I heart thrift stores!
Have a great week!
*I am not being paid or perked to write this post about this wonderful Longaberger basket. I don't even sell Longaberger. I am just so excited about this great find! :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
I heart Thrift stores!
I may have mentioned it a time or two on my old blog, but I absolutely love thrift stores! Case in point: I went to my local Goodwill today, and look what I found!
It's a Longaberger basket! (I tried to take a pic of the Longaberger name on the bottom, but my cheap camera wouldn't get a good pic. So, you will just have to take my word for it!) And it's not a tiny one either! It's in perfect condition and someone had even written a name and date on it. The date was 1988! These baskets last a long time! Oh, and the price was a whopping $2! Can you believe it? This thing would cost $75-$80 today! I kept thinking, "They don't know what they have....." Lucky for me. :)
I heart thrift stores!
Have a great week!
*I am not being paid or perked to write this post about this wonderful Longaberger basket. I don't even sell Longaberger. I am just so excited about this great find! :)
I heart thrift stores!
Have a great week!
*I am not being paid or perked to write this post about this wonderful Longaberger basket. I don't even sell Longaberger. I am just so excited about this great find! :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Faith
I thought I would share with you a few thoughts today on faith. I am no preacher, but this is something I am learning now and would like to share my findings so far with you!
What does it mean to have faith? First, we must define the word, faith. The Bible says, that faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV) The evidence of things not seen is what often times makes it so hard to have faith. To me, faith is taking God at His word when He said, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 34:7)
I believe that faith and trust goes hand in hand. Why? Because if you trust someone, you have an easier time putting your faith in that person. So to have faith in Jesus, we must trust Him. How do we trust someone? That's easy...we know them. We have a relationship with that person. In the same way, we must have a relationship with Jesus to know Him and trust Him. Then faith comes.
I found a few sayings I pinned on Pinterest the other day, and they really help in what I am trying to say today:
"I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse." -Phillip Yancey
I have found so many times in my own life that this is so true. I have in my own mind how I think God should handle a situation, but many many times He has done it a different way, and when it's all said and done I look back and think, "Wow God....only You could have done that." I think sometimes that's precisely why He does things the opposite of how we think it should be done. He wants us to know that He is the One in control...not us.
"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." -Oswald Chambers
Again, there have been times when I say, "God I know this is what You have....but I don't understand why this is happening." A lot of times the "this" is bad. Sometimes when we follow God's will, we still have to go through some messy things. Some dark days. Trying times. I think this is where having that deliberate confidence in God's character comes into play. If we know God (relationship) then we know that God 1) will never leave or forsake us 2) won't put more on us than we can handle 3) is a very present help in time of need. So even during the hard times when we just don't understand, we need to put our deliberate confidence in Him.
"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading." -Unknown
I think this one is pretty self explanatory. If we know God and love Him, then we trust Him. My whole point of this post. :)
A friend said this to me on Facebook the other day and it has really stuck with me. "Faith prepares for what it believes." Wow! I have been praying about a certain thing for months now. And I just felt the need to go ahead and start preparing. Now this was a few months ago. And truthfully, I felt kinda silly preparing for it. I'm not "guaranteed" my prayer will be answered. This is what I am learning now. I was praying one night and asking God if I was crazy for doing this. I have even thought maybe I shouldn't be preparing (who does that anyways?) until I know for sure. But when he said this, it confirmed what I felt in my spirit and I sat staring at the screen for a little while, amazed! When it happens, I will let you know! :)
Now having faith and preparing does not mean we are trying to manipulate God into doing what we want. I struggled with this a few months ago too. Satan was all too quick to say, "You are just trying to tell God what to do and He doesn't listen to you so you might as well stop." He was trying to get me to stop having faith!
My response? I know good and well that God's plan is better than mine. If He sees fit to bless me with my request, then I Praise Him! If He doesn't, then I Praise Him still! God tells me to have faith. That's what He wants from me.
There is SO much more to it than this. We could be here all day talking about it! I know I still have a lot to learn and I am excited about it! I hope it has blessed you like it has blessed me. Put your faith and trust in Him! He loves you!
Jessica
What does it mean to have faith? First, we must define the word, faith. The Bible says, that faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV) The evidence of things not seen is what often times makes it so hard to have faith. To me, faith is taking God at His word when He said, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 34:7)
I believe that faith and trust goes hand in hand. Why? Because if you trust someone, you have an easier time putting your faith in that person. So to have faith in Jesus, we must trust Him. How do we trust someone? That's easy...we know them. We have a relationship with that person. In the same way, we must have a relationship with Jesus to know Him and trust Him. Then faith comes.
I found a few sayings I pinned on Pinterest the other day, and they really help in what I am trying to say today:
"I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse." -Phillip Yancey
I have found so many times in my own life that this is so true. I have in my own mind how I think God should handle a situation, but many many times He has done it a different way, and when it's all said and done I look back and think, "Wow God....only You could have done that." I think sometimes that's precisely why He does things the opposite of how we think it should be done. He wants us to know that He is the One in control...not us.
"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." -Oswald Chambers
Again, there have been times when I say, "God I know this is what You have....but I don't understand why this is happening." A lot of times the "this" is bad. Sometimes when we follow God's will, we still have to go through some messy things. Some dark days. Trying times. I think this is where having that deliberate confidence in God's character comes into play. If we know God (relationship) then we know that God 1) will never leave or forsake us 2) won't put more on us than we can handle 3) is a very present help in time of need. So even during the hard times when we just don't understand, we need to put our deliberate confidence in Him.
"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading." -Unknown
I think this one is pretty self explanatory. If we know God and love Him, then we trust Him. My whole point of this post. :)
A friend said this to me on Facebook the other day and it has really stuck with me. "Faith prepares for what it believes." Wow! I have been praying about a certain thing for months now. And I just felt the need to go ahead and start preparing. Now this was a few months ago. And truthfully, I felt kinda silly preparing for it. I'm not "guaranteed" my prayer will be answered. This is what I am learning now. I was praying one night and asking God if I was crazy for doing this. I have even thought maybe I shouldn't be preparing (who does that anyways?) until I know for sure. But when he said this, it confirmed what I felt in my spirit and I sat staring at the screen for a little while, amazed! When it happens, I will let you know! :)
Now having faith and preparing does not mean we are trying to manipulate God into doing what we want. I struggled with this a few months ago too. Satan was all too quick to say, "You are just trying to tell God what to do and He doesn't listen to you so you might as well stop." He was trying to get me to stop having faith!
My response? I know good and well that God's plan is better than mine. If He sees fit to bless me with my request, then I Praise Him! If He doesn't, then I Praise Him still! God tells me to have faith. That's what He wants from me.
There is SO much more to it than this. We could be here all day talking about it! I know I still have a lot to learn and I am excited about it! I hope it has blessed you like it has blessed me. Put your faith and trust in Him! He loves you!
Jessica
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Hey there!
I know I haven't posted much this month. My son is starting preschool (*sniff sniff) next Monday and I have been spending the last few days of summer with him. I have been doing a new school routine with him in the mornings. I get up early (like 6:15-6:30) and get my shower and get dressed before my son wakes up. This also allows me to see my hubby before he goes to work. Then after that I have just enough time to do my devotional and pray before I have to get my son up at 7:30. This morning I just let the cat out of "his" room (the laundry room) and he went to my son's room and woke him up! ha!
Then my son eats breakfast and I do his devotional with him. Now, it may seem like this is no routine at all, but what we would normally do is to get up at about 7:30 usually, and my son would get his breakfast, but he wouldn't eat it until 8:30 or 9:00. He would just drink his cup of milk and eat later. So adjusting to actually sitting down and eating early is something big for him. It takes him about 30-40 minutes to eat his one Pop-Tart. Meal times are a nightmare at our house at times because he is such a picky eater. My hubby and I aren't big breakfast eaters, and I don't think our son will be either. But, I try to get as much breakfast as I can in him.
He will be going to preschool for about 3 hours a day. It may not seem like much of a school since it's only three hours a day, but for my son and me, it's a big change. I have stayed home with him ever since he has been born. So it will be difficult for me. Notice I said me, not him! He is beyond excited and asks me everyday, "Am I going to school today?" I, on the other hand, have been praying about it. Last week I was thinking about it one night when I couldn't sleep, and just started to cry. I was having separation anxiety from my kid! I thought, "Can't I just go sit in the parking lot and wait for him? That way I can see him when he plays on the playground at least? Then if he needs me, I can be there." Isn't that silly? I know he will be fine. I know it's good for him and for me. I just have a hard time remembering that he isn't a baby anymore, and he doesn't need me to do everything for him like when he was a baby. It just seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! And now all of a sudden, he is four years old, and starting preschool! It all seems to be happening too fast!
I have been praying that I won't cry in front of him on his first day. When he sees me cry, he gets very upset and cries too. I don't want that. As of right now, I am feeling ok. Tomorrow night, we go for Orientation and to meet his teacher. I will probably be praying more. :)
Once he gets into school, I hope to use my three hours to blog more. I'm sure it will fly by. So I ask for your prayers too.
God bless!
Jessica
Then my son eats breakfast and I do his devotional with him. Now, it may seem like this is no routine at all, but what we would normally do is to get up at about 7:30 usually, and my son would get his breakfast, but he wouldn't eat it until 8:30 or 9:00. He would just drink his cup of milk and eat later. So adjusting to actually sitting down and eating early is something big for him. It takes him about 30-40 minutes to eat his one Pop-Tart. Meal times are a nightmare at our house at times because he is such a picky eater. My hubby and I aren't big breakfast eaters, and I don't think our son will be either. But, I try to get as much breakfast as I can in him.
He will be going to preschool for about 3 hours a day. It may not seem like much of a school since it's only three hours a day, but for my son and me, it's a big change. I have stayed home with him ever since he has been born. So it will be difficult for me. Notice I said me, not him! He is beyond excited and asks me everyday, "Am I going to school today?" I, on the other hand, have been praying about it. Last week I was thinking about it one night when I couldn't sleep, and just started to cry. I was having separation anxiety from my kid! I thought, "Can't I just go sit in the parking lot and wait for him? That way I can see him when he plays on the playground at least? Then if he needs me, I can be there." Isn't that silly? I know he will be fine. I know it's good for him and for me. I just have a hard time remembering that he isn't a baby anymore, and he doesn't need me to do everything for him like when he was a baby. It just seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! And now all of a sudden, he is four years old, and starting preschool! It all seems to be happening too fast!
I have been praying that I won't cry in front of him on his first day. When he sees me cry, he gets very upset and cries too. I don't want that. As of right now, I am feeling ok. Tomorrow night, we go for Orientation and to meet his teacher. I will probably be praying more. :)
Once he gets into school, I hope to use my three hours to blog more. I'm sure it will fly by. So I ask for your prayers too.
God bless!
Jessica
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
A Much Needed Vacation
Hello there! As you can tell, I wasn't kidding about not seeing much of me this summer! :) Now I am back, and the first item on the agenda is to show you a few pics from our vacation. We went to stay in Chattanooga, TN with my sis-in-laws. It was so much fun! We have not been on vacation since our little fella was born! That's 4 years! So it was a very welcomed occasion! Here are the pics...
These were all taken at Rock City on Lookout Mountain. We had the privilege of staying on Lookout Mountain with a friend (thanks, B!!) and Rock City was literally a two-minute drive down the mountain from our friend's house! Lovely!!
These were taken the same day in downtown Chattanooga. We walked over the beautiful Walking Bridge over the River.
We were greeted by a sweet, "Hello!" at the Chattanooga Zoo by the top bird.
And we finished out our trip with a journey through the Aquarium! The little fella (as well as the hubs and I) had a blast! We had some great time with family and friends, and some great food too! Hopefully, we won't have to wait another four years before we get another vacation!
God bless!
Jessica
God bless!
Jessica
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