Pilates and Panera

What a fun night… I ventured my way down to Tualatin tonight and met Brice at 24hour fitness. I participated in my first pilates class, where I was shaking due to my lack of abdominal muscles. Brice, of course, looked amazing in her workout attire as well as effortless throughout the class. I loved the challenge though, and can’t wait to get better so that next time we are doing mat work in front of the same mirror, I won’t look so retarded. I’m back on the horse…working out and eating right are back on the agenda.

Tomorrow I’m stuck in jury duty all day. Hopefully one day will be all it takes to get if over with. I bought two magazines, a suduko book, and will pick up a large coffee and newspaper in the morning. It should cover the morning…I don’t know what I’ll do when I run out of reading materials.

Thanks for hanging out with me Brice. I love having girlfriends!

Brice, this is for you

HELLO AGAIN…

Since it’s been a while, I’m not sure I can even begin to catch this blog up. Maybe I should just skip to current… I’ve been married just shy of 7 months now, my dogs are healthy, Gus just turned 2, and my niece is almost 14 months now. Recent events are mostly expensive, not exciting. We are updating the house again. This time new windows and a new fence are in order. This is being left mostly up to Adam… quite a stretch for a control freak like me. I am excited to have it all done. It will make such a difference to have new windows. Heating and cooling will become much easier as well as the noise level from 92nd will be decreased. Yea!

TODAY’S ACTION (or lack thereof):

Today I’ve been quite inspired to clean. I’m not sure what got into me because I really hate cleaning most of the time. I hate it so much I’ve considered hiring someone to clean for me… extravagant and ridiculous, I know. I bought a new stove top cleaner on Sunday on my way over to my grandma’s for Easter dinner. It’s Mrs. Meyer’s brand. It’s a natural cleaner (safe for my ever curious dogs) and it smells so good. I have a stainless steel cleaner of her’s too. It’s fabulous stuff that works great! I guess cleaning the glass top got me going, because now I even have the fridge half way across the room so I can wash the floor under it. I’m even considering waxing my kitchen floor! Crazy, I know, but someone has to do it someday. My house smells like a savory lavender plant now… yum.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

As many of my close friends know, I have a hard time giving mercy and grace to a few people. It is amazing how fast something like that can creep into your heart and create bitterness. It starts out simply with hurt feelings, you dwell on it longer then 2 seconds, then poof! bitterness. It such a bummer to be such a sinner.

A scripture that constantly comes to mind over this matter is found in Hebrews 12. “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”

It’s so convicting to know I’m not only destroying myself and my attitude, but also defiling others in the process. I hate this evil part of myself and don’t wish to hide it, but to eliminate it.

As 2 Corinthians commands, I need to take every thought captive and not revel in my flesh. God is quite clear throughout scripture regarding the commandment to love one another, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 John says it so distinctly, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

If I am to be marked permanently as a bond-servant of Christ, I need to start loving. Time to start killing the old man once again.

June

6/18/07

My niece was dedicated yesterday. The cutest baby, with the biggest head, up there. Her head was measured in the 90some percentile at her last appointment. The funny part is, her length and weight are somewhere down in the 40-50th percentile. Whoops. It was fun to see my sister and her husband up there promising to raise my namesake, by the grace of God, in the ways of the Lord. I feel like I’m a part of that process too. It’s a big responsibility. I started my share of it by giving her a verse. I wrote Psalm 18:30-33 on the back of a card. My prayer is that this promise and comfort is something that she carries with her throughout life as she grows.

I said I put that verse on a card…well, I made the card. All my friends are scrapbookers and I felt left out. I discovered, while making my wedding invitations, that I enjoy making cards. I’m not sure I’ll ever get into scrapbooking, but at least I have something to do while Adam edits videos and while my friends go on their scrapbooking retreats. I made my dad a father’s day card as well. It’s relaxing, and fun to know that even an unartistic person can create something not entirely hideous.

6/7/07

Well, it rained on my birthday after all. It was a fabulous day. I met my sister and niece downtown on 23rd for lunch and shopping. That evening I met the rest of my family in the Pearl District for dinner at an amazing Peruvian resturant, Andina. To get there I rode the Portland Street Car for the first time. It’s interesting to be squished in with other people and observe all the different personalities and lifestyles.

 The day after my birthday I went to a coworker (and friend’s) house and a group of us worked on my wedding invitations. What a blessing those girls were. We finished all of them in only a few hours and despite my lack of creativity, they aren’t half bad. Tonight I’ll begin addressing them in my downtime at work.

6/3/07 

June in Oregon usually consists of 98% rain and a slight smattering of sunshine. This year however, on my 27th birthday, there has been sun. The actual day might have rain, but this last week has been in the 80-90’s. As those closest to me know, I get cranky in the heat. I am a true Oregonian, I need lots of watering.

How fitting for my blog to start a brand new year in my life. The hope is that this blog chronicals the experiences I have with the Lord and with others as I enter a new year and a new phase of life. I am getting married on September 1st of this year. My first bridal shower was this morning and my dear friend Judy shared wisdom from scripture. She talked about grace and how important it is in our relationship with the Lord and how that pours out into our other relationships, including marriage.

I want my life to be full of God’s grace and I want it to spill out onto everyone around me. I desire to have my fleshly spirit replaced with a sweetness that blesses.