I've been doing Kelly Minter's Ruth study this summer. It is a really fantastic study of this small book in the Old Testament! Even though the book is only 4 chapters long, it is jammed pack with great biblical truth and application for everyday life. It is definitely on my recommendation list!
But that's not really why I'm writing today. It has been a looooooooooooong time since my last blog, and today I just feel compelled to share with you (by you, I mean all of the 2 people that actually read my blog and that is even being pretty generous)....okay, I feel so very compelled to share Psalm 103 with the blog world today. It has absolutely captivated me! Here is what I wrote in my journal about these 22 verses:
Psalm 103 - Absolutely enamoring when I think about the depths of God's unfailing love, forgiveness...His capacity, willingness, and ability to show me grace and mercy. He knows who I really am, He knows what I'm made of (mostly not good things). Yet he chooses to forgive me of all unrighteousness. Even when I deliberately go out of my way to sin.
So here it is...Psalm 103. Praying it will captivate your heart and open your heart to truly understand how wide, how deep and how far reaching the love of Christ is for you, beloved.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins (Hallelujah!!), nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame (or he knows how we are formed), he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep his covenant, and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, O you angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I hate it when my dog is smarter than me...
This morning Anthony left for work before me, which doesn't happen really ever at all. After the dogs were finished with their meal, I opened the back door to let them roam outside and take care of their business before I had to gate them into the laundry room for the day. A few minutes later I gathered my things and grabbed two treats out of the pantry. Wrex was right at my heels which is exactly where he spends most of his time when I am at home. I went to the back door and began to call Zoe into the house. She really likes to ignore me when I call her inside, and so, over the years I have developed little tricks to get her inside. One of them is to knock on the door. I called her name for about a minute and then began knocking on the door. A few minutes later I was growing pretty frustrated that she still hadn't come inside yet. So finally I turned around to look at Wrex and saw Zoe standing in the doorway into the laundry room. She had been there all along and now she was just staring at me and seemed to be trying to figure out why I was calling her because she was already inside. I wish I had a picture of the look on her face to share with you.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
What a way to start the day
I'll be honest. I haven't even titled this post yet. I'm not sure where it's going to head and I figure it will be easier and more fitting to title it when I am finished.
Do you ever have one of those mornings that from the moment you wake up your mind is swirling with so many different things? As I opened my eyes to greet the daylight, my mind began going down almost a mental list of people, events, decisions to be made and situations to figure out. Too much to think about, especially when me thinking about it will rarely help it find a solution or shed new light on the situation. So, I just start over with them all again, saying them again in my head (or else I would wake up Anthony and he would be reminded that he married a spazz). What a blessing to be able to start my day that way. I know that sounds strange. The way I look at it is that God is so good that He is ready for me first thing every morning. I don't have to wait for him to wake up more, or to have a cup of coffee first. He's ready, willing and more than able to listen. The best part is that He actually has the wisdom and strength to work all of those many things out for His glory.
What a way to start the day. OK, so I'll use that for the title.
Do you ever have one of those mornings that from the moment you wake up your mind is swirling with so many different things? As I opened my eyes to greet the daylight, my mind began going down almost a mental list of people, events, decisions to be made and situations to figure out. Too much to think about, especially when me thinking about it will rarely help it find a solution or shed new light on the situation. So, I just start over with them all again, saying them again in my head (or else I would wake up Anthony and he would be reminded that he married a spazz). What a blessing to be able to start my day that way. I know that sounds strange. The way I look at it is that God is so good that He is ready for me first thing every morning. I don't have to wait for him to wake up more, or to have a cup of coffee first. He's ready, willing and more than able to listen. The best part is that He actually has the wisdom and strength to work all of those many things out for His glory.
What a way to start the day. OK, so I'll use that for the title.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Please Christmas Don't be late!!
Today I find myself searching for things to do that will keep me busy. I'll be totally transparent with you, I left church today feeling totally lonely. It is not very often that I come home straight away after church. Usually, I am off to have lunch with friends or family, or both. Today, it seemed that everyone had somewhere to be, except for me. So, knowing that my doggies would really enjoy running around in the sun, I headed home. I can't even remember now if I ate anything for lunch, which would explain the ache in my stomach. I'll attend to that later.
For now, I'll tell you how grateful Anthony and I are to be seeing this semester of our lives coming to an end. After next week, we will both be done with school for a few weeks. We are mainly grateful that his semester is over and tremendouslly thankful that in the Spring he will only be taking one class on campus. And that it is over at 7:45. Gone are the 3 days a week of classes - 2 of which he didn't get home until almost 11 pm. Which makes it difficult for us to spend anytime together whatsoever, since my day begins by 6:30 the next morning.
Oh, I am praying peace over this Christmas season - both for us and for all of you! That this Christmas we would know Christ more, love Him more and serve Him with more joy in our hearts than ever before. That this Christmas God would reveal Himself to be Almighty in our lives and in yours. I think we all need to be reminded of His strength and sovereignty. I pray that we are all reminded in a new and refreshing way of the Savior who was born in a manger, so that we would have eternal life.
Love you all!
For now, I'll tell you how grateful Anthony and I are to be seeing this semester of our lives coming to an end. After next week, we will both be done with school for a few weeks. We are mainly grateful that his semester is over and tremendouslly thankful that in the Spring he will only be taking one class on campus. And that it is over at 7:45. Gone are the 3 days a week of classes - 2 of which he didn't get home until almost 11 pm. Which makes it difficult for us to spend anytime together whatsoever, since my day begins by 6:30 the next morning.
Oh, I am praying peace over this Christmas season - both for us and for all of you! That this Christmas we would know Christ more, love Him more and serve Him with more joy in our hearts than ever before. That this Christmas God would reveal Himself to be Almighty in our lives and in yours. I think we all need to be reminded of His strength and sovereignty. I pray that we are all reminded in a new and refreshing way of the Savior who was born in a manger, so that we would have eternal life.
Love you all!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
One of the best parts of Christmas for me is being able to buy gifts for the people that I love. I am beginning to wonder if somewhere inside of me is the spiritual gift of giving just dying to get out. My husband would say that is just me trying to find a godly way to say that I like to shop. There is just something about getting something incredible for my loved ones, it makes me feel such great joy. And the best part is that it really doesn't matter to me whether they can get me something equally as surprising....for me it really is about the giving.
Speaking of giving, I can't even think of Christmas without knowing that because of Christmas I have been given the most incredible free gift of all time, a relationship with my Savior. It gives me great hope to think of the night that all of heaven watched as Christ the Savior was born. To think about the look on Mary and Joseph's face, on the faces of the Wise Men and the Shepherds, as they worshipped the baby who would become the great Lamb of God. I am filled with joy everytime I remember the gift that God has given me, that He loved me so much that even though I am a sinner, Christ died for me.
What a wonderful Savior! It is my hope that this Christmas season we would all remember that Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, that He is head over heels in love with us, and that each day is a humbling reminder of our need for a Savior.
It delights God to give us this gift of salvation, just like it delights me to give gifts to the people that I love. We love because He first loved us. We give because He first gave to us. Have you accepted His gift? He is waiting just for you, He cares just for you. He is pursuing a relationship with you. I'm so grateful God that you pursue me, and that you have forgiven me.
Speaking of giving, I can't even think of Christmas without knowing that because of Christmas I have been given the most incredible free gift of all time, a relationship with my Savior. It gives me great hope to think of the night that all of heaven watched as Christ the Savior was born. To think about the look on Mary and Joseph's face, on the faces of the Wise Men and the Shepherds, as they worshipped the baby who would become the great Lamb of God. I am filled with joy everytime I remember the gift that God has given me, that He loved me so much that even though I am a sinner, Christ died for me.
What a wonderful Savior! It is my hope that this Christmas season we would all remember that Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, that He is head over heels in love with us, and that each day is a humbling reminder of our need for a Savior.
It delights God to give us this gift of salvation, just like it delights me to give gifts to the people that I love. We love because He first loved us. We give because He first gave to us. Have you accepted His gift? He is waiting just for you, He cares just for you. He is pursuing a relationship with you. I'm so grateful God that you pursue me, and that you have forgiven me.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I promised I would update my blog....
So here goes!! Hope you enjoy it Ketcham! You probably won't even check it! HA!
Since it is Thanksgiving, I think I'd like to take a bit of time to do just that - be thankful!
Anthony and I moved into our new house about 7 months ago, and are finally starting to finish up decorating and furnishing it. I'm thankful that God continues to provide us with everything that we need and even goes so far as to bless us with awesome surprises every now and then!
We are in the 11th week of school now, I think...might be wrong on that. But the point is that I'm thankful to have made it this far and to still be loving it everyday. Sure, sometimes my kids make me want to throw myself on the floor and pitch a fit like a three year old. But sometimes, they just make me smile and laugh so much. I'm thankful to have a job that is so much fun.
And while I'm on the topic of work, I am beyond thankful for all of the people that I work with. I am blessed to be part of such an amazing staff and especially to be part of the Social studies department with all of the coolest people in world. Thanks to all of you for making me feel so welcome and for answering all of my dumb questions.
Next week Anthony and I are going to go on a cruise!! I'm thankful to be going on vacation with my super hot husband, and to get to spend some time with each other! This year has been so crazy hectic with his school and work schedule and everything. It's going to be fun to just get away for a few days - and to go scuba diving!!
Every day I am becoming more and more thankful for my LORD. Thankful for his steadfast love, neverending mercy and grace, His strength and faithfulness. Thankful that He came near to me and continues to draw near to me, every moment of every day.
It's time for YACS, so I must go. So what about you, what are you thankful for?
Love you!
Since it is Thanksgiving, I think I'd like to take a bit of time to do just that - be thankful!
Anthony and I moved into our new house about 7 months ago, and are finally starting to finish up decorating and furnishing it. I'm thankful that God continues to provide us with everything that we need and even goes so far as to bless us with awesome surprises every now and then!
We are in the 11th week of school now, I think...might be wrong on that. But the point is that I'm thankful to have made it this far and to still be loving it everyday. Sure, sometimes my kids make me want to throw myself on the floor and pitch a fit like a three year old. But sometimes, they just make me smile and laugh so much. I'm thankful to have a job that is so much fun.
And while I'm on the topic of work, I am beyond thankful for all of the people that I work with. I am blessed to be part of such an amazing staff and especially to be part of the Social studies department with all of the coolest people in world. Thanks to all of you for making me feel so welcome and for answering all of my dumb questions.
Next week Anthony and I are going to go on a cruise!! I'm thankful to be going on vacation with my super hot husband, and to get to spend some time with each other! This year has been so crazy hectic with his school and work schedule and everything. It's going to be fun to just get away for a few days - and to go scuba diving!!
Every day I am becoming more and more thankful for my LORD. Thankful for his steadfast love, neverending mercy and grace, His strength and faithfulness. Thankful that He came near to me and continues to draw near to me, every moment of every day.
It's time for YACS, so I must go. So what about you, what are you thankful for?
Love you!
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