Page Tabs

If you've stopped by here frequently you may have noticed that I added som page tabs to my blog. It's a way for me to organize some of my ideas, recipes, photos and other things that strike my fancy. As I update them I'll be posting those updates to let you know, if you're interested in perusing. So, as you may have guessed I made update to the tabs today, which are as follows...

Modesty Matters: Under here is a link to a new blog that I've been following. Jennifer @ Is Anything to Hard for God? wrote this post about where all the ladies have gone. Real ladies, Godly ladies, and what it means to be a lady. I've really enjoyed her posts. They are very encouraging and God centered. I hope that all of the events in her life that have been taking place for her turn out well. If you're interested in checking it out go to the tab and check out the article, or you can find a link to her blog under SPG Happenings, on this page.

Books & Photos: Under here I have posted a link from Flickr to some of the photos from Amy's wedding, at least to start with. I'll be uploading photos to Flickr and then posting them here, instead of posting so many photos all at once on here. Sometimes a post may call for many photos, but I want to shorten some posts and this is a good way to do it.

So those are the 2 updates. More to come later.

The National Day of Prayer

I saw this as I was perusing through blogs tonight. Needless to say the author of this blog had nothing nice to say about Bill & Sarah, yet I find it ironic that someone with such contempt felt compelled to post this interview on her blog and allow those of us that agree with them, like myself, to repost it on our own blogs. So that is what I'm doing reposting it because the freedoms that govern out liberty were given to us by God and these two got it right.

Romans 13:1 ~ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Colossians 1:16,17 ~ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.



I wish that FOX News wasn't a cable channel and that I could get it on my TV, but I'm to cheap to pay for cable at this point.

I'm definitely looking forward to LTIA (Leadership Training Institute of America) this summer.

Flowers & Teapots

It took me a little bit to load these photos to my hard drive, procrastination:/ But these were the flowers that Sherri gave to Sandi and I for our Birthday.

Aren't the lovely?

And this was the teapot that I received from last months Secret Prayer Sister. I really enjoy tea! Nothing in it thank you. I'll take it straight up. Diana was a great SPS to have, I totally had it wrong all month. Normally I don't like to guess, but I was sure that it was someone else. She said a little birdy told her that I liked tea and so with it I received some sleepytime tea and other various herbal blends.

I've never had a teapot like this before. So it will be a nice and refreshing treat to use whenever I want a spot of tea. Thanks Diana:)

Money Matters with Grace & Honor

I wasn't sure what to write for the progress that my debt ticker above now shows. In case you haven't stopped by here's the link to my new endeavor, and my debt ticker used to read 5.9% instead of the 14.6% that it reads now. Yes, that means A big payment was made today, the last of those for a little while yet *sigh* but it does feel nice in any case.

I want to try and make at least one monthly post about the progress towards my debt reduction, but this month has presented some challenges and I didn't think that I was going to be able to sit still long enough to digest all that has come my way. That is until this month's issue of Grace & Honor. Grace & Honor is an online magazine that is published by Lehigh Valley Baptist Church, in Emmaus , PA. I have a couple friends there that write for it and I almost always receive some kind of blessing from what the ladies writing for it share, not just my friends, but this month 2 of them wrote about finances and the role that they play in our lives. Ironic? Not so much. That actually seems to happen to me a lot, especially with one of the writers, because God knows what I need and when. Even before my own heart knows that I need the encouragement, or admonishment, the Lord already has tools prepared to meet my needs as He sees fit. Don't get me wrong, the magazine does not take place over my own studies in the word, or my church attendance, but as a supplement it's always a fun and encouraging place to go to in this W.W.W., which is often hard to find in the world.

Jackie wrote about Money Myths. What they are for a single person and how we are to treat money. I won't reteach what she wrote you should just go check it our for yourself. Shamefully I have not always been the wisest steward with the money that God has given to me. The Myth of money is that there is eternal security in finances and the things that it allows us to buy, when money is in fact simply a means to an end. Money will not last forever, the only thing that will last forever is the word of God.

Luke 21:33 ~ Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Katina in her article for Two Cents wrote about Hezikiah's tenacity and how his willingness to serve the Lord with his whole heart was the cause for his prosperity. To sum up her article, and what I took away from it was, be faithful to God with your money, be accountable for the money that God has given to you, spend wisely and most importantly DON'T give up on your financial goals. Freedom of this kind doesn't happen over night, unlike the freedom that God's gift of salvation offers. It takes tenacity to sick to God's way of doing things, but in the end His ways are always meant to make a Christian prosperous. Prosperous spiritually that is, because without the static of making up for financial irresponsibility, and back-pedaling out bad decisions, the guidance that the Lord gives is easier to listen to and act upon.

Tenacity I have in spades, something that has been a blessing when used on the side of righteousness and at times it has been a curse because when I dig my heals in it's often hard to get me to see a situation differently. And I've never really been a fan of mythology either, so I really have no business believing the myths that the satisfaction that money tells me I should have anyway. The only thing that I can see to do is stick to it and listen to God and not my wallet, each time I want to make a purchase that I can't afford.

Now if I could only be patient while doing this:/ Something else to work on for another time.

Celebrations of Life: A Trifecta

I guess you could also call it The Circle of Life, yes that's a play on the Lion King. Seriously though May 1st was quite a day for people to celebrate the different stages of the lives that they lead. First let's start with celebration #1 & moi...

May 1st was my birthday! And I am now 31 years old, or young, however you want to look at it. It also happened to be the birthday of my roommate and one of the Teens in church (this is naturally it's own trifecta). But I digress. If you remember from last year my friends threw me a surprise birthday party and paid for me to accomplish my goal of skydiving. It was amazing! This year was a bit more mellow. I had friends come over for dinner and we laughed the evening away, spying on my neighbors, and eating this amazing trifle that Kali made for desert (GF chocolate chip brownies w/cheese cake filling and sprinkled with a crushed up Heath bar. You probably gained 5 pounds just reading that). It was a great evening! 1 Timothy 6:8 "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Here is Sandi and I blowing out our fake candles on the desert.
Forget abt. my age alone, if you had combined both our ages
with candles we might have set off the fire alarm :P LOL

Sadly, celebration #2 I was unable to attend. It was my friend Regina's wedding day! Reg and I have been friends since kindergarten, sharing the experiences of Girl Scouts and Summer School (back when it was "cool" to attend that). We giggled over our infatuation over a certain Senior, back when we were freshman in HS, shared in the fun of Mrs. Frost's Shakespeare class and school spirit rally's and finally graduated into real life. Naturally over time it's easy to loose track of people, but this past Christmas we discovered that we were both going to be in our home town for the holiday and met up for coffee. It's always weird seeing people after 12 years, but after ordering our coffee's, which we waited an obscenely long time for, our conversation flowed smoothly and it was like no time had passed at all (I love friendships like that). Now obviously we have changed since we last spent serious time together, different life paths have a way of doing that to people, but there are still things that we hold in common, like our joy in photography and laughing over our own mistakes (we're very silly). I can't wait to see pictures. Aren't they cute?

Ecclesiastes 4:9 "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."

Mr. & Mrs. Hoefman
CONGRATULATIONS REG!

Now celebration #3 most people might not count as a celebration because it actually involves the passing of a life. On April 20th, 2010 Mr. Glenn Sanders passed from this side of life and into eternity. A pretty great eternity actually. See Bro. Sanders knew where he was going after he died. He was a born again child of God, and trusted in Jesus and His power to save men from their sins. I only knew him personally for the past few years, since he was the father of my friend Ginger (whom I attend church with) but in his life he was a faithful preacher of the gospel, as well a missionary to Romania, Russia and the Reindeer people in the later years of his life. The memorial service held on Saturday was a great time of testimony for the life that he led and the lives of the people that he touched and a celebration in the fact that his life was well lived.

Jeremiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Bro. Glenn Sanders
March 5, 1928 - April 20, 2010

Some people believe that there is no way of knowing that you're eternity can be secure, but if that were true then there would be no relevance to 1 John 5:13, which says "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." You can also know about eternity and what Jesus did for Bro. Glenn, and you, by clicking on this link if you're interested.

Life, as you can see, has various events to be celebrated; birth, marriage and death, the Lord is in them all. My 30's are setting up to be an interesting decade. Let the celebrations continue!