Robbed

It has been a hectic couple of weeks, and so on this Good Friday, I was excited to get to sleep in...

And then my Papa John called me to tell me that my car (which was at my parents' house) had been broken into last night.

WHAT?!?! 

We live out in the country, in a quiet neighborhood, with kids and dogs running all over the place.  That's just crazy!

It really is not the end of the world.  The biggest thing the thief took was over 300 cds.  I had a HUGE case of cds...which is fine...they can have 'em.  But the sad thing is I also was carrying my best friend's GINORMOUS case of cds as well.  Sigh. 

It's just stuff. 

However, on this Friday, this day of remembrance, I cannot help but think about our Jesus.  How He was stripped of His clothes, beaten, robbed of His humanity, nailed to a Cross.  They (we) took everything He had, His pride, His integrity, the very clothes off His back, His Life.  He was mocked, scorned, laughed at.  Few along the way showed any signs of compassion.  And then He was nailed to a tree. 

And after all of that, we added to His burden by laying our sins on His back as He hung on that Cross. 

He did it willingly.  This Man of Sorrows. 

Puts into perspective the loss of a few cds, huh?

I pray that on this most somber of all days, you are able to set your heart on the Crucifixion our Lord. 

This beautiful day.  The day that True Love died.

"This life's gonna be a good life!"

get a load of this goodness:




go ahead. 
watch it again.
you know you want.

doesn't it just get you giddy for our Jesus!
i laugh every.time. i see it.
it just makes me so happy.

deliriously cheery.
love. this. life.

Simple blessings

Today, I'm thankful for:

*An unsuspected email from a dear friend who I only knew briefly this summer, but whose words touched my more deeply than she could ever know.  {Thanks Marli!}

*My hair dryer died.  As in, weird noises, then smoke, hot wires...yeah, the whole sheBANG!  Absolutely no money left in the budget to replace it.  The same day:  I was given a $25 gift card to Target, just because.  How beautiful?!

*Moms who buy extra groceries...just so daughters can "shop" the cabinets when home on the weekends.  She even stocks the freezer section...chicken, beef, salmon.  The works!  

*A beautiful prayer book of hope sent by a long ago friend...just when I needed it the most.  Oh, how He loves us.

*68 degrees of beautiful sunshine today.  My heart couldn't help but be happy!

So thankful that He provides even when we doubt.  So thankful that He scatters Sonshine every.where. if we only take the time to see. 

Today I am so very grateful.  So very blessed.

What are you thankful for today?  How has the Lord blessed you?

Happy Sonday

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."

-Hal Borland

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us."

-Romans 5:3-5

Scatterin' some Son-shine

{just love those West TX sunsets}

this was taken FROM MY CAR going 70 MPH

down i-27.  love my Canon!

Don't you just love it when our sweet Lord sneaks up on you, refreshing you, even if you didn't know you needed refreshment?

That's the exact experience I had yesterday. 

I have an on-going journal where I write names of people who have come in and out of my life, leaving special marks on my heart.  These sweet angels have brought me a lifetime of JOY!  I also keep a running list of specific intentions, and it's a beautiful thing to see the way the Lord answers these prayers.  Simply beautiful.

Awhile back, I was praying over this journal in church and a verse struck out at me.  I didn't have time to really read it and meditate on it, so I quickly jotted it down, intending to look it up when I got home.  Weeks went by, and then months, and I just never got around to reading this little Scripture snack. 

Yesterday, I finally got around to checking out this nugget from the Word, and boy, it was just what I needed!  Gotta love that sneaky Jesus stuff!  =)

Instead of copying the entire passage, I'm just going to share with you the bits n pieces that tugged at my heart strings.

Psalm 19:8-15

• the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
• the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.
• cleanse me from my unknown faults. *
• from willful sins keep your servant, let them never control me.
• Let the words of my mouth meet with your favor, keep the thoughts of my heart before you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

I just loved the Truth presented here. 

I often here people complaining about the "rules" of Christianity...but for me, I've never felt the need to complain.  And these verses just embody that feeling for me.  His law is perfect...it refreshes us!  His command is clear, let it enlighten us! 

This gift is something to rejoice over, not complain.  Especially when we take into account the last few lines:
the Psalmist reminds us that we don't follow Him alone...He is our strength, our rock and redeemer.  It's such a beautiful dance we get to make with Him.  It should be a JOY to follow Him faithfully... we will fail, but He gave us the Cross of Hope.  He is our strength.  Our salvation. 

I wish I was more eloquent like so many of the beautiful bloggers I read.  I often feel like I can't adequately express the joy. love. hope. I get from our Prince. 

Let me wrap up my ramblings:
my favorite verse from this little diddy has the * by it.  "Cleanse me from unknown faults."  That is my prayer for this week. 

Teach me in the ways of the soul, dear Lord, that I may become more and more like You.  Cleanse me of those hidden faults, so that You shine through.  Use me, to scatter your Sonshine. 

Blessings.

♥ michelle

Just-a-ponderin'

Been doin' some pondering lately.
about perseverance. about forgiveness. about perfection.

Perseverance: 
running The Race.  seeking the Kingdom.  loving the King.
Forgiveness:
failure. brokeness. picking up the pieces.  Trying.Again.
Perfection:
never content. keeps me moving. seeking to be better.

So many things about the Christian Life are enriching, beautiful, awe-inspiring. 
The other day I was delving into one of my favorite books of all time, Mere Christianity.  Lewis was talking about chastity in his chapter on Sexual Morality.  ickkk.  Quite the sticky subject in current culture...well, even in Lewis' day too.  But what I love about this chapter, this book, is that so much of it goes beyond the surface.  I love to sit, and ponder...to "chew" on the nuggets that saturate this book, this chapter especially. 

So in regards to my ponderings:

Perseverance:
"It is wonderful what you can do when you have to."  I love this. 
When Dad and I go backpacking during the summers, so much of our time is spent on "haves" and not "wants".  Eating, hiking, filtering water, building a fire.  These things that are often "wants" in daily life, become essential to survival out on the trail.  You have to eat.  You have to build a fire to cook.  You have to.  You will not survive if you don't.  How would our lives change if we embraced the Christian life by this outlook?  Chastity is no longer an option.  Honesty is a necessity.  Generosity becomes an obsession.  Loving others is vital to life. 

Forgiveness:
"After each failure, aks forgiveness, pick yourself up, and Try Again.  Very often, what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again."  What a beautiful, simplified picture of the Christian life!  I love it.  I love that our God is so big that our failures do not define us.  I love that the power of the Cross is so strong that 2000 years later we still get forgiveness freely, and profoundly, by simply asking. 

Perfection:
In conjuncture with forgiveness, Lewis states, "we learn that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, but that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven.  The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection."  Never, ever, under any circumstance, let Satan tempt me with complacency.  Perfection, in Jesus.  Seeking always to be made better, to grow.  To change.  To deepen who I am in Christ.  To more fully, more faithfully be His.  Why?  Because "virtue, even attempted [but failed] virtue brings Light." 

And I want to add to the Sonshine.

On a different note, have you heard about myoneword.org?  It's a movement in the Christian community to choose one word for the year, instead of achieving any New Year's resolutions.  Well, I'm struggling to come up with one word...I'm a female, we thrive on wordiness! =)
So instead, I have chosen one verse for the year. 

I leave you with this: