good

I have spent much of this evening looking through old journals in attempt to find a verse a friend said I shared with her some time ago. I think I looked through almost 5 years worth of verses I had written in my journal.  There is some good stuff in there!  (Of course)  I still don't know if I found the verse she was referring to but either way, here is a great one I wrote down April 27, 2008:

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you."  Ps 116:7

So true. He has always been good and continues to be good!

I do love water

Recently I rediscovered a blog that I had a couple of years ago and forgot about.  I didn't post much or over a long period of time, but I did have some posts that were good for me to read.  I love reading things I wrote in the past- to see where i have been, what i have learned -that is why I keep my old journals! One year I even played an April Fool's joke on myself and for my journal entry that day I wrote about finding out that I was pregnant.  So far I have fallen for it twice. Though it was briefly, I did have to stop and think...wait, I have never been pregnant...   Oh fickle memory...at least I can have some fun with you.  

ANYWAY. back to the blog.  I was really encouraged by one of the post so I decided to re-post it here....

Water

So I love water and it only makes sense that God would use water to help me understand some things.

The other day I was reading in the Psalms and I came across these verses: "Help me, O Lord my God; Save me in accordance with your love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it." (Ps 109:26-27) I wrote them down and started praying through them. I prayed that those who are trying to deny God would see His hand so strong and mighty that they would have no choice but to acknowledge Him. I went on to tell God how excited I am to see Him do something HUGE with this situation. I am waiting for His hand to part the Red Sea. I want to see the waters separate, right now, from where I am standing.

Now I don't think there is anything wrong with what I prayed, or anything wrong with expecting God to move in a mighty way. In this case though, God had more to teach me. As I continued to pray, He brought to my mind the Grand Canyon. I have never actually been there, but I get the general idea... a little water over a lot of time makes for a spectacular sight.

So what do the Red Sea and the Colorado River have to do with my situation? Well, sometimes we will be standing at that waters edge with hardship closing in on us and God WILL part that sea, BUT if the sea isn't parting, that doesn't mean God isn't working. Sometimes He works like the flow of a steady river. It takes time and a bird's eye view to really see what He is doing.

Anyway, the specific lesson I needed to learn is that God is always working in a powerful way. Some problems just need more time to be eroded away than others. When I forget this, all I need to do is stand at the edge of the canyon, and look over at what He has already done.

He's been faithful, faithful to me

Just looking back His love and mercy I see

When in my heart I have questioned

And failed to believe

He's been faithful, faithful to me 

I hope you can also be encouraged! What has God done in your life that you need to look back on and remember?

(I still haven't been there, but now I am closer!)

Blogging in Bed

I am in bed already.  It is 9:40pm and I am ready to be here for the night.  It is way too early for me to actually go to sleep so I decided to blog. :)  I spent the evening doing one of my most favorite things in the world.......organizing....... so I don't really know why I am so tired.  Usually I feel energized after making things neat and pretty.


For at least the last 5 years I have really wanted a vanity in my bedroom to get ready at and to store all my makeup.  What I have not wanted is the price tag attached to most vanities on the market!  Plus  I really have never had room for one in my bedroom before. Thankfully our cute little rental can fit our mammoth-sized bed (I would take a picture but remember, I am in it,) a dresser, and a vanity in the bedroom.  I scoured craigslist for the perfect desk to prime and paint so I can primp.  I couldn't find one I loved that was in our price range (we are on a serious budget) so, imagine my excitement when I noticed this sitting on our back patio. 

I emailed our landlady to ask if it was hers or if the previous renters had left it.  It wasn't hers, so now it was mine!  YAY!  I got to work sanding it and gluing loose pieces...It was in pretty rough shape so I  had to completely sand it down.

Now for the color...................  I decided to do off-whiteish.  I hemmed and hawed over the million different "white" choices and finally picked one that didn't seem too stark white or too yellowy or pinky.  I thought it was perfect......  It wasn't. After I primed the desk I started painting and it looked like I was just adding more plain junky primer.  Boo.  So I have a vanity.  It is in our room, but I don't like the color.  (and I am still missing 2 knobs) 

I am still searching for the perfect chair. Maybe once I find that I will repaint the whole thing.  The chair currently in use is one of the 4 dining room chairs we have.  The 2nd is at my sewing desk and the 3rd is actually at the table and the 4th was broken in the move and has taken the place of the desk on the back patio.

Ok, enough pity party and on to the fun stuff. Tonight I finally got all of my makeup into the vanity and I managed to only use one drawer!

Yes, I do know I have a lot

Eyeshadows lining the bottom!

You better believe that everything is grouped according to what it is and is alphabetized! Oh the love...

 Drawer #2 hold all my hair accessories and such...

I love that little tray. :)

I didn't take a picture of the 3rd drawer because that just houses my hair dryer, straightener, curling irons.... not too much pretty going on there. 


Well, even if this blog post is boring to you, I will find great joy looking at these pictures!  oh the selfishness.... plus now it is later, I am closer to ready for bed!  I just started reading Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem and I love it so far!  A little reading will take me the rest of the way to bed time! 

Goodnight!

Just one

I was a little ashamed this morning when I opened my dashboard and it said " Manage Blog (1 total).  I have 1 blog to manage and I can 't even manage to update it regularly!  Now, I don't REALLY feel bad about it.  I don't want blogging to become a chore. It should be fun... relaxing... on my schedule.  So there.

I had to dig through some pictures to see what we have actually been up to the last few weeks.  There has been lots of garage sales, ducks, cats, painting new (to us) furniture, savers trips (have I mentioned that we live within walking distance of a Savers, Joanne Fabric and Hancock Fabric?  what more could a gal ask for?) 

A couple of weeks ago after going to an "estate sale" - we basically rummage through some dude's messy house - he was moving, we went to the UNM campus to see the duck pond.  I was really pretty and peaceful.

 

By the way, I am totally not opposed to animals doing yoga in public:

good stretch duck

very nice turtle

We also went to a Lobo football game and the NM State Fair.  I didn't really take any pictures at either event. I think my camera is trying to die and I have been losing patience with it!  During halftime at the Lobo game they had 3 parachuters  drop from a plane and land on targets in the middle of they field. It was fun... but my camera was about 10 seconds late in taking the pictures.  Boo.

Around the house I have been trying to get things pretty and comfy. We have a couch! Finally.  After a month of sitting practically on top of each other in our over-sized chair we can happily sit with some space between us.  It is not a pretty couch, but it was $20 and it is comfy!!!!!!  The kitties now have their own little hammock i made for them.  I actually made it for Lucy but she is the only one who won't sleep in it.  Ugh.

Sleepy Buster likes it

Well, the highlight of life last week was joining a community group at Mars Hill.  We went Thursday and loved it! We can finally make some more friends! YAY! 

Drop the attitude Sleep

I am grumpy at 5 in the morning. Well, now it is 5:30. I have been up since 4:30. Maybe I should just say I am grumpy in the morning.

Why am I up?

Do I have a job to go to?  No.

Am I up to start on wifely duties like making bread from scratch so it is warm and ready by the time my hubby wakes up?  ha. no.  (For the record, I have never made bread and don't know that I ever will.)

Do I have some giant and exciting plans waiting for me?  Nope. There is a desk waiting for a final coat of paint and a shirt waiting for some more stitches. I do not think either necessitates being up before the sun.

Am I up this early to piously commune with the Lord?  No. Seeing as the answer to my 1st question was no, I really have the luxury of waiting until a more holy time of day.  (meaning a time where the sun is up!)

So............... why am I up?

I am up because normal sleep and I are rarely friends.  I actually like sleep. I enjoy its company. Apparently the feeling is not mutual.  Thankfully, this past week sleep and I have gotten along fairly well...until now. 

Since I have no job, it isn't a big deal not to sleep normally.  It was more of a problem when I had to work at 7 and instead of waking up "early" at 4:30 I was waking up at 2:30. Now, I can just go back to bed whenever I happen to feel tired again. I was hoping that today, the back to bed would be sooner rather than later, but it feels like I will be up for at least a little longer. I am holding out until 6 to make coffee and breakfast.  Almost there!!!!!!!

Sweet Sleep

Dear Europe,

Please, I beg of you, keep your nudity confined to your own. We do not want to see it on the beach, we do not want to see it in peaceful hot springs, when we take all pains to turn the other way, we do not want to see it swam in front of us, and we especially do not want to see it practicing yoga in our direct line of view.
I thank you for your kind compliance and understanding.

Love,
Me.




Well, the last 2 weeks have been full of some stress and business with a wonderful break in there to celebrate  our anniversary.  Aside from necessitating the above request, our weekend away was wonderful. Since home we have attacked our house and slowly it has begun to look a little more like this:

and a little bit less like this:

I have decided I don't like unpacking.  BUT I love an organized house, so persevere I must.  :)

I think a nap is in order first!

To Journal

I need to start journaling again. Why, you ask?  Well because today as I was unpacking I found lots of old journals that were filled. I LOVE filled journals- they make me excited.

So full and satisfied

And, I found lots of journals that are just longing to be filled with my deep thoughts and clever quips. Ha :)

Can't you just sense their longing?

AND this journal -provided by the great Elizabeth Wilson- is horrifically mostly empty.

I love maps and this journal!

I do not like partially filled journals unless I am actively pursuing the filling of them. So, there you go and here I go.  ONWARD journaling!


SIDE NOTE: (bottom note?):  I am inside. I can only see the sky from one bit of window- it is blue (the sky, not the window).  Another window, out of view, is cracked. I can smell the rain. I can't hear it or see it- only smell.

I love that!  I love the smell of rain in the desert. I love that rain is such a big deal here and is so needed. It is such a good reminder of our continued dependence on the Lord and of His continued blessing to us.  Love it!