Life Together

“If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there or us all in Jesus Christ.”

Life Together p. 29
Dietrich Bonhoffer

Laminin - God's Amazing Creation.

I was working a Chrysalis weekend not long ago and this video was shown during one of the talks. I found it amazing -- and timely as I'm studying cells and molecular make-up of the body in my Anatomy & Physiology class. I have been in awe of God's wonderful design and in awe of how he fashioned even the tiniest organisms to work together and come together to create and sustain life.



I don't know much about Louie Giglio or his ministries, but I like this video and thought I would share it.

Spring is in the air!

I felt compelled to write since tomorrow is the first day of Spring. (!!!) I adore this time of year, nothing energizes me more to clean and "play" (which really means work to some) in the yard than warmer temperatures, singing birds, flowers peeping through the mulch and leaves and the smell of freshly cut grass! I think I love being outside, immersed in nature because that is when I feel the closest to God. Seeing, smelling, touching, moving, and playing in His creation. It makes me long to go camping, and wish that I was brave enough to go by myself, but that will never happen! I adore Winter, everything about it, the snow, being bundled up, winter sports and snuggly nights with cocoa, but I'm ready for Spring. I can't wait to have cookouts again, to have my nieces over and cook hotdogs over a campfire in the field, and have a yard brimming over with beautiful flowers!

So this week has been my spring break week, and it has been a wonderful one! I've gotten to visit several friends, and grew closer to some new friends that I just adore! Today, coming near the end of the week I find that my spirit is very quiet. I feel the Lord is drawing me near to Him so that I can rest in just who He is. I have been overwhelmed, very overwhelmed with His goodness and provision not just in the past few days but over this past year. I guess that's why I'm in a quiet place right now, just reflecting on His goodness. I'm thankful for times like this - and especially today because for so long after I moved back to Henderson my life felt so chaotic. Running, running, running. This year I've been more intentional in slowing down and I wish I would have done that long ago!

Well, so I've been rambling. Just a few of my thoughts from today, a quiet, introspective, reflective and beautiful day filled with nothing but thoughts of the Lord and quiet intercession.

I'm thankful for such days! And even more thankful for the renewing of life that is taking place as the temperatures warm and the trees, flowers, grass and wildlife come back to life.

God is so good!

There will be showers of blessings

John 1:16

¹⁶And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

I have to confess, I am utterly overwhelmed right now. These past five days especially have been blessing upon blessing, grace upon grace. I had an amazing weekend with my family, it was beautiful chaos of laughter, talking, music, games, late nights, food, birthday candles and smiles upon smiles as we gathered together to celebrate Madison's 11th year with us. On the heels of that, I went home Sunday afternoon after an amazingly wonderful Lord's day - filled with worship, spiritual food, fellowship and renewal - to find that someone or a group of someones came to my house while I was gone, and labored for who knows how long clearing away the last of the tree limbs I could not physically move.

I cannot convey in any amount of words my complete shock when I realized that there was no longer fallen debris all over the deck. I think I stood there for a good solid minute with my mouth gaping open, my eyes scanning the scene before me and then seeing the sawdust from the chainsaw, the freshly cut limbs piled with the other large pile in the field and Kevin's lawnmower that was now free from it's former trapped state. I immiately went and got my phone to see who was responsible and who I am eternally indebted to. But to no avail, I cannot track down those who are responsible. I have my ideas, but have been told to let it go.

I am overwhelmed because I know it seems so silly that tree limbs in the yard would burden my soul so much, but it was the sheer fact and reminder of my own limitations. Living alone I am forced to take care, handle, repair and move many things on my own. I don't mind, in most cases the Lord equips me to take care of things just fine. But these limbs were beyond me. I gathered what I could, but needed help for the rest. And yet again, the Lord has proven Himself my provider. Oh, that He loves me so much to do this for me. Grace upon grace. If I can trust Him to clean up my yard - how much more can I give over to Him!?! If He loves me this much, can I not give every single worry, every single care, no matter how silly it may seem?

The timing of the Lord's provision is wonderful because I just finished a study on Ruth and Oh! How God provided for not only Ruth but Naomi also! From the beginning of time God ordained the events that would prove to Ruth just how Mighty He is!! And oh so worthy to be praised!!

So, yes. I am overwhelmed. If you are responsible, and you are reading this, please, you will never know what you have done for me! Thank you for being a willing vessel for the truth of Christ and ministering to me in such a huge way! I love you and am blessed upon blessed by you! May the Lord this very moment shower you with even more kindness, love and grace than what you have shown towards me.

For the glory of Christ.

Finished Art project and Birthdays

I finished another print in my four-series art print. I don't have an image yet for my fourth one, but I want something green to balance out all the blues and yellows. And since Spring is just around the corner, this gives me the perfect excuse to plan a photo day for myself where I hop in my car and photograph whatever catches my eye. It has been so long since I've done that!

Before I pack it in for the night and head to bed to read for a bit, I wanted to share a verse that I read today that speaks worthy words of praise to a Mighty and Wonderful God!! Oh! That those who do not know Him would be called by Him this very night! And experience the saving grace of Christ.

Psalm 40:5

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

I hope to post the pictures from Madison's birthday party at Nana's tomorrow. I'm too tired to look through more pictures and post them tonight. Something to look forward to!

I Can't believe Madison is now 11. It seems just like yesterday we were sitting in the waiting room anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first child, first grandchild (both sides) and first niece/nephew (we didn't know it was a girl until she was born.) What a blessing that beautiful little girl has been!

Kitchen Makeover Ideas

One of my long-term goals is to eventually remodel the kitchen. I can't really say it's a priority right now, but I would eventually like to strip the wallpaper (2 layers - UGH!), paint the cabinets - possibly reface the cabinet doors, make the dishwasher a built-in, put in new countertops and eventually put in a tile floor. It sounds ambitious but trust me, I've been remodeling the livingroom for three years now (3 layers of wallpaper in that room and the hallway.) So it would be a long process. All I have left to do in the livingroom is finish framing my artwork and hang them up. Once I get to that point then I'll post before and after pictures.

Back to the kitchen, I've been gathering ideas and came across this blog The Twice Remembered Cottage which has what I may possibly do. Light colored walls and red cabinets. The photo above is quite possibly my "inspiration kitchen." Check it out and tell me what you think.

Annie Jr.

Wow! Look at me, I'm actually getting pictures posted in a timely manner today! Kudos sweet tea!! Kudos! (Yes, I'm still running on the sweet tea high from early, early this morning - even on 3.5 hours of sleep.) (See previous post for reference!)

Anyways, as intended, here are the cute kiddos from the dress rehearsal of Annie Jr. this morning. These kids are in the Drama club at East Heights Elementary here in Henderson. If you get a chance, their performance is set for March 30, 2009 at the Henderson Fine Arts Center. It is going to be a really, really good show!!! These kids are amazing for as young as they are and they have beautiful singing voices!!!!

So...in no particular order...Annie Jr.
















My favorite character, aside from Annie who was adorable! is Rooster - the picture above was after the fake mustache fell off!

Happy Saturday!

Amber....plugged in

Well, last night, after babysitting, spending three hours in Gatti-town, having way more fun than should be allowed for a gal my age and then visiting with my brother and his girlfriend who are in for the weekend, I finally ventured home. Only, I decided to make a pit-stop that would alter the course of my night - unbeknownst to me. I stopped at McDonald's for a large-good-'ole-filled-to-the-brim-styrofoam-insulated cup of sweet tea.

Now one major thing should have happened. Red flags should have raised, bells should have gone off, sirens should have blared and a red light, somewhere in time should have flashed warning me NOT to partake of such yummy thirst-quenching goodness at 12:15 in the morning. If I haven't revealed it on here yet, allow me to divulge that if an ounce of caffeine gets near me, much less in me, I'm wired. Not just wired, but if given the proper conditions and the right brain cells align, I could solve some of the worlds most challenging math equations or paint huge murals of the process of mitosis or plan the next flight path for the space shuttle upon re-entry. I am plugged in.

And that's exactly what happened in the wee hours of this Saturday morning. I got home, got settled and yet my mind was racing a million miles a minute. I took advantage of the extra umph of energy and cleaned a bit but then put my mind and computer to some design projects I've wanted to do for a while. I wanted a series of four prints to hang in my bedroom that featured a line from some of my favorite hymns. It seems my best creative moments are found in the darkness of the wee morning. Perhaps I should consume more sweet tea in the late hours to get more of the projects on my list accomplished!

Anyway, here are two of the four I have finished so far.




I have a few ideas for the remaining two, but I think some new photography is in order. I haven't been shooting as much since I've been back in school and I really miss it. I worked for the newspaper this morning and covered what I consider to be a fun assignment. It was the dress rehearsal for an elementary school performance of Annie Jr. (Jr. because it's a condensed version). The kids were so cute and so incredibly talented to stay in character and not just say their lines but act along with them. They were part of the drama club from an elem. school and they were so good! Anyway, I plan to post some of the pictures from that shoot because I haven't had many news pictures to post lately.

So when I finish the last two in my four-part series, I will be sure to post them. I pray you are having a fantastic day and thanks for reading my posts : )

Grace, Peace and Sweet Tea!

Today has been such a wonderful day of working hard, getting spring cleaning at mom's done and then playing hard and babysitting for some friends. The best of both worlds!! (I know, I'm weird. Probably the only person who enjoys Spring cleaning - anytime of the year!)

So, I thought I would post another Animaniacs clip. At one point I had this memorized and I know with little work I could have it memorized again - BUT I need to leave room in my cranium for the other important things I need to learn in Anatomy & Physiology.

Sooooo, here they are. The 50 states and their capitols as performed by Wacko Warner:



So, that's probably my post for the weekend as we'll be celebrating Madison's 11th birthday tomorrow. I'm so looking forward to spending a wonderful weekend with family - especially having Jason and Amy home! I'll try to post some pictures, but it seems I haven't been so prompt to make posts lately. Especially since I still have yet to post my Michigan pictures. Perhaps someday soon!

Discontent

A friend of mine sent this to me in an email and I thought it was blog-worthy. A lot of times I grow disturbingly discontent. Thinking, "I wish my life turned out different," or "should I really be here?" or "What can I do today to get me where I want to be?"

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In Defense of Discontent
03/09/2009

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By the grace of God, we cannot quite pull it off. In the quiet moments of the day we sense a nagging within, a discontentment, a hunger for something else. But because we have not solved the riddle of our existence, we assume that something is wrong—not with life, but with us. Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What’s wrong with me? We feel guilty about our chronic disappointment. Why can’t I just learn to be happier in my job, in my marriage, in my church, in my group of friends? You see, even while we are doing other things, “getting on with life,” we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want. When someone seems to have gotten it together, we wonder, ,i>How did he do it? Maybe if we read the same book, spent time with him, went to his church, things would come together for us as well. You see, we can never entirely give up our quest. Gerald May reminds us,

When the desire is too much to bear, we often bury it beneath frenzied thoughts and activities or escape it by dulling our immediate consciousness of living. It is possible to run away from the desire for years, even decades, at a time, but we cannot eradicate it entirely. It keeps touching us in little glimpses and hints in our dreams, our hopes, our unguarded moments. (The Awakened Heart)

He says that even though we sleep, our desire does not. “It is who we are.” We are desire. It is the essence of the human soul, the secret of our existence. Absolutely nothing of human greatness is ever accomplished without it. Desire fuels our search for the life we prize. The same old thing is not enough. It never will be.

(Desire , 10–11)

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My friend went on to write in his email, "I think discontentment is an allurement to the reality beyond this place we call the world. An allurement into the very throne room of God."

I think God works out His masterful plans through the desires He gives. And a lot of times uses discontent to move us to new places.

There have been many times, especially here lately that I have desired the things that I don't have, namely discontent in my singleness. It's odd, I go back and forth in this. I know it all depends on who I spend time with. My single friends draw discontent because often times the conversation turns to those desires of our hearts to serve in marriage and have a family. My married friends spur me on to enjoy this season and to use my time, talent and efforts for the Lord in drawing closer to Him and serving Him in various ways! That is my ultimate desire for my time now - and OH! How Satan hates that! Because even in that discontent, I believe there is nothing I can do to help the situation. I'm not one to chase the boys or put myself out there. I believe wholeheartedly that as Eve was created for Adam, I too was created especially for someone. I trust in the Lord and His timing!! I know the consequences of taking things into my own hands.

I think my friend has it right that discontentment is an allurement into the very throne room of God.