Flowers for Charise

Today Charise will be performing at her senior recital.  She will be playing several pieces on the piano and sharing her passion for music and how it affects the brain, since she is a Music and Pre-med major.

Since Josiah and I will be unable to make it to Virginia we thought we would send some flowers via the blog.

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15: 13

Beautiful first day of spring

Today was pretty humid  for the first day of spring!  But this evening the sun shining on the clouds was beautiful!  I was driving somewhere right before I took these and they were much more beautiful while I was driving, but they were still pretty magnificent!

Value

The first day of Spring is just a day away, but it has certainly felt like Spring for the past month!  Spring reminds me that Easter is coming soon, and Easter is my favorite holiday!

Easter is a reminder that the events and relationships that go on throughout the year aren't about me.  It isn't about being this special person that everyone holds in high esteem.  I should not be the focus.  If I focus on myself and desire everyone else to focus on me, then I'm selfish and I don't really want to be selfish (although it seems to come naturally most days).  And if my focus is on me, then won't I be making myself god?  That's a scary picture!  I'm only human, and I mess things up.  

My focus needs to be on God and all he has done for us!  We all have value to God because he created us.  He wants a relationship with us, but we often don't want a relationship with him because we think it will stifle all of our "fun."  

It seems backwards, but really having a relationship with God brings freedom not bondage.  It gives a sense of, "I don't need to hold on to everything so tightly, because all of this is way over my head anyway."  Life is overwhelming when we try to control everything ourselves.  Jesus came to the earth to live, die, and come back to life to show us that life is really about our relationship with God.

Do we realize the value of our souls?

²⁴ "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  ²⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.  ²⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  Is anything worth more than your soul?  ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds'."

Matthew 16: 24-27 

Spring has sprung...early

What beautiful weather we've been having!!  This morning, Josiah had to mow the yard because it was getting so long!  The lawn mower certainly didn't get much of a vacation this year.  I think we were still mowing the lawn in December, and now we've started back up in March!

And the daffodils are beautiful and plentiful!

It's warm enough for Duchess to enjoy playing in the puddles and getting all muddy.

Yuck!!  But she had fun.

Hurry springtime!

I hope it warms up really soon...  our second space heater broke today, we only have one in working condition left!

I caught up... a quarter of a century

Today is my golden birthday squared (March 5, 2012:  5x5= 1/4 century)!!  Not everyone gets one of those!

I had a great weekend celebrating my birthday with Josiah and my family!  And today has been a good day!  I've had to work, but it has been a pretty relaxed day so far.  I even took my camera out this morning and took some more pictures of my girls.

I love the mohawk going on here!

I am enjoying celebrating 25 years of life!  I have no idea what my 26th year will bring, but I will try to celebrate each new day as a blessing from God!

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."  Philippians 1:6