Too Funny

Check this video out.

Priorities

Why do I have such a problem with my priorities? I know what the most important things are to get done in a day, but for some reason, at the end of the day I feel disappointed because I didn't get done what I wanted to.

I always think I can squeeze EVERYTHING in so I do the more fun, less important things first.

I heard a story, maybe you've heard it too. I find this to be amazingly accurate.

A professor of philosophy stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was full.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and watched as the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The professor then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed full this time.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled the remaining open areas of the jar. “Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar signifies your life. The rocks are the truly important things, such as family, health and relationships. If all else was lost and only the rocks remained, your life would still be meaningful. The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life, such as work or school. The sand signifies the remaining “small stuff” and material possessions.

If you put sand into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same can be applied to your lives. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly important.

Daily, I seem to fill my jar with sand first and by the end of the day, there is no room for anything else. I don't want to do this anymore!

I believe that in order to be a good steward of the time I've been given and in order to be a faithful wife and mother, I need to learn to put first things first. No more procrastination and excuses!

Here is another awesome song by Nicole Nordeman that I really enjoy. It's another song that is inspiring me daily to do more.

This Mystery
Nicole Nordeman

Say goodnight to the light of the setting sun
One more day, one more way
Of keeping track of all I've done

I run this race, keep this pace
I'm doing fine
And I won't stop until each box
Gets checked a second time

And life becomes the round and round
Revolving door that won't slow down
It won't slow down

Do You wish, do You want us to breathe again?
Say goodbye to the lines that we've coloured in
Brown and grey from day to day
Do You cry, do You hope for all things made new?
Try and try to invoke us to live in You
That we might be the hands and feet of this mystery

This routine is nice and clean from dawn to dusk
I rise and rest, I do my best
When will it ever be enough?

And life becomes the bigger noise
Drowning out Your little voice
Your little voice, Jesus

Do You wish, do You want us to breathe again?
Say goodbye to the lines that we've coloured in
Brown and grey from day to day
Do You cry, do You hope for all things made new?
Try and try to invoke us to live in You
That we might be the hands and feet of this mystery

We take stock, and we punch the clock
And we make sure all those zeros have balanced in the end

Do You wish, do You want us to breathe again?
Say goodbye to the lines that we've coloured in
Brown and grey from day to day
Do You cry, do You hope for all things made new?
Try and try to invoke us to live in You
That we might be the hands and feet of this mystery

Strange Email

To my fellow bloggers:

A week ago I received an email that was very strange to my blog email address. I didn't know the sender but she asked me advice on a situation she was having problems with.

I know of one other of my blogging buddies that have gotten this email and she responded to it asking if this person had mistakenly sent it to her. My blogging buddy has actually gotten a response so we know it's a real person and not "spam" per se.

Anyone else get this email. Did you respond?

Be careful. It is possible that this person is trying to get personal information from us for some reason. I'm not sure what his/her motives would be to email such personal information to complete strangers asking for advice.

Love you guys!

Do You Want More than Mediocrity?

This is what I've been trying to overcome...mediocrity. I know that God has so much in store for me and my family if I just allow God the Holy Spirit to take over where I won't let go. I've just become so comfortable with the same old thing everyday. Can you relate? I don't put myself out there to be involved in anything because it's easier not to. I don't want that anymore. My relationship with the Lord has become part of the routine, and not a priority. I haven't been living a "spirit-filled life"....There is a book by that title but I'm going to share a little from our sermon on Sunday. The pastor taught on that topic...Be Filled with the Spirit...

It wasn't about speaking in tongues, jumping around, raising your hands...it was about living day to day with the Spirit guiding us and using us to glorify God.

When we ask Christ into our heart we also invite the Holy Spirit in. The Holy Spirit takes us out of the old man (Adam) and into the new man (Christ). Many people allow the Holy Spirit in to be "resident" in their heart, but not "president". We are called to be examples to the unbelievers, and to do that we must allow the Holy Spirit to take hold of us and transform us.

We first need to have the desire to be filled. We can't just expect it to happen automatically. We need to ask for it.

John 7:35-37
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him".


We can have streams of living water flowing from us, not just a trickle here and ther...STREAMS! We have to be thirsty for it...really want it.

Matthew 5:6
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

We also have to denounce the sin in our lives. Many people confess but many never denounce or forsake the sin. They say, "I'm so sorry" but then it happens again and again. To denounce and forsake means to turn around and run in the opposite direction. When we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit. That's serious business! The Holy Spirit is a person and when we sin against the Lord we bring emotional pain to the Spirit of the Lord.

Thirdly, we MUST dedicate ourselves fully to being a Spirit filled Christian. Romans 12:1 says to present yourselves as a living sacrifice. To give your life so you can live free in the Lord. We must fill our hearts with the word of God. Take time to fellowship with the Lord everyday.

Colosians 3:16
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

You cannot be Spirit filled and not be word filled.

You have to depend daily on the Spirit and not yourself and others. Man will let you down, sin and make mistakes. The Spirit of the Lord will ALWAYS take you to the right place!

What does being filled with the Spirit bring to your life?
A new joyfulness...music in your heart the Lord. This joy is not conditional based on our current circumstances but our future in Christ.
A new thankfulness...we are not to be grumblers or complainers, but we are to be ever thankful for all that God give us, even our trials.
1 Thess 5:18
18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
A new submissiveness...humble submission toward others. The focus is not on ourselves, we want to glorify God. In our marriage, in our parental role and in our job. This is a recipricol submission.

Ephesians 4:1 says we are to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. This gift is not something you say "Hey thanks! This is great..." then we put it away in the closet and only bring it out on special occasions. This gift is a calling to live a life that reflects Christ's love and sacrifice so others may see HIM through us. That's big! But we don't have the power or ability to live a life worthy of this calling without the help of the Holy Spirit DAILY. Do you want to be the Carnel Christian who has the Holy Spirit on the inside but just blends in with the rest of the world on the outside. Or do you want to be a spirit filled Christian who has streams of living water flowing from the inside...

Be prepared...when you ask for this with a pure and sincere heart, you WILL get it!

I love you guys! You rock! And I'm praying for you all!

Hi Again

Found the site that does this thanks to Jenn. They have some cool stuff there, some not so cool there...fyi!

I am working on that post I promise. I have just been tired lately and I have felt more like surfing then blogging...GASP! I know! Our church is still in the dead center of a big drama and I've been getting an education on a lot of aspects of church government, church leadership and church membership...

So basically I'm just saying Hi and I should post this thing I'm writing pretty soon...I SHOULD!

Hello?

Hey guys! I'm working on a really good post in between snotty noses and naptimes and laundry and cleaning....

I took the youngest to the nursery after staying out for 6 weeks and guess what...by yesterday she was sick again! Ugh.

Thanks for checking in. Hopefully by tonite I'll be done with my post.

My New Theme

I

have changed the title of my blog to go along with the changes I am trying to make in my life. Here is the song that is my inspiration day to day...

Click here to listen to 'Nicole-Nordeman---Brave'
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Brave
Nicole Nordeman
The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I'm ready to jump
Even ready to fall...

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if you believe in me
That changes everything
So long, I'm gone

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
I wanna be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I'm here!

I'm here. The girls are fantastic. I've just been spending most of my computer time on another blog where there has been an ongoing discussion about the issues at my church, solutions and so on....it's been a good way for me to practice what I wrote a couple weeks ago...I have participating despite my fear of sounding stupid, getting proved wrong and all those other fears.

We are all doing really well. The baby has been weaned for over 2 1/2 weeks and is waking up about once a night for about 5 minutes (I stay in bed and watch on the video monitor)then she goes right back to sleep. She is also napping really well.

The oldest is in New York with my mom-in-law. This week is her spring break. I'm sure I will have a picture or two to share when she gets home. I MISS HER!

I'll try to post some pictures and a little more later.

Thanks guys for missing me!


I'm trying to lose weight and exercise...it's going well...pray for me to stay consistent, which is ALWAYS my downfall.

TESTING SMILIES

TTT - Random

I don't think I have a think so here are 3 things that come to me as I am writing this.

(1) I haven't blogged much lately...I've been spending most of my time messing with my template and a couple others. Plus, I just haven't felt like writing anything.

(2) I'm trying DESPERATELY to change my way of thinking. I'm trying to get my priorities in order. I'm trying to think more positively. I want to consistently keep my house clean, exercise, eat right, take my youngest to the park...etc...I know it's possible but I just find it easier to mess around on the computer or sit here and play. I want to start to MAKE AN EFFORT in my life and take care of myself and my family better.

(3) Our church is in the middle of a huge drama. It's the largest church in our state. It's been in the paper and in the news for the last month. It seems things are looking better but there is a lot of resolution and reconciliation to be done on all sides and some parties need to take responsibility for some bad decisions made. I'm praying for an end to the drama and a begin to rebuilding. GOD IS AMAZING and He CAN do anything! I appreciate your prayers.

There you have it. 3 random things that I just wrote as they came into my head. AND ALL ON THURSDAY!!! Wow! Not thursday at midnight or Friday...but THURSDAY MORNING! HOORAY!

Cohorts 

This is what goes on at my house when me and my hubby our out on our date... 

Me and my honey getting ready to go on a date... 

End Times

Sharing Some Mint Chip Ice Cream

Playing on the slide

My youngest daughter is one step closer to being completely out of babyhood....

She's been weaned. 4 nights (and days) we've gone with no nursing and I've actually slept almost all night for the first time in a year! The last time I nursed her was on Sunday night.

She wakes up like once, and I let her yell and she goes back to sleep in a few minutes. I have THIS monitor....so I can see that she's actually falling asleep while she's yelling...it's really cute. I wish I had gotten this monitor earlier!

She's sleeping later and more soundly (through all of the sounds of 3 people in the morning walking back and forth by her room, squeaky wood floors...etc) and when she does wake up (8:00am this morning) she's in a fantastic mood and says "Momma, Momma"...oh it's so cute!

Anyway. So the next step is the bed. When she is consistently sleeping well through the night I'm moving her to the bed...then it's potty training.

Thanks for all of your comments and support. All of you are awesome. I'm with Robin...we should take a blogging mommas cruise...or blogging buddies for those of you that aren't mommies yet!

I'm still messing with my blog template. I haven't posted much because I've spent so much time on mine and on helping others (which I ABSOLUTELY love to do!) and I haven't felt like posting. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want help with your template. I'm learning SO much and it's so much fun!

Talk to you all soon!