in the land of my living(room)....

I am SO excited that Andrea is back up and running this New Year at Under Grace Over Coffee !! I have missed her and all of her randomness!

I was about to post a couple of quotes and passages that are speaking to me right now, and then I thought...this could take part in Caffeinated Randomness!! Fun.

This morning as I drank a cup of joe and had my quiet time, I had ear buds in listening to Pandora. Hillsong's, The Time Has Come started to play. I have heard this song many times, but the lyrics resonated in a deep way today. This one quote especially....

"The time has come to stand for all I believe in. So I for one am going to give my praise to You. Today's the day its all or nothing...."

The time has come. Yes. To stand for all I believe in. Jesus. It is today.

Whatever that means for you....it is today.

Will you stand for Him?

Mmm. So good.

And also, I am reading a great book on prayer called 30 Days to a Better Prayer Life by Nora King and the passage she wrote on yesterday was Psalm 28:13-14.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait on the LORD!"

Can I just say that I love exclamation points? Can't you just hear it? David is so emphatic and passionate. He believes this!

Oh hallelujah. So do I.

I looked at my children playing this morning (yes, they are up this early) and I thought....I am looking at the goodness of the LORD in the land of my living (room) ha ha.

He is so good to me - to give me three messy heads and and morning hugs from three little boys. Little people that He created in my womb. What in the world? He is amazing.

Any passages of Scripture or good quotes out there? I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment...

Random Thoughts on I-40

I'm on I-40 this week. Driving. Little boys in the back seat. On my way to get Grant from school.
And I have a revelation.

I was thinking on scripture. Muttering the Word. Nothing specific, just anything I could think of, really. And 1 Corinthians 13:8 comes to mind.

Love never fails.

Familiar as the day is long. This verse is read time and again in marriage ceremonies, engraved in wedding rings, typed in love letters, plastered on bumper stickers, painted on wall hangings...I bet some people even have tattoos that read...Love never fails.

I said it over and over. Love never fails. Love never fails. Love never fails. And it starts to register....Wow...Love never fails!

An elementary truth, yes. But something clicked in my heart that day on I-40. I can never go wrong with love.

Fails (πίπτω piptō) as used here means the sense of losing its authority or ceasing to have force.

Love is a force, is it not? And it is powerful.

Love will never lose its authority. Ever.

Love was Christ's motivation for me. For you. Look what it drove Him to do.

Love hung Him on a Cross.

Amazing.

Oh, Lord forgive me for not loving well. I am thinking of several areas of my life, right now, where I need to LOVE well. To LOVE deeply. To LOVE like you LOVE me. Let love be my motivation today. Let LOVE be the force that does not cease today. And everyday. Grow me here, Lord.

I'd love to hear any random thoughts you have today. Love to you all...

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Random Pictures - I Revel in My Imperfection

I have been looking forward to this post ALL week! First of all, let me give a big shout out to Andrea at Under Grace Over Coffee for hosting Caffeinated Randomness on Fridays. I love taking part. This gives a home to all of my random thoughts...none of which could stand alone in a single blog post.

The other night (at that birthday for one of my besties) I was scrolling through my phone to find recent pictures of my boys. So a friend and I sat, shoulder to shoulder, as I looked..."This is Lukey. This was Grant's first day of school. This was.....um. This was when I went shopping at Target and text Brent a picture to see what he thought. This was when Ethan got a hold of my camera. This was when Luke got a hold of my camera."

Cracking up. Bad angles. Unflattering. Random photo after photo. And they were hilarious.

This got me to thinking. Wonder what we would all learn about each other if we looked at each other's "should be deleted" pictures?

First off, we would have to completely die to image. For the most part, I only post pretty good pictures of myself or my family. Everyone smiling. Good lighting. Cute clothes.

But 98% of the time, my life is a crooked angle. A bit out of focus. Screaming kids. Dirty faces. No make-up. Silly. Messy. And extremely imperfect.

So this morning, I am keeping it real...and random.

Today, I revel in my imperfection.

I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. [Christ says,] "My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me....For it is when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:5,8-10

Enjoy a good giggle on me...


This kid ALWAYS has something on his face. Would his mommy please wipe that mouth!?



So, I am trying to take a picture of the bone graft I had done a few weeks ago. Um.... Not even close. Try opening your mouth, Becky.



Looks like we are listening to Usher by the way I'm dancing. But no. This is Preschool worship at church. Nice face, Becky. And it's time to get those roots done.



Is beat-boxing included in Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Psalm 98:4? I say yes. I definately have the "loud" part down.



We all have these shots on our camera. "Sit still. Smile. Look at the camera. Tickle Tickle!"



This is my life. I should make this my Christmas Card. I am very serious.



As if the first picture wasn't bad enough.



My truest self. Blogging. Glasses. Bathrobe.

It is very appropriate to say that, most days, Jesus is all I've got going for me.

I hope you will visit my blog again. ;)

Love you all...

Random Quote - Taste and See

Tuesday, my mentor and I were talking. And I asked her a random question. I asked if I could peek inside her prayer closet - into her quiet place with the Lord. Just curious.

I love how Jesus manifests Himself on her life.

She is extremely passionate about Christ. Contagiously so. Her life is tangible proof to me that there is so much more to be desired in my walk with God. So much more to learn and know. So much more Love to have for Him.

In passing she said this.....

"I don't want to just read over Psalm 34:8 - Taste and see that the Lord is good. I really want to taste Him."

It was a random quote in our hour and a half talk. Not the focus of our time. But it has stuck with me.

How amazing that the Lord allows us to experience Him through our senses. That we can experience Him as with the richest of foods (Ps. 63:5).

For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107:9

Satisfies.

We live in a very unsatisfied culture. So many people wander through this blink of an eye life, trying to find satisfaction. Looking to career, materialism, relationships, money, etc. to find fulfillment.

But it is in Christ alone that one finds lasting, genuine satisfaction.

Satisfies - to be fulfilled. To enrich. To cloy with over abundance. To flood with goods that exceed demand.

God fulfills us. He enriches our lives. He lavishes us with, not just an abundance of joy, but with an OVER abundance. He doesn't just meet our need for satisfaction, He exceeds demand.

I long to grow in finding 100% satisfaction in Christ. I hold up my cup to Him today. Asking not to just taste Him but to taste Him. And see that He is good.

Also, this song by Sarah Reeves, Sweet Sweet Sound, has been my random song of the week. It has blessed me so much. Little Ethan loves it, too. :)

Enjoy and worship today.

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Random Conversation

Tuesday morning, little Grant and I were driving home from Kentucky. It was so good to have that time with just him. Having three boys, alone time is rare.

Lunch was approaching and the "golden arches" continued to grace exit signs. Mile and mile again. "Mom, can we stop? Please? I am starving."

Confession - I am a fast food snob. If it ain't Chick-fil-a then I ain't stoppin'. But remember, I just had minor surgery on my jaw. Food was way down on my priority list.

Finally, I exited and pulled thru at McDonald's. And Grant was ecstatic.

One hamburger Happy Meal for a boy, an orange Hi-C and an Iron Man toy later, we hit the road.

With his mouth full of burger Grant said, "This is the third best day of my life."

*Smile* "Really?! What were the first two?"

"The first was the day I asked Jesus into my heart. The second was the day I learned to tie my shoes. And the third is today."

Priceless.

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." - Angela Schwindt

I'd love to hear a random quote or sweet moment you've had lately.

Peek in on other Caffeinated Randomness.

Happy Friday!