Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love, because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NASB


Just as the Father has loved Me,
I have also loved you; abide in My love.
John 15:9 NASB


Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16:14 NASB


My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.  Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:24 NASB


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Served by Jesus

Sometimes my day doesn't go like I want it to.  I know you have days like that, too.  It seems the Lord has plans all His own on those days, and I'm still learning to trust that He knows best how to order my day.

It started with an early phone call from a friend's daughter, who shared a concern that my email account had been hacked.  Sure enough, somehow a suspicious link had been sent to all my contacts.  I changed the password on my account, sent out a warning email, and hoped that was all--and it seemed to be.

I knew when I turned on my smart phone that I'd have to log in to my email account with my new password.  Sure enough, I went through the process.  But, a message appeared that told me either my username or password was incorrect.  I went through the process several times to no avail.  I shut off my phone, waited, then turned it on and tried again.  Same thing.  I deleted the email address from the account and tried to set it up all over again.  No good.  Grr.

I grabbed a super-quick breakfast and walked over to the Verizon store (nice that it's just a block away).  It was an absolutely beautiful morning, with clear blue skies and almost no breeze.  I enjoyed the crisp air (temps in the 20s) as I finished the quick walk over.  The Verizon rep, John, was very helpful and resolved the problem for me.  He even showed me how to use a better app for my email, and then showed me some other cool apps for my phone.

After I got home again, I thought I'd bake cupcakes for the guys for their men's meeting that evening.  I had some cake flour I needed to use up, and it was the exact amount I needed for the recipe.  I started measuring all the ingredients out, only to realize--I didn't have quite enough baking powder.  Really?  Oh, yeah--so it was grab my coat and head out to Meijer, which is also right across the street.  I drove this time.

At Meijer, I grabbed a couple of items and headed down the baking aisle.  They didn't have my favorite brand, Rumford, which is aluminum-free.  Rats.  At that point, I sighed and realized I'd just drive over to Whole Foods and grab some there, along with a few things I usually get at that store.

I put two canisters of baking powder in my cart, and I found a new brand of yogurt, on sale, plus a case discount if I bought a dozen.  Those went into my cart as well.  Not really a whole lot of stuff.  I went through the checkout, chatted with the cashier, got my stuff in the car, and headed back home.

I then grabbed a quick lunch and set about making the cupcakes, which turned out really interesting since I apparently filled the cups too full.  Here's a smart phone pic:


At that point, I just had to laugh.  It seemed it would be "one of those days."  But, I tried to remember the Lord allowed even this to happen, so trivial but maybe it was to help me laugh.  I uploaded the image to Facebook and called them my "table-top" cupcakes, or Mesa Cupcakes:  more surface area = more frosting.

Finally, at dinner, we were sitting around our kitchen counter eating leftovers (thank the Lord I didn't have to prepare a full meal!), when all of a sudden Thomas sat up straight and hollered, "Mom!  Jesus was your cashier at Whole Foods!!!"

He was right.


I was served by Jesus.  Well, it was a Hispanic guy ringing up my groceries.  He was very friendly and wished me a great day.  And then it hit me--I really was served by Jesus today.  Didn't He feed me from His Word when I read it this morning?  Didn't He give my sunshiny blue skies and calm weather for walking?  Hadn't He gently ordered my day for His purposes?   Didn't He send laughter my way in the form of overflowing cupcakes?  And, didn't He give me an observant son who could spot the name of Jesus on a store receipt?  :)

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28 NASB


Although I am His servant, and hopefully proceeded through the day with thankfulness and obedience, He did indeed bless me, and reminded me with a receipt.  Thank You, Lord!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Back Scratch!

Thought I'd share this interesting photo from a few days ago.  As we sat in front of our little fireplace, enjoying the heat, I gave Danny a back scratch.  His shirt shows all the evidence of it.  :)



Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Friday, February 1, 2013

Cold, Ice, and Frost

We finally had a cold snap, complete with icicles.  I threw my coat on to go out and capture some ice.

Icicles on the grill

Frozen downspout

Frozen log

Coral bells frost


The rain turned to ice so quickly that the leaf below actually has a coat of ice over it!  Cool, huh?

Black beauty ice

Icy marmalade

Frozen marmalade leaf

Icy oak leaf

Okay--just throwing this random shot in for no other purpose than I have wanted to take it for a while.  Yuck on the window, though--really needs to be cleaned!!  :/


We even had ice indoors!  At the back of our fridge, I found a plastic restaurant cup filled with water.  It stood up on the below plate, so I shot some pictures of it.  It froze in a really neat pattern.





Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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