Throwback Wednesday

I like to flip through mine and Patrick's pictures everyonce in a while. Yesterday I came across these and it made me smile. This was fall of 2007 down in Bowling Green. We went to a local orchard and enjoyed the nice fall weather. I think it made me so happy because it's sunny in the pictures and yesterday was cold, rainy and not sunny. So heres to sunshine and warmer days!

Tomorrow is Red Envelope Day

A project has been started to get as many people as possible to mail an empty red envelope to the White House, addressed to President Obama, on March 31st.

The red envelopes represent the innocent blood shed through abortion. Here's some of the details:

• Address the envelope: President Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington D.C. 20500


• Make sure to include your return address.


• Write on back of envelope: This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty becasue that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.

Go here to find more information

Birthdays

This past weekend. Patrick and I celebrated a couple birthdays. On Friday we got dressed up and went out with some friends for Lang's 24th birthday party. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANG! Lang is one of Patrick's best friends. I'm thankful that the Lord has given Patrick great friends like Lang who be will lifelong friends (we hope!). Here are some pictures from our evening:

The whole group (sorry its kind of dark)

The girls side of the table (L-R: Alex(my neighbor and sweet friend), me, and Caroline(Lang's girlfriend)

And the boy's side (L-R: Jason, Lang (birthday boy), Patrick (my husband), and Clint (Alex's husband and good friend of ours))





Then on Saturday I headed down to my hometown for my nephew's 2nd birdthday party. Myles has grown up so fast in the last couple months. He's gone from barely saying one word to now saying full sentences in only a few months. HAPPY BIRHTDAY MYLES!

Myles got mad at all of us for singing "happy birthday". He put on his mad face and growled "stop singing!"

Puppy

Patrick and I were at our local park the other day and saw the cutest dog ever! I'm not the biggest fan of getting a dog, but when I saw this dog, I really wanted one. SO we aksed the owner what the breed was and to our surprise it was a golden retreiver/cocker spaniel mix. After doing research... I now know that these are called Comfort Retreivers. They're too cute and are supposedly really well tempered. Someday maybe we'll get one!!

Prayer

Please be praying for baby Stellan. His mom, Jennifer aka MckMama, has a great blog that I often go to. Stellan is in the hospitable with a sick heart. His heart beat has been dangerously high for the past few days. Pray that the Lord would ultimately heal him but also that his family would continue to trust in the Lord and his sovereignty. The last couple posts have been updating on his situation and have also been encouarging with thoughts on prayer and the fact that none of this is taking the Lord by shock, he is in control. Please pray for Stellan

Also, please pray for the family of Troya Sheckles. She was shot and killed last night at a nearby park. This park is a block or two away from mine and Patrick's church. Our pastors are calling us for a prayer walk tonight around the park and then our usual Wednesday meeting will also be dedicated to prayer for our community and her family.

In an email concerning this incident our pastor, Ryan Fullerton, encouraged us to not be afraid in this situation. Here is an excerpt:

Finally brothers and sisters, let's ask God to help us respond to this in faith and not in fear. The problems we are seeing in the neighborhood are the kind the gospel can confront, comfort, and overcome. The gospel alone can change a murderers heart, comfort a mourning families grief, and save those who are now asking important questions like 'why?' I know many of us will struggle with fear but, pray that by God's grace none of us would see this as a season to retreat but we would see this as a call to urgently and fearlessly advance the cause of the gospel on the streets of this city we call home.

I found myself easily overwhelmed with fear when I heard about this. My heart has been humbled and reminded that I am no one special. My heart is just as wicked and evil as the person who shot that gun. I have that wickedness in my heart. And it is only by the grace of God that I'm not acting on the wickedness. I pray that the Lord would continue to remind me of that and of his goodness to me. I also pray that my heart would leap at this opportunity to reach out to our community and share the message of Christ.

Refinishing Chairs Chair

A while back I got the idea to recover our chairs. Patrick and his mom found them at some thrift store here in town. They work fine but just dont look the best. So when in hobby lobby one day, I decided it wouldn't be too hard to do a little recovering project. I bought some fabric, foam pads, cording and pins and went home all excited and motivated to get to work.


I was so excited that I went ahead and took off the old fabric on two of the chairs. Well I got bored after ripping off the fabric and took a break. A two week break. Then on a day off I decided to bite the bullet and get these chairs done. One thing...I don't have a sewing machine. So I hand sewed the seat and tried to hold, stretch and hammer down this fabric with my two hands wishing I had three extra. 4 sermons and 3 hours later, I was finished with my first chair.



It has now been two months and I haven't touched the other three. So I have two looking like this


one looking like this




and one like this





I've concluded I need to invest in a sewing machine, get a day off and ask a friend to hep.

Go Girl

Have you ever been out and about in the woods hiking or something when all the sudden it hits you. You have to pee. Really bad. I know this has happened to me many times. While skiing or four-wheeling or even just on the road and they isn't a clean bathroom for miles. Well now our problems are solved!

GoGirl "is a female urination device (sometimes called a FUD) that allows you to urinate while standing up. It’s neat. It’s discreet. It’s hygienic."

Go here to find out more about Go Girl.

** Ok I want to laugh histarically because I just posted that, but really I'm thinking about buying some.**

Spring Time and Sun Shine!

I'm sitting outside listening to James Taylor's "Carolina in my mind." I love James Taylor. I think its because my Dad and Mom like him so much. Anyway its a beautiful day and I'm not really feeling like doing anything (like make dinner) except sit out here and soak up some good ole vitamin D.

I've been planning on my Mom coming up to visit this Friday because I have my half day but just found out today that my two sisters are coming up too!!! We are going to go to a cute little place for lunch and then head out and try to find some deals at some local stores. I'm excited for some family time!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!!

It's beautiful here and has been all week. Thankfully Patrick and I have been able to get out and enjoy this great weather. Monday we went running around a nearby park and then went to the same park for a picnic last night. It's nice to do these things together. I'm thankful that we are able to spend so much time with each other during this season of our life and that we are surrounded by such great parks!!


**BTW **
I participated in an alliteration contest on MckMama's blog the other other day and although I did not win:( my comment was recognized... Go check it out! Her blog is insightful and slightly addicting.

Books

Since the beginning of this year, my Dad and I have been in competition to see who can read the most books (we are also counting # of pages read). It will last until the end of this year. My Dad is a super fast reader and reads huge books so he is probably whooping my tail right now but here is a list of books I've read so far.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
2. My Heart in His Hands by Sharon James (this is a great biography on Anne Judson, a missionary to Burma with her husband Adoniram)
3. My Antonia by Willa Cather
4. Sir Gibbie by George Macdonald
5. Mrs. C.H. Spurgeon by Ray Charles
6. Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow
7. War of Words by Paul David Tripp

I just finished "War of Words" yesterday. This was a great read and has really helped me to evaluate my speech in a biblical manner. Because I really struggle with confrontation, I appreciated this acrostic to show the elements of proper biblical confrontation:

1. Examine your heart. When we start with our own confession, we are in a much better place to lead another to confess.
2. Note your calling. Your goal is to help people see an accept God's view of them.
3. Check your attitude. When you speak, are your words spoken in kindness, humility, gentleness, patrience, forgiveness, forbearance, compassion, and love?
4. Own your own faults. As we admit our own need for the Lord's forgiveness, we are able to be patrient and forgiving with the one to whom God has called us to minister.
5. Use words wisely. We need to ask God to help us use words that carry his mesage, not get in the way of it.
6. Reflect on Scripture. We should enter moments of confrontation with a specific understanding of what Scripture says about the issues at hand.
7. Always be prepared to listen. We need to listen for true confession and the commitment to specific acts of repentance.
8. Grant time for a response. The Bible teachers us that change is usually a process. We need to model the same patience God has granted us.
9. Encourage the person with the gospel. It is the awesome grace of God, his boundless lvoe, and his ever-present help that give us a reason to turn from our sin. The truths of the gospel-both its challenge and its comfort-must color our confrontation.

I'd encourage everyone to read this book. It does a great job of showing us the power of our words and God's plan to use them for His glory.

I'm on my next book now: "A Life that Says Welcome" By Karen Ehman

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day! It's such a beautiful day here in Louisville. High in the seventies, I think.

Here is a good article on the real St. Patrick by Dr. Russell Moore

To our shame, most evangelical Protestants tend to think of Saint Patrick as a leprechaun. As we watch the annual drunken parades and pop-culture consumerism of the March holiday, no one could seem more removed from biblical Christianity than Patrick. And yet, Patrick’s life was closer to a revival meeting than to a shamrock-decorated drinking party named in his honor.

In his volume, St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography, Philip Freeman, a professor of classics at Washington University in St. Louis, lays out a compelling portrait of Patrick, the theologian-evangelist. In accomplishing this, Freeman attempts to reconstruct Patrick’s cultural milieu—that of a world that had “ended” with the fall of Rome in 410 A.D. This collapse of Roman power had unleashed savagery in the British Isles, as thieves and slave-traders were unhinged from the restraining power of Caesar’s sword. Patrick’s ministry was shaped by this new world, not least of which by Patrick’s capture and escape from slavery.

Freeman helpfully retells Patrick’s conversion story, one of a mocking young hedonist to a repentant evangelist. The story sounds remarkably similar to that of Augustine—and, in the most significant of ways, both mirror the first-century conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Freeman helpfully reconstructs the context of local religion as a “business relationship” in which sacrifice to pagan gods was seen as a transaction for the material prosperity of the worshippers. Against this, Patrick’s conversion to Christianity was noticed quickly, when his prayers of devotion—then almost always articulated out loud—were overheard by his neighbors.

The rest of the narrative demonstrates the ways in which Patrick carried the Christian mission into the frontiers of the British Isles—confronting a hostile culture and institutionalized heresy along the way. With this the case, the life of Patrick is a testimony to Great Commission fervor, not to the Irish nationalism most often associated with the saint. As a matter of fact, Freeman points out that Patrick’s love for the Irish was an act of obedience to Jesus’ command to love enemies and to pray for persecutors.

This biography gives contemporary evangelicals more than a pious evangelist to emulate. It also reconstructs a Christian engagement with a pagan culture, in ways that are strikingly contemporary to evangelicals seeking to engage a post-Christian America.

Patrick’s context was a Celtic culture deeply entrenched in paganism, led by the native earth religion of the Druid priests. This is especially relevant in an era when pseudo-Celtic paganism is increasingly en vogue in American and European pagan movements. Freeman sweeps away the revisionist historical claims of the Druid revivalists: there was no “golden age” of equality among the sexes within the Druid cult, for example. Instead, Freeman shows that Patrick’s Christianity actually brought harmony among the genders with his teaching that women were joint-heirs with Christ.

Any evangelical seeking to kindle a love for missions among the people of God will benefit from this volume’s demonstration that the Great Commission did not lie dormant between the apostle Paul and William Carey. Patrick’s love and zeal for the Irish may also inspire American evangelicals to repent of our hopelessness for the conversion of, say, the radical Islamic world—which is, after all, no more “hopeless” than the Irish barbarians of Patrick’s era.

By Russell Moore

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not find a bagillion tiny ants in my bathroom this week, and therefore did not place the best ant killer thing-a-ma-bob right in their tracks. After I did not set this trap, I definitely didn't sit on the toilet for at least five minutes watching it do its magic...luring these little punks who make me uncomfortable in my own bathroom creatures with sweet poison for them to take back to their queen. After a day, they are not all gone and, I'm assuming, DEAD!

I most certainly did not bake this yummy chocolate pecan pie!!


Oh and I also didn't forget to put up pictures from my multiple showers two weekends ago. So here they finally are








Sorry about the spacing... these were being annoying.
First three are of my sis-in-laws shower at my mom's
Last two are from my friend Amanda's shower

Hair Cut

So I want to cut my hair. Once I get the idea to cut my hair, I can't stop thinking about it... so I've been using my time oh so wisely and looking at tons of hair cuts. Here's one that I'll never do because I'm a whimp but I think it's cute on her

Maybe after we have kids and I need a fast do. What do you think?

***Photo from CelebSalon.

ACCESSORIES!

Spring is in the air! and that makes me want to buy new accessories: earrings, rings, hand bags, shoes!! So today I stumbled upon SAMMOON. It's a great website with some really cute jewelry and hand bags for enexpensive... like 3.95-5.95 for earrings and under 30.00 for handbags. Of course you have to pay shipping and handling but maybe if you buy a few things the s&h would be worth it. check it out... I know I'm going to! That is after I make sure its ok with my husband :)

Here's my wish list:

Give Away

Bellaziza has some great giveaways from time to time. Go here to check them out...and enter your name to win a prize!

Please Pray

I have a few things that I'm asking everyone to pray about.

~ My friend Amanda called me yesterday and told me her Dad had a heart attack and is going to need surgery. Please pray that the Lord would keep him safe during surgery and draw him and his family to repentance and grant them all salvation.

~Also my good friends Abigail and Amanda lost their Dad today. I'm not sure how or what he died from. I know he was older, but Amanda is about to have her first child in a week. SO please pray for peace and comfort for their family. Pray that the Lord would be glorified and all involved would trust more in Christ than anything else.

Job 1:21 "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Thankful

Yesterday I met my friend Amanda at McDonalds for her birthday. This wasn't just an ordinary McDonalds, it was connected to Kosair's Children Hospital. While waiting in line I saw a little girl (probably 8 or 9) who was obviously going through chemo treatments. She had lost her hair and was wearing a mask to prevent air borne illnesses. This really made me start thinking about how often I find myself complaining about whatever despite all I have to be thankful for.

I found this piture on this blog and it made me want to write this post.

Here's what I'm thankful for:

• God's grace and mercy in my life. That, knowing who I am to the deepest level, He chose to call, justify, sanctify, and glorify me. I have a great hope to keep me going through all things.
• I have the best husband ever! I'm so thankful that two years ago next month we started dating and a year a go next month he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him! He really makes me so happy. I love to sit by him and just stare at his beautiful face.
• My family. The Lord has really blessed me with a great family. He has continued to add on to us through marriage and healthy babies.
• The Lord's providence. People always warn about getting married at a young age. They kindly tell you that things will probably be tougher if you are both young. Well the Lord has continued to provide for Patrick and I. Thankfully we both have good jobs and have not lacked anything we need. We know that this is all the Lord's doing and that it is to him we should be grateful.
• Friends. I moved to Louisville with Patrick, leaving behind all that was normal and comfortable to me. Thankfully the Lord has placed friends all around us. Some live on the same street even. This has really helped me adjust to a new city and new life.
• This life is not the end. There is more... A place where children wont be diagnosed with cancer. A place where tears will be wiped away and God will be glorified as we are completely satifisied in him. Thankful that we experience things that make us long for that place and not get too comfy here.

Thank you Lord for all you have given me. I pray you would remind me often to be thankful for what you have provided.

Happy Wednesday!

It's Wednesday...which means this week is half way over! I'm excited because this weekend is supposed to be nice outside and I don't have to work. Instead I get to go to two baby showers and see my family and very prego friend Amanda... I'll be sure to post pictures from this weekend.

Hope you're enjoying this wonderful WEDNESDAY!

Stones Cry Out

Patrick, my husband, started a blog back towards the end of Dec 08. He is much better with his words and has some really great articles. Check out his blog!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. It's a great place to confess what we have (have not) done throughout the week. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

First off, I am not the clumsiest person I have ever known. And most certainly did not run straight into the ottoman in our living room and then fall flat on my face. This did not leave a nasty bruise and cause me to cry right before I walked out the door. Patrick did not start laughing before he came over to see if I was ok:) (I really don't blame him- I would have been rolling) and I did not say with the most pittiful voice ever, "Why am I so clumsy?". Does my knee still hurt? Nope not at all.

I was not cheered on by a swarm of 7-13 year olds while break dancing to soulja boy. I would never do that, I much more mature than that.

Oh and while at the birthday party with all those girls I did not dress up in a blue sparkly dress and pose for this picture :)

That was not a great time with the Housley and Murray girls!

What did you not do this week?

Happy Birthday Dad

Today my Dad is 51. It's funny to me how the older I get the younger other people get...let me clarify. When I was ten I thought thirty was so old- you could be married and have 5 kids(like my parents) by that age. Now that I'm twenty I think 30 is nothing and 50 or 51 isn't bad at all. I'm guessing this is my tactic to try and keep everyone around me as young as possible. I don't like to think that others are getting old because that means that I am too.

Anyway, I love my Dad! I'm the youngest of five kids and have always been a 'daddy's girl'. All my life I've strived to impress my Dad by doing good in sports and school. I never wanted to disappoint him. I'm thankful that doing good wasn't a prerequisite for my Dad's love. He loved me (and all my siblings) unconditionally. What a great representation of our Heavenly Father! The God of all creation who loved me even when I was dead in my trespasses and granted me the greatest gift of all. Faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2: 8-10

Happy 51st Birthday Dad!

oh and I promise I wont use too many more wedding pictures for my posts... they are just the easiest to find:)