a la carte of thoughts.

We should have Easter Music season. I remember back in The North Carolina (emphasized for March Madness) K 104.7 played Christmas music 2 months or so before Christmas. So hear ye, hear ye...Easter Music...donde estas (where are you)?

I don't know if you have ever been to a Seder (the Jewish Passover Dinner), but this past Friday I was able to attend one at church. The meal is a time to recognize God's deliverance of the Israel people from their slavery and bondage in Egypt. Every part of the meal symbolized something. The food, scripture, of course the Matzo bread and wine (juice), and even the songs of worship. I think that it is so neat to be apart of history. And God is still in the deliverance business.

Easter having been celebrated this past weekend means that Spring is full force. I encourage you to call my mother in the next, oh hundred or so days. Lately the reaction that she has given after asking her about her day is..."It's spring. It's sunny. And the greenhouse is full of flowers." Makes me laugh.

Spring feeva is such a struggle this year. Makes me contemplate tanning bed.

Will any southern baptist admit doing lent this year? Growing up thinking that it was only a practice of catholicism, I put my roots aside and took part. i tried to give up cussing, but it lasted 3 days. so then i tried to give up smoking, but hell. No i really did decide to give up stepping on the scale. Old habits die hard they say.

Encouragement

"oh waaaooww, you look like the 4th of July. Makes me wanna hotdog reeaaeal bad."

-LB2

Good Tidings, Good Tidings

I feel as though there has been some powerful truths that have been spoken into my life lately. I also feel encouraged to share them. 1 Chronicles 16:23 says to "sing to the Lord" and "proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day."

By His grace, He has saved me. Is saving me, still. God never hid the fact that it takes a daily choice to follow Him (Luke 9:23.) This is not easy. Not only, because of the fact it is self-denying, but it also is nothing of this world...which we live in and are often confronted by. Brother Lawrence, in his book The Practice of the Presence of God, writes "that in order to form a habit of conversing with God, and referring to Him all that we do, we must first apply to Him with some diligence, but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to do it without any difficulty." I find that statement very true. It takes effort.

A good analogy that Raleigh gave last night about this (that also hit home), is that if we say (in spoken word, thought or prayer, possibly etc.) that we want to do better in school, then it takes more studying or going to class, etc...effort to do better in school. For me words are easily said, and actions left to be taken.

So if I love the Lord. Say that I want to live my life for Him. Then what action that I take actually represent that? Oswald Chambers wrote that "if you are in love, you do not sit around dreaming about the one you love; you go and do something for him." Practical.

I know that knowing these words and His truth matters to my Savior.

Lastly, in good tidings, the lord gave me the opportunity to make a public profession of what He has done and is still doing in my life.

BAPTISM!! woop woop!

and no...Raleigh and I did not plan the color coordination.

Applaud if moved!

I just wanted to make you all aware of a tip that could possibly be life changing if not physically and emotionally enhancing...i know it was for me!

Mary Kay has released top advice on how to achieve a Wow Brow. Something that I have found most profound are the tips for the unbeatable brows that really seem to draw attention to, none other, the Mary Kay sparkle color lip gloss I have been so hesitant to use.

But know that it is much more important to stick to the basics:

• moisturize
• moisturize
• moisturize ladies!!

It is age defying!

confusing...and not confusing

confusing is:

• a 60 degree day forcasting a night of snow
• why i still have "my humps" on my i tunes followed by "come on over, baby" while letting my playlist shuffle (can be dangerous)
• a male under the age of 60 driving with a lap dog

not confusing is

• why i never get tired of the jackson 5
• ...or backstreet boys
• a 60 degree day
• loving every meal at 314

in conclusion to my post i have found defining confusing is not as important as defining unsettling.

unsettling-

"my humps" followed by "come on over baby" followed by "i want it that way"
followed by, none other than, "hit me baby one more time"...hmmm...and only in
the matter of this post.

my heart found so flawed
prone to wonder
so easily captivated by an attempt
at defining what is best for my life

i have neither lost the ability
to cease control
nor gained the humility to recognize
my life is not my own

what a shame it would be
to come to the end of my days
and have claimed any right to the
good so often placed before me

what use is self
but for the instrument of
which true identity and
Life can be carried

may all hope result in
never being seen again
refine this cry
refine

Pictures

Some belated Christmas pics...woops.

oh spenc...
little cousin Lisa...who is getting married so soon.

leslie came and stayed for a little while. packing and repacking her car has come to an end now that she is in whidbey!!

two things that my heart has taken a liken to:

1. iscicles
2. sunsets over His mountains
Recently!!

Yesterday i met with dorri and the kids (tristen and trenton) for the first time since nannying. we ate mexican, chatted, shared laughs and memories. tristen is in kindergarten and trenton in his first year of middle school. both enjoying it. dorri doing well, looking for a place to move her and the kids into close to where they were living.

This is Chandler. We have walked together for many-a-week now. It is soon coming to an end in today being my last employed day as his "walker." I have learned to love even though I didn't want to because of my time spent with this dog. True story.
Purpleish and red toes and fingers=very cold.

White toes=frostbite

White toes= is it cold?...'cause i can't feel it.