Monday Morning Question of the Day

I

love love love

Christmas movies!

I love that from Thanksgiving to Christmas

you can find one on just about every single day.

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

3 Things I LIKE About Having a Cold

In an effort to stay positive and Pollyannaish while in the midst
of having a nasty cold,

here's my list of things I like about having a cold:

(I know, I'm a nut.)

1. Food doesn't taste as good as it normally does, so I don't eat as much.

Especially on days like Thanksgiving.

2. That moment when you are laying down when
one side of your nose is totally stopped up,

so you roll over to the other side. And when you do your nose starts to drain.

For one moment, you can actually breathe out of your whole nose and it is GLORIOUS!!!

3. I take NyQuil and sleep like a baby. all. night. long.

Happy Thanksgiving

May your day be full of

sweet family and friends

your favorite foods

yummy desserts

lots of laughter

sweet memories of those not with you today

a little bit of football

a good nap

and

a happy heart
full of gratitude to the one who is the giver of all blessings!

Thanksgiving day comes, by statue, once a year;

to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart will allow.

~Edward Sanford Martin~

Monday Morning Question of the Day

Thanksgiving Edition

1. Canned cranberry sauce or fresh cranberry sauce or none at all?

2. Turkey or ham?

3. Pecan pie or pumpkin pie?

4. Watch football or take a nap?

5. Shopping super early on black Friday or HECK NO!

(If you are an early morning shopper, check out

THIS awesome site that lists all the stores and their hours, coupons, etc. )

Flashback Friday

When did my sweet girl go from this cutie with pigtails

to this beautiful young lady?

Things I Am NOT a Fan Of

1. the Nuva Ring

(in my opinion it should be called
The Ring of Satan)

2. the creepy Old Navy mannequins.

c.r.e.e.p.y.

3. cleaning the crock-pot.

love using it, HATE cleaning it.

4. pickles

(the food, not Shan's precious girl Pickles-
she's adorable)

5. people who have not learned
the oh so important rule

"If you can't say something nice,
don't say anything at all".

6. starbucks.

(sorry- i know lots of people love it- just not me)

7. farm town on facebook.

seriously?

farming?

online?

i.do.not.get.it.at.all
(and of course my husband LOVES it)

8. the office.

i've tried watching it-because so many people love it but

i just do not get it. at all.

9. people who act super stinkin' irritated when you ask them

to do something that is THEIR JOB.

10. ending a list in an odd number.

seriously bothers me for some odd (ocd?) reason.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

1. Have you started your Christmas shopping?

If yes, how far along are you?

2. Are you planning to spend less $, the same amount of $,
or more $ this Christmas?

3. How much of your Christmas shopping will you do online?

Flashback Friday

This is one of my all time favorite pictures
of Maddie when she was about 7 months old.

(FYI That was not our couch- we were at the hospital
visiting a friend who'd just had a baby. That is one UGLY couch!)

The look on her face CRACKS me up every single time.

It looks like to me she is saying........

"What you talkin' about Mama?"

Happy Friday y'all!

Keep Calm

Grace

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I had come up with a great new way to get Madison to stop leaving clothes all over her bathroom floor. I told her that for every piece of clothing I found on the bathroom floor, she would lose her cell phone for one day. This plan has worked fabulously- with not a single sock, shirt, pair of shorts, pair of tights- at all on the bathroom floor since that Sunday.

Until today.

This evening while she was at dance,

I went into her bathroom and this is what I found

And y'all.....I was so sad.

She's been so good- for over two weeks now- and this is her first slip up.

And it made me sad to think about having to take away her phone.

And I started thinking about how many times

I am exactly the same way with God.

I do really well-

consistently doing Bible study, praying fervently,

putting others before myself, seeking His will for my life-

and then I screw up and I do something I shouldn't,
say something I shouldn't,
think something I shouldn't- and I let Him down.

Over and over and over again.

But because of His grace, I am forgiven.

Not because I deserve it.

Not because I have done anything to earn it.

Not because I am a "good" person.

Not because I have even asked for it.

Simply because He loves me.

He loves me enough to bestow His grace and His favor on me.

Over and over and over again.

And so tonight, when Madison comes home from dance, this is what she will find waiting for her in her bathroom.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

I've noticed a trend at church lately-

the trend of NOT bringing a Bible to church,

but using the Bible app on an iPhone or Blackberry.

I used to see one or two people doing this

but lately have noticed a rather large increase and see lots of people doing it.

Now as someone who has an iPhone

(and absolutely LOVES it)

I will admit that I do have a Bible app on my phone.

It's come in handy when trying to think of a certain verse

when talking to a friend or writing in a card to a friend.

I do not, however, use it at church.

To me, there is something special and
sacred about opening my Bible and reading it.

That I can go from one verse to another-

that I can turn those precious pages-

that I absolutely love.

Seeing people reading the Bible in church on their

phone bothers me a bit and I'm not sure why.

Am I being legalistic?

Does it really matter in what form someone

reads the Bible, as long as they are reading it?

I simply don't know.

So my question to you today is.........

Do you think it's odd to use your phone to read the Bible in church?

Do you?

Would you?

Does the idea bother you? Why or why not?

Throwback Thursday

This is one of my favorite pictures of Madison from when she was little.

She was about 18 months old and we were in a mother/daughter fashion show

at this adorable antique/furniture/children's clothing store in Hillsboro.

After our last clothing change I was walking around the store with her

and saw this chair that matched her outfit perfectly.

So I plopped her down in it and said " Say Ta Da!"

She did and I snapped this picture.

It's been on my refrigerator for years and

it makes me smile every single time I see it.

That tiny little girl is now 13 and growing into a beautiful young lady-

but still has that same sweet smile!

Beauty Will Rise

Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my favorite Christian singers of all time.

When I heard that his new CD Beauty Will Rise, was out, his first CD since the tragic death of his daughter Maria a year and a half ago, I knew it would be an amazing yet difficult set of songs to listen to.

And I was so very right.

I listened to it this evening

(you can listen to it here on Rhapsody for free)

with tears streaming down my face.

It's a painful set of songs to listen to, when you know the story behind them, but at the same time each song is full of hope, and of faith, of pain, and of choosing to praise the Lord in the midst of the most difficult time of your life. It's real and it's honest and it's heartbreaking and it's absolutely positively beautiful.

BooMama wrote about the story behind one of my favorite songs

on the CD, SEE- and it will absolutely bring you to tears.

Tears over the tremendous loss that Steven and his family

have sustained but also tears of joy over a God who loves us so very much

that He grieves and cries with us when we are in pain, when we hurt, when we suffer.

It's reminder after reminder that even though we do not understand the horrible

things that happen in this world,

God is in control.

Fearless

I'm a fearful person.

That's not something I am proud of but
something that I know to be true about myself.

I fear all sorts of things- from the silly to the serious.

I fear the death of those I love, rejection, failure, pickles being put on my sandwich, getting burned, my dad dying, letting others down, not being the woman, wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister God intends for me to be, clowns.......and the list could go on and on.

I'm reading Max Lucado's book "Fearless" and it is wonderful-

although it is difficult for me to read because it's so convicting.

I read this paragraph last night and the words so struck me....

"Imagine your life wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract ever last shaving of dread, insecurity and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day absent the dread of failure, rejection and calamity."

Wow. Think about that for a minute.
That last sentence I must have read 15 times in a row.

A day without the dread of failure, rejection and calamity?

What would that be like?

How much would I love a day like that?

And a day like that is possible- but only through HIM.

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation but take courage,

I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Monday Morning Question of the Day

Lately I have been very UNdisciplined in lots of areas of my life-

eating, exercise, time with the Lord-

and boy can I tell.

I can tell in how I feel, in how I think, in my attitude, in my heart.

In all three areas, I KNOW I'm making poor choices-

I actually think as I make them, "I shouldn't do this" and yet I still do.

It makes me so frustrated with myself and so disappointed in myself.

But instead of beating myself up over it anymore

(as I have been doing for weeks now),

I've decided that today is a new day and God's mercies are so thankfully new every morning.

So today, I'm going to do something about it.

No more whining, no more complaining,

no more beating myself up over my lack of discipline.

I'm going to make three short term, realistic goals.

Today I'm committing this week to:

1. Exercising 3 times this week.

2. Making better food choices-

which includes NO candy/cookies/cake/brownies/etc.

3. Making my Bible study time a priority-

ahead of and before of TV, FB, computer, etc.

So what are your goals for this week?

Will you share them with me?

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Phil. 4:13