Life and Proverbs 10

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, 
   but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. v 11


Words either bring life or death.  What are yours bringing today?  Are you lifting up or bringing down the people around you?


Speaking of life - aren't these beautiful?

:-D


And I also saved the life of this stink bug with my awesome Christmas gift - the bugzooka! - last night!  more on that later

Also!  A very happy Birthday to Wendy and my cousin Justin today!  Love you both so much!!

Wiser and Wiser

 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; 
   teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. v 9


It is wise to know that you aren't wise...


A wise person knows there is always still more to learn...

You can correct someone who's wise and they won't get defense, rather they'll thank you!


I want to be this type of person.


PS - I got flowers again this weekend :-)  I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Happy Friday

My son, keep your father’s commands 
   and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 
Bind them upon your heart forever; 
   fasten them around your neck. 
When you walk, they will guide you; 
   when you sleep, they will watch over you; 
   when you awake, they will speak to you. 
For these commands are a lamp, 
   this teaching is a light, 
and the corrections of discipline 
   are the way to life,  vs. 20-23


There is so much peace in these verses.

May the Light of the World guide you down right paths today.

May you feel He peace, comfort and safety as you sleep.

May you hear His voice first thing when you wake up and all day long.


Happy Friday!

This is a Tough One

Proverbs 5 is about staying away from adulterous women.  At first read, this is a difficult one for me to relate to.  You might be in the same boat.
As I prayed over it though, I thought about Hosea and the connection God makes between an adulterous woman and a nation who's hearts are turning away from the One who deeply loves them.  Why reject the perfect love God wants to give us for limited moments of pleasure here and there that bring no true satisfaction.  And I'm talking about all of the ways we seek pleasure outside of what God has for us...when we keep our eyes focused on our own gain and take them off the One who wants to give us every good and perfect gift.  Wisdom is following paths that lead to life and steering clear of the ones that in the end only bring destruction.  It's staying as far away as possible from the adulteress...not even walking down the street she lives on.  In other words, it's not even engaging in a conversation that you know is going to lead you to gossip (or apply this to your own struggle.)
Isn't it so much easier to stay away from these distractions when we are focused on the right paths though?  When I really think about how good our God is, it just doesn't make sense to try to do things on my own.

Wisdom isn't inherent

This morning I was thinking and praying about how wisdom doesn't come naturally.  I think sometimes I feel like I just automatically make wise choices because of something inherent in me, however, Proverbs 4 made me think a little differently.
Solomon tells his son to "listen", "pay attention", "get wisdom", "get understanding", "listen", "hold on to instruction", and  "pay attention."...and that's just in chapter 4.  What struck me is that these are all actions.  If you want wisdom you have to be intentional about getting it.  It doesn't just show up.  You have to actively seek it out and hold onto it.  What are you doing today to get wisdom and hold onto it?
One of my favorite verses is in Proverbs 4.
Above all else, guard your heart, 
   for it is the wellspring of life. v. 23
And then in goes onto say in vs. 24-25
 Put away perversity from your mouth; 
   keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 
 Let your eyes look straight ahead, 
   fix your gaze directly before you. 

We all probably realize that speaking with grace and truth and keeping our eyes fixed on good things are wise, but how hard is that to do out of our own willpower?  For me, it's pretty much impossible, and soooo frustrating when I keep messing up.  I love how verse 23 is the key though.  Guard you heart - everything else flows from that.  By guarding your heart, you can train your lips to steer clear of gossip.  By guarding your heart, you can keep your eyes straight ahead.
Let's keep our hearts safe friends!!  I can't help but wonder what a difference that would make it my life!

I got these at work yesterday.  :-)  Just thought I'd share that!

How do You Seek Wisdom?

So, I told you last month that I was going to read a chapter from Proverbs each day.  It started out really well, but sorta fizzled toward the end of the month.  I thought I'd try again this month.
I don't know about you, but the idea of seeking wisdom is sort of hard to grasp for me.  We all seek a lot of things, but it's difficult to think about seeking something as intangible as wisdom.  I think that's what I love the most about Proverbs.  It makes wisdom so much easier to touch.
Today is Proverbs 3.  Here's my lesson...
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 
   bind them around your neck, 
   write them on the tablet of your heart. v. 3
Wisdom is holding onto the good gifts in our lives that come from God.  He is the source of love and faithfulness.  Focus on the things the remind you of His love and faithfulness and don't let them go!
I snapped a quick picture of the sun rising through my bedroom curtains.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but the sunrise always reminds me of God's faithfulness.

Walk in wisdom today friends!

A Year in Review and a New Year Ahead

Yeah, I got lazy in December.  Actually, that's not true - I was so busy I got myself sick :-(  I'll get to that later though.
I love looking back at a year and seeing change and growth.  I feel like if you come out of a year different somehow, then the year was a success.  (I suppose there are some circumstances where this isn't true, but in general, change is good!)
So let's see - some highlights from 2011...

I FINALLY went to Ireland!!

One of my goals every year is to see more of the World.  2011 gets a big check mark.  If you can't tell, I loved Ireland, and I'm hoping to make it back this year.  I haven't planned what 2012's new place will be, but I'm sure I'll find somewhere new to visit.

I turned 31 last year.  I have to say - 30 was awesome!  31 is a little more scary.  The novelty of 30 wears off and you are stuck with being a 30 something.

My household increased by another Nicole :-)  This meant I finally had to clean out the extra room in my basement.  I also finally got a lot of house projects completed, that had been on my To-do list for way too long!

I had the busiest December of my life.  It started out with a spur of the moment work trip to Oregon.  We flew into Portland and drove out to Bend.  It was so incredibly beautiful.  This is a picture of Hood Mountain, which we passed through on our way East.

I spent one night at home and then went to my parents house for Army-Navy Weekend.

At this point I had started recovering from the cold I picked up on the flight out to Oregon, but little did I know, that was just the start of my problems.  As you can see from the photo above, my face was a big 'ole mess of cold sores.  Family time and the Army/Navy game was awesome though!  Navy won for the 10th consecutive year.  It was sooooooo cold out though!

We were finishing up our audit at work in December and stilling working on the ERP implementation, which meant work was busier than usual.  Christmas parties, football games (GO RAVENS!) and Christmas shopping dominated the month.  The cold sores started healing, but then one morning I woke up one morning with bug bite looking bumps all over my arms, legs and face.  (December was not an attractive month for me!)  Thank the Dear Lord Jesus, my doctor confirmed they were not any type of bug bite at all, but related to some sort of virus I apparently came down with from being so worn down.  Also thankfully, I had the last week of the year to sleep and chill out!

Christmas with my family was awesome!  Low key and quiet is the best description I can give you, but it's just what the doctor ordered!  I got my house clean for the first time in a while and started getting life organized again!

God taught me a lot about focusing on Him in the past year.  I learned so much about maintaining my trust in Him and the hope of the good things He has promised.  I see hope as a theme that will definitely sustain me this coming year as well.  I still have so much to learn!

One of my biggest accomplishments last year, I think, was losing 28 pounds (although the last day of the year may have put a pound or two back on!)  In September I joined Weight Watchers and it has been such a great experience.  I feel so good and am really thankful that I'm only a few pounds away from my goal weight!

We threw a New Years party at my friend's house again this year, and it was fantastic.  I seriously have the greatest friends!!

Wishing you all many blessings this year.  I can't wait to see where God takes us on this amazing journey!!