Abounding Still More And More

Happy 15 day anniversary my husband. Love you.

Month of Sunflowers

So much running around these days! Mom and I spent six hours in town this afternoon running errands, chatting (about wedding plans, honeymoon plans, life plans) and enjoying lunch with a dear friend. When we finally got home, I ran back into town because I realized I needed to pick up a few items from Ricky's house in order to complete one of my wedding projects. He wasn't home from work yet, so I enjoyed tidying up the living room and emptying the sink of dishes. It's not much longer until it will be my official job to do those chores, so I enjoyed one of my last chances to do it solely to bless him and not just because I have to.

Driving home, the Lord blessed me with quiet. I noticed the light on the cornfields, the sunflowers lining the road, and the golden sheen of hay bales. I love August. Love, love, love it's beauty. It reminded me to thank the Lord for all He has done instead of worrying about all I need to do.

Two Augusts ago, my almost-Mother-in-law introduced me to my almost-husband while he was visiting. I laughing told my mother that afternoon that yet another person at church had tried to set me up with their son. He went back to California for school and I didn't think of him again for about six months. That was when dad mentioned that there was this guy who wanted to talk to me....

Last August found me delighting in two weeks of having him visiting in Idaho. By the end of them, I admitted to my sister that I loved this man.

And this August, I am weeks away from marrying him. Tasting and seeing the goodness of my King!

My Goal Today

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.

Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all.

When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased. 
~ C. S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis (8 November, 1952)

(Thank you to girltalkhome.com/blog/my-earthly-dearest for this convicting quote.)

 

 

Saturday Mornin's are Bestest!

Especially when you wake up and realize you only have six weeks until your wedding. Which also means only six more Saturday mornings of waking up in this house.  I value the present moment more when I realize how fleeting it is.

Saturday mornings when we have nowhere we need to go are so deliciously restful. As the kiddos wake up, they sleepily migrate one by one into mom and dad's room and find a corner of the king sized bed to cuddle into. The sound of chattering, tickling, and playful pushes off the bed pulls the rest of us in to find out the plan for the day. Errands to run later, weeding the garden, more wedding planning.  

The smell of the baked oatmeal the little girls started last night is filling the house. Breakfast is eaten with Jars of Clay or Third Day providing the soundtrack to our life.

Kitchen is messy from breakfast dishes and the kiddos are making a pretence of cleaning it and acting busy so that they can avoid dad's reminders about weeding the garden. His bellowing of "Let's go!" finally convinces them to put on shoes and hats and head out before it gets too hot.

And the house quiets now as the chattering heads outdoors. The sounds of dishwasher and laundry getting started mix with the music on the radio to motivate us older peeps to tackle our to-do lists. 

Golden years are passing by....

Life As An Engaged Girl

I am giving in. Friday mornings are usually my get-stuff-done time since I don't have to work. The time usually gets filled with studying, errands, little to-do things Ricky may have asked me to work on, cleaning my messy room, or doing wedding stuff. This morning though, instead of focusing on the mile-long to-do list, I am taking the next fifteen minute slot in my schedule to type. There, now that the decision is made I can feel like I am accomplishing something instead of feeling guilty for ignoring ten other somethings. *Relaxing sigh*

Minutes, hours, days.  They are filled with trying to cram in much too much too much.

Trying to understand what is priority and what is not worth the stress.

Planning. Writing to-do lists.

Changing my mind. Writing new to-do lists
.
Filling up the remainder of my days as a Miss in preparation to be a Mrs.

Wondering how we are going to get it all done in time.

Studying our premarital counseling assignments. Discussing. Writing. Laughing.

Realizing nothing will be perfect. Not even my perfect man or the "perfect" girl he is marrying.

Striving for perfection anyway.

Praying. Lots of praying.

Making time for just the two of us. At least fifteen minutes of no stressful topics allowed!

Cherishing time with my family.

Laughing. Lots of laughing.

Holding on to the moments while counting down the days.

22 Days Ago

The world became sparkly-er!

May 1st, 2010

Bless the Lord Oh my soul!

Psalm 103:1

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying "Thus far the Lord has helped us". 1st Samuel 7:12

This afternoon I began a study of the lives of Samuel and Saul with my church's women's Bible study. We are using this book:

And I am really excited! Mostly because I know it will provide me accountability for digging deeply into the Word.

One of the verses we went over today was 1st Samuel 7:12. The Lord had just won a great triumph for Israel; He had "thundered with a great thunder" and routed the Philistines before Israel. Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer - "stone of help". It was erected as a memorial to Israel and to her enemies of what the Lord had done there.

Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I've come.

During our discussion time we discussed what some of our personal "ebenezers" are. What are the reminders of God's graciousness and accomplishments in our lives?

One of mine is my journals. Mom gave me my first journal as a birthday gift when I was nine. At the time, I *knew* I was going to be famous someday, so I began my journal for the purpose of providing my biographers with some record of my childhood. Hence, (I love that word!) the plethora (love that one too!) of flowery language and minute details contained in that journal.

Somewhere around my early-mid teens, I decided I was embarrassed by the *childishness* that my....ummm...*childhood* journal displayed (not to mention the bad grammar, horrors!) and proclaimed I wanted it to be buried with me, unread by any other eyes.

From that point, I journaled mainly to allow myself to think on paper. Writing is one of the ways I think through what I am learning. It is also an emotional outlet and I tend to write the most when I am very excited or very upset. I imagine if anyone were to read my journals (an event that I still want to avoid...biographers will just have to find other sources) they would think I am rather unstable! But because I do write mostly in the extremes of my emotions, my journals contain a lot of the major (major to me anyway) happenings of the last 12 years of my life. (Wow, am I really that old?) Even though I have never been very regular in my journaling, my little row of pretty notebooks chronicles many instances of God's grace and blessings to me. In this way, they are my ebenezers.

My other ebenezer is a little pearl necklace I received when I was about 16-ish. My grandpa always sends his grandaughters some money around Christmas and birthdays to buy themselves something pretty.

On this occasion, I had been wanting a pearl necklace. Pink, to be exact. And not any of those big huge ones that old ladies wear, I wanted young-looking pearls. I knew that I wasn't going to be getting it though since the price tag for pearls was more than what I had to spend. I didn't tell anyone what it was I really wanted and I didn't feel sorry for myself about not getting it either. It was just a fancy that had flown into my head and I pushed it out since it was impossible.

A week or so later, I was out and about with my mom and sisters at a craft exhibit. They had a door prize and I heard my number hollered over the loudspeaker. As I walked to the front table to get my prize, I started walking faster. "Maybe...."

The lady handed me a white, rectangle box and inside was a delicate pink pearl necklace.

I knew exactly who the Giver was because only one Person knew that I had wanted that necklace. It was a totally unnecessary blessing and I was humbled and amazed that my Lord chose to care about such a little thing. Each time I wear my pearls I am reminded that I serve a God who cares about little things and He blesses abundantly beyond what I can ask or think.

What are your ebenezers?