endless gifts {431-440}

431. discounted fabric

432. a [big] refund

433. an extra-long day of work

434. the people I work for [seriously, a big heart here]

435. Sunday school lesson

436. living by faith and not by rules [thank goodness!]

437. my cello teacher + laughs + our chats

438. a new book to read

439. Master's Club [program for kids at our church for the mid-week service]

440. Sunday morning drives [balm to my soul]

Happy new week, friends...

::pay attention to the punctuation::

Sunday, our pastor preached a two-part sermon on serving the Lord.  I missed the Sunday morning sermon because I help out in a Pre-school Junior Church but the evening sermon was a blessing.  I love serving the Lord in my local church!

Tonight, we had a guest preacher who preached an excellent sermon on the local church.  Excellent.

I was reminded of a portion of Scripture I read last week in Ephesians.

Do you pay attention to the punctuation when you read a passage of Scripture?  You really should!  One of the pastors in our church has mentioned this a few times in different sermons over the years.  It's really easy to look at one verse that stands out but sometimes when you read it in context [paying attention to the punctuation], you can see the verse in the bigger picture.

Well, I was paying attention to the punctuation last week while reading in Ephesians 4.

[verse 11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

[verse 12]  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

[verse 13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

[verse 14] That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

[verse 15] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

 [verse 16] From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

This is such a wonderful passage about the role that our pastors play in our lives. They are there for a purpose to help us grow towards being a "perfect man."  Just wanted to share this little thought with you.  I really love my church.  I love the messages that are preached from the pulpit to edify, rebuke, and strengthen me.  I am by no means a "perfect church member" but I do love the place where the Lord has me right now!

Signing off...

::middle of the week nothingness::

Happy Wednesday evening, all!

I didn't have to pick up the chickadees until 4pm today. I was a crazy woman cleaning our house today. My parents were gone for a few days up to Michigan. My Oma had chemo yesterday but is doing well. My great-aunts continue to amaze, astound, and satisfy. One aunt brought over a boat load of food. Another aunt brought over German kugen [coffee cake]. There was so much food that my parents brought some of the yummy sweets home today. Lucky me.

Back to the crazy-woman-cleaning-the-house thing. I bought a bottle of Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaner in lavender. Absolutely heavenly. Last night when I went to bed, I was excited to get up this morning to clean the house so I could use this cleanser. That is how good it smells.

The Lord also gave us some delicious sunshine today. What a sweet perk in the middle of January.

The kids have Friday off of school. We are super excited about that! Plans include Build-a-Bear and lunch with their Mom. Woohoo! :)

I continue to battle my self regarding prayer time. I read this post tonight and just had to share. Once again, Ann puts it so perfectly. Here's the link: The Only Way A Soul Can Live. Her writing is rivaling that of Elisabeth Elliot for me. Elisabeth Elliot is my #1 favorite woman's writer.

I ordered a new Etsy shop header and button because [hopefully, prayerfully, soon] I will be offering more things in my shop besides just Bible verse cards.  I'm taking another sewing class next Saturday.

Signing off for tonight...

::and why am I just now seeing this?::

10,000+ views later and I just found out about this video.

And I will be buying this book.

It's been tucked away in the back of my mind but I feel more compelled to do it now more than ever more.

She writes so beautifully.

endless gifts {421-430}

421. the wideness of God's mercy
422. the depth of His forgiveness [over and over and over again] [and over and over and over again]
423. the Word of God to continually guide and strengthen
424. good, old-fashioned music that draws me nearer to Christ
425. the growth of new Christians
426. the gift of service to God
427. my health
428. bright sun, white snow, and blue skies
429. Sunday morning drives [I wish I had time to photograph the things I see but alas....I am on a tight time schedule.]
430. a new week with new mercies and a clean slate [!!]

Happy Monday, friends...

::yes, you are at the correct blog::

After hours of messing around, I have a little new look.   It's not too impressive but you know...it will do.

Have you ever downloaded a whole bunch of nothingness and then hope you didn't get a virus?  Yep.  Me, too.

I did learn a few tricks and am oh-so-happy to learn anything about html.  Do you have a favorite website for trips and ticks [or is it tricks and tips].

Later,

::three in one::

Here goes three blog posts wrapped into one.

First of all.....Scripture memorization. How goes it? Just o....k....! I basically have the first two sections of eight verses memorized [what is each section called....I missed most of the Sunday school lessons on Psalm 119]. While I am not as far along in my mega memory month goal as I would like, I am memorizing and that is a good thing.

Secondly...I made my third pillow tonight.  I whipped it out like nothin' doin'.  haha!!  It feels so good to sew.  Now that I'm getting the hang of using my machine, I feel like simple pillow covers are too blah and boring.  I need to spice them up a bit.  Yay for progress!  I'm also looking into taking a second class over at my favorite sewing and fabric store.  Can. Not. Wait. 

Thirdly....my thankful list.


411. plenty of time this week to work
412. snow, snow, snow
413. laughter, homemade soup, and conversation around the dinner table with the family
414. a check in the mail for unused things sold on Ebay through a local store
415. green lights when I am in a hurry [never under-estimate them]
416. Oma is feeling better [one round of chemo down, five more to go]
417. my Momma [love her]
418. an email from a missionary friend [halfway across the world in Zambia]
419. a lower estimate and the price being approved to get the bumper fixed [I never blogged about my fender bender, did I??]
420. psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs

Happy Monday, friends...

::random::

::I was a winner::

A while ago, I was a winner over on Caroline's blog. I think I've won one other giveaway in my lifetime so I was ecstatic that I had won something!

Incredibly enough, one of the shops that gifted me was from a new blog/twitter/etsy pal. How cool is that?

So here is a shoutout to Savannah over at MaieDae!

The bobby pins are suuuuuuuuuper cute. I've stuck them in my hair a few times. They are going to look fantastic this spring when I wear my yellow spring jacket. I can't wait!!

::they came cutely packaged::

::up close and personal::

::with a sweet card::

Have a happy day,

::endless gifts {402-410}::

402. yummy food

403. pretty flowers

404. friends 

405. Scrabble

406. a big group of people staying to ring in the New Year [they stayed till midnight]

407. a great party that we're still talking about

408. lots of laughter

409. paper whites from a friend

410. another year to give back to the Lord

Happy Monday, friends...

::re-cap of my goals::

[sigh] My New Year's celebration was wonderful. How was yours?

Fittingly, I must do a beginning of the year post. Remember my list of things to do before I turn 30?

One of the most formidable things on that list is to memorize Psalm 119.  I have been wanting to do this for a while and I figured two and a half years would give me enough time to complete this task.  Well, I have the first eight verses almost memorized but a very long way to go.

So, I decided to participate in Mega Memory Month.  I can feel my brain stretching just thinking about it.  The idea is to set forth a goal that is mega for you.  I decided that if I could successfully memorize the first 72 verses by the end of this month, I would be well on my way to accomplishing one of my goals.  That is one and one-third pages of my Bible which seems like mucho.

So, cheer me on because this is going to be an awfully busy month!

Here's a peek at how I'm doing with the rest of my list.

--read the Bible through twice on a 90 day schedule [haven't started]
--visit the Sight & Sound theater [check]
--visit the Eighth & I [maybe this summer....we will see]
--a big, long road trip [not yet]
--run a half marathon [I bought my running shoes...] 
--learn to make a really great pie with a homemade crust [haven't even attempted]

Happy New Year...