Green Thumb?

Spring has arrived at the Shepherd house!  I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to planting flowers, so I sure hope that I did it right! 

Calla Lillies!

Indoor succulents.  I love succulents!

Orchids are my favorite flower and they do well inside.  I hope I can keep this one alive!

impatiens

I even bought some spring-y green pillows to spruce up the boring living room.  It's all so cheery, I love it!

Scripture Memory

One of the biggest blessings of my life is that I was encouraged to memorize scripture as a child.  I was taken to AWANA from Sparkies all the way through high school to get my Citation award, and over the course of those years I learned a LOT of verses.  But it didn't stop there.  My parents helped and encouraged us to study the Bible at home as well.

Today in my quiet time I was reading Romans 12, and I found myself underlining about every other verse because they all seemed so familiar and applicable.  And then I remembered that my mom had us learn the whole chapter as part of our homeschool curriculum one year. 

I don't still remember every verse, but there is something about coming across once memorized but long forgotten passages.  It's like an old friend dropping by to say hi.  So wonderful and refreshing.  And those words that have been hibernating in my head and heart come back to the forefront again.

Romans 12 is a beautiful chapter.  I often struggle with Paul's writings because he is very wordy and sometimes very confusing, but this is clear and straightforward.

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

"Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor..."

"Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation.  Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Thank you mom and dad for encouraging us and helping us memorize scripture!  Knowing the Bible is SO important, there is no better thing to learn.  I will forever be grateful that His word is hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Him.  (There's another verse...Psalms?  I think.)

These things make me happy

These are the things that make me happy today.

This guy, of course!  Who can resist the cuteness?

This little guy too.  I named him Spazzy because he goes crazy when I get near the bowl.  But he sure is fun to watch!

And lastly, this poster.  I don't know how to frame it, since frames don't usually come that square, and I don't know where I'll put it once it is framed, but I don't care.  The colors are great!

And that is what is making me smile today.  What about you?

An unexpected Lent side effect

So, you all know how I gave up sweets for Lent, right?  I only had sweets on Sundays and abstained completely during the week (except for the day of our anniversary when we went out for dinner.)  I knew that my sweets habit was getting out of hand, but apparently I didn't realize just how much.   I'm going to tell you something embarrassing here:

Y'all, I lost 8 pounds!

Why is this embarrassing?  Well, I didn't do it to lose weight, I did it because I knew it would be a sacrifice for me and that is what Lent is all about.  I expected I'd maybe lose 2 pounds.  But 8!  I've never lost 8 pounds in my life.  Even when I was running three times a week AND dieting I only lost 4 pounds.  It's somewhat astonishing to me that JUST by cutting sweets, I could lose that much.  I did not alter any other eating habit or exercise any more, and I still had juice and the occasional soda, as well as foods like fruit and yogurt that have sugar in them.  That shows you how much dessert I ate!

I should probably be reflecting on all the spiritual growth that happened during this period of fasting; however, I think the biggest lesson I learned in all of it was that I need to cut back and make sweets a treat instead of an every day occurrence.  My clothes fit better, and I feel better, so I think this is one change I'm going to adopt permanently.  Probably not as strictly...maybe sweets on the weekends or something.  But no more ice cream after every dinner!  I would really like this lovely surprise to stick.

What about you, any unexpected (but welcomed!) side effects of your Lent season?

He is Risen!

He is Risen!  Hallelujah, what a Savior! 

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine,
Bought with the precious blood of Christ!

Here in Maryland, the seasons are more defined and more vivid than in Texas.  There aren't as many evergreens, so most of the trees look dead from November to February.  Then in March, all of a sudden, you start to see a little bit of life.  The white blossoms came first, I think they are plum trees. Then the delicate cherry trees and vibrant forsythia.  Every day you see something new blooming.  The trees slowly come to life, bearing bright green buds.  Right now the dogwoods and red maples are in full bloom and the green is slowly bursting on the scene.  It takes so long to start that you think the trees will stay dead forever and then one by one the trees start blooming and the flowers start appearing.  It reminds me of how Christ sanctifies us.  One by one he takes our dead and diseased areas and turns them into something beautiful.  Just when you think it will be dead forever, life starts bursting in.  And this is only possible because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

On the third day He rose again.  Hallelujah, hallelujah, what a savior!!

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!  We celebrated by going to church, taking Casper for a walk on the trail in the beautiful sunshine, and inviting a friend over for barbecue chicken, sweet tea, and all the fixings.  Plus a little guitar hero fun to end out the night.  It's been a great day.  :-)

Saturday

I read this in my daily Lent devotion the other day and I thought it was a very good reminder.

"Saturday must have been a long and dark day.  Not only did they hide in fear of their lives, but even worse, they grieved deeply.  Jesus was gone.  His disciples had watched the soldiers carry him off to his execution the day before.  Now it was Saturday, their master was dead and the grief cut deeply, leaving them utterly hollow.

They had not signed up for this.  Jesus was supposed to be the Messiah.  He was supposed to lead them to victory over their oppressors.  He was supposed to establish Israel as a strong nation once again and allow them to bask in the joy of sweet justice.  Pain, grief, and sorrow were not part of the package.

Perhaps you have felt like the disciples that dark Saturday.  I know I have.  It seemed like everything around me was dying.  I didn't sign up for this.  I thought the way of following Jesus was one of victory and peace.  All I felt was pain and despair.

I have to think that the disciples had similar feelings on that dark Saturday.  It seemed as if all hope was gone.  We feel this way because we forget an important truth.  The way of Jesus is a way of pain, grief, and sorrow.  Jesus suffered much in his life - even before his arrest and execution.  As a child he knew what it meant to be hidden in Egypt in fear for his life.  He knew the loss of his stepfather, Joseph.  He wept over the death of his friend, Lazarus.  He grieved over the blindness of the citizens of Israel. He agonized to the point of blood in the garden of Gethsemane.  He screamed out in the words of his ancestor, David, as he hung on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?"

But Jesus told us it would be this way.  In John's account of Jesus' final teaching, Jesus said that God would prune the branches that clung to the Vine (John 15:1-17).  Pruning hurts.  To have large parts of your life severed from you is not a pleasant experience.  There is no joy in the sensation of shears cutting into your flesh.  Yet, as the Great Gardener knows, without pruning there is no life.

That is the way of Jesus - the way of God's love and grace.  God purifies us with pain.  The disciples learned this and went on to write to the churches about it.  James said to consider it pure joy when we suffer various trials, because in the end it makes us complete and strong.  Peter told us that suffering refines our hearts like fire refines gold.  Then Paul, as he described the painful process of working through persecution and breaking down the walls of prejudice, reached the climax of the whole process with one word - hope.

Saturday was finally over.  On Sunday the disciples came face to face with a reality that is deeper than grief.  They met hope.  Jesus plowed through pain and grief and came out on the other side alive once more.  Saturdays will come.  Of that you can be sure.  They will come and they will be painful.  They may last a day; they may last twenty months.  When they come, remember this - without Saturday we don't get to Sunday.  The love of Jesus is our hope for today and forever.  We will grieve, but we can grieve with hope."

Written by Steve Thomason

Good Friday

"By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.  The light from the sun was gone.  And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.  Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!"  And with those words he breathed his last."  Luke 23:44-46

Behold the man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders,

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there,

Until it was accomplished.

His dying breath has brought me life.

I know that it is finished.

...

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart,

His wounds have paid my ransom!

(How Deep the Father's Love For Us)

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.  We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

Romans 6:5-7



Guestbook predictions

This morning I was perusing through my wedding guestbook and I noticed some interesting trends.  Instead of a standard sign-your-name guestbook, I had the guests fill out a page with drawings and wishes and predictions for our future family.  This turned out to be quite the entertaining way to remember my guests!  Let me share with you a few of predictions that seemed to be quite popular.

First off, the number of children people predicted we would have. 

4 kids - 16
3 kids - 13
2 kids - 8

Normal right?  But it doesn't stop there.

7 kids - 4
10-100+ kids - 6

Apparently people think we are The Duggars.  Fun.  Yes someone actually put 120 children.  They better be joking.

Now for a lovely pie chart of the predicted date/year that our first child will be born.

It seems we have already dashed the hopes of all but two of our guests.  Whoops!  Also what is up with the three people who predicted 2009??  Thanks a lot!  (I know you guys were joking, no worries...except the person (cousin) who put the date of our wedding.  He's in trouble :-p)

Here's the funny part:

12 people predicted we'd have twins.
13 people suggested their own name for one of our children.
12 people suggested James Jr. as a name.
Only 5 people suggested Kari as a name.  (I see how it is.)
And 3 people suggested Clark Kent for a name.

So, if the majority of our guests got their way, we will have 4 children (not a bad number), the first would have been born last year (sorry to disappoint), and we will have at least one set of twins (yikes!) with one of our children named James Jr. (not gonna happen.)  I guess only time will tell.  :-)

And because I know some of you will wonder, I am posting this in the spirit of our anniversary, not because I have an announcement to make (I don't).  Just so that's clear.  :-)

A Love Story

July 2004 - He saw her...and scored her IM address.  Much e-mailing and instant messaging commenced (because that's what you did in 2004).

September 2005 - They confessed feelings for each other on the stairs in the rain.

April 28, 2007 - They went on their first date.  The dancing was lame but neither one cared.

May 2007 - They became an official couple...finally!

August 2007 - He kissed her.

October 2007 - "I love you."

August 6, 2008 - He popped the question...she said YES!

April 4, 2009 - She walked down the aisle to her groom and they said I Do Forever.

Three years later, I have never regretted that decision for an instant.  I couldn't have asked for a better husband and I look forward to what God has in store for us together.  I love you!