Behold, I am the servant of the Lord

In light of the Christmas season, I bring you this. (Who knew CeeLo Green would ever sing about Jesus?!)
Mary Did You Know?
So, apparently there is going to be a movie about the Bible coming out in March...exciting, sort of...
I do get a little anxious about Hollywood's depiction of Jesus and other Biblical truths, they tend to get a little skewed.

But all else aside. While watching this video I started to cry and it's not surprising, but it is refreshing. I see Mary and think, she was young, eager, and really ready to do this. Her response was how can the Lord use me? and then, so willingly she said  "I am the Lord's servant, let it be according to His will" (Luke1).
I wonder in the same way that Mary did, how can God use me? I am either not at the right point in life, or don't have this skill or quality. And I think God, you want to use me to do that?! There's no way! But I realize now, like Mary probably realized after Jesus' death that He used her to fulfill His purpose, regardless of her qualifications, and in the end , the story wasn't about Mary at all. It was about Jesus. It is about Jesus.
I don't think Mary knew what was going to happen to Jesus, and she probably would have had a lot more questions if she had. But the Lord led her in the way she should go and in the end her life helped proclaim the Gospel of Christ.
(Now, I do realize that in some realms of Christianity that Mary is worshiped) but instead of worshiping her, we should worship the God that was capable of using a virgin girl to bring the Savior physically into this world. And maybe we should think of Mary in terms of how to respond to God's call. With Humility and Willingness.
This Christmas realize that it all begins and ends with Christ and this is how it should be with your own life. Mary's story began and ended with Christ. When I go, I pray that everyone remembers the work of the Lord, not mine.

    In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
    And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
    And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
   
(Luke 1:26-38 ESV)

Merry Christmas
-e

Pintrest Project of the Week (August 19th-25th)

I had my graduate class yesterday and it lasted for a wopping 6 hours! So, after class I needed a little bit of detox time. I decided it was time to start my Pintrest Project of the week a little bit early! (I made the rules, therefore I can do my project a day early if I want!) I have several things that I have had pinned for about a year and it was time to check one of those off the list. This week's

is from A Beautiful Mess . This blog is absolutely amazing! I love Elsie's eclectic style and creativity all crammed into one very organized blog space.

 This project from Pintrest seemed pretty simple so I dove headfirst into my very own lyrical painted canvas! I started with a lovely little painted canvas that I bought at the thrift store.

After getting my canvas all set up I picked lyrics from my favorite Mumford & Sons song. For the lettering I used wooden letters from walmart craft section. ( I would suggest using stick on letters instead since my letters absorbed some of the paint). To get a straight line I used a straight edge to draw lines on the canvas before I glued down the letters.

Once I had my lines I used Tackyglue very sparingly on the back of the wood pieces to glue them to the canvas. You have to be careful about making sure you have enough space for the letters!

I let my letters settle a bit while I looked for spray paint. Sadly, my husband, who typically has every type of home improvement tool did not have spray paint. So, since it was about midnight I opted for craft paint.

I painted over the entire canvas and got into all the cracks and crevasses of the letters. (In retrospect I would have definitely used stick on letters because they would be flat when painting over and you wouldn't have to worry about them soaking up the paint. Also, spray paint is your best option for painting.)
And being the impatient woman that I am, I went ahead and took the letters off before the paint had dried...

 I like the outcome even though it is not even close to the original Pintrest project!
So, that's my project of the week! I now have another canvas that I have no room for in my house! :)
I am looking forward to next weeks project which may possibly be this little beauty...

I'll have to see if I can't get my crochet pattern translator, Valerie to help me figure out the patterns.
Looking forward to this week and my new work schedule and more graduate classes, and don't forget...

PUPPIES!
love, e

Pintrest Project of the Week

School is starting back and I'm feeling a little less than motivated to do all "the stuff" that I feel is part of my official duties. These things included but are not limited to: laundry(which is all clean but unfolded), dishes, grocery shopping,trying to find an awesome bedroom set on craigslist for super cheap, knowing my class schedule, lesson plans for preschool, keeping up with friends, you get the point...life things. When these things are just sitting on my to do list I cringe and feel all "baby on the bus". So, instead of checking off all of these things I am throwing in something else to make all of the other things seem not so bad. Since I get a thrill from starting projects I am so excited about my newest idea! I, like most of you am an avid Pintrest user (aka addict). I had a friend tell me recently that they blocked Pintrest from school computers...so you know it has made it big time! Congratulations Pintrest! You've been grouped with Facebook, Myspace, and a myriad of other time consuming websites that the school boards disapproves. I am going to start my Pintrest Project of the Week!

Here's how it's going to work:

• The project that I do has to be pinned onto Pintrest by another person originally.
• I will pick the project on Monday and complete or have attempted it by Sunday.
• I will take suggestions on projects! I would love to try a project that you've been curious about or one that you've done already! 
•  I created this project so I can adjust the rules as I see necessary:) 

 I hope you'll send me some ideas and feedback on projects or ways that you've seen this done before!
Thanks,
e

You get what you get and don't pitch a fit.

Poof! Like that, summer is over. How did that happen?! I think that every year of my life gets faster and faster.
This summer has been such an awesome adventure! Honestly, I was a little bummed at the beginning of the summer because I was all "I've never worked during the summer before! Everyone else is on vacation without me!". But little did I know I would eat those words, all of them, in a delicious stew of wrong. I had so many adventures this summer that to even think back to my whiny-ness is overwhelmingly embarrassing. ( I am only telling you about it to make a point). This summer I:

Went to Colorado for International Youth Convention! Saw Rocky Mountain National Park, Elk, a marmot, and even a bear!

 

Went to the beach for a week with Josh's parents!

Then we came home to our 5 week old Goldendoodle Puppies!!!!

Another thing that Josh and I have been working on this summer is getting the house together. Yesterday we bought a rustic farmhouse style dining room table and matching buffet. We got such a wonderful deal!! We added a bench that J made and our old chairs to the table. Josh also got a rustic coffee table that fits perfect in our living room! I hope to show off our new decor in another post soon.

My old digital camera does not do this awesome bench justice!

 

So, needless to say I was complaining about nothing, because my summer has been so incredible!  I am so blessed and completely lose sight of that way too often. I hope that you do not complain or worry about the season to come. I know it can be far too easy to compare your life to those around you, but chances are they are trying their hardest to put on their best face. So, my challenge to myself and to you is to rejoice in this life and know that it is so temporary. I recently read Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist and she wrote "when life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow." So, here I am saying thank you and looking to celebrate this wonderful season.

-e

Summer Crafts and Happenings

I think that summer has taken me off guard. With the two weddings and graduation in May and then the onset of camp and new work schedule I seemed to miss the arrival of my favorite season! In realization and celebration I have been extra crafty today and want to share some of my new projects with you, along with some shots from these past months.

I've made several journals in the past couple of weeks, they are my favorite gifts.

My sweet friend Christine's special birthday dinner

I love these ladies! I'm so proud of them all following the path that the Lord has lead them to.

High School Graduation Sunday! So proud of our students.

My newly graduated menti, Gentry. I feel so blessed to be this little lady's mentor.

My Brother in law Ryan watching his bride walk down the aisle.

Now I have two sisters named Courtney!! :)

Some of my newest projects, Psalm 73

Psalm 139

Isaiah 40:8

This one is for Josh's office.

My first canvas that hangs in our newly painted bathroom.

It has been wonderful having this day to relax and do crafts. I also did a little bit of baking for Father's Day. I made these little yummies... Fudgy-Brownie Cookies nomnomnom. 

Well, I hope you're having a wonderful summer and feel free to pin any of my crafts or let me know if you would like to have me make one for you! I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. Go Love on somebody!

Love, e

Un-Me Burrito

It is funny how the Lord chooses to show you His path. I want trumpets and a red carpet, but instead the Lord shows me that He is the path. What a crazy concept. You think I would have gathered this idea through His whole "I am the Way.." speech, but no, most things fall out of my head. Praise God that He has mercy on me and allows me to learn about His ways despite my own blindness. This week I completely lost it, and when I say "it", I mean my mind. It was gone. I was sitting at my dining room table crying and embarrassed and wondering "why me?!" (this is a favorite of my pitiful cries). I was in a place where I saw the rest of my life going a certain way and it scared me. My whole crisis was surrounding a decision that I thought would trap me for the rest of my pitiful, "why me?!" life. Although my chicken little moment ended pretty shortly after my sweet husband took me to get ice cream, I still sat in this place of not knowing. I think this place is where the Lord is the sweetest. He met me there and answered my silly question, "because you are Mine and I made you to glorify Me".
What a beautiful answer. I am His. I forget this when I get caught up in working to buckle up and try harder and win salvation. He takes me out of the miry clay and shows me that it's not what I do in grad school that will make me better or happier, but instead it's abiding in Him. Oh abiding. I just imagine myself as the filling in a wonderfully warm and fluffy Lord-tortilla, completely surrounded, where you can't even really tell that I'm in there. You take a bite and only the tortilla makes its presence known. That's the place I want to stay. In my deliciously un-me burrito. Praise God.

Typographic Verses

This week I decided to change my application for grad school from Spanish education to Elementary Ed. I'm so excited. After almost a year of working with 2-5 year old kids, I cannot wait to teach students that can go potty and tie their shoes! This year has showed me how amazing kids are. Their little minds are so ready for knowledge! My two-year-olds love learning Spanish words and I look forward to incorporating Spanish into my Elementary school lessons.
 Well, this is my week in a nut-shell. Kind of Crazy! I feel so satisfied in the Lord, because I finally trusted Him. I didn't get trumpets, but I'll take it! I hope that you're loving on people today!
love, e

Typographic Verses