the last one!

...here it is, the last day of January at 11:04pm and i am posting on the blog!  the last day of Proverbs! weeee!!  i made it.  loved it.  phew.

I have always had mixed feelings about Proverbs 31. I mean, i am NOT her.  I don't make my own clothes, i shop at Target!  I do get up early to make breakfast for my family sometimes, aaaand sometimes they get cold cereal. :)

I love what it says about her husband trusting her with out reserve,  her ability to start each day fresh, and whatever she says, she says it kindly.  she sounds BEAUTIFUL, no?

THANK YOU for joining me on this month long journey!  One of my best friends asked what i am reading next? 

This book.






Abbi has this book and she loves it so much. She asked me start reading it too, so how can i say no?  I love that it's SHORT.  i love that it's SIMPLE. and i love that it is as if Jesus is talking to me. it's also the TEEN version so i have hope in "getting" it.  I might be 41, but have a 15 year old heart. :)

Love ya!

tender bow

tenderhearted.  that's the kind of heart i want. TENDER.

Proverbs 28:14
The tenderhearted live a blessed life.

I shared that verse, and a couple others with my class today.  To be able to share God's word, chat, laugh, talk about the latest magazine article, healthy snack, and say a little prayer with my classes is why i love teaching yoga so much. 

and we get to do crazy stuff like this.

one of my yoga girls, Seven, rockin' bow pose this morning. :) 

refresh + fresh

... a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.  Proverbs 27:9


Happy weekend, guys.  yes, those tulips are REAL.  got them today at Kroger. :)

XOXO

glue

hi guys!

I'm still here, plugging away at Proverbs. Are you still plugging away?  Goodness it is hard to stick to something, at least for me.  I tend to get distracted EASILY.

nonetheless, good stuff in there.

If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
    there wasn’t much to you in the first place.  Prov. 24:10

gulp.  I was talking with a friend about how we need GLUE.  What is your glue?  We need to be sticky, like peanut butter. mmm.  I am thankful that when Abbi was a preemie and it was no doubt the hardest time in my life, my marriage was SO strong.  Dan was a rock and i will never forget that.  Besides the Lord, he is for sure my glue to keep me from falling to pieces.  Elmers Dan. :)

and totally off topic here, but see my new floor?  

we loooooove it!!!

...but my bruised knees do NOT.  Took a bit to get it all clean, but now we are good to go.  Charlie is obviously excited. ;)  As long as he has a chair, somebody to rub his belly, and an occasional treat of leftover hamburger... he is a happy boy.

same heart

well, right now i have the sounds of wood saws and men working on our floors in my ears!  SO EXCITING!  but it's a little nutty in this here house.  just saying.

I have caught up, however! I figured i might as well just share about TODAY's verse since i think chapter 22 is awesomesauce.

A generous spirit is better than money in the bank.  Prov. 22:1

Please tell Dan about this verse.  Seems the money in the bank is now depleted due to the floors. ;)  a gracious spirit?  the sweetest kind.

Point your kids in the right direction—
    when they’re old they won’t be lost.  Prov. 22:6


Love love love that one.  Seems lately D and i are in full PARENT MODE.  I heard on Focus on the Family recently that raising a teenager is a little like raising a toddler.  They are so amazing, funny, passionate, emotional, stubborn, and finding their independence.  LOVE THAT! but it can get a little crazy, ya know?  No matter, we are enjoying this season SO much, and we love watching our girl grow and change so quickly, yet her heart is still our Ab.  Love that heart.

need to READ!

is anybody else super far behind?  i am!

but anyways, we can always catch up, huh?

Our weekend was filled with a Leo basketball game, a movie (watched at home in our jammies of course), a trip to Ohio to celebrate great grandma Lenola's 101st birthday, Winter Jam (big Christian Concert here in town featuring Toby Mac, Jamie Grace, Jason Castro, and lots of others!) for Ab, and finally D and I (mostly D) tearing up all our carpet so the floor guys can come in and put in our new wood floor! eee!!  but ooooh my.  It's a big ol' mess and in between all the mess i am still cookin' cleanin', doing yoga, and keeping everybody hugged and mostly happy. (mostly)

phew!  Soon i promise to sit DOWN (someplace, all our furniture is gone or smooshed into a back room) and READ SOME PROVERBS!  k?  K.

time to pray and make lasagna

sooo i was ahead on my reading and now i am behind.  hope you don't mind. :)

... he delights in genuine prayers.  Prov. 15:8

...the right word at the right time, BEAUTIFUL.  Prov. 15:23

sigh.  I told my class today that prayer is so easy to just toss around.  I pop up little prayers here and there, and wonder why i don't feel connected sometimes.  I really need to take more time to REALLY pray.  Wonder if God gets sad when we don't take time to really chat.  I wish God could text me. :)


and by now, you all know how I feel about words, so no need to elaborate on verse 23.

*little side note.

i took on a new tuesday night class at the Y a couple weeks ago. hmm. To be honest i was excited, but now? not so much. I love nothing more than teaching in my WARM house with all girls i know and love. comfy, cozy, home yoga.  The Y is a fitness room (i am not a fan of mirrors or loud, hollow, rooms with big squeaky air vents surrounded by cycling bikes) but... i'm there and God must have a reason for it.  So going to PRAY about that! ;)


and... made this today for my lasagna lovin' girl.  Give it a whirl! 

do i know you?

Wisdom lives in an understanding heart.  Proverbs 14:29

a good one, huh?  I guess the only way to understand somebody is to KNOW them. :)

We had a sweet weekend, as you probably saw from the photos.  Ab had an AWESOME time!  She and her friends had a yummy supper at Ziannos (italian restaurant) before the dance, then danced for 3 hours with out their shoes (i guess all the girls just kick them off when they arrive, LOVE that!) and then later got pizza and watched a movie at a friends til super duper late. 

dance!

aaand she's off to the dance!

I love when happy tears well up and your throat aches. :)

Well our girl got her hair curled, a mani/pedi (from her momma!), found a little sparkly purse that barely held all the essentials (lip gloss, dance ticket, $, phone, gum, granola bar), and we made it!  I saw the look on her daddy's face when she was all ready and i felt a little pang in my belly.

ouch. but i loved it.  

Here are some fun ones.

 

and after all that fuss, D and i are ready for a movie in our jammies. :)  

careful now

phew, it's FRIDAY!



careful words make for a careful life. careless words may ruin everything.  ( Prov 13:3)

...another "words" verse. :)  i want to be more careful with my words, especially with Dan and Ab.  I admit we are pretty kind to each other in our house, we are not yellers or mean and our house is pretty calm. (as calm as it can be with me in it, haha)  However, if i get careless (crabby) it's usually with the ones i love most.  Abbi is greatly impacted by words (like her momma) so i have learned to write them down if i really want them to stick.  She love, love, loves written notes, texts, etc. :)



happy weekend!  I will be posting photos of Ab in her dress Saturday night!  eee! 

girls, husbands, & words

Want some tips on how to love your favorite 16 year old girl?

Put bacon on her turkey sandwiches.

NEVER help her with her sock bun. Just don't.

Listen to her stories.  ALL of them.  

Make her laugh everyday.

and on to PROVERBS!

I am in chapter 12 and i am not sure i ever want to leave. so good.

a hearty wife invigorates her husband. (vs. 4)

notice it does NOT say provoke, disrespect, hold a grudge against, argue with, or frustrate.  :)


worry weighs us down, but a cheerful word picks us up. (vs. 25)

amen, amen, amen! I love, love, LOVE words of affirmation.  Love to hear them, speak them, write them, receive them, and keep them.

but i do worry too much.  working on that!

PINK

happy Wednesday!

Got those flowers for myself at Kroger. :)  I love pink.

It's been a sweet morning here.  Had a private session today (yoga) and i just love my yoga girls. AMAZING hearts.

here are 2 more goodies from Proverbs 11.
(vs. 16)
A woman of gentle grace gets respect.
(vs. 28)
A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump.


I want to be less stumpy and more gentle! :)

Ab had a pretty good first day back at school.  She is taking Anatomy and Child Development this semester at Leo, plus Algebra 2 and American Lit at home. Plus babysitting, tennis, pottery lessons, and youth grouup!  Looks to be full, but not crazy.  BUSY is not BETTER. :)   I am off to make chili for a friend and find a shelf at Target to hold nail polish!  XO!

prayer and banana trees

I've prepared a wonderful spread ~ fresh baked bread!  Proverbs 9:5

I looove that verse because it reminds me to bake another loaf of spelt bread that i got so good at baking last Fall and then... totally forgot about. mmm.


anyways... hi!  Are you still reading?  Hope so.

here are those sparkly shoes for the dance i told you about.  now... if only Ab can not wobble so much. She insist they are NOT too tall! :)

Here are some goodies from chapters 10 and 11.  


God is solid backing to a well-lived life, but he calls into question a shabby performance.  
Proverbs 10:29


Not too shabby, huh? :) SOLID BACKING. thank goodness.


A good life is a fruit-bearing tree.  Proverbs 11:30

oh how i want to be a tree filled with fresh fruit!  I am sharing this with my class tonight at the Y.  Let's be grounded in soil that keep us GROWING.  I want to be a banana tree. :)  Just sayin.

This book is FULL of sweet wisdom to build character and feed our soul.  Your comments (be sure to read them!) are awesome!  Love you much.

Now i am off to pick up my girl from her first day back at school!  eeks!  She has some new classes this semester and still feels pretty new there.  Prayers are butter on toast, i tell ya.

a sister

It's Sunday evening.  aaaah.  Over the past couple days...

• i got trained in CPR/AED (and i still have no idea what i'm doing so let's all pray nobody keels over at the Y when i am working)
• abbi got her DRIVERS LICENSE!!! 
• found the perfect black sparkly shoes to go with that pretty pink dress.
• made enchiladas for grandma & grandpa.
• wrote some new yoga classes for next week!
• took a slippery, icy walk with my boyfriend. :)
• took care of my sicko kiddo.  She is fighting a cold that won't give.

now back to Proverbs... (i like the shorter verses so they STICK!)

Talk to wisdom as to a sister.  Proverbs 7:4



I had an awesome brother growing up, but no sister.  How amazing it is for me to have many sisters now.  I have some girlfriends (you know who you are) that are my sisters.  Just being able to be real, open, and love each other crud and all, is a sweet gift.  Love you girls, you teach me so much.

pretty sweet

Keep viligant watch over your heart. ~ Proverbs 4:23

He's aware of every step you take.  ~ Proverbs 5:21

Follow your father's good advice.  ~  Proverbs 6:20

All pretty sweet verses, huh?  Perfect for a sweet 16 year old. :)

She found a dress for the Leo semi-formal next weekend!  
She is going with a big group of friends, should be fun. :)  Happy weekend!

no need to panic, pol

Proverbs 3 is packed with goodies, huh?

vs.24-25
you'll enjoy a good night's sleep.
no need to panic over alarms or surprises. 

oooooh boy.  need to sew this one onto my pillow case. :)

bruise-y like a peach

Proverbs 2:7
He's a personal body guard to the candid and sincere.

My husband is a big guy and makes me feel safe, which i LOVE, but i also love that God is my body guard because i need thicker skin.  I get my feelings hurt too easily, not in a wimpy way (maybe sometimes) but i tend to worry a lot about what other people think.  God protects a sincere heart, because he knew a soft, sincere heart is also bruise-y like a peach. 

i love hearing your favorite verses!

ya ready?

It's 2013!  eeks!  D and i went to Indy for a yoga workshop (which always makes me so, so thankful that i can teach yoga with Jesus in the middle) and we grabbed our New Years Day lunch at Teds (bison burger on a salad YUM) and stocked up on D's favorite peanut butter (Whole Foods) and zoomed home to pick up our girl from her 4 day winter retreat in upper Michigan.  She was happy, healthy, and SLEEPY.  i missed her!!!

Anyways, i am SO excited that at least 15 of my best girlfriends (+ my mom and husband!) are joining me in reading  Proverbs this month. One chapter per day.  Ya ready?

I read mine first thing since i tend to be a morning person, but really you can read it any time of day ya like and sometimes life gets crazy and you might miss a day, but no biggie just read double the next and you're all caught up.

Here was my favorite of the day.

vs. 9
Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers... 

You know why i loved that?  because currently i live with a teenager who cannot leave the house with out a few rings on her fingers, nails painted, hair gorgeous, eyelashes coated, smelly spritzy spritz sprayed in to the air and walked through several times. oh my.   

...like rings on your fingers. :)

What was YOUR favorite from today?

Leave a comment to tell me.  Can't wait.