Here is me at 27 weeks, and Ronnie at 20 months. :)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
It doesn't just happen
It Doesn’t Just Happen
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Recommended Reading
1 Timothy 6:11-12
On the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, contestants must work hard every week to drop pounds so they can continue being on the show. They are held accountable by a gigantic scale that reveals their weight in front of millions of Americans. Going into the contest, they know weight loss doesn’t just happen; they have to fight for it by breaking old habits and creating new, healthy ones. Desperate to lose weight and get healthy, they do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.
This should be our mentality as Christians. Becoming like Christ won’t just happen; it takes discipline and the honest pursuit of righteousness. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we made a commitment to Him; and it is our duty to work hard to put off the “old man which grows corrupt” and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24).
When we earnestly do this, we will be well on our way to achieving our goal of godly righteousness and pointing others toward Christ Jesus.
I know I can't do a thing to earn my salvation; but now that I am His, I will do everything in my power to show Him how much I love Him—and I live to please the One I love who has transformed me with HIS love.
Katherine Walden
(devotional from David Jeremiah's ministry)
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Recommended Reading
1 Timothy 6:11-12
On the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, contestants must work hard every week to drop pounds so they can continue being on the show. They are held accountable by a gigantic scale that reveals their weight in front of millions of Americans. Going into the contest, they know weight loss doesn’t just happen; they have to fight for it by breaking old habits and creating new, healthy ones. Desperate to lose weight and get healthy, they do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.
This should be our mentality as Christians. Becoming like Christ won’t just happen; it takes discipline and the honest pursuit of righteousness. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we made a commitment to Him; and it is our duty to work hard to put off the “old man which grows corrupt” and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24).
When we earnestly do this, we will be well on our way to achieving our goal of godly righteousness and pointing others toward Christ Jesus.
I know I can't do a thing to earn my salvation; but now that I am His, I will do everything in my power to show Him how much I love Him—and I live to please the One I love who has transformed me with HIS love.
Katherine Walden
(devotional from David Jeremiah's ministry)
Friday, February 20, 2009
The flock came to our neighborhood!
So, just days after I posted about the huge flocks of Starlings, some of them were in our neighborhood yesterday. So I stepped outside and took these photos from our patio. It sure is neat to watch how they fly in such awesome formations! God's creation sure is amazing!
Co-Incidents
Co-Incidents
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
Matthew 10:29
Recommended Reading
Daniel 5:1-30
A coincidence is a co-incident—something that happens at the same time as something else; when two or more events occupy the same space at the same time. Life is full of such co-incidents, and we are always amazed by them and (if they are happy co-incidents) consider ourselves lucky, fortunate, or blessed to experience them.
But are coincidences as random, arbitrary, and co-incidental as they appear? Is the idea of random events consistent with the notion of a sovereign God? King Belshazzar discovered that what seemed like a random event was not random at all; it contained a message from God. When the disrespectful king was enjoying a huge banquet, suddenly a hand appeared and wrote out a message on the wall that no one could interpret—except for Daniel. It was a message that said Belshazzar’s kingdom was over, and he died that night. What he thought was coincidental was very intentional.
If tiny birds live and die according to God’s will (Matthew 10:29), how much more are the events of our lives in His hand? Next time you experience a “coincidence,” ask God for understanding and sensitivity to His will.
A coincidence is an event in which a sovereign God chooses to remain anonymous.
Unknown
(Devotional from David Jeremiah's ministry)
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
Matthew 10:29
Recommended Reading
Daniel 5:1-30
A coincidence is a co-incident—something that happens at the same time as something else; when two or more events occupy the same space at the same time. Life is full of such co-incidents, and we are always amazed by them and (if they are happy co-incidents) consider ourselves lucky, fortunate, or blessed to experience them.
But are coincidences as random, arbitrary, and co-incidental as they appear? Is the idea of random events consistent with the notion of a sovereign God? King Belshazzar discovered that what seemed like a random event was not random at all; it contained a message from God. When the disrespectful king was enjoying a huge banquet, suddenly a hand appeared and wrote out a message on the wall that no one could interpret—except for Daniel. It was a message that said Belshazzar’s kingdom was over, and he died that night. What he thought was coincidental was very intentional.
If tiny birds live and die according to God’s will (Matthew 10:29), how much more are the events of our lives in His hand? Next time you experience a “coincidence,” ask God for understanding and sensitivity to His will.
A coincidence is an event in which a sovereign God chooses to remain anonymous.
Unknown
(Devotional from David Jeremiah's ministry)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
My Bluebird friend
This sweet little Bluebird comes to our bird bath to drink pretty much every day. I've seen him, and his mate, for quite some time now this winter. But I never could get a photo of him because he would fly away. So today I got it! He is sitting on our neighbors fence, and I peeked through the blinds with the camera and zoomed in as far as I could. Isn't he cute?? I hope they continue to visit our bird bath as the warm weather comes. I love to see the birds come and enjoy our bird bath that we put out for them.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Large flocks of birds
I have been noticing huge flocks of birds during the winter time here in TN, and usually around evening. I was wondering what kind of birds they were and why I keep seeing such huge flocks. So I did a little research tonight and found out some info. I am just fascinated with nature and animals and why they do the things they do.
So the huge flocks I have been seeing are Starlings. Everyone's favorite bird! LOL! In the winter months they congregate together in huge flocks. There are more of them here in the south since many migrate down here from the north. They typically find one area to roost in for the evening, and will travel as much as 20 miles from the roosting site to feed during the day. And then at the end of the day they come together again to roost and that is when I am seeing those huge flocks. And when I say huge, I mean it looks like the Alfred Hitchcock movie!! I found a couple photos on the internet to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Its like they just keep coming and coming and coming with no end in sight. It is wild!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Ronnie's Valentine's Day
Ronnie loves balloons, especially mylar ones. So I went to the Dollar Tree yesterday morning to get him his Valentine's gift. Two mylar balloons tied to a stuffed doggie, and some stickers. He loves to carry the balloons around the house as you can see in the above photos. It is fun to be able to get something so simple and watch him have so much fun!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Charles H. Spurgeon on Micah 6:8
A section of this paragraph was in the devotional I read today. It really struck me and I wanted to share it. I love how the Lord continually works in our lives through sanctification. We could not even be humble if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit.
"Only through faith in Christ does a man learn to do righteously, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God; and only by the power of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us to that end do we fulfil these three divine requirements. These we fulfil perfectly in our desire; we would be holy as God is holy, if we could live as our heart aspires to live, we would always do righteously, we would always love mercy; and we would always walk humbly with God. This the Holy Spirit daily aids us to do by working in us to will and to do of God's good pleasure; and the day will come, and we are pining for it, when, being entirely free from this hampering body, we shall serve him day and night in his temple, and shall render to him an absolutely perfect obedience, for "they are without fault before the throne of God."
"Only through faith in Christ does a man learn to do righteously, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God; and only by the power of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us to that end do we fulfil these three divine requirements. These we fulfil perfectly in our desire; we would be holy as God is holy, if we could live as our heart aspires to live, we would always do righteously, we would always love mercy; and we would always walk humbly with God. This the Holy Spirit daily aids us to do by working in us to will and to do of God's good pleasure; and the day will come, and we are pining for it, when, being entirely free from this hampering body, we shall serve him day and night in his temple, and shall render to him an absolutely perfect obedience, for "they are without fault before the throne of God."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Warm sunny days in February!!
We have been thoroughly enjoying the warm weather we've had the last 4 days! We've gone for walks everyday in the beautiful sunshine. Here are some photos of daddy pulling Ronnie in his wagon. Ronnie really enjoys his wagon rides!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Photos from this week
Here are a couple of photos of Ronnie from this week. The top one is of him playing with the packing peanuts that came in our Frontier order. He had fun making a mess with those! And the other one is of him eating blueberries. He LOVES blueberries!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Yield not to temptation
Yield Not to Temptation (taken from David Jeremiah's daily devotionals)
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:7-8a
Recommended Reading
Matthew 26:36-41
Earlier generations of American Christians carried two little books with them to church each Sunday—their Bibles and their small, pocket-sized hymnals that were used at home throughout the week. Someone called the hymnbook the common man’s theology book, for it contains biblical truth set to music. For example, one old hymn, largely forgotten today, still teaches a great lesson about resisting sin: “Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin; each victory will help you some other to win.”
The hymn goes on to give some practical pointers: “Shun evil companions, bad language disdain, God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain; be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true, look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.”
It’s true that as we resist temptation and draw closer to the Lord, we experience more victory. Each time we defeat temptation we become stronger, not in ourselves, but in our Lord. We overcome sin one temptation at a time. As we resist the devil, he flees from us; and as we draw near to God, He draws near to us.
Ask the Savior to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you; He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through.
Horatio R. Palmer
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:7-8a
Recommended Reading
Matthew 26:36-41
Earlier generations of American Christians carried two little books with them to church each Sunday—their Bibles and their small, pocket-sized hymnals that were used at home throughout the week. Someone called the hymnbook the common man’s theology book, for it contains biblical truth set to music. For example, one old hymn, largely forgotten today, still teaches a great lesson about resisting sin: “Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin; each victory will help you some other to win.”
The hymn goes on to give some practical pointers: “Shun evil companions, bad language disdain, God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain; be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true, look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.”
It’s true that as we resist temptation and draw closer to the Lord, we experience more victory. Each time we defeat temptation we become stronger, not in ourselves, but in our Lord. We overcome sin one temptation at a time. As we resist the devil, he flees from us; and as we draw near to God, He draws near to us.
Ask the Savior to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you; He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through.
Horatio R. Palmer
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