Psalm 5

¹ O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
³ Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

⁴ O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
⁵ Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
⁶ You will destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

⁷ Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
⁸ Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.

⁹ My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with flattery.^[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
¹² For you bless the godly, O Lord;
you surround them with your shield of love.

Lord,

You destroy deceitful hearts and you bring joy to those that exalt your name.  Lift up my heavy heart, O Lord, make this burden easier for me to carry.  Show me where to walk, for I am seeking your path…your face.  Teach me patience, teach me unfailing love, teach me joy.  And, most of all…

teach me forgiveness.

Amen.

Welcome back!

Every year, I do some sort of “New Years Resolution” List.  I never pick just one thing, it’s always a list.  And, unlike half of America, I LOVE them.  Also, unlike half of America…I actually do pretty good with it.

I set goals, and then I work hard to obtain them.

This year, my list is shorter than the previous years, but still very important to me:

1.  SLOW DOWN.  I don’t need my day planned in 15 minute increments.  I don’t need to always be hurrying off to the next thing.  I promise myself to just relax and not to take on TOO much.

2.  SIMPLIFY.  I’m not going to the sparse end of the spectrum, but with this move, we’ve realized that we have a lot of stuff that we don’t need.  We plan to say “see ya never again” to some of it.

3.  READ THE BIBLE.  I crave more time with God and I want to dive into scripture but it overwhelms me to do it alone.  I tend to start stuff like this and then stop after a few months, but Sara and Sara are going to be my accountability sort of partners.

4.  USE A PRAYER JOURNAL.  I officially started this one today.  I pray…alot…but I want him to be my best friend, not just my “Oh crap, look what I’ve gotten myself into…HELP!” person.  I want the daily conversations with Him.

5.  PAINT. I plan to paint AT LEAST 12 paintings this year.  I am sure there will be more, but that’s all I’m holding myself accountable for.  I also plan to upload pictures of them and create an online portfolio sort of thing.  After that, we’ll see.  It may end up being just for me.

6.  TAKE MORE PICTURES. I don’t have nearly enough of my girls and they’re growing so fast!

7.  BACKTRACK. For a while, I was doing superb at using less and doing things healthier and from scratch.  When we moved, I kind of got jarred out of that for a bit.  So, I want to start with a few things…like going back to no paper towels, using jars and less plastic wrap and tinfoil, baking my own bread from scratch (and even shadowing Sara M!!), no toxic cleaners, etc.  New things I’d like to try include new types of breads and pastries and homemade pasta.  Oooh…and use my new dehydrator!

8.  COOK IN MY RIDICULOUSLY SMALL KITCHEN.  We have almost no counter space, but it really could be worse.  We saw a cute victorian several years ago that had room for a microwave and sink and that was about it.  It definitely could be worse, I’m just being whiny.

*end of list*

There are, of course, other things I’d like to do, but not things that I’ll classify as RESOLUTIONS – more like, “This could be fun” list.

Hey, now that’s an idea….

I’ve been working crazy hard on my craft room.  It’s nowhere near completely cleaned up, but I’ve emptied more boxes than I can count PLUS have a bunch that I sorted through and repacked.  They’re hanging out for now until we start reorganizing our storage unit…which will be soon.  For now, you can at least WALK in the craft room, which is more than what you could do before.  I’ve found MOST of my craft supplies with the exception of all of my scrapbook paper (which I use for much more than just scrapbooking). 

I’ve done about as much as I can do right now with the mess of my craft room until I get my hands on more organizational “furniture.”  That, and until I get stuff ready to be repacked into storage under our new “system.”  (TIP:  If you move and end up having to use some sort of storage, you should probably NOT dump stuff into boxes assuming you’ll be able to climb through and turn them until you can read them.  You should also not assume that whoever moves them will line them up the way you had pictured them in your head.)

I’m wanting to put scriptures throughout my house like my friend, Sara, does.  She uses post-it notes and I thought I’d make it my own by making art out of the scripture.  It’s one of those thoughts that work out much better in your head due to severe procrastination and being overwhelmed by trying to come up with art ideas and then having it all matted and framed.

So, I may just do the post its for now to get them up and slowly work on making them art.  Who knows, I may fall in love with the post-its and keep those up, too!

So far, here are some of my favorites for around the house:
Laundry Room – Phil. 2:14 “Do everything without arguing and complaining.”

On the front door as you walk out – Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Office – Colosians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for man.”

Outside, coming in – Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Girls’ Room – Psalm 91:11 “For He will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.”

Bedroom –    Psalm 4:8
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

and

Jeremiah 29:11    “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Living Room – Hebrews 13:2  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. (NIV)

Bathroom, by the mirror (so I can see it while I’m getting ready)-
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path”

Guest Bathroom – John 14:1-6  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

What are some of your favorites?  Have any ideas for me?

(and Merry Christmas, too…but, we’re obviously a little late on that one!)