Watcha Reading?

I love to read, but sadly there are times when weeks go by without me having the opportunity to pick up a book or do more than glace over a page or two. I have been trying to adjust my priorities a bit lately and bump reading a little higher up on the list.

Natalie over at http://www.pursuethebeauty.com/ is doing a fun Quest trying to see what everybody is reading these days – a stack they are currently reading and a stack they are waiting to read. Here is my submission, and you are all welcome to add yours as well.

Currently Reading:

“Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers – I know this book has received rave reviews, but I’m halfway through and my verdict is still out on it.

“Master Your Metabolism” by Jillian Michaels – only a couple chapters in but very informative and gives lots of good information in one place that I’ve been trying to grab from hundreds of sites online.

Ryrie Study Bible – given to me by my beloved husband on our wedding day

“The Daily Sacrifice” by the late H.A. Ironside – a simply daily devotional…short, but a good way to start the day.

Waiting to Read:

“Love and Respect” by Emerson Eggerichs – I’ve read bits & pieces of this book but eventually I want to read it in its entirety.

“Shopping for Time” by Caroyln Mahaney – a birthday gift, which ironically, I haven’t had time to read yet… -- “leading women to the bedrock of biblical priorities and then suggests real-life methods by which to apply them”

“Fearlessly Feminine” by Jani Ortlund – “encouraging women to be joyfully confident in who they are before God.”

“Prison Letters” by Corrie Ten Boom – letters written by Corrie during her stay in the Nazi concentration camps.

What’s on YOUR reading lists?

The Greatest Gift of All

I love Christmas time.

A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E.L.Y. L.O.V.E.

People seem so much happier (unless you catch them after just spending an hour in line at the department store…) and the mood around town seems lighter. I love walking downtown or through big stores where there are lights strung everywhere, oversized wreaths hung from the rooftops, and there is laughter echoing from every direction. People have a spring in their step and a jolly ho-ho-ho in their hearts. Of course there are a few Scrooges in the mix, but that’s when I want to yell: “Get your Jingle on, people! Christmas time is comin’!!!!”

And presents.
Did I just say Presents?

Yes, I admit it, I feel like a little kid when it comes to giving & receiving gifts. It’s so much fun! To give somebody that special-something that you know they would love but didn’t want to spend the money on for themselves…or to open a gift that was bought especially for you! Knowing that it took time, love, and planning for it to end up in your hands. *sigh* It’s such a warm fuzzy feeling.
 
My husband tells me that I’m rather like a Hobbit in that regard. They love giving & receiving presents. And trust me when I say, it is SO MUCH BETTER to give than to receive! And if you don’t agree, try it out for yourself.
 
Christmas is about a Gift. The Ultimate Gift. Jesus. Born in Bethlehem; destined to die. For me. Destined to have His blood spilled out so that I could be washed clean, white as snow. So I could have life eternal with the King of kings.
 
The Christmas season comes and people like to put the cute baby Jesus in the snow-covered manger… but it wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t glitzy, it wasn’t soft and cozy. It was dark, dirty, and in a cave with the ash of a hundred shepherd’s fires and the manure of a thousand sheep.

But it was beautiful.
 
Sometimes I think people forget that Jesus didn’t stay there in that little manger. We go on thinking of our idyllic picture of how we like to imagine the Christmas story. But that night was just the beginning of the story; He went from the cradle to the cross. He died a torturous, horrendous death. For me. That is the Christmas story. It’s about love; the greatest love ever known to man.

It’s emotional. It’s deep. It’s personal. It can send chills up your spine. It’s easier to think about the cute baby than to think about the consequences of our sin. Your sin; my sin. The sin that nailed Him to the cross. But it was not the nails that held Him there; it was the love.

“For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Savior…”

He is my Savior…when His blood was spilled, trickling down the rough boards of the wooden cross, gasping in pain, carrying the weight on the world’s sin on His shoulders…He provided a way; the only way. 

He died, He rose, He conquered. Sin and death no longer have a hold.
 
Don’t leave Him in the manger, for the best part of the story was yet to come. In the midst of His pain and turmoil was a love deeper than we can grasp with our finite minds. It was pure love on that cross.

There are many signs & plaques I see around Christmas that say “Believe”. I’m pretty sure they’re referring to Santa.

But I’m not.

I’m talking about Jesus Christ, my Savior.

Do you Believe?

In March of 1991 I did, and He changed my life.

Do you Believe?

If you do, you’ll never be the same again.

What's that Smell?

Picture this:

Husband comes home from work, sweeps wife into his arms and kisses her. Wife tells him how much she missed him; husband has a pondering look on his face.

Husband and wife get ready to leave on some errands, and as they walk out of the door, the following conversation ensues:

Husband: “Honey, did you clean the toilet when you got home tonight?”

Wife: “No, I cleaned it a couple days ago. Why, is something wrong with it?”

Husband: “Uhh no, nevermind.”

Wife: “Honey… why did you ask?”

Husband: “Well, there is no real delicate way to put this…”

Wife: “Just say it.”

Husband: “Well, you smell like toilet-bowl cleaner.”

Pause.
Wife bursts out laughing.

Wife: “Smell my hand…is that what you smelled?”

Husband: “Ewww, what is that!?”

Wife: “My new lotion; supposedly very moisturizing… Not a big fan, huh?”

Husband: “Uhh, no. I was kissing you and couldn’t figure out what that smell was! Did you put some on your face, too?”

Wife: “Well, maybe just a little…”

Husband: “Yeah, it smelled like it was all over.  But I love you anyway, even if you do smell like SnoBol.”

Needless to say, that was the first and only time I used the lotion. So beware, if you’re ever walking down the aisle at the store and are tempted to buy the Burt’s Bees Aloe & Buttermilk lotion… Just make sure your significant other smells it before you spend the money. You don’t want him to think you just slathered yourself with SnoBol by mistake.