Monday, January 24, 2011

Bible in 90 Days - Day 22

This is an updated post - the first one went wonky on me.

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Three weeks. I've read the Bible every day, except one, for three weeks. I have never been this consistent. Even reading for quiet times I would skip the weekends because my routine was always different. And you know what? I'm loving it even more now than I was when I started.

There are days when the reading gets long (HELLO? Leviticus and Numbers, anyone?), but I keep at it. Let me share a quote from Amy at Mom's Toolbox...

"Every sermon you hear will be different. Every study you take after this will be more meaningful and yes, I believe that reading at this pace IS more valuable than just completing it all.

When you read at this pace you can see how it all fits together.

When you read this fast you DO remember more than you think

And, when you read this fast, you are encouraged to keep it up and not stop, not give in but keep going, surrounding yourself with His Word."

When I read something or hear something in a sermon now (like Wednesday night one of our pastors preached about Jacob and Joseph - "Hope Deferred") I understand so much more now about why things were the way they were. I am starting to see now how Israel and Judah are becoming two separate countries...I never understood that before. Oh, I heard the "why's" a long time ago (and let them go in one ear and out the other), but now I can SEE it happening.

It's just like Amy said, "When you read at this pace you can see how it all fits together." It excites me so much I want to cry. As someone who grew up in church, I can now see the hand of God moving in the lives of His people more clearly than I ever have before. I also see His heart breaking at their disobedience. Lessons for my life today.

And so, you're probably saying, "Well, good for you! I'm so glad you're doing this!" But I want to encourage you to do it, too. I promise only one thing...that if you stick with it, it will not only change the way you see God's Word...

...it will change how you see God Himself.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Silhouette Giveaway!

In my last post I talked about Traci at Beneath My Heart. Well, not only does she inspire us to get our homes organized, this week she is hosting a Silhouette Electronic Cutting Tool giveaway!




I have wanted one of these for a long time, but it just wasn't in the budget. Hopefully I'll win! Unless, of course, one of Y'ALL win! Then I'll just have to borrow! ; )



Saturday, January 15, 2011

Closet Clean-up

When Traci from Beneath My Heart and her sister, Cyndi, from CyndiSpivey.com/Walking in His Grace decided to collaborate on a January project, I knew I was all in. I met these beautiful ladies at Relevant, and I'm so thankful I got to know them a little bit. I wish it had been more.

They decided they wanted to do a series on organizing...Traci would take the home organization part; Cyndi would take the heart organization. I loved the idea.

This week's Heart post by Cyndi is "Three Tips to Organize Your Quiet Time with God." It's a great post, whether you have never had a quiet time or if you've been having one for years.

"Having a consistent Quiet Time can make a difference in how we handle this journey we’re on."

How true.

For my post, I'm linking up to Traci's half. Her challenge for organizing our homes this week was a closet. Any closet. Linen, bedroom, coat, whatever. I wanted to do my bedroom closet, but that would take so much more energy than I have I decided to do the next one that came to mind: the linen closet. I must give a disclosure here. My linen closet (and my linens, for that matter) is nothing fancy. By far. But it's what I have, and it needs to be neat, so I got to work on it.

Here's the before:


Full closet view
Shelves
Floor

One word. Yuck. We had been shoving stuff in there for who knows how long, never taking the time to really find the correct spot for it. The floor was so full when we'd put a new thing of TP in there we'd just set it down and squeeze the door shut, hoping it would latch. Pitiful.

After doing like Traci did and designating three piles (throw away, sell/give away, keep), it now looks like this:

Top two shelves...I actually was able to completely clean out the left half of the top shelf and put our extra pillows up there (the blue one is a body pillow folded over. And yes, those are hardhats. See, Sound Man has worked in the safety industry for 15 years, and, well, he had access to them, and when a tornado threatens...well, I'd just rather be safe - albeit silly looking- than sorry. I have a GREAT story about Sound Man and the hard hat in a hail storm...for another time). The second shelf is just better organized, plus cleaned out of expired stuff. I used a basket I found on the bottom for corralling sunscreen and extra shampoos and other stuff that tends to get knocked down.

Bottom two shelves. Okay, this looks really pitiful and it looks like we don't have any real towels to our name. But we really do. If you come visit, I promise you will have a towel to dry off with. Currently, our three big, huge towels are in use, hanging on the back of the bathroom door. We have a couple more preventing drafts from sneaking in under drafty doors. Anyway, the point is, this used to be a hodgepodge of towels, hand towels, and bed linens, none of which I knew went with what bed. Now, the towels and other bath linens are on one shelf, and the sheets are on the bottom shelf. I put them in bags I got from Dollar Tree to keep the dust off of them. Even if they are clean, if they're not put up like this, I think they smell like dust and I won't use them. I'm weird.

And the floor. Oh, I can SEE the floor! How nice! Or...well, aside from the '80's carpet, it's nice. And yes, that is a Boppy pillow. Which I will keep forever since not only does it have precious memories attached to it, but it's very useful for my tailbone when I'm in the floor brushing one of the pooches. I fell 15 years ago and bruised my tailbone and it STILL gives me fits. Anyway, I'm so happy to see this. You would not BELIEVE the junk I threw away from down here. It filled a huge bag up!

Ahhhhh...it's so nice to be able to look in there and actually SEE what's there. Especially the floor. And even though it still needs to be painted and the contact paper needs to be changed and the carpet is from the '80's...at least it's clean. So, that makes me happy.


Please click over to see other closet makeovers, some of which will make your jaw drop! Traci's own closet makeover is one of them!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

For My Facebook Friends...

You may have noticed I have a Facebook thingie on my sidebar. Well, if you click on it (and hopefully "Like" me) you will see an AMAZING offer. G'head. I dare you.

If there has been a tassel you've wanted, NOW would be the time to visit my Facebook page. Like, NOW. Just sayin'.



I'm "making room" (even though there's really enough "room" for a bazillion tassels) for the new tassels coming down the pike (or is it pipe?), so have at these while you can!

Happy Shopping!



Monday, January 10, 2011

B90Days...A Week Later

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Yep, I'm still at it. I'm loving it. I haven't read today yet, but we start the Book of Leviticus today.

After finishing Exodus, my brain was so tired from all the exact specifications about the Tabernacle and the priests' garments...oh my gosh...when I just now wrote those words I remembered a dream I had last night! It was about what the priests wore! I saw one of the priests, but it was in modern day, and I wondered if that same garment had been worn by Aaron (God said his clothes were to be passed down through generations...but I may have read and/or interpreted that wrong). How great is that? That God's Word would so infiltrate my mind that I dream about it? Now I'm really stoked about this!

I have to admit, though, it was hard not to run through it all and "skip" those verses. But as I read, I kept thinking that God had a plan and a reason for all those details...how beautifully He designed His temporary dwelling place - AND made it a picture of His Son! I haven't done Beth Moore's study (A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place) on the Tabernacle, but after reading about it in such detail I want to now.

All that minutia also made me realize that our God is a God of order, of detail. He knows down to the most minute detail of our lives what we are going through...and He has a plan for it. Even though it may not have made for the most exciting reading, it did make me love Him that much more.

If you are reading the Bible in 90 days with me, how are you doing? Is it getting harder to get up early (not that it is for me, or anything...no...not at aaaaalllllll....) to read for 45 minutes to an hour? Don't quit. At the end of this I will be so happy to say that I did it. Not for the sake of saying, "I did it," but so that I will have accomplished something I didn't think I ever could. And so that I will have come to know the Lord better. After all...isn't that the greatest goal?

There are so many other people doing this with me! Visit Mom's Toolbox to read about this journey from others' perspective!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Bring the BACON!

Around Memphis, when there is even the slightest mention of snow, it's like people absolutely lose their minds. Well, it just so happens that our "Winter Storm Watch" has now become "Winter Storm Warning." Here's hoping we get more than the usual dusting.

Can I tell you how ecstatically happy I am that I went to the grocery store Friday? Sound Man is wise beyond his years and suggested that, because they were using the "s" word in the forecast, it would be advisable to go before the crazies get out.

This video, done by Olan Rogers, who lives around here and knows, hilariously explains what happens. You have to watch to the end, though, to understand the title to this post. Enjoy.





Monday, January 3, 2011

I'm Doing WHAT?

Last night I read Erin's blog, Closing Time and as I read, I started to get excited. See, Erin is Reading the Bible in 90 days. I immediately wanted to do it, too. Amy at Mom's Toolbox is heading it up, and I have to say, I'm overwhelmed. There are over 750 people already signed up to do this. What an accountability group!


MomsToolbox

So, how about you? Have YOU ever read through the ENTIRE Bible? I haven't, and I've been in church my entire life. Even since coming to know Christ, I haven't read it all the way through. If you think (like I did when I heard about it at Relevant) that reading it in 90 days is impossible, it's not. It's about 12 pages a day. What? I can do that!

The more I talk about it the more excited I get. I mean, there will be things that, as a 40 year old Southern Baptist girl, I have never laid eyes on. How cool is that!

I can't wait to see what God has in store for me through this! It's not too late to get started! Today was the first day's reading. You can do it!