Inspired

I've been participating on and off in the A Woman Inspired online conference the past few days. If you haven't been a part of it, there is one more day, so check it out.

Anywho, I've not been able to listen to all of the sessions, but those that I've heard have been SO inspiring! As is often the case, I've come away from these talks with one significant theme:

I have GOT to remember to take EVERYthing to God and SEEK HIM in ALL things.

It is far too easy for me to just (try to) run my life on my own. To make my plans and then hope that God blesses them. To try and figure things out myself.

And I know better. It's crazy that I do that, but I do. I pray that I can get this one down. Or at least improve. I want to be a woman who takes absolutely every single thing to Him, all the time. My thoughts, fears, dreams, desires, concerns, etc.

Wordless Wednesday - InvisiGirl

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Flexibility

Proverb 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps."

I try to keep this verse in the forefront of my mind while making my daily/weekly plans. Sometimes I have that flexibility and other times, not so much.

This weekend, my husband was at our church's annual men's retreat. For the boys and me, that pretty much means a weekend of play (not that we don't play when he's home; it's just our yearly deal). It's the one weekend out of the year when I let them watch too much tv and play too many video games. It's also the one weekend that I designate as my scrapbooking weekend. At our previous house, I would tell the boys they HAD to eat in front of the television for every meal. You can imagine how that went over! The reason? Because I was going to take over the dining room table for scrapbooking. Then we'd go rent some movies and have a fun, laid-back weekend.

Somehow, this year didn't turn out quite as expected. The boys were having issues with each other on Saturday. Issues which required my intervention. As much as I wanted to crop, I had a hard time getting to it. One of the boys had a huge meltdown Saturday night around the time we leave for church. Things just didn't come together so well.

This afternoon, the guys were on their way back down the mountain from the retreat and hubby called to see if I could have my dad pick up the car trailer from a friend's because one of his friends' car broke down - clear on the other side of Berthoud Pass, around two hours from home (could you imagine the towing bill?!?). Of course, we were excited to have hubby home tonight after being gone for the weekend, but apparently that wasn't God's plan.

My dear husband had the means and ability to help someone out, which trumped the desire to be home. No surprise to God, though. It was in His plan all along. We've had snow on and off recently, and they definitely get more up there, but God was gracious to provide dry roads for this trip. He'll be home a little late, but nothing terrible.

In the case of my husband, I know that God changed his plans to use him to bless someone else. In the case of my weekend plans, I don't really know why they didn't pan out. But does it really matter? We should be every bit as flexible whether we know the reason or not. God's still in control. He's still trustworthy and faithful. And He will bless our obedience to His call.

Celebrity Look-Alikes

Okay, this is pretty silly. I can tell you from personal experience that I don't really look like any of these celebrities. But it sure made for a funny collage.



So then I decided to try it with a totally different shot of me. Why not?



Okay, that's even worse! I look like a DUDE?!?! Get out!

Alrighty - one more. Then I'm done. Really. This pic of me is pretty bad - I was just trying to get a shot without hair in my face. But still. This is just getting comical.



Well, that was good for a Saturday night laugh. Try it out. See who you look (or don't look) like. If you do, leave me a comment so I can check out your collage.

April 1 Thoughts

April 1st

My friends Amanda & Jocelyn Dixon pointed out a different perspective last year on April 1st. One that I hadn't particularly thought of. It was all about the anti-fool side of things. If you click on their names above, you can go to each of their posts this year with their thoughts on April Fool's Day.

I've often pulled tricks of some sort, although not really much in recent years. Last year, I did catch my boys with some frozen breakfast cereal. It was all in fun and quite harmless. They had a good laugh and enjoyed some cereal they don't normally get to have. So there was a treat behind the joke.

I don't exactly know where I'm going with this, but it was just one of those things that I found interesting. I don't believe in jokes or tricks that are harmful, mean-spirited, or cruel. But I also don't have a problem with the little things we sometimes do in our own family - on the basis that both parties will enjoy it.

What are your thoughts?

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And then there's the other part of April 1 for me. It's my cousin's birthday. Or it was. She went to be with the Lord four years ago this month. As much as I kind of thought that I would be sad, it was a little hard. She's in the presence of Jesus! She suffers no more. There is no cancer ravaging her body. If she were still here, she'd have turned 45. I miss her. It's strange that we don't talk on the phone, mail each other cards, or visit any more. But it's all so much better for her. The only truly sad part, in my opinion, is her husband and children, who carry on without her physical presence. I suspect that yesterday was much harder for them. This whole month will probably be tough. It's not only the anniversary of her birth, but also of her death. So I will be diligent to pray for them.

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I've sure been in a writing rut for some time it seems. I'm able to come up with ideas until I sit down at the keyboard. And then they slip away through the holes in my colander brain. I carry a little notebook in my purse, have them stashed all over the house, and probably in the car in case inspiration strikes. But it mostly only strikes when I'm away from the keyboard and have no ability to write something down. Why is that? It really makes me crazy and I'd like it to stop.

This is my big, annual scrapbooking weekend, so maybe that will get some creative juices flowing.