2015 :: one word

Happy New Year y'all!! 

In some ways it's hard to believe that 2014 is over already, and in other ways it feels like it was a full year. When I look back it feels like it sped by, but then when I think about it, I feel like it was a full year, and I really did appreciate and live in the moments far more than I have ever done previously. {except perhaps when I was a kid, because one of the super awesome things about kids is that they aren't really capable of not living in each moment.}

I've been working on a post to recap my word{s} {lol} for 2014: Here & Now, for quite some time, hopefully it will be published soon. Stay tuned for that. ha!

But for today, I want to share the word that I chose for this year, 2015.  

seek.

I want to seek the LORD this year, more then I have ever before. 

• I want to seek God and His will for my life, and for my future. 
• I want to seek God and the gifts + graces, big + small, that He gives each day. 
• I want to seek God and His character so that by His grace I might become more like Him. 
• I want to seek God and His grace because I so desperately need it myself, + so that I might generously extend it to others. 
• I want to seek God and His presence and all that He is so that I will know Him better, + be ever closer to Him, that I might discern His voice from all others, be satisfied only by Him, + keep my eyes fixed upon Him.

 I want to spend more time seeking Him than I do on small silly selfish fleshly things like I do right now. 

That's what I want this year. 

Do you have a word for 2015? What is it? Do you make new years resolutions?



Also, on the subject of my December Goal, which was slow for Advent and make the most of the Christmas season, I feel like I did that pretty well this year. :) I may or may not make a January Goals post later. We'll see. I have so many post ideas floating around in my head, and so many posts that I wanted to make in December that I never did...  like a Dressember fashion ideas post, and some advent stuff, among many others. like my 2014 word recap.

On a slightly related note, today was the first day for pants again and I'm alovin' it! ;) We also came up with this funny idea that I am not doing, wearing jeans all of January and calling it Jeanuary. lol

please excuse the mess lol

  

Tunes Tuesday :: Born is the King (It's Christmas!!)

I came and sat down to write this post quickly today, then realized it was Tuesday so it fit perfectly for a Tunes Tuesday post ;) 

Lots of Christmas baking and cookie-decorating going on in this house today! :) Have I mentioned before how much I looove the Christmas season???! Lots of Christmas music playing too, and I thought I would share this super fun Christmas song that will likely inspire much dancing, singing (it's praise, y'all!), and help us remember the reason we're celebrating :) (don't be afraid to turn it reeeeaaaal loud ;))

Take the time to enjoy your day - try not to be caught up in all of the to-dos, and miss the point of the season, and the joy it can bring. 

gingerbread house neighbourhood ;)

I promise you that even though these look like lumps of brownness they taste heavenly (double chocolate w/ candycane gooeyness)

Hillsong - Born is the King (It's Christmas) 

also? you should play it again and again until you're almost sick of it.

Born unto us this day a Saviour
Gifted from heaven to a manger
The hope of the world
A light for all mankind
All of the earth rejoice
It's Christmas time

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It's Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It's Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It's Christmas
Let His praise resound
It's Christmas

Goodwill to all the earth
And peace divine
All of the earth rejoice
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It's Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It's Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It's Christmas
Let His praise resound
It's Christmas

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It's Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It's Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It's Christmas
Let His praise resound
It's Christmas

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It's Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It's Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It's Christmas
Let His praise resound
It's Christmas

Praying that today and the rest of the days leading up to Christmas are a time of peace and joy for you and yours - it's a time of celebration!

blessings,

love Emma

31 Days :: {26} :: Today...

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 26 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find the introduction here {includes post-list at the bottom} or the posts all here :)


So today is the second-last "official" post of this 31 Days series. This topic is so important to me so look to see more coming on it in the future :) 

Another note, I don't think I'm going to have time to post tomorrow, so my wrap up will likely be this weekend. *gasp* ;)

Today, I celebrated my Papa's successful surgery!! Thanks to all of you who prayed :)

I also celebrated a walk in the beautiful fall weather we're having right now,

and squash {with brown sugar & cinnamon ;)} for dinner,

{that's what fall tastes like :)}

everyone pitching in, to do whatever needed to be done with minimal complaining,

 pumpkin spice tea :),

and oh so much more... I meant to take pictures but it's been a busy day and I didn't get a chance to...

don't forget to celebrate the little ordinary things in your every-day life! :)

blessings,

love Emma

31 Days :: {21} :: believing it

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 21 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find the introduction here {includes post-list at the bottom} or the posts all here :) 

So far, we've talked about beautiful: hidden beauty, and tangible beauty. Next week I want to talk about beautiful people, and beautiful moments, but for today I want to talk about believing that something is beautiful. 

Often, it's not even about discovering, or finding the beautiful within the the ordinary, it's about believing the ordinary to be beautiful in itself. 

Example, the other day I went for a run with a friend of mine. I probably should have, but I didn't actually look around for little beautiful things to celebrate as I ran by, but rather I simply believed what we were doing was beautiful. A gathering of friends, to run, is a beautiful thing. 

Sometimes we need to believe something is beautiful simply for the reason that we know God is working through it, using it to grow us. Otherwise it's just too ugly or painful. 

It's not always about looking for the little moments I spend with my sisters that are beautiful, or looking for hidden beauty, or tangible beauty in those times. Often it's just about believing that spending time with them is beautiful.

Service is beautiful. Therefore, cleaning the bathroom is a beautiful thing. So is washing the dishes. And yes, so are the soap suds {all filmy and shiny and rainbow-y}, but so is the act in itself. 

Next time you're doing something, think about why it is beautiful. And believe it. It is!  

What sorts of things is it hard for you to see as beautiful? Why?

blessings,
love Emma

31 Days :: {19} :: intention, part 3

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 19 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find the introduction here {includes post-list at the bottom} or the posts all here :) 

Soo.. the story is here, part 1 is here, and part 2 here. I thiiink this will be the last part. ;)

So you may have read the other posts, and been like, Emma, this is cool, but I thought that your series was about celebrating life, not living with intention. Please please explain exactly how this connects. And so that's what I'm hoping to do today. 

We are not, by nature, thankful people. Because of our sin nature, we will not, unintentionally, give thanks, which is, incidentally at the root of celebrating life. {did you catch that? sorry for the run-on sentence.}

We celebrate life as a way to say thank-you for each glorious moment - because even the 'un-glorious' moments, truly are glorious. We celebrate as a way to say thank-you when we live life fully, making the most of this sensational gift of life. 

Here's what Shauna has to say:

"I live according to my faith when I love a meal that has been prepared carefully, when I notice texture and color and taste, when I let the flavor and scent of something fresh from the ground surprise me and bring me back to life. I demonstrate my theology when I dance all night with people I love, because this life is worth the best celebration we can offer up to it. I thank God every time I eat crusty bread and garlicky olives, and when I smell clean laundry and hear that little squeak of fingers on a guitar. For me, what God said when he made the world is a prayer: It is good. This world, it is good. The beauty of a perfect green apple is good. The first steps of a child are good. Watching my grandparents dance in their kitchen is good. It is good. 

I have to remind myself that it is good. I have to create hope in my life, because there's something inside me that has radar for the bad parts of life. I walk into the kitchen and all I can see are crumbs on the counter, and I look in the mirror and don't even see my face, I just see all the potential wrinkles forming. I have a dark, worst-case scenario sensor, and it takes over."

{And here's where it's really hard. Because that thought continues and it's really amazing but I can't put her whole book here {otherwise I would, because I love it so much, and I think everyone should read it!!} so I have to pick somewhere to stop, but please go and read the next couple of paragraphs right here. She has so much beautiful to say about this!} {Or you could read the whole chapter... I think I underlined every word of it in my copy.}}

"When I live purposefully and well, when I dance instead of sitting it out, when I let myself laugh hard, when I wear my favorite shoes on a regular Tuesday, that regular Tuesday is better." ~Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

 

So, in conclusion: to celebrate requires a conscious choice. To make that choice, you need intention. Celebrating is a way to say thank-you to God. He loves it when we celebrate life! 

But how many times do you walk past that clean laundry without noticing the scent? How many times do you eat good food without really tasting it? It takes intention to see all those things. Practice it! :) 

love emma

linking up with Chantel and Elizabeth :)

31 Days :: {16} :: intention, part 2

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 16 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find the introduction here {includes post-list at the bottom} or the posts all here :) 

On Thursday I told y'all a story. Yesterday, I started talking about one of the things that I've been learning because of it. Today, I'm gonna keep on with that thing - intention.  

 The hardest part that I have found is starting. It takes slowing down and pausing. But if you have been coasting along, through habits, perhaps aimlessly, maybe at a high speed, how do you even remember to slow down and pause? For me, that often means setting alarms just to pause, and give thanks. Or maybe do something special, something like taking the time to play a game, or taking kids to the park, or having a little 1 or 2 song dance party, or anything that means you're not on auto-pilot anymore.

And I hope what you'll find - I know what I've found - is that the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Is it an oxymoron to say that living with intention can be a habit? Because I think, maybe it can. 

One of the benefits of intentional living are things like feeling more satisfied with your life: instead of getting to the end of the day and wondering what you even did and if there was a point, you can know that you took the time to do things on purpose, which means there was a point.

And once again, I'm going to say the same thing... come back on Monday and we're going to continue with intention. Maybe we'll even make a week of it? ;)

So today, do at least one thing with intention?

blessings,
emma  

linking up with Chantel and Elizabeth :)

31 Days :: {5} :: today...

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 5 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find them here :) (or here).


Today, I am celebrating

The chilly weather

Scarves,

The sky which is continuously changing from blue to cloudy,

The bright leaves everywhere, both on trees and scattered on the ground,

Old quilts to cuddle up in,

leg warmers and wool socks,

who cares if they don't match lol

{This is part of my 31 Days series, see the introduction here, and all of the posts here}

What little things are you celebrating today? Open up your eyes and you will see them :)

blessings,

love Emma

linking up with Chantel and Elizabeth :)

31 Days :: {4} :: tangible beauty

Hey there friends! thanks for stopping by! You've found us at Day 4 of my 31 Days series on Celebrating Life. If you'd like to see all the other posts so far, you'll find them here :) (or here).

most days, it can be oh-so-easy to walk around and miss the beauty right in front of you. today I'm talking about this earth, things that are all around us. Later we'll be talking about other types of beauty, but not today.

It takes a lot of practice and intention to open our eyes and be aware of the beauty. so often I just 'coast' through my day without paying any attention to beauty, without trying to find it at all. but when you make the effort, there is amazing beauty out there, some that will take your breath away.

a while ago, I went for a walk in the morning, and I wasn't really paying attention to anything. You know, just coasting along. But for whatever reason, as I walked past this puddle, something caught my eye and I stopped. I looked at it for a while {and actually, it was more of a pink sunrise sky at first}, and eventually decided that I should take a picture, which I did {obviously}. My point to all this is that all the times beauty is right in front of us even if we don't realize it.

As for me, I don't want to miss it!
 

my apologies, because, like I said, it was more beautiful before, and if you don't think it's beautiful still, the idea still applies, right! :)

And now, a beautiful quote from Shauna:
{At the end of a beee-yootiful chapter called The Red Tree, {which by the way if you want to read it, it's short and I highly recommend it, go here and click down from the contents, to 'the red tree' and voila! ;)}}, here's what she says:

"What looks like a plain old city street is just that until you lift up your eyes and see the red tree, and then you realize that this is no plain city street. This is a masterpiece just here for the week, our very own wonder of the world, and I just about missed it."

wow.

I think this quote was also applicable, because around here at least, the trees are beautiful shades of brilliant and gorgeous, and sometimes I miss them. 

have you got any tips for intentionally seeing the tangible beauty around you? :) would you share them?

blessings, friends!
love Emma 

linking up with Chantel and Elizabeth :)

31 Days :: {2} :: Introduction

for real. {and I promise that most posts will not be this long lol!}

Life. I'm still (LORD-willing) still very near the beginning of mine, but even by now, I know that life is a journey. I truly believe what Corrie ten Boom said about every experience preparing us for a future we cannot see. And I can see it.

I can see the way life has lead me through a couple of years to get to this point. And I'm trusting that God will use this point where I cam right now to bring me somewhere new in the future. 

I don't even remember how, or why, but for some reason, several years ago, I picked up Ann Voskamp's book, 1000 gifts. And it awakened something inside. Something that said, the ordinary is more than ordinary. It is the very grace of God. And it began to change the way I looked at the world.

It was a fight. Everyday. It still is a fight. I don't imagine it will ever stop being one, but I do know the more I practice the stronger I am to fight this battle. 

"Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous glowing pearls. And strung together, built upon one another, lined up through the days and the years, they make a life, a person." ~Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines)

have you ever stopped to celebrate sunset? a glorious show that God placed in the sky just. for. you. to. celebrate?

At the beginning of September I was thinking about 31 Days and whether or not I wanted to do a series in it this year, and if I did, what on earth it was going to be about. And about that same time, I picked up Shauna Niequist's book Cold Tangerines and I was hooked. captivated. excited. I couldn't put it down. This book spoke to me, right where I was at. Right in the middle(ish) of my year of Here & Now, which I was failing and succeeding at by turn. But mostly failing :P

And I got to the end, and this quote: 

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift, who will use it up and wring it out and drag it around like a favorite sweater." ~Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines)

and I knew. This, this was my 31 Days. I want to celebrate life - my everyday life. I learn by teaching and I process by writing. And maybe, too, someone else will be encouraged to celebrate their every-day! 

Because I don't want to get to the end and realize that my life was only mindane things, lifeless days that followed lifeless days, that turned into months, and years, and decades. "I want a life that sizzles and pops," I want to find this beauty in life. I want to celebrate!! :) 

So this is me. And Shauna. My writing will be raw and haphazard and unpolished, and hers, - well we all know her writing is refreshing and beautiful. 

One of the things that I had trouble with, even just getting started writing this post, is that I will puck up her book for inspiration, and then her sparkling words make the ones in my head, that I struggle to put to paper sound scattered and ungraceful. 

But by the grace of God, her book inspired me, and I can do no less than pick up my pen and write, and offer them to my LORD as a love offering, praying that somehow, in some way, He might use them to bless someone.

Glory to His name!

And so this month will be, as Shauna says, "a shameless appeal for celebration." I know I need it. Join me?

linking up with Chantel and Elizabeth :)

Tunes Tuesday :: let's dance

ya know, sometimes you just need to dance. this week was that week. and this song, was the song.

Hawk Nelson - Elevator 

Feelin' tired of feelin' nothin'
Feelin' stuck in the mud and I'm over it
So far down, lookin' around
And I don't know how I'm gettin' out

But hey, hey, hey
I hear You tell me not to stay, stay, stay
The door is open every day, day, day
It takes me to another place, place, place

Like an elevator
Can't stop 'cause Your love is liftin' me up
Like an elevator
I've never felt like I'm feelin' tonight
Straight off the ground, we'll never come down
Can't stop 'cause Your love is liftin' me now
Like an elevator
Like an elevator

Way up high, like I'm flyin'
And I'm finally feelin' so alive
You and I, to the sky
Gonna blow the roof off from the inside

So hey, hey, hey
I hear You tell me not to stay, stay, stay
The door is open every day, day, day
It takes me to another place, place, place

Like an elevator
Can't stop 'cause Your love is liftin' me up
Like an elevator
I've never felt like I'm feelin' tonight
Straight off the ground, we'll never come down
Can't stop 'cause Your love is liftin' me now
Like an elevator
Like an elevator (Woo!)

Here we go!
Here we go!
When we gonna stop?
No one knows
Everybody up
Get on board
You know you wanna come along for the ride
So let's go
Everyone on the flyest train
Never gonna be the same
I'm feelin' so fantastic
This party's everlastin'
So grab your friends
Push all the buttons
Ain't gonna stop until we get up to the top floor
Top floor
'Cause there's no way that we can feel more
Feel more
Here we go!

Like an elevator (elevator)
Can't stop 'cause You're love is liftin' me up
Like an elevator (elevator)
I've never felt like I'm feelin' tonight
Straight off the groud, we'll never come down
Can't stop 'cause You're love is liftin' me now
Like an elevator (elevator)
Like an elevator (like an elevator)

Whoa, hey, an elevator 

ever feel like you've just gotta dance? 

maybe, even if you don't think you do, just turn on the song and start dancing. by yourself, with friends, or family. just try it? :)

love emma xoxo

Linking up with Chantel :)

Today...

...Today, I am enjoying 

the colours beginning to change, 

the bright sunshine coming through my windows,

that my school stuff for this year is not finalized so I don't have much of that to do at this point,

cleaning the kitchen, 

taking the little girls to the park,

don't forget to enjoy the moments, doing whatever you are doing today. each moment, the present, right now, is a sacred holy gift from God. 

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." ~ Colossians 3:17

love emma xoxo

Summer is...

How is already the last weekend of summer?!?!
I've been trying to soak it in as much as possible, and made a list of things that summer has involved for me this year :) 

Summer is...

Sitting on the porch bench reading,

warmth of the sun on my skin,

Peach juice dripping down my chin, 

Hot kitchen full of canning,

Buckets of peach skins & pits,

Corn on the cob,

Watermelon,

Ice cream,

Tan lines,

Sweaty curls in the not-so baby's hair,

Slower pace,

Jumping on the trampoline with the girlies,

Story time on the couch,

Early morning sunrise & Bible reading,

Peach pie with a gingerbread crust (for breakfast!!),

Swimming in the pool,

Watching the kids jumping competitions (and occasionally being in one too ;) ),

 Sunlight through the trampoline net, 

people falling over on the trampoline,

late nights and early mornings,

the animals we see on our walks,

long hours of sunshine,

bbq pizza,
your butt sore from a long bike ride,
strawberry picking: aching back and fingers & lips turned red,
playing in the sand (and being turned into a giant octopus ;) ),

I'm sure there's many many more... next season I think I will start a list right off at the beginning :)

What is on your 'Summer Is' list? 

The only thing that makes me somewhat ready for summer to be ending, is that fall is coming, and I just love how beautiful fall is :)

Blessings upon your day!

love Emma

linking up with Elizabeth  & Chantel :)

{challenge 1} {in which I compare my spiritual life to a plant}

Every year it goes the same way. Winter.... my spiritual life is often similar to plant life at that time of year: underground, cold/half frozen, sleepy, yet still alive. But as spring comes, I can feel it stirring in me. My soul says, don't leave me here, and I yearn for growth, and as the days get longer, warmer, my heart thaws, and I can feel life rising in me.

Typically springtime is amazing. Enter July. When I get to July I usually feel like I'm just trying to make it through the days that drag, and then the weeks fly by faster than light, and that really really bothers me because that's not how summer is supposed to be! {and all of a sudden I'm wondering, should this post really be about expectations and how discontent comes when they don't get met... maybe that's what my problem really is.}

Summer is such a beautiful time. And so often I miss it.

I'm in the habit of getting to the end of my day, and writing down a few things I'm thankful for about that day. I'm thankful for that habit. But I'm feeling like it's not enough to get to the end and scratch down a couple things like 'fun in the pool', or 'great run'. It's 'better than nothing' - but I want to be looking for the beauty in each moment, not thinking back on them later. I want to live in wonder and awe.

And so my challenge for myself this week of July {will you join me? :) } is to search for the beauty, and then document it. In either a photograph, or a written sketch. My goal for this week is at least two photos or written sketches per day. {and hopefully many more beautiful moments that are just captured by a word or two}

I want to love life. I want to live it fully, totally amazed by the awesomeness of what God has given us.
blessings on your day!
emma

linking up with Chantel over at A Harvest of Blessing

this post by Ellen, and this one by Marian, were among the many things swirling around inside my head that resulted in this post.

year in review

as another birthday comes around, another year passing, I like to take a look at the year I'm leaving behind me, the year closing, and see how I've grown, how God has been working in my life.

last year's.

this past year has been, well, a roller coaster ride.  last summer was good (to be perfectly honest it always seems to me like the summers are just an amazing blur filled with so many fun days and other days that are.... well let's just say less fun), and the end of the summer was just spectacular (we went out west to see some friends). the fall was pretty rough, and I know that God was using it to teach me lots of things. the winter was a lot better, and I find when you look back at something it's a lot easier to see how you've grown through it and the difference between where you are and where you were.

once again, I thank the LORD that I read 1000 gifts because I have truly discovered in my life that when I am off track, the best way to get on track is simply to spend more time with God, and count your blessings. this spring has mostly been lovely. {I say mostly, and what I mean by that is that it has indeed been lovely, but there are days here and there, which are not so much, ya know?} I know that I can look back over the past year and see that God has had a plan to work in my life, and there were things that hurt, and while I was in them I wished I didn't have to, but now when I look back I see how much closer to God I have grown and I can say honestly that I am okay with it all. but only because God's got a plan and He works in my life, and He worked through that.

some things God has been teaching me this year include but are not limited to:
1. biggest thing. God will work in every little detail of your life. everything that God brings you into He will bring you through and out of, and if you use that as an "excuse" to run to Him, He will bring you out of it closer to Him.
2. contentment (if you read this blog at all you probably already know that haha!). there are some things in your life you can change. go out and change those if you don't like them! ...but there are lots of things you can't change -and so why would I want to waste all that time wishing for something I didn't have? time is precious people! make the most of what you've got!
3. living on your own power is just. so. exhausting. when I don't start my day with the LORD, and "stop in" a few times a day, I do stupid things and by the end of the day I'm a mess. yes.

some books I read this year that helped me grow that I would totally recommend to others:
1. A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman. you have a life to live. you can make art where you are now. you don't need to be a painter or a musician or anything like that to make art. to make art with your life is to glorify God.
2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. this book is great!!! it's pretty deep and a little confusing at times, but it's written in a way that is so easy to read... I have learned a lot of great things from this book.
3. The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing by Jeff Goins. I will admit that while I did read the first part of the book I only skimmed the second part... but I liked this book. did you know we spend a crazy whack of time waiting in our lives? (at the grocery store, the doctor's, etc, or for bigger things like university acceptances, or a baby etc) and I know that I tend to think of waiting as a waste of time, but God has given us this time for a purpose and we've got to use it too!

a few songs that God has used in my life this year:

my favourite hymn-y-worship-y song lately: Crown Him (Chris Tomlin & Kari Jobe)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCcMqD_0z4

I need Him. Oh, yes! Every hour, every millisecond, whether I realize it or not!  Lord, I Need You - Matt Maher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuvfMDhTyMA

Holy Spirit -Francesca Battistelli (honestly, I am so loving her entire new album!)
"Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for / To be overcome by Your presence, Lord"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvBBC7-PSHo

I also made a youtube playlist with 'just a few' of the many many songs that I loved this year. (those that I remembered yesterday anyways lol)

this year I spent a lot of time in the Psalms, Isaiah, Philippians and a few other epistles. some verses (&passages) that have meant a lot to me:
(if I didn't put the passage there is a link)

Isaiah 58

Isaiah 55:9-11

Isaiah 46:4

Isaiah 44:22-23
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
    your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
    for I have redeemed you.”²³ Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
    you forests and all your trees,
for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
    he displays his glory in Israel.

Psalm 25: 12-13

Psalm 27:4

Psalm 27:13-14
I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 34:8

Psalm 37:4, 23

Psalm 51:10-12

John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

2 Corinthians 12:9a,10b
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Philippians honest to goodness, I so love this book! picking a few favourite passages was very hard, please go and read it yourself. slowly. over and over and over again.

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:9-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:15b-16

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:11-13

Philippians 4:19

Colossians 3:17, 23

God has got a glorious plan for our lives, so that we might be part of the beautiful tapestry He is weaving for His glory. I pray that I would never forget that. We worship and great and Almighty God, who has loved us wayy beyond what we can comprehend. I pray that we would live like we know it!
I hope that you got something out of this mumbo-jumbo ;)

love Em

it's the miracle {of the moment}

right now I'm feelin like this song is almost the epitome of my "one word" for this year.

And He has given us a treasure called right now
And this is the only moment we can do anything about

And if it brings you tears
Then taste them as they fall
And let them soften your heart
And if it brings you laughter
Then throw your head back
And let it go, let it go

So breathe it in and breathe it out
Listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
The miracle of the moment

read those lyrics - I believe that every one of those words is true. and I want to live like it!
today, don't forget that each moment is a miracle. embrace it, live in wonder of it. thank the LORD for it!

blessings upon your day!
love em

joy in the frustrating

you know those days. the ones where everything is going wrong and it all JUST DRIVES YOU CRAZY!

whatever your frustrating is, whether it is that grumpy, clingy toddler who insists on being carried around all day, and the kids who bicker almost constantly, and the house that is a mess; or something else: we all have that something. and today I challenge you to find the joy in it.

that toddler won't be young forever, and someday ~soon!!~ she will not want you to carry her around at all. YOU WILL MISS THIS. do not take it for granted now. those children? this is an opportunity for you to teach them about love & kindness. so what if it's the millionth time you've tried? maybe today will be the day it hits home. or maybe it won't. how often does our Heavenly Father try and teach us things and we refuse to understand, to listen, to apply it?

there is always beauty in each and every day. look for it. maybe it is the way the sun is shining on the floor (dirty or not), or maybe it is an impromptu hug or a loving and encouraging word.

today, look for the joy in the frustrating. if you look hard enough: you will find it!

blessings,
~em

carpe diem!

some mornings, when I wake up, I do some exercise. sometimes running, sometimes biking, usually some pushups, squats, situps and other ab stuff. obviously running and biking are most efficient when you go fast; but sometimes it bothers me that most of the other exercises mentioned above work best when you go slow. it is a fight for me to slow down. my tendency is to go as fast as I can: get this thing done and move onto the next. but I realized that when I do that, I miss out. I'm not fully there.
the other night I was lying in bed reading a story to a young child. as habit would go, I was going as fast as I could (while still making the words understandable and sort of maintaining a 'bed-time-ish-atmosphere'), in an effort to finish this task and get on to the ones at hand. but then it struck me. this moment ain't gonna be here forever. she'll be grown someday - soon even passing the time for bedtime stories - and that might not be part of my life anymore. whatever happened to the here & now? living in this moment?
PEOPLE, WHEN YOU LIVE FAST, YOU DO NOT LIVE NOW. (I believe there are exceptions to that statement, like if you are running a marathon, or you're in any kind of race, or playing most sports, etc, but in general that is true.) when you live fast, to get the most things done, you lose out on all those things. we can't have both quantity and quality: what will you pick?
this year, The Nester, and Blair over at Wild and Precious are both choosing SLOW as their word for 2014, and the more I've been thinking about it, the more I see that we really want the same thing. sure, we chose two different ways of saying it, but what we really want is to live fully, to be fully present in this moment. we don't want to be rushing through our days trying to do as many meaningless things as possible: we want to give as much meaning as possible to our days. do less, be more. (that doesn't work when you're going fast.)  (While this is how it appears to me, sorry to Myquillyn and/or Blair if I have attached meaning to their word other than they have intended!)

I want every breath to proclaim the glory of my God and King! you miss the little things when you're going fast; so take a deep breath, slow down, and enjoy that story you're reading to a young one. or that meal you're making. don't be in such a hurry to go wherever you're going that you miss the gorgeous sunset that God put there - JUST FOR US! open your eyes to each moment and thank God for it!
blessings upon your day!~em

2014: one word

Happy New Years!! :)

I'd heard about this one word new years resolution thingy for a while, from a few places and decided to do it this year. soooo....

mine is a bit more than one word... but here it is:

2014: the year of Here & Now. to live in this moment. right where I am. I can't get any of this back [none of us can, you know], and I want to make the most of each second, of each moment, hour, day, week, month. the only way to really do that is to be present, here and now.

also three other small(ish) things:

confidence in the LORD. so many of my favourite verses lately have had that word confidence in them. it's like those words lavish, and abundance. it's not "just" we think, or we know, or we hope, WE HAVE CONFIDENCE! {it's like a complete hope, which also ties into....}

the LORD is all I need. (possibly my new soundtrack) satisfy me LORD this year (and always), be my desire, fill me up! contentment

...and last but by no means least...

gratitude. gotta keep on counting those blessings, being thankful for each and every moment I'm in (Here & Now folks, Here & Now!), that the LORD will fill me... for everything.

may God richly bless you in this new and beautiful year!
em