Pictures with my sister!

I had an awesome day on Sunday! First Alan and I were able to get away to a horse show then I was able to take Kate and Geoff's engagement pictures! I am so excited to be able to be practicing and learning this new hobby! I never really had the chance to play around with the camera and now that I have my own, I'm LOVING it! Here are a few samples of what I've come up with!

Love is NOT selfish

It seems to be apparent that in today's society everyone has to chase to the highest level of "happiness" possible. When your driving you see a lot of drivers with the "me first" mentality! It drives me crazy! I can't stand when someone pulls out in front of you when there's no one behind you! I try to think that they must need to be somewhere really important and thank God that I had eyes to see.

Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is something that we are born with and will struggle with it every day of our lives. Why do we hate this trait so much in others but justify it for ourselves. Everyday we are bombarded with obstacles, each of which we have to choose a selfish or unselfish way to resolve it.

I was blessed to be able to compete in a horse show earlier this evening and I am so glad I can still walk a little! (I'm soooooooo sore) I noticed there were many selfish actions throughout the evening. I wouldn't have noticed much before I read my devotion for the day. It opened my eyes and allowed me to see what many of us don't want to. For instance... When your riding around the ring and there's plenty of room on the rail... please move to the rail so the judge can see EVERYONE in the class... There were a few people that would ride around and block the judges view. Maybe its just me but I was bothered.

" Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3

When you prioritize the well-being of your husband, there is a resulting fulfillment that cannot be duplicated by selfish actions. This is a benefit that God created for those who truly demonstrate love!

My challenge today was to buy something for my husband that says "I was thinking of you today" ... I tried but only found one pair of jeans for Alan at salvation army. I plan to make a card for him before I go to bed... He will find it in the morning and hopefully it will boost his spirits for the day :)

Love Is Kind

Be kind to one another, tender - hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.- Ephesians 4:32

Today my dare consisted of being patient as well as being kind. Kindness is love in action... Our actions and body language are sooooo powerful. This made me reflect on the kind gestures that my husband as well as other people have done recently in my life. Whether it be watching Rhya during the day so I can have "me" time, a simple note of encouragement or even simply helping with farm chores that are difficult to complete with an 8 month old.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding my family.

The love dare has opened my eyes to see more than just my relationship with Alan but also with my relationships with other people. There are 4 core ingredients that make "kindness"

1: Gentleness: Am I talking to Alan and others with sensitivity... Do I speak the truth in Love?

2: Helpfulness: Do I serve others when needed?

3: Willingness: Am I agreeable? Do I jump first, Then ask questions?

4: Initiative:Am I the person who greets first, smiles first, serves first, and forgives first?

Each of these questions I asked myself as I read through today's devotion... I am re-evaluating myself as a person and a woman of God. My challenge today was to do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness... Here is what I did!

Today Rhya and I went and bought Alan 3 pairs of pants... He had been asking for jeans for a while now but neither one of us had enough to buy new jean. They are so expensive now-a-days. Anyway, I was strolling through Ollies and found Jeans! 13 dollars a pair! I know that's still not cheap but I keep looking when I'm at Salvation Army and they NEVER have his size! Beggars can't be choosers. He was thrilled! He actually has pants to wear that don't have "homemade " air conditioning in them! I also surprised him with mailing labels. I created and printed mailing label so he didn't have to write all his addresses out.

I also noticed today how unkindness can effect your mood for the "moment"... I was checking out at Ollies and the older lady ringing me out must have been in a fowl mood. I was holding Rhya (who was being impatient,poor thing was hungry). She was clingy as usual, her diaper bag, my purse, two blankets and trying to get my visa card out of my wallet. Meanwhile this lady SLOWLY wrapped and bagged the glass cups I purchased (couldn't she see that I had a squirmy baby in my hands?) Then when the receipt printed she proceeded to try and hand it to me! My hands were sooooooo full! She could have put it in the bags of things that I bought but noooooooooooooo she had to hand it to me!

Now... Yes I'm glad she handed it to me and not Rhya (who would have ate it). She then turned around to talk to another worker about whether or not a fellow co-worker left, all while I'm struggling to get the bags into my hands... I was so frustrated! I hope she was just having a bad day... As I left I said "Have a good day" in as happy of a tone you could get right before your about to cry. She grumbled something... But I was to far to hear. The rain today didn't help :(

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day...

My Love Dare

I am starting to read through "The Love Dare" again... I feel that it might help my relationship with Alan a little more. I am hoping that I will get more out of it than I did before.

Today is the first day I will start this new journey myself... hoping and seeking for something that I am hoping God will reveal as I read, digest and pray over this book.

Day one: Love is Patient

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.- Ephesians 4:2

Being patient is something I have been working on my whole life. I have noticed that its easy for some areas of my life to wait but in others I feel like rushing. I have learned that love is built on two pillars... Kindness and Patience. By being patient I am showing the one I love that I am willing to listen and won't overreact in angry, foolish and regrettable ways. "He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly." (Proverbs 14:29)

Today I am going to try to watch what I say, how I say it and determine if I even need to say anything at all... I do not want to say anything I will regret

~~Later~~

My dare today was to practice patience and so far I've snapped at Alan only once... Hopefully the only time...

Here are a few points that I gathered from my devotion today:

1: Love is built on two pillars that best define what it is. Those pillars are patience and kindness.

2: Love will inspire you to become a patient person. When you choose to be patient, you respond in a positive way to a negative situation.

3: Love helps you settle down and begin extending mercy to those around you. Patience brings an internal calm to an external storm.

4: It is a choice to control you emotions rather than allowing you emotions to control you, and shows discretion instead of returning evil for evil.

5: Patience makes us wise.

6: As sure as a lack of patience will turn your home into a war zone, the practice of patience will foster peace and quiet.

7: Few of us do patience very well, and none of us do it naturally.

THATS A GOOD STARTING POINT TO DEMONSTRATE TRUE LOVE!

Sneezers...

Your all probably wondering what in the world is Sneezers! Well... Sneezers is our "new" cat.  Here's her story... 

 Sneezers found Alan out at our hog barn one rainy, cold and windy day about a month and a half ago. She was and still is a scrawny little kitty that LOVES people. Now... Alan and I do not want another inside cat because the one we have ( Jerbie) is a holy terror! Alan couldn't leave this poor little kitty outside so he brought her in! BIG MISTAKE!!!!! We didn't have a name for her at first so we just called her "cat"! I know... how original! 

        She has a bad cold and sneezes all the time... So now her name is Sneezers! ( My mom named her!)  Rhya loves her and I'm pretty impressed with this little kitty! Rhya will yank, smack, pull, grab, and terrorize her and she doesn't seem to care at all! In fact Sneezers instigates this "playing". Sneezers also LOVES to chase Jerbie around the house. Sneezers and Jerbie sleep in the laundry room at night so the don't wake Rhya up to snuggle. Picture this... we're carrying the girls into the laundry room. Alan has Sneezers... quiet and purring. I have Jerbie... clawing, biting, growling with a towel around her so i don't get bitten! You see... Jerbie absolutely HATES Sneezers. I'm not sure why but every time she see her she growls and runs the opposite direction. Now I'm not sure if Sneezers has lost some brain cells because of the cold. She will chase Jerbie around the house! Just for fun! As soon as Jerbie starts running, Sneezers is not far behind! You'd have to see it in person to truly appreciate it! 

 

Whats on my mind...

Forgiving... I'm still working on that... I was told by a very wise gentleman that "You can't convince someone that your right, if they know your wrong." Quite a statement! I was also encouraged to ask for forgiveness. That is such a humbling act. I know I am going to need strength from my personal savior, Jesus Christ, in order to try. I am tearing up just thinking about the hardship that my family has had to go through this last year. Its so hard to think that even if I know I'm being completely honest before God and everyone else, I have to admit that I'm wrong in order to calm the storm. I have to be the bigger person, ruin my reputation and take the fall for someone else.
I am sorry that things had to turn out this way... hopefully my family will feel some sort of peace soon.

And We're OFF!!!!!!

Rhya is crawling! What a joy it is to see her scoot around and finally get where SHE wants to go! She is quite a handful now that she mobile. She heads straight for the trash bag, cat and anything else Alan and I don't want her to have! Rhya has mastered going up our two steps from the living room to kitchen but hasn't figured out her way down yet! She LOVES big people food! I don't know whats worse... a begging dog or child!

There have been a lot of things on my mind lately and I feel that I'm in need of a friend... Don't get me wrong I have a few wonderful friends but sometimes it feels like I don't have any. I know everybody feels that way sometimes and I'm hoping its just a fleeting feeling.

I have been feeling also that I need to find a new career idea. I enjoy photography but have no idea where to start. I love what I'm doing but there are days that I don't feel motivated. Hopefully its also a passing thought... but I have a feeling its not. I was worried I was going to feel this way but I had to give it a shot. Its good that I'm not working more than I am because I'm afraid I would start to hate it. I wish God would give me a sign of what he wants me to do. All I can do is pray that he will guide through this thought process.