Spring has sprung!

Hello spring!  You have come with such attitude...
crazy temperatures - sometimes it feels like summer and others it feels like winter; storms and strong winds which make it ridiculous (and occasionally dangerous) to be outside sometimes; beautiful sunshine; sports- baseball, softball, tennis, golf, spring football games, basketball championships; excitement for summer and the end of school; and so much more...

I'm glad spring is here, but I am getting anxious for summer.
Hopefully I won't wish spring away and miss all of its goodness though.

Well, I must get back to being productive...

Here's verse eight for twenty-eleven:
May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from His glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience.
Colossians 1:11

One-fourth

SSMT update:
Six verses down and only eighteen to go.

This time I had trouble deciding on my next verse to memorize.  It was the end of Friday (April 1) by the time I finally decided.  It comes from a devotional that I had read the night before.  These words are quite interesting to me.  And I don't think that I had read them before the other night.  Now I'm going to share them with you.  Chew on this...

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 (HCSB)
But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

The Grace Card

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of spending the evening out... going out to dinner at Olive Garden and then to the movies.  This was our first date night to the movies since we've been married.  The reason for dinner and a movie?  First of all, it was needed... and wanted.  Secondly, we have some great friends and family who had given us gift cards.

The movie we watched is called The Grace Card.  I'm not going to spoil the movie, but I do want to share a few things.  It takes place in Memphis... which is pretty cool since that's such a familiar city for us.

I want to share with you the challenge that was given throughout the movie...
When someone hurts you or offends you, respond with grace... the grace card...
"I promise to pray for you everyday, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same, and be your friend always."

It's a great movie... realistic and down to earth!  I encourage you to watch it!

Encouragement

I love encouragement!  

I love to give encouragement and I love to receive encouragement.  Encouragement is something we need and also something that I think we desire.

This past week I had the honor and joy of being encouraged in a very large city many miles away.  It's a city that many people love... I even love this city but not for the same reasons as many others.  We went on a mission trip to Las Vegas.  We were able to spend the week with some old friends who have recently moved and some new friends from the same southern state.  :)  These people were a great encouragement throughout the week... through their faith and their optimism.  People we met along the way through surveying neighborhoods, serving at a rescue mission, and sharing at a homeless ministry were also encouraging throughout the week.  It was a great week!  I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to go... to learn... to share... to live...

This week I have even been encouraged by those around me here at home... the Word, my friends, my coworkers, my family, and even others in the community whom I didn't know until this week.  It is so refreshing and revitalizing to be encouraged.  

I hope that I can be an encouragement to those around me.  May my words and my actions be positive and productive/beneficial to those around me!

Spring Break!

Spring break is here!  And I can honestly say that I need it.

Lately I have been in an odd mood... more stressed, more uptight, more easily upset, more easily bothered/frustrated... It has not been good.  Honestly I'm not sure where this odd mood has come from.  But I am ready for it to go!  Hopefully spring break will be the cure... or at least the beginning of the cure.

I am looking forward to next week.  I will be on an adventure... outside of my comfort zone a little... but in a place that I love... if that makes any sense.  It will definitely be a change from the "regular" life which has kept me so busy and stressed that even when I have the chance to blog I feel that I have nothing good to add for y'all to read.  I'm sorry.  I will be working on my blogging skills throughout the year.

Spring is exciting to me.  Warmer weather.  Fresh grass and leaves.  Bright flowers.  Birds chirping.  March madness.  New sports - baseball, softball, etc.  Longer days.  More light.  Occasionally some rain and storms.

Hopefully it won't take me two weeks before I drop in again.
I hope y'all have a wonderful week!!

Music & Lyrics

I love music!

One thing that I love about music is how the lyrics can become so personal.

I have one song in particular in mind...
"Voices" by Chris Young

Things that people tell us stick with us... especially sayings from when we're growing up and from our loved ones who are so important to us.  It amazes me how I find myself in different situations and some saying comes to mind... a saying from someone, from a song, from a book or a movie, and even from the Bible.  The things that we put into ourselves (mind and body) will come out.  It is so important to guard our bodies, minds, and hearts.  When I hear those voices, I want them to be good voices... words that I need to hear at that time in order to do what is right...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
and find some good tunes to carry you through...  :)

Rejuvenated!

re-ju-ve-nate
to make (someone or something) look or feel younger, fresher, or more lively

I love when things are clean and organized.  It gives me a slight peace when everything "has a home".  Well, our second bedroom has been filled with boxes and all of the extra stuff since we moved.  It has been bothering me occasionally, to say the least.  So last weekend after the several snow days I decided it was time to tackle that room and all of that stuff.  Now I can finally say that it is cleaned up and mostly organized... only a few boxes remain in the closet.  It's so refreshing!

I also love the beautiful weather we've been having around here.  Now, it's definitely not our normal February weather, but it is quite nice after the snow and cold.  Of course, the cold will probably return before summer but I will enjoy the sun and warmth while it is here!

It's been a LONG week but I am thankful for the rejuvenation found in the different aspects of life...
Another good way to be rejuvenated- God's Word!  Here's my fourth scripture memory verse for 2011...

Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.  Philippians 2:14-15 (HCSB)