the best teacher

it has been so long since I have had any time whatsoever to write on the blog.  it has been a good kind of busy, the kind that keeps days spinning forward in a good way.  suddenly i have found a rhythm i didn't know was possible. at last things are starting to feel less new.  though some would crave new things, i crave old things. i love the past, a little too much sometimes, and love creating a sense of been-there, history.  i love knowing things from experience.

in the past few years much in my life has changed, as i always like to remind myself...  sometimes it overwhelms me. but right now i am thankful for the lull in the system.  i am able to be more confident, walking into work and being able to somewhat predict what will happen. i love being able to easier put together a dinner at the last minute.  i loved feeling a part of family traditions with Kurt and Christmas time.   i love doing recital music and practicing with the ballet girls and knowing that if you don't teach them to march in a circle on day one, they may never learn.

experience is the best teacher, maybe the only teacher.  have i ever learned anything that i didn't want to take part in teaching myself? learning is a life long activity and i am proud to be learning still. how wonderful to have a bit of experience under the belt. blessed for that and blessed to be alittle bored this morning.  nothing stays the same. soon things will change.  more things will come, we may move, we may stay, people grow, but its because of this, that things are special.  they will change which makes them special.

much love
em

truth

Stolen from Hallmark Commercial....but TRUE none the less.
Here's to not waiting for holidays to celebrate.

Love love love and Happy Thanksgiving

tweenager

i am 14 and have been revisiting

xoxo

and tonight i get to go see::

and i am sooooooo totally excited.

happy weekend!! :-)

gratitude in check

can't help but feel grateful tonight--want to check your attitude? check your gratitude.
i am blessed beyond belief...thank you Lord.

i've been given so much.

would i be happy with a Christmas shoe-box? would i be content?

heard a testimony by Lisa Terkheurst. Two of her sons were born in a third-world-country.  Each day, at an orphanage, they were challenged in choir to stand up and say things in their lives they were grateful for.  These children, faced with bare feet, empty bellies, and scarred hands couldn't think of one blessed thing to be truly grateful for. and yet one at a time they stood up and sang a praise song.  their attitude was transformed by their gratitude.

thinkinig recently about thorns in my life. some seeds fell on good soil, but they encountered there, thorns. 

are my comforts my thorns? does my need for perfection, a clean car, 3 square meals, shoes, gas money, running water--does it numb me into ungratefulness? sometimes the things that we take for granted (or marble, if you are Kurt...he can never resist that joke)

are the very things that hinder us from pure gratitude.  I am praying this Christmas for a heart without thorns, a heart uninhibited by wants disguised as needs.

create

singing psalms has always calmed my heart. whenever i find myself in discord, i always sing this. thank you Jesus for your power to renew me!

"create in me a clean heart oh God
and renew a right spirit within me
cast me not away from your precense oh lord
and take not your holy spirit from me
restore unto me
the joy of your salvation
and renew a right spirit within me."

How to Conquer Comparisons by Lysa Terkheurst

*comparisons are always something I have struggled with.  How easy is it to do? So easy!, if we are not living a "controlled thought life" and being happy being perfectly equipped to be our own selves. Wow. *

How to Conquer Comparisons

Have you ever questioned why God isn't blessing you in the same way as someone else? When I

find myself making comparisons and wanting what someone else has, I must consciously choose

to redirect my thinking. Too many of us live with an uncontrolled thought life. It is possible to

learn to identify destructive thoughts and make wiser choices. Instead of letting these thoughts

rumble freely about in my mind, I make the choice to harness them and direct them toward truth.

Think of something you want that someone else has. Have you been lured into thinking, “If only

I had ___________________ like that person, my life would be great!”

Now, practice redirecting those thoughts by saying instead:

I am not equipped for her good.

I am not equipped for her bad.

I am not equipped to carry the weight of her victories.

I am not equipped to shoulder her burdens.

I am not equipped to be her in any way.

I am, however, perfectly equipped to be me.

Therefore, thank You, God, for only entrusting me with what I have and who I am.

When I compare myself to others and focus on wanting what they have, it quite simply wears me

out trying to figure out how to have more, be more, and do more. That’s why Jesus instructs

worn-out people, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will

find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

Note a couple key words in these verses. A “yoke” is a wooden frame used to harness two draft

animals to whatever they have to pull. The Greek word for “easy” can also mean “well-fitted.”

Combine this information together and it appears that Jesus is saying He has equipped each of us

with well-fitted assignments in life. As long as we do and aspire to only what He calls us, our

burden will not only be manageable, it will be light.

It’s also interesting to note that when an animal is in training, a farmer will often put it in a head

yoke rather than a neck yoke to keep the animal from looking around and getting anxious. I think

my head yoke has been the thought-redirecting statement, “I’m not equipped to handle what they

have—both good and bad.” It sure has stopped me from looking around and getting anxious!

For more information on this topic, read Lysa’s book,

Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl.

Lysa TerKeurst

following Jesus Christ. As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa has led

thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating journey. For more

information, visit www.LysaTerKeurst.com

To purchase this resource click on Shop P31 at

helps everyday women live an adventure of faith throughwww.Proverbs31.org© 2010 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.

welcome fall

fall

leaves

red

spice tea-bannana-fire chatting-mid 50's-cinnamon sticks-pumpkins-octoberfests-thankfulness-foot ball games-candle burning-just plain in love

with fall.