Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sweet Fellowship with the Father

I have found that it takes a firm commitment to make daily devotions consistent. However, I have often felt guilty if this time isn't as long as I think it should be or if I don't cover all the disciplines I think are important. It has taken years for me to realize that God doesn't love me because I have a quiet time--He just loves me! This knowledge alone has increased my desire to be with Him.

How important it is to come to our quiet time, not with the fear that God will punish us if we miss, but eager to meet Him--to learn, to grow and to find sweet fellowship with a Father who loves us far more than we could ever imagine. 

-Sandy Smith from A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

(via The Macs)

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Week at a Glance + Beach Time!

Well last week flew by! I wanted to get a post in with pictures this weekend but it didn't happen. School is starting to keep me a bit busy. The beach was so much fun! We met Jared's family down there and spent the weekend with them. It was short, but we had a wonderful time! Anyway, here are some pictures from last week along with our beach pictures. Some of them are from instagr.am.


Slip n' Slide!!! So much fun:)


 We went on our walk, and it proceeded to rain on our way back...



 I made these delicious cookies...Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies!! Yes:)  I will definitely be making these again.


And now for some beach pictures...


On our 6 hour drive to Destin...we woke up REALLY early....

Our awesome broken tv in our hotel room...wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't taken 30 min to not be able to find our reservation. Oh the joys of traveling...

 They played in the waves the whole time...
(Nathan-Jared's brother, Jared, Don-Jared's dad, and Caleb-Jared's brother)





Jared's parents. I think this is such a great picture!

Well, that's it! I'm still trying to get into the habit of taking more pictures. It's taking time. I may or may not be back this week... I've got a few tests coming up!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Fun things:)

Well, this has ended up being a decently busy week. Two tests, and I have a paper due next Monday...PLUS we're going to the beach!!! I'm so excited, even though it is only for like a day. I'll take it though. Well, here are some fun things I've come across recently...

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I think these backpacks are perfect. I wish I had a reason to get one:)

I love this website. I got my last purse here, and I think it's about that time again. I want this one!

Oh if only Anthropologie wasn't so pretty. This dress makes me smile.

I want to make this.

Aren't these so fun!
(www.cutestfood.com)

This store has the best prints. I want this one.

I like these.

I want to make this.
 (diyideas.com)

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Well, we're making the big trip to the beach here soon! I can't wait!!



Monday, June 13, 2011

Thoughts...

I had a whole other post picked out to write for today until I read this. It really hit home so I decided to share. This an aspect of saving grace that I don't think about so often. I think this affected me especially because of what I love to do. I love to think, and discover, and create. So often, I forget that it is my Savior who makes all of that possible. 
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(via Desiring God blog)


Jesus, Help Us Think
Throughout the history of ideas there have been sprouts of thought that claim the mind to have a naturally transcendent capacity, dwarfing the commonality of our other faculties, never leading us astray.


This is not so, though its persuasion is terribly subtle. Thinking can be easy and regular such that we often drift from one project to the next, presuming we'll gather all the data and start down the right path every time.
We think a lot, but we don't always think rightly. The effects of sin taint our ability to reason as much as our ability to choose — yes, we are that broken.
John Webster writes,
Like all other aspects of human life, reason is a field of God's sanctifying work. Reason, too — along with conscience, the will and the affections — must be reconciled to the holy God if it is to do its work well (Holiness[Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003], 10).
We're going to think today and unless we remember that our thinking is fallen we're going to operate in some mode that functions as if it doesn't really need the blood and victory of Jesus, naively entrenching ourselves in the mire of self-sufficiency.
So let us pause for a moment — stop and think — and let us be overwhelmed that our thinking has never produced one good thing in and of ourselves. . . . (see, even that thought about our thinking is not from us). "What have we thought right that we have not received? If then we received it, how can we boast as if we did not receive it and go on thinking like we're not desperate for grace?"
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I have to  remember that every good thought or idea is not because of anything I do, it is only possible through Jesus Christ. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

Foto Friday

I am going to try this blog thing out, and see where it goes.
We'll start with some fun photos from our week; not exciting, but it is what it is. 


It rained this afternoon. It was pretty. 

 My sad-looking plants are getting some fresh rain 
(if you look hard you can see my two red tomatoes!)

 School is so much fun...not.



 He loves Xbox:)

 These are two very different shirts ( I thought they were the same shirt when I opened the package; I am apparently very wrong).

And that's our week. I think we're going to a movie this weekend! Maybe some X-men....:)