My Mantra for 2010

Less Desire - More Discipline

"Desire doesn't change our destiny, discipline does."

(Courtney R. blogged that David had read the above quote on a pastor's FB)

I have much desire. Great desires. Meaningful desires. Godly desires. But what are desires without follow through? Useless.  

When I stand before Him, I don't believe it will be my desires or even my good intentions He will mention. It will be my actions that matter - those truths and disciplines which I acted upon -- not those which I simply received a warm fuzzy feeling from. 

We just finished watching "The Howling Man" from the Twilight Zone marathon. You may remember it. Satan is behind bars disguised as a man until he is released. As he exits the room, he begins to morph into the way most depict him... horns and all. I wish he was that easy to recognize in my daily life. The Word says he disguises himself as light -- as one of us -- as one of His. I wonder if he sometimes disguises himself as a godly desire...

• to read the Word every day
• to commune with God throughout the day
• to study and meditate on God's Word and His ways
• to seek Him with all of my heart -- not only the convenient corners
• to quickly obey
• to think before speaking
• to care for His temple through healthy eating and exercising
• to love and forgive when it's easier to despise and ignore, etc.

How could this be? These are all wonderful pursuits! But if I'm not careful, my satisfaction can simply be found in those feelings the desires bring - those which make me feel good about myself, my goals, my direction, and usefulness for the kingdom - abandoning the very disciplines required for follow through and true transformation. 

Our desires, when not followed by action, can be a potent ploy of the enemy to keep us spiritually satisfied... at least in our own minds. And in the meantime? Our spiritual muscles are becoming lax, our discernment is dulling, and we are missing divine opportunities. 

I refuse to abandon God's desires for my life this year. Upon hitting the "publish post" button, I plan to get alone with Him and make concrete plans on how He would have me follow through on some desires He has laid on my heart lately. 

Less desire, more discipline

Less noise, more quietness

Less reading, more meditating

Less busyness, more discernment

Less of me, more of Him

That is my heart's desire. 

 

Avatar Left Me Seeing Green

... but not with envy!

Make no mistake about it, the imagery in this movie is absolutely mind blowing. It is truly a feast for the eyes. The colors, the creatures, the attention to every detail. It was unlike any movie I'd ever seen.

Having said that, I had two issues with the film:

1. Just as in most movies, it included language that I'd rather not pay to hear. Call me what you will, but I feel every penny we have is a result of God's blessings and to spend His money to hear His name taken in vain is sickening to me. I don't ever want to become desensitized to it.
   
2. Hey, I'm all for recycling and for being a responsible caretaker of our environment, but the undercurrent of green influence running throughout the film (especially the end) was a bit over the top in my opinion. I'm hoping Brian will blog about this in greater detail later this week.

So, how could someone sit through a GREEN movie and not recycle their 3-D glasses afterwards? Ask Brian. :)

Some Things Never Change

... and some do. 

What Did Not Change This Christmas: 

• The excitement of waking up on Christmas morn. 
  
• The menu: Spiral ham, crock-pot mac & cheese, and yummy desserts 
• The reading of Luke 2 prior to opening gifts 
• Time with family and friends
• The Christmas Story marathon
• We were blessed to be able to spend time with "MaMa" (Dad's mother). We visited her at NHC and I wouldn't take anything for that time with her. 

What Did Change This Christmas:

• Our budget. :) We pared down our list and tried to simplify more this year than in the past.
• Our non-fake-o tree. It was hoisted out the front door on Christmas morn when we discovered aphids had hatched in the tree. I'll spare you the details, but I'm thankful the tree sat on hardwood floors and not carpet. 
• It would be the final year of celebrating Christmas at my grandmother's house (whom went home to be with the Lord in Dec 2007). With my great-aunt now in an assisted living place, the house will be put up for sale. Many wonderful memories linger within those walls of Christmases past.  Sad, but necessary. 
• Brian and I opened our gifts for one another on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning. Without either of the boys here (for the first year ever) on Christmas morning, it just seemed like something we should try. We did, however, save our stocking exchange for the big day. I enjoy stocking stuffers almost as much as the actual gifts. Brian is a stocking-stuffer-meister!
• We missed Brandon and Megan not being here (but we were delighted to have them stay for several nights during the wedding!). Zach and Sarah came by Christmas morning. Now that's the best change of all! 
• Reading Luke 2 twice on Christmas morning! Brian read it before he and I peeked in to our stockings... and then we were delighted when Sarah requested a second reading before opening their gifts. God is good. So good. 
• Brian and I also set out to try a new Christmas Eve supper since it's just the two of us now. We had initially planned to go Chinese but eventually decided on Joy of Tokyo. :) 

I'm sure I'll think of other things once I hit the "Publish Post" button. :) Bottom line... it was a wonderful Christmas!

We Enjoy Judging the Neighbors

... Christmas lights!

I may have mentioned some of our family holiday traditions in past posts, but one that we're celebrating tonight is an all-time favorite... it's the family-judge-the-neighbors-outdoor lights-night.

When the boys were young, we kept a glass jar filled with handwritten ideas of things we could do each night leading up to Christmas. If the boys were good on that particular day, they were given the opportunity to draw one fun thing to do from the jar.

One of those ideas included putting on their pajamas, hopping in the car, and having us all ride around to surrounding neighborhoods in search of the best and worst light displays. We had a "rating system" of sorts -- extra points for manger scenes, Jesus, or fat bulbs. A deduction of points would be issued for cheesy icicle lights or if "Xmas" was used anywhere. Afterwards, we would head home and fix hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Tonight, Zach and Sarah are heading over to renew this tradition! This year, however, Brian and I created a handy scorecard to use, complete with all the points and deductions info. The only difference as in years past? No one has to change in to their pajamas! (And the city of Simpsonville takes a collective sigh of relief)

Afterwards, we'll head home to enjoy hot cocoa with whip cream & choco syrup, as well as apple cider.

It certainly won't be the same without Brandon and Megan here :( , but it should be a fun night reliving childhood memories.

Watch out neighborhoods, here we come!

One Week Later...

• The kids are back from their honeymoon. Loved Disneyworld! 
  
• Brian became a paint-meister. He transformed our former Bungalow Gold music room into my new Shabby Chic Dover White library/reading room. The music room has now moved upstairs and has taken on a new Clay Ridge hue. 
• My best friend's son was married yesterday. It was a wonderful wedding and reception. An 18 year friendship and our boys end up marrying one week apart... in December! 
• I have a fresh appreciation for friendships. Several families from Temple Baptist and CrossRoads attended both weddings/receptions. Two Saturdays... back-to-back in December... one week prior to Christmas.  Priceless.
• We have a few decorations up. Normally, we have our fake-o tree set up in the den with the family ornaments and our allergy-laden tree set up in the hallway with my vintage Shiny Brites. Because we used the fake-o tree at the reception, we only set up the real tree, along with the the stair rail greenery/lights. Simplicity at its best. 
• There are no wrapped gifts under the tree... yet. Let's just say it won't take long to wrap this year's gifts. ha!  
• We're still hoping for a white Christmas. Our spiral ham is in the fridge. Need I say more?

A Weekend to Remember

Where to begin?

Our rehearsal dinner on Friday night was held at Elegant Gourmet -- a short stroll away from the chapel where rehearsal took place. As always, the food was delicious and their assistance was top notch. Thank you Gino, Lisa, and Julie. You're the best!

In my opinion, there were two highlights of the evening.

The first came in the form of a video produced by Taylor, one of the bridesmaids. She had included brief clips of the bridal party sharing their thoughts about Zach, Sarah, and their marriage. It was incredibly moving to see the quality of friendships Zach and Sarah have produced over the years. Sarah surprised Zach by asking one of his best friends, Robby, to film his portion from India, where he is a serving in missions right now.

The second highlight occurred when Zach and Sarah introduced each person in the bridal party to surrounding friends and family. Every person in their wedding was there by purpose -- none by default. It was a special moment to see, hear, and experience true friendship in its finest form. What a blessing!

And then the BIG day arrived on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Jim Slice and I stood at the back of the chapel just before the ceremony began, delighted by the sight of friends and family, some who had traveled many hours to be there. Sarah looked beautiful (pictures will be posted next week) and Zach was looking mighty suave himself. :) Brian and Rick Harris played "The Holly and the Ivy" on mandolin/guitar as Sarah walked across the balcony of the almost 100 year-old chapel and down the red velvet lined stairs. The nervousness that naturally builds just before the ceremony seemed to melt away immediately as they came together at the end of the aisle. Their ease and comfort with one another is always a beautiful blessing to behold. The ceremony came to a close with everyone in attendance holding lit candles and singing together in A Capella, "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". Simply beautiful.

A cold drizzle could not dampen our spirits as we all headed to the reception at The Loom. It was beautifully decorated and the food was delicious. The "decorate it yourself" gingerbread men were a BIG hit! Zach and Sarah had also come up with the idea to have a Christmas tree set up with paper tags available for anyone who wanted to share a greeting with them that evening. And in lieu of wedding favors, they made a donation to two of their friends who are currently serving in overseas missions and who would have loved to have been in attendance. I love the way they think!

So what did we do after the reception? One of Zach and Sarah's groomsmen (and friend to us all), Chris, came over to the house and watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" with us, as we all enjoyed a piece of red velvet cake and coffee. We (Brandon, Megan, Chris, Brian and myself) stayed up until almost 1:00 a.m. chatting away (needless to say, I didn't serve decaf!)

We all slept well that night. :)

One the best parts of the weekend in addition to the wedding itself was having Brandon and Megan staying with us for four nights. It was like old times and I already miss them. I always desire God's will for them over mine but I don't mind sharing that I sure would love to have them a little closer one day in the future. :) Hey, I may be an empty nester now, but I'll always be a mom! ha....

Yes, it was a weekend to remember -- one filled with family, friends, and memories that will never be forgotten. Thank You, Lord.

This Time Next Week

This time next week we will have enjoyed a wonderful evening with friends and family at the rehearsal dinner -- looking forward to the following day when we officially welcome Sarah in to our family.

It's hard to believe the BIG day is just a week away! My list-making is in overdrive and I'm loving every minute of it.