insta-week recap.

it's friday! well.. not really.. but it is for me, i took tomorrow off! i'm so excited to have a four day weekend!

oh i can't wait! it's going to be so wonderful because we don't have any plans. so i hoping to get caught up on some fun things i'm working on and spend some quality time with mr. b before he starts school on tuesday.

so crazy how summer is almost over already.. even though it's really not summer for me as now i am a big girl, working a big girl job.

to sum up my week... i used the wonderful [picmonkey] again.

[i got lots of comments about it, if you don't know what it is.. or haven't checked it out yet - i encourage you to do so! i can't believe how much easier it is.. seriously. you will probably laugh if i tell you everything i went through to make a collage on photobucket.

if anyone else is still using photobucket for collages.. i urge you to stop and start using picmonkey! you won't regret it :)]

this week was a good week! the Lord is continuing to answer prayers, work in our lives and bless us beyond measure.

i didn't share about how the Lord used last weeks memory verse... but i will share a little here [not in depth]

'he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. by his wounds you have been healed.'

first peter two: twenty-four

this verse has done amazing things for me and my husband this week. it's a beauty to recognize that we have been healed by the wounds of Jesus.

it also brings up another verse...

romans 8:1 'there is therefore now no condemnation in those who are in Christ Jesus.'

continue to remember that condemnation is not from the Lord. this is an attack from the enemy wanting you to identify with what you've done instead of identifying with who you are in Christ!

this is powerful! we need to continue to remember these scriptures when lies creep in.

have a blessed thursday, friends!

thankful friday letters.

i am so thankful it's friday! there is so so so much i am thankful for. i decided to switch things up a little big and make my friday letters a one of pure thankfulness!

dear picmonkey - i feel so dumb.. but i am SO thankful for you! holy cow you've made photo collages an amazing thing! you help save me so much time. i can't believe i used to go through ridiculous loops to get a half-decent looking collage of photos. AND you have so many options! woohoo! i am so thankful for you!

dear mr. b - i am thankful that the swelling in your eye is going down. crazy allergic reactions.. but i'm thankful that you're okay :) and i'm thankful it wasn't any worse than that!

dear miss riss - i am so thankful for your friendship. i'm thankful that you came and surprised me this week at work with such encouraging words! i am so thankful for the ways the Lord is using you in my life and the lives of others. you're a wonderful, wonderful friend!

dear caffine - wow i am so thankful for you this week. pretty sure i've been drinking you all day long, every day. i don't think i could have made it through the week without you. for some reason i've been so tired and can't get myself awake. with you - i'm able :)

dear garden - i am so thankful for all the wonderful fresh veggies you're giving me lately! i got to enjoy you by yourself, and in meals. i even made guacamole with you [which is amazing!] AND mr. b made a compost so we're not just throwing rotten stuff out for no reason :) i love this 'going natural' stuff! thankful for you being able to provide meals for my family.

dear twitter - thanks so much for all the wonderful tweets people send out. it's awesome to hear other stuff people find or suggest so i could buy some kick booty cords!! [thanks ali @lifeonleroy!!!]

dear mia - thank you so much for listening to my [letter] to you last week! i'm so thankful that you also didn't dare go on the other side of the fence and be served as breakfast, lunch and dinner to the crazy neighbor dog. thankful you're alive and still just as crabby as always :)

dear mr. b - i am SO SO thankful for your help around the house, on projects, through struggles, and just having you in my life forever. you are the biggest blessing and i am so thankful for the man you are and how God is working in and through you!

dear Jesus - thank you for your word. thank you for your wisdom. thank you for answered prayers. thank you for dying for us on the cross. thank you for your new mercies each morning. thank you for your never-ending grace! you're amazing :)

xoxo.

where our identity is.

into the word wednesday.
well - since i've been a complete failure at the latest and greatest she reads truth series. i am not able to talk on that.
but what i can share with you today is this week's memory verse we've been memorizing with some wonderful ladies :)

'but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 peter 2:9

so let's look at this in two sections..

look at these truths:
- you are a chosen race. the Lord has chose you to be part of his family line. i need this reminder to sink in deep for me.
he. chose. me. [and you :)]
- a royal priesthood. our riches are not found here on earth. our riches will be great reward in heaven. we have been given the ultimate royalties of knowing Christ and the promise of the life to come.
- a holy nation. Christ's death on the cross allows our heavenly father to see us as he sees Christ. yes, we are still sinners by nature, but our Father in heaven no longer sees this in us. to him, we are holy. this is the beauty of the great exchange friends. and believe me - it's beautiful. if you want to know more information on it - [here] is an article from a pastor mr. b and i respect.
- a people for his own possession. we belong to him. he treasures us and it's almost as if we are his precious jewels. God puts so much value on us, even MORE precious than jewels could ever be. oh the love he has for us!

all these blessings are from God. they are all because of the first truth that we have been chosen. since we have been chosen, we are given freely the things to follow. how amazing is it to know that the Lord of the entire universe wants us to be a part of his purpose, plan and life. this continues to go deep for me. it's so humbling and leaves me awestruck.

now.. for the second part of this verse... here is the reason why.

"...that we may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

the word that is what shows me the list above is connected to the statement below.

since we experience those truths of being chosen, royal, holy and his possession in God's eyes - are we proclaiming this goodness to others? i can't help but ask myself... am i sharing this beauty i've been given with others so they can experience it too? do i even realize how vast this excellence of Jesus is?

he called me out of darkness.
darkness is the absence of light.
in darkness there is sin, the world, hell, no hope, no life.

he called me out of that into his marvelous light.
his light is the brightest, friends. it's the best light we can experience!

so am i proclaiming it?
i can tell you that i'm not doing it enough..
i saw something yesterday that said 'if you knew you only had 6 months to live.. what would you do?'
i needed to really look inside myself and see.. what would i want to do with those six months? would i want to spend them selfishly? or would i use those last 6 months here proclaiming his light?

honestly, friends..

i would proclaim.

i would travel to far places and proclaim the news of Jesus Christ.

i would proclaim that he is my Savior and longs to be yours too.

i would proclaim that God is so madly in love with his people and wants to experience a relationship with them.

i would proclaim that with the evil and sin in the world... being in a relationship with our heavenly Father is not possible. we have eternal separation from him.

i would proclaim that yes, it's ugly.. but it's not the end!

i would proclaim that he loves us so deeply that he sent his one and only biological son to live and die a horrendous death for us so that we CAN be in that relationship with him and have eternal life!
i would proclaim and remind you that he did it for you and me! he did it for us! not for himself!

i would proclaim that after dying and being buried for three days he rose!

i would proclaim that he then appeared to his friends in his actual physical body with scars of his beatings.

i would proclaim that after a while we went to be with his Father in heaven.

i would proclaim that that is not the end. he is coming back, friends! he is coming back!!

this is the gospel. the good news of Jesus.

as much as seeing all of europe before my life is over sounds so wonderful..

i would proclaim the gospel.

this is a photo i took yesterday.. it shows the memory verse i wrote out on the right and on the left is a note one of my dearest friends brought me when she surprised me at work. if you look... they are the same verse! she was praying for the Lord to reveal scripture to encourage me in.. and the Lord showed her the same verse i had already been dwelling on.

how good is he?

memorization.

memories are a beautiful thing aren't they?

they are so helpful in those times you want to look back on life.

to remember the special moments with special people.

to see where you've been.

and where you've come.

our memories can hold so much information.

yet, they can't hold everything.

there are two different sections we have for our memory.

some things are placed in our short term section to remember just for a moment.

while others are place in the long term section to last hopefully a lifetime.

i am getting back into the habit of memorizing scripture.

this is helpful in times of hurt.

times of encouragement.

times of sadness and grieving.

times of praise.

any time of need. it's good.

a sweet sweet bloggie friend put out an email asking if anyone would want to join in on memorizing scripture.
i of course was all about that!
if you're interested, [here] is her blog and i'm sure she would love to have you join just as much as i would!
there is a new verse every week.
the verse we've been working on memorizing this last week is

philippians 4:8

'finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.'

true: being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false

honorable: in accordance with or characterized by principles of honor; upright

just: guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness

pure: free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter

lovely: charmingly or exquisitely beautiful

commendable: worthy of praise

this verse has been doing amazing things in me.

i wrote it down on a piece of paper and set it up underneath one of my computer monitors at work. every time i look at my computer i see it.

it's there to help me remember.

it's helped me to think positive thoughts throughout my day.

it's helped me to be kind with the words i speak.

it's helped me to look up when i'm struggling.

it's helped me from gossiping.

it's helped me from captivating negative thoughts and lies the enemy tries to feed me.

the bottom line.

it's helped me.

this is what memorizing scripture does! it's so helpful!

it's not something i will ever look back on life and think..

man i wish i didn't fill my mind with so much scripture.

there are many things you can choose to fill your memory with.

is scripture one of them?