Weekend Toss

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Yes, I know the weekend is almost over.  I still wanted to share a couple of links with you.  Both of these posts are from blogs I read today and yesterday.  They both spoke to me and I thought in the spirit of putting the old year to bed and waking up the new year they might give you some food for thought as well.

(Sometime soonish between the old and new years, or the fist stages of the new year I want to write a year end wrap up post of sorts, or a moving forward etc.  so stay tuned for that.  In the meantime my family is still not through celebrating Christmas.  We have one more family event next weekend before the season is a wrap.)

The first link I’m sharing with you comes from Crosswalk.com, Encouragement for Today, which is a daily devotional from the Proverbs 31 women.  It was written by Karen Ehman and is titled “A Quiet Place to Rest”.

The other comes from The Blazing Center and is written by Barnabas Piper.  It is titled  “Are you Faking or Trying When It Comes To God?”

I found both of these encouraging and thought provoking.  They both spoke to issues that I sometimes have with myself, so they were timely for me.  Maybe they will be for you as well.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Philippians 3:13-14 
No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. (NLT)

Looking forward in grace,

Teresa

Weekend Toss (clearing out some thoughts)

What I’ve been about and some random thoughts.  I hope your weekend is blessed and warm!  I appreciate you for taking time out of your busy day to read the words I’ve written.

1.  I have been decorating for Christmas.  Thursday was decorating day, but I started late, so it spilled over into all day Friday.  I still have a few things to tweak, but it is pretty much done.  This year I have decided to use what I already have and incorporate everyday objects from around the house and my knick knack stash.  The only items purchased new are some boxwood wreaths that have not arrived yet.  They can be used year round, so not necessarily just for Christmas.  I may need two or three candles, but otherwise it is a nothing new Christmas. On Monday December 16, I will be linking up with the Nester for her Annual Christmas Tour of Homes so if you’re interested in how the Christmas decor turned out you may want to come back.  In the meantime here is an in progress picture. It will be simple this year.

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2.  I look out my window and it looks as if someone has taken a sifter and scattered powdered sugar across the lawn and on rooftops.  It is pretty, but oh so cold.  We usually don’t have weather this wintry until later in the month or even January. According to the Farmers Almanac we are headed into a long winter.  I know a couple of my friends will be extremely happy about all the snow – present and future.  Bless their hearts.

3.  Sometimes, I would like to give up social media and go back to a simpler time when there was less invasion of privacy and I didn’t know every time someone’s baby had a poo.  We are bombarded with so many images,, tips, warnings, conspiracy theories and pout pictures that we are in danger of becoming desensitized to the things that really matter. Maybe I’ll consider taking a break for the winter.

4.  As I sit here and look around my messy cozy home I realize just how much I am blessed.  I should never complain about anything.  I have more than I need and probably even more than I really want.  With each passing birthday, I realize that less is more and people, not things are the blessings in our life.  The less we have, the more time to bless and be blessed.

5.  You may have heard that I attended an event at the Barn a couple of weeks ago. It was hosted by Emily Freeman.  She posted pictures of the event here  in case you are curious. She also had a few links to others who wrote about the experience, so you may enjoy them as well.  It was a great event that is still impacting about 80 people.

6.  And lastly, I have been swirling thoughts around trying to figure out just what is the purpose of my blog and who does it impact and why.  I want to explore this more going forward and will probably be devoting a post (soonish) about some of my thoughts with questions for my readers.  I love writing and I believe that it is a gift of God.  I don’t believe that I always use it well or with intention.  I don’t want to waste the gift of words.  If I have a message to say and an audience to say it to, then I want to honor God by doing it his way.  And if he has other plans, then I want to be sensitive to that and not beat a dead horse. I’d appreciate you joining me in prayer for direction.

7.  If you’re looking for a good book about how to use the gifts you have been given and how they just may be the art you were designed to make I’d highly recommend a million little ways, by Emily Freeman.  It will help you search your soul. Whatever your age. It’s never too late to make art.

What about you, what is on your mind this weekend?  Feel free to leave a comment and be sure to come back tomorrow for the second Sunday of Advent.

My thoughts may be random, but grace is not,

Teresa

(more) Favorite New Blogs (weekend toss) – 31:19

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31 Days of 15 Minute Decorating Ideas

31 Days 2013 Cottage Lifestyle

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decorating with junk

31 Days of Interior Styling

31 days of fall inspiration (reg size)

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Just a few more blogs I have discovered during the 31 Day journey hosted by Nesting Place.   Note: size of images are based on how they were sized on each blog.

31:20,21 – the Weekend is for Reading

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” 
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

I believe that rooms are helped by a good book.  Readers are helped even more. Below is the Book Hutch that found me and so beautifully houses many of my books.

I love books.  I  have lots of books.  They have been moved several times, which is how I know I have lots of books. The hutch in the above picture is now crammed full of books and I have one other cupboard and three shelves that all house mostly books.  I have a table in my living room that holds books and magazines and there are usually a few books laying on the ottoman.  These are the one’s that have been most recently picked up.

 I tend to read several books at a time.  Some I finish in a day or two, others I read over a period of time.  I may spend an evening reading most of a book, then when I’m down to the last chapter or section, it may rest for a while before I finish it.  Some books I will read off and on over a period of several months or even years, depending on the type of book.  The bottom line is I love to read, but I don’t read enough.  And I always am reading multiple books.

I am currently in a relationship with at least 13-15 books and am considering a couple more.  Does this make me fickle?  I think not.  Actually, it makes me faithful.  A faithful reader.  Reading feeds the mind and the soul, and it inspires me.  As a writer, I need to read what others have written.  I need to explore and grow.  Writers should be reading.  Always.

I think I will find some quiet time this weekend to read a book or two.  Currently, there are, in addition to my Bible and Sunday School book, One magazine, five books in progress and one in waiting on my ottoman. (I’ll save the table for later) These represent the most recent, or ongoing reads.  I will share those with you:

1.  Mere Christianity by CS Lewis – I was interrupted on page 164, of 227, so need to get this one finished.  This book was on my shelf for several years and I recently decided I should read it.  A powerful book.

2.  Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg – I’ve been reading this one for awhile – it is a great book for writers and a book that can be read in short spurts.

3.  Grace For The Good Girl by Emily Freeman – recently bought this book on Amazon and am loving it.

4.  Where Two Ways Met by Grace Livingston Hill – GLH wrote several Christian based romance novels.  I grew up reading her novels, as they were pretty much the only one’s approved by my mother.  I always wanted to be a GLH girl.

5.  Jesus Calling by Sarah Young – I found this book in July and have been reading it (not every day).  I find that the days I read from this book, the topic is exactly what I need for that day.

6.  Grace by Max Lucado – I have not started this one yet, but am going to soon.  I purchased it at the same time I purchased Grace For The Good Girl – I’m sensing a theme here.

7.  The magazine is HGTV magazine – the October / November 2012 issue.  I love decor magazines and books.

I also have a kindle (gift from an office Christmas party – I actually prefer the book in my hand).  On my kindle I am reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I also read The Writers Manifesto by Jeff Goins on my kindle.

As you can see I read on a variety of topics and all at once.  It is messy but oh so rewarding.  I really must go now and answer the call of the read!

Reading in Grace,

Sadie