Entertaining Angels?

"Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers,

for some who have done this have entertained angels

without realizing it!"

Hebrews 13:2

It was a typical Saturday for Claire and I.

Wes was working all day at the hospital,

and so Claire and I headed out to run the typical Saturday errands.

A quick stop at the bank, some light Father's Day shopping at Target,

and finally grocery shopping at Meijer.

Back in my pre-motherhood days, these errands would have been a fun and enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. But with a busy toddler, these errands become a game of

"how quick can mommy grab what she needs and go?" while Claire plays "how fast can I try to stand up and jump out of my cart while mommy looks away?" along with several rousing rounds of  "how many packages can I grab out of our cart and bite through?" I'm telling you, Claire is QUICK and BUSY! If you ever see me out shopping with Claire, you will literally probably see me singing and dancing just to try and keep her entertained enough to keep her seated in her cart so I can get my shopping done. It is exhausting! {Please tell me I'm not the only parent who experiences this!}

After successfully completing our stop at the bank and Target, we were finishing up at Meijer. Claire had managed to chew up a package of cheese, as well as throw a container of blueberries onto the floor where they  spilled everywhere. Remember, blueberries are round... so they roll. {The sad part is I picked as many of them up off the floor as I could and put them back into my container to purchase. I needed those blueberries!} Needless to say, I was a bit... frazzled and worn out by this point.

As I was scanning for the shortest checkout line, an older gentleman, probably nearing 80 at least, walked up to Claire and I. He stopped and said a few words to Claire... I can't remember exactly what.

He had a British accent; something you don't hear around our parts very often. I didn't think too much of this encounter until the man started to walk away and then turned back and looked me in the eyes and said "Bless you." Nothing profound, nothing I've never heard before. But there was something about the way he said it; it was like he very sincerely meant it.

Have you ever met someone who, because you know that they care about you, it confirms to you that God cares about you too? This is how this man made me feel. It was truly as if God was speaking directly through him to me. Was he an angel? There's no way of knowing, at least not this side of heaven. Maybe he was simply a human with a godly heart.  Or, maybe he was an angel. But whatever the case, he made an impression on me that I hope to never forget.

There are two things I took away from this man:

{1}

A sweet reminder of God's personal, gentle love for me. A reminder

that he sees every detail of my day and cares about every one.

{2}

A reminder to be intentional about really SEEING the people that are around me. It is so easy to hustle and bustle my way through my to-do lists all the time, forgetting to slow down and focus on what is truly important: loving the people around me. This even includes those I don't know. Everyone has as story. Everyone has a soul that was created by God. Everyone is important, and everyone needs to feel cared for. Even a smile and a friendly hello can mean volumes, reminding people that they are not alone in this big, often scary world. 

Lord, help me to slow down, and use me to show your love to the people you place in my path. Thank you for using the man at Meijer as a messenger of your love and care for me. Amen. 

Thanks for reading.... and may God bless YOU!

Happy Nesting!

{Now that I'm on summer break, stay tuned for some new projects!

It's time to get crafty!}

Preachy time... and a little catch up

Hi bloggy friends!

And so we meet again... finally!

Let's just say my creative juices haven't really been flowing the past few weeks.

Mostly just my school counseling and motherhood juices have been flowing,

and I guess I haven't had much creative energy left at the end of the day.

I'm hoping that this will be a different story in just a few short weeks,

thanks to a little something known as

SUMMER VACATION!

Whoo hooo!

Just a tad excited.

Oh, and husband and I just got back from a 4 day weekend in Nashville, TN!

Wes attended a worship songwriting conference all day on Friday,

but then we had all day Saturday to do whatever we wanted.

We had a lovely time exploring the area,

eating lots of good food, checking out the music scene a little bit,

and just taking a break from the responsibilities of life.

It was nice. I highly recommend it. 

Claire stayed at her grandma and grandpa's...

she had a blast too, so I'm choosing to shoo away the guilt of leaving

my baby for 4 days.

Besides, it was good for the marriage, and in the end,

it benefits Claire too.

At least that's the way I look at it :)

Here are all 4 pics I took while we were gone.

{I know. I'm a picture-taking reject.}

{Taylor Swift tour trucks}

So the other reason I wanted to post tonight, aside from a quick catch up of my life,

is to share this interesting little passage I came across today

in my daily Bible reading.

"The Lord, the God of Israel, says some of you are keeping things he commanded

you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you throw away those things."

~ Joshua 7:13

Hmmm. 

What are the enemies in your life?

Financial troubles?

Depression?

Insecurity? 

Relationship problems?

Dissatisfaction with your life?

Mine right now?

Probably insecurity would be my biggest enemy at the moment.

Just being real folks.

Now, could it be that I am "keeping" something

that God commands me to destroy?

Maybe a thought or belief?

Maybe an addiction?

Maybe a comfort source that is taking God's spot in your heart?

'Oh, you mean that nagging thought says something like, "I'm good enough."?'

Yeah, that's what I mean.

{Yes, I just had a conversation with myself.}

So what do I do?

Dump that thought in the trash!

I just love this verse right now, because it reminds me that,

even though God already won the ultimate battle over Satan,

I still have some responsibility in the here and now battle.

Satan still wants to take us out... each and every one of us.

But no way, not this girl!

No siree!

And I pray not you either. 

It's so easy to forget that we are in a battle.

Most of the time, it's completely out of my realm of thought.

But the Truth is, we have an enemy, whether we believe it or not,

throwing his ugly, mean little darts at us all. the. time.

But the good news is, we don't have to take the bait!

We have God's Truth to stand on!

I hope this encourages you to take a stand in your battle,

and throw away the things that God is asking you to throw away.

He loves you and  knows you better than anyone,

and He only wants good for us!

Preach is sista!

{Once again, a conversation with myself.}

Night night all!

And happy nesting, of course :)

Spray paint + Entryway + Easter

Hello friends!

Do you remember when I showed you 

our drab entryway?

Well it looking a little something like this:

{Boring}

Well, I'm glad to say our entryway looks a LITTLE

bit better now than it did back then.

But first, I have to show you a treasure that

I found at a local antique mall.

I forgot to take a true "before" shot,

so you will see it mid-transformation.

Check this out:

Do you think this is as great as I do?

Well just wait... it's about to get much better!

Wah-lah! Our not perfect, but much better than before entryway!

I still need to find some branches or something of some kind

for the tall red vase under the mirror,

but I would LOVE to eventually do a board and batten

treatment to the wall in this area.

But, for now, this will have to do!

I added a basket under the bench, handy for storing Claire's shoes.

I added a framed photo under the hook thingy (forget what those are called),

and I put a bonsai plant, or whatever that is, next to the bench.

I got the plant from my parents' house a long time ago.

The pillow has our last initial on it made from buttons hot-glued onto it.

Here's a closer look:

And, one more look at my fun new mirror!

What are some fun thrifty things you have found lately?

I thought I'd end this post with a few shots from 

Easter Sunday.

This year, the true meaning behind Easter seemed especially

significant to me.

As a new parent, I've found myself wrestling lately

with the idea of death- thinking about what would happen if I or Wes 

were to die and what that would mean for Claire.

Morbid, I know.

But, death is part of life and something we all have to deal

with at some time or another.

Wes, as a nurse, is faced with death regularly and so

hearing stories from him also reminds me of how

fragile our life on earth truly is.

Anyway, all this is to say that this Easter,

it really hit home to me knowing that I can rest

assured that Jesus conquered the grave, and death is not the end,

but really only the beginning for those who are in Christ!

And for those of us left behind when a loved one dies,

we have the great Comforter here who knows our pain

and can offer us peace that passes understanding.

This is truly something to celebrate, and to live our lives for!

Check out this song by Matt Maher...

I hope the lyrics touch your spirit as they have mine.

Here are some pics of our Easter Sunday!

{I think this one is my fav!}

Have a great week, and happy nesting!

Top 10 reasons that I read the Bible

This year, Wes and I accepted my grandpa's

challenge to us to read through the whole Bible.

(Actually, following the plan that he gave us,

we'll be reading the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice,

Psalms twice, and Proverbs 12 times)

Reading the Bible faithfully has always been a struggle of mine.

But, as I have plugged along doing my daily readings 

each day of the year so far 

{I won't lie... I'm 5 days behind right now so I have missed a day here and there... what can I say, I'm not perfect!}

I have discovered some pretty wonderful changes in my life.

Below you will find the TOP 10 reasons

that I am so glad to be reading my Bible consistently.

10. I have many interesting and exotic name options for our next child

 {Wes likes Abilene... I'm not so sure about this}. 

9. I am setting an example for my daughter. Monkey see, monkey do (hopefully!)

8. God has an opportunity to correct me. Yes, I admit it... I mess up.

Sometimes I need a slap in the face (or at least a gentle swat).

7. It keeps my life in perspective. 

Love God, love others.
Our life on earth is only a short blink in comparison to eternity.
This is what really matters.

(Wait? You mean there's more to life

than work, cleaning, cooking, stuff, TV, etc.?)

6. It gives me wisdom. I am able to discern God's perspective

on situations, rather than relying on my owned

skewed viewpoint.

5. My insecurity is shrinking! 

Knowing God's word= know God= know my value.

More and more, I do not have to rely on 

what others think about me to evaluate my worth.

4. In turn, my confidence in who I am and my faith in who God is,

is Growing!

3. It produces fruit in my life. 

I don't claim to be the most 

loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, generous, and controlled person out there... 

but I do see these fruits coming out more in my life since I've been in the Word daily.

2. It transforms me into a better

wife, mother, daughter, friend, counselor.

And now, for the #1 reason I read my Bible...

1.  It draws me closer to God! Simple.

If my relationship with Jesus is the most important part of me,

I should probably put time and energy into it!

This life is so short in the grand scheme of eternity,

and I pray I don't waste it.

"... a person does not live by eating bread alone, but by everything the Lord says."
(Deut. 8:3)

Be blessed... read the Bible :)

Edit: So since I've posted this, I've thought of about 12 more fabulous reasons that I read my Bible.
Clearly, this list is not at all exhaustive! I'd LOVE to hear from you lovelies about why YOU read the Bible or what YOU love about God's Word. Please comment with your thoughts... who knows, maybe I'll do a follow-up post with all of your thoughts featured!

Happy nesting!