tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63261179511004089472024-03-14T02:44:10.660-07:00life, love, & the pursuit of godlinessAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-55890338016123315342014-07-04T12:25:00.000-07:002014-07-04T12:25:30.610-07:00When The Leaves Begin To Change Preview<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">ELLIE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I fell the first time I saw him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Literally, I fell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I had just started my morning shift at the
Blotz Bakery, the kind of place where you left three pounds heavier and with
the distinct smell of reused, three day old grease in your hair after visiting.
It was a hot, muggy sort of day, where the menus stuck to your hands and the
glasses left thick, sticky rings of residue on the table, where no matter how
hard you scrubbed, your next customer was sure to know they weren’t your first
by the sludge that stuck to their arm hairs. I grumbled. Days like this made it
hard to please the uptight owner. Behind her back the employees liked to joke
that she was like a pop goes the weasel toy. We could see her winding and
winding tighter, the anticipation growing, until one day, we presumed, she
finally would explode from her cage and pop up and scare us all half to death
with her crazy facial expressions and sudden, startling appearance. I had to
admit I enjoyed picturing the image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The second booth on the right was filled
with teenage boys, about my age, maybe 14 or 15. I could see some of their eyes
looking my direction, scanning my frame from twenty feet away, nudging each
other and pointing. It gave me the willies. I searched around the diner,
desperately looking for a spilled plate of eggs and ham, or an empty coffee cup
that just had to be refilled, or for a pair of eyes who could see my
predicament and would rescue me from what was sure to be the most degrading
moment of my life. Or so I thought. How little I truly did know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I retrieved the pencil I had hastily stuck
behind my left ear in between orders, and approached the booth. “What can I get
you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">boys</i>?” I inquired, special
emphasis on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">boys,</i> as to imply I
was somehow above them, though we were around the same age, since it was clear
already that my emotional capacity far exceeded theirs in terms of maturity. There
were four males sitting in the booth, two on each side, split into teams of
hair color it appeared. Blondes were on the left, brunettes on the right.
Though one boy’s hair was more a jet black, if I was being fair. I only noticed
because he was the best looking one of them all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The bulky, uncomfortably overweight one
spoke first, a blonde, his stomach rolls gutted by the apparently too small
booth. “I’ll take two of today’s specials,” he said, creepily winking at me. “The
double bacon with the ham on the side?” I confirmed, writing it into my
half-used, grease spotted notepad. “Actually,” he snickered, an eight-year-old
waiting on an unsuspecting victim to sit on his carefully planted whoopee cushion;
“I’d like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> on the side instead.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My eyes slowly traced up the length of
where my fingers were writing, and finally, carefully, met his. They were hungrily
round, obstinately big, lustful in an inexperienced, childlike way. A little
boy wanting a toy he wasn’t old enough to play with. The other blonde, a tall,
gangly thing with more teeth missing than a child awaiting the tooth fairy,
chimed in awkwardly, mouth gaping, elbows ribbing his friend, “Don’t you know
what she is?” What I<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> am</i>? He pointed
to my face, openly, defiantly, for the entire diner and the entire world as far
as I could tell, to see. “Look at her face. Look at her nose! She’s a dirty
Jew, can’t you tell? You don’t want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i>.”
That was the first time I felt the jab of racism, that solemn, foreboding
moment inside a small, greasy diner where I was on the third week of my first
job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I felt my mouth gape open, felt the air
coming through my lungs and up my throat, before finally getting caught in my
teeth, to die only moments before escaping. I stood there gawking, my pencil
still perched mid-sentence, an animal caught in the glare of headlights. The
rotund, blonde boy realized his gangly friend was right. He spit at me.
Actually spit. It hit on the left corner of my hand, the perched one still
mid-order, and began to drip onto my notepad, now mixing with the grease, the
less disgusting of the two sticky substances. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Get out of here,” he said, the hate from
his heart creeping out of his mouth, almost making him shake with defiance. I
stood still, eyes locked with his, sure that the sticky floor was what now held
me in place, and not my own fear. He leaned across the booth, his girth falling
freely on its surface, and came closer to my face. “I won’t be served by a
worthless <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JEW</i>!” he exhorted, now
loudly enough for the entire diner to turn. My eyes finally snapped from the
angry boy’s to those around me. Faces of confusion. Faces of arrogance. Faces
of indifference. Only one face in the entire diner had the traces of compassion
on it, from bright colored blue eyes peaking out from under stick straight, jet-black
hair, smoothed down with a comb he kept in his back right pocket so he could
touch it up every ten minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The notepad fell from my
hand then, the grease stains staying, the spit residue trailing out onto the
already disgusting diner floor, one, I’m sure, the fat boy thought was better
than me. The door was only a few steps away and I lunged for it, a gazelle
leaping from a lion, only to be tripped up by my own feet before I barely
moved. I fell face-first into the warm spit, and despite my willpower, despite
the crowd, despite the shame pulsing in my veins, I sat on the unwashed floor
of the loud, busy diner, dishes clanking, people talking, registers ringing, a
young girl crying. </span><!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-9766157845885516352014-06-08T14:02:00.001-07:002014-06-08T14:02:07.164-07:00Bible Thoughts: Showing Perfect CourtesyTitus 3:2. I keep coming back to it. Why? Because I need it, pretty much <i>every</i> day.<br />
<br />
"To speak evil of <i>no one</i>, to <i>avoid</i> quarreling, to be<i> gentle,</i> and to show<i> perfect courtesy</i> toward <i>all </i>people." (Titus 3:2 ESV)<br />
<br />
Whew. That's <u>not</u> easy to do!<br />
<br />
I love this verse, because it reminds me to not <i>react.</i> Sometimes (and I hate to admit this) I am quick to get very angry. Quick to want to backbite, or "show up" someone who has wronged me or said something hateful, especially those who do it without reason or provocation. On a daily basis, I deal with people who are just flat out rude, without reason, just because, no matter how nice I may be or how sweetly I may speak.<br />
<br />
So, I train myself. I practice self-control. I do my best not to react, but instead to <i>purpose. </i>What does that mean? To me, it means a few things:<br />
<br />
1. <u> <b>I read </b>before I speak</u>. <i>Huh?</i> I know, lol. Sounds confusing. But it means, every morning, before I am faced with the world's not so friendly, I read the Word of God. I read how I am not to complain, how I am to be a light, how I am to practice self-control, how I am to be like Jesus. And Jesus knew a lot more about being mistreated than I ever will, that's for sure.<br />
<br />
2. <u><b>I write</b> before I speak.</u> Most people don't write their prayers, they say them aloud or in their mind, but I write mine. Is this any real surprise? Everything I do is writing related and my heart comes out through my fingers much more often than it does my mouth. It's just who I am. So after I fill my mind with things that help me to be who I should, I write. I write my prayers to God and pray for strength and humility and the desire to be like Him. I write for the things I need so much, because without God and His loving principles guiding me, I am not who I should be.<br />
<br />
3. <u><b>I reflect</b> before I speak.</u> This one takes me back so often to Titus 3:2 and other Scriptures. It's also that little reminder inside me to be like the Lord. That tugging saying, <i>Do what is right, not what is reflexive. </i>Because let me tell you, my natural reflex is <b>not</b> to speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, and show that perfect (perfect!) courtesy toward all people. Because some people are just so mean it will just about make me cry or blow my top from anger. But then, in those moments, I try to reflect. I try to be more like Jesus and less like Emily.<br />
<br />
So, how can we live Titus 3:2 in our daily lives? How can we learn to focus on this perfect courtesy, this amazing self-control, this unthinkable bridling of our tongues? For me, it begins with reading, writing, and reflecting...all <i>before</i> I open my mouth.<br />
<br />
May the Lord bless us all with reflective, humble, loving hearts each day, and spirits that show perfect courtesy towards others, especially when they deserve it least.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-73740608611585344382014-04-28T13:25:00.002-07:002014-05-10T14:54:31.419-07:00When The Leaves Begin To Change Preview<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JACKSON</span></u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first time I ever held a loaded gun I was six years old. My father, a bulky man in a tight wool shirt that showed he had muscles to spare, put it in my shaking hands on his eighth annual hunting trip, pointed to a proud elk, and with no practice or instruction, simply told me to shoot. "I can't," I cried, a young boy with a heart unscarred by the world. "I don't want him to hurt," I whimpered, my head drooping low, ashamed of myself, knowing he was ashamed of me. My father's dark eyes seemed darker in that moment, now a piercing, brooding black.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Jack-son,”
he seethed between gritted teeth, my one name suddenly sounding like
two. He pushed me roughly to the side and jerked the gun from my
clumsy hands, not seeing the need to handle it with care, not
thinking how easily it could go off and kill his only son. I watched
it swing madly through the air as he caught his footing, a real
accomplishment considering the empty flask in his jacket pocket.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “You
never think,” he said, straightening his arm, extending it, turning
off the safety, pulling hard on the trigger. The sound went off like
a gunshot in the night, abruptly shaking me to my core. The elk lost
step and began to trip over itself, the right foot flailing behind
the left until he hit the ground. The blood fell freely from the
bullet hole, one that had hit him right between the eyes. My father
grunted, and I smelled the bourbon. “You just shoot.” </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-82279127282883238192014-04-08T13:47:00.005-07:002014-04-09T07:08:39.620-07:00The Power Of A HabitHave you ever considered the power of a <i>habit</i>?<br />
<br />
I have. I am a very habit-driven type of person (whether that be for the good or the bad) and always have been. This year, I have been working on kicking two of my most terrible/gross habits: 1) chewing ice (like I am in Antarctica and thirsting for my life) and 2) biting my nails/around my nails out of stress, anxiety, boredom, <i>habit,</i> whatever. Now, mind you, I've been doing both these gross things since I was like, literally six years old probably. Pretty hard to break a habit after <i>twenty years. </i>But I'm working on it. I definitely have failed, but I'm currently on a no-ice streak that has been very exciting for the last week or so. Isn't it sad I get my excitement from breaking weird, awkward habits? :) I know.<br />
<br />
But I've also been working on developing some good habits. Since Feb 10th this year, I haven't missed one day of doing my daily devotional time of Bible study and prayer. I've read straight through from Galatians-Jude and also the book of Proverbs so far. Every day, I read at least one chapter of a non-fiction book (I just finished <i>Quitter</i> by Jon Acuff today, which I weirdly only started two days ago). I also read at least one chapter of a fiction book, currently <i>The Counte of Monte Cristo </i>by Alexander Dumas. And I will be on it for a while, since it's over 600 pages, making it officially the longest book I have ever read.<br />
<br />
I also have been trying to dedicate (a small or large, depending on the day) amount of time to working on a book. I've written a little more of <i>When The Leaves Begin To Change,</i> my book on the Holocaust, as well as finishing up <i>When The Church Forgets To Blush,</i> my first ever women's devotional book (which my amazing bff Emily Hatfield just finished editing for me!). I even started another women's devotional book called <i>Always Be Ready: A Pocket Sized Guide To Biblical Answers </i>which I hope to have out in the next few months! Lastly, I've made it a point to use my balance ball and either Bowflex or walk on my treadmill everyday.<br />
<br />
What, you may wonder, am I striving to accomplish exactly? <i>Growth in positive areas.</i><br />
<br />
<i></i>So here's an overview of what has happened for me in the few months I've been trying to grow positively in my habits and let go of negative habits:<br />
<br />
-Since January, I have really grown spiritually. I used to have to force myself to sit down and read the Bible or to pray, not because I didn't want to, but because I let myself get too busy. Or sometimes just because Netflix had a new season up if I'm being honest. Now, I <i>look forward</i> to it. I <i>think of it </i>when I first wake up. I get <i>excited</i> about what I am going to learn and how God is going to mold me and make my heart more like His own. It's exciting and I <i>desire</i> it. When I first began, I prayed God would increase my desire for this daily time with Him, and He truly answered that prayer. As mentioned earlier, I've also read through nineteen books of the Bible fully so far, just by reading one chapter a day mostly (though sometimes I get carried away) :)<br />
<br />
-I've read TWELVE books this year so far! Now, some of them weren't super big, but I am very, very slow reader (I like to absorb) :) so that is huge for me. They were:<br />
<br />
1. Who Moved My Cheese?<br />
2. 48 Days To The Work You Love<br />
3. His Needs, Her Needs<br />
4. Love & Respect<br />
5. QBQ<br />
6. The Lovely Bones<br />
7. How To Be Lovely<br />
8. Skipping Christmas<br />
9. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<br />
10. Quitter<br />
11. The Count of Monte Cristo (still working on finishing this one)<br />
12. Rhinoceros Success<br />
<br />
I definitely didn't read 12 books last year. I don't even know that I read two or three! Small power of a one chapter a day (sometimes more) daily habit. I've learned so much and changed my outlook in so many ways. And definitely have spent less time watching mindless t.v. shows and more time bettering myself and my thought process.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
-I also have more energy and strength and some new muscles since I began working out :) I may even be down a few pounds. Only a few minutes a day makes a big difference. I mostly love the feeling of accomplishment and how stretching on the balance ball makes my lower back pain basically nonexistent. Win!</div>
<br />
-I've always loved writing and always will, but it's been so nice to <i>daily</i> try to devote some time to my passion. It's helped me to stay more plugged in creatively and feel more accomplished and excited about what I have coming up. I love how alive it makes me feel!<br />
<br />
This post is mostly me rambling about my daily habits, I get that. So what is the point? Well, it is summed up so well in this quote I read recently:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">“Your beliefs become your thoughts,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your thoughts become your words,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Your words become your actions,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Your actions become your habits,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Your habits become your values</i>,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your values become your destiny.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-Mahatma Gandhi</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To end, I want to tell the story that even made me really reflect on the power of a habit the other night...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was watching Forensic Files, which is basically where a murder is solved using forensic technology, but rather than bore you with talk of luminol or serology, I'll get to the point. On one episode, a man was tragically and brutally murdered, literally hit with an ax sixteen times. What made this so interesting was what happened next. Several areas of his brain had been penetrated and irreproachably damaged, and understandably so, considering what he had just suffered. Despite this, the one part of the brain that hadn't been damaged was the part controlling his daily habits.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">So, unbelievably, I watched as the story described what happened next. This man, unaware of his wounds and what had happened, acting on habit alone, <i>literally got up, put on a sweater, walked down the stairs, made breakfast (and I'm talking eggs and bacon!), walked outside and got the paper, accidentally closed and locked the door behind him, and rummaged around for the hidden key and unlocked the door again. </i>Is your mouth hanging open yet? If not, you might want to reread what you just read. This man, who was hit with an axe, mostly in his brain, SIXTEEN TIMES, got up and did everything he did every single morning. He had even begun to pack a lunch to take to work with him! After he walked back inside the door, he fell down in the foyer and sadly, finally passed away.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><b>Talk about the power of a habit!</b></u></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today, and each day, choose wisely. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Invest in growth in a positive way. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Remember the power of a habit. </i></span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-78879265710806183612014-03-28T19:26:00.001-07:002014-03-28T19:29:17.269-07:008 Character Traits Of A Beautiful Wife<br />
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1. <u>Agreeable</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 19:13</strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A foolish son is ruin to his father, and</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">a wife’s quarreling is</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">a continual dripping of rain.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 21:9 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It is</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 21:19 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It is</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2. <u>Faithful & Trustworthy</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 Timothy 3:11 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">3. <u>Gracious & Honorable</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 11:16 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A gracious woman gets honor, and</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">violent men get riches.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">4. <u>Helpful</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Genesis 2:18, 22-24 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone;</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I will make him a helper fit for</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">him.” … </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">5. <u>Kindhearted & Generous</u></strong></span><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 31:20-21 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">She</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">opens her hand to</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">scarlet.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 31:26 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">6. <u>Submissive & Respectful</u></span></strong></span></h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 Corinthians 11:3 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Ephesians 5:22-23, 33 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Wives,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">submit to your own husbands,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">as to the Lord.</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">For</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">the husband is the head of the wife even as</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">himself its Savior… However,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">respects her husband.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></em></strong></span></div>
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<em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Colossians 3:18 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Wives, submit to your husbands, as</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">is fitting in the Lord.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Titus 2:2-5 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">not slanderers</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">to be self-controlled,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">pure,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">working at home, kind, and</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">submissive to their own husbands,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">that the word of God may not be reviled.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 Peter 3:1-2 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Likewise, wives,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">be subject to your own husbands, so that</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">even if some do not obey the word,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">when they see your</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">respectful and pure conduct.</em><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </strong></span></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">7. <u>Wise</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 14:1 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The wisest of women</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">builds her house, but folly with her own hands</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">tears it down.</em></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">8. <u>Excellent</u></strong><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u> </u></strong></span></span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Proverbs 31:10 </strong><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than</em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </em><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">jewels.</em></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These are the wonderful characteristics every Christian woman should strive to have. I didn't write this article (I ran across it online), but I certainly agree with it!</span></span></h2>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-71268483863172997712014-03-04T16:23:00.001-08:002014-03-05T06:47:34.523-08:00Too Busy To Not Slow DownHave you ever heard the phrase, "I'm too busy to slow down!" Maybe even said it yourself?<br />
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Yeah. Me too!<br />
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I want to suggest to you that almost always, we are too busy to <b>NOT</b> slow down. What are some of the first things that may go to the wayside when we are busy? Could it be some of the most important? I definitely think so.<br />
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<b>If you want to know if you are busier than the Lord ever intended you to be, ask yourself if either your words or your choices convey the following: </b><br />
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1) I am too busy <b>to slow down, read my Bible, and pray.</b><br />
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2) I am too busy <b>to spend real, quality time with the ones I love. </b><br />
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3) I am too busy <b>to be continually involved in some form of self-improvement every day.</b><br />
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4) I am too busy <b>to be getting the exercise, nutrition, rest, and relaxation that I need.</b><br />
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5) I am too busy <b>to be thinking more highly of others than I do myself. </b><br />
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6) I am too busy <b>to be pursuing my dreams in life. </b><br />
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7) I am too busy <b>to be living with joy and optimism. </b><br />
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8) I am too busy <b>to take the time to cultivate friendships. </b><br />
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9) I am too busy <b>to speak graciously, kindly, and with thought. </b><br />
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10) I am too busy <b>to serve the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength, and might. </b><br />
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Truly, we are often<b> too busy to NOT slow down</b>. Try to revamp your life, words, and actions so that you can say the following: </div>
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1) I am too busy to <b>NOT slow down and read my Bible and pray.</b></div>
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2) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>spend real, quality time with the ones I love.</b></div>
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3) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>be continually involved in some form of self-improvement every day.</b></div>
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4) I am too busy to<b> NOT</b> <b>be getting the exercise, nutrition, rest, and relaxation that I need.</b></div>
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5) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>be thinking more highly of others than I do myself.</b></div>
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6) I am too busy to <b>NOT be pursuing my dreams in life.</b></div>
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7) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>be living with joy and optimism.</b></div>
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8) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>take the time to cultivate my friendships. </b></div>
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9) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>speak graciously, kindly, and with thought. </b></div>
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10) I am too busy to <b>NOT</b> <b>serve the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength, and might. </b></div>
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<b>Today, are you too busy?</b></div>
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<b>SLOW DOWN. </b></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-33869513675710712362014-02-11T15:20:00.001-08:002014-02-19T20:50:03.297-08:00Bible Thoughts: The Secret Of LivingHave you ever tried to live more than one day at a time?<br />
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I know, this seems like such a silly question. But I challenge you to really consider the concept. Now obviously, one cannot <i>physically </i>live beyond the day they are in, but many times (for me many, many times!) haven't we allowed our minds to <i>emotionally or mentally </i>live more than one day at a time?<br />
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Maybe you are living in the past, looking back in regret at days you can never change. Maybe you are looking into the future, looking forward to things you imagine will happen, such as children, promotions, a bigger house, or a better paycheck. Maybe you just look slightly forward, to tomorrow and the heavy burden of responsibilities you may bear.<br />
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Obviously, there is some benefit in looking <i>ahead</i>, so one can be prepared. We cannot live as if there is <i>only today. </i>It bugs me when people say, "Live today as if it were your last!" I get the concept, I really do. But let's be real. If today is my last day, I'm definitely not going into work. Neither is my hubby. I may even eat whatever I want because, well, it's my last day. But guess what. That leads to us both being fired and unhealthy. Clearly not a good choice.<br />
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Additionally, there is some benefit to looking <i>behind, </i>because our experiences from the past teach us and mold us, and if we handle them in the right way, benefit us in our future. But what happens if we spend all our time looking behind? We miss opportunities. We don't invest in friendships or relationships in the now, because our thoughts are on the then. We lose sight of what is to come because we can't take our eyes off of what's already been.<br />
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So how are we to live? Let's look at Matthew 6:25-34, one of my very FAVORITE passages in the Bible:<br />
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"Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?</div>
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Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?</div>
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Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.</div>
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Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the days is its own trouble."</div>
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I've been learning a lot from this passage and my reflection on it lately. What is it telling us?<br />
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1. <b>Trust God!</b></div>
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He knows your needs and will provide your needs (such as food, clothing, shelter, etc). Just look at nature and how He provides, and realize how much more valuable and worthy you are as His children. Is He going to care for the birds and not His own children?</div>
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2. <b>Stop worrying and being anxious!</b></div>
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Where do worry, anxiety, and fear truly come from? A dependency on self and not on the Lord. When we truly do begin to trust in God, worrying and anxiety stop. What is there to worry about?</div>
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3. <b><i>Learn</i> from yesterday, <i>look forward</i> to tomorrow, but <i>live for today.</i></b></div>
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<i>The secret of living is to do it each day.</i> When you actively focus in on the moment, the day, solving only its problems, doesn't life become beautifully simple? Wearing clothes? Good. No need to worry about tomorrow, because you are living in <i>today.</i> Have a full belly? Great. No need to worry about being hungry, because your need has already been met. Enjoying a warm and cozy place to stay? Give thanks, instead of worrying about how you will pay for your mortgage later in the month.</div>
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Why do I share these things? Because they have helped me. I'm the world's BIGGEST planner (long term goals, intermediate goals, short term goals, daily goals kind of person!) and when things don't fit "my" expectations or plans, I sometimes tend to get a little (or a lot) <i>stressed. </i>I may begin to <i>worry... a lot. </i>I may start to <i>doubt God</i> and <i>trust in myself. </i>Not only are these things generally detrimental, let's not forget what is worse than that: they are <i>sinful!</i><br />
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So, since the beginning of this year, I have made a concerted effort to do better. To NOT worry. To TRUST God. To LIVE today. Really live. And let me tell you, it has been amazingly freeing!<br />
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I spend a lot more time in prayer and Bible study. I still have lists and goals, but I focus on what I need to accomplish TODAY and today only while it is still today. I can look at my list for tomorrow TOMORROW, when it becomes the new today. I encourage you if you struggle with enjoying the moment and truly living for today to put these principles into action in your life. I hope you will be blessed in the way that I have been!<br />
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"I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly." -John 10:10 ESV<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-17000085627372454162014-01-11T13:25:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:08:52.404-08:00The Best Way To Organize A Massive Photo Library Have you ever tried to organize a LOT and I mean a LOT (100,000+) photos, videos, and other media? I have! If you are like most people, you tend to get overwhelmed when it gets over 10,000 or so. So imagine how overwhelming 500,000 photos would be. YES, 500,000. A half a <i>million. </i>That's how many I had when I started! How did this happen? Let me tell you.<br />
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I had a mother who took a lot of baby pictures. I grew up an amateur photographer. I took thousands of pictures when I was dating and engaged to my husband. You can imagine how many wedding photos we had. I also had two old computers (PCs!) that had broken years ago that I transferred all the old info from the hard drives onto my new computer. Then of course there is social media--photos your friends took of you, videos, etc. All those had to be brought in. To top it off, I went paperless. I scanned in all my old cards, paper momentos, photos, tax stubs, receipts, and much more. Did I mention I'm a writer for a living? Even more paper. So yeah, it definitely got out of control. And therefore, since I am the MOST organized person I have ever met, it started to drive me crazy. I wanted to get it under control.<br />
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<i>Part One: Finding The Right Fit</i><br />
<i>So,</i> I tried to use Iphoto to get my mess under control. Multiple times. Multiple libraries. Attempt after attempt after attempt. What was the problem? Well, one, it kept crashing (grr). Two, I'd often import like 200,000 photos and a TON of them wouldn't import correctly. So I'm left wondering which of my 50,000 non imported photos out of the 200,000 it was that didn't go through. WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT? I know I didn't! Thirdly, I needed to organize the hard drive (everything was on an external) and I really didn't have time to work on sorting 500,000 photos...especially TWICE...and the hard drive would have to be by hand. <i>No. </i><br />
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I tried everything. I searched, and searched, and searched. I tried Picassa for Mac. Better than Iphoto, but still not what I needed. Tried Photoshop Elements 11. Eh. Kept trying program after program after program. AND THEN I FOUND IT. *Insert dramatic drum roll here*<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">*LYN*</span></u></b></h2>
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To give you the long story short, here is why I used it and all the features that made so much more sense to me than any other program.</div>
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1) It crashes a LOT less. And who doesn't love that? Also, unlike Picassa, when it does crash, it SAVES what you have done. No frustration of doing the same thing twice here. My mac (though beloved) is old and doesn't do well with big programs and it handles Lyn better than ANY of the aforementioned!</div>
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2) It is FREE for a 15 day trial. Which, by the way, was all I needed to get the work done once I finally got an AMAZING program to aide me! And, by the way, if you don't finish, it only cost $20, which is less than eating like one meal out, and it is TOTALLY worth every. single. penny. Oh, and the program takes about five seconds to download and doesn't take up much hard drive space. Even more of a win. </div>
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3) There is no uploading!!!! NONE. Unlike Iphoto, where I have to get everything to transfer over and it won't ever do it correctly (and it takes FOREVER!), I just plug in my hard drive, and boom, there it is. In Lyn. Ready to sort. All my photos. No waiting, nothing not transferring over correctly, just perfect and ready to sort. </div>
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4) It is super quick. When you move something, it pretty much shows it right then or within a few seconds. No major lags and it has a nice refresh button you can push if you need to, but I hardly ever did. </div>
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5) THIS IS THE BEST PART. It saves you from doing the work multiple times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have ALL of my stuff on hard drives and I just think that is smart with the way computers crash these days. I'd rather be protected than sorry and I never miss having it on my desktop, because my comp runs faster as is. So basically, say I move a photo from a "photos to sort" folder to a "childhood" folder in the Lyn program. Instantly, it moves the photo into that folder in Lyn and more importantly, on my harddrive. So instead of having to organize in Iphoto, THEN organize a hard drive all over again (how irritating!!) I just do the work once and viola, everything is perfectly organized.</div>
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<i>Part Two: Proper Duplicate Removal</i></div>
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It's safe to say that MOST of my ridiculous amount of photos came from duplicates. From multiple iphoto libraries, to pics I had on my computer and facebook, etc, there were TONS AND TONS AND TONS of duplicates. I tried several duplicate removers. SEVERAL. Some were Iphoto Library Cleaner (hated), PhotoSweeper (eh), Chipmunk (liked it, but confusing layout!), Gemini ($10, good job, but slow and misses some), Photos Duplicate Cleaner (free on the mac store and awesome, but again, misses some), and finally, the glorious UNIK. Never heard of it, randomly discovered it on the app store for $1.99 and oh, how I wish I had found it and spent that $1.99 ages ago!!!! Would've saved me so much frustration. It is THOROUGH, finds EXACT duplicates, and does it quickly. It shows you side by side photo comparison so you see what you are deleting. Items go to your mac trash so you can always retrieve them if you change your mind. Also, you can set it to find duplicates in grayscale, flipped vertically or horizontally, or even what percentage you want the photos to be alike. Ex:100% gives you exact duplicates, 98% gives you almost exact duplicates. It is SO easy and user friendly and most importantly, effective!! As far as serious duplicate cleaners go, I am convinced Unik is the only way to go!</div>
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<i>Part Three: Ultimate Photo Organization</i></div>
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I'm pretty sure I tried every kind of photo organization there is during this process, trying to find that perfect one. Where it would be super easy to find things. People say use dates. On one hand, that makes sense, but on the other, some things don't have a date. Like haircut example photos! So I created my own system, on my hard drive, using Lyn. And trust me, with a LARGE amount of photos, this is the ONLY way I have found to have them truly organized and yet super easily accessible when you need them. It may sound hard, but it is actually VERY simple. </div>
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1) Start with dated folders with parentheses describing the time period. My husband and I love to move and have adventures, so your folders might be way fewer than mine! Here are my MAIN categories in order of date:</div>
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Head Folder: <b>Photo Organization</b></div>
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Main Folders: </div>
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<b>1987-2005 (Childhood-Growing Up)</b></div>
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<b>2006 (College)</b></div>
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<b>2007 (Dating, KJ at Memphis)</b></div>
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<b>2008 (Engagement, Wedding, Memphis Apartment)</b></div>
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<b>2009-2010 (South Carolina)</b></div>
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<b>2011 (Colorado)</b></div>
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<b>2012 (Kentucky/TN)</b></div>
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<b>2013 (Tennessee)</b></div>
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<b>2014 (Tennessee)</b></div>
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<b>Dateless (Various)</b></div>
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So basically I sorted by years in a way that made sense to me. The detailed descriptions were key for me, because sometimes when you are sorting a bunch you may think "oh, we took that in Denver", not "that was 2011" so it makes it simpler for the sorter. Plus, I just like to remember where I was during that time in my life. You can't put every little thing that happened here, but you can hit the high points. Originally, I was ONLY going to sort by major folder. But, I like to have a differentiation between my actual childhood/baby photos and the ones when I was in high school. So, I decided on subfolders (and LOVE them). Once you have things sorted into MAJOR folders, subfolders don't take long at all, especially if you have them dated correctly and use Lyn's nifty little "sort by date" option. </div>
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After main folders are completed, begin subfolders (main folders are by date, subfolders are alphabetized). Below are mine. Obviously yours will be different, because you have different life events and locations than I do. But for example, here they are.</div>
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<b>1987-2005 (Childhood-Growing Up)</b></div>
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Em-Childhood</div>
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Em-Elementary-High School</div>
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KJ-Childhood-High School (He had a lot less pics than me, so only one folder here)</div>
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Mandy's Wedding</div>
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<b>2006 (College)</b></div>
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Alisha's Wedding</div>
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FHU Campus (pictures I took ON my college campus)</div>
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Makin' Music</div>
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Off Campus (pictures I took anywhere BUT my college campus)</div>
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Student Ministry (pictures I took at home relating to church group)</div>
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<b>2007 (Dating, Kj at Memphis)</b></div>
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Dating</div>
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KJ-MSOP</div>
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<b>2008 (Engagement, Wedding, Memphis Apartment)</b></div>
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Engagement</div>
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Honeymoon</div>
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Memphis Apartment</div>
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Wedding</div>
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<b>2009-2010 (South Carolina)</b></div>
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Angel Oak Tree</div>
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Anniversary Trip- 1st</div>
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Boone Hall Plantation</div>
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Cypress Gardens</div>
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Daddy's Celebration of Life </div>
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Exploring Charleston</div>
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Folly Beach</div>
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GC & WA Apartments </div>
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Holidays 2009 & 2010</div>
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Isle of Palms- Dear John </div>
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Living Life</div>
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Martin's Point Plantation</div>
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Nanny Job</div>
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North Charleston C of C</div>
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Notebook Filming Locations</div>
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West Virginia Visit</div>
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Windsor Club Apartment</div>
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<b>2011 (Colorado)</b></div>
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Anniversary Trip- 2nd</div>
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Anniversary Trip- 3rd</div>
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BVBID </div>
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Columbine</div>
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Dinosaur Ridge</div>
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Galveston Trip</div>
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Holidays 2011</div>
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Living Life</div>
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Manitou Springs</div>
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Moving Trip</div>
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Ogden Trip</div>
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<b>2012 (Kentucky/TN)</b></div>
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Anniversary Trip- 4th</div>
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Holidays 2012</div>
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Living Life</div>
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Michigan Mission Trip</div>
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New Concord House</div>
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<b>2013 (Tennessee)</b></div>
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Anniversary Trip- 5th</div>
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Book Signing</div>
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Bruce (car nickname!)</div>
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Holidays 2013</div>
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Johnny (truck nickname!)</div>
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Living Life</div>
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Missouri Visit</div>
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Nanny Jobs</div>
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Organizational Overhaul (pics of my organizing this year, I did a LOT!)</div>
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<b>2014 (Tennessee)</b></div>
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Anniversary Trip- 6th (yet to come)</div>
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Holidays 2014 (yet to come)</div>
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Living Life (barely started)</div>
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Nanny Files </div>
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<b>Dateless (Various)</b></div>
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Backgrounds</div>
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Biblical</div>
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Flowers</div>
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Haircuts</div>
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Hilarity (funny stuff)</div>
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Icons</div>
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Momentos</div>
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Organization</div>
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Photography</div>
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Tax Stubs</div>
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Trucks</div>
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Used To Own (pics of stuff we have now sold)</div>
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Videos</div>
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Web Related (pics used on my website etc)</div>
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Writing Related (author pics, book covers, etc)</div>
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<i>Part Four: Bask In The Glory</i></div>
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All this felt seriously tedious when I was working on it. BUT, now that I have completed it I feel so accomplished. I've deleted all my duplicates, organized my hard drive completely (including non photo items under General Organization (tip: my major categories are 1987-2012 Archived Files, 2013- Present Files, Imovie Library, Itunes Library), and have an organized Mac photo program to show for it. Anytime I need to find any pic or scanned document for any reason, I know where to go. It really is awesome. And pretty much necessary. Why take lots of amazing pics if you can't even find them to look at them when you want? I know lots of people use Facebook or an online system, and it's doubtful they would go down and lose all your photos... but what if they did? Not for me. I also have a folder on a separate hard drive that has all those pics, including duplicates (just in case one of those duplicate programs had deleted photos that weren't actually duplicates, it does happen). You should always have a huge backup, unedited, just in case. I'd rather have one messy folder on a hard drive I don't use than to lose all my pics I love. It's there just in case. </div>
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But I have the <i>blissfully organized</i> one for my everyday use.</div>
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Why write this ridiculously long blog? In hopes it will help you. I looked, and looked, and looked and read article after article and couldn't find one that told me what I needed. This is not for people with 5,000 pics (though it would work for that too). This is for the serious picture takers who want to organize with style and ease. Thanks for reading and feel free to share if it helped you. Enjoy!! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-74900823545699245212013-11-12T10:13:00.001-08:002014-01-26T14:07:48.057-08:00Bible Thoughts: Even Barnabas! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While doing my Bible study today, I was reading in Galatians and came across Galatians 2:13 (emphasis mine): "And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with them, so that <i>even Barnabas</i> was led astray by their hypocrisy." <i>Even Barnabas. </i><br />
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Now obviously, this verse is in the context of a much larger passage, but I really want to focus in on what I took from this one verse. I love the Bible, and I love the translation I use (the ESV) as well. That imagery is so powerful to me, <i>even Barnabas. </i>What's the big deal or application here, you may be wondering? Really, it's the <i>even.</i><br />
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I love Barnabas. He is one of my all time favorite people in the Bible, probably because I relate to him so much. He was called Barnabas (the son of encouragement) because to him (and likewise to me) encouragement came extremely naturally. He was always spreading good to those around him and lifting the spirits of everyone he knew. He was a dedicated follower of Christ and one who used his talents to serve God completely. Clearly, an amazing and godly man.<br />
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But here in this passage, we see him fall into the trap of hypocrisy. That is one of the things about the Bible: it doesn't sugar coat the facts...the people are not without sin, and clearly it is inspired because anyone trying to create "perfect" characters surely wouldn't expose such fleshly flaws in some of the heros of the story. But here he is, amazing Barnabas, falling into the trap. And yet you see that word I love so much here... <i>even.</i><br />
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What does that word, <i>even</i>, imply in its context? To me, it clearly says a few things: it was not something normal of or expected from Barnabas; it was a surprise. Why? Because it was outside of his normal character. What a compliment from the inspired Word of God! To say that to do something immoral, to follow an ungodly crowd, to stray from what was right was <i>outside</i> his normal realm of integrity.<br />
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Now, don't misunderstand. I certainly am not saying he did <i>well</i> by falling into that trap of hypocrisy or sinning. I am commending his overall character, that was so high that the "even" before Barnabas was necessary. I love how we can all apply this to our lives as well... if the Bible were written about my character today, would that "even" be needed? Would it be needed to describe your character?<br />
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May we all learn from Barnabas and his great character, and strive to be more like him every day, and ultimately, more like Jesus.<br />
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P.s. To my readers, thanks so much for sticking with me. I don't blog as often as I'd like, but I am going to try and do at least one post a month minimum from now on! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-34909538340698605532013-06-08T12:46:00.002-07:002014-01-26T14:07:43.759-08:00The Pearls<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Rough draft of a passage from When The Leaves Begin To Change, my Holocaust novel I am working on slowly...</div>
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“We must not remember them for the way they died. Naked and
broken, filled with lice and poverty and emptiness, their faces hollowed out
and their eyes gazing into an empty world they can no longer see.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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My father and I sat on the hard splintered planks of our
wooden bunk, which we now shared with eight other people. We looked at the wise
old man as he spoke, the wrinkled eyes, his slightly gapped teeth, wanting intensely
to believe it was true.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“That is not who they were,” he continued, turning his head
to look among the different groups of people in the room as he spoke. I
followed his gaze and saw a young girl with dark chestnut eyes, maybe eight
years old. He was staring at her intently, almost piercing straight through her. </div>
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Her mother was shot this morning as we all watched,
while she was holding the little girl in her arms. The SS officer said that she
had looked him in the eye. The little girl held her mother, a young brunette
woman in her early thirties, while the crimson blood flowed over her like a
blanket. After an hour like this, when the brooding black flies began to swarm,
Jackson had finally pulled her off, screaming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The old man held her attention from across the room, as the
tears came freely and she hiccupped a few times. “Close your eyes,” he
whispered, so quietly commanding that we all did so without asking why . “See
the ones you have lost. Hold them in your mind.” I thought of Elizabeth, and
the way her body fell after three days of frostbite on the train. I could see
the life leaving her soft green eyes, smell the urine as her body lost all
control. I knew the others were seeing the same thing in their mind’s eye; I
could hear their deep, uncontrollable, shaking sobs mixing with my own, creating a song of grief that words alone could not capture. The old man was quiet and
I wondered what he was thinking, how this could help.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Now,” he finally spoke, our eyes still closed, the mourning
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at any moment. “Remember them at their best. See the snapshot in your mind,
like a picture.” I thought of Elizabeth on her wedding day, all pearls and
perfume and glamour. I remembered her smile beaming ear to ear, the tears of
joy in her eyes as she said, “I do”, the way her groom had smiled as he wiped
away his own. I heard others in the room laugh a little despite themselves,
despite the thunder rumbling loudly inside all our spirits, no doubt remembering
babies and weddings and first kisses and joy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The old man glanced around, clasped his bruised, wrinkled hands together and
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life, not the death. This is what you remember.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and breathed out for what felt like
the first time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I took the snapshot. She was beautiful, almost glowing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I remembered the pearls.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-87489847765168994412013-05-13T09:38:00.000-07:002014-01-26T14:12:55.630-08:00He Held Me Up<!--[if !mso]>
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brown eyes just like mine,</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shined right back into my own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the strong arms of my daddy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew that he would not let go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He smiled, and I smiled,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And all was right within the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He held me up, Within his arms,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His brand new little girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brown eyes that were mine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stared right back into my own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though the face now in the mirror,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Seemed as one I did not know<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I cried the endless tears,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And all felt wrong within the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So young and yet so old<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brown eyes just like mine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stared right back into my own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my weak arms I held daddy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I told him I would not let go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And all was wrong within the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I held him up, my dying daddy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Still inside his little girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His heart, just like mine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Broke as if it were my own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the strong arms of my Father,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He would not let me let go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He gave me Christ, I cried,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I had more than the whole world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He held me up, Within His arms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His brand new little girl</span><span style="font-family: Bodoni Bk BT, serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-90138574974967732362013-04-05T09:15:00.007-07:002014-01-26T14:07:26.629-08:00Drama Is As Drama Does<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My bestie, Emily Hatfield, posted a great blog post today (she always does awesome ones) on "Drama Is As Drama Does" and I loved it so much I thought it was definitely worth sharing. You all should check it out! It is definitely worth a read, especially if you are a woman. The direct link to her post is below. Enjoy!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://emilyhat.com/drama-is-as-drama-does/" target="_blank">emilyhat.com/drama-is-as-drama-does/</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-89369947523404434002013-03-29T08:08:00.002-07:002014-01-26T14:07:19.869-08:00Quotes Part II<div style="text-align: center;">
Some quotes I ran across recently that I enjoyed...</div>
<br />
"Are the things you're focusing on in life going to outlive you?" -Unknown<br />
<br />
"Time is not what you think. Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning." -Mitch Albom<br />
<br />
"The self is not something one finds, it is something one creates." -Thomas S. Szasc<br />
<br />
"When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him. He has a million reasons for being anywhere, just ask him. If you listen, he'll tell you how he got there. How he forgot where he was going, and that he woke up.<br />
<br />
If you listen, he'll tell you about the time he thought he was an angel or dreamt of being perfect. And then he'll smile with wisdom, content that he realized the world isn't perfect.<br />
<br />
We're flawed, because we want so much more.<br />
<br />
We're ruined, because we get these things, and wish for what we had." -Don DraperAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-54913390189469863352013-02-22T18:12:00.002-08:002014-01-26T14:06:37.734-08:00KJ & Emily's Home<div style="text-align: center;">
We finally finished the decorating and organizing for our home!<br />
Enjoy the video and feel free to comment and let us know what you think! :) </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lUdH9P9w61o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-60518896916201853082013-02-17T19:48:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:06:29.687-08:00Valentine's 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
Here is a video of all my presents from this Valentine's Day!! :)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UXQgA1hTXe0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-61050113618294110402013-02-17T06:56:00.001-08:002014-01-26T14:05:33.477-08:00Remembering ColumbineToday I posted a video I made today from photos I took during my time living in Colorado. I lived about ten minutes away from the high school (where the Columbine shooting happened in 1999) at the time. It is posted on youtube, which you can visit via the link to the right. Please share with anyone you know who may like to see it. Thanks!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kZcdVErEtqg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span id="goog_2000195747"></span><span id="goog_2000195748"></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-47819924828686783502013-02-11T08:49:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:04:57.558-08:00When The Leaves Begin To Change Preview<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Here is a preview excerpt from a new novel I am slowly working on, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
entitled <i>When The Leaves Begin To Change...</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He knew the purest part of me, found somewhere between the
innocence of being a child and the maturity of becoming a woman. We were held
in this perfect moment, before the world tainted us, where first love lasted
forever. Even the air we breathed felt brand new, fresher somehow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He held me and whispered my name, running his rugged hands
through my hair. “Ellie,” he whispered again, his lips brushing my cheek, my
body feeling every touch. I released into his warmth, letting it melt away all
the fear around us. “Marry me,” he
whispered. My eyes closed, basking in a moment too wonderful to believe I could
live to see it come true. Jackson titled
his head slightly, lowering his lips to kiss my eyes, one by one. Slowly, they
opened and we looked at each other for what seemed like forever. I was
desperate to say yes, scream it even, smile and run around and be elated, but
of course I couldn’t. Not here, not in this place with bars and nova gas and
crematoriums. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, I knew with all certainty that I would never find
another like him, even if I lived a million lifetimes. “I’ve loved you since I
knew what love was,” I whispered, the words coming out sweetly, softly, the
tears streaming down my cheeks slowly. “Of course I’ll marry you.” A huge smile
enveloped his face, the kind with so much heart my entire body could feel the energy, and he pulled me closer against
his chest. I could feel his thumping heartbeat, expectant, alive. The moment
was filled with a forbidden hope, one that was dangerous to feel here, one that
left us exhilarated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our dreams were so real we could literally almost feel them
come to life in our arms. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-62218523053828711012013-01-11T10:57:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:04:46.907-08:00Writer's Digest Review of The Locket<br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: center;">
"<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">The story was simple, heartwarming, painful, and lovely,</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"> all in perfect doses."</i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
-<i>Writer's Digest Book Critique </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sJNRk_jt4f4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sJNRk_jt4f4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sJNRk_jt4f4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 5in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-91540989906051212372013-01-05T14:32:00.004-08:002014-01-26T14:04:38.096-08:00Pleasing God in 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Living A Life Pleasing To God Requires...</span></b></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">1 Thessalonians 4:3-12</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
1) Abstaining from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
2) Controlling your body in holiness and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:4)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
3) Not giving in to the passion of lust (1 Thessalonians 4:5)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
4) Continuing in brotherly love more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:10)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
5) Aspiring to live quietly (1 Thessalonians 4:11)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
6) Minding my own affairs (1 Thessalonians 4:11)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
7) Working with my hands (1 Thessalonians 4:11)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
8) Walking properly before outsiders (1 Thessalonians 4:12)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
9) Being dependent on no one (1 Thessalonians 4:12)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Lessons To Be Learned: Is My Life Pleasing To God?</span></b></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I abstaining from being immoral sexually?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do I control and present my body in a way that shows holiness and honor?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do I resist giving in to or acting on passion alone?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I growing in my brotherly love more daily?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do I resist gossip, stirring up dissension/drama, and seeking out attention? </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I known for leading a quiet life?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do I mind my own business?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I working with my hands and staying busy for the Lord?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do outsiders see my life as respectable?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I, to the best of my ability, depending only on God?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I debt free and seeking to not owe anything to anyone?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Are my accounts up to date and paid on time?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Are my own provided for sufficiently?</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Am I a responsible steward of my time and money?</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Let us all strive to examine our lives as we begin a new, wonderful year in 2013 and serve Him more and more as our lives grow more pleasing in His sight. Thank you Lord for a new year with new beginnings and for the great joy you have blessed my life with so abundantly! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-43682376053592527352012-12-09T12:03:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:04:12.910-08:00Writing Projects For 2013Here is a list of my upcoming book/novel projects, most (hopefully all) of which I hope to complete in 2013...<br />
<br />
1. When The Church Forgets To Blush (Christian book)<br />
2. Blissfully Organized: From Hot Mess To House Guest (Nonfiction)<br />
3. One Flesh Love (Christian book)<br />
4. Too Busy To Not Slow Down (Christian book)<br />
5. Always Be Ready: A Pocket Sized Guide For Biblical Answers (Christian book)<br />
6. Lists To Live By: A 365 Day Journey Through The Bible (Christian book)<br />
7. 1001 Things Every Woman Should Know: A Comprehensive Guide To Being Fabulous (Nonfiction)<br />
8. The Ideal Nanny: How To Be One, How To Find One, & How To Keep One (Nonfiction)<br />
9. Everything Your Nanny Always Wished You Knew, But Was Too Afraid To Tell You (Nonfiction)<br />
10. When The Leaves Begin To Change (Fiction--a novel on the Holocaust--I'm very excited for this one!!)<br />
<br />
I'm excited for these projects and hopefully won't get any new ideas until these are finished :) Please let me know if there is any other type of book you would like to see written and I will see what I can do! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-62660441227340367952012-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:04:02.687-08:00The Light Network<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My best friend and her hubby (and a bunch of other awesome people) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">have started a new network called The Light Network, featuring weekly podcasts for both men and women. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Emily did her first podcast on Mars Hill (including modern day photos!),</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> in a series called Navigating The New Testament (for women). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Please watch and share! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Check it out at the link below and enjoy!! :) </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://thelightnetwork.tv/navigating-the-new-testament-001-for-women/">http://thelightnetwork.tv/navigating-the-new-testament-001-for-women/</a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-5577325839809853882012-12-04T07:49:00.001-08:002014-01-26T14:03:54.175-08:00Ten Daily Tips For A Beautiful Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
I love cleaning, organizing, decorating, and making my home a haven for my family. This is one of my very favorite things. Here are ten simple, basic tips that, done daily, will really help you to keep your home beautiful and low maintenance.<br />
<br />
1. Never put any dishes in the sink or any clothes in a hamper. Directly put dishes in the dishwasher and clothes in the washer and run each once a day. When they are finished, get them out and put them up, so that the dishwasher and washer will be open to add new items to.<br />
<br />
2. First thing in the morning, every morning, light a scented candle. They are beautiful and if you get the right kind, will make your entire house smell amazing. My current favorite is Pink Sands by Yankee Candle.<br />
<br />
3. Give every item a home. EVERY item. It's very hard to keep a clean house when everything is everywhere and nothing has its place. From your tv remotes to your hairbrush to your luggage, everything needs a specific home.<br />
<br />
4. Deep clean once a week. I like doing it all in one big spurt, but that's just me. I put a cd on, sing along, and vacuum, scrub the bathroom, clean the kitchen stove/counters, steam the tile, wash/make beds, etc. If you do this once weekly, it will cut down on having to do huge overhauls to catch up. It is way easier to just do it once a week every week for me.<br />
<br />
5. Organize, file, and put away papers. I advise using pull out file folder organizers from Walmart with separated sections and dividers, so everything is easy to find. If you need your social security card or birth certificate, you can easily find it.<br />
<br />
6. Sort through your mail the second you get it. Yes, it can be hard to keep up with, but it is an important part of not junking up your home. Throw away ads and junk mail and open and sort <i>right then</i> important bills, etc. Dealing with it in the moment helps it to not be forgotten or misplaced.<br />
<br />
7. As soon as you walk in the door, hang up the clothes you have on. Put your jacket in the jacket closet, shoes away, and hang up anything else you might have or put it directly in the washer. This keeps laundry from ending up on the floor and creating a huge pile/mess.<br />
<br />
8. Declutter! Clutter stresses me out. I can't breathe around it...it makes me feel suffocated. Make sure you are not collecting more items than you have places to store them. If you are already at capacity, get rid of some things! It is amazing how the things we truly value end up being blocked by junk when we let them. Do something good and give to Goodwill or a shelter where it can truly be used for good and watch your home's beauty and comfort increase.<br />
<br />
9. Take the trash out as soon as the bag is full. Yes, it can be a pain. But letting trash bags build up is one sure way for your home to look its worse...and just get nasty.<br />
<br />
10. Decorate from the front door in. Your front door (lawn/porch/etc) says a lot about your style. Put up a beautiful, tasteful, non holiday specific wreath year round and a classy doormat. Make sure your home (even from the outside) is clean and inviting. You also never want an overcrowded walkway. If you can, "introduce" your decor at the door---make your door and front area match the interior of your house!<br />
<br />
These are ten tips I use in my home to keep it looking its most beautiful and well kept... I hope they will help you to do the same in your home! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-44936383255576797222012-11-30T20:29:00.000-08:002014-01-26T14:15:48.786-08:00Things I Am Thankful For This Week<div style="text-align: center;">
Here are just a few things I am thankful for this week... :)<br />
<br /></div>
1. Being in love. It is so fun to wake up every day and be with my best friend! There is never a single day that goes by for me where I am not hugged, kissed, and told that I am loved. And that...is the only way to live.<br />
<br />
2. My view. I get to see a castle every day on the way to work... <i>a literal, for real castle (see photo above). </i>It's just cool. Also, directly outside my window at home is the most beautiful fountain ever, where the sunsets look incredible, and if you close your eyes it sounds like you are at the ocean. Ahhh.<br />
<br />
3. The peace and providence of God. He truly does work all things out, in His time and His way, and always with my best interest in mind. Trusting Him always works out better than trusting in myself!<br />
<br />
4. Fall/winter. I love the smell of cold air, presents under the tree that I cannot wait to open, and sparkles on everything I see. Definitely my favorite time of year!<br />
<br />
5. Simplicity. Lately I've learned a valuable lesson. Life is simple, if you let it be. I'm letting it be. :)<br />
<br />
Until Next Time: "People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-46823610401118246972012-10-10T11:31:00.000-07:002014-01-26T14:03:32.869-08:00Quotes: Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love quotes. <i>Adore</i> them. I always have.</div>
<br />
I started a book on July 25, 2006 of some of my favorite quotes and have been adding to it for the past six years and will be for years to come, until it is finished and I begin a new book. They are from books, movies, songs, etc.<br />
<br />
Here are some of my favorites, in the order that I wrote them. I am going to do several posts from this book, with all my favorite quotes that I loved enough to write down at some point. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<i>"All endings are also beginnings...we just don't know it at the time."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Of course, they lived happily ever after. The point, gentlemen, is that they lived."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Dying is only one thing to be sad over. Living unhappily is something else."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Put a daily limit on self-pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"There will be lots of love passing between us...you don't need speech or hearing to feel that."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Get into the habit of standing back and looking at your life and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see; you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too--even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Find the healing power in grieving."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Love each other or perish."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Without love, we are birds with broken wings."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Scenery without solace is meaningless."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Each of us was in your life for a reason...you may not have known the reason at the time."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"All right, it's just fear. I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Forget what culture says. I am not going to be ashamed."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Strangers are just family you have yet come to know."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"No life is a waste...the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Deep down all lives intersect. Death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Death ends a life, not a relationship."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Make peace with living."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"You have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"But I gotta pay," he said. </i><br />
<i>"To pay?"</i><br />
<i>"For my sin. That's why I'm here, right? Justice?"</i><br />
<i>He smiled. "You are here so I can teach you something. All the people you meet have one thing to teach you." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"If you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Giving to other people is what makes me feel alive."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake, I am reborn."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Offering others what you have to give gives real satisfaction." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Don't let go too soon, but don't hold on too long."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I know it hurts when you can't be with someone you love. But you need to be at peace with their desires." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"It was so simple. So average. I was actually a little dissapointed--how could he find perfection in such an average day? Then I realized that was the whole point."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"No. You don't understand. You're not a wave; you're part of the ocean."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I laughed until there were tears in my eyes."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"You want them back. You never want them to stop. But that's all part of being human. Stop, renew, stop, renew."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The teaching goes on."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Love is different. Love is when you're as concerned about someone else's situation as you are your own."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"He found a certain love...a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Silence is worse when you know it won't be broken."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"She smiled, and he smiled, and she was, to him, as beautiful as ever."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Lost love is still love. It just takes a different form, that's all."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purposes for your life."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"It is impossible to do everything people want you to do."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Circumstances cannot change the character of God."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Knowing your purpose focuses your life."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Purpose always produces passion."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The way you see your life shapes your life."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The significance of a man is not what he attains, but in what he longs to attain." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Every life has one true-love snapshot."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"My old friend," he whispered. "You've come back at last."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"She will hold his hand and tell him God is proud of him...and that will make him feel right-side up again."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The word dying is not synonymous with useless."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Accept the past as the past, without denying it or discarding it."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Learn to forgive yourself, and to forgive others."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Don't assume that it's too late to get involved."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Which side wins?"</i><br />
<i>He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth. </i><br />
<i>"Love wins. Love always wins."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Have you found someone to share your heart with? Are you giving to your community? Are you at peace with yourself? Are you trying to be as human as you can be?"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people, or am I going to live the way I want--or at least try to live--with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure?"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Love is the only rational act."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, to your community around you, and to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We don't see things are they are; we see them as we are."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Keep the vision of eternity in your mind and the value of it in your heart."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"When you live in light of eternity, your values change."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Find out who you are, and do it on purpose."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live on purpose."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"He who hesitates is lost."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Our greatest glory is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The idea that you can trust Christ and not intend to obey Him is an illusion created by the prevalence of an unbelieving 'Christian culture'."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Nothing contributes so much as to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Try not to be a man of success, but a man of value."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326117951100408947.post-88406903676307711332012-10-07T12:30:00.001-07:002014-01-26T14:17:12.114-08:00The Worst Goodbye<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"> </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Some writing from a while back that I ran across today...hopefully it will find its way into a book eventually...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The day finally came. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The day that every other
one seemed to revolve around, to be tinted by, as if it were the centerpiece of
a watercolor painting. The rain tumbled over my umbrella, hitting the ground in
a soft, gentle pattern, like the heartbeat of the earth. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Even with the
downpour, the air seemed much too warm; the leaves on the trees too
bright. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">His shadow walked among us, the wind whispered his laughter in
the distance. He was gone, but he was there. I could still feel him beside me. I
felt the raindrops covering my hair, my eyes, my lips. I savored their
bittersweet taste. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> “What if,” the past
whispered, the words going off like a gunshot in my mind. The tombstone sat
like a shadowed angel; the thunder rolled just beyond me. I shivered at its power. I
closed my eyes and felt the familiar ache, one closer to me than my own breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 49.5pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">'The worst goodbye is the one that’s never
said,'</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I thought, as the twilight turned to black.</span><span style="font-family: Bell MT, serif; font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338261948365623122noreply@blogger.com0