Oh So Relaxed...

A lawn chair.  A swimming pool.  Temperature in the mid-80's.  My three boys with me.  All I was missing was Kidlet One and Favorite-Son-In-Law. 

Here is the very relaxed view I enjoyed for several hours recently:

Sigh...this is close to paradise.  And I am so relaxed it is amazing!

Turn It Around With Praises In Your Mouth

I heard this phrase during a praise and worship time:

Turn it around with praises in your mouth....

Think how the world would change if we spent more time speaking praises instead of negative.

Let's give it a try.

I challenge you.

Watch how the attitudes and the atmosphere changes when you speak praises.

It works!

Amazing.

Bathroom Renovation

Twenty-three years ago we built our house.  Recently we decided to re-do the one bathroom we have on the main floor of the house. 

The remodel process took over a year because we couldn't decide what we wanted for a counter and vanity.  The sales people at Home Depot and Lowe's were very patient with us and most of the time hid the rolling of their eyes when they saw The Husband and I coming in again to look around.  Finally we made a decision and the process started.

Here is the original "single sink" and counter in the bathroom:

 Once we made our decision, we loaded a flatbed cart and two shopping carts full of supplies!

All of it was carried into the house and

stored in the livingroom as we started the renovation

 The Husband pulled out the old single set of lights and removed the huge mirror

 Holes were cut for the new light fixtures

Electricity to the room was cut off during the project

so lamps were brought in from the hallway

 The new lights were hung and wiring holes were patched

 The beige walls were prepped for painting

 The spiny ceiling was scrapped off and the new ceiling painted

 I love this shower curtain. A local paint store matched the paint to the curtain.

 Lightbulbs screwed in

Matching outlet covers put in place

 Here is the new "double sink" counter

 New faucets

The two matching mirrors aren't hung here

but in the finished bathroom they are hung centered over the sinks.

The new vanity is a dark, rich wood like the mirrors.

And after the project was finished, the piles of supplies

and bathroom reading material could be put away!

 

The completion of a project..amazing!

blogging quiet...

Sorry I have been blogging quiet.

Life got busier and I couldn't squeeze in an extra few minutes for blogging.

I'm back.

And in the next days, weeks and months I'll share what we've been up too!

For now, know that I am praying for each of you.  Praying that your days will be blessed with the knowledge that God, a tremendous Father, loves you more than you could possibly understand.

Amazing!

Hope from Max Lucado

Such a great message was in my daily devotion this morning.  This is from Max Lucado. 

Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as it is that we don't know the right thing for which to hope. (You may want to read that sentence again.)

Hope is not what you expect [but] a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending.  It's Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson but his son.  It's Moses standing in the promised land not with Aaron or Miriam at his side but with Elijah and the transfigured Christ....

Hope is not a granted wish...[but] a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.

This is from Max's God Came Near book.

For you that don't know the story, Abraham and his wife, Sarah were not able to have children.   But God promised that they would have a son, which seemed very doubtful to Abraham and Sarah.  They waited and they waited and there was no baby.  But, the promise did come true.  Their son was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90.  Yes, you read that correctly.  They were old!  Do you suppose they had given up HOPE?  In fact when they got pregnant, they both laughed!  So they named their son, Isaac, which means laughter.

The mention of Moses is another "that's impossible" story that you might just want to read in the Bible!

Bottom line:  God always keeps His promises.  And, there is always hope.  Sometimes we have to wait and sometimes we have to look for hope without blinders on our eyes.

I love that last sentence in the devotional so I'll repeat it again and leave you pondering...

Hope is not a granted wish...[but] a zany, unpredictable dependence on God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.

Mercy

Psalm 86:6


Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.

Cries and prayers of mercy for the people of Japan.
 
Oh Lord, mercy...hold back the earthquakes. 
 
Calm the seas.
 
Wisdom and safety from radioactivity.
 
We cry for mercy.

Contrast

In the spring of 2010, this was the scene outside of my work door...

Today this was the view...

Quite the contrast!

The buds last spring were full and fragrant...

Today the branches were heavy with snow...

I am forever amazed at the contrasts God gives me to enjoy!