Parts of Psalm 145

I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and higly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable...

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works...

The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all who look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
And to all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

May your mouths constantly speak the praises of the Lord, dear readers, and may you cling to these promises, as you go throughout your week in the roles the Lord has for you!

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of on'es youth.
How blesssed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

What a wonderful Psalm! My bible says that the theme of this psalm is "Like without God is senseless. All of life's work - building a home, establishing a career and raising a family - must have God as the foundation." 3 of the most important things to me!
This view on children is also very encouraging, and convicting, to me. God values children soooo much!

Don't have a whole lot to add to it - just thought I'd share.

Psalm 126

When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bring his sheaves with him.

I actually scrapped today!

Aren't you proud of me?! :)

Ephesians 3-4

Well, I've been trying really hard to work on my devotion time. I've been doing good at keeping a regular time the last several days. One thing I struggled with was deciding where to read. I finally decided that I was going to do just a quick read through of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians so that I have a better idea of what is there next time I'm searching for a verse. But, man oh man was Ephesians chapters 3 and 4 a big chunk to swallow today! I think that I'm going to have to pause here for a while and really try to grasp what the Lord is trying to tell me (convict me) about in these verses. They're great ones...I'd suggest giving them a read if you get the chance.

42 days to form a habit...

I have been challenged by my friend Joanne to for healthy habits for my life. Her goal for the next 6 weeks (starting today) is to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Joy and I have decided to do it with her. The idea is that you should be able to form a habit by doing anything for 6 weeks.

And, as you all know, I'm an overachiever! I have LOTS of goals for this six weeks. Here they are:
1 hour of devotions
10,000 steps a day
64 oz. of water
1 serving of fruit (I'm horrible at this!)
Shining my sink (Trying the flylady thing again)

That's it! Shouldn't be too hard right? So, how have I done so far today? Not so great.
When I get done here, I'm gunna do my 1 hour of devotions...
I currently have 7264 steps...not too bad.
I've drank 32 oz. I started out so good! But, no fear, I'll be up for several more hours.
And, I still need my fruit and to clean my sink...

So, basically, I haven't finished any of these things yet! But, I will! And, tomorrow I'll try to get at them a little sooner.

Wish me luck! (Good luck to you girls too!)

Ok...I got tagged...

I've been tagged by my friend, Joy...I'll fill it out, and whoever wants to can fill it out too...but I'm not gunna be tagging anyone. :)

A= Available~ "nope, not at all."
B= Best Friend~ my hubby
C= Cake or pie~cake
D= Drink of choice~dr. pepper (though i'm trying to quit...)
E= Essential item you use everyday~ my computer (sadly!)
F= Favorite color~ blue
G= Gummy bears or worms~ both! :)
H= Hometown~ Poteka
I= Indulgences~ chocolate!
J= January or February~ February-it's so short, so it feels like the semester is going faster
K= Kids and Names~ 3 two boys and a girl...still some question about the names...
L= Life is incomplete without?~ Jesus! What's the purpose without Him?
M= Marriage date~ March 19th 2005
N= Number of siblings~ 1...or 15!
O= Oranges or apples~ I don't mind either as long as someone else prepares them for me!
P= Phobias or Fears~ spiders, roaches, snakes, mice...you name it!
Q= Favorite Quote~ Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus...
R= Reason to smile~ Christ died to pay for my sins so that I can spend eternity with Him in heaven. (I'll steal this from Joy..I bet she doesn't mind.)
S= Season~ Summer, I hate being cold
T= Tag 3 or 4 people
U= Unknown fact about me~ I have a HUGE HEAD!
V= Vegetable you don't like~ peas...I like snow peas, but canned peas are awful.
W= Worst habit~ speaking without thinking
X= X-rays~ just teeth...what a boring life I lead!
Y= Your favorite food~ Spin Dip! (With chips and salsa, of course!)
Z= Zodiac Sign~ Pisces

Last Fling...

Micah and I were so blessed to be able to make a trip to Hutch to visit A&M before school started up again. It was sooooo very nice. We got there Friday night, and M had a wonderfully delicious dinner waiting for us...one of many wonderful meals to come while we were there! Thanks!

We had to cut our time short and leave in the early evening of Saturday, but we had a great time anyway! We got to do so many fun things...
story time with the pictures Micah and I took on our trips
a movie
chatting
playing in the snow
games
It was great! We really miss them, but enjoyed the time and really felt rested when returning to school on Monday.

Conviction

Two events in my life always cause great conviction: the start of a new year, and the start of a new semester.

So here I am, 2 weeks into a new year, and a week away from a new semester, and I find myself double-ly (I have no idea how to spell that word...when it doubt, go with how it sounds in my head!) convicted, if that's possible.

Where has all my time gone? Do I have anything to show for it? Am I being a good steward of my time? I am constantly reminding myself that I need to be a good steward of the money the Lord has blessed Micah and I with...and I'm getting better at it with much work....but do I use my time like God would have me use my time?

I've been reading A Purpose Driven Life with a couple women in our church. I swore to myself I would never read it...it was such a fad for so many years! But, I'm getting lots out of it.

One thing, which I've known before, but it's good to realize again is...What am I here for?

I am here to bring God glory. That's it.

Those 7 words make it seem so simple...so why do I have such a hard time with it?

Purpose lists the 5 ways we bring God glory:
1. We bring God glory by worshiping Him.
2. We bring God glory by loving other believers.
3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.
4. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts.
5. We bring God glory by telling others about Him.

I'm still on Purpose #1, worshiping Him. I even need to re-read this section. But, one thing that's really stuck out to me, is how weak my devotions are. I usually do them at night, even though several very wise women in our church have suggested I do them in the morning. I'm NOT a morning person. Usually I have 8am classes, so it's all I can do wake up by 7:15 so that I can start my 30 minute walk to school. But, that's no excuse. I need the time BEFORE I start my day...I need to be meditating on His word...I need to jumpstart my day with thoughts of Him, so that I can be thinking about God, and praying to God through out my whole day.

So, this semester I don't have class until 11am every day. This is time that I know was given to me so that I can establish a routine. A routine that I will hopefully continue into the semesters with 8am classes. We shall see.

Hopefully this semester, I'll use this blog not only to keep track of the things I've accomplished every day, but also to reflect on what the Lord has taught me through sometimes continual prayer and meditating on His word.

Pray for me. :)

An Encouraging Day

Today was such a gift from the Lord. (Every day is, but today I was smart enough to realize it!) I was wakened by a phone call this morning at 7:30am, getting asked to run the sound system this morning. Of course, I said yes...I have no problem wanting to serve others. Though, lots of times, even though I like helping, I get discouraged, b/c it's hard for me to worship when I'm "working". (Hard to focus on two things at once.) Though, I'm learning that even the act of service is worship, and so maybe that's what made today so much better.
I was able to truly praise our Savior today during the songs...something that I have a hard time doing while up in the sound booth.
But, more surprising, I was able to get something out of the service! There are so many distractions up there, it's hard to learn...but I sure learned a lot today! Maybe after I have some more time to meditate on it, I'll write something about it.
Anyway, then after church, we got to hang out and have lunch with J&A and the kiddos. That's always nice...I like that sunday ritual.
After that, Micah got to take a nice long nap, and I got several things done around the house, including starting on my coupon clipping, and working on a workable spreadsheet to keep track of our budget.
Then we went bowling. We normally do that with my parents every Sunday evening, but they're on their way to Hawaii right now, so we bowled with my sister-in-law and a friend of the family instead. Which means, I got to hold my niece Hannah almost the whole time. It was great!
Then, after bowling, Micah and I went to pick out a couple of movies, and I ran into the mom of an old friend from highschool. My friend is has a 4 year old little girl, and one on the way. You could pray for her, her mom says she's having a real difficult pregnancy and having to see specialists. They think the baby might have downs. My friends name is Heather, in case it helps you pray!

Now I need to go because my hubby and I are going to watch a movie before bed. I love it! God is so good!

I like this Fly Lady thing...

I'm feeling inspired once again. That trip to Chicago was really good for me. It gave me the break I needed...and also helped me to see how good routines are for me! I get so much done when I stick to them. I'm in a really productive mode right now, so I should go, but I just wanted to share how good it feels to FLY!

So, here I am, sitting with my hubby at the coffee shop while he studies. We've been here for about an hour, and I have plenty of things to be working on (last year's goals, this year's goals, preparing 2007's agenda, reading my textbooks...) but instead, I've been reading blogs. BLAH.

That's ok...1:30 starts a new hour (hehe...in my head, ok?!) so I'm going to be WAY productive for a while!

I'm not very good at this blogging thing...

I go way too long between each update. But, I'm in Chicago now for several days just hanging out and relaxing with my hubby and matt and shelsey...so I should be a bit better at updating!

- Micah went to Ecuador from Dec. 13th-Dec. 22nd. I stayed with my mommy, and had a lot of dates with friends that get neglected during the school year. We both had a great time.
- I went to pick Micah up in Wichita the afternoon of the 22nd, after a wonderful time of scrapping with my lovely friend Joy.
- Then we did the Christmas thing with my family, and Micah went to his family for "2nd Christmas" on Christmas day, but I was sick. :(
- Then we left with Matt and Shelsey to drive up here Wednesday afternoon, and got here about 10:30pm. We carried all of stuff inside (it took a while, because we've practically moved in!) and then went to bed.
- Thursday we slept in, ate some breakfast, and then went to Wheaton College with Matt. He needed to take care of financial aid, and Micah and I wanted to see an exhibit about CS Lewis and others. But, the entire campus was closed, basically, so we're going back on Jan. 4th when both things are open again. After a fruitless (but fun) walk around Wheaton, we drove back to Warrenville and did a bit of grocery shopping. I'm getting chances to cook while we're out here...something I hardly ever do during the school year! I made beef enchiladas that night while the boys watched a movie and Shelsey worked on her paper. After dinner, we played a exciting game of Catch Phrase. We were playing best out of 3, and the boys got 2 and we got 1...we'll be playing again to fix that situation!!
- Today we kinda slept it again. (Except Micah, of course, cause he has to work at 5am.) We got around, took our showers, and played a game of battle ship while we waited for Matt to get home from taking Shelsey to work. Then the 3 of us made a trip to Panera to get their wonderful bagels. Mmmm! I'm hungry for them again! We came home, ate bagels, watched a movie, played Yahtzee, and then I just woke up from a nap! I love not having deadlines and so forth. Relaxing time so far. Tonight I'm making spaghetti! :)
- Tomorrow is Matt and Shelsey's 1 year anniversary....so Micah and I are having a date day so that they are sure to have some time to hang out together...but, hehe...we've all decided to go into the city together! So much for time alone. (Though, they'll get some b/c Micah and I are staying at the Days Inn in Napperville tomorrow night.) We're gunna get breakfast and go to a coffee shop in Wheaton, then catch the train into town for lunch, dinner, a movie, and possibly to see the Tribune. Should be fun. :)

Yay for break!

It's so much more fun to update you on my to-do list when it consists of great things to do instead of boring old homework stuff.
Today I slept in. (8:45) It's good to sleep until you wake up instead of waking up to an alarm. I got to sleep later than 8:45 during the semester, but for some reason, I woke up so much more rested today.
I have to work today in Lawrence from 12:15-6:15pm. I should have gone and made the rest of my pottery yesterday, but I didn't realize how close to Christmas it was getting! It takes a week for the pottery to fire, and they close at 8pm today, so I won't have enough time to go this evening. Saturday they're open 10am-6pm but I work 12:15-5:15, so that day won't work either! So I guess I'll just go Sunday between Church and bowling. I don't have a whole lot left to paint...so it shouldn't take me very long. But, if I go on Sunday, that means they'll be done on the 24th. I thought I was so far ahead of the game too! Pray that they'll be done on time...or early! :)
Today in addition to work, I also need to:
-run home and get some things I forgot
-drop some stuff off at goodwill (it's been in my trunk for AGES)
-finish balancing my check book (I ran out of register yesterday!)
-Read more for our Purprose Driven Life Bible study
-work on Christmas cards
-call a few people about my mom's gift. :)

It should be a good day!

I'm DONE!

I'm finally done with all my tests, and with the semester! So, that brings me to the joys of today's to-do list:
clean a bit for my mom
balance the checkbook
work on scrapbook stuff
Christmas shopping
Potwin Pottery

:) I'm going to have so much fun!

Also, I don't really like the new blog lay out...maybe I'll have to see what my hubby can do with it when he gets home.

Thanks to all of you that prayed for me and my tests. I did amazingly better on all the tests than I could have on my own. The God we serve is faithful.

Here I am...

discouraged once again. I have such a hard time knowing that I'm not going to be able to get as much stuff done as I'd like when I'm sick. I was only able to get a few hours of sleep last night, and because of it, I didn't get started on work until noon. Then I had Bible study from 6pm-9pm...so I've really got a lot done in 6 hours, if you ask me! Including all of my laundry. But, the enemy of my soul is attacking. You could pray for me. I need to be getting more than this done every day to be on track for the finals...but more importantly, I need to be resting in God's faithfulness. He IS faithful. He WILL provide the time and energy I need to take these finals. Pray that this knowledge will be in my heart, not just my head. :)

Today's goals...

Ok! This is what I honestly think I can get done today if I stay focused...Though I didn't plan on not getting started with it until noon...but, that's life!

Study for Econ Quiz
Joshua 13
15 min. for ME!
Read Stats assignment
Ch. 6 of Purpose Driven Life
Stats assignment (This is taking WAAAAAY longer than I thought. I'm getting discouraged.)
15 min. for ME!
Study for BLAW quiz
Ch. 7 of Purpose Driven Life
Study for ACCT quiz
15 min. for ME!
ACCT HW - Ch. 11
Joy's present
Recopy ACCT notes 11/2
15 min. for ME!
Read ECON Ch. 13 (10 pages/check BB)
Indeed
Read ECON Ch. 13 (10 pages)
15 min. for ME!
Finish ECON Ch. 13
Job Lesson 21, Day 5
Recopy ECON 11/7 notes
15 min. for ME!
Recopy Stats 11/7 notes
letters
Acct. Ch. 10 (10 pages)
15 min. for ME!
Acct. Ch. 10 (10 pages)
Prayer
Finish ACCT. Ch. 10
15 min. for ME!
Ch. 10 tutorial
Indeed
Ch. 10 quiz
more time for ME!

To-Do List

Alright, I updated my to-do list with the progress I made this weekend. I wasn't able to get much done because of family Christmas...but that was sooo worth it! I've also decided that it's time for a new list...so I'll have to add those things to the new one. I'm off to do that...didn't have a whole lot to say. Maybe later today I'll post my new to-do list!

Oh, and because everyone else posts pictures...I thought I'd post and oldie but goodie! :)

I'm 15/54's of the way there! That's 27.8%!!

Well, It's 9:40, and my sink is shining. I think I'm gunna hop into bed now and continue to read my accounting text until I fall asleep.

Today was a good day...only 6 points...but, I was feeling sick, so I think it's good.

I forgot to mention...

I got 34 wonder woman points today!! :)