Lesson(s) Learned

Jealousy of the Ideal I’m sharing this with you because it’s something that just recently came into my life, ran across my mind, and has forced me to think deeply about it for a couple of days now. It’s something I’ve never, ever considered before, but something that is very true and worth thinking about it. Just the other morning, I was reading a devotional by Charles Stanley (my husband has gotten me to absolutely LOVE his ministry and resources), and it was talking about the sin of jealousy. Now, I have a lot of other weak areas in my life, but jealousy really just isn’t one of them. Now, I’ll admit, there are times when, yes, I do look at what someone else has accomplished, attained, etc. and don’t automatically throw a “yay-for-them!” party in my mind. Sometimes, I wonder why God didn’t gift me with that ability, task, accomplishment, etc…. but I don’t dwell there. My mind doesn’t park in the lot of “I want what she has.” For one, it’s just not healthy. A...

House Rules To start, I’m very type A and borderline OCD about the neatness of my house. Everything has its place. I have all my DVDs alphabetized and one day would love to alphabetize all the books on my shelf, by author, subject, title, etc. However, I’m writing this post to myself as a future reminder to reference and to whomever else just happens to be reading it as well. I’m tired of making mental excuses for why people can’t just pop in and out of my house for mutual encouragement and community in the Lord.   Now, I’m a huge advocate for family time, probably more than most people are. If something isn’t helpful for all members of our family or simply doesn’t fit into our family’s schedule, we choose family time over that event, invite, etc. I think family time should be guarded and valued, but I also think our homes should also have a sense of openness to those God places in our lives as well. As I’ve been thinking about this particular subject, the lyric of a Mandi...

So I’ve been thinking for quite a while now that it’s about time I blog again. You see, it’s been a while, and I’ve sort of missed it.  ~But I have a newborn.~ There’s something freeing-and-stress-relieving to me about writing. ~But I have a newborn.~ I feel like God teaches me a lot when I take time to sit down and write about the events in my life. ~But I have a newborn.~ Lately, it’s been difficult to really come up with anything to blog about, because, you see, I have a newborn. And, well…. life truly consists of diaper changes, feedings, and structuring life around the idea and phrase “I have a newborn.” I think you get the idea by now. But it’s totally and completely true. A newborn trumps everything on your to do list. Everything. Every. thing. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. No matter what you have planned, your sweet little one will make sure to unplan it and reschedule it for you. For another time. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow-in-18-years. But whatever it is –...

Note: This post will be short (I have a newborn!). sweet. to-the-point; and hopefully, it'll encourage you to move to action. Rainy days are the perfect time to stay inside, clean out your closets/drawers, discover how excessive your goods and blessings are, and then use those items to donate and bless others! If you're with me, here's two organizations I recommend! #1. www.lovepackages.org  - This is a new one I just found out about (for anyone to donate). They take donations of Bibles, Bible studies, and a variety Bible resources, etc. to send overseas to missionaries and other organizations to people who don't have as ready access to the Gospel and Gospel study aides as we have here in America. And really, who doesn't have a ton of extras of these resources lying around their houses that aren't even being used? #2. www.freethegirls.org - This one I have given to for years (for women only to donate). They take gently used bras of all kinds and sizes and ...

Lately, everything seems to be in constant motion. Well, it doesn't just seem. It is. Everything in my current life is in constant motion. Do you ever have seasons of life like that? I’m sure each one of us could point to a certain time, place, or season of our lives where everything just keeps moving. Perhaps, you’re there – in that season – right now. This. Very. Moment. I’m right there with ya. So, allow me to make this brief-ish: 1. Everything in my life is literally in-boxes-and-moving-across-town (God has so blessed Jeff and I recently with the ability to purchase and successfully close on a townehouse, so my life is all packing boxes and supervising, as I sit around with my preggo self and watch my sweet husband move boxes from room to room and from apartment to townehouse… don’t worry, we’re not in a rush to move…we’re enjoying daily trips of moving to and daydreaming in our new house together… and we will be seeking out the help of others soon for ...

If you know me well, you know that I tend to be hyper-organized, somewhat of a perfectionist, and newly borderline minimalist. While these are not necessarily bad traits to have, they most definitely have a tendency to become like overgrown weeds in a garden and take the life and beauty out of their entire surroundings. (Cue: The Lion King where Mufasa tells Simba, "Everything the light touches is yours." Yup, that's the far-reaching extent of these positive-traits-potentially-gone-wrong.) Add on top of those factors the fact that I'm an optimist through-and-through, and you easily have a recipe for disaster that is never fully recognized or remedied. What really stopped me in my tracks and made me start thinking about the issue of these so-called "positive traits" in my life actually holding me back spiritually was a simple phrase my pastor said a few weeks ago. (At first, it may not sound at all related, but bare with me for a moment.) He said, "Jes...

Out of my life’s story…          As some of you may already know, Jeff and I have recently been looking for houses to buy here in Lynchburg. We go through phases of daily searching, searching, searching Zillow and the local MLS; email-conversing on and off with a local realtor; attending open houses (ok, so we went to one already…hah); and spending many, many, many a Saturday mornings and/or afternoons going on scouting adventures and participating in our own concoction of neighborhood-watch parties (a.k.a. driving around-and-around the neighborhood to see if it “feels safe” to one day live there… We’ve actually gotten fairly good at reading each other’s queues on this one. We’ve done this so often that we’ve gotten to the point where no words need to be said to one another. Just one look, or one quick lock of the car doors, signals that we most likely will not be buying in that particular neighborhood.)      ...