Jesus read his Bible

This post was particularly helpful in seeing that Jesus treasured his Bible... interesting concept to consider at first seeing as Jesus was God in the flesh.  Here's a small excerpt detailing the effects of Jesus' treasuring of the Word on our life:

"We start off thinking about needing to be more faithful in reading the Word, but we finish off by seeing (in the Word) that Jesus was faithful in all of his living, to include his love for the Bible. It is this soul-stirring, pride-crushing obedience of Jesus that convicts and compels my obedience. It drives me to the Bible, not to curry favor, but in response to the favor he has earned.  Small group conviction and accountability relationships may work in the short-term to produce more Bible reading. However, it is this sight, grasp and appreciation of Jesus’ doing and dying for us that truly changes people in the long-term."

Read the entire post here.

purposes in pruning

I've had this plant for three years.  Three years and it has bloomed once... once.  However, I have very high hopes for this plant this season.  Why you might ask?  Because after three years I finally pruned it.  Indeed, a couple of months ago I finally took the plunge and cut away some of the old leaves that had been damaged by the harsh sun and sudden frosts.  The result: new fresh growth!!  In the midst of my excitement about this new growth (yes, sometimes it's the little things that excite me) I've been reminded that likewise the Father prunes his children so that they might bear fruit for him.  Therefore, we should be thankful for the sometimes painful act of pruning.  The Father is purposing in the midst of our pruning that we would be conformed to the image of his son.  Pruning, it's a good thing all in all, right?

 

44 ways to ruin your financial life....

A blog I follow via my handy dandy GoogleReader posted a link to this website recently, which is a post on another blog about 44 ways to ruin your financial life by age 30.  Given my profession as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and my general love for promoting personal fiscal responsibility/stewardship I loved reading this post and felt it worthy enough to share with you. Let me know what you think!

another Vita-Mix treat

Several months ago I posted about my new fancy blender (click here if you missed it) and since then I've tried multiple new recipes in it but discovered what is sure to become a new fav this past weekend... Peach Sorbet! This treat is SO simple, Peaches (fresh or frozen), a small bit of your sweetener of choice (of course I'm a huge Splenda fan but for this recipe I used half Splenda and half honey), and a touch of vanilla. Throw it all in the blender and what do you get after about a minute and a half? Frozen Peach Sorbet! Can your blender to that? :)

first time for everything...

Wheatberries. Has anyone out there in the blogosphere ever tried cooking them? Last night, I did and despite the 45 minutes that they have to simmer on the stove, they were incredibly yummy! Super nutty and very filling!

olympic junkie

I have to be honest and admit that I am officially a Winter Olympics junkie. For some reason the last couple of weeks I've watched sports that I usually don't really care too much about, like ice dancing for instance. At any rate, I have faithfully cheered on the good 'ole team USA as they rack up the medals in alpine skiing (my personal favorite), snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, and the list goes on. It's so inspiring to watch these athletes dedicate their entire lives to excelling at their sport and winning the "ultimate prize."

But as I sit on my couch late at night and watch the winner proudly boast their shinny gold, silver, or bronze medal a couple of verses keep parading through my mind...

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21

I pray that the athletes that stand on that podium in Vancouver know the one true and eternally satisfying Treasure that is worthy to be pursued with their life. And for us who will probably never stand on a podium as the winner of gold medal, may we remember that Christ is indeed our greatest Treasure both in this life and the next and may we commit our lives to seeing this Christ more clearly.

*On a semi-unrelated note: There is a female speed skater, skating tonight, that grew up skating in West Memphis.  I've gotta cheer for my hometown olympian!! Check the story out here and watch her tonight!  

what would you do?

For some reason in a meeting yesterday at the office we got started talking about what we would do if we won the lottery. The big one. In the moment all I could think of is that I would pay off my house and a few other small miscellaneous things (like maybe take the fam on a small trip, etc.) and then I would start some sort of foundation to support missionaries going to serve in locations in the 1040 window.  I must admit it will be VERY hard to actually win the lottery if you NEVER actually play the lottery but hey, anything could happen, right?

After sleeping on the curious question, I think my answer is the same. I would still work but I'd probably take a bit of unpaid vacation so I could go on multiple mission trips per year. I'd probably buy Grace a piece of property just so I don't have to set-up the GraceKids room every Sunday (obviously there would be a greater benefit than just that but, it's all about me, right? haha... :) But overall I'd still want to find a way for the bulk of the money to go towards the gospel going forth in the entire 1040 window... particularly India. 

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Pants on the ground.

I'm pretty indifferent about American Idol. I don't watch the show BUT I've watched this video on YouTube about a gazillion times and it truly makes me laugh EVERY time. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!

Promises.

You know, at one point in my life several years ago I don't know that I really expected to learn big truth from teaching a children's Sunday School class.  These days I do.  It's totally normal.  It's my month to teach GraceKids at my church for the 7-12 year old class.  I love these kids... Anyway, this year's curriculum has been centered around the promises of God for those of us who are found in Christ and the past couple of weeks I've had the joy of teaching on 3 specific promises namely, God will never leave us, nothing can ever separate us from God, and God will complete us (or conform us to the image of Christ).  As these specific promises have been at the forefront of my mind, I can't tell you how many times I've clung to these promises as of late. I'm so thankful we have a loving Father who is faithful to himself and to upholding his own glory, therefore we know that we can trust his promises when everything around us seems unstable.  AND I'm also thankful that the Father has used a curriculum made for little hearts to speak big truth to me as he so graciously reminds me of his promises.      

new toy

I got a new toy this weekend and boy is it great!  I purchased a Vita-Mix blender and I have to admit that it is pretty much the coolest thing ever!  This is the same kind of blender that top chefs on Food Networks' "Iron Chef America" and restaurants like Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Smoothie King use.  Anyway, I submit to you that it's not just a blender because it really does so much more... You can make ice cream, hot soups (yes, they come out of the "blender" piping hot!), grind gains (and then mix with yeast and water and have it knead your dough for you!), juice fresh fruits, make awesome smoothies in 30 seconds AND make your own nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.).  So much healthier eating because you know exactly what you are putting into your food!

I tried my hand at making some fresh peanut butter this weekend and it was SO yummy!  You simply dump in honey roasted peanuts (or any other kind of nut you like) and blend. Can your blender to that?  It comes out nice and warm and oh so nutty!  Seriously, Jiff has nothing on this!  The great thing about this PB is it has no added hydrogenated oils or tons of extra sugar... just peanuts.  Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my "blending" adventures.  I'm thinking of making chicken tortilla soup in my "blender" tonight.

Mobile blogging?

Mobile blogging? Has anyone ever tried it??

***Update: Tried it on a real post and I'm not a fan.

question of the day:

I love Christmas Carols, especially the really good ones that exalt Christ as God coming to earth on behalf of sinners. What I wonder is, do non-believers who sing songs like Hark the Herald Angels Sing, etc. really not get the Truth of which they sing? How can some sing God-glorifying Christmas carols so flippantly? For example, I wonder if Bob Dylan really understands what he is singing about when he sings The First Noel or O' Come all Ye Faithful? Just curious. Anyway, here's to praying that when people sing or hear a Truth-saturated Christmas carol this year they will come to know the everlasting joy found only in the Christ of which they sing.

Merry Christmas!

May you rejoice in Christ this season...

it's definitely been a while...

Suffice to say, I've taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging since my last post. To be perfectly honest I've lacked motivation and inspiration (I don't have cute, entertaining kids to post about :). However, I think my break is over and for the one reader that just might still be out there (if I'm lucky), I'll begin blogging again.

Since it's been a while, here's a brief run down of my life since the last post on June 5:

-Summer rolled by without any major note worthy events.

-At the conclusion of the summer, I got to enjoy a brief trip down to the gulf for a little girl time with my mom at the beach. This turned out to be perfect because the guys in my family aren't the biggest beach fans.

-I did indeed have the privilege to run in the 40th running of the ING New York Marathon. It was quite the experience! Fun city. Fabulous race. The experience is worth its own post, so look for that coming soon.

-I also had the joy of going to India for several days on a mission trip at the beginning of November. THAT definitely is worth its own post or even series of posts!

-I've finished a couple of good books since I last posted so don't be surprised if you see a couple of book review in the coming weeks.

-Lastly, I'm running the St. Jude 1/2 marathon this weekend. I LOVE this race... or at least the 1/2 is a blast. I'm running it with a couple of girls from my office and we decided to raise money for St. Jude so if you are in the giving mood hop on over to this site and make a donation!

By the way... it's great to be back!

super steals and one GREAT mom!

I'm not one that usually feels the need to blog about simple things such as my grocery shopping experiences. However, I do feel as if this is one time to step out of that mold for just a brief moment...

I have a great mom (and seeing as this weekend is Mother's Day, it is important to note this) who has taught me all sorts of necessary traits over the course of my years and one thing she so readily imparted to me is the techniques of a thrifty shopper. Clipping coupons and buying items on sale are just a few of the ways to become a thrifty shopper. Well, my mom would be proud because on Tuesday night, I combined all thrifty shopping techniques in one Target trip and ended up with the following loot for a mere $14.00. Yes, my friend, everything pictured below for a total of $14.00!!

Note: As you can see, I do love the FiberOne products at my house (they are yummy and a great way to get your daily fiber in!) and they just to happened to all be on sale this past week at Target.

Another product of my mom thriftiness is the impatients that are now planted in my flowerbeds (pics of that to come just as soon as I get finished mulching...). My mom found these super healthy, beautiful impatients on sale (a weekend special) at Home Depot for $.33 apiece about a month ago! I was so excited I quickly purchased 3 flats for around $10! Can you believe it?

Isn't my mom the best shopper?!?! But beyond shopping, I am very thankful the Lord has blessed me with a great mother. I'm thankful for her friendship and for all that she has taught me over the years. So on this Mother's Day weekend, I'm making sure she knows just that! Love you Mom!

lemon soup and gospel conversations

Shocking I know, but Cafe Eclectic's lemon soup is actually fabulous! In case you haven't been (and I encourage you to go), this is a fabulous little place in Midtown at the corner of McLean and Faxon near Rhodes College. Earlier this evening I was getting dinner at Cafe Eclectic with Emily and Cassie and admittedly we were a bit sceptical of the soup but when our precious server, Ashley bought us each a small sample we were sold. This is a delightfully unique, lemony rice soup that totally hits the spot!

For me, one of the draws to this truly eclectic eatery is their roasted potatoes. Mmm... I've never had better potatoes than these rosemary and thyme roasted white and sweet potatoes (see picture at above right). Yet another one of the draws over the past couple of visits has been our sweet server, Ashley. This fun loving girl has been so curious of our (recently) habitual Wednesday night dinners at Cafe Eclectic where we've been discussing a book we've been reading together for some time (Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss). Ashley's consistent curiosity has led us to become very intentional about having gospel oriented conversations with her during the course of these evenings. Two weeks ago we passed along a copy of Because We Love Him by Clyde Cranford and this week were pleased to find that she is working her way through the copy we gave her and loving it! She's even had some of her friends at her school question her about her reading selection as she reads during the course of her day between classes!

So, if you are in the area soon stop by Cafe Eclectic and say hi to Ashley (I'm sure she'd love to see you) but regardless of where you dine in the near future please pray that the Lord would open her eyes to clearly see the beauty of Christ!

p.s. The house coffee here is fabulous!

Top 10 things I love about Memphis

About a year ago Laurin posted her list of top things she loved about Memphis and Lee decided to weigh in with her’s earlier this week. In light of the fact that Memphis has been confirmed, by a very narrow margin, as the 2nd most dangerous city in America (see article here) and the 2nd most miserable (see article here), I decided it was a great time to put my two-cents in on this topic. In no particular order, here are the top 10 things I love about this city:

1. Shelby Farms: As Laurin and Lee both noted, this really is a Memphis jewel. One of my favorite parts about Shelby Farms is the Wolf River Trails. As expressed here, I love trail running and the Wolf River Trails on the south side of Walnut Grove are an excellent place to get a great trail run in.
2. The Pancake Shop: This little place on Summer Avenue serves hands down the best pancakes in Memphis. If you don’t believe me give them a try for yourself! You'll see exactly what I mean.
3. Fall drives down Central Avenue
4. Tiger basketball! No, I couldn’t leave this one out. In all honesty, I simply love all things University of Memphis. I enjoyed the time I spent there, I cherish the friendships that began there, I think highly of the business school, I like Tiger football, and more than all of those… I love Tiger basketball.
5. My job: Yep, obviously my job is in Memphis and I love it. I like both what I do and where I do it.
6. Grace Church: I could probably go on for days about the things I love about Grace Church. The truth is this is the only thing on this list that really has eternal significance. I’m so very thankful for my church.
7. Gibson’s Donuts on Mendenhall: The best donuts you will find ever. Gibson’s holds a special place in my heart because it used to be owned by the same man (Mr. Howard) who started the much beloved Howard’s Donuts in West Memphis. Gibson’s must still have the very same recipe. Because I grew up on Howard’s and it is near and dear to my heart and because this post is about Memphis, Gibson’s officially makes it on my list.
8. The Memphis Marathon and Half Marathon: This is a great race and it keeps getting better and better as each year passes. The Memphis Marathon was my very first marathon and because of that alone it has significance. The Half Marathon is just plain fun and you have to love the fact that this race supports another one of Memphis’ jewels, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
9. BBQ: If you like bbq (of the pork variety of course) and you live in Memphis this has to be on your list. You won't find better bbq anywhere else in the world. A few of my favs include: Neely’s Interstate BBQ, Germantown Commissary, and Central BBQ. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
10. The Orpheum: I love going to The Orpheum. It is simply one of my favorite places in Memphis! To name a few wonderful events I’ve seen there (and some multiple times): Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Death Cab for Cutie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (as part of the summer movie series), and in June… Wicked!

So, what are some of your favorite things about where you live?

just another saturday

A little recap from the weekend: This past Saturday contained one fun adventure, one new place, and one new creation! What a GREAT day! Let me explain…

Fun Adventure: Despite the early morning rain, I headed out to Shelby Forrest for a nice trail run Saturday morning. Due to the rain, the trail was nice and soft and felt great on the joints and knees which have gotten used to running on the asphalt and concrete as of late. This run reminded me just how much I love trail running; it is far better than road running. Anyway, being that I don’t have any upcoming races to prepare for, it was quite nice just to run… and yes, run in the rain. Once you got going and engrossed in the natural spring beauty that surrounded you, you didn’t mind all the sloshing around. The sound of the rain hitting the tree canopy above, the choir of chirping birds overhead and wet shoes trudging through the water saturated terrain. Sorry for the bad picture quality, it appears I had a little rain on the camera lens. At any rate, here are a few fun pics! (Note: Yes, several months back I surrendered and purchased a running skirt. You know what?!?! I love it!)

New Place: After the soggy run, I headed back to my house for a quick shower that was VERY much needed (I had mud everywhere!) and out to Panera Bread for lunch with a friend. I’ve been to Panera Bread in the Atlanta airport but never to the one in Cordova… until Saturday. I had a small salad and some yummy French Onion Soup (I love French Onion Soup!). Great food + great company and conversation definitely = fun times!

New Creation: I mentioned here about the Sprinkles cupcakes recipes that I got my hands on Easter weekend. Saturday I made them for Sunday's Grace Lunch. I decided to go with the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing. I’ve never made cupcakes (or any cake at all for that matter) or icing from scratch before so, this was the second “first” of the day. Thankfully, I had my good friend Ashley there to help out with the cupcake construction. Despite being only slightly dry (does anyone know how to fix this so the cupcakes are a bit more moist????), these cute little cakes turned out to be quite tasty. Personally, I feel the cream cheese icing was my favorite part! Mmmm.....

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! :)

Easter

As many of you know, this Sunday is Easter however, at Grace Church last Sunday we received the following reminder: For the believer, every day is Easter. Praise God for the risen Christ each day!

something new

Warning: This could potentially sound odd!

In an effort to be more dilligent about memorizing scripture I've tried something new this week and so far, I like it. I wrote the passage of scripture on a note card, which is pretty typical however, I decided to put the card in a Ziploc bag and tape it to the tile in my shower. Voila! Now I have a "waterproof" scripture card so I can work on my memorization as I shower! Yep, so far I like it and it seems to be working....