Quality Time

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.” -Thomas Jefferson

This past weekend I was blessed to take an extra day off to spend a little bit of quality time with Jeremy. During the week and even on the weekends, it seems to get so busy that it doesn't feel like we spend all that much time together. Not this weekend though, because we made an extra effort to make this one different.

Our plan for Friday was to go to a local corn maze. Neither of us had ever been so it seemed like the perfect thing to do. We wrote down the directions and headed out the door. But about 20 minutes into our trip we realized we were lost. After about 40 minutes we headed back home. It was lunch time by then so we had some delicious pho, from one of the friendliest restaurant in town might I add. :) And then it was round two of 'operation: corn maze'. We made it to the farm, ate some honey sticks and took some fun pictures. What gets me is that we finally made it to the corn maze and then paid to get lost in the maze. Sounds silly to you too?!

On Saturday, after a quick trip to the gym and a delicious breakfast at my favorite juice bar we headed for the theater with my Mom in toe to see the movie Courageous. Let me just tell you it was AMAZING! Worth every cent of that very expensive movie ticket receipt! :) There aren't that many good movies out these days so I'd highly recommend going directly to your nearest theater and watching it now!!

And finally on Sunday, we went to church and then we spent the rest of the afternoon cooking together and having quiet time with the Lord. We still had plenty of things on our 'to-do' list but we did them together and it was wonderful. I have the best husband ever! We even have plans for another extended weekend together real soon!

Love Letters

When Jeremy and I first started courting, he would send me love letters. Throughout the time that we were getting to know each other, these letters would arrive in my inbox (dating is so high tech these days :P) and with each sweetly written note, I could see the genuine feelings that were growing between us.

So it is with our relationships with others. I have been reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians that says:

As I live my life and share my 'letter' with others, what message am I sending? How many times has my letter been spam, junk mail, or heaven forbid, hate mail.

I love the way this verse sounds from the Message: "Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it."

I want my letter to resound with the love of Jesus Christ. In a world full of all sorts of messages, I choose Christ as the letter and message I want to share. I want to BE a love letter for Him!

The Power of Love

I have to admit that the last few weeks have been rough. I've been in a real stinky mood, with just about everything. I just wanted to be mad. Whether it was work or friends, church activities or planning dinner, I was not happy with it. I guess you could have called me a real debbie downer. I would "try" to commune with God and get back in fellowship with Him but for some reason my efforts weren't working (hmm, I wonder why!?). What I didn't see was that while I was busy being a grump, God was sitting there patiently waiting for me to come around and see how ridiculous I'd been acting. My Father-in-law put it best when he described us in our rebellion as a child trying to wring and twist away from his parents grasp, but all the while God continues to hold our hand, no matter how much we squirm.

It wasn't until this past weekend that I finally came around and 'saw the light', so to speak. I had promised some of the high school girls from AWANA that I would be a community judge at their home school debate club semi-finals tournament. While conducting my judging duties, 5 high school age young ladies each shared their own original illustrated oratory about a topic of their choice. Some of the topics included intelligent design, world hunger and the sanctity of life. And I'll tell you what, these girls, although in totally different stages in life, taught me a lesson or two on being appreciative of my blessings and this moment in time that I've been given. For those of us who live in the United States, we have been blessed with so much abundance and we don't even see it. We've been gifted with an education, our jobs and even shoes! There is so much to be thankful for and I had been missing it. I overlooked the blessings because of my own pride and selfishness.

When I got home from the debates, I was in the kitchen working on dinner when Jeremy came home. I shared with him my experience at the tournament. He told me that he had been praying for me and also asked my Mother-in-law to pray too. It just warmed my heart to think that even in my terrible funk, even when I was not very fun to be around, and when I couldn't even stand myself, my loved ones still stood by and prayed for me.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39

And like my family sticking by me, I know God is there, even in my hard times and in my stupid times. He's there through it all. That part in the verse that says 'the present nor the future', that means even when I sin, now and any future sins. Christ has already paid the price once and for all and because I have accepted Him as my personal Lord and Savior, He will continue to hold my hand through these ups and downs in my walk with Him. Praise God He never lets go!

All around

Just found out that my sister and brother-in law are expecting their first child and my other sister-in-law is engaged to be married this fall. Our family is surrounded in love and it feels great. He is so good to us! His love keeps pouring down. Here's to love!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:13

Good Eats

When Jeremy and I first started dating, I was attending a cooking class at a local grocery store with my Mom each week. Because of this I was able to impress him with my fancy shmancy cooking skills. That store has since stopped offering the class and my work and other responsibilities have made it hard to plan the same meals that I used to. My sweet and oh so caring husband has been making most of the food in our household as of late. In this period of our lives this set up just works for us. I do enjoy cooking, don't get me wrong, but after a long day of work AND the long commute home, a hot meal sitting on the table already prepared is such a blessing!

So when I do cook, I like a recipe that is fast and/or something I can prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven when I get home. I'd have to say that most of the recipes I make these days have been found online, and more specifically from other bloggers. I have accumulated some favorites from these amazing gals and they are husband approved. :)

Baked Egg Casserole

Make Ahead Brunch Bake

Santa Fe Soup

Grilled Avocado with Tomato & Corn Salsa

And a new recipes for my bible study next week. YUM!

Cucumber Dill Spread

State of Our Union

Tonight we recognize the annual event where the President of these United States speaks to the nation about the situation of our country, otherwise known as the state of the union address. The purpose of the speech is to inform the citizens of how things have been going thus far and to discuss any issues that may need to be resolved, in an attempt to bring the people of the country together to have one vision to move forward and conquer those issues.

Like the discourse we receive from our commander in chief, this is a great opportunity for married couples to get together and have their own state of your union, the marriage union that is. All too often I think couples get busy while going about their various daily tasks that they forget to talk with their spouse about any issues or concerns that need to be addressed. I say let’s take this time each year, with the speech from our president as a reminder, to address our spouses about the many victories in your marriage relationship and move forward together with a united vision for the future together.

Our Sweet Day

This Sunday, Jeremy and I will be enjoying our 1 year wedding anniversary together. To celebrate the occasion, we will be road tripping throughout the great state of Washington and staying in Leavenworth, a cute little Bavarian town filled with sauerkraut, schnitzel and lederhosen.

Throughout this last year, Jerm and I have had some good times and some growing times. There were definitely growing pains as we adjusted to living together. He still can't seem to find some of his stuff (woops.. I didn't know he needed that!) But above all, we have held onto the fact that God brought us together. He has blessed our union and is an integral part of our relationship and how we relate to one another. Sure there are times when he drives me bonkers (and I suppose he might feel the same) but we made a commitment between God and ourselves to love, honor and cherish each other as long as we both shall live. Here are three things I've learned thus far from being a wife:

1.) One thing that I think has blessed our relationship is prayer. There are some things best left up to the Lord. He is the one who showed us the ultimate example of what love is and He is able to help and strengthen the bonds of marriage between a couple.

2.) We are best friends first and foremost, who love each other and love to make the other laugh. Laughter can constantly be heard at our house. Keeping that fun alive and kicking in your relationship keeps you young, keeps you happy and keeps those bonds strong. Who else is gonna laugh at your silly jokes but your spouse? :)

3.) And finally, forgiveness is a big part of marriage. When two people are together, they are bound to have misunderstandings and hurt feelings as a result. I can't tell you the number of times I know Jeremy have been forgiving of me when I am acting childish or selfish, or vice versa. Because we love each other, we know that the moment of our spouses lack of better judgment will soon pass so we forget and continue on as usual. Again, Christ has given us the best example of this when He continually forgives us for our daily short comings. Keeping that in mind definitely helps!

Jeremy is my husband, my best friend, my biggest supporter, my favorite comedian & my helper. Looking forward to spending many a year praying with, laughing with and forgiving with my J-mo!

Amazing Love

The Lord is my Shepherd

In recent days I have been reflecting on just how awesome God really is. How could He be so kind and merciful and loving to a wretch like me? Or any of us? These two verses stood out to me. Read them and tell me you don't get an overwhelming love and adoration for the One who loves us and shows such great mercy to us.

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." -Psalm 53:6

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

While reading the bible, you see this elaborate love story unfolding. All throughout the old testament, it speaks of a coming Savior and deliverer for the Lord's people. And of course in the new testament you see that it was Jesus Christ the prophets of old talked about. It is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus and His life and sacrifice He made for us.



From the beginning, God in His infinite wisdom had a plan to rescue us, even before we fell and needed a Savior. In His infinite love for us, He emptied Himself and became human, "he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!"

To think that the Lord of the universe came to earth, was born to be with us and to teach us. He saw us and still loves us even though we are awful ugly sinners. What an amazing love!

I love the old hymn "How Deep the Father's love for us";

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8-9

All along, God had/has a plan. I can imagine the people in Noah's day thinking he was a schmuck for building the ark and collecting the animals. And I bet the people in Jericho had a huge laugh seeing Joshua and the Children of Israel walking around their city. God's ways are not our ways and we will not always understand why He does things the way He does, but with Him as my Shepherd I will trust Him where He guides me. I will trust in His plan laid out before the creation of the world.

Redeemed

re·deem   /rɪˈdim/ Show Spelled[ri-deem]
–verb (used with object)

1.to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.
2.to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.
3.to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a pawned watch.
4.to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.
5.to convert (paper money) into specie.
6.to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.).
7.to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault, shortcoming, etc.): His bravery redeemed his youthful idleness.
8.to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.
9.Theology. to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.

As we come closer to Resurrection Sunday, I have been reflecting on the work on the cross and what that exactly means.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit" 1 Peter 3:18

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53: 5-6

If you remember back when God told the children of Israel to build an altar for the Lord and to make sacrifices for their sins, you'll see that this was an act of mercy. Using a sacrificial lamb or bull, the priests would be able to offer them to God to cleanse them of their wrong-doing. Only the priests would be able to go into the Holy of Holies to make this sacrifice, lest they die being fallen in the presence of a Holy God. When Jesus offered up Himself, once and for all, for the sins of the world, He made it possible for us to be able to enter the Holy of Holies, so to speak, and become righteous, through His sin-less and righteous life.

We belong to Jesus and when we sin, we take ourselves away from Him and His presence. But when He died for us, He redeemed us. He 'bought' us back by the shedding of His blood. We are held ransom by our sin, we are held captive, but the work on the cross by God Himself, releases us from our shackles. We are set free from the power of sin and death. Praise God He had/has a plan. He did all the work and we have been redeemed!

Projects, projects, projects

In the works:

*Finishing up a scripture embroidered nursery pillow
*Finishing up a baby quilt
*Working on (and trying to figure out) my new Knit Wit
*Making a cute little tea towel apron
*Preparing for the AWANA games coming up March 13th
*Planning an awesome girls only party, because I want to see my friends and try this delish new punch recipe. Mmmm... I could try it out now but I'm afraid I would end up drinking it all myself and that would not be good; better save it for the party!

I also want to note that this was quite possibly the best Valentine's day I've ever celebrated. Not only did I have my wonderful husband to share it with (who is my favorite comedian and spoils me with sweets :) ) but knowing the great love that God showed us, shows us and will yet show us is remarkable. Even when I have a random case of spiritual amnesia, He is there to call me back, to love me and help me get back on track.



"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

True Love

The King of Hearts

Have you ever noticed how many times love is mentioned in the bible? This last week I had the opportunity of teaching about love to my AWANA girls. What a joy to teach those young minds the word of our Lord. And what a blessing to be able to share with them the unfailing love that comes from God!

I LOVE God's Word! That's probably so obvious but it is so amazing! I don't think I can open it up without learning something new or re-visiting a topic and gaining new insight. As I grow in my faith I have come to realize that I have LOTS to improve on, but I have a perfect and righteous Teacher who loves me and is standing by me in this walk of life. The bible really is a love story; the greatest love story ever told!

Every so often I start to think I can do things on my own and my heart becomes hard. Those days end up very bad. Out of fellowship with God, I get moody and judgmental- not a pretty picture! But then I get knocked up the side of my head with His truth and it says "Hello in there, what do you think you're doing!?" This happened a few days ago and I got my wake-up call this morning. But despite my stubbornness and being just plain mean, God calls me back. I can so identify with the story of the prodigal son. Praise God that He still loves us even when we run away. Praise God He is so patient with us.

What is the greatest example of love? Jesus, the Son of God, dying on a cross for our sins – so that we might not die, but have everlasting life. Jesus sacrificed His life for each of us, because He loved us. He gave up everything to be with you. He gave us and showed us the best example of love this world has ever seen. This Valentine's day, I will praise God for the love He showed us and continues to show everyday and into eternity!

So blessed

These first 6 months of marriage have been awesome. I live with and laugh with, learn with and grow with my other half, or like I call him, my best buddy!

We've been through a lot together and I feel so fortunate to have him by my side. But even more than that, he has been such a blessing in my spiritual growth. We were led to the Lord a year and a half into our relationship and he has been so supportive. He is my teacher and my helper. He is my friend and love.

Last night I went to a bible study with a friend. It was late when I got home but I knew I had a sink full of dishes to clean from our dinner that night. To my surprise, Jeremy took care of them for me. It may not seem like much but it was such a relief for me. I got ready and hopped in bed with my beloved. My helper. My blessing!