Happy Thanksgiving, friends! When I thought about what I wanted to post for today, this passage out of Colossians 1 came to mind. I could think of no better thing to say on this day of giving thanks, so I'm going to write it out for you. It's a prayer of mine for my whole family and it's a prayer I pray for you—my friends. This is Colossians 1:9-14.
For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of him in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him; bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
I am so very thankful for the love of the Lord, for the gift of salvation, for good health, for shelter, for food in our refrigerator and pantry, vehicles to drive, clothes on our back, wonderful families and faithful friends.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs, which is very appropriate for today—The Thanksgiving Song by Ben Rector.
Here's the linkz button for anyone who wants to join us today! Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Love to all. ❤
Happy Wednesday friends, and happy (almost) Thanksgiving! I am linking up with Shay and Sheaffer today for this monthly blog post.
I'm jumping right in!
What we're eating this week:
Monday night we had a snacking type dinner. I made some smoked sausage in the oven to go with potato soup. Noah ate his sausage with cheese cubes and Todd and I shared shrimp cocktail that Noah opted to skip out on. Graham and Jonah were out, so it was just the three of us. Last night we had taco soup and biscuits that taste like sausage balls. I have no idea what we're eating tonight and the rest of the week.
What I'm reminiscing about:
A few Thanksgivings ago.
My sister Lisa, her son Jaret, daughter Erika and Erika's husband and twin girls were all here that year. This was Jonah (twin A) and Noah (twin B) holding Kinsley (twin A) and Kylie (twin B). So left to right in this picture are Jonah with Kinsley and Noah with Kylie. And then the next picture is me with little Kinsley. It's hard to believe these babies above are turning five in January! Time FLIES.
Also, check out the cuties in the pictures above! I was having all the feelings on Veteran's day a few weeks ago. I miss the days of all of us going downtown with Dad for the annual Veteran's day parade.
What I'm loving:
Oh, just this...
...our home all decorated for Christmas.
What we've been up to:
We've all been up to the same old things— everyone is working, then coming home and going out. I rarely see Jonah and Noah on weekends, because I leave to go out before they wake up and go to bed before they come home. Graham and Drew are the same, but Graham hangs around downstairs sometimes, like last weekend when he watched part of a football game with my husband. I stay home during the week and like to go out with my mom and sister on the weekend, except for one day last week when I went out with my mom in love on a Tuesday.
What I'm dreading:
When the holidays are over. I love this time of year!
What I'm working on:
Writing! I have a deadline looming over me and my portion of our next Bible study needs to be completed by the end of January. I got a good start a few nights ago, because I've been so inspired lately, thanks to a productive meeting last week and a great sermon my pastor preached on Sunday. If you want to pray for me, that's one way you can pray. I am also working on two other writing projects—one for an online magazine and one for a new website that launches on December 1! I'll share more about that second one soon. I have one more exciting thing that starts at the first of the year, Lord willing, for another website launch. This third one is for my church family's website.
What I'm excited about:
All the days between today and Christmas! It's not the actual day of Christmas that I love, it's the entire season. People are more kind, more friendly, everyone seems more generous and giving, people are more patient—I love every second of every day.
What I'm watching and reading:
I'm watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies. There have been some really great ones lately and I've watched several of my old favorites as well. I really enjoy having three Hallmark channels! I don't take them for granted, because for a few years, I didn't have any of them.
I'm reading all the Christmas books! When I finish this one, I have several lined up next. This one is Christmas at the Restaurant, by Pamela Kelley, a.k.a. my newest favorite author. I'll share about the books I read this month one day next week, so stay tuned and plan on coming back!
What I'm listening to:
If you guessed Christmas music, you'd be right! Not just any Christmas music, though. I love Christmas worship music and have a great playlist on Spotify called Christmas 2020. You can click here to have access.
What I'm wearing:
Bright colors, bright nail polish, bright lipstick. It's the one time of year I go bright and sparkly with everything from clothes to my nails. The bright colors make me so happy! I've gotten some cute things from Old Navy recently—two new graphic tees (one pictured that says 'coffee weather' and one not pictured that says 'holly jolly'), leggings (burgundy and dark green), the rainbow colored fleece pullover you see and on Saturday I treated myself to some new clogs that are Dansko. They were not cheap, but with all the issues I have with my feet, they feel like I'm walking on a cloud and they're supportive AND cute.
What I'm doing this weekend:
I'm sure I'll see Mom and Trish! Other than that, I don't know. I'm going to Dad's Friday night.
What I'm looking forward to next month:
Duh. I plan on sharing some of my favorite Christmas worship music with you starting next week, so again—stay tuned and check in often.
Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all. ❤
Happy Wednesday, friends! I thought I'd share some encouragement from one of my favorite passages of Scripture today. Side note, just about every passage I read becomes one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Does anyone else do that?
Here is the passage that I love. It's James 1:19-21.
My dear brothers and sisters understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth, and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
The words quick to listen stood out to me, because so often that is the last thing I do. I am quick to jump in with a solution or advice, but sometimes what I need to do is just listen. I will never forget a conversation I had with someone about that one time. They were "venting" to me and I thought they wanted a solution, but really all they needed to do was to just talk. Once I learned that, I've tried to make it a habit to listen first and only speak when asked directly for my thoughts.
Being quick to listen leads easily into being slow to speak. You can't listen and speak at the same time, so one has to have a greater importance. It's more important to listen than it is to speak. Have you ever been around someone who is constantly talking over someone else? I was recently, and I have an issue with my ears that when that happens, each person talking cancels the other one out. I used to tell my boys that when they were little—"ONE AT A TIME!"
One person talking over another doesn't work.
Have you ever wondered about the part that says slow to anger? The next part of that same verse explains the meaning—human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. As believers, we are to be aiming for holiness—we should be looking more and more like Jesus, the more time goes by. How can we look more and more like Him? After we rid ourselves of moral filth (filth=sin), we can humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (Praying and reading the word of God is so important! Don't just read the word, apply it to your life everyday! Reading the Bible without application makes the Bible meaningless, and it's far from that.)
We are all sinners and we all need to be saved from that sin. The only way we can be saved from sin is through Jesus Christ. Paul said in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin (disobedience) requires punishment, much like a child needs to be disciplined for disobeying its parents, and that punishment is death. Paul said in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This gift from God is eternal life in Jesus and it's a free gift! Nothing you or I do would ever be enough to save our own souls from death. Only Jesus can save, that is why He is called the Savior of the world.
I ask you this all the time, but I'll ask again—do you know Jesus? If you put one hundred people in a room, all of them would probably think they're saved, that they're a Christian. They would think that because most people think that because they're good people, that means they're a Christian. That is not the case. You only become a Christian when you confess that you're a sinner and that you need a Savior. You have to believe in your heart and accept Him as Lord of your life.
It's as easy as that! If you want to talk more about this, please reach out to me either here or at allboys@gmail.com. I'd love to talk to you! I say all this tonight because we're approaching the holiday season and Jesus is the reason why we celebrate the season. The gifts are nice, the decorations are beautiful and nobody loves a twinkling light and a good Hallmark movie as much as I do—but that's not what the holidays are about. It's all about Jesus. None of those other things matter, as fun as they may be. What matters is the difference between life and death. Do you know Jesus?
Happy Tuesday, friends! Are you loving a short work week? I know my sons are. I thought I'd share some more random thoughts and new pictures with you on this cold Tuesday.
I have mentioned this Bible above no less than a hundred times since January 1 of this year. I have loved every single day I've spent reading through the Bible this year! After a year of chronological Bible reading, I like to switch up my routine and pick a different way to read through part (or the whole) Bible in a year. I read a ton of books, so why wouldn't I read all of the Bible every year? In case you're interested in this for yourself or someone else, here is a link for you. This would make the greatest gift for someone!
I am late to the game on Turkish towels, but I love them! I found a three pack of them at Home Goods last week for $10, so I bought them to try out. I'd love a few, now that I know how much I love them and how absorbent they are. I love the neutral of the black and white and after I washed these, it prompted me to clean out the towel drawer in the kitchen and I moved some of the more threadbare towels to my stash of towels we use to clean with.
I have been having some of the best quiet time recently. I had gotten several days behind in my Everyday with Jesus Bible, so even though I wanted to hurry and catch up again, I had to go slow because the reading has been so good. I've been in Ezekiel and Hebrews this past week, with Psalm and Proverbs thrown in the middle.
I've been so inspired to write because of all the quality time I've spent reading some great passages of Scripture. I don't say that lightly—one thing I'm working on is our next Bible study that will be ready for studying by August of 2022. I am always thankful when I'm inspired by reading the Bible or through a sermon my pastor preached. He inspired me greatly in his sermon yesterday and I was making notes as I was taking notes during the sermon.
I bought Todd a new coaster! 🤣 He really is not a bah humbug about Christmas, just a wee bit with the decorating I did early. I have to point out once again that this would be the week I'd be decorating for Christmas and it's a week that I don't feel my best. (This was the time last year that we all had covid and I had decorated early last year as well. It's just one more way that God is in all the little details of every moment.)
I send things like this almost every single day. I also call her way more than I text and she almost always answer my phone call. She's literally the best. Speaking of her, I am so excited about something fun we have planned for my birthday in December! We love to add to the crazy of the Holidays by making a quick day trip every year, but this year we're doing a spend the night again! I am so excited. We're going to a Christmas concert!
This was me on Saturday—reading while Todd watched football. I've come to love our Saturday nights together at home. I read and he coaches them through the tv screen. And by coaches, I mean yells. Saturday's game was intense and Alabama almost messed up again. Fun fact—I am not a fan of sports, but I married the world's biggest supporter of SEC football. He only likes college football, he isn't a fan of any pro sport. As a result of him loving the game, he raised four boys to love it as much as he does, but Drew also loves professional sports. He's the only one, though they all play fantasy football.
This is Jonah's truck. I love that all our sons love their vehicles so much. Three of them drive big trucks with tinted windows and loud engines, but the "baby" of the family, Noah (who is the tallest in the family) drives the smallest car. Isn't that funny?
This is my newest favorite thing to wear. A couple of weeks ago, Old Navy was having a huge online sale, so I bought this pullover, two pairs of leggings and a couple of cute graphic t-shirts, one of which is a Christmas one. That makes me so happy, but so does this pullover! I love color, but I typically don't wear a lot of it. I've already worn this twice since it was delivered.
I also love a bright lipstick and always have, though I don't wear colors like this often anymore. I've switched over to neutral lipsticks in the last two years, but this one is fun. I love LimeLife Enduring Lip Color and have two shades—one is a neutral called Macaron, and this one is a bright purply-pink called Cake Pop.
Well, I'll end with that last earth shattering thought. I hope y'all have a great day. Thanks for always reading my blog and being such sweet encouragers. Love to all! ❤
Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I did—it was fun, relaxing, quiet and busy. It hit all the good things that I love and I am always grateful for that.
I thought I'd share something the Lord did for me on Friday morning. I was up early because my sinuses were bothering me, so I got up to shower and take medicine, then I came downstairs to drink coffee. I have this little five minute devotional that I keep downstairs and when I picked it up to read that day's reading, this was the verse I saw.
Here is what was cool about this. I saw this verse and read the entry from the devo, but I had just prayed this verse the day before! Isn't that so cool of the Lord? It's always those little details that He is in that just blows my mind. I'll recap what I shared on social media for those of you not on there. Just the other day I was praying and thanking the Lord for something and I thought of this passage. I actually prayed this passage! I didn't know the number of men involved in the healing or the address, but I said, "Lord, I always want to be like the one who went back to thank you, even if the other did not. Please help me to always be like the one."
The passage is Luke 17:11-18. There were ten men with leprosy who implored with Jesus to heal them. And Jesus healed them! But only one—a Samaritan—went back to thank Jesus for healing him. Jesus asked the one, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except for this foreigner?" Then Jesus told the man to get up, that his faith had saved him. I want to be like the one who went back to thank Jesus! I never want to just enjoy the gift—I want to always consider the Giver of every good gift. James 1:17 tells us that He is the giver of every good and perfect gift, He is the Father of lights who never changes and He still heals, even today.
I just thought that was really cool and wanted to share it with you. I always feel so encouraged when something like that happens and thought if I feel that way, someone reading this may need that reminder as well. I hope it encourages someone!
Dad and I had a nice time together on Friday, as usual. I had soup ready for our lunch when he got here, which was so good because it felt cold. We left home a little early so that I could go pick up my new glasses. Did I mention I went to the eye doctor last week? I needed new glasses and I also have to see an ophthalmologist soon, because I have the beginning of glaucoma. I'm rolling my eyes, because I knew my eyes had gotten significantly worse and I've been putting off going for a while. I need glasses to read, but I also have to have them for driving now. The next time I go back I have to get bifocals.
Dad and Sandy invited me to go to dinner with them that night, so I took them up on their offer and joined them at their favorite place in Memphis. It was so good! After that I came home and watched a movie and went to bed.
I went out with Mom on Saturday for a bit and did a little Christmas shopping, then stayed home the rest of the day with my husband and read while he watched football. I didn't see my sons all that day, which is always weird, but that's usually the case every weekend.
Isn't she pretty? I love her lipstick in this picture. Right after we took this, I introduced her to the peppermint milkshakes from Chick Fil A.
I stayed home from church on Sunday because of my sinuses giving me fits. I can't breathe out of my nose and I sound like a 90 year old woman who's smoked all of her life. For that reason, I decided I didn't want to be around people. ;) Todd worked that night, I read in the afternoon and watched movies that night. How was your weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!
Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for this weekly blog post. How has your week been? Mine has been really good. The weather here has been crazy unpredictable this week and we've had cold weather and then weather in the mid 70's, low 80's. Because of that, everyone in the house has been suffering with sinus issues. It was my turn to start with the same issues today. So, other than everyone not feeling great, it's been a really good week.
I've been talking about music this week—it's been my favorite part of my days. I'm going to share a couple of my current favorites below.
Building 429 - Hope Is Here (Official Lyric Video)
The Thanksgiving Song by Ben Rector
Did you ever read my "Tuesday Around Town" blog posts where I wrote about the town I live? Well, in case you need further proof that where I live is the best to live, there are professional people who agree with me! Check out this list "Hallmark movie worthy" towns to visit—look at which town is named first! Here is a link for you to visit to read the article.
I took this picture last December. I spent last night there on the square with my friend Andrea. It was girl's night out and the shops stayed open late. We did some Christmas shopping! It was such a fun night.
I loved that the weather was cold and it felt Christmas-y.
This tree was beautiful, but the picture doesn't do it justice.
This coffee shop is so cute! It's called Square Beans. I wish I could say that it's my favorite, but truth be told, their coffee is terrible. It's such a shame too, because there is such potential with the cute building and all the charm. I am sort of a coffee snob, though and I am very picky about the coffee I drink. In my opinion, I make the best coffee and nobody else's compares. I don't like Starbucks either. Please don't hate me.
I spent some time writing out scripture yesterday. It was my favorite part of the week! I came across all my old scripture cards that I've either made or been given over the years and I tucked them away in a safe place.
Tuesday was a favorite day, because I spent quality time with my mom-in-love and we shopped a little. Also, peppermint milkshakes are my favorite!
My favorite thing is when the leaves fall off the trees. I was sitting in my car one morning this week and all of a sudden it started raining leaves! It was beautiful. I loved the way our house looked with leaves on the roof.
I've been getting up so early all week—around 4-4:30. Getting up early is my favorite! I love watching the sun slowly rise.
How was your week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! ❤
Happy Thursday, friends! I am joining Rebecca Jo and Leslie once again for this weekly blog post. Can you believe that one week from today is Thanksgiving?
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I've been meaning to share this song with you! This is one of my favorite songs right now and I'm going to warn you that it may cause you to cry. My friend told me this on Sunday—she said she started listening to it and she had to turn it off. I never MEAN to make you cry, but it's a beautiful song. This is The Thanksgiving Song sung by Ben Rector.
That leads me to my first thing to be thankful for this week—the gift of good music. Have I told you that my dad and I often listen to music on Fridays when he's here? I get my love of music from him and it seems like a lot of my childhood memories are interwoven with songs we listened to or sang together. (We used to sing in choir together!) He used to take me to school every morning and we loved to listen to worship music on the way there. We loved singing together and to this day, he has a beautiful tenor voice. I love to hear him sing.
On Fridays we listen to different styles of music—sometimes it may be a worship song I want him to hear, or we'll listen to light jazz. That's one of his favorites. Just a couple of weeks ago I introduced him to Kristin Chenoweth. Have you heard her sing? I always knew her as an actress, but she has a beautiful voice! Here's a song I love that she sings. It brought both Dad and me to tears when we listened together two weeks ago.
This is A House is not a Home by Kristin Chenoweth.
As a side note, she is the actress in my favorite Hallmark Christmas movie, A Christmas Love Story. She co-stars with Scott Wolf, also known as Bailey from our own favorite show—Party of Five, that ran from 1994-2000. When we watched this show, we always said if we had a son that we would name him Bailey. Well, we had a son, but we forgot about the name Bailey and named him Graham. I'm glad we named him Graham—he actually has several friends named Bailey, but his name is rare.
I'm also thankful for good movies. I've watched some great Hallmark Christmas movies already, one of which was My Family Tree. I think it came on Saturday night, but I watched it Sunday night. I love it when the acting is really good. The love of a good movie is something else I share with Dad. When I as young, he subscribed to a class movie of the month type club and he raised me on classic movies and musicals. Our very favorite was always The Sound of Music. We watched it almost every week. We also loved Singing in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, That's Entertainment!, and South Pacific. To this day, I love musicals. Remember when La La Land came out several years ago? I saw it twice in the theater! It was the same for me with The Greatest Showman. I drug my best friend with me to see them both and she was such a great sport.
I fell asleep praying Monday night and thanking God for our family. In one week, I have seen all three sets of our parents. I saw Dad and Sandy on Friday, Mom and Bill on Friday night and Phyllis and Wiley on Tuesday. The Lord is so sweet to allow me quality time with each of them. I also regularly talk to my siblings—I feel like this is such a rare gift. Are normal people as close to their family members as we are? Aside from this, my boys talk to me all the time and when I don't see them in person, they call me. Graham calls me as he drives a lot. Jonah is starting to do the same. Drew has started that as well, since he started working at St. Jude. Noah prefers to talk in person, and I am okay with that. I am writing this post on Tuesday night, but when he came home from work today, he sat down to tell me about his day. He was really frustrated and we sat down so he could talk it out and process the terrible day he had. I am so grateful to be so close to my sons.
This was us after we got our peppermint milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A! I haven't had one of those in years.
This was Mom, Trish and me this past Saturday. I am always thankful for quality time. Give me that over a gift any day of the week!
I am thankful for social media—and I know that sounds strange, but here's why. I love the memories that pop up each day! Had it not been for that, I would not have been inspired for my blog post on Wednesday, where I shared something a friend of mine taught on a retreat several years ago. The message was on the topic of forgiveness. If you missed it, I'd love for you to read it! Click HERE to get to that post.
I am thankful that I went to the eye doctor this week. My prescription has changed a bunch, so I'll be wearing glasses all the time now. I have to schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist as well because I have the beginning of glaucoma. Oh, the joys of growing older! But seriously—I am grateful to be able to gracefully (or not so gracefully?) grow old.
I am thankful for fun memories with great friends! In this picture above, my friend Wendy and I became the new kind of friends—the kind who share a bus seat and a hotel room. We sing on the praise team together in choir at church and in 2018 we took a trip to Mobile, Alabama for a Christmas concert. We got there and got changed, went to dinner, went to the concert and got to our room and into our pajamas to watch a Hallmark Christmas movie. I love this sweet friend!
I already mentioned music and being thankful for it—but I love Spotify! I am on there as allboys-us in case you want to follow me. I made my account public for this reason and if I do say so myself, I have made some pretty great playlists. My favorite is that Christmas 2020.
Well, I'll wrap this post up with that. Thanks for reading, friends! Love to all. ❤
