Woman Dependent on Grace

Our Christmas Tree!

2011-12-19T11:32:00.001-06:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged… life has been crazy with work Christmas Parties and a Big Job for Mike! Some where in the mix we found time to buy a tree (I know, I know… but we felt it was the wisest decision for us at this point…)…

And this year we actually decorated it too! (Yes, last year we had a tree that sadly never got decorated!) This is partially motivated by the fact that we’re having Christmas with our church at our house… gave us a little motivation!

And for those of you who haven’t seen out living room, this is a small glimpse! This window faces main st. so everyone that drives by can see it!

Here are the pics from our endeavor! My hubby was a huge help!

We had to buy more lights….several strands we not working, despite many electrical tools being used to try and salvage them : ). (This was the issue that stopped us last year)

And FINALLY!

Lights On….And lights off, with presents!

We can’t WAIT for Christmas this year! I’ve had SO much fun shopping for everything and trying to get things that will bless and encourage them! Can’t wait to give it all away!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

A CRAZY Week… and one ahead…

2011-11-14T08:05:00.001-06:00

Why does it always seem that the weeks leading up to a long vacation are so jam packed that it takes the first few days of the vacation to re-coop from them?

That’s the way I feel.

But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I’m tired, but refreshed.

Blessing those in your own church body is SO refreshing, yet physically exhausting…

Am I making sense?

My hubby has taken on a project that started out to be changing out a broiler, from oil to gas, and adding a hot water tank and has evolved into redoing 80% of the basement plumbing, moving the washer/dryer hook-ups and adding another set, building a wall behind those hook-ups so it looks nice, redoing a window, and lots of other things along the way just cuz the house is old.

And since he has taken it on, I get to work right along side him. I praise God that I’m able to help him in this way… it enables him to focus on what he’s best at (designing, measuring, planning, and making it happen)… while I make sure he has food, water, coffee, tools, and a clean work area.

I love to see his heart as he works and how is mind is constantly going and making sure they have the best now and in the future.

We are looking forward to leaving for Iowa on Saturday though… to rest and relax…

My goals?

Spend lots of time in the Word, Journaling, and Studying
And read a good non-fiction book…. any suggestions? I’m currently reading “The Feminine Appeal” by Caroline Mahaney, SO good and SO timely in my life.
Sleep in…
Talk daily long walks… if the weather allows…
Cook…
Cuddle by the fire…

Trying to keep it simple, yet refreshing Spiritually, which I know I need more than just physical relaxation.

How are you spending your Thanksgiving?

Love,

A Blessed Weekend… and Life!

2011-10-12T09:13:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful Saturday at Martha’s Vineyard! The weather was beautiful and the company was great! The sites were cool, but unfortunately not really worth the full ferry price or even half (which is what we paid).

The boat ride was SO relaxing!

Water all around!

(Not in focus but I thought it was still a cool pic!)

We saw some cute sites! Had good food and ice cream!

(Kinda looks like the lighthouse is on, huh?… kinda…)

We then had a wondering Sunday with our church family! Heard a sermon on James 1:1… yes, a whole sermon on just the greeting! I was VERY convicted because I tend to just glance over those parts. EVER word of the Bible is living and active and SO important to pay attention too! We then spent some time a Colt State Park… it’s SO beautiful and becoming one of my favorite places!

Monday we did yard work and worked on finishing putting in a door at some friend’s house… then went to Bible Study! We’re going through “Dust to Glory” by R.C. Sproul. WHOA! SO good! Through this course I can tell my desire for the Word, studying and looking deeper, is going to greatly increase! How timely! God is so good to allow this!

How was your weekend!? What is God showing you?

Love,

~H~

Weekend with 2 of My Favorite…

2011-10-05T14:18:00.001-05:00

Women in the whole world!

What a GREAT surprise to have my sister come too!! Deep down I was hoping she would come, but wasn’t sure until I went to pull away from picking my mom up and she appeared out of the crowd at the airport! SOO fun!

We had SO much GOOD food, GOOD talks, GOOD weather… I am blessed!

They both had their REALLY nice cameras so, I didn’t feel the need to take many pics. I’m sure they’ll be on facebook soon!

Here’s my quick recap in pics:

Lots of Dunkin was consumed…

Lots of smiles…

Lots of food…

Lots of cool places visited…

Can’t wait to see them again at Thanksgiving!!!

Love

~H~

Learning….

2011-09-27T07:36:00.001-05:00

You know those weeks where it seems like scripture is going in one eye and out the other…

Nothing seems to stick…

And then, for the Glory of God, one day it all seems to stick… that was this morning for me! I know it partly has to do with last week’s sermon being on…

Philippians 4: 8-9 “⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is ^[e]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, ^[f]dwell on these things. ⁹ The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (NASB)

Dwell or Meditate on these things, including LOTS of scripture! STOP letting things go in one eye and out the other. I was convicted. Praise God!

This morning I went back to…

Philippians 2:1-4 “¹ Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^[a]affection and compassion, ² make my joy complete ^[b]by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ³ Do nothing ^[c]from ^[d]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; ⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (NASB)

Unity…Humility…Joy.. Servanthood. I reread my notes from several sermons Reverend Jeffery Costa (my pastor) did on this passage. It’s SO deep. Unity is SO important in the church. Joy is foundational, true, God-centered, Gospel-based Joy! Humility…compared to the GREATNESS of how much Christ CHOSE, WILLINGLY to humble himself…is…I can’t find the words. Servanthood is (to paraphrase Jeff) “Giving out of the treasure (the joy of our salvation) we have been given, when we feel like we have nothing left to give!”

These sermons were SO deeply convicting and encouraging…It was a HUGE blessing to be able to go back over them now, several months later. This is why it’s SO important to take notes, stay meditating on the Word… it’s the only way to “connect the head and the heart” (Jeff).

There is SO much more I could say, but for now, I’ll stop here.

Love,

~H~

Little Bits of Life…

2011-09-20T07:21:00.001-05:00

I love posting about life… it’s real. It’s simple.

My hubby is home sick today… with a cold I seem to have fought of, except a stuffy nose…I feel bad. I LOVE how marriage is two people sharing life… but not germs!

Fall is here… I’m back to wearing comfy sweaters and scarfs (YES!)…

AND, dun dun dun… making myself lots of yummy pumpkin spice coffee…since my hubby bought me a BIG box from BJ’s (wholesale foods co-op we’re members of)… (and other flavors)… in MY Keurig!

Nice drawer for the K-cups, huh? Saves precious counter space!

He woke up early one morning to set this up for me… it was an adventure as all his surprises are for me… including me almost waking up with him (at 4:30 AM!)…him almost waking me up by opening the box and rustling the plastic… and then my alarm going off when he didn’t think it was set. But I was SOO surprise and blessed!

Last but NOT least… my mom comes in 10…. TEN… days! SOOO excited!

Love,

~H~

A Weekend AWAY–lots of pics!

2011-09-13T11:58:00.001-05:00

This weekend we took Monday off… and left Saturday with our church and went up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The original plan was to hike Mount Washington, but with it being such a short weekend, we decided to take it easy and explore a few other sites!

The Mountains are getting closer… and closer…

We found a CUTE, YUMMY, CHEAP place for Breakfast called “The Water Wheel.” Guess you can’t guess why? hehe

Starting the day off with the important food…

Hiking at the Lost River Gorge… SO beautiful!

Love Him….

The Guys… and the Normal Guys…..

The Girls… And the Normal Girls…

Saw some BEAUTIFUL SKIES!

The next day we went hiking… along a cascading waterfall… the water was SO clear, you almost can’t tell there’s water. The leaves were turning colors and falling. And my hubby decided he wanted to swim in it. The water had to be like 45 degrees…. burrrr!!

My Wild at Heart Man…

Yep.. that’s him… under the beautiful, freezing waterfall!

Enjoying the scenery!

It was a wonderful weekend… and we are so thankful the Lord allowed us to take it.

Love,

~H~

Last night… and little bits of life…

2011-09-02T07:43:00.001-05:00

Last night we celebrated our anniversary by going to the Cheesecake factory and walking around the mall… my hubby is actually so fun to go shopping with!! (As long as he keeps is crazy comments about a vest looking like road kill between the two of us and not the whole store… lol).

Here we are at the restaurant… it was a little dark, sorry!

Here we are shopping… I wish this pic turned out better!

This is my favorite part of the day… coffee+Morning and Evening (devotional by Charles Spurgeon)+the Word+my hubby across the couch+snuggly quilt= a great way to start the day!

Couples: This time is a priceless treasure… even though we don’t say much. It’s important that we make this a priority in our marriage. I know not all schedules allow for this time, but MAKE SURE you’re both spending time with your first Love, daily!!

My new journal… Artists Sketchbook ($5), Mod Podge ($.10 for this project… lots left over), Scrap-booking paper ($.50 for this project). $5.60 for a new journal that I LOVE. Not bad!

AND finally… I NEED help! I have this beautiful built in shelf that is SCREAMING to be made beautiful… and I’m TOTALLY stuck! Any and allllll ideas are welcomed!

(Sorry for the mess…)

Love,

Cleaning of my Phone…

2011-09-01T14:17:00.001-05:00

I was just cleaning off my phone… and found a few videos that I meant to share and then forgot!

Here’s one of Ezra… he put his hat like this… I HAD to record it!

And one of my favorite things about east coast life… the sandy part of this beach was all underwater after the hurricane because the waters were so high.

And finally… ignore our loving banter… this is from our apartment during the hurricane…

I have a few other really funny videos, but I need to ask permission before posting them!

For those of you who made it through them all… hope you enjoyed!

Love,

Heidi

ONE Year Down!

2011-08-30T14:12:00.001-05:00

And what a blessed year it has been! I’ve put off posting because I wanted to post pictures from our 1 yr. celebration… which got postponed because of a HURRICANE! That was an adventure in an of itself!

Here’s our year in pictures.. yes, I know… I need to take more!

The Beginning of it all…

On our Honeymoon:

Mom and dad came to visit (pic with our niece and nephew… sorta).

My sister comes to visit! (Bad hair day!!)

My sister’s wedding… isn’t he handsome??

A day at the beach…

My B-day…

We have fun together… if you can’t tell!

Our marriage isn’t perfect, but over all this year has been SO fun, blessed and totally WORTH IT! I often find myself thinking… Mike is the perfect man for all my quirks, my humor, and showing me unconditional love. God knew what He was doing when He put us together, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Love you Babe!

Simply Life… and Exciting Events!

2011-08-23T10:39:00.001-05:00

I know I’ve said this before, but sometimes I can’t believe how simple my life is right now… and yet SO full!

My friends are growing a fairly big garden, so last night we talked and weeded and shelled beans for seeds next year. It felt very 1800s and very Proverbs 31!

Then we had a fire in their fire pit and just talked.. about the Lord and Life. {So Blessed.} Pictures can’t even describe how at home I feel with this group. We’re family that runs deeper than blood.

On another note:

ONE YEAR AGO SUNDAY

(Thanks to Noemi Photography for the Pic!)

We’re camping on Cape Cod… and taking a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate.

Just getting away. The two of us. All weekend.

No TVs.

No computers.

TOTALLY EXCITED!

What do you have planned this weekend??

Love,

Retrospective…

2011-08-18T14:41:00.001-05:00

I’m having a day full of looking back on life…

Kinda missing this place… google map of my parent’s house in Iowa.

{Just to clarify, it’s not because I don’t like here, I’m SOO blessed by my life and friends here, I would never trade it for anything.}

It probably has more to do with looking forward to a vacation there for Thanksgiving, which seems SO far away right now!

Love,

~H~

I am VERY Blessed

2011-08-10T07:24:00.001-05:00

I am saved…for eternity…by a VERY real, personal, loving God.

I have friends that put wanting me to become more Christ-like over their own comfort.

I have a hubby that puts Christ first in our marriage.

We’re closing on our house next week… eeeeeh!!

Got to have coffee and a good convo with this one yesterday:

And… we’re starting to make plans to possibly climb Mount Washington with our friends… SO excited!

Hope you all take a moment and realize how blessed you are… no matter what circumstances surround you! Work has been rough, I’ve prayed for a new job… and other trials have come our way… but I find my peace and contentment in CHRIST alone. More about that in another post.

Love,

~H~

Ready for another weekend…

2011-08-05T09:58:00.001-05:00

This week at work has been long… my boss it out, which means less for me to do! I’ve been trying to stay busy planning, dreaming, couponing, helping Mike, etc. but I still feel like this..

(I’m a dork, I know)

Looking forward to this weekend though…maybe this weekend I’ll get to do some of the projects I’ve been dreaming of doing from Pinterest. And MAAAYBE I’ll convince my hubby to go garage saleing again! I forgot to take pics of all the treasures I found last week… 4 frames, 3 books, coffee grinder, old tape, and little shelf, all for $5. LOVE it!

I was encouraged yesterday by this sermon, by John Piper, “The Goodness of God and the guidance of sinners.” Simple. Step-by-Step instructions from the Word about making life decisions… small daily ones to big trials.

It’s worth your time. Promise.

Love,

~H~

Our weekend… baking!

2011-08-01T10:50:00.001-05:00

Friday night… I baked, and baked, and baked. Haven’t done that in awhile so, it was fun! I found this recipe for pudding cookies. The pudding makes them extra moist and they don’t expand as much, which is nice for baking! Here’s the story of my adventure…

Most of the ingredients… (the Sierra Mist was not an ingredient!)

Mix, Mix, Mix… next time, I would like to have a mixer!

First back of Chocolate Chip in the oven… kinda loving the oven lighting in this pic!

White Chocolate, Crasians… ready to go!

Rack is ready for coooookies!

Yum!

Yum!! (sorry the lighting was bad… it was late and my dinning room doesn’t have the best lighting at night. )

Here’s what it looks like during the day though, I love opening all the widows!…

(Waiting for my hubby to come home for dinner before the baking began…)

Saturday:

We had to take a business trip… so we stopped here on our way, he was a happy man!

Sunday::

We spent the day with the church… talking, eating, and playing volleyball… I walked away with a sprained THUMB! I feel silly! Videos to come… if my phone cooperates!

Hope you all had a GREAT weekend!

~H~

A Wonderful Evening

2011-07-29T09:28:00.001-05:00

Last night was simple. yet wonderful.

We had Chicken, Turkey Bacon, Ranch Salads… SO refreshing! (sorry, should have taken a pic).

Went on a walk… matching…hehe

(cell phone pic…obviously… sorry about the quality)

Came home and did dishes/cleaned…Had chocolate pop-sickles… and popcorn, while we watched a movie.

Simple. great to stay home. great to talk on our walk. great to just be together.

.I.am.blessed.

Love,

~H~

Home Décor…

2011-07-28T08:53:00.001-05:00

For those of you who don’t know – we had a change in plans – we are now working on purchasing the house that we currently live in, at a GREAT price. The Lord lead us away from the other house, for reasons we may never fully understand, but have COMPLETE peace about.

So, like every woman, I have started dreaming about how to make this like apartment a home… for who knows how long! (all of these pictures come from my new favorite website… Pintrest… check it out!)

But now I get to paint…

maybe add a window seat…

some drapes…

art…

who knows!

I wish I was better at decorating on a budget… but a little bit at a time, goes a long way!

Love,

~H~

Finally Playing Again!

2011-07-27T12:35:00.001-05:00

Remember this post…Worship…

I’ve started playing again.

… learning from youtube videos…missing my old, full-sized keyboard from home (gonna start saving)…

and just letting the Spirit lead.

It’s been wonderful and trying at times.

.My.Brain.Hurts.

More than I would like to admit.

Wishing I kept up on my skill… trying to learn AND apply this lesson to the rest of life.

Love,

~H~

A WONDERFUL Birthday Gift…

2011-07-21T11:08:00.001-05:00

My hubby being home! What a surprise!

He told me he might not be able to be home tomorrow night, because of this big job he’s working on. He had committed to. So, in order to let his yes be yes, I tried to conceal my frustration that he would be gone on my birthday…

YET – when I got home… this is what I found on the table, with a card, and one of “our” songs playing… along with the house being VERY clean!

THEN… my husband with a wonderfully sacrificial serving heart… took me out for Indian Food! YUMMMMMMY! He hates it, but I LOVE it!

Next, we went to the beach… I LOVE long walks on the beach at sunset with him…

It was beautiful….

Then home for Cold Stone Ice Cream and Yatzee….

all that… instead of being home alone and frustrated…a WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!

I am so blessed to be married to a wonderful, Godly man whose love for me is SO deep! He pays attention to the little details - my love of surprises and Indian food.

And, He’s my best friend.

Love,

~H~

It’s a Crazy Life…

2011-07-14T08:46:00.001-05:00

Life lately has been… BUSY.

Full of work and helping this handsome man with his…

I’ve become a little electrical apprentice and I actually enjoy it! We get to spend hours together, working along side each other… and I get to help see his goals for this business, at this point, come closer to a reality.

So, the aching feet, sore necs, and lack of sleep are totally worth it. That’s why I haven’t been blogging much lately.

God has been gracious to us in so many ways and is teaching us to trust more fully in him, instead of rushing ahead of His timing. More about that later!

Love,

~H~

Prayer…

2011-06-29T09:37:00.001-05:00

I desire to have a deeper, fuller understanding of what it means to be a Biblical Woman.

This society screams to do, be, dress, act… the opposite of the Word, 24-7.

I found this list today… if you ever want to know how to pray for me, or any other Christian Woman. Pray we would be these things:

A Challenge to Women

Love,

~H~

Blessed by Friends…

2011-06-27T08:39:00.001-05:00

Last night… I was overwhelmed… we had worked all weekend.

No time to clean my house. Which led to more frustrations. And I still had a b-day party to go to.

I was having a BAD attitude

and a PITY Party!

A friend saw that something was wrong, so I shared my heart… which helped me realize (oncee again) I was being ridiculous!

Later they kidnapped me {to my own house, HA!}

And helped my house go from an OVERWHELMING mess back to a place of rest.

Later, my heart was singing and rejoicing with gratefulness to God, for the wonderful blessings He has given me, in the form of 3 beautiful women with gorgeous, humble, and REAL, servants hearts.

We seriously need more pics (Perspective… the little boy in this pic is now 1 1/2 yrs old!… )

… but here we are on my first trip to MA.. before Mike and I were even courting. Flo, Brittany, and Me…. Tammy isn’t pictured.

This is TRUE friendship and Sisterly Love.

.I am Blessed.

Love,

~H~

Worship…

2011-06-20T14:22:00.001-05:00

I have been **wrestling** big time lately…

Something I love:

Combined with something else I love:

{When NO ONE else is around}

Sometimes, I just want to tell the Lord …

“Did you catch that last part? It’s IMPORTANT. To me...sigh.. at least.”

Yet, here I am, part of a little, home church that I love and hold SO close to my heart. They love to worship with their whole lives…including music… yet no one has stepped up to lead in that way.

I’ve been wrestling for .MONTHS.

Yesterday, my husband spoke up…lovingly… but I’m pretty sure his “major” hat was on.

By not being faithful with this talent … I was being…

Selfish

Self Centered

And Prideful

Yes… it’s true.

*Ouch* *Wince*
{Honestly, I started laughing.. laughing!. Hearing him say it helped me realize how REDICULIOUS I was being!}

AND yesterday in his sermon, my pastor reminded us of this {or something close}…

“You have a Truth that’s bigger than the truth of your fears, hurts, and trails! It’s not that those things aren’t true…they’re VERY real... yet Christ’s Truth is bigger!!”

AMEN!

So, I’m still wrestling and the fear {of man} is still very real, but my heart is in a more peaceful place,in the hands of Christ. I’m listening for what the Lord wants in this situation, instead of letting fear rule.

It’s a daily battle! And I’m thankful H'e’s still working on me!

~H~

SO Blessed … by my sister…

2011-06-17T07:55:00.001-05:00

The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful sister.

     She encourages my walk with the Lord…

                My physical fitness…

                             My fashion sense…

                                              And now… in being a wife!

She recently started a blog… check it out here! We both have jobs that have slow times and busy times, and during the slow times we get to talk. This has been SO {refreshing} to me…it makes the miles seem not so far away!

{and a post is not complete with out pics… so here’s some of our favorite memories!}

{At the tea garden… a wonderful year in MN!}

{At one of our favorite coffee shops… sister weekend in Cedar Rapids!}

{At our bachelorette parties}

{Putting necklaces on for our Wedding Days!}

Love you Sis and I can’t wait to see you… whenever the Lord allows!

~H~

I want to impact …

2011-06-15T10:50:00.001-05:00

Here’s the raw part of my heart today.

.I.want.to.impact.the.World.with.the.gospel.

But some days I feel stuck, weighted down with cement on my feet.

I see others out there, traveling the world and having great adventures.

I sit here feeling jealous

& sorry for myself.

This is not right or Godly… I want to be TOTALLY satisfied with what the Lord has and content with His will… while still being willing to move or change at any moment.

.I’m tired.

*of looking back, wishing I could go back*

*of looking forward and rushing to get there*

*of looking at others and wishing I was them*

So here I am… as me… blogging as me… changing my blog to something I like in this season of life. The theme is “coffee shop”…

Let’s have coffee together.

Love,

~H~

The Fighting Wife…

2011-06-14T10:23:00.001-05:00

It’s a long story, but today I really feel the need to fight for my husband…

This way…

And this way…

It’s been a rough “business” day {and it’s only 11:22 AM} and people are just frustrating…

I hate seeing things bother and/or hurt him.

BUT, at the same time, if this is what the Lord uses to make Him more like Christ… I pray that He {and I} would take full advantage of this trial.

Love,

~H~

It’s the little things that count!

2011-06-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

My hubby made me breakfast this morning, while I took a shower, when we first woke up… so that we would be more awake when spending our time with God and in the Word, instead of being the zombies we are when we first wake up… I LOVE his heart!!

He was so proud of the tomatoes {a surprise to me}… he knows I love veggies… such a blessing!

{Our plates were my great-grandma’s…I inherited them… they’re original retro! But who can say no to free, when you’re newly weds, right?!?}

And sense I was more awake as I was learning about my loving, precious savior, I picked up a book that I haven’t picked up in too long. It’s deep, but blesses me EVERY time I read it…. “The Studies on the Sermon on the Mount” by Martin Lloyd-Jones.

This was the chapter on “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

A peacemaker is … “a man who is ready to humble himself, and he is ready to do anything and everything in order that the glory of God may be promoted.”

AMEN!

Love,

~H~

Tenant Laws…

2011-06-08T07:51:00.001-05:00

So, I’m thinking about starting a blog specifically for our “Land Lording” adventures…

BUT for the time being, I’ll put it on here, because it’s a HUGE part of my life right now!!

This morning I was reading over the laws in MA of Tenant/LandLord. {check it out if you dare!} PHEW! There’s a lot!

It makes my eyes want to do this…

I won’t bore you with all the interesting things I found… most of them make me wonder who did what to cause this law? But they are what they are for a reason, and I am called to abide by the laws of the land, so I better get studying!

Love,

~H~

We’re Landlords!

2011-06-07T08:35:00.001-05:00

So, on top of the house that we are looking at buying, the Lord totally provided another opportunity for us to “manage” a 6 family home, all 1 bed/1 bath apartments.

Honestly, it’s a very exciting and yet scary opportunity.

We know the Lord is in control of everything… but there are Worldly people out there that have no problem lying, being deceitful, and cheating you out of money. It’s “the nature of the beast” as many people would say. However, we praise God that we are not walking into this blindly expecting every person to keep their word, but not fearful of being burned either.

We took the house on with both first floor apartments being vacant on Saturday, put an Ad on Craigslist yesterday, and already have one *most likely* rented out…praise the Lord! We were there cleaning the carpets last night…

Together, we conquered the carpets and they look great!

I’m sooo proud of my hubby for leading us through this new adventure. He’s compassionate and understanding, yet firm and not afraid to kick someone out… I couldn’t do the second. Property management and investing has been on his heart for a LONG time and he’s finally stepping out in doing it. The Lord has truly provided for us to do this in some low-risk type ways, which is rare for investing… We just want to be faithful with what the Lord has blessed us with!

Please pray that we would use what the Lord has blessed us with to bless others and not be greedy, have the boldness to share the gospel with our tenants, have discernment on who to allow in, how to set the rental prices, etc. We GREATLY value your prayers!

Love,

~H~

A Laid-back, yet full Saturday…

2011-06-04T07:05:00.001-05:00

Today promises to be full and fun!

Getting my car fixed
Meeting with contractors
Looking at new work vans for my hubby
Looking at more appliances
AND then… who knows! I’m sure we’ll find something fun and exciting!

I know some of these things might sound boring to come of you, but it means we’re moving forward on our house… which is exciting to me! Pictures to come!

My Heart…

2011-06-02T08:04:00.001-05:00

This is the way my heart feels this morning…

Over the years, I have learned to praise God, even in the dry seasons… as they are what makes the rain so refreshing!

Lord, reveal Your Character, Goodness, and Love, so that I might glorify You more!

Our Memorial Day Weekend… part 2

2011-06-01T09:02:00.001-05:00

Sunday – we got up, went to church, had YUMMY Chicken Taco salads for lunch… and then when to the Park! The guys played ball and the girls walked around and watched the kids… so fun!

Nathan learning to play baseball for the first time!

Hi Noah!!

Ezra really likes his baseballs!

Monday – we got up, helped Jeff and Flo put in their front door, went to lunch, showed them our new house… and then picked up our niece and nephew and took them to the park! It was a beautiful night! Frisbees, kites, Subway, ice cream… and kids who just need lovin’.

Flo found this on a shelf in our basement…iiiiinteresting huh??

Eating with their Uncle…

Brittany wanted to take a pic with my phone… sorry it’s blurry!

And that was pretty much our weekend… along with a lot of great conversation about the Lord. Some I didn’t want to hear, but I know that I needed to. God is good!

Love,

~H~

Our Memorial Day Weekend… part 1

2011-05-31T07:30:00.001-05:00

This weekend was SO wonderfully FULL! I’m learning to LOVE the camera on my new Blackberry, so I was able to take LOTS of pics… hope you enjoy!

Friday night we celebrated our 9 month anniversary {which was actually Saturday}, some of my co-workers who have been married for awhile thought I was nuts, but I don’t care!

We went out to eat at this cute little restaurant by some water… {pics didn’t really turn out}

Got ColdStone Ice cream!

Went Mini-golfing here… it was SO cute and colorful!

The golf-balls we used…

Us :) {see the Disney castle??}

Saturday – was another beautiful day! We went to a quick job for Mike, a cute little restaurant on Horse Neck beach for breakfast, back home, Driving Range, Batting cages, appliance shopping {again}, to my new favorite Ice Cream place, and then to his parents house for dinner! Here it is in pics…

Swinging Hard!

Goofy Pic {He insisted I take this… notice the ball is still on the tee… :) }

Batters Up!

In Motion!

Black Raspberry…. YUMMY!

Tomorrow, we’ll get into Sunday and Monday… we spent both days with friends from Church. It was a blessed weekend for us! How was yours??

Love,

~H~

I got flowers…

2011-05-27T07:25:00.001-05:00

My hubby was gone, working north of Boston, for a couple days… with gas prices bring what they are, and his van getting the MPG it does, getting a hotel on Hotwire.com was cheaper…

But when he got home, he surprised me at work and brought me flowers!

{see the little hat above the rose on the right…so cute!}

Isn’t he sweet!!

It’s a Friday… before a long weekend… SO looking forward to sleeping in, playing worship songs on the keyboard someone is letting me borrow, and maybe even curling up on the couch with a good novel!

What are you up to this Memorial Day weekend?

Love,

~H~

Appliance Shopping…

2011-05-26T07:57:00.001-05:00

Last night was an adventure! We’re meeting with our Mortgage lady today to go over all of our numbers… which meant we had to figure out what appliances we want in the kitchen. However, Mike it out of town on a job, so I had to go by myself! I’m totally clueless, so I called my mom on the way there to get some practical advice… she’s such a blessing!

Now, we can change our minds, but we just had to submit something for the numbers… so here’s what I landed on for us:

Fridge {bottom freezer –it’s more efficient because cold falls}

Stove {gas w/ convection}

Dish-washer {Basic, yet quiet}

I also had to pick stuff out for the two rental floors… they’re getting a basic fridge and stove, both in black {cuz it doesn’t look dirty as quickly…this is a HUGE factor in my kitchen decisions, which I never would have though it would be before getting married}

I have to admit, I can tell God is doing a work in my heart. In different points in my life I have gone from wanting the nicest in everything, to the cheapest in everything. Finally, I feel like I’ve found a good balance in being wise, practical, and frugal. Not that I have arrived by ANY means!

More decisions to be made and I’m glad you get to come with me on this journey of fixing-up our home!

Can’t wait to put these appliances in our new house!

Love,

~H~

I love food…

2011-05-25T12:32:00.001-05:00

And since moving to the East Coast, I have discovered a wonderful place to buy bulk foods and great prices… BJ’s!

Here are a few things you would find in my fridge:

Greek, Low-fat, High Protein, All-Natural Yogurt!

Organic Burritos… great for a quick meal!

And typically you would find these BUT…. when I ran home over lunch to make myself a wrap… these were sitting on my box of yogurts and I accidently knocked them over and ALL OVER the FLOOR!

Oh well! No since crying over spilt…. eggs?!?!?

Right?

Love,

~H~

An Encouragement….

2011-05-24T07:30:00.001-05:00

This morning, in my time with the Lord, I was reading in Luke 6. I have to admit that lately my morning times with the Lord have been dry, mostly because my thoughts have been wandering to work situations and dreaming about our home.

Worry – is really what it boils down to. It stinks! Literally. It’s not a beautiful offering to the Lord AT ALL!

Praise God that my salvation is NOT based on my works… it’s by GRACE (thus the name of my blog) that I have been saved (Eph. 2:8). NOT the “greasy grace” though… this is a LIFE changing, LOVE filled, JOYFULL Grace that compels me to DESIRE and STIVE for holiness in my life and MAKE WAR on my flesh! Therefore, I will daily preach to myself the things of Christ and trust Him with all my heart!!

{Ok – that’s not where I pictured my blog going today, but I hope it blesses someone!}

Back to this morning… We have been going through a Bible study called “The Good Steward” {it’s SO good!!}

Last night they read a text in Luke 6: 20-27 that caught my eye. Specifically verse 22, which states…{here it is in my bible}

“Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.”

Witnessing at work has been a challenge for me…I’ m scared of what people think. Bottom Line. This verse is was I needed to hear.

My Savior is worth being hated, excluded, insulted and rejected…because ultimately it’s not me who they are doing these things to, it’s Him… and that makes me want to WEEP!

Love,

~H~

Our Weekend…

2011-05-23T08:06:00.001-05:00

Some of you may have seen glimpses of my weekend as I Twittered them… but it was SO wonderful! Saturday we went to Horse Neck Beach… Here’s a few pics! (all from my cell phone)

We Drew in the Sand…

Made foot-prints in the sand… with flip-flops he bought for our honeymoon
(we’re a little behind in taking pics!!)

More prints…

LOVE!!!

And sand castles…. we didn’t make it, I just thought it was a good one!!

*sigh*

I am blessed beyond measure, with a great husband, but more importantly a God who is SO gracious and loving!

We continue to meet with contractors to go over the house…

Please pray that we would Glorify God in all we do!

Love,

~H~

Money…

2011-05-18T11:11:00.001-05:00

The topic of money has come up a lot in our conversations lately… {buying a house tends to bring that up}.

Here is a “Sermon Jam” that has really hit home with me…John Piper is the person speaking…

If you’ve never heard of sermons jams before, they are sermons put to beats… and they’re free!!

You can check them out here:http://www.1031sermonjams.com/

~H~

Thoughts on our NEW adventure…

2011-05-17T07:08:00.002-05:00

My thoughts lately have been up and down… it’s been hard to focus at work… so I find myself on here, to share my thoughts with you! Yesterday was a full of....

Anticipation on hearing back on our offer…
Excitement of so many things to do…
Realizing we’ll have to move out of our FIRST apartment together…
{this almost made me cry… seriously…}
Dreaming of how to decorate our NEW house…
The reality of all the things that need to be fixed…sigh…
The Excitement of a bigger kitchen to come!! {wouldn’t take much!}
Overall ~ thoughts on how good the Lord is to His children!
~ We have treaded carefully, yet confident in our God.
~ We have prayed and sought wisdom… both scripture and practical.
~ And we have made sure our hearts are always remaining open to His will!
Feeling like a true grown-up, with a big girl mortgage soon to come!

Those are just a few of the things I’ve felt over the past 24 hrs. What an ADVENTURE!

Looking forward to what’s to come!

~H~

My Favorite parts of our little apartment…

2011-05-16T06:03:00.001-05:00

BOOKS! But not just any books… ones that teach and help me to grow in knowing my FIRST love more deeply!! Which I hopefully now have the time to read.

GAMES! We love to sit and play… it’s what we did a lot this winter…

And COMFY places to sit and enjoy being home…

This weekend was one to clean, and after only being married 8 months, sometimes I feel like I clean the same things over and over. I always find it refreshing but sometimes in the midst of it, it’s frustrating… so this post is to remind me of the little things I enjoy… even when my little apartment isn’t perfectly clean.

I also remind myself that I need to be faithful with this little apartment, if I expect the Lord to trust me with a bigger house someday.

~H~

Be Thou My Vision…

2011-05-14T10:39:00.001-05:00

No matter where I am at in life, this song {and a lot of the old hymns} always speak to my heart…and this one just came on to the Pandora Station I was listening too…

Be Thou My Vision by Ginny Owens

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light
Be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I , Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not nor man's emptly praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and thou only first in my heart
High King of heaven my treasure Thou are
High King of heaven my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart whatever befall
Still be my vision O Ruler of all

Lord – may YOU always consume my vision!!

~H~

OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED on our HOUSE!!

2011-05-12T09:04:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it a couple days ago, we’ve been house hunting … we looked at a 3 family home, in a good area, needing a new roof and a few other minor fixes (including PAINT!!)… Here are some pics I stole from this website.

We are just trusting in the Lord, and know that there are many doors that he could choose to open or close as we move forward in this new adventure!

BUT… they accepted our offer!! Now it’s just getting all the little details in place and getting a home inspection to make sure we have no surprises in what it’ll take to fix it up!

We are SOO excited… we don’t feel like this is “our home” but simply a door the Lord opened to take a step towards getting there!

Well… off I go to do a little paperwork!

~H~

A Few of my Favorite Things…

2011-04-23T11:17:00.001-05:00

It’s time to face the facts… I’m not on here as consistently as I would like. Sometimes I don’t have time and other times I don’t really feel like there’s anything in life worth sharing. BUT life is about to be exciting! My sister (shown here) is getting married a week from YESTERDAY! YES!!

And spring is here!! So, last Sunday, while the guys did yard work and played in the yard, the girls and kids (all boys) took a walk to a coffee shop! It was wonderful! Here are a few pics I took with my new phone of the three little boys from church… they’re the CUTEST EVER!

Jordan (14 Months)

Ezra (12 Months)

Noah (2 yrs) – We gave them a Chocolate Donut, can you tell??

I love these 3 SO much! Here’s another pic of Noah later that night with some COOL shades! He was running around laughing so, it was hard to get a good pic!

So, all in all, life is wonderful! I often find myself just sitting and thinking about all the Lord has done to get me to where I am right now (spiritually and physically – in MA). He is AWESOME and deserves ALL praise and Glory!

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to spending time celebrating Christ’s death and resurrection with my church family!

Love,

Heidi

.My New Job.

2011-03-24T13:07:00.003-05:00

I am now sitting at "My Desk" at my new job... psh, it's been 3 weeks, but it still feels new! It all happened pretty fast and I know some of you have been curious so... here's a little about it...

I'm working for a Therapy Company called Therapy Resources Management.

We work with hospitals, nursing homes, and rehab facilities to provide their rehabilitation services. We also have a home care division, supplying therapists and nurses to come visit people in their homes.

What's my role??? I find it hard to believe sometimes!

I'm essentially BACK in the Executive Assistant role! For those of you that have known me for awhile, you know that I have done this role before... it was one of THE HARDEST seasons of my life! I learned alot, but never really thought that it would be something I would do again.

BUT once again, God knows what He's doing!

This role is is different than last time for many reasons...

I'm assisting a woman :-). She's strong, but has a huge heart for people. In my interviews people the ladies were warning me that she's like the CEO in a "Devil Wears Prada"...nah, not really. Somedays, yes, but not all the time!
When the President/CEO is out of the office, things get a little slow for me, when she's in the office it's CRAZY! However, they balance each other out very well and enable me to do my job much more effectively!
Because of my past experience I feel set-up for success in this role, which is hard at points to not be overbearing to those that have been in the office for awhile.
I have a wonderful HUBBY who is praying for me, supporting me, and is SO understanding! I'm SO blessed to have him in my life!

Thankfully in the midst of transition back to a full-time job, the Lord has enabled me to still focus on building our home and continue school. Mike and I were both praising the Lord for this job this morning, separately, but then shared it with each other (marriage is GREAT!) It's given me more purpose in my day and, of course, helped us out financially too. :).

So, all in all, I am very much enjoying my new job!

-H-

Devotional

2011-03-14T05:23:00.001-05:00

This comes from a devotional I read every morning – Morning and Evening by Sprugeon. It is almost always a blessing to read, and I wanted to share this with you today! Read it a couple to get the full meaning…

Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and His strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men's souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him; and when that happy day shall come, when He whom you love shall say, "Come up higher," may it be your happiness to hear Him say, "Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away." On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, "Uphold me according to Thy word." He is able, and He alone, "To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."

-H-

Glorious and Mighty!

2011-03-12T17:28:00.001-06:00

Here’s the Lyrics:

Glorious and Mighty
(Psalm 96)
Words by Joel Sczebel, Todd Twining, and Bob Kauflin
Music by Joel Sczebel and Todd Twining
Verse 1
Majesty, Your glory is shining
Brighter than the moon and the stars
Marveling, we honor and fear You
Above all gods
Chorus
Glorious and mighty, You’re awesome In beauty
Joyful songs we raise
Glorious and mighty, You’re awesome in beauty
Greatly to be praised
Verse 2
Majesty, You fashioned the heavens
Your decrees can never be changed
Over all the plans of the nations
Your judgments reign
Verse 3
Majesty, we’ll sing with creation
When You come again in the clouds
Every knee will bow down and worship
The one true God

Our God is truly Glorious and MIGHTY! He is awesome! I love putting this on in my car, really loud, and singing at the top of my lungs! It’s refreshing!

Blessings!

Heidi

.Share your story.

2011-02-21T06:42:00.001-06:00

So – I sat down this morning, thinking about blogging, because I haven’t in a while… and my mind drew a blank! Life lately has been beautifully rich in the Lord and relatively simple otherwise.

THEN.I.REALIZED.

My 6 month wedding anniversary is ONE WEEK from today! {Yes!!} I have some simple plans…BUT I would love to hear from you!'

What did you do for your 6 month anniversary (if you can remember)? OR What’s your favorite anniversary memory?

I LOVE hearing stories about… well… LOVE <3 <3.

Can’t wait to hear!

-H-

PS: Here’s me and mine on our wedding day, hard to believe it was 6 months ago! We’re still SO in love today!

[Isn’t he handsome??]

.Back to Simplicity.

2011-02-11T07:08:00.001-06:00

The Beatitudes
He said:
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I’m still studying these, slowly but thoroughly… it’s SOO rewarding! For the first time in my life, I’ve been able to sit down and slowly go through a passage of scripture over months. WHY? Because these are SO foundational, practical and REFRESHING!

Matthew Henry said it this way:

This chapter, and the two that follow, are a sermon, a famous sermon, the sermon upon the mount. It is the LONGEST and FULLEST continued discourse of our SAVIOR that we have upon record in all the gospels… He proposes blessedness as the end, and gives us the character of those who are entitled to blessedness (very different from the sentiments of a vain word), in eight beatitudes…

You see, these beatitudes build on one another. The first being the prerequisite of the rest – be pour in spirit – it “is a gracious disposition of soul, by which we are emptied of self, in order to our being filled with JESUS CHRIST.” – Matthew Henry.

YES Lord - EMPTY ME!

~H~

.Hannah.

2011-02-08T09:08:00.001-06:00

You can find her story here: 1 Samuel 1 – 2:11.

She is “ A Portrait of Feminine Grace” – John MacArthur.

Her name meant “Grace”.

This lady faced one of the biggest trails a woman could face back then with HUGE amounts of grace and dignity.

.She.Was.Barren.

It was like walking around with a red stamp on your forehead saying “Inadequate”. Do you ever feel this way?

In many ways Hannah’s story mirrored that of Sarah – both barren until late in their years, married to bigamist husbands because of their barrenness. They often wept bitterly AND cried out to God, because of this fact. [how many times do we stop at the weeping??]

And yet, despite her inadequacies, God used her to birth the last of the judges and a GREAT figure in Israel's history. Although she is not in the direct lineage of Christ.

On top of many similarities to Sarah, she also foreshadowed Mary, the mother of Christ in her prayer - dedicating her son to God. Check it out!

Hannah’s Prayer
¹ Then Hannah prayed and said:
   “My heart rejoices in the LORD;
   in the LORD my horn^[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
   for I delight in your deliverance.

² “There is no one holy like the LORD;
   there is no one besides you;
   there is no Rock like our God.

³ “Do not keep talking so proudly
   or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
   and by him deeds are weighed.

⁴ “The bows of the warriors are broken,
   but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
   but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
   but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶ “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
   he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
   he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.

   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
   on them he has set the world.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
   but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

   “It is not by strength that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
   the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

   “He will give strength to his king
   and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

And she gave her son to God’s work at the age of 3. Although, she visited him often, which helped him to build the character he would need to be the last great judge of Israel (although she didn’t know this at the time, she was just helping him build Godly characters).

She had a great love for her husband, despite him having another wire, a holy ambition… and so much more.

This woman, who’s story only takes up a chapter and a half of scripture, was a MIGHTY tool that God used to change a nation.

Are you willing to be used by God in this way? To change the nation He has you change – a school, a business office, a home, a city, or maybe an actual nation.

If so, make sure your eyes are on Him and in His Word, not on the “goal” of being used, and He will use you for HIS glory.

Blessings,

PS- I finally posted it, proud of me??

. I can be SO unaware sometimes.

2011-02-04T07:37:00.001-06:00

I was sent a link to a Video the family research counsel did on the History of America… which sent me to their blog to see what else I could find. I stumbled across this….

Part of me CAN’T believe this happens and, sadly, part of me CAN!!

The content of this video is definitely eye opening and only for older adults, so I won’t be posting it to FB and ask you to use discretion as well… I believe it’s something my bloggers can see.

It’s an “undercover” interview of a PP worker.

Planned Parenthood talks child prostitution with LiveAction

Shocked!

.A Devotional.

2011-02-03T06:28:00.001-06:00

I had to share the devotional I read this morning! It’s SO good!

It’s from “Morning and Evening” by Charles H. Spurgeon. You can find it daily here.

Here’s todays [Bolding is my emphasis]:

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors." --Romans 8:12

As God's creatures, we are all debtors to him: to obey him with all our body, and soul, and strength. Having broken his commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to his justice, and we owe to him a vast amount which we are not able to pay. But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God's justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt his people owed; for this reason the believer owes the more to love. I am a debtor to God's grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to his justice, for he will never accuse me of a debt already paid. Christ said, "It is finished!" and by that he meant, that whatever his people owed was wiped away for ever from the book of remembrance. Christ, to the uttermost, has satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are debtors to God's justice no longer. But then, because we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and ponder for a moment. What a debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! How much thou owest to his disinterested love, for he gave his own Son that he might die for thee. Consider how much you owe to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves you as infinitely as ever. Consider what you owe to his power; how he has raised you from your death in sin; how he has preserved your spiritual life; how he has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have beset your path, you have been able to hold on your way. Consider what you owe to his immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, he has not changed once. Thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast--yield thyself as a living sacrifice, it is but thy reasonable service.

Also, I got a CD over the New Year that has really blessed me, here’s one of my favorites!

Have a Blessed day!

.Is being Content OK?.

2011-02-01T07:47:00.001-06:00

This has been mentioned to be several times over the past few months… we need to be CONTENT exactly where the Lord has us today!

My insides always CRING at the word? WHY, Lord? WHY?

I was praying as I was falling asleep last night, something I used to struggle to do, but praise God for even this small work in my life…. and I realized something.

EVERYTHING.in.this.world.screams.DO.

NOT.be.content.

Buy bigger…., have more……, do more….., watch more……

It’s almost as if I think that they are saying being content and being lazy are the same thing. Have you ever thought that? Well…THEY ARE NOT!

Just for fun, let’s look at the dictionary.com definitions:

con·tent

1. satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

2. British . agreeing; assenting.

3.Archaic . willing.

4. to make content: These things content me.

5. the state or feeling of being contented; contentment: His content was threatened.

6.(in the British house of Lords) an affirmative vote or voter.

la·zy

1.averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.

2.causing idleness or indolence: a hot, lazy afternoon.

3.slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy stream.

4.(of a livestock brand) placed on its side instead of upright.

More importantly – what does God say?

Content:

*Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

*Job 36:11
If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

*Psalm 131:2
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.

Lazy:

*Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

*Proverbs 10:3-5 (in Context) Proverbs 10 (Whole Chapter)

*Proverbs 12:27
The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
Proverbs 12:26-28 (in Context) Proverbs 12 (Whole Chapter)

*Proverbs 26:15
A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

Besides those, there are many other scriptures that talk about being content or finding our contentment in Him. Look it up! Search it out! It’s good stuff!

Will you join me in praying for the heart to be FULLY content in Christ, who died for you… HE is enough and nothing this world has to offer can ever compare to Him!

Love,

.A Wrestling With Meaning.

2011-01-27T18:43:00.001-06:00

So… I know I said I would do a post on Hannah… and it’s coming!

But I started listening to a song on that my friend Ria Thurston posted on her blog today and it’s caused me to look deep and be raw with my blog readers… all 5 of you. [It’s a treasured 5 though!]

I am wrestling. It’s a BIG wrestle that I believe all women face at some pivotal point in their life and, in many ways, a little bit everyday. In my life it was spurred on recently by a sermon by Caroline Mahaney titled “True Femininity”. You see this wrestling reaches deep into my heart and causes me to question what is there, because it’s one that causes me to reevaluate what my “calling” or true heart’s desire is to do with the rest of “my” life and even my sinful reactions to fight for “what I want”.

A few of the questions I face: Will I go crazy if all I do is “make a home”? What about the desire I have to go into marriage and family counseling? What do I have to offer anybody I do counsel? [I often find myself tongue tied when listening to someone facing some of life’s hardest struggles.] If I stay home, where will the money come from? [this is a big one… so big it has become a sin I have to repent of almost daily… or more]. You see, these are just questions that we all face on some level everyday, yet today they have been constantly beneath the surface of my thoughts.

Yet what brings me to my knees more than any of these questions is this… it’s not “MY” life to begin with. I have been bought with a price… a HIGH price, beyond which I am worth, but am SOOO thankful for none the less! So, despite my insecurities and deep questioning - I CHOOSE to TRUST that the God who sovereignly ordains all of life will show me how I am to live. And I CHOOSE to JOYFULLY [full of joy] walk out in the HIGH calling He has for me, no matter what that looks like, how it doesn’t always make sense to me, and no matter what the world thinks of it.

.And.I.CHOOSE.to.give Christ.my.all.EVERYDAY.

So – the wrestling may continue – but I hope and pray that in it I will CHOOSE to see my life in the proper perspective. It’s a choice, not a given, and one that takes conscious effort.

Love,

-H-

.YIKES!.

2011-01-25T07:54:00.001-06:00

No… I didn’t see a spider! In fact yesterday I was just giving thanks for having a “New” apartment with very few bugs… silly I know but it is nice!

I say YIKES because for the first time in tooooo long I jumped on Fox New’s website to catch-up on the times, this is something I used to do regularly and I think it’s important to do!

I found an article on Billy Graham – “America’s Pastor”- and in it he is quoted saying this: “Graham also said that if he could go back and do anything differently he would "spend more time at home with my family, and I'd study more and preach less."”

Does it worry you that the man who started the trend of large “Christian” conventions – Promise Keeps, Women of Faith, Acquire the Fire – wished he would have STUDIED more. Sadly, this is the case in many churches/ministries today, the leaders put people and doing ministry above time spent studying God’s HOLY Word that they use flippantly everyday without true understanding of what it means!

Now – here what I’m saying – I’m NOT saying that a pastor must “know” everything before he preaches. If that was the case no one would preach. However, pastors should be SO focused on making sure what they’re preaching is the truth that if they feel their sermon is not ready on Sunday Mornings, they are willing to find another way to feed their flock that morning, in this day and age the options are limitless with on-line resources, rather than fill them with possible half-truths or things they are not sure about.

So – that is why I say “YIKES”- it scares me to see my Holy, Precious, Sovereign God’s word and character preached so flippantly in the “highest” realms of society and to billions of people without the study to back it up.

Just some food for thought today… and I hope and pray that you can say, like I can, that your pastor is one who is FULLY focused on preaching THE TRUTH of the Word – letting scripture confirm scripture NOT scripture confirming some idea or theory that you come to the Bible wanting to confirm.

.Lack of Motivation.

2011-01-21T12:01:00.001-06:00

So, the end to my first official week “working for Mike” is here. I have done a little bit for him, but we have yet to sit down and go over the bulk of my projects… entering stuff into Quickbooks. Thus, my hours of work are very short and I find myself aimlessly wondering around the house at certain points during my day.

Yesterday I HAD to get out of the house and found this little treasure [click on pic to visit site]:

It’s my new favorite place to study… and is as close to Caribou as I’ll get in this part of the country.

Today I’ve mostly completed my to-do list and was sitting on the couch thinking, after reading the first book below… how often when I’m busy to I LONG for MORE time, but when I have it I find myself in a constant state of slow moving. YIKES! What a sad contradiction but evidence of the sinful nature in all of us.

Therefore, I resolve to fill my days with more of the things that I find myself wishing I had more time to do:

Pray
Read Scripture
Read Non-fiction books
Keep my house in order
Keep-in-touch with people
Learning the guitar (once I get one)

The list really good go on and on… the key is alternating sitting with doing and being creative to make things interesting! Please pray for me as I continue, that laziness would not creep into my life!

Here are a few of the books I’m tackling:

As a woman:

For Christian Life Studies:

For Bible Study:

I choose to narrow it down to these 3 and read them until completion (I can’t be bad at not finishing a book) Another blog about the first one will follow tomorrow… I read about Hannah today and it was such a blessings!

Love,

-H-

.A Comparison.

2011-01-15T07:27:00.000-06:00

Found this in my drafts yesterday… not sure if it was complete at the time, but it’s still good food for thought now…

Mercy~

Dictionary.com - compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner
Heidi – Not getting the consequences we deserve.

Grace ~

Dictionary.com -
1.elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2.a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3.favor or good will.
Heidi – Receiving God’s favor that we don’t deserve.

Many times I get these two things confused. The chapter I was reading this morning was on Mercy, so it caused me to once again ponder the difference and eternal implications of these two things… won’t you ponder with me?

Love,

Life Lately… an update by someone who needs to blog more :).

2011-01-14T07:52:00.001-06:00

With the blog I refuse to promise that I will be more faithful, although that is my hearts intent, I am trying to resolve to be a woman of my word. And sometimes with the blogging I simply hit a block and don’t know what to write about… like today…BUT today I have decided that I will start and see what comes! Here goes nothing…

I was showing a co-worker by blog yesterday and realized I haven’t blogged since NOVEMBER! YIKES! When I went to visit family and friends in MN over New Years I was reminded that a few people actually read this… so I should continue sharing! I was SO blessed by one of my girls who actually asked me about my niece and nephew! (who we haven’t seen in almost a month due to the holidays and going to their house last Sunday but no one opened the door and their cell is temporarily out of service :( )

Life in November and December FLEW by with working picking up for the holidays, getting together with family and friends, and mostly… school. School was an extra challenge this semester. I had just has much on my plate as when I lived at home and worked full-time… so it was hard for me to see why it stressed me out so much! Finally I concluded this – when I was at home I had ZERO social life and now we spend all day Sunday and Monday nights with our friends/church. I wouldn’t have it any other way! It just puts more pressure on school! But from here on out school does not look to be as hard. I believe the worst is behind me and I will graduate officially in July! YAY!

Another big life change – today is my last day at the Morning Star. It’s bitter-sweet! I have DEARLY enjoyed my time working there! I have learned SO much about different aspects of my faith… from the men/women who hold strongly to the truth to the ones who ruin it for the rest of us. (If you ever need/want to run an author by me PLEASE e-mail me! I’m SO passionate about people reading THE Truth and else… and sadly you can’t trust everything in a Christian bookstore these days!) For the next little bit in life, I will be working for my favorite man and his company Batista Electric! We’re both VERY excited to see what the Lord is going to do in and through this company! He has already grown it to more than Mike can handle on his own, thus the reason I’m starting to work for him! This will help with the school stress level too, hopefully!

OK – I think this is long enough – but one last thing! We were TOTALLY blessed! We went to IKEA looking for shelves for our kitchen (so the coffee pot wasn’t sitting on the toaster oven, which was on the microwave, which was on Mike’s old night stand…lol) And we found these…

They fit PERFECTLY, make SO much more space, and were super cheap! (Ria- see the jars you gave us on the top shelf?) My hubby was wonderful and put these together for me while I was at work yesterday…even though he hasn’t been feeling well!

I’ll post more pics of our little apartment soon… (when I deem it clean enough to take pics of!)

So that’s my little life update… hopefully I’ll post more soon!

Love,

.Love Is…

2010-11-02T08:27:00.001-05:00

This morning as a sat reading God’s word, I found my way to 1 Corinthians. I haven’t really studied this since I got married so I thought it would be a good reminder.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~ ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

[Biblegateway.com]

Then I decided to take it a step further and read my footnotes. [I have the MacArthur Study Bible, NASB…if you need a study bible I HIGHLY recommend this one!] Here is what the footnotes on these verses say:

In these verses, the fullness of love is described, in each case by what love does. Love is action, not abstraction. Positively, love is patient with people and gracious to them with generosity. Negatively, love never envies, or brags, or is arrogant, since that is the opposite of selfless service to others. Never rude or overbearing, love never wants its own way, is not irritated or angered in personal offense, and finds no pleasure in someone else’s sin, even the sin of an enemy. On the positive side again, love is devoted to truth in everything. With regard to “all things” within God’s righteous and gracious will, love protects, believes, hopes, and endures what other reject.

Good stuff huh?! I love getting into God’s word and realizing new things about passages I’ve read hundreds of times! Don’t be afraid to go deeper, to press in, and compliment your study with SOLID men who dedicate their lives to finding truth. [ If you need a few, ask and I’ll give them to you! But I BEG you, please don’t assume that any person you find in a Christian bookstore, website, or even church is preaching the Truth because it’s not true. ]

Hope that blesses you today!

Love,

-H-

.Our Niece and Nephew.

2010-10-31T10:02:00.001-05:00

One of the newest additions to life since moving out to MA has been two of Mike’s cousin’s children… for simplicity sake we call them our niece and nephew.

Introducing Devin (AKA – the Cop) And Brittany (AKA – The Cowgirl, with my boots on :) )Aren’t they cute??

[Note: Sorry about the pic quality, these were just with my computer camera, having fun one night!]

Their life has been hard. terrible. beyond comprehension at points. The comforts you and I take for granted, they’ve barely had. Yes, there are those who have had it rougher than they have, but the things these kids have seen, experienced and lived through blows my mind.

Their father got remarried and as soon as his new wife got pregnant, she decided she didn’t want these two around to hurt the new baby. So, they were sent back to live with their mother, who had no parents of her own, lives in the projects, and has no idea how to raise kids.

Mike and I are attempting to be a small light in their lives, parents who love and discipline them, and people who show them the basic parts of living life [cleanliness, kindness to each other, sharing, allowing the adults to be the parents, etc.]

It’s tough. In some ways I feel like I’ve been thrown into parenthood WAY before being ready, even though it’s only one night a week. Other times I realize my humanness. And other times they melt my heart!

I love having them around, showing them how to be kids, and bring Christ into their lives a little at a time. So, I thought I would share them with all of you and thanks for your prayers over this part of our lives!

(Peace out!)

-Heidi-

.Here I go.

2010-10-20T06:53:00.001-05:00

Here I sit… wishing that I had hours and hours to spend with the Lord this morning, because my heart NEEDs Him this morning and He is wonderful!

Marriage is a beautiful thing and my heart becomes more and more Mike’s everyday… to the point that 5 min. of seeing each other in the middle of a crazy day isn’t enough, or he walks out the door in the morning and before he’s down the stairs I already miss him. Crazy how life is, huh?

For our honeymoon he got us mugs kinda like this:

And in it, it says “I found the one my heart loves".” Song of Solomon 3:4. YES- I have! YES! YES! YES!

I love loving him, knowing him, serving him, surprising him, making breakfast/lunch/dinner for him, cleaning the house so he has a cozy place to come home to… every part of being a wife! It’s not always easy, but with Christ as the center, I know I’m truly doing it to glorify Him. With that in mind, it becomes easier [not easy, just easier.]

I start a job today with The Morning Star – a local Christian book store. I’m excited because I see the Lord’s hand in bringing me this job, but saddened because it’s going to take away slightly from doing all the things I mentioned above, that MUCH to my surprise, I’ve come to enjoy the past month! On top of this, school starts again on Monday for me… another bittersweet addition to life.

Life is about to change. I hope I’m ready and pray I made the most of the last month at home – setting-up house, building daily “wifey” disciplines, and most importantly reaching into the depths of Jesus Christ and making sure He is my sole focus!

It’s with both joy and sadness, I step forward into my day… here I go!

~H~

P.S. Aren’t we a cute couple?

{7.31.10 – before we were married, helping at Tara [Janik] and Chris Klefsaas’ wedding}

.Viewing God’s Word.

2010-10-11T13:47:00.001-05:00

I’m going to have to interrupt my season of reflection and looking backward, to share about the here and now of life. This is actually something I was just journaling about yesterday morning. Reflecting on all that the Lord has done is extremely important, but how often do we [me especially] forget to savor the here and now.

What a RICH season I’m in… YES - because I’m a newly-wed and LOVING being married, but it’s more than that too. I’m back among a fellowship of believers that are constantly blessing, encouraging and challenging my walk with the Lord! I.missed.this.SO.much.

My heart is hungry more of the Lord, yet so often I forget to feed it or only get a little snack – for the WHOLE day! Imagine what your body would do if this happen, yet SO many times I do it to the ONE part of me that will live forever! YIKES! We need to be DESPERATE for the Lord, on our knees daily begging the King of Kings to change us and mold us to be more like him. How BEAUITFUL!

Hearing and reading TRUTH, being picky even in the Christian realm of what you let into your head, makes a HUGE difference! My eyes have been opened to the fact that so many times the Church and its leaders pick something they want to learn or know and find scripture to back it up. I’ve been guilty of this [Father, forgive me!!] and it rips me apart to know I have led people into this people-centered study of scripture! Scripture is GOD’s WORD to us, how dare we change it! My spirit is 110% more refreshed when I read a book by someone like John Piper or John MacArthur who have spent YEARS researching scripture IN CONTEXT. Men who go to the WORD and say – God get rid of me and reveal yourself! NOT – God, show me what I want to see today. We’re all guilty of the second, but it is not God’s BEST.

With that being said… I’m starting another blog to share about my journey with the Lord and seeking out HIS truth, not my own. It’s not quiet ready yet, and I don’t want to rush it… so be looking for it in a later post.

-Heidi-

.Honeymoon.

2010-10-07T09:12:00.001-05:00

And the next topic on my list of things to blog about is…. THE HONEYMOON!

I downloaded my pictures from our travels yesterday and sadly… there aren’t very many at all! So, I’ll try and compensate by linking to the websites to all the places we were.

Our first two nights we stayed in a cute, secluded place near Pella, IA. For those of you who don’t know where this is, it’s about an hour from where the wedding was, but well worth the drive! For those of you who live in Iowa – this is a GREAT place for every married couple! Here’s the LINK.

Next – we were off to Massachusetts!

Our first stop was Chicago… where we stayed at the The Allerton Hotel. It’s probably the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in [we got it cheap on Hotwire.] AND they upgraded us to the honeymoon suite for FREE! YES! We had a great view of the city! The next day we went to Navy Pier, Giordano's [for some GREAT Chicago style Pizza].

Then we drove to Sandusky, OH so that we could spend a day at… CEDAR POINT! It’s one of the largest amusement parks in the U.S.! This is something we both GREATLY enjoy but have never done together! Although we quickly realized that our ages have caught up with us when we were ready to leave around 4 PM and hadn’t road all the rides yet… it was still WELL worth it!

That night we stayed with one of my good friends, bridesmaids, and her new husband – Tara and Chris Klefsaas. It was nice to be in a home for one night at this point! It was a time of relaxed, sweet fellowship!

Then we made our way home, but only for a night… because then we were off to the Brookshire Mtns of Western Mass. My aunt and uncle had given us a week’s time share at Vacation Village. It was SO relaxing and yet went by SO quickly! We enjoyed cooking for ourselves, their free movie rentals, hiking the Mtns and sleeping!

We also visited the Norman Rockwell museum that was near by, here are a few pics!

His Studio.

My man :)

On our way back home we stopped at my first corn maze! Sad, I know, growing up in Iowa and never going to a corn maze is not something I’m proud of!

Surprise for me!

Starting the maze…

We made it out alive! And yes, Dunkin Donuts is my new favorite place to go!

Then we were home for a couple more days and flew down to Texas for ESOAL… but more on that later!

Overall we had a GREAT time hanging out, exploring the country, traveling, resting and eating lots of good food! It.was.PERFECT.!!

-Heidi-

.Fall.

2010-10-06T15:48:00.001-05:00

… it’s one of my favorite seasons of the year… SO I decided to change the look of my blog. What do you think??

.Wedding.

2010-10-01T12:22:00.001-05:00

Time to start getting back into “real” life again… by blogging about THE most surreal day of my life. Well… really the surreallness started the Monday before our wedding, when my Groom arrived in Iowa. [We.would.never.have.to.say.good-bye.again…]

The week flew by, but yet was pretty low stress… my goal was to take a nap everyday, which was mostly successful. There were days when I just laid there and prayed and pondered, but I slept for 30 min. the day before my wedding! Everything was done and I had nothing else to think about!

CELEBRATING .L.O.V.E.

[Note: I don’t have the professional pics yet, but you can see them here. The ones on this blog are all taken by a good friend and photographer – Ria Thurston. You can see her blog here.]

Getting Ready – Starting at 8 AM, the girls met at Bridge City Design Studio… where we all had a blast getting our hair done and fellowshipping together!

(Not quiet done… although there was talk of me leaving my hair like this, what do you think? ) (My beautiful sister and wonderful maid-of-honor! I’m a blessed woman to have her in my life!)

BUT before we got started there, a few of us made a quick coffee run to “The Lucky Rooster” and started our day right :)! There we were standing at the counter, fully focuses on what flavor we wanted to get… and I hear the door open. SO, naturally I looked over to see who was coming in! And who do I see? But my wonderful groom!!! *Time seemed to stand still as he walked towards me* It wasn’t until he looked up and saw me that reality clicked in and the flurry started! We decided not to see each other until the ceremony! One of my bridesmaids jumped in front of me, while the other escorted my shocked groom outside to see what he needed. No one told him I was going to be there… and he was simply trying to deliver the following card and rose to someone to give to me [How Sweet!].

It was a fun moment and one that still brings a smile to my face and certainly brought a smile to the face of the coffee shop workers!

The Ceremony – it was perfect. full of joy. focused on the Lord. and blessed others. Words cannot describe what I felt was I was FINALLY the one wearing the white dress, sneaking in the back door of the church. I had enough coherency to sneak a couple small subway sandwiches [meat, cheese, and bread only… I’m not THAT crazy!] Several influential women prayed over me and as several men did the same for Mike (in another room, of course!) … it was such a blessing to have each of them there! And then…

The Music started! Reality started to sink in… and then I turned the corner, took my dad’s arm, and started walking. Seeing a few people along the way, and then my eyes were only for one man at the end of the isle. IT.WAS.PERFECT.

Here are our vows – perfect reflections of our hearts and desire for Christ to be the center:

I, Michael John Batista, take you, Heidi Marie Abigt, to be my wedded wife. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband. I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, and my most tender care. I promise I will live first unto God rather than others or even you. I promise that I will lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. And so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of us, in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.

I, Heidi Marie Abigt, take you, Michael John Batista, to be my wedded husband. As you have pledged to me your life and love, so I too happily give you my life, and in confidence submit myself to your headship as to the Lord. As is the church in her relationship to Christ, so I will be to you. I will live first unto our God and then unto you, loving you, obeying you, caring for you and ever seeking to please you. God has prepared me for you and so I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you. Therefore, throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of us, in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health, I pledge to you my life as an obedient and faithful wife.

Then communion. Unity Candle. Our parents prayed over us (another beautiful moment)… and then… we got to kiss and be pronounced…

MR & MRS MICHAEL JOHN BATISTA

The Reception - was a wonderful time of fun, fellowship and food!

Our first dance was to “Love is Not a Fight” by Warren Barfield.

Cutting the cake was an adventure… let’s just say he had more self-control than me [I got him good!]. However, at our reception in Massachusetts, this was not the case. I had someone come up to me after we cut the cake here and say “I’ve seen alot of things, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a bride run from the cake table like you.” Yea, it was fun!

Then we escaped into the night, in a very tastefully decorated car [click to see pic].

There are many more stories I could tell of blessings we received, funny things that happened, or about how we appreciated EVERY person that came… it was OUR perfect day!

.Revisiting the Beatitudes.

2010-07-07T06:47:00.001-05:00

“With each beatitude another nail is driven into a coffin. Inside the coffin lies the corpse of a false understanding of salvation. The false understanding said that a person can be saved without being changed. Or: that a person can inherit eternal life even if his attitudes and actions are like the attitudes and actions of unbelievers…you just make a decision one time and then it doesn’t matter if your merciful [or do anything the Bible commands].” - John Piper

I am slowly working through a sermon series by Piper on the Beatitudes. It’s SO refreshing, basic, foundational… I wish I would have listened to this sooner and really dove into the depths of this passage.

If your times with the Lord have been dry lately… I suggest starting here again. Don’t give-up pressing towards Christ. He is SO worth it ALL!!!

Mike and I have also been reading “Essential Truths of the Christian Faith” by R.C. Sproul. A quote from last week that continues to resonate with me:

“It is infinitely more important for my heart to be right before God than that my theology be impeccably correct. However, for my heart to be right, there is a primacy of the intellect in terms of order. Nothing can be in my heart that is not first in my head… the more I come to understand that character of God, the greater is my capacity to love Him.”

For those of you, like me, who have found themselves saying or thinking “I don’t need to read the Word today, I just want to love Jesus through prayer and worship.” Please ask yourself, why must they be separate? Prayer and worship are good and often more “fun” or “emotional” that reading the Word, but the Bible is our DIRECT source of God’s wisdom, love and character… It’s SOO important!

Someday I’ll become a consistent blogger, but until then, I hope these things challenge you as much as they did me!

Love,

-H-

.A Light to the World.

2010-06-15T06:40:00.001-05:00

More times than I would like to admit, in the past 2 yrs, I have not “felt” like a Christian. When the world surrounds and begins to slowly penetrate life, we become SO blind to it. It’s the small things like not “feeling” like getting into the WORD in the morning, not taking ONE thought captive, or even watching a movie that had a HINT of unGodliness in it.

At church on Sunday we watched a video for the sermon, and I had a slight issue with the first part {which the pastor ended up bringing back to Christ in the end, but the first part ruined it for me}. His daughter was interviewing him for a paper she was writing and her question was “What is the single most important thing you do as a Pastor?” and he thought about it, and responded “I keep myself encouraged”. My heart sank. What a MISSED opportunity to remind his daughter of Christ alone being our sole focus… not how we feel about him or life! [Perhaps this is one of the small non-truths we let in.]

I have felt VERY discouraged at many points in life, especially over the past 2 years, but I THANK GOD for those times that allow me to see HIM move in and mold me to be more like HIM. I’m not sure where we get the idea [and we all have it to some extent] that Christians should “feel” encouraged all the time and life should always be great in the moment… because that’s not what the Bible promises. Our great PROMISE is an ETERNAL salvation! An Unconditional LOVE for all eternity! [Praise the Lord - David, Paul, and Christ himself put their hope in the eternal salvation, not the affliction or encouragement of the moment!!!]

I’m not saying it’s wrong to feel encouraged, those times are important too! I’m just saying being “A Light to this World” is NOT about how we feel. [Even though that’s what so many churches are about these days.]

Easier said than done, I know, but HE is working in us to make it possible!

-H-

…Being A Woman…

2010-06-11T20:27:00.001-05:00

Most days I go through life as a woman… just living. Then there are times, not too often, where I love to fully enjoy and indulge in womanhood and the things that women enjoy that men will never fully understand [It’s OK guys…there are things I’ll never understand about you, it’s the way God made us :)]….

Bubble Baths
Candles
Relaxing Piano Music
Dark Chocolate
And a Romantic Novel

These make up my evening. I love being a woman.

What do you enjoy?

Love,

Heidi

.Beatitudes.

2010-05-18T06:20:00.001-05:00

The Beatitudes

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to
him, ²and he began to teach them saying:
³"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.   - Matthew 5:1-12

My heart keeps coming back to this passage. Simple. Deep. Profound. Soul Searching. LIFE ALTERING [if you allow it]!! Have you ever prayed – Lord, I want to be more like you!! But don’t know what that looks like? Are you a list person like me?

Compare your life to this verse! My doesn’t even begin to compare.

Lord – Mold me and make me to be more like this! I am clay in your hands, mold me according to YOUR will, not mine! Love, Heidi.

I hope you have a great day in the Lord!

Heidi

On-line Religion

2010-05-07T11:18:00.001-05:00

I'm at work, but was just reading this artcile... how sad...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/07/millennials-finding-religion-online/

Love,
Heidi

..Affliction..

2010-04-26T06:37:00.002-05:00

Why?

The first question many people ask when they hear this word or stories of people in other countries being persecuted. It’s not fun. or enjoyable. There will be people who think we’re weird. crazy. naive. are those things so bad though? NO! Why? Because it means that we are being “ambassadors for Christ'” desiring to be like him on this earth, knowing this is not our home!

YES – we will face afflictions and persecution – not always physically, but in any and everyway subtle and obvious that distracts us from being like Christ.

WHY do we have to face it? Because everything in this world is contrary to our God, Creator, Lover, Father, and Savior and his Name and Glory are at stake! It has NOTHING to do with us, and everything to do with Him!

HOPE – He does not leave us alone to face these things on our own! 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7:

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all
comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Longing for more of Him,

Heidi

.. Worry ..

2010-04-22T06:55:00.002-05:00

I was reading this sermon this morning, by John MacArthur. It brought up several good points on worry that I could not keep to myself!

First of all, consider this:

“…the Bureau of Standards in Washington D.C. and they had a little feature in there that was telling about fog, and what was the composite element of fog. And this I thought was fascinating, a dense fog that covers a seven city block area one hundred feet deep, and by that they mean a very dense, thick fog seven blocks and a hundred feet deep, is composed of less than one glass of water, divided into sixty thousand million drops. Not much is really there at all, but it can cripple an entire city. And I think that's a pretty good illustration of worry, put it all together and you don't have much more than a glass of water, but you can sure mess up a whole lot of people.”

How often do we let worry in our lives OVERTAKE everything?! Just like less than a glass of water can cripple a city… hmmm….

{Photo}

And besides that, 4 times in this passage, part of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ commands us not to worry:

"Therefore, I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; neither yet for your body, what ye shall put on….Therefore, be not anxious saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Be, therefore, not anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow will be anxious for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own evil." – Matthew 6:25-34.

I know, I know… easier said than done, but that’s not an excuse to not try, right? Don’t go around looking like this:

{Photo}

Instead, trust and hope in Christ to provide EVERYTHING!

. A Comparison .

2010-04-19T06:37:00.003-05:00

Found this in my drafts yesterday… not sure if it was complete at the time, but it’s still good food for thought now…

Mercy~

Dictionary.com - compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner
Heidi – Not getting the consequences we deserve.

Grace ~

Dictionary.com -
1.elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2.a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3.favor or good will.
Heidi – Receiving God’s favor that we don’t deserve.

Love,

.Life Lately.

2010-04-17T09:43:00.002-05:00

I know the last couple of posts have been on the heavy side of things. So, I think it’s time for a simple life update. Here are some things that happened/I discovered this week [In no particular order, just as they come to me]:

I’m a SENIOR in college. Because I’ve been taking classes on-line the timing gets a little fuzzy in my head, but it’s official by credits!
Mike and I were not liking the idea of not seeing each other until May… so WE BOUGHT A FLIGHT! I get to see him next weekend! {This was only after much prayer, checking bank accounts, and finding a GREAT deal on flights!}
As of Sunday I’ll be half-way through another set of classes {I take 2 classes every 8 weeks}. Time seems to be FLYING by!
133 Days until the wedding… WHOA! I go back and forth, but today I wouldn’t mind if the countdown would slow down just a little!
I got my wisdom teeth out last Thursday and the recovery seems to be going well! No dry sockets, infections, or bruising. Still just a little swelling and regular doses of pain meds. I would not have been so optimistic last weekend, I cried several times, but now I’m glad I did it all as once and NEVER have to do it again!
Finally, and most importantly, the Lord is moving in new ways in both Mike and I. It’s SO refreshing and encouraging to go through this as a couple and not alone. Our God is TRUELY faithful, wise, and SOVREIGN in every way. I’m excited to see what He has in store!

To End- a few engagement pics. I realized I never put these on here. I never grow tired of seeing these! It was a fun. lovely. exciting. day!

All credit goes to Ria, with Ri Photography. She did a GREAT job!

Love,

Heidi

..Surrender..

2010-04-16T06:49:00.002-05:00

This is something it seems like I used to think alot about, especially when I first moved home, has come up in my life again.

Do you ever wish that you could take the “Chalk-board” of your life and wipe it ALL clean? To start completely over. To SURRENDER everything to Christ.

I’m not sure if I would do anything differently, really. But I look at my life - the way I think, the things I believe – and I see areas that need lots of work. My mind, actions and speech are swayed so easily by the world I live in and what society dictates is the “Norm”. I wish I could have a right view of Christ, Prayer, the Holy Spirit – all the things of God that don’t always make “sense” - not tainted by the comfort of my home, abundant food, and the society I’ve been trained by my whole life.

I just want to surrender it ALL…

and only get back His thoughts, ways, and life.

~Heidi~

Significance.

2010-04-15T19:36:00.002-05:00

Mike was asking about my day earlier and my reply was simply “Good.” Nothing else. Which started a longer conversation in which my wonderful fiancé said something that stood out to me that I wanted to share. I’m sure I’ll butcher what he [actually] said, but here’s what I walked away with…

“ There are significant things that happen daily in your life, but because it’s your life you’re not aware of them. If we fail to see the significance in our lives, then we will fail to feel significant and forget we are called to make an impact with everything that we do.”

Life at work today felt just like every other day. Life at work tomorrow, will [hopefully] feel a little.bit.different.

Side Note: Part of me wants to make blogging apart of my everyday life. It’s necessary {for me at least} to process life daily {in some way or another}. We’ll see how that goes!

Love,

Heidi

Learning to LOVE Simplicity

2010-04-13T17:45:00.002-05:00

My thoughts often wonder to the simplicity of my life these days…

*The Lord

*Mike

*Work

*Family

*School

Many times I wish there were more things like, sitting in coffee shops for hours counseling my girls or journaling or talking to mentors, but there simply isn’t. Which is simply beautiful in it own way and I want to start FULLY treasuring this season for what is it, because I know someday, I’ll wish I could have it back!

Simply,

Heidi

A Prayer

2010-03-31T06:40:00.002-05:00

My heart keeps going back to this prayer from “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ” by John Piper, a book I’ve been slowly working through because of the meat in it. This is from the chapter titled- The Incomparable Sufferings… read it keeping in mind all Christ suffered for your sake:

A P R A Y E R
Father, what can we say? We feel utterly unworthy in
the face of Christ’s unspeakable sufferings. We are
sorry. It was our sin that brought this to pass. It was
we who struck him and spit on him and mocked him.
O Father, we are so sorry. We bow ourselves to the dirt
and shut the mouths of our small, dark, petty, sinful
souls. O Father, touch us with fresh faith that we might
believe the incredible. The very pain of Christ that
makes us despair is our salvation. Open our fearful
hearts to receive the Gospel. Waken dead parts of our
hearts that cannot feel what must be felt—that we are
loved with the deepest, strongest, purest love in the
universe. Oh, grant us to have the power to comprehend
with all the saints the height and depth and length
and breadth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
and may we be filled with all the fullness of God.
Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind
and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is
too short, too precious, too painful to waste on
worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is
too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter
around on the porch of eternity. O God, open our eyes
to the vastness of the sufferings of Christ and what they
mean for sin and holiness and hope and heaven. We
fear our bent to trifling. Make us awake to the weight
of glory—the glory of Christ’s incomparable sufferings.
In his great and wonderful name, amen.

Kinda puts everything in perspective, huh? Yes, as you can see from my post on Monday, life isn’t always easy, but it is “…too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst.”

Heidi

It’s a Hard-Knock Life… for me?!?!

2010-03-29T18:50:00.002-05:00

I have just come to a freeing realization…and it’s weird to admit to the world, but I’m going to anyway, because it’s true and I’m learning how to be honest :-)… I’m not a big fan of my life right now! “Gasp! Heidi - how can you say that?? You’re engaged that’s one of the most wonderful seasons out there!” (which I do agree with, by the way) Well… for several reasons:

Working full-time, going to school full time, preparing to be a wife, and planning a wedding all at the same time does some CRAZY stuff to my emotions! I didn’t think of myself as an emotional woman until now! And now, not only am I trying to understand it all, but I have to try and explain what I don’t know and understand about myself to a man…rough stuff!
No matter which of the above things I’m doing I always feel like I should be doing something else or want to be doing something else. It makes it VERY difficult to just BE!
My heart still longs to go back to the simplicity of life at Teen Mania, it was fast and full, but grounded and rich! Life in the real world takes a whole new level of faith and dependency on Christ… which are wonderful and amazingly difficult characteristics to work on in your own life.
Yet, while my heart looks back with that deep longing, it’s also looking forward with GREAT anticipation, excitement and fear towards August 28th, 2010, where nothing will ever be the same again! So many new adventures and things to look forward to… and so many unknowns I will never understand until they’re upon me!
The more time Mike and I get to spend together… like in the same place, at the same time, enjoying the same things… the more dissatisfied I become with going back to only having a phone or Skype to communicate on. *sigh* someday this will not be the case anymore!

So, as WEIRD as it feels to admit all of that, I realize that it only means… I’m human! And a woman with CRAZY emotions at that! And even though I’m not a big fan of life at this moment, when I take a step back and see ALL the RICH lessons the Lord is teaching me, the character HE is building, and the WONDERFUL life He has given me…. I chose to be thankful and give all praise to the ONE who deserves it all, because without him, I am NOTHING!

Thanks for listening while I seek to understand my current world a little more :)

Heidi

Relationship with Christ

2010-03-25T06:44:00.001-05:00

Hey Bloggers!

The Lord has been doing a lot in my life lately, so much so that I haven’t been able to figure out where to begin to blog about it! He’s been taking me to a deeper intimacy, submission, obedience, and selflessness… definitely hasn’t been an easy journey!

In my time with Him this morning I read this in “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers and it really blessed me! I hope it blesses you too, it’s worth your time to read!

“Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. [Yikes!] A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— "What a fine person that man is!" That is not being a true "friend of the bridegroom"— I am increasing all the time; He is not.

To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is [not ours!]. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the "friend of the bridegroom." Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends "of the bridegroom," we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.”

So – where does your life point? To the one who created You and died 1,000 deaths for your salvation… NOTHING else matters! NOTHING else is worth the challenge of living a righteous life!

Lord- INCREASE in my life! Help me to decrease. It’s a scary prayer, because I have NO idea how you’ll answer it, and it probably won’t be with roses and chocolate, but it’s what my heart yearns for anyway! Your will be done Father! Amen!

Love,

Heidi

Comfortable In My Own Skin

2010-03-07T07:45:00.002-06:00

The Lord has been doing a work in my heart this week, and it hasn’t necessarily been an easy, enjoyable journey. Insecurities in my own life have been rising to the surface, like grape skins do when you’re boiling grapes to make grape jelly.. .like this picture… a favorite childhood memory of mine. :)

And just like when making Jelly, it is important to skim this stuff off the top and not ignore it… cuz if you ignore it you’ll have to deal with it again, it never truly goes away.

For me this has come to the surface in the planning for engagement pics., invitations and really everything having to do with the wedding. I want it ALL to be PERFECT and WOW the world for years to come. In doing this though, I have walked down the treacherous path of caring more about what others think or the latest fashions than 1) The Lord… yikes! and 2)Being myself and comfortable with who I am and what I enjoy. This is a path I used to walk down alot, and by the Lord’s grace hadn’t been walking down, until now :).

So, I am slowly growing comfortable with the fact that 1) what I wear in my engagement pics. doesn’t have to be the latest fashion, because fashion really is what you make it, not trying to copy the latest trend… SO out come all the scarves I LOVE!

2) I am a big town girl, living in a small town world - which offers it’s own unique classyness for pictures and wedding locations! It may not be the nicest places, with the best food, but it is where I grew-up and thus uniquely part of me.

With all this realization, I can’t wait to share more of ME with the world and be comfortable with every part of who the Lord has created me… in my own skin :-).

8 Months of <3

2010-03-06T08:25:00.002-06:00

I woke up in one of the most wonderful ways this morning… to my mom bringing in flowers! She told me to go back to sleep, but once I realized what they were, my mind started trying to figure out if they were for me or my sister (who is home with her BF for the weekend and sleeping in my room too). As my brain started to wake-up I realized…. It’s Our 8 month Anniversary! And then, falling back asleep, was NOT an option!

My mom HAD to get her camera out, she loves being apart of these things!

Here’s they are, with me on the phone with him in the background!

She’s SO creative! I love these:

My wonderfully hubby-to-be called my parents at work yesterday and had them pick these up. He knows me so well…A Dozen Purple Roses…my favorite color!! He told my mom he wanted me to see them first thing when I wake-up…. so romantic! And little did he know, but the filler greenery they used (the buds before they bloom) is what is going to be in the bouquets for the wedding! PERFECT!

What a great way to start the day!… the only thing that would have made it better was it he was here to delivery them himself!

A Hodgepodge of Topics

2010-02-27T08:22:00.001-06:00

Life~

As I sat down to write this blog, I was pretty unsure of what to blog about today. You see, these days, my life doesn’t change that much from day to day. It’s simple, yet full. Before leaving Teen Mania one of my mentors spoke over me that this coming season would be a “Pit-Stop” in the race of life for me. A time of refreshing and renewal. Has it been those things? I would say, Yes. Not in the way I was originally anticipating because “His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.” Humans life is NEVER what we expect right? The important thing to remember is our life is ALWAYS what He, Christ, expects it the be! How freeing, peaceful and rich is that?? It gets me excited! And reminds me SO much of how much I really do need his grace, EVERY SECOND!

Preparing for Marriage~

I was reading this sermon one morning this week “The Beautiful Faith of Fearless Submission” in it Piper talks about the four parts of a Powerful Womanhood:
1) Unshakable Hope in God – not her husband or her looks, but in the promises of God!
2)Fearlessness – grows out of Hope. She knows whatever comes, will come and therefore does not fear the future.
3) Internal Adornment – focusing more on beautifying her heart and mind, rather than her outward appearance.
4) Submission- he defines submission as:

“Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. It’s the disposition to follow a husband’s authority and an inclination to yield to his leadership. It is an attitude that says, “I delight for you to take the initiative in our family. I am glad when you take responsibility for things and lead with love. I don’t flourish in the relationship when you are passive and I have to make sure the family works.”

Beautiful. Refreshing. Empowering. are the words that come to mind after reading that. I feel like in today’s society that submission might as be a four-letter word, because they don’t see the other 3 parts of womanhood. But like anything, when it’s done God’s way, it’s wonderful!

Fun~

On another note – Mike is going to be here in less than TWO weeks! We have lots planned already, but the biggest plan is for this beautiful lady- Ria Lenzen- to take our engagement pictures! I am SO excited! What is it in women starts planning for these kind of things weeks in advance… the clothes, hair, make-up, shoes, jewelry, etc? I enjoy being a woman and delighting in these things, but planning for engagement pics takes it to a whole new level, I want everything to be perfect!! Guess I need to keep in mind what Piper said, while I make my plans, right? Anyone have any tips for Engagement pics? Bring ‘em on!

Until Next time!
Heidi

Preparing for Marriage

2010-02-20T16:29:00.002-06:00

This season of engagement has been beautiful! A time for preparing, discussing and anticipating marriage… the great times, the normal times, and the hard times! Deep introspection and getting all the weaknesses out on the table… not easy but SO good!

Last weekend when Mike and I were together for Valentines day we started down this road. Our first assignment is to read “This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence” by John Piper.

We have books but we also have it on CD, so on our way home from the airport we listened to the first couple of chapters and discussed them. Then, at Mike’s church they have been working through Eph. 5, so Sunday morning’s sermon added to and confirmed what we had already been learning.

I’ve been trying to journal about this, but honestly it’s hard to hand-write this all out! So, here are my thoughts/journaling on what I’ve been learning:

“It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on [after the rings are exchanged], the marriage that sustains your love.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Quote in Momentary Marriage)

The covenant nature of marriage is not founded on the emotions or romance… even those are SOO wonderful! For me it has been the undeniable work of Christ bringing us together in such a way we cannot deny it’s the work of God. Then, we walk obediently into the unbreakable covenant with each other and Christ as the center."

“The ultimate thing we can say about marriage is that it exists for God’s glory. That is, it exists to display God. Now we see how: Marriage is patterned after Christ’s covenant relationship to his redeemed people, the church. And therefore, the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and his church on display.” – John Piper, Ch. 1

Just as Christ sacrificed his WHOLE life for the sake of His church, so we must sacrifice our WHOLE lives to put the other first. We must be willing to lay down our life for the other. Our bodies are no longer our own but belong to the other… just as Christ is the head of the Church and we are part of His body in perfect unity with Him!

“…is it a deep, deep mystery, to think that Christ cherishes you as His own body, that Christ considers you as His own body, that Christ welcomes you into His own body; that to touch you as a member of Christ’s body is to touch Christ.” - Jeffrey Costa (Mikes’s pastor/friend)

“And you see that this means that when there is discord in marriage, when there is disunity in marriage, when there is a lack of love from a husband to a wife, and a lack of respect and regard from a wife to a husband, it isn’t just a tragedy at a human level—though it is…it’s a tragedy at the divine level, because in marriage we’re supposed to be displaying that glorious, incomprehensible mystery of our union with Christ.” – Jeffrey Costa

And just as Christ would never leave His wife, the church, we must never leave each other. Instead we must extend to the other the same grace that both are given by Christ...

“when, in fact, a husband and a wife do many things that they should be ashamed of – [the key to not being ashamed] is the experience of God’s vertical forgiving, justifying grace bent out horizontally to each other and displayed to the world.” – John Piper, Ch. 3

Ultimately – Christ must be the center of everything we do, say, and think! So many times in marriage the husband and wife look to each other for completion and healing, but instead they must look together towards Christ and keep their eyes focused on him!

Easier said that done… I know!… but such a deeply profound and important reminder!

Valentines Day Weekend

2010-02-16T19:22:00.002-06:00

It was a weekend full of adventure and crazy flights, but so worth it all to see MY love!

We got to spend some time together, but Sunday morning is when I got the camera out :) Here are some pics from while we were at Battleship Cove. Someday we want to go back and actually tour the ships, but this day we just enjoyed being together and in Love!

My Favorite of us!

It was windy and I had the bright idea of taking the pic while we were looking into the sun… oops!…

By the battleship…. the wind came up behind me! Crazy hair!

This little river was beautiful! I took it from inside so you can see my reflection!

And a couple of the battleships…

This cove is in Fall River, MA - the town that Mike and I are going to live!! That realization became such an exciting reality to me this weekend! I can’t wait to go on walks with him by the water, explore more of Fall River, take trips to the big cites - Boston (1 hr.), Providence, RI (20 min.), NYC (4 hrs), and Hartford, CT (2 hrs)! I LOVE the architecture and depth of history of the East Coast and someday I’ll get to explore it all with the man I love… someday :-D.

The Lord has been giving me more revelation on Eph. 5… more on that to come!

Blessings!

10 Years from Now…

2010-02-11T19:06:00.002-06:00

I WON an AWARD! Thanks Ria! It’s been SO fun to dream and then get to share it all with my followers!

Ok, here are the rules (I guess)…

* Link back to the blogger who sent you this award
* Post where you would like to be in 10 years
* Pass it on to 10 other special bloggers! (Not sure I know that many yet :) )

In 10 years… wow… I guess all I truly know is that I hope and pray that I’m right in the center of God’s will, whatever that may be!

Here are some of my dreams for the next 10 years:

~Be MARRIED to the most WONDERFUL man in the World… Mike Batista (198 days!)

~Finish my BS degree in Psychology and then get my Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling.

~Counseling couples and families towards healing and COMPLETE restoration!

~ Mike having his own THRIVING Electrical Company, through which he can bless many people and have bible studies with the guys that work for him… SO cool!

~ Have two biological children, many more in the Lord, and maybe even ADOPT! Adoption has been a dream of mine for years… I have a hard time with the thought of bring lots of my own kids into the world when there are SO many out there who need a family!

~ Falling more in love with by Savior

~And growing old with My Soon-To-Be-Hubby :)

*sigh* I can’t WAIT to see what the Lord has in store! I’m sure it’s exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever ask or imagine!

OK… I now give this aware too…:

I’m still trying to figure out people’s blog names and how to follow them, SO I think that’s all for now!

Love,

Heidi

“Life Chapter” for this Beautiful Season

2010-02-06T09:10:00.001-06:00

The more and more I read Ephesians 5, which has been daily lately, the more I want my life to be modeled after this chapter. The last section hasn’t really applied to my life until now. I hope and pray I can live my life this way…

Excerpts from Ephesians 5 - NIV [source]

“1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and 2 live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. ⁴Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God…

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ^…. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil….¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Wives and Husbands

²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything…”

Such a high calling for any Christian and we could not achieve it without His Grace! We all need to be comparing our lives to scriptures, to make sure we’re living up to the standards and truths of Scripture… it’s not easy, it hurts, it’s gross sometimes… but it is SO WORTH IT to become more like our savior everyday!

I did something CRAZY today!

2010-02-03T21:38:00.001-06:00

So… I was having a hard time dealing with the thought of being away from MY Valentine on the first year that I’ve ACTUALLY had a Valentine! That on top of the fact that it was a 3 Day weekend because Monday is Presidents Day!

Today, about 1:00 PM, I jumped on Kayak.com JUST to see if I could find anything remotely close to inexpensive for a flight from Des Moines to Boston… because both are on the small end for airports you ALWAYS have a layover and flights are not cheap!

Do do do… drumming fingers … I plugged in the airports and dates and times… *sigh*… probably won’t find anything. The prices start appearing… NOTHING under $300 for the times I’d specified sooooo, I widened the search a little more…

$220 for a flight for GOOD times, not the best but still good! SO… I text Mike… WHAT DO YOU THINK? We prayed/ thought/ checked our budget, and I don’t have to take vacation time… IT FIT!

So – I’m GOING TO SEE MY LOVE in 10 DAYS and be with him ALL day on VALENTINES DAY!! WAHOOOO! My heart is SO happy, being in a long distance relationship is hard when you don’t get to see each other often!

***Those of you that know me, know that I’m not usually a last minute, spur of the moment, BIG trip taker… but this I could not pass-up and Engagement is the season to do crazy, spur of the moment stuff like this…RIGHT?!?!***

--- A Very Happy Lady ---

Life As of Lately…

2010-02-02T20:40:00.001-06:00

Ok - here's the long awaited update on most of life!

... done after I discovered this SUPER cool tool that Windows Vista has that helps you create your blog offline and then publish it... making adding pics and hyperlinks MUCH easier! It's a little thing but I was excited!

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Wedding planning - going very smoothly!! I made a lot of the “Big” decisions pretty quickly so, now I’m down to a couple smaller decisions a day! *whew* I know that if I kept up with the pace I was running before school started AND had to do school, burnout would be inevitable! The most recent decisions I’m contemplating is this dress for a bridesmaid’s dress:

To see other pictures, especially the SUPER cute back go Here.

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School – let’s just say this is going to be a challenging semester! The first 8 weeks I’m taking Physiological Psychology… the class is 10 times harder than the name, if you can imagine ;) and Exceptional Children… INTERESTING! This second one makes me think about being an Educational Therapist or some sort of counselor within the School System. Children need people who love them, believe in them, and are willing to do anything to see them succeed!

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Family – my season of living in Iowa is 207 days away from coming to an end… it’s sobering and exciting! To make the most of the little time I have left, my mom and I have made Monday nights our “Date Nights”! Every single girl, living near her mom should DO THIS! We go out to dinner, wherever our hearts desire, and then to a Small Group where we’re discussing:

Last night was the first night, but it’s a diverse group so I think it’s going to be SUPER interesting and worth it to spend some time with my mom!

Blessings Blog Readers!

^^ Face Lift ^^

2010-02-02T19:46:00.001-06:00

When I should be studying... I decided I couldn't put up with the template look of my blog any longer!

Check-out the new style... LOVE IT!

And... don't learn your study habits from me ;-)

\\\\ Study Time////

2010-01-29T16:52:00.000-06:00

Pandora - Check
Heater On - Check
Caught up on Facebook - Check

FRENCH Press coffee in Hand - DOUBLE Check!

Sorry I haven't had much time for updating, but I will soon!

Off to study Physiological Psychology... *internal groan*

Blessings!
Heidi

...Sabbath...

2010-01-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend is a weekend for resting in the arms of my Loving and Just Savior! For the most part I am *trying* to put aside all wedding plans, technology, and people to just BE with Him. It's a 3 day weekend and my last one before school starts again... perfect timing... don't you think??

It will be full of Journaling, Prayer, The Word, Worship and Reading this book:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Store/Books/ByTopic/46/464_Seeing_and_Savoring_Jesus_Christ/?gclid=CLDEgcS_qZ8CFQIhDQodjg-T0g

My Spirit is longing for more in this life, but that "more" can only come from THE Throne of Grace.

Scripture to Meditate on: 2: Corinthians 4:16 & 17.

See You Tuesday!