FRIDAY NIGHT!

Well it is Friday and Josh is at work so I have few things of excitement tonight.

1. I made a new recipe for dinner and it was D-lish. The recipe is so simple. I like waffles and I also really enjoy breakfast for dinner but Josh prefers a lighter breakfast and does not care for breakfast for dinner so lately I have been eating breakfast for dinner and it is great fun! =) Also, got the waffle maker for Christmas in 07, first time using it tonight.

2. Knit Picks stash has arrived. Now usually when people post their excitement about a stash they have received like a billion skeins. For those of us on a limited budget my stash is comprised of a few great picks from the clearance page. =) I got some Swish DK to make a BSJ for Caleb who will be coming from Ethiopia and I think the colors will just look great on his skin. Then I got some Twist for myself. It is a lighter yarn so I was thinking I might make a dressy scarf. For when I get a nice dress coat to wear in the winter. =) Probably wouldn't look too good with my North Face soft shell.

Pictures of all...enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday

This morning in my reading I came across something that seemed like it could present quite the challenge if I thought about it for a few days…I will first give you the part of the quote that stuck out to me. I actually read it, kept reading, and then said, "Wait a second." And so I went back up to re-read this part:

"…if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope…"

Well maybe that doesn't strike you as too crazy but as I was reading over it again I thought to myself, "Do I believe like that?"

Do I always believe that the past is forgiven? Not just some of the past but ALL the past. Do I leave those things in the past where they should be because they have been fully and completely forgiven?

Do I always believe that the present is furnished with power? Not just some of the present but ALL the present. Do I look at each day in a way that says, "This is going to be good, I have the power I need to get through." (Cue music: I've Got The Power) J

Do I always believe that the future is bright with hope? Not just some of the future but ALL the future. Do I look ahead past the present and see hope for the journey? Is it shining brightly in my life?

The sad answer that I came up with was no, not all the time. Not always as this quote says. And so I am challenged today and maybe you can be too to look at the way we live our lives and ask these questions. My outlook on today is already changing.

Now, the full quote so you can see if I have taken this out of context.

"I think that I can trace every scrap of sorrow in my life to simple unbelief. How could I be anything but quite happy if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope because of the same abiding facts which do not change with my mood, do not stumble because I totter and stagger at the promise through unbelief, but stand firm and clear with their peaks of pearl cleaving the air of Eternity, and the bases of their hills rooted unfathomably in the Rock of God? Mont Blanc does not become a phantom or a mist because a climber grows dizzy on its side."
—James Smetham

There is a lot in this little quote but I will leave that to you to ponder on your own.

Also, I was curious who Mr. Smetham was and this is what I found…

James Smetham (1821-1889)
Smetham worked in a number of genres: landscapes, portraits, and literary and religious themes. He began his studies at the Royal Academy in 1843, but mental illness that fully manifested itself in the mid-1870s plagued his later career, and after 1869 he no longer exhibited at the Royal Academy. Smetham was also a critic and essayist. His article on William Blake in the Quarterly Review (1868) is one of the first evaluations to suggest the importance of Blake as an artist.
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/Smetham.html

It turns out that Mr. Smetham had written quite a few letters during his life and when he passed his wife and a close friend published the letters in a book called Letters of James Smetham. This quote comes from a letter written to a Mrs. Taylor at the beginning of 1861. For proper citation, it comes from page 105. If you click on that link of his name it appears that you can read the whole book. Note to self, must see what other books I could read this way.

Have a great day! I pray that the God of bright hope will be your guide today!

We did it!

We had a very full weekend and it was quite enjoyable. Needless to say we slept very well because our time during the day was so full and busy.

1. Report on the race: Josh did an amazing job, finishing at 25:35. He hasn't run since our last race on St. Patrick's Day. I hate it when people are just always in shape. I finished at 33:44, this is my personal best and also I did fulfill my goal, I ran the whole race!!! I probably could have finished it faster but I am still not a good judge of distance so I am never quite sure when to turn it on for the end! I was so pleased that I ran the whole thing and I was also quite surprised that my time was decent too!
   
2. We helped some friends move this weekend and were filled with joy that we will not be moving any time soon and also that we didn't have to do any work to our house before we moved in. J I helped them paint a little bit last week and it seemed so stressful to have to do so much before you could move in.
   
3. Charlie went to the dog park again. She did great. She is such a friendly little dog. I think she drank about a gallon of water while we were there because we got home and hosed her down in the back yard and she relieved herself at least 5 times in 30 minutes. Then she lay down to go to sleep because she was so tired and we had to leave so we put her in her kennel and thought she would sleep the whole time. We got home a few hours later and upon walking in the door I said, "What is that smell?" We sniffed all around the house and couldn't find anything strange. It was a smell I had never smelled before. So we said forget about it and went to let Charlie out of her kennel and what do we see? The bottom of the kennel is covered with a clear-ish liquid. J That is what the smell was. She had been laying in it so Josh grabbed a towel so that we could dry her paws and walk her straight outside to be hosed down again. Good thing he had that towel because you know what she did as soon as she stepped out of the kennel…started SHAKING all that clear-ish liquid right off! AAAAAH! Josh was pretty quick though and managed to wrap her up before she shook too much of it off. Then we realized just how wet she was so it was: march straight into the bath tub little lady, you are getting a real bath with soap!
   
4. Josh also helped some friends with a framing project as they are working to finish their basement. He wanted to get some experience with this since we are preparing to put in a door where there is no door at our house in the next few weeks.
   
5. Sunday we got groceries and got some great deals on food. We are trying to make the switch to organic foods without adding too much extra to our grocery bill so we have been doing the multi-store grocery outing and it has been going very well!
   

I think that gives you the highlights of our weekend! Hope yours was great too and that you also had some time to relax and reflect! We did!

ps-Guess who joined me at the gym this morning?? My beloved, Mr. Joshua himself! It was quite a treat to be driven to the gym at such an early hour and not have to watch my step for bad guys along the way!

weekend

It's Friday! Yeah!

We are looking ahead to a great weekend. Tomorrow Josh and I are running a 5K race downtown and then helping some friends move in the afternoon. Sunday I think is open so we will probably take Charlie to the dog park after church if it isn't too hot. It has been so hot lately she doesn't even want to be outside that much. This morning she was acting pretty crazy though so I was wondering if it was the dog version of cabin fever.

In other matters, some things I have been reflecting on this week…the first one is my new favorite.

Psalm 71:5
For you have been my hope, O sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Philippians 1:5-6
Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

I completed week 7 of my working out life. Things are getting to be very rewarding. Now if I could just get back into those clothes that I have stashed away on the top shelf of the closet. My goal for the race tomorrow is: NO WALKING! I know my little legs can stay running for the whole time so now I just have to make them do it! I'm not setting a time goal for this one because I don't even wear a watch when I run and I think if I keep moving as I plan to do I will end up with a decent time! Maybe I will set a personal best!!

Ok, hugs to you all. Have a happy weekend!

tuesday

I am still keeping up on my fitness routine. Lacey is out of town for 3 weeks so I am trying to talk Josh into going with me in the mornings. I think he is almost ready to give in. :) Running is becoming more fun each time.



A few weeks ago well probably more like a month or more I trimmed our rose bush quite a bit. I hoped I wouldn't kill it but it didn't have any buds on it at the time so I figured it would be fine. About half of the branches were dead and brown, mostly they were the bottom branches but some in the middle too. First of all, do you know how painful it is to trim a rose bush? I think the thorns get sharper as they dry out. So I had taken quite a bit out and after about 2 weeks I went to check on it to be sure I hadn't killed it. It was a lovely shade of bright green on the remaining branches and some little tiny buds were starting to appear. Yesterday I had to go by Lacey's house and I saw that her yellow roses had bloomed so I thought I better check mine when I get home. Sure enough, tons of dark pink roses have bloomed! It is beautiful! I think it is going to be in bloom for a while because there are tons more buds that are just appearing still too. I took quite a few photos so if you want to see more, click on one of the pictures and it will take you to the picasa album. After that I did a little photo shoot with Charlie. She still loves getting her picture taken. It is so bizarre! She saw me with the camera inside and immediately sat and looked at me. Then I took her outside and she started sprinting around the yard. There are quite a few funny pictures of her.
















Here is the link for Charlie's photos. She is such a ham sometimes. She is getting pretty big. We are constantly loosening her collar because her neck is getting so thick.

From charlie