission statement is to serve the Lord with gratitude, strength, joy, purpose, grace and wisdom.

gratitude
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

strength
Strength is a matter of the made-up mind. ~John Beecher

joy
Now and then it is good to pause in our pursuit of joy and just be joyful. ~Anonymous

purpose
Service is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. ~Marian Wright Edelman

grace
Grace comes into the soul, as the morning sun into the world; first a dawning, then a light; and at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness. ~Thomas Adams

wisdom
Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means....All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time. And all His acts are as pure as they are wise, and as good as they are wise and pure. Not only could His acts not be better done: a better way to do them could not be imagined. ~A. W. Tozer

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts. ~Winston Churchill

**what quotes do you find inspirational? do you use quotes as a mantra to keep yourself on track? where do you find your favorite quotes?

starting the year off right

last year's resolutions are here. some of this year's resolutions may seem familiar. i was successful completing most of them, but they don't feel like a habit yet so i will be repeating them.

1.) read one chapter of the new testament each weekday
2.) teach my children to pray more deliberately, and pray more purposefully for my children
3.) continue to spend 30 minutes a day PLAYING with my kids (board games, card games, wii, outside) and read to them before bed
4.) make time for my vanity everyday, including using a face moisturizer, wearing mascara and exercising at least 20 minutes
5.) call my brother and sister once a week, leaving a message for them counts
6.) write a letter (or card) once a month and MAIL it to my grandpa
7.) run (without walking) a 15k with my friend nicole on march 27
8.) make 2 nights a week be meatless meals by may 30
9.) finish painting the dining room (with new wainscoting) by july 30
10.) take a 'girl's vacation' with just my mom, sister and sister-in-law by september 30
11.) be pregnant or start adoption process by november 1
12.) clean off my kitchen counters every night before bed

**what are your new year's resolutions?