Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas this year!

So I was praying a little bit ago, asking the Lord what He wanted me to do today (as the book I told you about has challenged me to do). I heard the Lord say, "Love your husband." I thought, okay! I like doing that. But what does that look like today, when he's at work? & God showed me - put away the dishes. Clean the bathroom. Pick up leaves that Sage has dragged in. What encouragement! I sometimes get a little down about the "mundane-ness" of that part of my life... clean, do laundry, etc. I want to do those things, because I'm called to love Josh in part through keeping our home nice, but sometimes it's a bit draining & I lack joy in those tasks. But I need to continue to view these things as a high calling, as part of loving Josh, & not as the world views them, as boring & something to be look down on. This is part of my purpose & when I do it as obedience to the Lord, He gives me joy in it!

I also wanted to share a story from this book; I got excited about it & I think some of you might as well.

"Obedience, in little things or big things, brings an exquisite thrill. 'My joy, which no man can take from you,' says Jesus.
I was attending a conference in a village. The speaker was an Indian businessman who had worked & lived in Burma for many years. When the Japanese bombed Rangoon, he with other Indians fled for their lives. They lost everything. He had only his Bible & the suit he was wearing. He walked hundreds of miles to return to India. He said that hardships were many, but it was sweet to feel the Presence of Jesus & to have his Bible. While he was talking & giving a great witness to the people, a quick thought came to me just before I had to return to my town: 'Give him all the money in your purse.'
Well! I had to go home by train. Should I not save a bit for my train fare! Of course I had learned not to argue with God - just obey. I put all I had in an envelope & gave it to him.
Then I hurried off to catch my train. A boy was running swiftly ahead of me. When I got to the station the boy came out of the ticket office with a ticket - & gave it to me. I looked surprised! He told me he was at the meeting, saw me put the money in an envelope & give it to the speaker. Then he said, 'God told me to buy your ticket, so I ran.' The train was ready to pull out. 'Get in quickly, Amma.' So I did. The train was off; I waved to the boy. I sat there with that exquisite thrill that comes when people obey God's Plan."

I pray I can be so obedient.

I've got a couple pictures to share - yay Christmas!

Here is our Christmas tree! I just love it.

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care! (Note the new color of the walls - no more yellow! Yay!)

Sage says Merry Christmas!

C

I don't even know.

I just spent about 15 minutes writing a post, then deleted it. It felt so pointless. I recently felt challenged to make the things that I say point towards the Lord. Talking about my life, my experiences, & my feelings should point towards the Lord. Now, I still enjoy randomness & silliness because I don't think we should be serious all the time. God is fun! He's hilarious! But I do want to say things that point to scripture, & I want to give advice that causes people to seek the Lord & not just "Godly counsel."

Josh & I were given two copies of "God Guides" by Mary Geegh. It's basically stories written by a missionary in India that speak of the Lord's power & challenges us to truly seek Him & expect to hear Him! I prayed today for the Lord to show me what to do today. & He did! I never pray to find out what my day's plans should be. But shouldn't I??

I'm not very far in the book, but I already recommend you read it.

I'm pretty sure God has some plans to grow & stretch Josh & I in 2008. I think by this time next year we will be drastically different.

I'm so excited for Christmas. We're spending it in Austin this year with my parents, & I'm just looking forward to all of us being in the new house, hanging out & taking a break. (I think the biggest surprise going from college to the real world is that you go from having a MONTH off for Christmas to having... two days. Two days. Saddddd.)

Tomorrow is Josh & I's (the proper grammar of that whole Josh & me's, Josh & my's, is just beyond me - I blame public schooling) annual Christmas date. Each year we get all dressed up & go out to eat & exchange gifts & look at Christmas lights. Yay!

I really hope you all have a very Merry Christmas & that you experience Christ in new & exciting ways!

C

Messiness

I'm SO SORRY for being such a blogspot loser. I went almost a month without blogging! Hopefully I did not lose my loyal fans... well, I know my mom will still read. :-)

I really have had a lot I've wanted to write about, but we've been so busy with the house & potty training a puppy & the holidays that I just never got around to it. So here's a fast update:

*The living room is painted as of last night! I had help from Becca & Kristin & FINALLY those yellow walls are gone. I love the color. I will post pictures eventually, I need to get everything in there situated, & things on the walls, etc. (If you want to see pictures of the outside of the house, let me know & I will email them to you, but I'm definitely not putting them on here for all the world to see :-) ) I'm thinking I'll start painting the kitchen tomorrow, to get rid of the Fiesta Green we've got going on in there. When that room is done, I will be just ecstatic! Those are the two rooms I wanted done quickly.

*Sage is a mess. She's very cute, but less cute to me since I'm the one that picks up her poop! The potty training is going slowly. Toby serves as a pretty good babysitter; they chase each other around & he smacks her silly sometimes (literally... it's funny). Here they are together...

*About a month ago we went on a retreat where God spoke a lot to us. He refined us in several ways, showing us how much our world affects us & how weak our flesh really is. As a result, we stopped watching most TV shows, stopped listening to top 40 stations, & will not be watching movies with even one, "not that bad" sexual scene (which means getting rid of some movies such as "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days"). I hate that those things were even part of our lives. It's not about more rules for us to follow... Josh & I just realized how we look too much like people that don't know the Lord, & what He has for us is so much better than that, & I have seen God bless our lives in several ways since cutting those things out. We want to look more like Jesus!

*It's been amazing what God has wanted for us since moving here. With all that happened with my job, getting so involved in our church so quickly, we are amazed at what He had planned for us. & we continue to be amazed, b/c He has more. It's scary tho. I feel inadequate, & it's going to be a challenge, pushing me outside of what I am comfortable with. But every time I feel that way, & am obedient anyways, the Lord shows up in a HUGE way. More details to come....

*At the retreat mentioned above, the speaker showed us a way that he spends time with the Lord & gets to know Him more, & I have been doing it & loving it! Basically, you create your own list of who God is. I'm reading through the Bible chronologically right now, so after I do my reading, I just flip through the Word & read wherever I land, & search for descriptions of my God. (I'm a goober & I have two lists going - one of nouns & one of adjectives.) Here is an example-

Pardoner of iniquity - Micah 7:18
Husband - Isa. 54:5, Hosea 2:16
My avenger - Rom. 12:9

Incomparable - Isa. 40:18
Perfect in timing - Hab. 2:3
Alluring & tender - Hosea 2:14

Look those verses up - they are good! Anyways, this has been an exciting way to get into the Word, & I know that I'm always going to find more to describe the Lord that I am betrothed to. I recommend doing it. :-)

I just realized I meant to explain the title for this post, so here you go - messy house, messy dog, messy me. & working on all of them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Yay... I love Christmas!

C