It's been a while since I really blogged. So here's a random update of sorts... Enjoy!
-My aunt recently got her hands on the recipes for a couple of Sprinkles Cupcakes and made them for Easter lunch. They were fabulous and I think I’m going to make them for this Sunday’s Grace Lunch. Get excited!
-This coming Tuesday, April 21st is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s… again, get excited!! Who doesn’t love free Ben & Jerry’s?!?!
-About a month ago I woke up on a Sunday morning and the thought of coffee was enough to make me sick. Consequently, I didn't have any and I had a headache to pay for it later. Ever since then I've been doing something I never thought I'd do... drink decaf coffee in the morning! Weird I know! At the very minimum I've been having ½ decaf, ½ regular coffee in the morning hours.
-I went to the Death Cab for Cutie concert on Saturday night and had a BLAST! What a fun concert. I highly recommend catching their show if you have the opportunity in the future.
-I haven't blogged about Tiger basketball since that fatefull day that Calapari officially decided to leave but I am really excited about out new coach Josh Pastner. Additionally, I'm really saddened by this response that so many have had towards Calapari lately. He did a great job at Memphis and he's a likeable person. Hopefully as time passes and the sting of his departure lessens, Memphians will look back on his tenure here at the university with great fondness. It was a fun ride, which hopefully will continue...
-Completely unrelated to the Memphis basketball: I'm a BIG fan of little government. Enough said.
-I’ve still been plugging away at Isaac Ambrose’s Looking Unto Jesus and here is a quick quote/ sampling for you: “Only Christ is the whole of man’s happiness.” Great stuff.
-Since Ambrose’s book will likely take me 10 years to finish, due to it’s length, I’ve been reading a few other things simultaneously. Recently I finished a book that was lent to me by a precious little girl at my church who LOVES to read! It was a super book about a missionary who I was previously unfamiliar with, Mary Slessor. She spent her entire life serving numerous tribes in Calabar (in Southern Nigeria, Africa). This book has really piqued my interest and I’m dying to know more about Mary.
-In other book related news, I got my copy of Hungry Girl's latest cookbook in the mail yesterday and most all the recipes look yummy! I highly recommend these easy and healthy remakes of your favorite recipes.
-In other recipe related news, I got a great new recipe from last week’s Viking Cooking School class for a homemade vinaigrette. You should give it a try. It’s fabulous! The great thing I learned is that the mustard, in addition to adding extra flavor, holds the oil and vinegar together so they don’t separate quite as easily. Such a fabulous and easy recipe!

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch granulated sugar
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar (or whatever vinegar you happen to have handy)
3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

-For the first time since I started running in 2004, I am not signed up for a race furthermore, I do not even have one in mind. Any good suggestions?
-I bought some Roundup at Home Depot last weekend (yea! It was on sale!) and am ready to rid my flower beds of pesky weeds so I can plant my spring/summer flowers (impatients, which I also got on sale at Home Depot!). Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain this weekend so that might put a damper on my gardening plans... I'm sure you'll see pictures of my gardening right here, so stay tuned! :)

treasures

I have always loved to read. As a little kid I would try (and sometimes quite successfully) to "hide" in my room so I could finish a really great book I was working on instead of doing my chores. Though much has changed since those times as a little girl, my love of a good book hasn't.

So, below you will find two lists. First, my top 10 all time favorite books. This is quite an elite list and I'm sure that as time continues to fly by this list might change a bit but generally, these are the books that have literally changed my life. I wish I had time to comment on each of them but I fear everyone would tire of reading before I could adequately summarize the impact these 1 books have had. Secondly, you'll find just a few of the books that are on my list to read soon (maybe you'll see some book reviews on the blog soon!). This list is indeed every expanding! Lastly, I must make note of the fact that these two lists exclude a ton of amazing books that have had a significant impact on my life... maybe I'll leave that list for another post. Happy Reading!

Top 10 all time favs (in no particular order)
The Valley of Vision, Communion with God (by John Owen), Letters of Rutherford (by Samuel Rutherford), Daily Light, Death of a Guru (by Rabi R. Maharaj), The Knowledge of the Holy (by AW Tozer), The Pursuit of God (by AW Tozer), Because We Love Him (by Clyde Cranford), A Chance to Die, The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot), and Desiring God (by John Piper)

Next on the List "To Read"
The Practice of the Presence of God (by Brother Lawrence), The Believer’s Joy (by Robert Murray McCheyne), The Glory of Christ (by John Owen), Redemption Accomplished and Applied (by John Murray), Born Slaves (by Martin Luther), To the Golden Shore, The Life of Adoniram Judson (by Courtney Anderson), God at Work (by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.), Repentance (by Richard Owen Roberts), The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer (by E.M. Bounds), Overcoming Sin and Temptation, 3 Classic Works by John Owen, Looking Unto Jesus (by Isaac Ambrose), The Reagan Diaries (by Ronald W. Reagan), and 1776 (by David McCullough)

What is a Healthy Church Member?

Some time ago the pastors at Grace Church gave every covenant member Thabiti Anyabwile's book, "What is a Healthy Church Member?" Though we received it many months ago, I just read it this week. :) Let me just be very clear: This is an outstanding book! Anyabwhile very simply outlines, both practically and theologically, our role as healthy church members. He encourages us, the congregation, to be theologians, to be expositional listeners, to do the work of an evangelist, to be committed, to be growing in Christ likeness, to be willing to seek the Father's discipline and recognize it is for our good as we grow in holiness, and to always be humble, people of prayer. Anyabwhile's book is a short, easy read but it is not void of the godly admonition that I, along with others in today's modern church, need to be reminded.

Thank you Grace Church for encouraging us to take ownership of the Christ-centered vision of the church!

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

I recently finished Phillip Keller's book "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" and I must say this is quite an insightful little book (it's a great, short read packed with truth). As a modern day shepherd himself, Keller works his way through each phrase in Psalm 23, describing what David, the author of this psalm, would have had in his mind when penning Psalm 23. Keller goes on to describe the spiritual parallels that then become evident regarding Christ as our great Shepherd.

I think what really clicked while reading this book is that we are hardly any different from the needy, ignorant, stubborn sheep. Sheep aren't animals that really thrive the wild with no shepherd; their entire existence is really dependent on their shepherd... and not just any shepherd will do, only a good, kind, loving sheperd who always has his sheep's best interests at heart.

I strongly commend this book to you. It will revolutionize your understanding of Psalm 23 and most of all lead to a treasuring of every aspect of Christ as our great, Good Shepherd.

business as a reflection of God's character?

Mostly due to my own internal assessment, I have always felt “inferior” to others in occupations where clear and apparent opportunities to display the glory of God exist. For example, in my original estimation it always seemed more apparent for one to see how the glory of God can be displayed in the life of a teacher with opportunities to mold young hearts and lives (even if in just small ways) with a bent for the glory of God. Medical professionals have a clear and simple platform for going overseas to do missions and while attempting to heal individuals physical bodies from disease and sickness, offering the solution for how Christ can heal their soul from the disease of sin. To some degree I’ve always felt that “business” carries a negative connotation and outside of using business to build a simple relationship to share the gospel I’ve never seen how “secular” business could be a direct representation of God’s character and, when done right, it is a good thing ordained by the Father for everyone’s good.

I’ve spent the better part of the last ten years learning about all things business related. I have an undergraduate degree in finance, a master’s in business administration and have spent countless hours learning things from management techniques to corporate finance and fundamentals of our economic system to individual financial planning and wealth management. And I will whole heartedly admit that I thoroughly enjoy learning about business and economics!! I can’t begin to imagine myself in any other field. [I am SO thankful for medical professionals but I would hate to be one myself; I stand in awe of teachers but would be absolutely miserable if I was one myself.] However, until I read Wayne Grudem’s Business for the Glory of God, I never realized the direct correlation between business and the glory of God. I don’t suppose, from a spiritual perspective, I’ve been happy to tout my love of business and simultaneously really feel as if my field was one completely ordained and straight from the heart of God.

Grudem does a phenomenal job of explaining how, as believers, we should thank God for business related concepts such as money and profit, inequality of possessions (election season was a great time to read this chapter! BOO for socialism!!! :), employment, ownership, competition, and borrowing and lending. Grudem admonishes the reader not to allow the distortions of good concepts to warp our thinking about the concept itself in an evil way. The overall theme that Grudem consistently makes through the entire books is that good, God-glorifying business is right and necessary for it fully displays God’s character and provides a practical outlet for his people to display and advance the gospel. Grudem even remembers the poor in his discussions regarding money, possessions, and business and asserts that, though providing the poor with food and clothing is good and certainly right, it is at best only a short-term solution to the problem of poverty. Grudem continues by stating that the only real long-term solution to world poverty is through business.

In conclusion, I am thankful to be able to reconcile my desire to display God’s glory in every aspect of my life with the love of my career and general business. Grudem’s book has set me on a course to discover new ways to do missions by examining existing agencies like Opportunity International, who provides microloans (less than $500) to individuals to start business in poor areas of the world. The estimated impact of these loans has been hundreds of thousands which has then in turn impacted millions of lives. This has set me on a trajectory to see how the Father will use the love of business that he has gifted me with to more fully display his glory and advance his gospel throughout the world.

a walk through humility

As Laurin so eloquently put it in her comment on my previous blog post, Andrew Murray’s book Humility is indeed rocking my world. In an effort to attempt to convey just a small portion of how this book has "rocked my world" over the last couple of weeks I submit to you a selection of quotes from Murray’s work in hopes that it will whet your appetite to pick up this book and take your own journey toward discovering genuine, Christ-like humility. I apologize for the length but it was tremendously hard to distill this book down... you absolutely must read it for yourself!

Chapter 1:
-Humility is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all.

Chapter 2:
-It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride we need, above everything, to be redeemed.
-Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature.
-Study the humility of Jesus.

Chapter 3:

-Christ was nothing, that God might be all. He resigned himself with his will and his power entirely for the Father to work in Him.
-Every child of God, is to be the witness—that it is nothing but a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of his wisdom, power, and goodness.

Chapter 4:
-Make humility the first and most essential element of discipleship. Here is the path to the higher life. Down, down, lower down!
-Jesus, the meek and lowly One, calls us to learn of him the path to God. Let us study the words we have been reading, until our heart is filled with the thought: "My one need is humility." And let us believe that what he shows, he gives; what he is, he imparts. As the meek and lowly One, he will come in and dwell in the longing heart.

Chapter 5:
-It is only by the indwelling of Christ in his divine humility that we become truly humble.

Chapter 6:
-Our love to God will be measured by our everyday intercourse with men and the love it displays.
-It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God: [but] humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real.
-It is in our unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are.
-Our humility before God has no value, but as it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow-men.
-Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, and God’s means of grace, God’s instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us.

Chapter 7:
-Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is a lack of humility.
-We have as much of holiness as we have of God.
-Come and let us flee to Jesus, and hide ourselves in him until we be clothed upon with his humility.

Chapter 9:
-Jesus discovers [reveals] to us that it is indeed pride that makes faith impossible.
-Nothing can cure you of the desire of receiving glory from men, or of the sensitiveness and pain and anger which come when it is not given, but giving yourself to seek only the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the All-glorious God be everything to you.

Chapter 10:
-Accept every humiliation, look upon every fellow-man who tries or vexes you, as a means of grace to humble you. Use every opportunity of humbling yourself before your fellow-men as a help to abide humble before God.
-Self can never cast out self, even in the regenerate man. Praise God! The work has been done, and finished and perfected forever. The death of Jesus, once and forever, is our death to self.
-Sink every morning in deep, deep nothingness into the grave of Jesus; every day the life of Jesus will be manifest in thee.

Chapter 11:
-Nothing but the presence of God can reveal and expel self.
-The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and the grace for humility too.

Chapter 12:
-Do what God says is your work: humble yourself. Trust him to do what he says is his work: he will exalt you. What the command does mean is this: take every opportunity of humbling yourself before God and man.
-May God teach us to believe that to be humble, to be nothing in his presence, is the highest attainment, and the fullest blessing, of the Christian life.

totally random!

Today, I thought I would share a few random bits...

(1) Ever since I got my iPod nano back in March I have come to love podcasts. The one I would most highly recommend is a podcast by Boudless.org called The Boundless Show. Each week has something totally different, engaging and fun. For example, the latest episode includes Lisa (the show's hilarious host) interviewing Josh Harris, Mark Dever, and Al Molher at the New Attitude Conference. I find myself anxiously awaiting Friday's, when the new episode is released, for a whole new reason! Go check it out on iTunes today!

(2) I've previously posted several pictures of the inside of my house but I thought it was time for a few pictures of the outside. So here they are in the form of "before and after" shots. Though there is still plenty of work remaining to complete the "after" shot, I am glad to have beautiful flowers planted (most of which aren't too visible in this photo) and to have cleared away all of the shaggy brushy stuff in preparation for the next step.

(3) I also thought I would provide a brief introduction to my new "friend" and neighbor. However, this is one friend who I'm quite sure that his absence will NOT make the heart grow fonder. Gratefully, my friend, who measures approximately 12 inches in length, lives several houses down! I feel like I should give him a name... thoughts?

(4) On a completely unrelated note (after all this is a post about totally random topics), I have almost finished reading John Owen's work titled, The Mortification of Sin and I would highly commend it to you for your reading. It is not necessarily "light" reading but definitely worth its weight in gold in regards to the soul's ongoing battle with sin. Note: Since I am not quite up to par with those who have the ability and time to tackle Owen's work in the unabridged form, I was very grateful to find there is an abridged version available.