In Sympathy

All around Blogland,

I have met beautiful sisters in Christ

with whom I have felt heart connections.

I imagine

that if we lived in the same town,

we would sit on each other’s porches,

and gab and drink coffee

and talk about life,

and decorating,

and our children,

and Jesus.

When hard or sad things happened,

we’d sit and pray and maybe just listen,

just like “real life” friends.

All the way across the country,

my blog friend Elizabeth

lost her mom this week.

It feels strange to me that I can’t jump on a plane

and go and see her

and sit and pray and just listen.

I don’t know if I will ever meet Elizabeth here on earth.

How amazing, though, that though Christ, we

will one day meet.

Maybe we’ll gab and drink coffee,

and talk about life and our children

and Jesus,

and she’ll introduce me to her mother.

Be blessed today,

Ginger

 

Out of the Comfort Zone

A friend handled me a book to pass along to Big Red.

It never made it to him.

It landed on my nightstand

and has hit my conscience like a brick.

I don’t know anything about the author,

Dudley Hall,

beyond the title of the book,

Out of the Comfort Zone: the Church in Transition,

but this book is giving me

things to ponder.

Consider this:

“When you have a lack of love—or let’s call it what it really is: selfishness—you are not focused on others, as Jesus is; you are focused on yourself.  Such a refusal to focus on others with the love of Jesus is selfishness, and selfishness will block your hearing of the Word of God….

Selfishness causes blindness, which causes fear, which often causes pride to arise in reaction.  Those who are selfish…put up a false front of pride that prevents them from asking the needed questions.

Why are they afraid to ask Him?  They were afraid He meant what He said.”

Can I get an ouch amen?

As I ponder God’s call for me to believe Him,

I need to repent for the times

my pride and fear

prevented me from asking the right questions

for fear I already knew the answer.

So today,

I pray for open eyes

to believe

He means what He says.

Be blessed,

Ginger

 

I Will Always Have Hope

Yesterday was not a good day.

I mean, really not a good day.

After insomnia

and the briefest of fitful sleep Friday night,

I awoke to a suspicious

drip-drip

coming from the laundry room.

Water all over the floor.

Then,

I dropped a bowl of

pancake batter

all over the floor.

It was all downhill from there.

So today,

I NEED this verse.

I NEED to remember that

He is ALWAYS GOOD,

ALWAYS FAITHFUL,

ALWAYS TRUSTWORTHY.

Be blessed,

Ginger

Linking up with Scripture and a Snapshot

Of Delays and Dave Ramsey

A post of small thoughts. . .

{1} We are on a two-hour delay here but finally back in school!  I think shall have to introduce myself again to my kids.

{2} Although I did some schoolwork while I was home, I probably didn’t do enough. 

{3} Instead, I ORGANIZED.  Yes, that’s right.  No drawer, bookcase, or basket was safe. 

{4} Now the goal is to keep them that way.  Hmmmm…..

{5}  In the interest of full disclosure, I may have skipped a few drawers while I read Jan Karon’s new one, In the Company of Others. (fabulous), and some other books.  It was fun.

{6} In anticipation of some things we see looming on the horizon, Big Red and I have made the big move to the Dave Ramsey cash-only budget.  LOVE it so far.  (Accountability, here we come.)  Anybody else out there?  Any tips?

Happy Tuesday!

Be blessed,

Ginger

 

Scripture and a Snapshot

(This is supposed to be a blog hop at Scripture and a Snapshot, but I can’t figure out how to add it!  Tech assistance, please!)

In Triumph: Siesta Memory Challenge 2

(Snow and sunshine: the view from my deck)

Much has been written around Blogland about a “word” for 2011. 

I’ve thought about a few choices, tossing them back and forth in my mind like so many pebbles.

This morning, lying in the bed and and watching the sky lighten and talking to my Savior, I knew the word He whispered to me.

Believe.

At first glance, this is cheesy and overused and fraught with fluffiness.  After all, one could attach just about anything to the end of that.

Take “believe in yourself,” for example.

I get that, in one sense, but if you are like me, I’ve had about enough of “myself”, thankyouverymuch.

No, this year, that word is firmly attached to GOD.

Believe GOD.

Take HIM at His Word.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV):

“But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumphal procession

in Christ

and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”

Did you get that?

Always leads us triumphantly in Christ.

Always.

And when I follow, what’s left in my wake is the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ.

Not the aroma of “me”, which smells suspiciously like fish, as in selfish.

(Okay, okay. Corny, I know, but you get my point.)

In 2011, I’m believing God.

Be blessed today,

Ginger

 

When You’re Snowed In

When you’re stuck in the snow, it’s time to clean (remove a mess) or create (make a mess).

I choose creating.  It’s more fun.

This organizer was a Christmas gift.  I love the features (and would highly recommend the calendar), but I didn’t love the cover.  I don’t know any of these people.  I don’t want to look at them 365 days this year.

Since I had oodles of time, I braved removing the twisted binding thingy.

Then I dug around in my scrapbook paper stash and prettied up the cover.

All the papers and the days of the week stickers are from Creative Memories.  Stamps are from DD#2’s stash; I have no idea where they came from.

I cut and taped a page protector over it to give it a little more coverage.

Now comes the part where I wondered what I was thinking.

Retwisting the twisty thing…

and twisting…

almost done…

TA-DA!

One beautified organizer!

I was so inspired, I used the leftovers to make a matching journal.

Now if I’ll only USE my organizer instead of forgetting about it halfway through February!

(Today I really should clean.)

Be blessed,

Ginger