Christmas at the Mcguire's

This has been one of my favorite Christmases. Mostly because there wasn't a lot of running around. We saw (for a short moment) the Skafte side - but have spent most of the time - just being with the McGuire side. Next year it'll be the Skafte side - I feel such peace with not having a run around... so nice to just be one place or the other.

I do miss seeing the Skaftes, just like next year I'll miss the McGuires.

I would have to say one of the best things, next to being with David for this holiday season, was that Sean came with us. It was a surprise, and we had to squeeze him in to the car - which is a whole other story. He;s back, and he's more like himself. So I guess if he had to go through what he did to realsize that He's better off being Himself, and growing into himself... then I guess that's what he had to go through - But he's Sean and it was so good to see him, be around him again. He wasn't snide, huffy, and mean... Sigh. I Love him.

Merry Christmas!

Fasting (in my case... slowing.... ahah)

Fasting has got to be one of the easiest things to understand (the basics) and one of the Hardest to actually do... Fasting is simply giving up something... usually food, sometimes food and water. You can have a Daniel Fast, where you give up certain foods... meats being the most common. I've done fasts before - but I think I have gotten out of the habit, out of the frame of mind.

I find that there are a lot of motivations... but I'm not sure which one I'm running from. I find it so hard to get into the right place, to find the right reason, and of course actually get my butt off the couch and actually do something about it. I can't get myself to do something I know I should be doing. I don't feel alone in this either (since I think most people don't do things they know they should) (but this is not that post and will be another blog moment in the future).

I think I'd like to get closer to God... get more in depth with my relationship.. I think I felt that I was in a great place in my Walk. I was feeling... and thinking... and doing... out of Love for my Lord, but then I got a little complacent. I didn't think I had to work at it. I won't say that I thought I was 'perfected' but life was going well.

Then.. out of nowhere - bam - I'm not reading the bible, my prayer life sorta got to be those 5 line quips before bed or a meal... and I didn't notice... But then, I woke up one morning and missed the intimacy with God. I missed the connection. For those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus - I'm not sure if you can get that last part... but let me tell you, it was not so great, and I missed it like I would miss breathing. So I got back to the things that help build that intimacy... But I wanted more.

So in the last few weeks I've gotten back in the Word, back to the basics of my walking and talking... but I crave more... more intimacy, to be reminded of my own humanity, my insufficiency. I want to see how God is all sufficient. I wanted to rely on God to provide. for him to speak clearer, (really I need to listen better, He's usually pretty clear {aha}) I guess I feel like I need to be a little more like Christ. I believe that Fasting can help with that. I want to humble myself.. I think that's in the bible somewhere... Ps 35:15.

There are more than a few examples of fasting in the bible, there are some great books about fasting, both as a spiritual discipline and as weight management tool. So there is my very problem. I don't want this to be about the physical benefits - and I think it could change into that.

I don't want to pretend. I know that I'm OK with the physical side effects of weight loss, but I don't want that to become my only motivation for attempting this discipline again. I want the spiritual to be my priority - and yet I'm scared I'll flip flop and it won't be about God and my relationship with him.

So do I start and just hope I stay focused? I was doing some research and found a few hints, and hopefully I'll be able to start a regular practice of Fasting...

Keeping up with my weight...

So I know that I was supposed to update on Tuesday - but I forgot to update - for the last couple of weeks.

Well it's not going so well. turns out that 400 Cal isn't a whole lot - and instead of being consistent throughout the day... so instead I'll have too many, then the next day skip a meal... WHICH is bad... not consistent at all...

So I'll try harder this week, but I think I'll just try harder at eating better. The worst is that it's Christmas, and I'm making cookies and decorating cookies, and as we all know, a Christmas tradition is the baker gets to eat all the mis-shapen or badly decorated cookies. Also the baker gets to consume any left over cookie dough, broken bits, and the left over icing... ahem, ahem.

I was also thinking that maybe I'll try fasting - not as a weight management strategy but as a spiritual discipline... I'm just worried that it will throw off my eating habits - and I'll just gorge the next day - to the day before trying to 'compensate'... I'll blog about the fasting thing another day...

Blessings

I can't even begin to explain how blessed David and I are... We are so thankful that God is proving himself as our Provider everyday. There hasn't been a day this week where God hasn't made himself known to us - in practical way...

We have been blessed - I'm so thankful... sigh....

God is Love, God is Good

It's true, if you believe, you have to believe it all - there isn't a grey area when it comes to the Lord.... He is who He says He is - you choose to believe it or not...

After listening to Priscilla Shirer in our bible study, I found this - it's something she paraphrased, and I found on the web... Here is the Character of God, and how each book of the Bible shows us more of God's personality / Character... This is Who He says He is...

In the Old Testament:
In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In Leviticus, He is your Sanctification.
In Numbers, He is your Guide.
In Deuteronomy, He is your Teacher.
In Joshua, He is the Mighty Conqueror.
In Judges, He gives Victory over enemies.
In Ruth, He is your Kinsman, your Lover, your Redeemer.
In 1 Samuel, He is the Root of Jesse;
In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your Intercessor and High Priest.
In Ezra, He is your Temple, your House of Worship.
In Nehemiah, He is your Mighty Wall, protecting you from your enemies.
In Esther, He is your Deliverer, stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In Job, He is the Arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power to do
something about them.
In Psalms, He is your Song and your Reason to sing.
In Proverbs, He is your Wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it successfully.
In Ecclesiastes, He is your Purpose, delivering you from vanity.
In the Song of Solomon, He is your Lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the Mighty Counsellor, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, and more.
In short, He's everything you need.
In Jeremiah, He is your Balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
In Lamentations, He is the Ever-Faithful One upon whom you can depend.
In Ezekiel, He is your Wheel in the middle of a wheel – the One who assures that dry, dead
bones will come alive again.
In Daniel, He is the Ancient of Days, the Everlasting God who never runs out of time.
In Hosea, He is your Faithful Lover, always beckoning you to come back – even when you have
abandoned Him.
In Joel, He is your Refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In Amos, He is the Husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side.
In Obadiah, He is the Lord of the Kingdom.
In Jonah, He is your Salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In Micah, He is Judge of the Nation.
In Nahum, He is the Jealous God.
In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In Zephaniah, He is the Witness.
In Haggai, He is the Overthrower of the enemies.
In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Malachi, He is the Messenger God.
In the New Testament:
In Matthew, He is the King of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the Servant.
In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is the Saviour of the world.
In Romans, He is the Righteousness of God.
In 1 Corinthians, He is the Rock that followed Israel.
In 2 Corinthians, He is the Triumphant One, giving victory.
In Galatians, He is your Liberty; He sets you free.
In Ephesians, He is Head of the Church.
In Philippians, He is your Joy.
In Colossians, He is your Completeness.
In 1 Thessalonians, He is your Hope.
In 2 Thessalonians, He is your Patience and Discipline.
In 1 Timothy, He is your Faith.
In 2 Timothy, He is your Stability.
In Titus, He is the Truth.
In Philemon, He is your Benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your Perfection.
In James, He is the Power behind faith.
In 1 Peter, He is your Example.
In 2 Peter, He is your Purity.
In 1 John, He is your Life.
In 2 John, He is your Pattern.
In 3 John, He is your Motivation.
In Jude, He is the Foundation of your faith.
In the Revelation, he is your Coming King.

Christ in Christmas

I find it really sad that people are offended at the saying of Merry Christmas, that we can't say it anymore - to be politically correct I have to say Happy Holidays. You wouldn't want to wish an atheist or a Jewish person a merry Christmas... that would be bad... Allow me to take this Idea and Run with it...


When we greet people - we shouldn't say Hi - that's far to Anglo of us, we shouldn't even Wave. I mean what if we are talking to someone who's first language isn't English. They speak English, but it's not they're native tongue; It would be offensive to speak to them in a manor that is not theirs - so instead we speak in a manor that isn't ours... it would convey nothing about ourselves... no individuality...

Of Course - no waving hello - in some countries wave with your hand open, and fingers spread is announcing that you could have many fathers - (not so great for your mom... huh?)... so if we're not going to stop all that - - then let's just let people be themselves - - it's called cultural awareness....

So we can't greet people with our personal holiday greeting - It's a little sad huh. I mean I'm saying Merry Christmas, because I want to someone to have a merry Christmas...

forget the greetings... what about just taking the religiousness out of the Holiday itself... Get rid of Jesus - cause he's so one sided... and you can still have Christmas without him....

UMM NO.

maybe I just see it differently - I know that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' humanity... so if we take that away we will just have a day to get presents and chocolates - I think our birthdays and Easter (ahem) would cover that... ( I hope you got my ahem... sigh)

We don't tell the Jewish community to forget the Temple and Festival of Lights, and we don't say to the African -to stop celebrating Africa... why do the Christians have to be hit so hard...

Sigh persecution sucks -and I pray it leads to character development not slacker faith...

S'Mores!!

I was hungry, for something sweet, I mean really sweet.. and chocolaty...
So I made smores.
In my living room.
I got everything ready and I even got a little candle out and roasted the marshmallows.

Does that make me a slave to my cravings? am I just a woman, or is this a little extreme?

confused...

So I 'm not going to be taking the Job - I haven't felt right about it - and then when I finally decided I wouldn't be doing it... peace.

I know it's a great job for so many reasons... Location, it's across the street; Ease of work, It's simple data entry, Great pay - it's a lot more than minimum wage... but, and there always seems to be a but...

I don't think it'll be good for me, I feel it would add to the stress, and no one wanted Shannon's hair t fall out again... so maybe I won't take it.

maybe I'll try to find a job with a bit fewer hours, and less responsibility.