Having a Mary Spirit

 I began reading this book about a year ago and I learned a lot about having a quiet heart through it. I am a quiet person, but a quiet person can still have a loud heart. I wrote this quote down in my journal and just came across it again. It still gets me how true this is, of me especially. Fear is never an excuse for disobedience.

"...Satan is not nearly as disappointed at losing me from his kingdom as he is determined to keep me from being effective in God's kingdom. If Satan can't make me fall away from God's grace, he will do everything he can to keep me from fully embracing God's grace. Satan wants me... to be so constantly occupied with what we're not that we never get around to realizing all that God is. Our enemy wants to keep us so consumed with our inadequacies that we never get around to appropriating the love and transforming power God has made available to us through His Son."

Quoted from Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver

[Mom's two most recent teacups]

Project 52: week 2

This week I started back in His Song choir, helped the DMC people undecorate the building from Christmas, helped with the girls' school and now we're working on making a cake for some friends. Pictures of the finished product won't be taken until Friday night, but these are from the process of it! It's been a good albeit tiring week.

Golden Dreams

I love to tell the story;

more wonderful it seems

 than all the golden fancies
of all our golden dreams.  

 I love to tell the story,

it did so much for me; 

and that is just the reason

I tell it now to thee. 

 I love to tell the story,

    'twill be my theme in glory, 
to tell the old, old story 
of Jesus and his love.

Project 52

I've seen a lot of people planning on doing the 365 project this year (where you take at least one picture a day for 365 days) and I think that's a really good idea, but I know realistically speaking I'm not going to be able to blog that often. I saw somewhere where you do one picture/week. I thought that was a much better idea for me, so every Friday I'm going to post at least one picture (sometimes, maybe up to 10) of something that stood out to me about that week. So here's this weeks.

[ We began a new study about abiding in Christ on Wednesday nights at Fairpark. I think this one's going to be really good. I know I need it.]

 [I finally experimented with camera raw. I like what I'm seeing. ]

[William made a reindeer with a green nose and called him "Harold". Creativity abounds]

[I love the musical bookmark one of my friends gave me for Christmas, and Sense and Sensibility with footnotes from a sister was neat as well]

I like the new options for photo sizes.

How big is your God?

"The most radical treatment for the fear of man is the fear of the Lord. God must be bigger to you than people are.... Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more."

~Ed Welch

‎"If God is the biggest thing in your life, you don't need anything else, nor do you want it. He is more than enough."

-Jim Berg

2011

We got a new pool table as a late Christmas a few days before the new year. I hadn't played in long while, but now that there's a pool table right outside my bedroom door, I should be getting better at it soon!

Speaking of new year... 2011 is bringing a big change for me. I'm home again, and not quite sure what my new role is yet. I'm looking forward to whatever God has in store for me though and I know it will be good.

Bokeh

Christmas wouldn't be half as fun if there wasn't as much lights

The most wonderful time...

to:

count your blessings

Slow down.

Spend time with family and friends.

Enjoy fellowshipping with the One who gave the greatest gift of all.

Sip a warm drink and watch the snow (or rain) fall.

Appreciate every moment.

Remember less is more when stressing about what to buy who. The thought is more important than the actual gift.