Pray Philippians 4:8 for Your Child

Reblogged from Mama Hen Prays ~~ A Prayer Ministry:

Pray God’s heart as it is revealed in Scripture, in Philippians 4:8

Today, Lord, I pray for _____ and the things he(she) thinks about.

May _____ focus on whatever is true, whatever is honorable,

whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

whatever is commendable, anything of excellence,

anything worthy of praise, help _____ to think about these things.  ~Amen…

Read more… 15 more words

Passing along a blog to follow... it was a nice surprise to see the same verse featured that I am trying to focus on!

My goal for the next 40 days

I haven’t been blogging for… too long. Life has brought transitions and turmoil since my last long-ago post on here. (There has also been much good… I often have to remind myself that transition is not a bad thing!) The last few months have led me to the goal of having more trust, and showing more transparency… and for me, that is easier through writing than talking. SO… I’m trying to find the good — and bring it back here. Whether it is an inspiring quote, a blog post plucked from Google Reader or a tidbit about my day, my plan is to update this blog with positive things to think on. I hope you will join me on the journey!

N is for New

An easy post for me… but an important one.  I love this song… and it is especially appropriate to post it this Easter weekend.

Lyrics:

Come broken and weary
Come battered and bruised
My Jesus makes all things new
All things new

Come lost and abandoned
Come blown by the wind
He’ll bring you back home again
Home again

Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
The light of the dawn is upon you
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
He makes all things new
All things new

Come burning with shame
Come frozen with guilt
My Jesus, he loves you still
Loves you still

Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
The light of the dawn is upon you
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
He makes all things new
He makes all things new

The world was good
The world is fallen
The world will be redeemed

So hold on to the promise
The stories are true
That Jesus makes all things new
(The dawn is upon you)

Words by Andrew Peterson

M is for Menu Planning

I started planning weekly menus just over a year ago, about when I started this blog.  It has been SUCH a good decision for our family.  I have managed to gather together a collection of recipes that we love and a few easy recipes for those tough days.  I rarely spend the afternoons wondering what is for dinner that night.  I save money by stocking up on items that we often use when they are on sale, and we (generally) eat more nutritiously.

You can find menu plans for most of last year on this blog… and menu plans from January on at my other blog – Melody’s Menus.  It hasn’t been updated in the past few weeks either… but it still has some recipes that we love on it.  I’ve been a little burned out on menu planning lately… but I am excited that May 1 marks the opening of the Farmer’s Market here.  I can’t wait for summer produce and meals where supper is just whatever meat we found at a good price and lots of fresh vegetables!  (And I am even happier that I can look back and see what recipes I used last summer and make them again!)

L is for the Little Things… #137-#150

I’ve spent too much time lately getting upset over the little things. I’m dealing with some big decisions and big stressors… but it is the little things piled on top of that that seem to cause my mood to spiral downward.

Here’s a song that speaks to that feeling. I did not like it when it first came out… now I love it! (Plus it is hilarious to hear my 5 year old belting out, “Call me please, ’cause I can’t find my phone!” from the backseat.

Fortunately… I have learned that it is the little things that can pick my mood back up just as quickly. That is one of the reasons I am so glad to have started writing down 1000 Gifts!

This week’s gifts include:

#137 Green after the rain… is it just me, or do the grass and trees look even more brilliantly green after a rainstorm?
#138 Clouds
#139 The tunnel of green on a road near my house… the trees almost completely cover the sky above and it is just gorgeous to drive through. So often I wish I could stop in the middle of the road and take a picture… but since it is on a winding two lane road that is probably not a good idea!
#140 Relaxing at the park for a few minutes ALONE… which went a long way towards disappating the horrible mood I was in at the time.
#141 Watching my little boy’s excitement the night before Easter — he was literally jumping up and down when we set out decorated eggs and a basket in anticipation of the Bunny’s arrival
#142 An unexpected invitation to a friend’s house for an Easter egg hunt… watching Andrew have a blast with some friends and getting some chat time with the adults
#143 Encouragement at a time I was discouraged over a lack of progress
#144 Getting treated to wonderful service by a waitress when we were eating out tonight… she was incredibly sweet (and I have to admit that bad customer service is usually one of those “little things” that really gets to me… and it is all too common here!)
#145 Yummy homemade pretzels
#146 Daisies and roses blooming in my back yard
#147 A floor swept clean
#148 Warm clothes fresh from the dryer
#149 Wireless internet access
#150 Being able to celebrate Easter and a risen Christ!

What little and not so little things are you thankful for this week?

K is for Kneel

Last night my little boy shocked my husband by announcing that Easter was more fun than Christmas.  :)  (Christmas is a big deal at our house, and we love all of the traditions around it).   When asked why, he listed all of the “fun activities” about Easter.  The last few years we have spent Sunday morning attending a sunrise service near our house and watching that church’s teens put on a short play about Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Andrew loves it (and admittedly doesn’t have much experience with Nativity plays at Christmas).  For him, Easter means jellybeans (and one year an activity that incorporated jelly beans into Lent… which we didn’t do this year), egg hunts on beautiful spring days, and worship.

His comment got me thinking… I didn’t really grow up celebrating the religious aspects of Christmas OR Easter.  I’ve grown to love that side of both of them.  Easter is my favorite as well.  The message of Christmas is hope and God entering the world… and that is amazing.  But the message of Easter is that what began on Christmas has been completed.  Sin has been defeated, creation is being renewed, God’s redeeming work is finished (and yet somehow still working today).  Easter is a time of praise and rejoicing and happiness.

Easter is even more special because it is preceded by days of waiting… by the celebration of Good Friday… by commemorating the silence that was Saturday.  Last night we attended a Good Friday service.  We reflected on what the cross meant.  We reflected on Jesus’ name and his work.  He honored his taking on of sins even yet to come.  We knelt down (admittedly, that was figuratively and not literally) in honor of his sacrifice… and can’t wait to stand up in praise as we celebrate his resurrection on Sunday.

J is for Jellybeans

Jellybeans have been a big deal at my house lately.

At Christmas, Santa left my little boy a jellybean dispenser.  It immediately became his favorite Christmas present.  It has been out of jellybeans for a while now, but in honor of family coming in town last week we let him refill it to show it off to them.  Our local grocery store had an area where JellyBellys were sold in bulk from a dispenser, so he was in awe of being able to pick out any kind of jellybean he wanted in whatever amount he wanted (in theory, at least).

The other day we also did a bit of graphing and counting practice with jellybeans, based on a lesson we found online.  Learning is always more fun when it involves food, right?

The other day we also found Crazy Jelly Beans (from Starburst… which has the best jelly beans anyway).  We love them.  We may have to stock up to have some after Easter too.