15 Seconds of Fame

A few days ago the Girl Talkers posted an article about creative ways to do your husband good. I wrote in saying that I would love to hear more ideas from all the women out in conservative Christian blogoland. Well, they responded! I can't wait to hear what everyone says.

It rocks my superficial face off.

We got our ESV Study Bible today. It is awesome. Getting a new Bible makes me read it more. I know how wrong that is. It's pretty. Girls like pretty things. Oh, and also, it is packed full of more study notes than I will ever be able to consume. It is highly recommended by all my favorite, most trusted Bible teachers.

Some of you may have not heard of this highly anticipated Bible. You can watch a preview about it here. You can view many more videos about it here.

She Does Him Good

A few months ago, I began to write about the Proverbs 31 woman. In the midst of it, I realized that I did not know what to say. To my delight, the wise ladies over at Girl Talk recently began a P31 series.

A Woman of Action by Nicole Whitaker:

“She DOES him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” (Proverbs 31:12)
The Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of action. She isn’t simply a well-wisher of her husband’s happiness; she’s a doer of good to him. She brings him good, it says in the NIV. She delivers and supplies good to him. She does it.
It doesn’t say whether or not she feels like doing her husband good. In fact, feelings don’t enter into the matter. Not that feelings are irrelevant--if we lack desire to do our husband good, this needs to be investigated. Maybe bitterness has corroded our desire, laziness has dampened it, or busyness and selfishness have stifled it. If so, we must repent from sin and ask God to revive in our hearts a desire to do good to our husband.
But we must not wait for some lovey-dovey feeling or just the right time to do him good. Instead, as a step of repentance, we must act for our husband's good. This not only proves our desire for his happiness, but will fuel it as well.
“The…conclusive evidence of our wishing or willing to do good to another” wrote Jonathan Edwards, “is, to do it.” He goes on: “In every case nothing can be plainer, than that the proper and conclusive evidence of the will, is the act…for whatever we truly desire, we do thus seek.”
If we truly desire our husband's good, we’ll make specific efforts toward his happiness. We will not simply love him in word or tongue, “but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18-19).
Maybe, like me, you are full of good intentions and resolutions but often come up empty on action. That’s when a plan can be helpful. Take a few minutes to think about your husband and ask yourself: “What is one way I can do him good and how can I make it happen?”
May God, the source of all good, help us grow in doing good to our husband.

Five Years Together

There are so many reasons I love this time of year the most. Five years ago this week, I started spending all my time with this wonderful man! Our first date was to a Barndance/Hay Ride with a group of friends. We square danced the night away. Kyle showed me some lesser known constellations in the clear, starry night, wrapped his arms around me in the chilly autumn air, and held my hand as we walked through the "haunted" woods. A week later, we went to a costume party at the BASIC House dressed in our thrift store "hippie" costumes.

I could never imagine how much I would love him five years later. I am so glad we get to do life together.

Super Duper

I'm becoming acquainted with a company called Super Duper that makes learning materials for people with communication disorders. I really love their stuff! Need I say, "It's super duper!" Some things could be used by teachers of all kinds. I highly recommend it to those of you who are teachers, homeschoolers, or parents who like to play educational games.

Meet Jim and Pam

These are our new pets, Jim and Pam. They are best friends. We picked them out because they were vibrant, hardy, active fish. They're so active, in fact, that I could barely snap a picture of them.
When we watched them in the tank at the store, these two always stuck together. Pam (the smaller, brighter, one) is a faster, more active swimmer. She moves up and down, all over the place! Jim is a little slower and more calm, but still very active. He likes to swim right up to the place where the water pours out of the filter and swim into the currant.
Hopefully we can give them a couple more friends over the next few weeks, but you aren't supposed to start with too many at one time. I think it will keep us entertained for now. There is something soothing about watching them swim. These fish need to hold us over for the next couple years until we can get the dog we really want!

A Night On the Town

Kyle and I attended the Poshard Family Foundation Charity Auction and Dinner. It was a nice evening. The best part was getting all dressed up with my man! They raised a lot of money for abused women and children. That was okay too.
Although, while we were sitting there listening to numerous speakers, it occurred to me that even though this was a very honorable cause, it was merely a filthy rag in the sight of God. It was a work done for the glory and feel-goodery of men, not for Christ. When our days on this earth are over, only what is done for the glory of Christ will stand.
A few photos for your viewing pleasure...

Works-for-Me Wednesday: The Dishpan

Works-for-Me Wednesday is the brainchild of Rocks in My Dryer and a great spot to get ideas from other brilliant women.

After dinner with some friends one night, I started the warm water running and pulled out my little red tub. My dear friend, Cathy, exclaimed, "What on earth are you doing?" Didn't she know about this glorious invention? I use a dishpan.

It's more sanitary than the sink and saves lots of water. My cute little red tub is easy to clean and uses 1/2 the water a dishwasher would use, and 1/4 of the water hand washing with an open sink would use. It stores easily right under the sink. You can disinfect it quickly. No scrubbing required. If it gets bad, just toss it out and get a new one. They're only a few dollars. Not to mention that studies like this make me want to avoid contact with the sink at all costs.

I must admit, however, in all my self-righteousness about the dishpan, I would probably ditch it if I had a dishwasher. I'll praise God for forcing me to be a better steward of the blessing of clean water.