Wednesdays in the Word

I have a new appreciation for Rom. 14:4 

"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. 

And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."

I used to take comfort in that verse when I was way, way younger and for some reason, pretty critical of the spiritual walk of others around me, I confess. I remember it hitting me hard while in a Christian college and feeling like the Holy Spirit was sure not okay with me doing or not doing certain things that didn't seem to bother other people one little bit. LOL

This verse helped me to turn them over to Him, so to speak and obey the verse several scriptures down that says "Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another." v.13

Now, many, many, years later,  what stands out to me in that verse is the beautiful second half! 

No matter how close our friend's, family, co-workers, neighbors' walks with God are or are not, God is able to "make them stand." 

How wonderful is that?!

He is more than able! 

I love that He will them stand. I love that He will make me stand.

"And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." Amen! 

Let's cheer each other on!

His grace makes us stand!

 And we all need it! 

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit," v.17

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification." v.19

~Becky

Happy 29 -again

Just kidding. I turned 49 last week. I'm not one to go around telling my age or lying about it. I just don't always answer when I'm asked. LOL But it hit me on my birthday that my hubby didn't see 49. And that I need to see this year as a blessing and an opportunity to be thankful for and not a number to be ashamed of.
So, here's to 49!

My sweet kids took me out for Mexican food that night and then we went out for gourmet Popsicles. Andrew and I got the chocolate Elvis Popsicles and I totally forgot that Elvis had a thing for bananas!!! And I don't think Andrew ever knew that LOL so he was pretty surprised when he was sure he was tasting them because he's allergic to bananas!
Thankfully, he didn't have a enough to get sick.

My new room is done and I love it so much. It has stopped feeling big enough to be a hotel and it just feels peaceful and homey now. I used furniture I already had and painted pieces to go with my color scheme. They were getting rid of an IKEA desk at work, so I got a great deal on that. I did buy a cute chair at Ross and now, it's done. For my birthday, the kids decided my room needed an Echo!
So, Alexa is my roomie now.  And we have praise parties almost every night!  And  I found out that she doesn't work, if you accidentally mix up her name with your friend, Alexis' name. ; )

I've been painting my old room because Andrew is moving into that one and we are getting our family room back as a place for all the instruments and exercise equipment! A million hoorays!
He chose a matte dark gray which looks almost like chalkboard paint. (that would've been fun actually!) I had my doubts about it but it is coming together and he loves it. Thankfully there is a lot of white trim in there and that brightens it up. -But Heaven help me when that room needs to go back to a neutral, light color someday! LOL

One of my favorite friends gave me Joanna Gaines' new cookbook and I'm so excited to do some cooking! Fall just makes you want to bake, doesn't it?
It is still 93 degrees here so, I will have to just put up fall decor and pretend the weather has changed. I wouldn't mind it being so hot but there is red tide in some amount at almost all of our beaches, so I've had to cross that off as my happy place for now. Hoping to find one more day to go before the water gets cold. 

Nathan gets to come home for Christmas and spend 18 days with us! Merry Christmas to me!!!
I'm so excited! Our office at work will be closed for several of those days, so I can't wait for some family fun with the whole gang. It will be our first time to all be together since last Christmas.
I love seeing the family dynamics when all my adult kids are together. They feed off each other's sense of humors and we do a whole lot of laughing. And I'm proud of the way they support each other and stay connected to one another throughout the year. That is special too.

I hope you have a blessed week!

~Becky

When it stings

I have learned to get by on the hard anniversaries and holidays by remembering that they will only sting for about 24 hours and then I'll wake up the next day and it won't be my wedding anniversary or my hubby's birthday or the day he went to be with the Lord anymore.

Friday was one of those days.
It would have been our 27th wedding anniversary. And I'd spent most of the week helping the church prepare to put on a marriage conference for 150 couples which was ironically on my anniversary. So that was a tad bit hard.
I had the day off though and my sweet kids invited me to have coffee with their squad. : )
 Then with Joy's help, we tried to fix the fountain in our front yard because my hubby loved it. He loved to have the window open and hear the water splashing. If I remember right, the fountain stopped working while he was sick.
I tried to make it into a planter last year, but when it rained the plants floated right up and out of it. So, then the next option had to be getting a new motor. Each tier of it weighs a gazillion pounds though and so it was a major miracle to catch enough people at home that could help lift those. At one point we had it all set up and filled with water only to have the new motor not work.
 Long story short, I spent most of my weekend at Home Depot. And there were 4 fountain motors involved and one can of foam sealant. And we are close. Really close.

I'm thankful I have a sweet daughter who reminds me that we can do any project we set our minds to if we don't give up. And honestly, she has this gift for the mechanical, thank goodness, because I sure don't. I mainly just cheer her on and make a million trips to Home Depot.

We may not have a running fountain quite yet, but I made it through a hard day surrounded by lots of love.

~Becky

Wednesdays in the Word

I was so honored to be asked to speak to a small group of amazing young adult girls last weekend and I thought I'd share the bullet points that I shared with them here too.

1. Live your best life now
      Give God your whole heart

2. Be the person you want to find
      Become as awesome as you want that guy to be

3. Live and love the Word of God
       Store it up in your heart now for ready recall in all kinds of situations

4.  The only person you can change is you
        You don't want a guy who is a fixer upper (maybe a house that is) ; )

5. Choose someone who honors God, you and everyone else
         Does he honor servers? Does he honor his parents?

6.  Choose someone whose spiritual life you admire
         He will be the future spiritual leader of your family

7. Be devoted to purity
         You are building the story that you will tell your children someday so don't compromise


Obviously there was a lot more to it and maybe you had to be there! ; )




~Becky




 

Wednesdays in the Word

I've been asked to share my testimony with a group of young adult women this week so I've been thinking a lot about what my testimony is.

I feel like I could divide my life into 2  testimonies.
But the last one is still being worked out and is so raw and I'm not including it. ; )

It hit me this morning, when reading in Isaiah 43, that my testimony isn't that God miraculously healed my husband of cancer. "

- I WISH that was my testimony!

My testimony is that when you go through horrible things in life,

GOD  IS WITH YOU.


I know I didn't walk through any of that alone.
His peace was overwhelming and constant!


If you are facing some hard things right now, I hope these verses encourage you. He doesn't ask us to walk alone.

"I have called you by name. You are Mine. When you pass through the waters I WILL BE WITH YOU. 
(notice that it says 'when' and not 'if'. We will all face hard times)
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God. The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 
Fear not, I am with You."


~Becky

Funny footage

This week a friend of mine had a medical procedure, and I didn't want to bother her in case she didn't feel well, but I did want to leave a surprise at her door.
So, I drove over and snuck up to her door and left a little gift on her porch and ran away.
Hours later, I found out that she has footage of it all from her security system and it was hilarious! I look like a criminal running for my life and jumping over bushes! LOL

I post a photo but my computer is not cooperating. Actually, maybe its better this way! LOL

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

~Becky