Jesus' love and fleas

Want to know what I got tonight for trying to share Jesus's love? Fleas.... yes, fleas. I took some cookies over to Berl this evening after work and he invited me in to sit with him. His dog was jumping all over me as he was telling me about Bo (the dog)'s flea problem. Well I sat a while and talked with him and was really enjoying spending time with him when I felt something crawl on my arm. Now I didn't grow up with outdoor pets who had flea issues but obviously I knew Bo was being treated for it and sure enough, it was a hoppy little flea! Here is the thing I was thinking though. The most important thing was that God was asking me to show love to this person that He loves incredibly much. Therefore, that was my mission and on the forefront of my mind, not fleas. It made me think of all the horrible things that Jesus put up with here on earth. He came from living in heaven, how much cooler does it get than that!? Yet He chose to come to this nasty, sin filled earth to show the Father's love to us. How could He do it? He knew His purpose and it was an eternal purpose. I think that when we have an eternal purpose on our minds, all the cares and 'fleas' of this world begin to disappear. So I don't know what bringing cookies by and sitting down for a minute meant to Berl tonight but hopefully it will lead to more and more opportunities with him. And yes... I did take a shower when I got home tonight ;-)

brake lights and Jesus sharing

I was attempting to replace my brake light switch yesterday afternoon and needed a wrench so I went to a neighbor.  I wish you all could meet him, he is the cutest old man (aren't they all??) and his name is Berl.  Well he brought out his wrench set and came to help me.  I got the feeling that he didn't completely trust me working on my brakes but I didn't mind, he was very nice and helpful... and I can't blame him because I didn't completely trust myself!  So we got it replaced and the brake lights still weren't working so he recommended I check the fuse, sure enough, that was my problem!  He drove me over to the auto parts store and helped me find a fuse. We came back, replaced it, and they worked!  Yippee!  Now I get to return the $30 brake light switch and the total cost of my repair was... dun dun dun.... FREE b/c the guy at Advance Auto just gave me a free fuse (I mean between cute me and adorable, old man Berl, who could charge us for a fuse! :) So after all that, I feel like I need to tell Berl about Jesus.  I am not sure what he believes but I know I need to start showing him the love of Jesus so I am going to start by making him cookies tonight :)  I hope old men like cookies!  Did I mention that last week I was able to share with one of my co-workers the entire gospel story!? It was so fun, God seriously put the words in my mouth and I pray that He will continue to work in his heart with the receiving end. So yeah, God is awesome.

This coming Sunday we are going to be taking the UMA girls apple picking and hiking up Crabtree Falls. I am super stoked. The following Friday we are meeting to make apple sauce as well as a couple apple pies that we will enter in a local pie contest! Juli told the girls about it and she said they are really excited! Will you pray with me that the girls' schedules will align and they will all be able to participate? It's so hard to plan things sometimes because they aren't in control of their schedules and their parents (or guardians) don't usually care. But I love any minute I get to spend with those kids.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Marissa's Auto Mechanic Shop will be opening soon, specializing in fuse replacement and blinker fluid changes.

big move

i've suddenly gained 12 pounds since they've moved the scale from the carpet to the tile floor in the locker room.  fail.

He will do great things...

i feel like i am finally starting to get it. to understand what this life is about because it isn't about me. it isn't about everyone else, and it isn't about here. it's about God, and what He has planned for the rest of time. He's preparing his kingdom and the closer i get to my part in that, the happier i am. some of life's greatest joys have been when i know i am doing something that is for His eternal kingdom and His eternal glory. i may gain a different perspective down the road, but right now, i feel as though the past 3 months in my life have been the reason i came to lynchburg just over four years ago. obviously i wouldn't be where i am today without my experiences over the past four years, but it's here. hopefully it is not too naive of me to say that i really think this is the start of something big and i am thrilled.

a favorite time

fall has arrived in these here hills and there is much rejoicing.  status' are updated with the excitement of apple picking, flannel wearing, pumpkin lattes, and colorful leaves.  today is forecast at a delicious eighty one degrees fahrenheit, a temperature I could handle a lot more often than beautiful Virginia chooses to give me. oh well, there are so many things I look forward to this time of year... sunny, crisp days, apple picking and pie making, pie eating, lightweight sweaters, squash, colorful hills, hiking, and boots!  It's likely I will be accused of wearing them too much this fall, but I don't mind.  my aunt and uncle from Washington State come visit in October.  we also start weekly UMA meetings this fall with the girls and just thinking about that makes me giddy.  they are all so special to me and I have already begun praying that this fall, God would somehow use me to show them His love.  more than show them, I want them to truly experience it, to drown themselves in it!  myself also for that matter - there is so much I have to learn about His love.

to live and dye - my $2 trick

Inspired by an article I read, I took on a brand new challenge this past weekend... dying a piece from my wardrobe.  We've all tie dyed, but this is a whole new ball game.  I've had this dress ($20 J Crew bridesmaid dress from a sample sale) hanging in my closet for who knows how many years.  It's never been worn and never sold on ebay.  I wasn't crazy about the pink color.  I did like it, I just never had an opportunity to wear it.  Well I broke all the dying rules that tell to not start with your best dress and I decided just to go for it.  I learned that the craft stores in town no longer carry Rit dye so I followed the clerk's recommendation and headed to Walmart.  You may be as surprised as I was to find that Rit dye is nowhere near the tie dye section, neither is it in the paint section.  You will find it conveniently placed near the.... bleach!  I guess that makes sense if you think about it... really hard.  Anyways, they only had one of my colors in stock which meant another trip to the Walmart across town.  Why did I need two colors you might ask?  Well Rit's website has this great color selection feature where you just click on the color you're after and they provide you with the colors and amounts you'll need to mix to (hopefully) achieve your dream color. Of course there are many factors that play into it so for me it was still a bit of a guessing game, but it definitely helped steer me in the right direction!  My dream color was plum.  I have a fall wedding to go to next month and I didn't want to buy a new dress if I had a perfectly good one sitting in my closet.  The process was a little tedious but overall not too bad and I'm not even typing this post with purple fingers!  I did everything in a big bucket in the bathtub and the only thing I'd consider adding to your list of prep items would be a granola bar.  The hand rinsing step took longer than I expected and I admittedly got a little crabby due to lack of nutrition.  Other than that, I am pretty excited about my finished product!  One thing to keep in mind... zippers and buttons will not dye.  I'm not sure what I am going to do about that.  My mom suggested I wear bright pink heels to match my zipper... I think I'll be in search of a dark permanent marker this week :)

my destiny

"We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life."

Reading these pieces from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest daily devotional this morning, I have to admit that as much as I love these words, I am SO not there yet. I, unfortunately, don't even strive for holiness every day, I forget, I get lazy. I want to, I want to so badly. It's going to take time and discipline. I can't slack off on disciplining myself in the character traits that God has given me. 


I want to grasp this, not only for myself, but I want to teach it to my children one day. I want to teach it to them in prayer. To pray for others and hope for their well-being, but most importantly to pray for their progressive path toward holiness.