My Hope is in You

Verse of the day:

"Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you ALL DAY LONG."
-Psalm 25:4-5

Lord, it is Monday. Even though I'm not terribly fond of Mondays, thank you for creating them. Thank you for another day that you've blessed me with wonderful life. My hope is in you. Sustain me, Lord, all day long. Thank you for your strength and energy. Without it, I would not survive these Mondays!

My Best Friend

I'm so incredibly lucky [BLESSED!] to be married to my best friend! There's no bigger blessing in life than to find someone you love, who loves you back, and who wants to "do" life with you! Brad has been my best friend for over 5 years and I'm so lucky to have him by my side, living life with me forever! We both really love this song -- and we both kinda wish it had come out earlier so that we could have danced to it at our wedding!

Lucky - Jason Mraz

The Reigning Lorelai

So... I couldn't find a video clip of this scene, but I did find the script. I just love it and wanted to share!

Lorelai: ...So, apparently, I am now the reigning Lorelai.
Rory: Huh. I guess you are.
Lorelai: It's a lot of responsibility.
Rory: Well, sure.
Lorelai: It's mostly ceremonial stuff nowadays -- declaring knighthoods, opening supermarkets -- but now and then, you get to banish someone or pose for a stamp.
Rory: Neat. And coins.
Lorelai: Yeah and coins. You know, someday you'll be the reigning Lorelai.
Rory: I don't like that idea.
Lorelai: Why not? You get a cape.
Rory: Because if I'm the reigning Lorelai, that means you'll be gone.
Lorelai: Gone? No, not me. I'll step down way before that. I'm not gonna pull a Queen Elizabeth on you, make you wait around forever, force you to develop interests in polo and architecture.
Rory: I am scared of horses.
Lorelai: I know that.
Rory: So, there's a cape, huh?

All things through God

"Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! ...O holy God... when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them." -St. Augustine

One of the mysteries of the Christian life according to John Piper:

"...we must delight in God. And only God can change our hearts so that we delight in God. We are thrown back on God utterly. The Christian life is all of grace. 'From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever' (Romans 11:36)"

This seems to be one of the things God is teaching me right now. It has come up over and over in Kyle's sermons and in things I am reading. Intellectually, I understand this concept, but in my heart, it still doesn't quite make sense. I have not yet grasped what God is intending on teaching me through this, but with His grace, I pray He would open my heart to allow me understanding.

Behind the Scenes

This is how I feel today...

Behind The Scenes - Francesca Battistelli

You may think I’m just fine
How could anything ever be out of line?
I take my time to set the stage
To make sure everything is all in place

Even though I’ve got the lines rehearsed
A picture only paints a thousand words

Things aren’t always what they seem - you’re only seeing part of me
There’s more than you could ever know behind the scenes
I’m incomplete and I’m undone, but I suppose like everyone
There’s so much more that’s going on behind the scenes

Sometimes I can’t see anything
Through the dark surrounding me
And at times I’m unsure about the ground
Beneath my feet if it’s safe and sound

When it’s hard to find hope in the unseen
I have peace in knowing it will find me

Things aren’t always what they seem - you’re only seeing part of me
There’s more than you could ever know behind the scenes
I’m incomplete and I’m undone, but I suppose like everyone
There’s so much more that’s going on behind the scenes

You may think I’m just fine
How could anything ever be out of line?

Things aren’t always what they seem - you’re only seeing part of me
There’s more than you could ever know behind the scenes
I’m incomplete and I’m undone, but I suppose like everyone
There’s so much more that’s going on behind the scenes

Ode to the Mountain Laurel

"See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me."

-Song of Solomon 2:11-13

In the midst of all the hustle bustle busy-ness of life, a wonderfully poignant aroma catches my attention and reminds me to appreciate the gift of spring. How many days have I been down or frustrated or tired and then this amazing little flower has turned my entire day around? I can't tell you how often God uses the Mountain Laurel to get my attention. It never fails to get capture my senses and shift my attention to the beauty of creation. This scent says, "Look how simple and beautiful I am. None of that other stuff matters. You make things too hard. Just come away with me. Follow me and I will show you what it means to live."

Thank you, Lord, for the Mountain Laurel.

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884...

What is Pi?
Pi represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle).



Some Random Pi Facts:

• Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3.14)
  
• Pi occurs in hundreds of equations in many sciences including those describing the DNA double helix, a rainbow, ripples spreading from where a raindrop fell into water, superstrings, general relativity, normal distribution, distribution of primes, geometry problems, waves, navigation....
• Pi is the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet.
• If a billion decimals of pi were printed in ordinary type, they would stretch from New York City, to the middle of Kansas.
• The Bible uses 3 as a value of pi. Here is a verse from I Kings 7:23: And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about.
• A palindrome: I prefer pi.

A fun rap:

Happy Pi Day!

Peace

Verse of the day:

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you, Lord.
-Isaiah 26:3

peace (n.)
1. The absence of war or other hostilities.
2. An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities.
3. Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations: roommates living in peace with each other.
4. Public security and order: was arrested for disturbing the peace.
5. Inner contentment; serenity: peace of mind.

steadfast (adj.)
1. Fixed or unchanging; steady.
2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. See Synonyms at faithful.

trust (v.tr.)
1. To have or place confidence in; depend on.
2. To expect with assurance; assume: I trust that you will be on time.
3. To believe: I trust what you say.
4. To place in the care of another; entrust.
5. To grant discretion to confidently: Can I trust them with the boat?
6. To extend credit to.

Happy Square Root Day!

Today is March 3, 2009.

03.03.09
3x3=9
3 squared = 9

Today is "I want you to be Happy Day".

I am going to try to purposefully go out of my way to make people happy today. This should be something I strive for everyday.

Today is "What if cats and dogs had opposable thumbs? Day".

This week is "National Sleep Awareness Week".

I think that's as good enough reason as any to get some extra shut-eye tonight!!!

Happy March 3rd to you!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss is one of my all-time favorite authors! My most favorite of his books is "Oh, the Places You'll Go!". It continues to inspire and encourage me no matter what path I am on in life! I debated whether or not to include the entire poem, but I finally decided that I couldn't give Dr. Seuss his proper tribute without including it all.

Thanks, Dr. Seuss, for always encouraging me to stay a kid at heart!

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Also, I came across this poem this morning... it's pretty cute!
http://subzapz.wordpress.com/2006/11/16/the-new-testament-according-to-dr-seuss/