2011 Bible Verse Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four!

Happy December!  It's Christmastime...yay!  Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel!!!  :0)

And as we deck the halls, fill the malls, sing some songs, and jingle all day long, let us always remember the true reason for the season...

Christ, our Savior, is BORN!!!

...and remember the greatest gift of all -- the gift of Jesus, and His sacrifice for us, and the gift of grace and forgiveness and adoption and eternal life.  Praise You, Father!!!

"The words

'it was credited to him'

were written not for him alone,

but also for us,

to whom God will credit righteousness --

for us who believe in Him

who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."

--Romans 4:23-24

 

"For it is by grace

you have been saved,

through faith--

and this is not from yourselves,

but is a gift from God."

--Ephesians 2:8

2011 Bible Verse Twenty-Two

“We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty,

the One who is and who was,

because You have taken Your great power

and have begun to reign.”

--Revelation 11:17

2011 Bible Verse Twenty-One

Happy November!  The month of family and friends and fall weather and GIVING THANKS!!!

"Amen! Praise and glory

and wisdom and THANKS

and honor and power and strength

be to our God

for ever and ever. Amen!"
--Revelation 7:12

2011 Bible Verse Twenty

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

always giving THANKS to God the Father for everything,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

--Ephesians 5:19-20

2011 Bible Verse Nineteen

"Therefore, since we are surrounded

by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders

and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith."

--Hebrews 12:1

2011 Bible Verse Eighteen

"Be strong in the Lord

and in the power of His might."

--Ephesians 6:10

2011 Bible Verse Seventeen

As we enjoy the precious baby which we showered with gifts...

...and as we pray for rain in this parched land...

"I will send down showers in season;

there will be showers of blessing."

--Ezekiel 34:26

God's Love

I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE the girls over at (in)courage, especially one of its creators, Holley Gerth.  Their blogs inspire me SO MUCH and give me that extra boost each morning to live beautifully and wonderfully as a daughter of our Most High God.  :0)

Today on Holley's blog, Heart to Heart with Holley, she spoke about God's overwhelming forgiveness and love; she was feeling so down and so full of failure and God spoke to her heart and said, "Daughter, do you know why I wanted you to keep a “good things” journal?  It’s because that’s what My journal about you is like.  If you were to read the story of your life, that’s what you would read.  Not mistakes or failures, but the times you were a blessing, the ways you please Me, the love you show others.  The good things I think about you."  Hearing God's voice in her head made her realize:

"God’s love was so real and strong,
so much bigger than I even imagined.
I realized at that moment that God loves me.
He doesn’t just tolerate me.
He doesn’t just put up with me because I’m a Christian and He has to.
He really, truly loves me."

That made me smile.  :0)

And it reminded me of something else too...on Friday, Emily was the blog writer for the day on the (in)courage blog and, while talking about God's grace, quoted the following:
 

“When I was a child my parents loved me not because I was good,

but because I was Madeleine.”

--Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

It made me think of my precious nieces.  One is a toddler with equally large amounts of curiosity, brilliance, energy, and molars keeping her up all night.  The other is a newborn whose favorite thing is having middle-of-the-night talks with her mommy.  While others might think they would be overwhelming, I think they are perfectly precious and absolutely wonderful...molars and midnights and all! 

Not because they are good.  (Even though this TOTALLY biased Aunt Jilly thinks they are!) 

Not because of what they do.  (Even though I TOTALLY think everything they do is adorable.) 

But because of who they are. 

They are my sisters'. 

They are my nieces. 

They are my parents' grandchildren and the nieces my hubby spoils. 

And it's amazing to think that is how God feels about us!  Molars and midnights, failures and mistakes and all...just as I love my nieces, God love us...and infinitely more!!! 

"Not because I was good, but because I..."

...am me.

...am His.

:0)

2011 Bible Verse Sixteen

So..I'm a few days late in posting my sixteenth Bible verse for 2011 because I have some BIG news...

I have another PRECIOUS niece!!!

L was born on Monday, August 15th to my younger sister and her sweet hubby.  They are over the moon in love with her and...so...am...I.  <3

"For this child we prayed"

--1 Samuel 1:27

And so in TOTAL JOY and THANKSGIVING over the ABSOLUTE BLESSING from GOD for her birth, my Bible verse is:

"For GOD is great,

and worth a thousand Hallelujahs."

--Psalm 96:4 (The Message)

Hot

I love summertime, but man...it is HOT outside!


The temp on my car yesterday.  Yikes!
It got up to 107 for a second, but I didn't get a pic before it dropped back down.



Aspen / Snowmass - "Burst into song, you mountains...for the Lord has redeemed"

For July 4th, my hubby & I got to go with my work to Aspen, Colorado.  It was so beautiful!!!  And so nice to get out of the summer heat for a few days...and into mountains that still had a little snow!  Snow!!!  For a Texas girl like me, that was SO EXCITING!!!

Matthew & I had SUCH an AMAZING time!  We shopped a bit, strolled around a little, went to a few work-related parties, and hiked a TON.  Who knew my hubby was such a mountain man???  <3

Here's some pictures of our hikes (sorry not in chronological order!)...

Maroon Lake at the bottom of Maroon Bells (the two mountains in the background).
Named "Maroon Bells" because their sedimentary rock "rusts" to make them look maroon...WHOOP!...and their shape made their discoverer think they looked like bells.  Christmas-y!!!   :0)

Hiking...me & my mountain man.  <3

Maroon Lake at Maroon Bells

View of Mount Daly from the Ditch Trail

My Aggie mountain man with Maroon Bells behind him.

After climbing Maroon Bells.  We did it!

Getting ready to hike Maroon Bells to Crater Lake

We made it!  Hiked Maroon Bells 3.6 miles round trip and 1 mile up (to 10,076 feet) to get to Crater Lake.
It was rocky and really uphill but so worth it!  It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

Crater Lake at Maroon Bells

Matt on the Ditch Trail

Maroon Bells

Me on the Ditch Trail

Me at the first party.  Such a BEAUTIFUL home!!!

Matt at the first party.  Handsome man.  Beautiful backyard!!!

SNOW!!!
On the Maroon Bells trail to Crater Lake.
So uphill and high up, we would pass pockets of snow...in July!

"You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands."

--Isaiah 55:12

"Though the mountains be shaken

and the hills be removed,

yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor My covenant of peace be removed,"

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

--Isaiah 54:10

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,

"Your God reigns!"

--Isaiah 52:7

"Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;

shout aloud, you earth beneath.

Burst into song, you mountains,

you forests and all your trees,

for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

He displays His glory in Israel."

--Isaiah 44:23

“I tell you,” Jesus replied,

“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

--Luke 19:40

2011 Bible Verse Fifteen

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight / direct your paths."

--Proverbs 3:5-6

2011 Bible Verse Fourteen

"May the God of hope

fill you with all joy and peace

as you trust in Him,

so that you may overflow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit."

--Romans 15:13

2011 Bible Verse Thirteen

"We are made holy

through the sacrifice Christ made

in His body

once for all time."

--Hebrews 10:10

Rain!!!

We got RAIN this week!  Yay!!!  Thank you Lord!

"The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty,

to send rain on your land in season

and to bless all the work of your hands."

--Deuteronomy 28:12

2011 Bible Verse Twelve

"The Lord is near to all who call on Him,

to all who call on Him in truth."

--Psalm 145:18

San Diego -- "The Love of God is Like the Ocean"

My family has ALWAYS loved the water.  From fishing trips with my daddy, to water skiing with friends, to vacations at the bay, we are definitely water and beach people!  There's just something about being by the water that is so relaxing and rejuvenating and beautiful.  :0)

So it was a total surprise to me when I realized that, while I'd been in many rivers and bays throughout my lifetime, I'd only been in the ocean once...in the Atlantic off the east coast of Florida the summer before my freshman year of high school. 

I found a saying a few years ago and, even with my lack of ocean-time, with my family's love of the water, I immediately loved it!  It goes:

The love of God is like the ocean--

you can see its beginning but NEVER its end.

I love that.  :0)

And guess what?!?  I got to see the Pacific Ocean!  A few days (four to be exact) after we returned from Europe in April, we packed our bags again (significantly LESS this time!) and flew to San Diego, CA on April 16th to visit my Matthew's sweet Aunt Jo and cousin Brent. 

In the air again!
Enjoying our breakfast on the way to San Diego, CA!

Matthew and Brent, being close in age and only children, grew up super-close, so it was a thrill to get to visit him and Matt's Aunt Jo and in such a breathtaking setting!  And it was so exciting for me to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time!  So enormous yet beautiful, peaceful yet powerful...just like God's love for all of us!  :0)

We started out staying the Saturday night at Matt's cousin's AMAZING condo...

View from Matt's cousin's balcony.  So amazing!
Like on vacation every day!

San Diego Bay Beach in front of Matt's cousin's condo

Then my sweetie surprised me with a fabulous resort just outside town!  The Grande del Mar was simply amazing...it was so luxurious and beautiful while being perfectly laid back and relaxing.  It was the perfect place to unwind and relax and enjoy each other after such a busy two weeks of sightseeing in Europe.

Moved to the Grande del Mar on Sunday, where we checked in
and had the yummiest brunch ever!
View from our room.  So beautiful and peaceful!!!

Matt with his sweet aunt and the view from the back of our resort

On Sunday, we had the most delicious brunch with Matt's Aunt Jo (seriously, I don't even like French toast, but it was the best I have EVER tasted!) and then went to La Jolla to go shopping a bit and to see the OCEAN!!!

Me & Matt and the Pacific Ocean!!!
At La Jolla Beach.  We saw seals and dolphins in the water!

Birds and seals on the rocks

Seals in the water!

<3  Love  <3

Late Sunday afternoon after visiting the beach, we relaxed in rocking chairs in the back of our resort,
and a BUNNY hopped up next to us.  A bunny!!!  :0)

Monday we woke up and went for a hike around our resort.  It was so peaceful and so much fun together!!!

Me and my sweetie on our Monday morning "Grand View" hike.

Another bunny!  Love it!!!

We would be hiking and thinking we were in the middle of nowhere,
but then we'd reach a clearing and realize we had been right by the golf course
the whole time.  I even found a golf ball!  :0)

The "Grand View"...looking back at our beautiful resort

Picture of the adult pool area.
Matt & I spent so much time relaxing and sunning and reading
on the third red cushion from the left by the giant hot tub.
The place was so quiet, most of the time we had the pool area
all to ourselves.  :0)

Monday night we went into Del Mar to eat sushi by the sea!
So yummy!!!

Tuesday, I hiked in the morning while Matthew did a bit of work / returning emails, then we lounged and read books by the pool all morning until our hotel drove us over to the Del Mar Beach!  It had been a little overcast the entire trip, but when we got to the beach, the sun broke through and it was perfectly sunny!  Beautiful!!!

Me & Matt & Del Mar beach!
"The love of God is like the ocean!"

My handsome man  :0)

Our hotel dropped us off at the beach with an umbrella, lawn chairs, towels, water, etc.
So nice!!!

I went seashell searching, but most of the shells still had little creatures in them.
Hang on little guy!  :0)

So instead of picking up seashells (I still did get a few) the beach had
the most beautifully colored rocks!
Matt went walking and brought these back for me.  <3

Then we found more pretty colors
and played.  :0)

I <3 him!!!

I LOVE MY SWEETIE!!!

Wednesday, April 20th we flew home after a wonderfully relaxing and restful trip together!

This is the back patio where we ate most of our meals.
Even in the mornings, we would eat out there with the heaters.
So yummy and so beautiful!!!

On the plane ride home...Judge Judy!  Love her!!!
Go Judge Judy, go!

Such an amazing and relaxing trip with my sweetie!  Thank You, Father!  "The love of God is like the ocean!"  :0)