I'm in love

I'm in love. Really. I am all giddy and can't stop thinking about him. How cute he is! (and I love his little sidekick too!) I can't wait to see him again. He is mine, but I must wait. The days can not go by soon enough.

Have you ever fallen in love with a sofa? I have. I have loved each sofa I have ever owned (and now this will be sofa number 4 in the eleven years we have been married). Each one has had it's distinctive place in my heart, and has served me well. But this one, at least for now, is my very favorite. It has taken me over a decade to really feel like I know my decorating self. I think I have flip-flopped through many different styles over the past ten years. Now, I know what I like. And, I know most everything I do like involves the color red. I really, really love red. And now, most of my house will have at least a touch of red somewhere in it.
We are beginning a big re-do in our house, pictures soon to follow. We are putting new floors in over the next few weeks, followed by kitchen and bathroom upgrades. I am so excited I can hardly sleep at night...
Pictures to follow~

A net of stinky fish

I have been more than a little overwhelmed with life lately. Oh, it's not that anything really bad has happened, I just have too much on my plate. There have been many times in my adult life that I have felt over-extended beyond what I could handle. But, this takes the cake. Having this business, homeschooling, keeping up with a two year old, and running this house are running me into the ground. There are seriously not enough hours in the day to do what I need to do.
So, after trying to solve my problems on my own, like I always do, I decided I needed to be in God's word daily, even if it is only for 15 minutes. I pray He will bless my time, not because I am worthy to be blessed, but because it is truly my way of letting go and letting Him take control.
I have been a Christian most of my life, and it's sad for me to admit I have struggled my entire life with spending time daily in prayer and/or Bible study. This probably sounds like an excuse, but I think I have always been a bit overwhelmed by it all...not knowing what to do, what to read, where to start. So, I decided to just start with the Bible...imagine that. I have been just choosing a book of the Bible and I read through it in a few days. It is amazing how, as you draw near to Him, He will draw nearer to you than you could have imagined.
Today I was reading about when Jesus called His disciples. And as I read the story that I had read a million times in my life, I started to cry. Something in the story touched me, although I wasn't sure what it was. So, I stopped to really read the story, line by line, and focus on what it was that was grabbing my attention. All of a sudden, it dawned on me that it was this part that was so real to me:

9.For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10.and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men."
11.So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

As I read the verse, I could feel the weight of my net. I could smell the stinky fish. I could feel myself put it down to follow Him...it's all that matters.
Isn't He amazing? He has the power to meet you right where you need to be met.

Treasures

Today my computer died.
I really never thought it would happen to me, but it did. You always hear about someone's computer crashing, but I really didn't think it would ever happen to me.
For the past few weeks, my hard drive has been dwindling to the point where today, it had ZERO space left on it. This, after I had furiously deleted tons of photos and programs on my computer in an effort to gain more space. This was all done in vain however, as the HP customer support person informed me that my C Drive was "corrupt." Thank God that I had gotten an external back-up system in place a few weeks ago. As we speak, it is "restoring" my lost files. I am still not totally convinced that what I need to have on my computer will be there in the morning when it completes this process.
I have been sick to my stomach all day. When I gave the HP lady the go-ahead to wipe out my hard drive, a wave of nausea washed over me. I could see all of my boys' photos, from newborn on up, wash away, never to be seen again. I cried and cried as I thought about all those memories being potentially lost forever.
And it got me to thinking...
Lk 11:34-36] "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Matthew 6:20 NIV
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
I have been focusing too much on what doesn't really matter. Instead of storing the memory in my heart, and focusing on the God who gave me those I love so much, I have been focusing on the physical memories--the photos. They have probably become too important to me. I needed a good reminder that the photos are just a representation of what I love so dearly, not the people themselves.
Nothing in this world will last except our heavenly treasures. Neither moth, or rust, or even a computer virus will destroy those.