The Doors of Wisdom Are Never Shut ~Benjamin Franklin

Ever had a door shut on you?  I am sure you have, even if it hasn't pinched your fingers.

I had a situation this past week where a door closed on an opportunity I was hoping for.  Reliving the moment where I realized it was closed was interesting for me,...I had inquired about it and had received a phone call back.  Once I realized what the woman was telling me on the other end of the call, the rest of the conversation sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to me as she was encouraging me to keep trying...ha! I think I managed to say, "thank you for this information", but there was that "uhg...I just got punched in the gut" feeling...it is not the same as the, "I really need to cut an onion while watching The Notebook" feeling, so I think I will survive. :)

Closed doors can hurt...this one didn't hurt me too badly...I could have gone either way with the outcome, but I think what it messed with the most was some of my pride as I thought I would, at least, be given a shot at it.  In my mind, my skill set or talents lined up nicely with the opportunity, but there was something out of my control that removed me from consideration.

My wonderful husband reminded me to praise God for the closed door!  He's right...we don't always feel like praising God at those times, but we should!

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:18

We don't always know if God's will will include this door, or that window, or picking up a shovel and digging a tunnel somewhere, but we do know it is God's will that we rejoice, pray, and give thanks!  I am thankful because I trust God loves me, knows what is best for me, and is working to accomplish His will through me. 

We can trust our GOD...HE knows what HE'S doing!

LOGOS LINK

I just saw this and thought I would share it... http://www.logosmarchmadness.com/

This is such a great way to market!  LOVE THE INTERACTIVE APPROACH!  Anyway, I thought, if you are into Christian books, you may want to vote in their March Madness author competition and see if some of your favorite authors can win to give you great discounts on their works.

reLENTless

"Are you giving up anything for LENT?"  I never really thought too much about it growing up.  I don't even think it was until I was in college that I learned what it meant and some of the religious significance.  Last night I was eating Girl Scout Cookies and reading some articles and before I knew it I had finished off a box of Samoas...(Oh, my goodness...they are so good...the coconut, caramel and chocolate combo...wow).

What have I done?!!! 

A child, who's name I cannot mention, told me to add this as a picture and caption, so I'll humor her :)

Anyway, my first thought was, "I can't believe I ate all those...they were so little, but they added up!"...then, "LENT begins tomorrow, so maybe I should give up sugar...or at least chocolate, or maybe just milk chocolate...just milk?...too hard to choose!"

So, I asked Brad if he had thought about giving anything up for Lent this morning as we were getting ready and he said he had not.  He asked me if I was thinking about it and I said, "Want to give up sugar?"  He didn't even give it a second's thought and said, "Nah." FUNNY! I am still going to try to do that, but I have been thinking about it today and laughing about it.  When we think of things we will give up, we usually have a semi-selfish reason for it (at least I do at times)...it can sometimes become a self-betterment scheme masquerading as a sacrifice...BUT, the important part of Lent is that it draws us near to God.  So, it is more about the motives for our choice...the why...than it is the what.  If you give up some kind of food, what are you replacing it with or allowing God to train you in the process?...if it is time spent in some way, what will you do instead with that time to draw near to God?... if it is a bad habit, how will you allow God to use the time to transform you?...etc.

To contrast, I think about what God has given up for me...HIS RELENTLESS PURSUIT to love me and rescue me really cost Him everything....and He did it all willingly and with absolutely NOTHING to GAIN for Himself.

Today, my Bible reading is the whole book of Ruth.. I read it through and just thought it was so appropriately timed for Lent.

(RELENTLESS): But, Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or turn back from you.  Where you go I will go, and where you stay, I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God, my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."  Ruth 1:16-17  

A woman who gave up everything comfortable and familiar for her love and loyalty to her mother-in-law and, ultimately, the God of her mother-in-law... is a good example for me...BUT, also a GOD who provided for her, protected her, gave her a wonderful (lower-case) love story, and even included her in HIS family line...I think this is a relentless kind of love!  

Well, Ruth, God did not have to deal with you ever so severely...(HA!...it makes me smile-cry that she said that... and now to know how God blessed her!) In fact, some people believe you are the wife of noble character described in Proverbs 31.

...LATER IN THE DAY....LOOK WHO I CAUGHT IN THE DARK PANTRY

 GOBBLING THIN MINTS

Most famous line for a moment like this..."I've only had two." :)

We always have one that is just like us, right?! 

There Is No Try...

"When we try to follow Jesus without dying, we find ourselves frustrated with our failure and tired of trying. Following Jesus doesn't mean that you keep trying, it means that you keep dying."  -Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan Study

Yoda was quite the philosopher, but he, the mark, did not hit. About death, it is. :)

So, how does one DIE to self everyday?  We are predisposed to be self-preserving, self-promoting, and self-conscious...and we use our self fones to take selfies...OK, that is a stretch, maybe...BUT, my point is, how do we begin our days and carry them out as one who is truly carrying a cross?...(AND, not just the kind that is studded with diamonds.)

I am not thinking I have the answer to this.  There is a part of the answer, I think, that deals with understanding what it means for Christ to have died for me. This requires that I acknowledge what Jesus has accomplished on the Cross and why His shed blood was necessary to cover me in Holiness...not just the work that was done, but the love that has been shown to me through this action.  This is an amazing and awesome thought and one I should think about everyday.

Then, that leads to the actual practice of DYING to self...which requires disciplines that must be developed. Being in the Word, prayer, service to others, praise and worship, seeking alone time with God, giving tithe and time to God, fasting or abstaining from something in order to deny our flesh power over ourselves and allow for the spirit to be nourished....are just a few.

I saw a funny sign when we were all at the Great Wolf Lodge for our indoor water park adventure...it said "I can resist everything, but temptation!"  There are many things I know I can resist...Hinkley's Doughnuts are not one of them :) But, I think we need to know which temptations can affect us.  We have to consider ourselves dead to them...even though as long as we breathe we may struggle with them.  I think of the brave individuals who have battled to overcome addictions to alcohol in AA meetings.  They know very well that their battle is a daily struggle...they know, and can celebrate each day of sobriety.

So...we hate to die and dying is hard....is there anything to encourage us?  YES!  If we will die...we will be made ALIVE in Christ.

Hug a Snowman Day

I think we should start a National Hug A Snowman Day :)  

AWWW!

Well, I guess it couldn't be a national holiday, right?...DUH...snow people don't reside in all 50 states, but you know what I mean.

Maybe this would help melt some of our snow?

Hey, there are no bad ideas here...

Nope...this is cheating :)

I had to include this one...I am not sure if it is a hug, but this is my favorite...

I know this is something that would happen to me with my track record on skis...and, not on purpose! 

LOVE IT!

See, Olaf agrees and he is a snowman! 

So, why has no one thought of this before?

Just trying to rise above the temperatures.  I think if we all did our part, this could work.

Good day to you...and good night...don't let the frostbite bite!

Karly, you can't turn six years old!

Can it even be possible that my baby is turning six today?  NO WAY!  We spent last evening trying to think of ways to keep her five years old...but, she was not "down" with any of those ideas :)  I made brownies for her class and we put M's on all of them and then she "freaked out" because they were supposed to be frosted with W's...for Western Schools...(her idea)...so, I turned the pan around and it all made way more sense ...YAY...too funny! She is pretty excited to be going to a school carnival tonight, having some friends over on Saturday, and then having a family lunch/party on Sunday....turning six is absolutely fabulous!  I have never had that sad, "my baby is growing up", feeling until this birthday!  She just seems way older now!

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY, KARLAYNA SUZANNE!

"When I was One, I had just begun.

When I was Two, I was nearly new.

When I was Three, I was hardly me.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever."

~A.A. Milne

Great poem!  Wish I had written that! 

SO PERFECT FOR THIS FREEZE FRAME KARLY MOMENT!

♥ WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, KARLY! ♥ GOD KNOWS HOW TO GIVE GREAT SURPRISES!
Daddy, Mommy, Savannah, McKenna, Kassandra, Danielle, and
Kooper too!

"I'm gonna play this at your funeral..."

Savannah said to me tonight with a couple tears in her eyes and I thought, "are you already planning this...?" :)...but, I didn't say that because I could tell it was emotional for her.  Then she proceeded to show me a music video by the Newsboys to a song called, "In That Home"...oh, my goodness...what a blessing!  If you walked in my shoes (via this blog) through our whole adoption process to know the ups and downs, my almost breakdown moments, crying out to God moments...this will be a blessing to you as well.  I needed tissues, but when do I not? Right?  Here's the link to the video...WOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vjyq02xBSk

No one said it would be easy...but, then there are days like this where it rocks your world in an AMAZING way!  We are almost to our one year anniversary of the adoption and I cannot believe the work God has accomplished!  Some would be tempted to say..."What a difference a year can make", but it really is GOD!  WHY?  BECAUSE HE'S AWESOME!