Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm joining in with Rebecca Jo for today's blog post. I hope you join us at the end! 

As odd as it sounds, I'm thankful for the cooler weather we've had again this week. I love soup and I took advantage of the opportunity to make it one more time before the warm weather arrives to stay.

Our favorite is taco soup. I posted about this on Tuesday when I shared a dinner inspiration post.

I am thankful for the gift that good communication is. I know I've mentioned this here before, but we're a close knit family, both with those in our own home and our extended families. I'm grateful that I get opportunities to text or carry on a phone conversation with a member of our extended family. This happened on Wednesday afternoon for me, and I was on the phone for over an hour with a loved one. I also love that our sons come to me to talk. I don't try to solve problems or offer solutions, but I listen. I feel like this is a rare thing, the way they come to me to talk.

Speaking of that, we had a great discussion at Bible study yesterday, and one friend shared that about her grandmother during our talk. We were talking about the characteristic of responsibility in Titus 2 and about the ways we've been influenced by family members. She shared with us that her grandmother would just listen to her talk. Isn't there something consoling about a conversation? I consider this one way that I minister to those around me—I'm always available for chats and I get lots of phone calls in which I get to practice that trait. I'm grateful for those moments and the distance that our talks make seem shorter.

I'm thankful for life changing Bible studies and how spending time in the Word of God renews my heart and mind. You know it's good when you're convicted and you get up the moment you're finished to start making changes. 

I am thankful for motivation. I've been lacking in that area for quite some time, but I feel myself finally coming out of it and I've been more productive this week. I have some things that I've been needing to finish, one of which is the next Bible study that I'm helping write. I finished it last week! I don't say that lightly, but I am so thankful that the Lord led me every step of the way, with every word. I'll make some changes here and there as I edit and tweak, but it won't alter too much from what is in the document we work within. I praise God for this, because I struggled immensely all throughout the studying for this.

I'm thankful for morning prayer time. I love that time from about 6:45-7:30 that I spend in prayer. It feels holy and sacred each day and I almost always sing a little during that time as I worship the Lord. 

I'm thankful that I get to serve in the worship ministry at church.

A photographer took this during the service last week. It's a blessing to be able to do this and I love the technical side as much as (if not more than) the singing/helping lead in worship side. I am always way more comfortable behind the scenes than I am when I'm front and center. I don't mind that too much and I no longer get all shaky and nervous like I used to, but that's never my comfort zone. It's funny how we do things in life that take us out of those comfort zones that we so love. It's good for us to step out of that and to rely fully on God to get us through. 

I'm thankful for the nights that Todd and I spend watching old episodes of Survivor.

I'm thankful for good shows to watch, like Downton Abbey that I just finished. 

I'm thankful for my friend Donna who works at my local grocery store and who is such a great friend to everyone she meets and who also shines the light and love of Jesus. I always try to find her line so that we can catch up for a few minutes. Everyone in my town loves her and she was actually named our town's woman of the year. She is such a sweetheart.

It's your turn! What's one thing you're grateful for this week? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading my blog and as always, love to all. 

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Wednesday in the Word

 

Happy Wednesday, friends. I thought I'd share some more about my quiet time recently. I am currently reading in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. They go together, because of the book of Chronicles listing out the names and orders of lots of families. 

At where I am reading right now, David just found out that Saul and three of his sons were killed. The sons were killed, but Saul actually took his own life, he was so distressed to learn of his sons' death. One of his sons was Jonathan, the one whom David loved like a brother. I love their friendship in 1 Samuel and I love what comes later on when David cares for one of Jonathan's sons. David is about to become king, at long last, the man after God's own heart. 

Before the death of Saul, Saul had been pursuing David to kill him. This is when a lot of the Psalms were written—as David was hiding in caves within the mountains of the territory he was in. Have you ever seen pictures of what the mountains in Israel looked like? There were tons of hidden caves within so many of the mountain walls. In one area that I read a few days ago, it said that Saul had gone into one of the caves to "relieve himself" and David could have killed him, but instead he just cut off a corner of his robe that he later showed to Saul to prove his trustworthiness. 

What I love about David is how much he loved the Lord. He never boasted on killing tens of thousands, he never bragged about being the only one brave enough to face (and kill) the giant Goliath, he never forced his way into becoming king, instead choosing to be a loyal and faithful armor bearer and harpist to Saul to help soothe his tormented soul. I suppose because of that last attribute I listed, he seems like he was filled with the peace of God that overflowed onto others. 

As much as I feel that was so, it's also obvious that David had his struggles throughout life. We all know of his slip with Bathsheba and he was anxious so many times as you can throughout the book of Psalms that David co-wrote. Even still, that Jesus would come through the line of David is mind boggling. As I wrote that sentence, I'm reminded that God knows the hearts of each of us and He knew the heart of David and the way in which he repented when he sinned against God. It's more proof that God takes imperfect and very flawed human beings and uses them for His glory when they're willing. 

I love this verse in Psalm that I read a few days ago. It's Psalm 56:8.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Isn't that beautiful about David's faith in a holy and righteous God? I love that we can claim these promises for ourselves today. Do you ever cry in frustration or extreme joy? I do both and I love the thought of God collecting them and recording each one. Our emotions are never wasted on God. Who better to pour our hearts out to than Him? He's the only One who can take it in stride. I love what Charles Spurgeon said about this verse:

"Thou tellest my wanderings." Every step which the fugitive had taken when pursued by his enemies, were not only observed but thought worthy of counting and recording. We perhaps are so confused after a course of trouble that we hardly know where we have or where we have not been, but the omniscient and considerate Father of our spirits remembers all in detail, for He has counted them over as men count their gold, for even the trial of our faith is precious in His sight. 

"Put thou tears into thy bottle." His sorrows were so many that there would need a great wineskin to hold them all. There is no allusion to the little complimentary lachrymators for fashionable and fanciful Romans, it is a more robust metaphor by far; such floods of tears had David wept that a leathern bottle would scarce hold them. He trusts that the Lord will be so considerate of his tears as to store them up as men do the juice of the vine, and he hopes that the place of storage will be a special one—thy bottle, not a bottle. 

"Are they not in thy book?" Yes, they are recorded there, but let not only the record but the grief itself be present to thee. Look on my griefs as real things, for these move the heart more than a mere account, however exact. How condescending is the Lord!  How exact His knowledge of us! How generous His estimation! How tender His reward!

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Spurgeon. He has such an eloquence with words, does he not? I love how he bursted into praise at the end of his commentary on that one verse. How could we not break adoration at such a loving Father? All of this comforts my heart. I know many who are walking through physical and mental illness, addictions and death of loved ones. How reassuring to know that the Lord keeps track of our sorrows. He ministers to our hearts in such times, though songs, others, podcasts and sermons. I utilize all of those when I am going through hard times.

I'd love to hear from you! Where are you currently reading? I think it's important to share with others. Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. 

Lunch & Dinner Inspiration post

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share some dinner inspiration for this week, in case anyone needs some ideas. (Also, why do I keep forgetting to schedule these posts??)

Last night we had taco soup.

It was cooler here yesterday and again today, so I thought I'd make soup one more time before the hot weather comes to stay. Most of you know how to make this, but I'll include the ingredients just in case. I browned one pound of lean ground chuck and added in one packet of fajita seasoning and one of taco seasoning and stirred that around a bit, then added in two cans each of drained kidney beans, black beans, rotel, corn and a partial box of low sodium chicken broth. I let it simmer on low for thirty minutes, adding water when needed, then added in a heaping tablespoon of ranch dressing (I didn't have the packets). I like to buy the canned veggies with no salt added to reduce the sodium and just add a dash of salt in place. It was delicious! I'll be eating that all week.

Tonight we're having a shrimp broil sheet pan dinner. I have smoked sausage,  peeled and deveined fresh shrimp from the butcher shop inside my grocery store, small potatoes, cauliflower and onion. I'll coat it all with olive oil and shrimp boil seasoning. I'll probably make two trays for this, since it'll be feeding five of us.

We will have leftovers most likely on Wednesday night, or we may do omelets with bacon and on Thursday night we will have chicken fajitas/burritos. All I do for that is cook the chicken in a crock-pot all day with fajita seasoning on top, and I'll cook onions and peppers separately to add to the fajita bowls. Some eat this rolled up in a burrito with white queso drizzled on top and some eat it in a bowl. I have guacamole to add on top, as well.

Speaking of guacamole, I thought I'd also share what I eat for lunch.

Some days I drink one of these.

Other days I'm hungrier than that, so I'll eat a plate of small bites. This is my favorite thing to do for lunch! I always have a veggie of some sort, usually carrots, with hummus, or I'll do tortilla chips with guacamole. I'll eat a slice of colby jack cheese and some turkey or chicken from the deli with wheat thins and fruit. Very rarely I'll eat something leftover for lunch. I usually save those for Sundays. If it's a week that my mom and I meet for lunch, we usually eat sushi or Mexican food. 

What are you having for dinner this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. 

Hello Monday

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for this weekly blog post. I was seriously slacking last night in my weekly routine of writing a blog post on Sunday night. Last week I was out of town, but last night it was just exhaustion. Todd worked last night and I was falling asleep trying to watch Downton Abbey. I ended up going upstairs before nine p.m. and fell asleep quickly. 

It was a very low key weekend. My dad came over Friday and we ate inside a Chick Fil A after two years of not doing that, so that was nice. We came back here and the afternoon flew. Todd worked that night and our sons were in and out, but I was nice and cozy inside eating chicken fajita leftovers and watching a Hallmark movie. Saturday was more of the same, with us staying in all day and watching episodes of Survivor, then we went to the birthday party of my best friend's husband. I was in bed early again, because on Sunday morning, we had to be at church by seven! Yikes. It was early, but I was glad to work in both services.

I walked in and saw this group of godly men praying for the services started. They do that every week, but I never get to witness it. I love our pastor and his heart for God and people. This was the only picture I took! Gone are the days of our sons posing with or for me and I asked my husband, but he turned me down as well. Drew worked all weekend, so he wasn't able to be with us for yet another holiday and it made me cry again. I mentioned that Todd worked last night, but the other three and me went to my mom's house for an early dinner at 4. I was so glad they offered us a choice of lunch or early dinner—going with early dinner was a no brainer for all of us, since three of us had to be at church at seven. It makes for a long day! 

We were back home by seven thirty last night and it felt good to have on pajamas. As for today, things I am doing include cleaning and resetting the house after a weekend with everyone here and grocery shopping. I'm looking forward to seeing Drew tonight for the first time in two weeks, so there's that as well. Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all. 

Friday Favorites, 4.15.22

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Erika and Andrea for this Good Friday post! 

This might just be my favorite holiday of the whole year, friends. It has nothing to do with the word "Easter", but everything to do with what this weekend means for those of us who are believers. The verse above says it all—do you know Him? The story wasn't finished after He hung on a cross. Three days later He rose again! Now Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and His Holy Spirit dwells within us.

Do you know Him? If you have any shadow of a doubt, don't hesitate to reach out! Times are troubling in our world and we need to be ready for when Jesus returns. This day and weekend is the perfect time to think on the gift of salvation that He offers. 

On a much lighter note, the other thing that is my favorite right now is all of the vibrant green that I'm seeing all around town and in our yard.

This is one of my favorite views, and I have seen some other beautiful ones this week. This was where I finished writing my portion of the Bible study that will be published this fall for the women in our church. I'm so thankful that the Lord gave me every word as I studied and sat down to write yesterday. I give Him all the praise and glory for that, especially because this was the hardest thing I've had to write on so far. I can't wait to share more about this wonderful study when the time gets closer!

This view is one of my favorites! This was me walking into the church this week for Bible study. I had already put my things down and needed to go upstairs, so I took this shortcut through the covered patio area. That white door you see is a prayer room with a code box to get in. I used to know the code, because a friend and I used to meet there every week to pray. 

I have a new favorite morning routine. 

I'm almost always up at five or five fifteen and downstairs sitting with coffee and my favorite blogs by five thirty. I read all of those, check email, and get on social media for five minutes or less, then after I make Noah's lunch to go, I come back with a second cup of coffee and spend the next portion of my morning praying. I've been in such a rut with this lately, but after two weeks of a morning routine like this, I'm finally pulling out of the slump. My pastor encouraged me on this a year ago, to just keep praying. I was grateful for his advice and as simple as it seems, it can be difficult to make that a priority. I used to spend time in the morning reading, but I've stopped that since I've started doing this. After I pray, it's time to make the next batch of lunches for everyone, so I listen to a podcast while I do that. This was the one I listened to yesterday, and I was happy to see he had a whole series on Kingdom Prayer. I love Tony Evans! After lunches and while everyone is getting ready and after they leave is when I have my quiet time. I do that separately from Bible study and I'm usually at the table until at least ten o'clock.

This quiet time is my favorite!

It was my favorite thing to see my husband honored at the annual sheriff's department dinner this week. I'm so proud of him!

Lastly, my other big favorite part of the last week were the beautiful views with these godly friends. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel with them. We talked a lot about our next writing project and lots of other ideas for women's ministry at our church. 

As much as I loved these gorgeous views, my favorite views are the ones that I see when I'm back at home. I love being back with my people, our dogs and my simple routines. 

Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all. 

Thankful Thursday

 

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to declare your faithful love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Psalm 92:1-2

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm so glad you're here! We hope you'll join us in practicing some gratitude on your own blog today. 

I have so much to be thankful for this week! I'm grateful for safe travels, beautiful views, lots of laughter with godly friends, a husband that keeps the house running in my absence, a thoughtful gift from one of my sons, times of catching up on the phone, promotions/honors/and recognition for a job well done, Bible study, being able to help in leading worship, new friends joining in with us during our small group time, group text threads that make me laugh and encourage me and for the beautiful gift of accountability. 

More than any of those wonderful things I mentioned, I am most thankful for Jesus, my Lord and Savior, for what He did for me and for you. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection made a way for me to have access to God the Father, where He sits now at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Do you know Him? 

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 

We have much to thank Him for this holy week. I know you will join me in this.

Your turn! What's one thing you're thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

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life lately

Happy Wednesday, friends! I thought I'd do a good, old fashioned random post about the life we've all been living lately. I hope you enjoy catching up!

You know that I traveled over the weekend, but so did my Graham. 

Graham took his truck to the Smoky Mountains this weekend for a truck show. I'm so glad he made it there and back home with no problems, his truck has a terrible track record with this kind of trip. He loves doing this kind of thing! I asked him about this one time and he told me he loves it when kids admire his truck. He likes to talk to them and show them integrity at events like this, because a lot of that crowd couldn't care less. He enjoys being with people who enjoy the same hobby he has and he's never met a stranger! I love this about Graham. For the weekend there, he rented the cabin in the mountains and people stayed with him and chipped in with the cost. I told him he was my new favorite son (for the moment- this changes daily) because he brought me home a gift.

Wasn't that nice of him? I love when they do things like this on their own. He also called me once while I was out of town just to talk and see if I was having a good time. I'm so proud of the man he is.

I wish I could catch you up with Drew, but the truth is that I haven't seen him since this time last week. I know that he's here in town tonight because of a basketball game. He plays on a men's three on three league at our church and he loves it. This is his favorite season because of that, but I dread it almost every year because he always seems to get hurt. One year when he was playing a game while Todd was out of town, he fell and we all thought he'd broken his ankle. Thankfully my in-love's were there with me and helped me get all the other boys situated as I went to the after hours clinic for Lebonheur with him. It turns out it was just a badly sprained ankle, but he was on crutches for a couple of weeks and had to wear a boot. 

Here's to hoping he goes injury free this season.

Jonah finally finished with putting a star headliner into his truck last week. He does this with his vehicles and he's done it for others several times. This involves him taking that headliner out (and the seat) and measuring/taping off/ poking holes and threading tiny fiber optic lights through the hundreds of tiny holes. It's tedious and it sat in his room all last week as he worked on it. He did that every night and every morning when he woke up. He's kind of a glutton for punishment, if you ask me, because it always hurts his eyes and head after so long of staring at the lights. He always says it's worth it, and I'm glad he loves it, but it's a lot of work. He is currently eating at a nearby favorite restaurant with Graham and some friends, even though he said this morning that he spent too much money eating out last week and was going to eat here at home the rest of this week.

I totally gave him a hard time for this, because it was like he was trying to make me feel guilty for not being here to cook. I'm rolling my eyes at him even as I write.

Noah is finally on his way home from work after a long day. It's after six thirty on Tuesday night and he isn't even hungry. It was one of his busy days at work and he didn't get a chance to stop for lunch until three, so he's coming straight home to shower and meet up with his friends. He's a good picture of perseverance. He doesn't love his job, but he is loyal and committed until something better comes along. His boss isn't the nicest man, but Noah hasn't let it effect his work and he still treats him with respect. I know it hasn't been the easiest for him, but I'm proud that he has struck with it even when the conditions weren't ideal. 

I feel like I could say more about each of them, but I'll respect their privacy as adults and end it with those things. I'm so proud of all of them, though! I know you can tell that, but it goes without saying that they're fine young men. They're not perfect and there are some things that I pray about in each of them, but I trust God with them. As much as I love them, how much more does He? I love this verse about that kind of love.

Consider the birds of the sky: they don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? (Matthew 6:26)

I am saving my favorite for last—my husband! I'm so proud of him. We went to the annual sheriff's department dinner on Monday night and he received several recognitions. He was promoted to lieutenant, his company received company of the year for the second year in a row and he was acknowledged for a life saving award that the state of Tennessee is giving him called The Star of Life Award on a call he worked on in the winter of 2021. I am so proud of him! I took absolutely zero pictures, so here is one of him and his friend Chris from last year.

Chris was on that call as well and is also getting the same award. We'll all be traveling to Nashville for one night (at the expense of the sheriff's department) for this night of honor. Todd and Chris will be taking an emergency vehicle, so Chris's wife and I will ride there and back together. I already said it, but I'll say it again: I am so proud of him! He is the hardest working man I know and the only job he receives compensation for is his real Monday-Friday, eight to five job. He wears many hats as a volunteer both for our county and within our church and he rarely complains about the time he puts in, even when it's for free and people around him are paid. He doesn't do it for the pay, but he often goes unrecognized, so I'm glad to see him honored on this night and the one coming up in May.

As for me, well, I'm an open book and you already know everything about me. I will say that this week I'll be working on finishing my portion of our next Bible study and getting ready for Resurrection Sunday at church. We have a special rehearsal at church tonight and I'll be at both services Sunday morning. I'm singing in the choir in one service and working audio/visual in the other. Aside from that, we have a cd recording coming up the weekend after that I'm busy learning music for. My worship pastor is busy, so in light of that, I'm also leading worship at Bible study for a couple of weeks while he takes care of other things. I used to do that every week, but he stepped in for me this semester and it's been so nice. I'm glad to do this, though, and I'll be singing with one of my favorite young people for the two weeks he's out. 

This is Sandra, who sings like a beautiful song bird. I adore this girl! She has such a beautiful, servant heart. I think I've covered it all, but it's a busy season! I'm not complaining. I love having things to fill my time with! It's my job right now and I am here for it all. Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all. ❤