Thoughtful Thursday...

So, my husband being the cd hoarder of all time, I decided to add to his collection and get him a few more cd's for Christmas. Well, on his list of like literally 50 cds, I chose about 4, one of them being the latest Addison Road cd. Well, Marcus tends to leave his newly acquired collection of cds in the Jeep all the time, so I sometimes take advantage of the time I have with them and listen. On the way to small group Tuesday, I was listening the Addison Road cd and the song "What do I know of Holy" was playing. Below are the words, but, for some reason or another, I really listened to the words and was sincerely struck at how true those words are for me. Just read the words and you will see what a powerful punch they make and how they really make you take an honest look at yourself and your relationship with God:

I made You promises a thousand times

I tried to hear from Heaven

But I talked the whole time

I think I made You too small

I never feared You at all No

If You touched my face would I know You?

Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)

What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were mighty to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

(CHORUS 2)

What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave life "its" name?

What do I know of Holy?

Of the One who the angels praise?

All creation knows Your name

On earth and heaven above

What do I know of this love?

(CHORUS)

What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy?

Wordless Wednesday...

List of Accomplishments in 2010!

I've decided that this year, I want to track the accomplishments that I have achieved so that when I look back on this year, I have something to show for it! So here is my start of my List of Accomplishments for this year:

1. After probably a year of reading, I have FINALLY finished the Harry Potter series (all 7 books) and I will say, I loved it! :) I will now be able to wear my Invisibility Cloak and black rimmed glasses at the next premiere with not an ounce of shame! :)

Thoughtful Thursdays...

Well I thought that I would revisit this type of post since I have neglected to do so. Ironically, this Thursday is New Year's Eve, so of course this, of all days, is a great day to reflect on the past, present and get excited about the future. I have already posted my anticipations on this New Year, so I won't be repetitive. I will however share a couple of quotes that I thought were insightful concerning the New Year. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the craziness of the holidays, but the challenge that I wanted to try and work towards was that instead of rushing through this time, I really want to learn to savor each moment I have, in whatever I am doing with whomever I am doing it with; I just want to be able to enjoy and soak up every moment so I truly enjoy this life and the people and moments that make it up. (Here I go on a tangent, but just bear with me.) For some reason, especially during holidays, I become more aware of time. I guess what I mean is that the reality of time hits me every year like a brick wall, and as I have no problem welcoming change, I LOVE to revisit stories of past moments in my childhood and adolescence and laugh until I cry, however I do have some difficulty dealing with time changing things (people, places, etc). So during these times, I sometimes get worried about trivial little things like what will happen when things happen. I say all of this to say, I feel like during these times, 2 verses that I love and fear, (in a sense) come to mind. The first is Matthew 6: 25-34 where Jesus is addressing the fact that we should not be worried about anything whatsoever because He can take care of those worries as long as we have faith in Him and seek His kingdom and righteousness. Part of my New Year list is to have more faith and I know that God can take care of it, period, no matter what, no if ands or buts, the matter is me. Another verse that I think about in relation to that verse is in Joshua chapter 1 (it is actually repeated so this isn't just one verse) where God is speaking to Joshua and telling him to "Be strong and courageous", "Be strong and courageous", "the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go". I really try to attach myself to these verses because of my worries and fears because I know that God is with me and hasn't given me this spirit of fear. So, during these times, where life happens and time seems to speed past me, I want to stop, smell the roses and be reminded that God holds me in His magnificent hands and provides the refuge, encouragement and confidence I need to appreciate and enjoy this life.

Here are those New Year quotes that I thought were very "thoughtful":
Another fresh new year is here...
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest...
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!
-William Arthur Ward

Here's to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old; here's to the things that are yet to come and to the memories that we hold." -Author Unknown

New Year thoughts...

On the trip home to Wilmington, Marcus and I got to talking about 2010. From there, we got into a conversation about making resolutions, what we think about what we hope for the new year, and a bunch of other things that we want from 2010. Of course on the top of our list was losing weight (which is usually at the top of the list every year and the last thing we think about during the year! :)), but our conversation just had me thinking about new years in general. Isn't it so funny how around this time of year, as the old year is closing and the new year is approaching, that we (or at least me) start to get excited, nervous, and hopeful for the possibilities of the new coming year. I mean, it's just another year right? I know that New Year's is the transition from the old to the new, letting the past be the past and moving forward but I don't know what it is about this year, I am just very excited. I have a lot of expectations for this year, but I know that those expectations can only happen if I follow through with them. As Marcus and I were talking about our dreams for 2010, I just started making my own list of 2010 musts. Now, I am not saying these are my New Year's resolutions for 2010, however I am making a list for me to remember for this year that I would like to accomplish and I figure that blogging my list would help me to better remember! :) So here, so far, are my hopes and dreams for 2010....

-Lose weight (I'm telling you, this is the battle of the year, every year!:))
-Become a casual runner (like how I used the word casual ;))
-Start thinking about having a family (Don't worry, this is not just me, it's also on Marcus's list :))
-Try to be more like a Proverbs 31 woman
-Make and take more time for my family
-Move into a new house
-Make and take more time for my friends
-Do something crazy and not like me at all
-Figure out my passion and do something about it
-Pray more and have more faith
-Be the support and encouragement my husband needs to accomplish his goals and dreams

(I'm sure there will be more, but here's my list thus far.) Happy New Year!

Thoughtful Thursdays...

Today's thoughtful Thursday will not be filled with clever quotes or soul searching questions. No, my Thoughtful Thursday will make you think about eating. Thoughtfully think about what you want to cook for dinner and chew on this (no pun intended; that was quite accidental :)) I came across a dinner recipe that is quick, easy, cheap and soooo good. I am ALLLLLLL about that. So here it is. Try it and tell me what you think (although I will pass all the credit to kraft.com):

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

What you need:

3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1 lb. Italian sausage, sliced (I got the regular, mild kind, not hot because I can't handle it)
1 each: red, green and yellow pepper, coarsely chopped
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Italian* Mozzarella-Parmesan Cheese Blend
1/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Make it:

COOK pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet on medium heat 10 min. Stir in peppers; cook 7 min. or until sausage is cooked through and peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until heated through.
DRAIN pasta. Add to sausage mixture with shredded cheese; mix well.
TOP with Parmesan.

I got a funny...

So I know that I have not blogged in a while, but since school started back, my world has been turned COMPLETELY upside down. BUT I have a funny story that I HAD to share. If you are ever feeling fat, down, sad, or just need a laugh, commit the visual that I am about to paint for you to memory.

Okay, so I have come to grips that I have gained weight. Don't like it, trying (kind of) to change it, but I have to go to work with clothes on so I have had to go a size up when purchasing school clothes. So I went to shopping for school clothes a couple of weeks ago and after dragging my poor husband around the Avenues mall, I hit gold at Sears and found some cute black capris and fun white jeans (I know, big girl in white jeans, but listen, just because I am big doesn't mean I can't stay trendy :)) Anyways, so fast forward a little to this past Friday. I decided I wanted to look fashionable and wear my black capris. No biggie. So I go through the day, walking around my class with my kids, teaching at the front of the class, walking around campus with my colleagues, you know, the day to day stuff. So all is well, Friday ends and so begins the long weekend. Now fastforward to Sunday night. So Marcus and I decided to go to River Road Church on Sunday night because a friend that he grew up with, who is now a youth speaker, was meeting with the youth and we wanted to hear him. So I decide I wanted to rock my cool black capris, this t shirt and some cute flats that I had gotten. You know that feeling when you just know the outfit you are about to wear is just going to look right, I mean just cute cute cute; that is how I felt. So I take a quick shower, get my hair and makeup done and go to get dressed. So as I am putting my cute, pretty, new black capris on, I notice some light passing through the pants in an unexpected area. I'm thinking, my eyes are deceiving me, so I hold the pants up to eye level. There, MUCH to my surprise, was a hole, and I exaggerate not, the size of my index finger, right in the BUTT-HOLE area of the capris. All of a sudden it dawns on me, OH CRAP, the last time I wore these capris was FRIDAY AT SCHOOL. When this hole happened, where it happened, how it happened and who saw it I am still unaware of. All I know is that I wore bright pink underwear that day and if the hole occurred sometime during the day, somebody got an eye full! I don;t remember any snickering in class and no one pulled me aside, so either I am the talk of my fellow colleagues as the girl who blew the butt out of her pants or everyone is just so mortified that they just decided to try and release the reality of my pink panties out for the world to see from their mind. I am just hoping people thought it was gum!