goodness gracious...
...great balls of fire!! Sorry, it's like Roger Rabbit's problem with "Shave & a haircut....two bits!!!!" I just had to say it ;)
Ok, so it's been ridiculously long since I've REALLY posted anything on here. By the way, watch the video below if you haven't already. I finally fixed it (thanks Debs!) and it's very well done. Turn up your volume to full blast.
My life has changed quite dramatically since July...actually even since October. Most of you who read this already know that I am now engaged and will be getting married 28 February 2009 - 33 days! His name is Stephen Slesser and he is far more wonderful than I could've asked or imagined. I was getting ready to move to London (FINALLY) in December and
*BOOM* I fall in love, get engaged and get married within six months. It is truly and act of God and a work of the Holy Spirit. We are so excited!!
Stephen & I will be traveling to London this week and I hope to actually get back to a bit of blogging again. I know many of you check it (thank you!) and when my friends started taking me off of their lists of "Blogs I Read" I knew I had made my way into defunct blog land. Oops. :)
So, here's to hoping that maybe, just maybe, I'll start regularly writing on here again.
Peace out, for now.
namesake
Please meet Julia Liesbeth "Rebecca" Smith...or at least meet her mother. I just found out a few days ago that my dear friends Sean & Sarah are naming their first child after
me. Unreal. I can't even put into words what an honor it is. In fact, words seem to trivialize it. (Probably because I don't have a "gift" with words.) I've only cried about it three times so far. I think that's pretty good. Of course, when I meet her for the first time I'll probably have one big, long cry. I can't wait.
Sean & Sarah,
thank you! I can't wait to see how God uses her for his Kingdom! xoxo
In other news, I hung out with my family and some longtime, family friends last night. We (or I should say "Erik") grilled, swam in their fabulous pool...
...and played with my brother & sister-in-law's new pup, Lucy. So friends, meet Lucy. She's three months old and a sweetheart.
work & calling
"Lord, let me know clearly the work which you are calling me to do in life. And grant me every grace I need to answer your call with courage and love and lasting dedication to your will."
Vocation Prayer from Saint Meinrad's Prayer Book
"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner
lusting for godliness
A friend recommended
this article by Dan Allender. I wanted to share it with you, too.
Lust isn't just about sex. I don't know about you, but I want to lust for
godliness. I long for the day when I will be made
whole, and am
with Jesus forever.
books, books, books
I have this "thing" with books. I realize that my "thing" with books isn't nearly as extreme as some other people who have a "thing" with books, too, but mine is still pretty bad.
I really
love books. But I don't necessarily love to
read books. Anyone relate? Here's the deal. My whole life I've wanted to be a book nerd. Honestly. I've wanted to be one of those really well-read, cool people who've read all the classics (three times), all the
obscure "classics", all the theological "greats", all the "postmodern" hoopla, etc., etc. So I buy those books. A lot of them. And I start to read them. And before I know it I've started 20 books and haven't finished any of them. Hmmm. (Maybe this should've been saved for later
until I blog about A.D.D.??) And it's not that I can't read them, or that they're "over my head", I just lose interest...for a few months...and then return to them
eventually. I even own books that I've forgotten about. I was looking at my Amazon account today and saw a book I had purchased a couple of years ago - and had completely forgotten about it! Geez.
So, are you wondering what I'm in the middle of right now?
Here's the list...books I am in the middle of...or have at least read the first few chapters and hope to finish the book within 2008:
The Reason for God by Tim Keller
Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight and Bring Thunder to Your World by
Gary VaynerchukEasy Pour by Joel M. Roberts
The Wounded Heart by Dan Allender
When People Are Big and God Is Small by Ed Welch
Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms
From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller (I first read this in 1997)
Smart Organizing by Sandra Felton
Driven to Distraction by Hallowell & Ratey
unchristian by Kinnaman & Lyons
The Revolution: A Manifesto by
Ron Paul
my perfect day
I was going to blog about my thoughts on attention deficit disorder, but that will have to wait...I got distracted, no lie! :)
I listened to a sermon this morning as part of my time with Jesus (one of the big perks of raising support full time - flexible schedule!) and it was amazing. I've talked about Dr. George Robertson before. I've been attending a Bible study with a few ladies from my church and we are going through his series on the Psalms. But
this particular sermon was from 1 Peter 1:3-5.
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Do yourself a favor, find a quiet spot with your favorite beverage and listen to
this sermon. Take those 30 minutes that you may have thrown away surfing the internet, checking your email, watching a sports game, doing your nails, picking your nose, reading a magazine, stalking on SpaceBook or MyFace, etc. and be encouraged in your faith and relationship with Jesus.
I came away with so many thoughts, but one in particular is that our Father's purposes for us are
ALWAYS good. No matter what. Taking that one step further, I was talking with a dear friend today who, without knowing I had listened to this sermon earlier in the day, said,"When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, I want you to thank God for this perfect day He has given you - because every day/week/month you live is perfect because it's under His control." Ok, I'm paraphrasing at this point, but it was such a powerful reminder that I don't know sh*t about how to run my life, but I so often think I do! I want control! But when ever I get control, I really lose control. It is such a glorious thing to relinquish control to Jesus each day...and to know that my day is perfect because it's under HIS control...and his purposes are always good. I have the ultimate, Living HOPE in Jesus.
