2017 and beyond!

Hello, 2018! Wow, I am excited to see you! 2017 was an amazing year full of new (and continued) lessons in my faith and about who I am and who I want to become. And I am looking forward to this year with joy, thankfulness, determination, practice, and excitement!

In 2017, I renewed my perspective about my physical health and lost 30 pounds!!! I started learning how to parent TWO kiddos under the age of 3. I took a step further in learning that I have to take care of myself spiritually, physically, and emotionally if I'm gonna take care of my family and reach out to others well (started practicing regular self care without guilt ... ok, with far less guilt ;)). I grew in my understanding of God's grace and took a step further in learning to practice in all things rather than be perfect. I finished out my first year as a Bible study group leader of young moms, and in 2018, it will become a Bible study based on Titus 2, where all women are welcome, and we will hopefully minister to each other, older to younger and younger to older. ... I know there is more that I'm forgetting.

So watch out, 2018, 'cause I'm ready to grow and change and overcome even more!

Journey with Jesus: Day 40

Tuesday was my last day for my sugar fast and posting about my Daniel Plan eating.  It is good to do fasts from time to time.  At least for me, it helps me see just how addicted I am to certain foods and such.  Sweet tea is probably my favorite worldly pleasure, so that's the thing I usually fast from.  And yes, I'm addicted.  "Hello, my name is Mical, and I'm a sweet tea-aholic."  Honestly, at this point, I have no plan to ever get rid of sweet tea completely, but I would like to keep working at drinking less of it.  Sugar IS bad for you, so I need to really limit how much I put in my body. ... I HAVE tried all-natural sweeteners like stevia, but ... yuck.  I've decided I'm going to have some sweet tea ... I just need to drink less of it.
On the positive side of things, I've discovered that I can not only stomach salads now, but I'm beginning to really enjoy them.  I'm so thankful for that because I get some good veggies like spinach and cucumbers ... but as I grow to put more veggies on my salads, I'll get even more veggies in me!  Now, if only salad dressings were healthy for you.  Sheesh!  I'm pretty picky about my dressings.  And I'm not gonna eat my grass without dressing ... just saying! ;)  Vidalia Onion from Sam's Club is my current favorite ... but sadly, it's not organic, and it has a few preservatives in it.  Boo!  But I've decided something with that too ... sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad, ya know?  I'm making progress; that's all that really matters to me.

So I'm a sweet tea-aholic, salad-eating, gonna-keep-trying-at-this-healthy-eating-thing mama.  Here's to practice!  Forever practice ... I love it!

Journey with Jesus: Day 40
Breakfast - bacon and oatmeal
Lunch - potato soup and salad
Dinner - smoked sausage, rice, and beans

Journey with Jesus: Day 39

Every other Monday, I clean house for a pretty cool lady at my church.  Most of the time, my mom has been so gracious to keep Haddie for me while I clean, but she needed to get some grocery shopping and cooking done for The Porch yesterday.  So Haddie came with me to clean.  I am so grateful for my baby's sweet, independent, happy personality.  She did so great playing in her saucer and pack 'n play, watching Baby Einstein.  She only lost patience in the last 15 minutes.  It was amazing!  I was so grateful for her "help."  'Cause it really helps me when she's good! :)  So grateful I can bring in some extra money for our family.

Only one day left!
Journey with Jesus: Day 39
Breakfast - bacon and oatmeal
Lunch - tater tot casserole and salad
Snack - almond crackers and cheese
Dinner - chicken and noodles and broccoli and cauliflower
Snack - apple with peanut butter and mixed nuts
64 ounces of water

Journey with Jesus: Day 38

Sunday was a busy but wonderful day!  Church is our favorite place to be, and we have lunch with my parents after church every Sunday.  Always good times.  But we had our third counseling session, and that is something I am truly thankful for.  I started going to counseling back in the summer time for my struggles with self-condemnation, and those sessions helped me see that that a lot of what I condemn myself about has to do with my relationship with Darrell.  A lot of it was beating myself up for things that we BOTH need to work on together ... mainly communicating the right way.  So we've started going together, and it has been great for our marriage.  I'm so grateful for the strides we are making in our communication and how our love is growing even more through it all.

Journey with Jesus: Day 38
Breakfast - bacon and eggs and orange juice
Lunch - beef chimichanga, rice, and beans
Dinner - grilled chicken salad and french fries
64 ounces of water

Journey with Jesus: Day 37

I worked as a waitress at The Porch today.  Usually, I'm upstairs working on online posts, packaging tea, and any other office work mom might have.  I found out that when you haven't waited on tables in a while, it can be CRAZY!  I think I only had five or six tables, and I was totally overwhelmed.  There's so much to remember as a waitress, and I want to give people great service ... and I'm a recovering perfectionist and self-condemner ... so it can be pretty rough.  I did well, I think ... but I was pretty flustered.  Man, that is one thing I don't like about myself - I get flustered so easily, and once I'm flustered, I have a hard time coming back from it.  I guess it was another opportunity to lean on Jesus, huh?  My dependence lesson. ;)

Stop in The Porch sometime soon ... 2411 E. Main St. Danville, IN 46122.  It's a pretty cool place with yummy food, delicious teas, and all kinds of neat merchandise.  We're open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 2pm!

Journey with Jesus: Day 37
Breakfast - Reese's Puffs and milk
Lunch #1 - tater tot casserole and orange juice
Lunch #2 - salad, apple, mixed nuts
Snack - popcorn
Dinner - chicken tacos, tortilla chips and salsa, and refried beans
64 ounces of water

Yeah, as you can see, today's meals for the first half of the day were more for convenience than anything.  It happens.  I'll do better tomorrow. ;)

Journey with Jesus: Day 36

Journey with Jesus: Day 36

Breakfast - bacon and eggs and kiwi and milk
Lunch - Salad and cottage cheese
Dinner - chicken, baked potato, and salad
48+ ounces of water

Yeah ... kind of a boring post ... but encouraging!  Fruits and veggies for me! :)

Journey with Jesus: Day 35

In Wednesday's post, I mentioned that I'm learning about dependence on God.  Yesterday, I had a meltdown because I didn't have that lesson "down" yet.  Ha!  I love the perspective my husband always seems to give me. :)  I was super stressed out and starting to cry because I had been a bit prideful with my mom at work that day.  She was being rather particular about how she wanted her menu redone, and I kinda have a bad habit of having a less-than-great attitude about doing things that I don't understand.  I've kind of always been that way ... it's a pride issue, and yes, it needs to be dealt with.  I'm working on it.  Well, I was in a tizzy about my pride ... beating myself up for being ungrateful for my job and questioning what mom wanted.  And on top of it, I was mad at myself for not letting it all go and remembering that my sins and struggles drive me to depend on God.  Thankfully, my mom was super gracious and honestly didn't even see me as being prideful or having a bad attitude (even though I was and did).  And Darrell was there to put things in perspective for me.  He asked me, "When did you start learning that lesson? ... Yesterday?  Oh, well, then you don't need to 'have it down' yet because it's going to take time, right?"  Of course I sheepishly said, "yes."  Thank God for a husband who is way better at perspective than I am!  So yeah ... I'm a RECOVERING self-condemning - it's still something I'm working through, but I've made progress.  Holla-lujah! ;)

Journey with Jesus: Day 35
Breakfast - bacon and oatmeal and milk
Snack - almond crackers and cheese
Lunch - chicken pot pie and salad
Dinner - tater tot casserole and broccoli
64 ounces of water

Journey with Jesus: Day 34

Another busy day today ... much like yesterday, I got my workout in and packaged some teas at The Porch ... but today, Haddie and I stopped at the bank and the grocery store.  Once at home, I put the groceries away, and Haddie and I played for a bit and had dinner together ... then it was off to the babysitter for Haddie and off to Bible study for me, where I met my hubby.  Darrell is getting the sweet girl down tonight ... what better time to blog than now?  Ahh ... a few minutes to myself.  Breathing is nice.  Slowing down is nice.

It's also nice to reflect.  Tonight's Bible study was great, as usual.  We love our group and, especially, our Bible study leaders.  I was reminded of something in our parenting study tonight that smacked me right between the eyes at my Bible study yesterday morning as well: dependence on God.  I was reminded ... or perhaps I'm learning it for the first time in many ways ... that, as a parent, I must lay down my will everyday.  And really, I have to lay it down several times a day ... as soon as I get up, after breakfast, again when I get impatient with Haddie, again when I don't want to feed her for the millionth time (so it feels some days) ... you get the idea.  But I was so grateful to make the connection from Tuesday morning because, yesterday, we talked about how God isn't worried about our "control-freak nature" as women because it makes us dependent on Him.  Our struggles with sin and perspective drive us to need His help.  I must lay down my own desires and attitudes and time and energy and so on for my baby girl.  Am I gonna get it right every time?  Heck, no!  But I don't have to beat myself up anymore.  I can just remember that my struggles force me to depend on the Lord for strength and/or a renewed mindset ... at least, if I want to honor God, which I do.  I really, really do!  Don't you? :)

Journey with Jesus: Day 34

Wednesday:
Breakfast - bacon and eggs and orange juice
Lunch - chicken pot pie, potato soup, and a salad
Dinner - Taco salad
Snack - almond crackers and cheese
I'm drinking my fourth water bottle now.
And I got a 20-minute Zumba workout in today!
Yay!

What struggles are you going through today, no matter how big or how small?  And how do those struggles make you depend on the Lord?  Depending on God and living for Him ... it's what we were made to do.  Don't hate it; embrace it!  That's what I'm beginning to learn.  Good night, peeps! :)

Journey with Jesus: Day 33

And today ... busy!  Very busy!  I love going to the ladies' Bible study on Tuesday mornings, and I'm so thankful that my mom keeps Haddie for me.  And then I worked at The Porch for a few hours ... packaging teas.  Haddie did great while we were there.  Such a good girlie!  I guess the rest of the afternoon was just spent hanging out at home, but man, it felt busy.  Haddie's usually close to 2-hour nap was like maybe 30 minutes ... so my reading time was cut short.  And then she was fussy the rest of the day because she was tired from not getting her nap.  Gosh, that kid just does not want to sleep during the day ... the only time I can get lucky with a 2-hour nap is when she falls asleep in the car seat on the way home from work.  I didn't get so lucky today. ;)  I love spending time with her, don't get me wrong.  But a mama's gotta have some time to herself, ya know?  For blogging and house-cleaning and prayer and Bible study and just reading a good book ... and to BREATHE!  Haha!  Anyways ... after an afternoon full of fussy cries and toys spread all over the floor, and I did manage to get the rest of my chapter read, I got dinner done ... and Haddie and I ate our dinner, played some more; I got the bills paid, and then I got Haddie a bath, a bottle, and into bed.

*Deep breath*

Busy day.  What did you do today? .... Seriously, I want to know. :)

Journey with Jesus: Day 33
I'm still doing well ... I'm on my fourth day with no sugary drinks and no desserts.  Whew!  I could really use a sweet tea about now! ;)
Breakfast - uhh ... I kinda overslept and skipped it ... man, I was starving by lunch time!
Lunch - bowl of potato soup and chef salad
Snack - blueberry yogurt
Dinner - soup beans and corn bread
Most likely gonna have some cheese for a snack in a bit ...
I'm drinking my fourth water bottle to get me to 64 ounces now.
And I got my workout video in for today too!  Woot, woot!

Well, the hubby just walked in the door after his extra long day at work.  So peace out, and good night, y'all!

Journey with Jesus: Day 32

I just started back to this blogging regularly thing ... and I'm finding out that it is REALLY hard to blog everyday when you have an 8-month-old crawling around, getting into everything all day everyday. ;)  So here is yesterday's Journey with Jesus.

Monday:
Breakfast - bacon and oatmeal and milk
Lunch - Chef salad and cottage cheese
Snack - kiwi and mixed nuts and rice crackers with cheese
Dinner - Pork chops, broccoli & cauliflower, corn, and asparagas
Snack - mixed nuts
64 ounces of water
40-minute Zumba workout

Journey with Jesus: Day 31

Sunday:
Breakfast - bacon and oatmeal and milk
Lunch - Salad and cottage cheese
Dinner - pizza and breadsticks ... yeah, I know ;)
Snack - blueberry yogurt ... yum!
48+ounces of water

Journey with Jesus: Day 30

I'm continuing with my goal to finish unfinished blog projects.  I started back with my "Journey with Jesus" lifestyle a few weeks back, and now, I wanna finish my Journey with Jesus posts.

Back on January 5th, my husband started a juicing diet for his breakfasts and lunches and a healthy dinner each night.  He's been doing well with his goals.  I'm so proud of him!  I didn't go to the juicing extreme, but I've been trying to make some changes for myself as well ... since about December 28th.  Well, Friday night, we had a major cheat night ... pizza, cookies, ice cream, soda, sweet tea ... yeah.  We both felt awful afterwards.  That night helped me see (again!) just how addicted to sugar I am.  So since Saturday morning, I've committed to fasting from sugary drinks and desserts for a time ... I think I've decided until I finish these Journey with Jesus posts ... and then I'll do my best to really limit my sugar intake from then on.  I totally believe people when they say that sugar is more addictive than actual drugs!  Granted, I've never tried a real drug, but I can imagine!  Because I am super addicted to sugar, especially in the form of sweet tea.

So as I did before, I will write some kind of blurb (above), and then I'll post what I ate that day.

Saturday:

Breakfast ... uhh, I kinda slept in and skipped it.

Lunch - Bowl of broccoli/potato soup

Dinner - Steak, baked potato, and a salad

Snack - rice crackers and cheese, apple with peanut butter, and mixed nuts (we had a super early dinner)

48 ounces of water

My Turn :)

I read Emily's New Year's post and Hannah's New Year's post ... now it's my turn to write one! :)

Life is crazy!  Life is constantly changing!  Life is so unstable ... unstable if you don't have Jesus, that is.  And life on this planet is only gonna get crazier and less stable because Jesus is coming back - and soon!  His return is closer than ever, and that is exciting and scary at the same time!  In 2014, I want my life to be all about growing to be more like Jesus ... finding ways to love and serve more intentionally, going deeper in my personal Bible study and prayer times and challenging my SoZo kidos to do the same, being more of an encourager.  I wanna do and be all of these things for God's glory, so that I will grow and be challenged, so that other people will see the power of Jesus through my life!  It's so exciting to live for Jesus! ... I think we, Christians but me the most, lose this perspective on a regular basis.  Being a Christian is an adventure!  There is room to grow in every circumstance, in every relationship, in every personal quiet time.  We just have to dig deep and focus on the Lord instead of ourselves.  I am a professional selfish person, but I am growing into more of an others-centered person slloowwly but surely. :) I try everyday.  And I will keep trying!  And I am so excited to see what EACH DAY of 2014 has to bring.  Not only is 2014 an adventure with God, but EACH DAY of 2014 is an adventure!  Moment by moment, let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith AND our lives!  Let's go deeper, live more abundantly, and be even more thankful EACH DAY of this New Year, shall we?

This is where you say ... YES!  Yes, we shall. ;)

What are some of your hopes and dreams for this year?  Here are some of mine ... :)

GO DEEPER --- Follow through with my church's 60-day Bible reading challenge and then keep going! --- Become a prayer warrior --- Read more books --- Grow in thankfulness --- Grow in faithfulness --- Do good --- Send more letters of encouragement --- Find ways for the youth group to serve more consistently --- Help our youth group and college-age kids go deeper in their faith --- Provide daily devotionals for the SoZo-ers EVERY week this year --- Keep learning to communicate WELL with my husband --- Make better choices concerning food and exercise --- Be more intentional in my relationships --- Drink more water --- Follow the Dave Ramsey plan wholeheartedly (and with our whole wallet) --- Pay off debt --- Visit some old folks --- Blog more --- Sing more with my husband --- Get some perspective about my perfectionism (pride) --- Be more of a servant --- Give more

I'm sure the list could keep going if I thought long and hard enough ... but that's a great start, don'tcha think?  Let's keep growing and overcoming and loving EACH and EVERY DAY, okay?? :)  Okay!  Happy New Year, y'all! :)

More Like Jesus

I've been thinking about resolutions lately.  Ya know ... 'cause 2013 is almost over, and 2014 is just around the bend.  Wow, isn't that crazy?!  Life really IS a vapor! ....... I was thinking, recently, about what resolutions I want to set out to tackle this next year.  But I got to thinking ... why make a bunch of resolutions that I'm just gonna end up forgetting about or giving up on in a couple of weeks?  Now, I don't wanna be Miss Negativity, and I don't have anything against New Year's Resolutions.  Actually, I think they're great!  But to be honest, I've never followed through with a New Year's Resolution in my life.  Mostly 'cause I, #1 - make too many resolutions to keep up with, and #2 - my expectations are too high.

As I grow in my relationship with Jesus more and more, I am learning that becoming more like Jesus is what God is most concerned about ... and becoming more like Jesus is really the key to a resolute life.  Resolute means "firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion."  And isn't that what making New Year's Resolutions is all about?  We wanna be determined to accomplish a set purpose.  "I'm gonna lose 30 pounds this year!"  "I'm gonna read through my entire Bible this year!"  "I'm gonna stop drinking soda this year!"  "I'm gonna get a gym membership and workout everyday this year!" ... All of these are great purposes (or goals ... or resolutions), but what about living a purposeful life in Christ? :)

I definitely wanna try to lose some weight this year - I've gained 30 pounds since I've been married. :(
I definitely wanna try to take better care of my body this year by eating more veggies and exercising consistently and cutting back on the sweet tea and carbs and sweet treats.
I definitely wanna try to be more intentional in my relationships - sending encouragement cards and praying for others more often and just simply being available.

I guess those could be my New Year's Resolutions ... but really?  I just wanna be more like Jesus. :)

And the more I think about it, resolutions are good ... they really are.  But I don't wanna get so caught up in my resolutions that I forget to LIVE a resolute life.  I wanna be determined to be more like Jesus this year.  I want becoming more and more like Jesus to be my set purpose.  I want to accomplish THAT.  If that's all I accomplish this year, then guess what?  I've succeeded. :)  And really, the more like Jesus we become, the more everything else falls into place.  Sure, it'll take time.  But as I become more like Jesus and gain His perspective, I will be more motivated to take care of my body, and I will be more others-centered.  And those are my goals (resolutions) for this year.

What purpose do you want to determine to accomplish this year? :)

A Resolution

I think the best thing I can do – today – to help me really glean all I can from this season of life is to commit the end of every single day to going deeper in the Lord. I MUST make the time at the end of EVERY day … even when I’m tired, even when I’ve been out dancing or out with Darrell or with SoZo … no matter what I’ve done with my evening … I MUST keep my time with the Lord sacred. If I can be faithful in that one thing, my entire life will continue to be transformed. As I press into Jesus more, my perspective will be completely changed and molded into what He wants it to be … just like my So Long, Insecurity devotional talked about - Hebrews 12:1-2 … God perfects our way of thinking as we fix our eyes on Jesus more and more over time. … Yeah! That’s what I want! I want my mind to be renewed, perfected, and honoring to Jesus. So I MUST stay plugged into the Source, reading my Bible, talking to God, digging deeper every single day. I will continue to do this everyday.

Addin' to the Bucket once again .....

Well, I haven't accomplished too many things on my bucket list .... but I keep adding to the list!
Swing dancing lessons? Check. I had a few lessons during my ballroom dance class last spring.
3-day solitude trip? Check. I went to Turkey Run a year ago March for 2 nights and 3 days of camping all alone. Oh yeah!
Other than that? Nada.

But here's my list ... and here's what I've added. :)

MICAL'S BUCKET LIST (not necessarily in this order)

#1 Hike through New Zealand!!!

#2 - Run a mini marathon.

#3 - Read through the Bible AT LEAST 3 times ... once in my NIV, once in an ESV, and once in my wide-margin NASB.

#4 - Learn to play bar chords on my guitar.

#5 - Take swing dancing lessons.

#6 - Marry and oober godly guy!

#7 - Have at least 4 kids and homeschool them.

#8 - Take a 3-day solitude trip!

#9 - Visit my sponsored child in Bolivia.

#10 - Read all of Mere Christianity.

#11 - Take a BBF trip to the Bosom Buddies Cottages in Canada with Emily!!!

#12 - Be a waitress.

#13 - Visit all 50 states!

#14 - Go to a Gaither Vocal Band concert.

Glimpses of Grace Project 2010

Hello, everyone! I'm back! I've been pretty lax with my posting lately. Just really busy ... really distracted ... really unmotivated - in what seems like everything. And being on Christmas break doesn't help. ;) But I'm looking forward to this Spring semester. I am finally a college grad!!! I am working as the youth director at my church!!! I am working at after school again!!! The writing center!!! And I'm exercising!!! So once I get my butt in gear as far as seeking Christ with all I am, my life will be complete!!! I'm working on it. Being inconsistent for a long time makes it rough to get back into the habit. Jesus is the biggest part of me - my L I F E ! So what's my problem? .... Again, I'm working on it. :)

So ... to say all of that ... I am gonna start a project for 2010 that I pray will help me refocus on the big picture - Jesus as the center of my life! Or rather Jesus AS MY LIFE! :D

For those who love to follow my blog, get ready! 2010 is gonna be an amazing ride! I'm pretty excited about it! The project is called "Glimpses of Grace." And here's what I'm thinkin' ....

A couple weeks ago, a pretty great lady from my church was handing out books to our small group. She had a plastic bag full of books, and we could all take one. My initial reaction was "A book? Are you kidding me? I don't like to read." But I looked through the bag and stumbled across a book called "Glimpses." I opened it up to find some of the coolest pictures ever with corresponding Bible verses. The photographer took pictures that "revealed God's glory in the ordinary." Glimpses: Seeing God's Glory Revealed in the Ordinary. That's the name of this short, little book full of pictures and verses.

Well ... I was completely intrigued. I really like photography (even though my hands are shaky, and I'm not all that great at taking pictures ... haha!). And I really like putting God's word into the aspects of my life. So I thought (think) this book was (is) amazing!

Now ... something totally unrelated ... have y'all seen the movie Julie and Julia? It came out recently ... a movie about Julie (a modern woman who loves to cook) and Julia Child (the first television cook). Anyway ... in this movie, Julie decides to start a blog(!) and set out on a mission to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook in one year. 524 recipes in 365 days ... something like that. And then she blogged about her cooking adventures every single day. .... Overall, I wasn't oober (uber ... don't ya like the two o's better?) ;) impressed with the movie. But I really liked her idea to set a goal and blog about it.

So that's what I plan to do.

I'm gonna integrate these two ideas and set out on a 365-day journey through God's grace .... and then blog about it! .... I will set out - each day - LOOKING FOR glimpses of God's grace in my everyday life, and then I'll blog about it. My goal is to blog every single day, but on the days that I (may) miss a posting, I'll catch up the next day. I WILL blog 365 posts this year! It be my greatest goal ... or rather, project ... for 2010.

And that be it. :)

Glimpses of Grace Project 2010 ... coming January 1, 2010!!!!!!! :D

Addin' to the Bucket!

MICAL'S BUCKET LIST (Not necessarily in this order) J

#1 - Hike through New Zealand!!!

#2 - Run a mini marathon.

#3 - Read through the Bible at least 3 times .... once in my NIV, once in a ESV, and once in my wide-margin NASB.

#4 - Learn to play bar chords on my guitar.

#5 - Take swing dancing lessons!

#6 - Marry an oober godly guy!

#7 – Have at least 4 kids and homeschool them.

#8 - Take a 3-day trip of silence and solitude!

#9 - Visit my sponsored child.

#10 - Read all of Mere Christianity.

#11 – Take a BBF trip to the Bosom Buddies Cottages in Canada with Emily!!!

#12 – Be a waitress.

MICAL'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS .... 2009!!!

Haaaaaaaappppppyyyyy Neeeeeeewwwwwww Yeeeeaaaarrrr!!!!!

2009! It's here!!!! Sweeeett! ........ I'm excited for a new year to serve Jesus and grow and love and fall and be picked up .... to be hurt and to learn from mistakes .... and to love and grow and love! Yes! I want to LOVE more than anything this year!

And I'm sure you're thinking .... "Mical? Is that you? What the heck?! .... You said you want to be hurt? You want to fall?" ........ Yep! That's what I said! Falling is inevitable. Being hurt ... yep, it's going to happen! Yes, we should try to avoid it with all that we are ... we shouldn't strive to mess up. But ... we. are. going. to. ......... One of the greatest lessons I learned in 2008 is that GOD USES OUR MESS UPS. He uses our falls .... to draw us closer to Him. To help us realize how much WE NEED HIM. Period. We need Jesus!

Okay ... so just want to share my New Year's Resolutions with ya'll! :D You should post YOURS TOO .... so that we can keep each other accountable ... and because it just fun! :D

MICAL'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS - 2009!

#1 - Spend more Q U A L I T Y time with J E S U S! (I'm studying several books right now ... Romans - ahh! ... John - with Higher Ground ... Proverbs - seeking out wisdom ... and striving to memorize some scripture.)

#2 - Budget my M O N E Y better. (I graduate in 11 months, and I have NOTHING saved!) .... Wait a second!!!!!!!!! It's 2009! I GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE IN 2009!!!! Oh my goodness! Heck, yes! I'm wiggin' out!!!!

#3 - Run on a more R E G U L A R basis. (I just want to run. But I'm also running in a 5K - just over 3 miles - at the beginning of May, and I want to beat last year's time by at least 5 minutes ... doesn't sound like a lot, does it? But it is! ... And remember my bucket list? I'm gonna run in a mini marathon before I die! So I better get to trainin'!)

Okay ... that is all for now! Have a G R E A T start to your New Year, all!

LESS of US and MORE of JESUS! ..... Sound like a plan? I think so!!!!!!! :D

A Quick Trip through Hebrews!

I know only one thing .....

GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

Philippians 1:6 .... Listen up! This is a mighty promise from God!!!

"He who began a good work in you WILL carry it on to COMPLETION until the day of Christ Jesus!"

Hebrews 13:5 --- "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Words of Jesus, ya'll!)

Because ....

Hebrews 13:8 --- "Jesus Christ is the SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, and FOREVER!"

Therefore ....

Hebrews 12:1-2a --- "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS and the sin that so easily entangles (I think trials can count here too!), and LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us. LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS, the author and perfecter of our faith."

Let's make this our goal this week, friends! No matter how rough the trials ... God is faithful! Keep runnin', Mical! Keep fixin' your eyes on Jesus, Mical! Keep! Keep! Keep!