The Stained Index Cards...

Ten years ago, one of my sisters gave me a small index card book, full of verses of scripture.  It had a hand sewn cover to soften the generic outside, and to protect the corners from getting bent.  I remember this little book of God's words lodged carefully beside the cup holder on my baby's stroller as we would take daily walks, partly for the fresh air and exercise and the other part for the sake of my sanity.  I committed several pages to heart, but now three babies later, daily walks are rare and when they do occur, they are filled with sweet girly chatter.

Now, there are stains on every page, yet I can't let it go.  My girls are no longer babies, and can all sleep through the night.  Mornings can be intentional again.  Scripture memory may not happen on daily walks, but it can happen in the dark hours of the morning, in the bathroom while fixing hair, or at a stoplight.  I have lacked greatly in this area.  

I was challenged this week by this story concerning a debate between a university professor and a coal miner in South Wales. The debate concerned the subject of the reliability of the Bible. The professor presented his arguments against the Bible clearly and in such a way that there seemed no hope for the miner.  Yet the miner began his reply with prayer, "Lord, I have not had much education, but You know that I love Your Word and have spent my life searching its pages.  Help me now to say something that will convince my friends here that Your Word is true."  He then continued over the next hour to quote the appropriate scriptures denouncing the professors arguments without making a single comment.  By scripture alone...

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." Psalm 119:130

"Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth." John 17:17

"For the Word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12-13

"Christians who do not accept the authority of the Scriptures have no effective weapon with which to overcome Satan.  If we are to conquer Satan in the same way that Jesus conquered him, then we must know the Bible in its entirety.  It is no good saying to the devil:  'The verse I want to use against you is somewhere in the Bible.'  You must quote it to him and quote it precisely." - Selwyn Hughes

May we cry out as Hughes so beautiful wrote:

"O Father, the more I hear, the more I want to hear.  For I was created by Your Word, designed according to Your Word, and I can never remain content until I am indwelt with Your Word. Teach me even more."

    

40 bags in 40 days...

I'm not even sure how I came to follow her on Instagram, but at the mention of eliminating 40 bags of stuff over the next 40 days, I immediately became a follower.  One of my goals this month was to eliminate 5 unnecessary piles in our home. Piles form and then slowly seem to become part of the furniture that I simply walk around. Gradually though it becomes like a heavy weight on my shoulders rather than an ugly piece of furniture.  

Ann Marie planned for this major purging to coincide with the 40 days of lent.  I have tried to do lent in the past and usually fail, so I will not claim this as a spiritual endeavor.  But I do think with the letting go of stuff, there will also be much freedom.  If you're interested in minimalist living, check out this podcast with Tsh Oxenrider and Joshua Becker, called Freedom from Stuff. 

Emily Freeman just reviewed this podcast as well and wrote on Becoming a Soul Minimalist.  I resonated with her words, "When our souls are filled with clutter, which is meant to be complex and awe-inspiring, it can become complicated and exhausting.  When that happens, I crave simple."  

Simple... it's become a motto of sorts.  I've been told that my generation seeks that more than those in the past.  Perhaps it's due to the insane amount of information and ideas so readily available at our fingertips.  Much to ponder...

But back to the task at hand!  40 bags in 40 days.  If you're interested in joining in, check out her printable to fill out and her blog.  You never know, it could change your life.

A Day in the Life...

Sometimes pictures express more than words, so here's to another "wordless Wednesday"...  A day in the life of the Middleton girls (which is different every single day; pancakes being a rarity.) 

Grace Goals for February...

January flew by in a blur.  Sweet memories with my mama, time away, and restarting school with renewed fervor.  Even though I'm still not implementing "early to bed, early to rise" quite yet, and a mornings are not as disciplined as I'd like, I'm thankful for a brand new month to start all over and try again.  

Recapping January Goals... 

1.  Try and implement a new daily schedule - Failed.  Schedule written out, but hardly implemented... New month, keep trying.

2.  Finish The Best Yes and read more of Notes from a Blue Bike (working on my "words") - Over halfway through both of these and sincerely loving the content of each.  Perfect for this time in my life.

3.  Fill out the paperwork and get pictures taken for passports - Appointment made!

4.  Declutter our storage area Purged a lot of girl clothes, gave some away, but much more needs to go!

5.  Order a photobook of 2014 Instagram photos. I ordered it from Shutterfly (thanks to a $20 off coupon) and wish that I could have made it hardback, but also couldn't justify the cost right now.  It has the majority of my Instagram pictures from 2014 and we've enjoyed it so much already.  As much I'd love to scrapbook again, this will do for now.

6.  Love the people in my life and show it through my words - Not perfect by any means, but as said before, an ongoing goal and desire.

 

Grace Goals for February...

1.  More disciplined mornings.  Shower before breakfast. (Don't laugh...)
2.  Finish The Best Yes and Notes from a Blue Bike, and try to start Love and Respect.  (I want to read more books on marriage this year and what a better month to start!)
3.  Begin the process of getting our tickets to Japan.  I'm honestly getting giddy in the knees over the thought of this.  Japan holds such a large piece of my heart and I can't wait to show my girls and Marty more of my childhood.
4.  Eliminate 5 unnecessary piles around our home.  Donate, give away, purge!!!
5.  Focus on loving, encouraging, and supporting Marty more than ever.  Notes, gifts, etc are nice, but over the years I've found that the best gift I can give him is a peaceful wife and home.  When I am stressed, it only adds to the stress in his life.  
6.  Read aloud with my girls on a daily basis. This is one of my favorite things to do, yet days will go by and it doesn't find its place in our schedule.

The Essence of Retreating...

After what seemed like a busier than usual Christmas season, we stopped.  Our family had a few days available to get away, refocus, and breathe.  I'm sure other occupations require the need for such escaping, but since I only know the life of ministry, I have grown to see such time away as vital to the growth and life of continuing in the calling God has given us.  (I am also blessed to have a husband who sees this need too!)

Our time was not filled with schedule, but instead with food, walking, rarely glancing at phones except to take a picture here and there (since I forgot my camera!)  Time was slow and sweet.  There is honestly no other people in this world who I would rather be with than my girls and best friend. Getting away from the housework, the school work, the emails, and phone calls was a breath of fresh air!  So very thankful and yet ready to continue in the work God has called us to.

"Be still and know that I am God;" - Psalm 46:10

Halfway Goals for January...

It's almost the middle of January, which may seem too late to set goals for the month.  But better late than never...  Laying out goals often seems like I'm setting myself up for failure, which may be true to some degree.  But in writing them down, there comes a form of accountability and a challenge to complete something, anything!  So these goals are nothing spectacular, just simply areas of my life that I hope to tweak throughout the year.

January Goals

1.  Try and implement a new daily schedule (not exactly sure the details yet...)

2.  Finish The Best Yes and read more of Notes from a Blue Bike (working on my "words")

3.  Fill out the paperwork and get pictures taken for passports (#operationokinawa - more info to come)

4.  Declutter our storage area (I must purge!! Girl clothes, school stuff, etc overflow from every crevice of our home. Starting with the storage area this month.)

5.  Order a photobook of 2014 Instagram photos. (I took more pictures with my phone this year and it's the everyday pictures that I cherish the most.  I'll share how it turned out.)

6.  Love the people in my life and show it through my words (an ongoing goal...)

"Now is the blessing.

Now is the time to love.

Now is the time to be."

by Eileen Spinelli in Now It is Winter

Words...

In the first hour of light, when my house is still quiet, our littlest and furriest member of the family requires some outside time and I am given a gift.  A gift of remembering how great our creator is.  The sky blazes with color and I'm encouraged by His Spirit to dive into His Word.

  

Word... words... that is my focus this year.  In the past, I've felt the need to focus on "grace," "peace & stillness," and this past year, on "trust."  But after much prayer, "words" stood out as something lacking in my life and something that I desire more and more to be present.

Psalm 19:14 says, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."  My greatest desire is to not only commit that verse to memory, but to live it!

May I be in the Word on a daily basis, putting aside all distractions (aka social media) until I've spent time reading His Words.  I'm really looking forward to reading a new devotional called Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes focusing on the armor of God.

May I take the time to really read words, in actual books, not just on some screen that looks flashy and takes little time to understand. May my nightstand be filled with new and old books to fill my mind and cause me to ponder and think. 

May the words that I speak be uplifting to others, especially my family.  It's easy to compliment others who you rarely see, but to show our appreciation and admiration to our loved ones, that takes thought and intention.  May my words be full of grace since grace has so undeservedly been given to me.

 

May my words be fewer in quantity, but more in quality.  May there be less words said and more words read.  I long for time to read aloud quality literature to my girls and for them to read to me.

May there be more words written, whether on paper, on the blog, or even in simple notes delivered by mail.  May even the words penned on a daily to-do list be uplifting and inspiring, rather than overbearing and overwhelming.

Ultimately, may the year 2015 be full of words that bring the God of the Word glory.