Desperate

 We had a blizzard warning yesterday and lost electricity for awhile last night.  
My kids are home for their up-teenth snow and/or wicked cold day, this year.

And I spent the morning google-ing churches in Georgia that might need a pastor.  

I have no idea why I picked Georgia, annnnd it's not exactly the best way to find a church.  But my heart is desperate to escape the cold winter.  Desperate enough that uprooting my whole family and moving across the country seems legit.

My wiser self would tell you that making life-changing decisions during times of desperation is a really.bad.idea.  

My sick-of-winter self says...so.what.

And as I was google-ing...I couldn't escape a little tune, to a little verse that I learned not long after I was saved.  

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Rejoice and be glad.

Meh.

It's the opposite of what my heart wants to do in winter.  It's always the opposite of what my heart wants to do in situations where the misery feels like it will never end.  

And so I choose.  And I have to choose constantly to rely on truth rather than my feelings. To be glad in the day before me.  No matter the weather, my circumstances, or my feelings.  Sometimes I fail miserably at that.  And I google and make plans to become a Southerner.  (My town will resemble Blue Belle like in Hart of Dixie.  Reality much?)

And God gently redirects my ever wandering heart...

I have to choose rejoicing and gladness because if I don't...I end up bringing further misery in the end.

Winter will end.  Winter will end. Say it with me, Winter will end.

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Tights are Not Pants

It's Friday.  ThankyouJesus.

I just like Fridays.  And weekends.  

And I blogged 12 times this month, which is the most in lots and lots of months.  

And tomorrow...January is OVER.  And February is short and March is basically spring, even if it's still cold and snowy here, I will put my winter coat away.  

Ya Hoo!

And a friendly reminder for this weekend, and every day always:  Tights are not pants.  Either are leggings.  Cover the tush.

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Unoriginal is the New Original

I've been perusing Pinterest to distract myself from winter.  It sorta helps.  And it gives me lots of ideas to create...and by create I mean copy.  And all that's required after that is sweet talking the husband into hanging an awkward & heavy basket shelf thing.

So I made a coffee station.  

The printable is courtesy of Pinterest as well.  Click here for your own!

And if you were thinking that my coffee pot looked sad and lonely all by itself then you read my mind.  Ben and I have decided we *need* an espresso machine.  And french press.  And then then coffee station will be complete.  

Also, I would like a 24 cup coffee maker.  Bigger is better. 

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Is it Over Yet?

Sorry for the silence.  I've been busy moping around about the Polar Vortex that I'm living in.  

January is not my favorite month.  It's not even in the top 12. *cough*  But there's only three days left and I will survive.  

I gave myself a pep talk this morning...but I wasn't impressed enough with it to actually be peppy.

There are some good, very good, things going on this January.  The weather is not one of them.  

• Something I've been praying for, for almost a year:  Happened.  Yay!  One of those situations where I've been praying, but "feeling" like that it would never happen...and then it does and I sit back in awe as God says to me, "Look what I can do!"  
• It's not crazy like December.  Bonus.
• People I love have January birthdays and that is good.
• The cabin fever has made me organize, and paint, and rearrange furniture.  I'll have to get you pictures.  Eventually. 
• My husband and I have a little get-away planned, and that is good. :)  
• We are definitely getting an espresso machine.  And french press.  
• January is almost over. 

That's all I can think of.  My brain is frozen.  I just keep drinking pots of coffee to stay warm.

Stay warm people.

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A Winner & A Journey...

Amy H is the winner of the Made to Crave book!  Thanks so much to all of your for commenting!

God made us to crave...only we crave the wrong things so much of the time.  Filling ourselves with any form of meaningless junk that we can get our hands on when instead we could go directly to the One who created us and knows our deepest longings and needs.  

And sometimes the things we crave are good, spiritual things.  But if we crave them, more than we crave Him we end up in the same empty spot.

Learning to crave Him most is hard.  Very hard.  Logically, it shouldn't be so hard.  But sin has no logic.  Ever.  

So the journey continues...

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A Giveaway

It's been a long while since I did a give-away on the blog.  A very long while. 

I bought an extra copy of this book that I previously mentioned here.  So, it's time to share.

I've read it before, and now I'm working my way through it again since we are studying through it at our Ladies Bible Study.  

It's about food and so.much.more.than.food.

It's SUPER easy to register for a chance to win it.  Just leave a comment telling me (us) what you crave.  One word is fine.  

For another chance to win, you can head on over to my facebook page and leave a comment there as well.  And while you're there, go ahead and "like" the page and you can follow me via facebook, if you're not already.  Granted, I'm as exciting there as I am here *yawn* but still, just do it. 

If you already have a copy, no worries, register and get an extra copy to give to a friend.  Or to any enemy.  Or a stranger.  Whatever.

I'll enter everyone in and draw a winner on Friday.  Which means I'll make my kids write out your names and cut them into slips and draw them out of a bowl.  We are scientific like that.

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Books That Help

So we've been talking marriage.  And by "we" I mean me...talking to myself in internet land.  How fun.  

The Book List:

There are a million good books on marriage out there.   We've read quite a few really good ones.  This list is just what  I have read and loved.  They are the ones I most often recommend.  If you've read any that you have found helpful, then leave a comment and let everyone know!  

Hedges by Jerry B. Jenkins - Super good.  Every marriage needs to have boundaries to protect it.  Practical advice & it's short (if that helps:)

Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas - Digs deep into God's purpose for marriage.  It will hurt your feelings and tell you to get over yourself because it's not about you.  And if you'll let God root that deep in your heart, your marriage will be transformed.  

Love & Respect - by Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs - He breaks down the idea that women need/want love from their husbands, and husbands want/need respect from their wives.  Sounds simple...but we tend to give what we want to receive. If a husband does not feel respected by his wife, it's as if she's saying "I don't love you." God has designed our hearts and minds to work differently.  Eggerichs uses Scripture to help understand this.  Really, really helpful.

Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll - I love this one because it focuses a lot on the importance of friendship.  God has led them to minister in the grittiest part of peoples lives and marriages, and the wisdom they share from that is priceless.  

It doesn't matter if  your marriage is great, mediocre, or miserable...it can benefit from these books.  

Couple of things first:  The only person you can change is you.  I know, that's terribly disappointing.  It's way more fun to point out other people's shortcomings and then tell them how they should change them.   What's also disappointing, is that you (and me) need to read books asking God to reveal to us the condition of our own hearts, and then ask for His help to take the hard, hard steps necessary for change.

I know not many wives have husbands who love to read.  Especially these kinds of books.  I think all four of these have study guides that you can get and work through together.  It can be less intimidating that way and it definitely opens up some opportunities to discuss hard things that might not just "come-up" in conversation.   

It is worth the effort.  :)

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