Red Letter Reading

So, this morning, I picked up my husbands bible to read. (It was right by me where I landed with my coffee.) When I opened it to John I saw the beautiful red letters of Jesus' words. My Bible doesn't have His words set apart in their own color. I had this "Just give me Jesus" mentality. So, I read as much time allowed just the words of Jesus. I LOVE this and will continue to do this for some time.
But, in Bible Study today, I kept hearing Kay Arthur say these two words: Truth and Deceit. It is so important to know truth. I remembered that just this morning in reading Jesus words, numerous times He started His sentences with, "I tell you the truth!" Beautiful words to those that seek to know truth!
I'm so excited about Jesus!!!!

Fall Pictures

If I kept a camera in my car during all of Fall's beauty, I would be in trouble!!! Here are three I particularly like :)

My Fall

I've heard it once asked, "Which kind of pain is harder? Physical or Emotional?" Thinking about this, I am inclined to say that the pain you are IN is the hardest. I've also had discussions with many mothers. Mothers in many different stages.
Mothers of:
Infants
Toddlers
Elementary Age
Pre-teens
Teens
College Age
and finally, Grown adults.

Many of those same mothers say that the season you are in is the hardest. Do you ever find yourself literally in a season of the year and just longing to be in a different season? Like it's 100 degrees outside and you long for a blizzard that demands for you to seek comfort by a fire curled up in a blanket with hot cocoa? Or your in Spring suffering with allergies and you simply want out? Anything, but that pollen... or whatever?

Well, I was mountain biking with Nick today and I can't even begin to describe the contentment of this season I'm in. Not only Fall. But, this season of parenting. My girls still want me to sit by them when they watch a movie. But, they don't need me to bathe and dress them. They color imaginative pictures and hold them up to my eyes with pride and they don't need me to teach them how to even hold a crayon or draw a circle anymore. I had paused when I was typing the different stages of motherhood when I got to "Elementary Age." I simply wanted to say the "honeymoon" stage. I love where I am with my girls right now. I love the Fall and how it beckons me to drive slowly to admire what God miraculously does with the trees that I've been surrounded by for months. I passed three trees in a row... Yellow, DARK green, and RED. Just weeks ago, I ran past those very trees not knowing the surprise they had for me bursting with contrast to one another.




My life is in no way perfect. But, honeymoons really aren't perfect either. I struggle watching them wrestle with their own sin natures. I'm too quick to react to them some days. My fuse still runs too short. But, this season is a season I am content in.

God, I know this is because of where you have me in my walk with you. You are filling me so much with Yourself that I am able to appreciate what is around me. Walking with you is what makes me excited about the next season. For now, I'll rest in today's beauty! Thank you!!!!

So Much To Say

I really feel like once again I have too much to put on here. Either I need to quit blogging altogether or start posting daily. I just have too much to unload at the moment that I've decided to simply post a picture where I think Nick and I look adorable and incredibly happy. And I might add that we are! Thanks be to God!!!!

Fancy Stones

One of the routes where I run, I pass a cemetery. Each time I pass by it (running), I think the thought: "No Fancy Stones for my Bones." I actually have no idea, thankfully, how much tombstones even cost. But, when I see the highest, fanciest one in the graveyard, I actually think the thought that they might not have been saved. I sure don't want people taking out loans to give my bones something fancy for the dirt that covers only my old shell. I mean, I run by this cemetery and feel a hope that wells up within me causing me to PRAISE our God for saving me and giving me an eternal perspective on this life that we are all living. The things that maybe send me out on my run in frustration or depression seem to disappear when I look fully in HIS face because of the reminder of what this life is all about.
I once heard when I was like in Jr. High that the little dash between the year of our birth and the year of our death represents our short life. The sermon or speech or whatever it was concluded with the big statement: "How you choose to live your life is represented in that small dash." Or something like that. It is a great perspective in light of eternity, we are but a dash. I am just so thrilled to be at a place where I now run. I run past a cemetery listening to podcasts hopeful that transformation is taking place to make my dash just ultimately point to Christ. It should ALWAYS be about HIM!!!! He is so GOOD!
This is a picture taken of a cemetery I saw on my bike route this summer in NC. I think it accurately shows the perspective I am talking about :)

New Again

Thanks for sharing this with me, Jerry!

Nike +ipod

So, I have finally found a system that works for me with running. The little pod is permanently in my shoe. All I do is plug something into my nano and go. I always know how far I've gone and how long it's taken which also calculates and tells me my pace!!! I'm a happy runner!!! :)

Struggle

All too often when I think of hardship, trial, suffering, adversity, affliction, etc....; I think of the BIG things. Cancer. Death. Accidents. Fire. Loss. Typically, I do NOT think of the day in-day out struggle that is described as a thorn in the flesh. That constant rub. Irritation.
But as I've been discussing with some friends and looking at scripture it seems that the BIG things are almost easier to handle (when on a strong foundations of Christ) than the gnawing little things of life. Galatians 6:9 is written for such struggles: "9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
The "911 emergency" mentality of sending in the troops for help when a major, disastrous thing occurs in life brought relief for me to hypothetically live out. Whose twisted way of thinking is this? Mine. By being "in need" because of something big, the daily grind gets relief.

Father, I do not want to cop out with my daily grind. I don't want to be a coward at enduring my hard "little" things. I want to courageously confront them over and over again. Give me the humility, gentleness and self-control needed to maintain these day in-day out mundane irritations with integrity and character. May you get some glory from these efforts!!!