Dove Chocolate

I love Dove Chocolate. Of course for obvious reasons, but also because when you open the wrapper, inside are pithy little comments for your brain to "chew" on while your mouth chews on the yummy chocolate. Today I indulged in two of them. The first read "Listen to your heartbeat and dance". Now that sounds like a relatively easy task. But, for me, it's not so easy. I have a hard time being still for any length of time. I usually end up sitting there thinking of all the things I'm NOT getting done. I get stressed out and then I pop up and I'm off to put another load of laundry in to wash or to the kitchen to wipe up or clean up a mess. Or, I think of all the projects I've been putting off for so long and feel guilty for sitting down "on the job". But today, I did sit down to listen. I really made an effort to hear my heartbeat. Here is what I heard...my husband humming as he fixed his morning coffee, my children laughing as they as they listen to their daddy read of the silly antics of "Calvin and Hobbs", the sound of the rain on the pond just outside the house and I realized, it's all the voice of God. It's the way He speaks to me and it's the most beautiful music there is to dance to. My heart beats, not just to give me physical life, but the real heartbeat of my life is to give me purpose and direction. The real heartbeat comes from the life He gives me.

The second wrapper said, "Don't think about it so much". I had to laugh when I read that one. My precious husband accuses me of over-thinking things all the time. He tells me not to let people (or circumstances) live "rent free" in my head. I do tend to worry things to death. Not just the current things, but the things that could be or might be or the "what-ifs". I love the verse in Philippians that tells me, "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise". (Phil. 4:6-8 CEV) I need to let that peace control the way I think and feel more often.

Toes

Toes are not some of my favorite things. In fact, for the most part, I think toes are ugly. However, these toes belong to my daughters (and me) and I think...they're beautiful.

My Heart

My heart is and has been for a long time, to really convince women of their amazing value and beauty in Christ. Psalm 139:14 tells me that "I am amazingly and miraculously made". I teach first grade at a Christian school and I tell my students that almost daily. At some point, I'm not sure when, I began to believe it about myself. Oh how He loves me. When I think of the God of the Universe becoming a man and willingly giving Himself over to die in my place...I'm blown away. If He would die for me...how can I not live for Him?

Chris Tomlin sings, "How can I keep from singing Your praise? How can I ever say enough? How amazing is Your LOVE. How can I keep from shouting Your Name? I know I am loved by The KING and it makes my heart wanna sing!" I love that song. I can't keep from crying every time I hear it on the radio or in worship at church. I am humbled by His great love for me. Me, a wife, mother, first grade teacher...Daughter of the King. What an amazing thought.

Crowns...

I love crowns. Every real princess does. I even wear a ring that's shaped like a crown. It reminds me of who I am. A princess in the court of The King of KINGS. It also reminds me that I have a home elsewhere. In a kingdom not of this world. One day, I'll lay my crown at His feet. Until then, I wear it proudly.

Homemade Cherry Jam

Today my mom and I made some homemade cherry jam. As we made the jam, we had to boil and mash the cherries and then pick out the pits. There are a lot of pits in 3 pounds of cherries!
It took a lot of boiling and mashing and picking to get them all out, but the result was beautiful jars of cherry jam. I think life can be like making cherry jam. God allows things to"boil" and "mash" us so the pits can rise to the top and be picked out. It makes for a beautiful life when it's all said and done.

The best part of today was that I got to spend most of it with my mom. I love doing that. She's an amazing woman of great strength. She takes care of my 97 year old grandmom daily and doesn't complain. She took care of my dad 24 hours a day as he was dying of leukemia and never once asked for time off. She serves out of a great capacity to love. She has been boiled and mashed quite a bit in her life. The result is beautiful. I pray I can love like that when called upon.

And so it begins...

And so it begins...

I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to finally have my own blogsite. I’m still not sure how it feels. I've seen my friends blogs and been impressed with their bravery in sharing their lives and hearts in such a public way. I suppose my reticence up to this point has been the fear that I wouldn't really have anything to say that anyone would find beneficial to their lives. That I wouldn't be good at it. I suppose if no one ever visits it won’t really matter. But...what if I am good at it? What if I do have insights that could encourage another to be more like Christ? That's my hope...my prayer, actually. And so it begins...