Motivate Me Monday ~ Praise Habit

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
take my self, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Words: Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874

We sang this beautiful old hymn at church yesterday morning, and I was struck at how seamlessly it fits in (especially the portion I have highlighted) with the book I'm reading in my quiet times called Praise Habit by David Crowder.


I am only through the first chapter, and I am even going to go back through and read those again, because I want to make sure that the concepts are ingrained in my head. It's an impossibly beautiful book, and I am loving Crowder's style - a lot!!!

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

What if we were so moved by who God is, what He's done, what He will do, that praise, adoration, worship, whatever, continuously careened in our heads and pounded in our souls? What if praise were on the tip of our tongues like we were a loaded weapon in the hands of a trigger-happy meth addict and every moment might just set us off? This is what we will do for eternity. What makes us think our time on earth should be any different? What keeps it from being so?

Do you see what I mean!?!!?!

We were meant for every moment to be alive with this dynamic relating and vibrant presence of hope in finding our Maker near us . . . Grasping this does not diminish the necessity of or disciplines; it only brings to them more depth and beauty.

It' a great read, very challenging and inspiring, I would highly recommend it!

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Great news!!!

Just a quick update! I got a call yesterday afternoon from the HR department at work! They offered me the job that I interviewed for on Monday!!! Next week my current manager and my future manager will be meeting to discuss the timing and logistics for my move!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Thank you all for your encouragement and your prayers!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Romance on a Budget ala Love, Actually

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Good morning, and happy Friday everybody!!! I hope that you have all had a fantabulous week!

Yesterday, if you were able to make it through my long ramblingness you found a link to Love, Actually! The adorable Cher has created a place to help everyone inject a little "romance on a budget" into their relationships! I LOVE it!!! So today, in addition to our "love ya hunny" shout outs to our hunka-hunkas, we're sharing our creative romance ideas!

The Note
One of my favorite, inexpensive ways, to be romantic is the ever-flexible, always appropriate love note.

I especially enjoy utilizing this tool when Austin is going to be away from home on a business trip, or when our schedules conflict so that we do not get to see each other as much as we normally do.

I know that this does not seem especially creative; however, the creativity comes in in the delivery factor. Sometimes, I make up a packet of little envelopes, one for each day, and sneak them into the top of his suitcase for him to find when he arrives at his destination. Sometimes I am even more diabolical and hide little notes in his pants pockets or in his shoes or in-between his toiletries to be little "I'm thinking of you" surprise reminders throughout his trip.

The reason this factors into the budget is it is always (almost) free! If your house is anything like ours, you have tons of random notebooks and pads of paper and note cards in any given drawer or shelf. And even if you want to make them very decorative and unique, you can buy some pretty paper on the cheap almost anywhere (think Dollar Tree, not necessarily Archivers :D).

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Austin had a super rocking moment last night - in a moment where I was showing off my not-so-rocking side, lol!

We purchased a new snowblower/lawn mower machine (I know that there is a much more technical term for this device, I just cannot think of it at the moment) this winter, so last night, since it is getting nice and the grass is growing, Austin was working outside switching it from the snowblowing functionality to the lawn mower persona. And I was putzing around the kitchen doing some dishes, folding some laundry, you know - girl stuff, lol! (j/k) when I discovered that even though I empty my lint trap out regularly like a good homekeeper, there is still a ton of lint that gets trapped inside the little cagey part of my dryer! Try as I might to get it out of there I could find no device small enough to reach down to the bottom and bring back up with it the offending lint.

My knight in shining armor (actually at that point it was slightly on the dirty side t-shirt - he had been laying on the ground working on the lawn mower) chose that opportune moment to be done working outside and come in to rest for the evening. Me being the always-considerate of his time wifey that I am pounced on him the second he was through the door with "How am I supposed to do this?" (imagine a sightly annoyed - yes - even a little whiny tone). At that point he could have said - "Honey, I'm hot and tired and would rather work on that later." But he didn't. He just got out his little drill, took a couple of screws out of the inside of our dryer and proceeded to vacuum out the inside! Not only did he not put me off, he did the job for me! - Isn't he great! :)

(I wanted really bad to take a pic of him with his head inside the dryer, but I thought he might not appreciate the angle too much :D)

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

And if you have not had a change to check out Love, Actually yet, scoot on over there and poke around a bit! :)

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays From*me Tees will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you From*me Tees!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and a fantastic weekend!

Multitsking post - there's a lot going on people :)

DISCLAIMER: The following post is a long, rambling, and admittedly rather random piece of blogliture. I decided to post it anyway for the following reason: I always have dozens of ideas of topics that I would love to post about. So much so that I have pages and pages of notebook paper, and lined sticky notes from work of "post ideas" that have not ever made it to the screen. And all of the below topics are things that, if I allow myself to procrastinate, may become casualties of my busy-ness. That is not to say that there is anything particularly profound in any of them, they are just things that I am excited about, or need to get off of my chest. So, in addition to a short MHR Inspiration post, I give you - my stream of conciousness. I would like to apologize in advance if it is tremendously difficult to follow. I will make every effort to prevent it from being so

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5:16 Club
I have really fallen off the wagon - big and bad. I love the concept, I love the ladies who are involved, but I also deeply love the sleeping. Oh, how I love the sleeping!

That said, I have decided to put my best foot forward on this one, and give it another try. It has often been said, or read, that any action repeated over a span of 21 days becomes a habit, so, for the next twenty-one days, I am going to endeavor to rise and shine at 5:16 on the nose.

Any prayers and/or accountability in this area would be greatly appreciated.

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Spring Porch/Landscaping Project
Last night after we finished our delicious supper of leftovers :P, Austin and I were in our usual spots (on the couch) enjoying our usual post-supper activity (watching television), when he suddenly got the urge to go tear up our front porch. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it was a project we have been putting off for some time, so I joined him and we spent a fun-filled hour or so tearing up dusty outdoor carpet and rotting plywood that covered up older, more-rotted porch boards!


With a gorgeous weekend on the forecast, we are hoping that this weekend will consist of much more porch deconstruction, followed by the even-more-exciting re-construction, as well as (possibly - if we have time) some long-awaited landscaping!

(I am LOVING the hyphen this morning - really, i very-much am, lol)

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American Idol can dance, what!
Hi, my name is Katy, and I'm an addict.

I am totally in love with this season of American Idol and was happy as a clam with last night's results. When it was over, I said to Austin "I think this is the first season that I have ever totally agreed with the order of all of the vote-offs." So, kudos to you America, way to vote!

And that dance number at the beginning! Wowza! (Was I the only one who got the impression that they were lip-synching? No problem if they were because we all know that they can SANG, but it would take a LOT of breath control to dance like that and sing as well as they did, and I'm pretty sure they pre-recorded, but hey, I've been wrong before)

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Gotta Love This Weather
We have moved into that beautiful part of spring where the sun is out and the grass is growing and the tree are budding and the flowers are blooming! (For this weekend at least, I think it is supposed to rain all week next week, but I'll take what I can get at this point!)

You can tell we've been eskimos for too long, because the office starts clearing out at about 2:30 in the afternoon (except for those of us who are paid hourly, of course) and everyone and his brother has their motorcycle out and shined and is out soaking up the sun as quickly as humanly possible.

Our buddy Michael just purchased his first Harley, so we all engaged in a little post-work ride around the lake in the beautiful sunshine last night. I think I made it home in record time (shortened my 4 minute commute to about 2 and 1/2 - it's great when the lights/stop signs/traffic all align, lol!)

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Summer Supper Suggestions
I am starting to work on my meal plan for the month of May. Yes, I am a crazy person and I (loosely) plan our suppers for every evening of the month.

With that said, I am on the lookout for some quick and simple summery supper suggestions (I just love that alliteration :D). Any ideas would be appreciated - we're going for suppers that do not require the use of an oven, contain yumminess, and do not involve the purchasing of exotic (read "expensive") ingredients. Ready . . . GO! :) - Feel free to comment with your brilliantness, or e-mail me at katylinvw(at)yahoo dot com. If I get a lot of great recipes I will dedicate a post to sharing them with everybody! (Like how I threw in a bribe there?)

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MHR Inspiration #14 = Shout Out!!!!
I have made a new bloggy friend!!! Her name is Cher, and she has this brilliant blog Love, Actually Creative Ideas for Romance on a Budget.

It is absolutely adorable, and you must go and check it out as soon as you are able! Here's a blurb from her profile: "I grew up in Montana. Went to college in Utah. Recently moved to Boston, where my husband attends dental school. What began as an occasional hobby to impress my hubs has turned into an endless ambition to create romance on a budget...because every couple needs a little romance-therapy now and then!"

She has a TON of great ideas, and her site really fits in with the whole motivation behind ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Fridays! :)

As a prompt for this week:

Include in your MHRF post one of your creative ideas for romance on a budget! We can all use a little romance from time to time, and right now is a great time to be sharing those budget ideas!

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Hope this wasn't too ridiculously random! Have a terrific Thursday!

Job Search Update & The 8 Things Thing! :)

NOTE: Tammy tagged me over the weekend, and I have been trying my darnedest to get this posted, so that is why all of the references to Monday, and the "Yesterday" section refers to Monday, btw, lol :)

Hello, and happy Monday, everybody!

Hope that everybody has had a fantastic beginning to this week! I had not one, but two job interviews today. I felt pretty good about both of them, and should have more info by the end of this week!

I was also tagged to play the 8 Things game by Tammy @ Encouragement for the Day! So without further ado, here we go!

Here's how to do this 8 THINGS thing:

Mention the person that tagged you (check). Complete the lists of 8's. Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends. Go tell them you tagged them!

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Weekends!
2. Being a mom, someday!
3. Getting a new job
4. Landscaping our yard
5. Our Colorado trip in May
6. Finding a home church
7. Riding the motorcycle this summer
8. Bible Study on Tuesday!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Showered
2. Laundry
3. Picked up 6 pack and a pound from Taco John's
4. Took Austin's temperature
5. Fed the dog
6. Made brownies
7. Ate a spinach salad
8. Studied for my job interview

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Drive a stick-shift
2. Visit my family more often
3. Work from home
4. Speak several different languages fluently
5. Travel for a living
6. Have lunch with my hubby every day
7. Get amazon.com to work for me :S
8. Go to the She Speaks conference

8 Shows I Watch:
1. NCIS
2. American Idol
3. Law & Order: SVU
4. Psych
5. Monk
6. Deadliest Catch
7. In Plain Sight
8. Crossroads

8 Bloggers Tagged:
1. Katie at Three Blondes and a Redhead
2. fransmomma at The Frans Clan
3. Nikki at Project: Domestic Bliss
4. Denise at There's Always Room for One More
5. Heather at Dear Diary . . .
6. Mikki at The View From My Beach Chair
7. Jen at mommablogsalot
8. Mel at Super Tweak

101 in 1001 Update: Project 365

I fell off the wagon a bit with this one, but I'm back on and going strong for a whole week so far, lol! I've posted about this week's 365 here

Hope you've all had a great weekend!

Please Pray!

Okay. It is 4:30 A.M. Austin is in bed with the flu. We have an assessor coming to look at the house in 3 1/2 hours for our re-fi. I still have a lot of cleaning to do. Please pray!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ the little things

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.
~ Simone Signoret

Anyone who has been married fo any length of time can attest to the veracity of this statement. I know this may seem a little bit like a no-brainer, but this was a huge a-ha! for me.

A great marriage is not truly about a ton of huge, monumental accomplishments. Great marriage is in the details, the small, seemingly-inconsequential moments. All the little things that stitch two people into one. This miracle, this God-given treasure, this mystery that confounds those who have been at it for half a century almost as much as it confounds those of us who've been at it for a year and a half. :)


Austin is great at the little things. He remembers to call when he's travelling, just to let me know he's okay. He always parks on the far side of the driveway so I can have the close spot. He stands in the kitchen and hugs on me and talks to me about his day while we wait for dinner to come out of the oven. He holds my hand in public, and while riding in the car. He brings me "thinking of you" presents from his business trips. He always looks for ways to get to visit my family as often as possible - even though it kills him to be away from work, and it is a very long drive. He thinks through every angle of every decision so he can be confident that he is doing what is best for our family. He gets so excited about what God is doing in our lives and our friends and family. He kisses me, even though kissing isn't really his "thing" :) - He reaches for me in the middle of the night, while he's sleeping. He answers my phone calls in the middle of the day - when I know he is almost always in the middle of something. He comes home for lunch as often as he can. He lets me be myself. He can always make me laugh!

God, thank you for the wonderful blessings you give me through my husband!

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Cute pupper pic:

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays From*me Tees will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you From*me Tees!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and a fantastic weekend!

Powerful!

I'm a sucker for a powerful song, and this one is that!

Check it out



When the Saints
by Sara Groves

Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I cannot let it go

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it often overwhelms me
but when I think of all who've gone before and lived the faithful life
their courage compells me
And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharohs court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying man's side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door

I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
and when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them

Have a teriffic Thursday!

My Redeemer Lives!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Amazing Grace

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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First of all, be sure to check out this incredible aticle! I found it earlier this week, and it ties into the whole concept of ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ I would highly recommend it. It's another one of those that I'll be printing off for my prayer journal.

If I ever taught a class (lol) on the ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ philosophy, this article would be required reading!



Austin has been traveling a lot for work this month, so we have not seen too much of each other for the past few days. And as cliche as it sounds, absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Spending a lot of time apart makes what time we do get to have together that much more important and fun and exciting. The talking, the laughing, the kissing, everything ;) Last night we were relaxing in the family room, and I was putzing around working on my Easter outfit (pics to come when it's done), and he asked me to take a break so that we could cuddle! :) It seems silly and cheesy, but it's one of those little things that means the world to me!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and if you get a chance, read that artcle :)

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays From*me Tees will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you From*me Tees!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and a fantastic weekend!

Hello.

Hey everybody!

I don't have anything very coherent to say this evening . . . this morning . . . I just spent the night curb shopping with my mother- and father- and sister-in-law! And the last TWO HOURS tring on all of the clothes I got!!!

I don't have a final count or pics yet, but it's a lot!

Working on my spring cleaning this week, too - although I've done a lot more thinking about it than actual cleaning. My goal is to hit it really hard tomorrow, though. (Hopefully.)

Right now I am just waiting for the load of laundry to be done so I can wear some of my new clothes to work tomorrow. Enjoying a little Law & Order SVU while I wait :)

Sorry this is really random and rambling, just thought I'd catch everybody up on the OH SO EXCITING (note sarcasm) goings on, lol :) Hopefully I'll be a little more with it after a few hours of sleep :)

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ i love technology

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Okay, here's the breaks . . .

I had a beautiful, poignant post about the miracle of marriage and how great my hubby is all written and formatted and wonderful.

Then my Internet dropped out and erased it!!!!



And now if I try to re-write it I'll be late for work!

So you'll just have to take my word for it this week!

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays From*me Tees will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you From*me Tees!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and a fantastic weekend!

Wedding Bells!

Last weekend, on March 21, 2009, our friends Tyler & Emma were married!

It was a beautiful ceremony!

Unity sand

Austin & me at the ceremony


Driving away from the church!


Austin got artsy while we were waiting for
the arrival of the wedding party

Time to cut the cake!

First dance!


The groom dancing with his mother, Dana,
one of my mother-in-law's best friends

Garter time!

To see the professional photos, go here.

We had a great time! It's always fun because you see so many people who you don't usually get to spend a lot of time with.


Alex & Chelsea


Kylie!

Carly, Mona & Anna

Mona, Dana, & Thelma (my mother-in-law)


The Three Musketeers
(Austin, Tyler - the groom, & Alex)

Austin & Me at the reception!
Yes, we totally changed in between!
It was a gorgeous day and
we wanted to ride the bike!

Thanks for reading, hope I didn't overload your picture appetite, lol!