"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ"

~Philippians 1:6


Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday again (funny how that happens, huh?). If today's list seems odd I will let you know I haven't been feeling good this week. Without further adieu...

I'm Thankful...

  1. For my toe socks.
  2. For wonderful food bearing neighbors.
  3. For wonderful sisters and their birthday presents.
  4. For my awesome haircut.
  5. For coffee.
  6. That I have 4 people (that I know of) reading my blog.
  7. For prescription drugs.
  8. For my pillow.
  9. For Zelda on my Wii.
  10. For the Ghostbusters movie.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Things You May Not Know

Here are some things you may not know about me and if you already knew well then I'll remind you...
  1. Winter is my favorite season
  2. I find comfort in the rain
  3. The smell of ketchup makes me gag
  4. My dream city is Boston
  5. I'm not creative...at all
  6. I love rocking out in my car
  7. I'm a big time nerd
  8. Someday I want to own a black and white Great Dane and name him Patriot
  9. I like to vacuum
  10. I still sleep with the same blanket, sheet, and pillow case I've had since I was 12
  11. My favorite color is red
  12. I love to wear dresses
  13. My favorite food is a blood rare filet mignon
  14. I'm starting school August 29th
  15. I know every single word to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby"
  16. I love to karaoke 
  17. My favorite drink at Starbucks is a Venti 9 pump Cinnamon Dulce Breve latte
  18. I can't drink iced coffee
  19. I'm a freak about dairy products. I can't drink my milk if it gets warm or if someone takes a drink out of it
  20. I love horror movies
That's all I'll list for now, I don't want you to OD on me :) 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Some Contemplation

I'm contemplating posting one chapter of one of the books I'm writing a week. I'm thinking of this for a couple of reasons.

  1. It "should" keep me accountable to keep writing until I have the story done.
  2. I could get feedback to see if all 3 of you like my story idea and/or writing style.
I have like 4 story ideas I've been working on forever. I'm sure my sister is rolling her eyes. We've talked many times about my story ideas and whether I should follow through with them. I'd appreciate comments letting me know what you think. 

I got my documents from my other laptop yesterday so I have my stories on here now, which oddly comforts me. After using my MacBook for a couple of months it was difficult to use my PC. Stupid laptop. 

Anyway, please comment and let me know! 

Have a great weekend! God bless!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Beauty

                  What is beauty? Is it merely defined as something that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye? I think this is probably the easiest and quickest definition. There is also the saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.
                  What about a newborn baby? Or an elderly couple who still have eyes only for each other after 50 years of marriage? The person who stops to serve a complete stranger? Or a Savior willingly giving His life for His creation? These are all demonstrations of true beauty in action. Not the aesthetically pleasing kind, but the innocent, selfless, and truly magnificent kind.
                  Some people strive their entire lives to become beautiful. It can even be paid for. This beauty, however, is temporary.
True beauty can only be attained when we allow the grace of God to work itself in our lives. When we surrender all control we think we have and give it all to God, we truly become a beautiful masterpiece. A masterpiece created and someday finished by the One who started it all, the one and only Creator of the universe.
“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” (Psalm 90:17)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Thankful Thursdays!

I'm Thankful...


  1. For my dog Dubs. He's the coolest dog ever.
  2. That it didn't snow today (I love it, but it's almost July people!)
  3. For the thunderstorm today. Thunder and lightning are my favorite.
  4. For Almond Joy candy bars. Coconut, almonds, and chocolate yum yum!
  5. For my math prep, 'cause I'm a dummy.
  6. That Griz is almost potty trained.
  7. For my Kindle, man I love that thing.
  8. That Derek vacuumed and made dinner tonight, man I love that guy.
  9. For the Disney Channel, seriously-I'm addicted.
  10. For coffee. No explanation needed.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Power of Our Words

Our words have a profound effect on those around us. We don't always realize it because of how much we talk, but every word we utter will have an effect. Funtrivia.com quoted a professor from the University of California that "a woman uses about 20,000 words per day while a man uses about 7,000".

Lets take the greatest compilation of words ever spoken: The Bible. The Bible has it all: joy, sadness, romance, murder, jealousy, conspiracy, excitement, worry etc... I could go on with adjectives all day, but the facts remain the same. The Bible not only has all of the ingredients people use to measure a good book or whether they'll make a movie of that book, but it's all true! Every word contained in that book came from God, inspired by Him. In times of great distress or worry about the future I have turned to God's Word. It didn't always have the concrete answer I was looking for, but it did offer comfort. To read the Psalms that King David wrote is so inspiring. David was afraid, angry, jealous, happy and every other emotion you can think of-he felt it. It's all documented in the words chronicling David's life. This is the man God chose to lead His people. This is the man whose descendants God chose for Jesus to come through.

The title of my blog is "He Who Began A Good Work..." I chose these specific words because Philippians is one of my favorite books in the Bible and chapter 1 verse 6 is one of my favorite contained in that book. "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" It holds such a promise to us. God is there working in you until Jesus comes back. Great stuff that is.

There are words that have greatly affected us as a country. Great men and women who at the time didn't realize the historical implications of the words they chose to speak. Some words reporting great tragedies that we would forever remember.

In 1873 Susan B. Anthony delivered a speech about women's right to vote. Where would be as women today without her words? Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death speech" on March 23, 1775, Lincoln's Gettysburg address on November 19, 1863,  and Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream speech on August 28, 1963. These speeches have such a historical significance. Humanity was made better by these words. These words inspired change and spurred people into action. Our country was forever changed on November 22, 1963 when Walter Cronkite reported that the President of the United States had been shot and killed while riding in his motorcade and changed again as we watched and listened to the worst tragedy to ever strike on American soil on September 11, 2001. I could sit and write all day about the first words spoken from the moon, FDR's "Infamy" speech after Pearl Harbor, the announcement that MLK Jr. had been assassinated, and the many declarations of war. No matter the many examples I recite the conclusion is still the same: words are powerful.

I bet we all remember where we were when these words were heard (depending on age). Although I am certain that anybody heard Patrick Henry, Susan B. Anthony, or Lincoln's speeches. There are also words we heard that didn't change our country or world forever, but they are forever etched into our memories. My sister listed some memories on her blog the other day and among them were when she heard her father had died. Those words forever changed her. Hearing the words that Derek had cancer or that Grandma Kay died changed the landscape of my life and how I viewed that landscape. Hearing "Will you marry me" from the love of my life and at each ultrasound hearing the words that my baby was perfectly healthy.

We all have our own memories of words good and bad we remember. There will be more, good and bad that will have that earth shattering effect on us and those around us. There will be more speeches and reports that will rewrite history books. There is nothing we can do to prevent those.

What we can prevent? The words we choose to utter every single day. The things we say to those who anger us, what we say to our kids when they do what little kids do, and the gossip we spread.

How about the things we don't say? What important piece of information are you keeping to yourself? What aren't you saying that you should be saying? It's as simple sometimes as saying 'I'm sorry' or sometimes it's a little more earth shattering. The point though is that sometimes not saying something is just as damaging as the hateful, angry words we do utter.



Resources
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite#Kennedy_assassination

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thankful Thursdays!

Here is my second installment of Thankful Thursdays. iCal reminded me today, I'm glad I didn't forget. So here goes!

I'm Thankful...


  1. For music. It has this amazing ability to calm me and/or excite me.
  2. For my new-ish car. She's so sturdy and comfortable.
  3. That God saved me from myself. He's saved me countless times.
  4. For Pepsi. I love it so much.
  5. That Wal*Mart now carries bags of the flavored tootsie rolls by themselves. Good thing I don't have a weight problem.
  6. That Derek has a job.
  7. That I have a house.
  8. My kids are all healthy.
  9. My back is getting better, way less pain lately.
  10. For Journey's greatest hits album. Absolutely one of my favorite albums ever.
That's it for today. Listing what I'm thankful for always helps me feel better. Puts things in perspective. Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Never Quite Grew Out of That Stage

I'm socially awkward. Seriously. For those of you who have met me you're probably thinking to yourself "At least she admitted it". For those who haven't met me you're probably thinking "It can't be that bad". I'm here to tell you IT IS!

Remember growing up when you were trying to find the group you fit in with or trying to find that one thing that would put you on the map socially? Well, I never did find mine. I found a great, loud dysfunctional group of best friends that understood me (for the most part) and loved me. I never did find that thing though.

I never excelled at sports, I was average. I was never super smart, I was average. I was never super funny, I was lets-laugh-cause-that-was-stupid funny. This isn't a pity party, I promise. I have those in private not on the Internet. This is lets be realistic time. I was so jealous of my sisters growing up. They seemed (I italicize 'seemed' because they'll argue with me) like they had it going on. I envied how outgoing they were, how easy it was for them to command attention or a crowd. Gosh I sound...stupid. I'm going to trudge on however and get this out of my head.

I've always felt awkward. When I met Derek I nicknamed myself "teenage tag along". I was 18 and he was 26 and I was in complete awe of this man. Obviously it has a good ending, but the agonizing months of feeling inept were torture. Derek and I had a good laugh after I told him about "teenage tag along".

I bring all of this up because I haven't outgrown my awkward phase. I think it's supposed to go away after you hit, oh I don't know, 18! I'm 27 and alas it's there. I talk WAY too much because I get nervous.  I'm the Queen of TMI. Not that I care really because I tend to be overly honest about my faults and shortcomings, but I'm pretty sure it makes people who aren't my BFF's (I don't have many of those) uncomfortable.

I think I just need to embrace my awkwardness 'cause it seems like it's gonna hang around awhile. It's either that or make myself a hermit, but I think Derek would take issue with that.

Thanks for listening. Even this post is awkward. There is no hope for me.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

How Did I Not Know That?!?

People have been commenting on my blog and I didn't know!! Comments were not being e-mailed to me! Grr...I apologize to everyone who has commented and I didn't acknowledge. I'm not mean. I promise.

Thank you to those who are reading and commenting. It's encouraging, to this point I thought I had 2 people reading my blog! My sister Sarah and a sweet friend named Natasha.

I briefly forgot about my Thankful Thursday posts. I'm gonna go into iCal and setup reminders right now!!

Alas, I must go and do the laundry that is breeding. I don't know where it is coming from. I might turn my household into one of those African tribes where everyone goes naked. Please call before you stop by!!!

Half A Party With No Sound

I lost my voice. Again. I woke up Sunday morning without it. This is a common occurrence for me. So much so that when one of my favorite people in the world saw me at Ash's party and I said (more like whispered) "Hi" She was like "AGAIN!?!". Sadly yes. I had surgery to try and correct this chronic laryngitis issue. Someday I'll post on the actual surgery. If I'm not feeling vain that day I may even include non-flattering pictures. Usually I can roll with having no voice, but today I had a birthday party to facilitate.   Derek just said we'd roll with it and he'd do whatever needed to be done. Ah, I love that guy.

I got Ashley all gussied up in her birthday finery before church and then we stopped by Starbucks for my favorite Venti 9 pump Breve Cinnamon Dulce. You read that right. 9 pumps. I needed it for my throat. No really I did.

Church was awesome. I love it there. Our pastor, John, is great. I love his stories and God really speaks through him. We usually stick around forever to talk, but we had to cut out early 'cause we had the party at 1 and we had to change and all that jazz.

We got to Silverbow pizza on time and the party was great. Ash had lots of fun and made out like a bandit. This was the first "big girl party". We invited a couple of friends from school and church. I just wish I could've spent more time with everyone. The theme by the way was iCarly. Have you ever seen that show? It's awesome!! I love it so much. I think for my next birthday I want an iCarly party. Here are some pictures from the party. Enjoy.

The Party Girl Posing

More Posing

On "Whiplash Bambi" 

Ali, Ashley, Maya

Ashley Ray

Mike and Avis 

Avis and Ashley

Angela and Ashley 

Tony, Ashley, and Airika

Lisa and Ashley

Josiah

Griz, Justice, Ander

iCarly cake!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Too Fast

Been awhile since my last post. Sorry about that.

Yesterday was Ashley's 5th birthday. My little girl is getting so big and growing up too fast. We aren't having her party until Sunday the 12th so I wanted to make sure she had a fun and memorable day even though she wasn't getting presents and cake.

Derek had the day off (that was SO convenient), I decided to schedule my wax appointment and thought it would be fun for Ash to get a pedi. She's such a girly girl, I was pretty sure she'd love it and she did. I'll post pictures at the end of the blog so you can see my darling enjoying getting pampered. We then went to coffee and had some girl time.

I love spending time with Ashley, not just because she's my daughter, but she has such a fun personality and she's hilarious. This girl has got a great sense of humor. We then went home to meet some friends who were coming over with Ashley's present. They aren't going to be able to make it to her party because they've got a "marriage" (wedding) as Ash calls it this weekend.

It was great to visit and they got Ash the perfect gift. It was a manicure set with all these jewels and stickers.

We had such a great day, Sunday is going to be super busy and fun. I will post after her party so you can see the craziness.
Ashley in the hospital

Ashley 1 month old

Getting her pedi done

The finished product

Me and Ash at coffee

Her manicure set that Zach and Aundi and family gave her