What's in a Name?

Ecstasy (n)- 2. Excessive joy; rapture; a degree of delight that arrests the whole mind; joy may rise to ecstasy. (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
Doldrums (n)- A sate of inactivity or stagnation.(Dictionary.com)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thursday, November 26, 2009

On Thanksgiving, I'm Thankful for...

I just love Thanksgiving. It isn't so much about the turkey, the meeting with family and friends, the creating of traditions, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or even the football games (ha!). It's about realizing how much I've been blessed with in my life and just how little I deserve it.
One of the qualms I have about the day, though, is just that: it is a day. Thanksgiving shouldn't be something done one day out of the entire year, or even one week or one season. It should be a moment to moment attitude of our heart. "In everything give thanks" doesn't sound like a one time thing to me. I don't know about you, but everything doesn't happen to me in one day! 
If we continue in a state of thankfulness, how sweet life will be- we will make no room for bitterness or jealousy or anger or discontentment. I once heard it said that a truly beautiful person is a thankful person.
So, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but everyday I am striving for a thankful heart, by the grace of God. Will you not join me?
This post is sort of like a photo book of things I am thankful for. I'll bet you can guess what they are by just looking at them.




























Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
His mercy endures forever.
~ Psalm 118:1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Unrealistic Expectations?

It occurred to me a little while ago that I was creating, in my own mind, unrealistic expectations of the guys around me. I was expecting super-human men who would be beyond perfect rather than humble, sinful creatures just like me. I'm not saying it's bad to expect good things of your brothers-in-Christ and look for godly character traits in a husband, but I am saying it is wrong to put fantasy-based expectations on them.

From my first encounter with Mr. Darcy I thought I had discovered something incredible. A nearly-perfect type of man. I began to look for him in the faces and actions of my brothers- not in romantic ways necessarily, but just in the ways they treated me and the girls around them. I expected them to be like a fictional character created over 200 years ago. That is completely unfair to them! It is also self-centered of me. We need to step away from the fictional man ideal that is just as bad as men's physically perfect woman. It is our job to encourage men to godliness. In comparing them to unreal men, we are doing just the opposite- discouraging them.

If you're at all into the Twilight books or the movie that hit the box office this weekend, or even if you know someone who watches/reads them, please check this article out:


It is a must read for Christian ladies young and old. I was convicted by reading it and I've never even picked up the books or watched the trailer to the movies.

In the past few years, as I've encountered godly marriages and spoke to wives, I've thrown away my dreams of Mr. Darcy (actually, I'm just using him as an archetype, he's not even my favorite Austen hero). I've realized that we don't want men that are madly in love with us enough to think of us every waking moment and bring us flowers and whisper sweet nothings in our ears. That's idolatry and it's a sin! What we do want is men who are putting Christ first in their lives, admitting their sin and treating us with purity and respect, but not worship!

Check out the article and let me know your thoughts! 

Monday, November 23, 2009

Ain't it a glorious day?

Early this fall, the Denny ladies invited the rest of us young ladies to a day out on the pond with them.
It was a great time of fun and fellowship, water and paddling!
I love the young ladies at our church. They are diverse in personality and taste, yet share the same driving force, Jesus, making it easy to commune with one another.
Here's the lovely Audrey, practicing her strokes!
Tasha and Amanda got tricky with their canoe- taking it under a leaning log.
Navigating through a marshy area.
Sarah and Ruthie succeed as well- creating an Anne of Green Gables moment!
We attempted a race at one point on our canoe adventure. Hannah and I were paddling and paddling and all of a sudden we all her.... SPLASH! One of the canoes tipped over leaving Shay, Katie and Haley wet and also destroying a camera!
Our trusty leader, Rhonda! We were all very grateful for the lessons she gave us in paddling. It's so much more enjoyable to do something when you are taught how to do it the correct way!
Even Belle came along for the ride!
Apparently Amanda needed to put her feet up! 
My faithful canoe compadres!
When we arrived back at the homefront, some of the lovelies tried to see if they could consume a largish amount of saltines, without water and within a minutes' time.
I don't recall anyone winning....
We all returned to our homes, sunburned, but satisfied!
Praise God for His provision of sisters in Christ!