I am reading this amazing book which i would recommend to everyone...

"With wit and wisdom, you are led on a journey of awakenings: first to God as you respond to His tender, passionate love for you; second to yourself as you embrace your identity as a woman, your gifts, and your dreams; and finally, to others as you learn to love and communicate in ways that bring joy and closeness. This heartwarming book is challenging and immensely practical--good to the last drop--good enough to change your life and help you touch the lives of others." Christian Book.com product decription.

One of the things i have done that has been helping me change my view of myself is to find something that i like about myself each day as i stand in front of the mirror. This task is more difficult than you may first think... but it is a challenge that has proved to be an enlightening experience for me as i realize i am very uncomfortable... and desire to only see the negative.

So...Today i like my feet.

Now...there is no way that this is my most vulnerable moment...
but i thought i would share my challenge with you...
and give you the same challenge...

Stand in front of the mirror.
and look at yourself... really look.
tell me what you like about you today.
and promise me you won't leave the mirror
until you find something you can like about you
today!

I pray your day will be full of truth, and life... You are wonderful!

Cara

Delight!

The delight in a child's simple joys... that is what i love.
Today is a day to celebrate life. it is a day of anticipation
and of cherishing moments.
unforgetable and forgetable ones.
What if we lived everyday with that passion... that delight...

today may be just a ordinary day...

but it is a day we have been given.

GIVEN....

yes
i will say it again. GIVEN!!!!

What will you do with your joy? Where will you find delight today?

What will you overcome and be filled with gratitude for?

Don't loose sight of the gift of TODAY.

Passion to Create

What a fun and frustrating week this past one was for me. I have been trying to come up with a brilliant ... wow them... project for my Advanced group to do this coming saturday. It all revolves around Paint... and how deeply committed I am to staying one step ahead of them!

Pride.
how funny that painting can simplify my greatest weakness.

I am trying to reduce the amount of things on my plate, and yet I fell into the trap of pridefully pursuing the painting perfection... that will pertain to their preferance for my teaching performance.

what a predicament.

oooh.. randy will love that.

anyway
i am now Painfully aware that i am going to have to present a more realistic and still good teaching, that will also reveal that I have tried all I have seen done with paint, and they can now just try it too. Which is just going to be fine.

I am glad to have the realization that I am not ever going to be a perfect proffessor, and that it is really ok that I am just me.

And the bleach came a tumblin' down!

There is nothing quite like the smell of a clean floor. I agree that is a satisfying fragrance... First off, you have used a cleaner which you not only know will work to remove grime, and dirt, but also have chosen one which you enjoy the smell of. Secondly, there is the satisfaction of knowing that a job which usually gets put off is now complete. Praise the Lord! A job well done.

Now... Doing a job such as this, should come at a time when you are available to do it well. Correct... but i suppose many of you have had similar experiences when you are not mopping a floor, for the sake of mopping, but instead you are dealing with a spill, or a mess of some sort.

Well today was one of those for us. A spill you might say, or more of a KaSploosh! We dropped a full jug of Javex bleach(for unbleachables) which was purchased yesterday, down the stairs... luckily laminate... and only carpeted sides. This was a mess like no other, as we used almost an entire papertowel roll to sop up half of it, and then a rag, and a mop for the rest. Followed by a good mop down with Mr.Clean. Who would have thought that a bleached floor would need a cleaner to cleanse it!

Why am i telling you this story? I don't know exactly... I just thought it was an interesting way to begin the Sunday morning, and because my husband is a pastor, he has plenty to do on a morning such as this. So it put him in quite a rush, and I am sure a touch of anxiety to enter into a worshipful day.

But isn't that just the way. When we are set ... purposefully moving into a time where God is leading us, we find that there seems to be an increase in distractions, stresses, and even disasters that will literally cause us to choose to change our course, or walk it with anxiety, or even to have the added distraction of bringing up the grief for everyone else to sit in with us.

I am greatful for the revelations that the Lord brings us in our daily lives. They don't have to be pillars of smoke, burning bushes, writings on the wall, or even the audible voice.... but when we desire after Him, He will speak, and reveal more than we could ever anticipate.

Today I was encouraged by the cleanness of my stairs, that was brought about by no pleasant circumstances, and by the peace that came over me as I served in this way. I was also encouraged that it is an every day.. no every moment decision that we have to make in order to maintain our focus on what matters, finding joy and delight walking through a trial, because our eyes are FIXED on the Maker, and the distractions are not going to be a distraction.

Shameless

Do I lack the intellegence to see that this is not my finest hour? No. I may be a bit to off to recognize that the world does not need to see this, but I am doing it anyway!

This photo is the essence of the silliness that dwells inside of me.

My friends and I gathered one night to have a girls night in the theme of Napoleon Dynamite. There is nothing short of hilarious bundled up in that idea. Many different ladies attended. and i am proud to say that I am surrounded by participant woman... unaffraid of getting giggled at.

it is a dynamic i am more impressed with than anything. What a fun night we had. pretty much everyone dressed up, and we watched the movie together, and enjoyed tots and talked about dang quesadillas... we even had a blindfolded volunteer spun around and squirt ketchup on a dangling tator tot... while two other volunteers knelt to try to eat it without their hands.

so funny!
and so amazing to have such silliness not just in me, but around me.
i love it!

This picture to me declared a secure side of me that I should be embarrased to show!

hee hee