I’m not a coffee addict, but I do love a really good cup of coffee. My definition of a really good cup of coffee includes a dainty cup and saucer, not too strong and not to weak freshly brewed pot of coffee, Chock full o’ Nuts ground coffee, creamer and sugar.
Today it’s rainy and chilly. It’s a perfect day for a perfect cup so I treated myself!
Tags: Chock full o' Nuts, coffee, Cup and saucer, Perfect coffee, rainy day treat
Each Sunday morning during our service at church the Scriptures for that day’s sermon are read aloud before our pastor begins teaching. This Sunday there was a bit of a technical error and the wrong Scriptures were read. Our pastor was teaching from 2 Corinthians, but the text that was read was from 1 Corinthians. I AM SO GLAD THAT HAPPENED! I was familiar with the passages, but for the first time it came together for me. It starts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and continues into the well know chapter of 13 about love. The break in chapters can make one miss something huge that God wants us to know.
READ THIS:
I Corinthians 12:12-31
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 Forby one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts.
And I show you a still more excellent way.
I Corinthians 13:1-7
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my bodyto be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
First off, the importance of EVERY member of the body was such a good reminder to me. It humbled me to recognize that ALL are there for a specific purpose, ordained by God and are of equal importance. It also reminded me that my participation and presence is important– it isn’t good, healthy, right (or whatever word seems appropriate here) for me to not be actively involved and present at my church and in the body of believers. If a seemingly insignificant part of the body is taken away, the whole body becomes less effective.
Secondly, as the passage continues in chapter 13 if I do ANYTHING without LOVE it results in loud clanging noises, nothing, zero profit, impatience, jealousy, meanness, arrogant, acting unbecoming, self seeking, pride, unforgiveness, being easily provoked and ultimately failure. Each part of the body of believers has different gifts, but ALL have LOVE available to them through Christ. We are without excuse.
I am so grateful that I was able to hear with understanding this passage this week. Thanks be to God!
Tags: Body of believers, Church body, I Corinthians 12, I Corinthians 13, love, Spiritual gifts, Unity in church
With the new Facebook timeline layout I find it easier to find things from several years ago that I have posted on my Facebook. It’s hilarious and embarrassing all at the same time. One of the things I came across was one of those “Write 25 Random Things about yourself then tag five people….blah blah blah”. I wrote this 2 years ago:
1. Regardless of the fact that most people find it ugly, I love my 2nd middle name, Eberdt.
2. I prefer shopping alone.
3. Algebra was my favorite subject in school.
4. Memories from my childhood through adolescent years are very detailed.
5. I have an unusually strong sense of smell.
Along with that comes…
6. I associate current smells with past events in my life. For instance, the smell of bandaids always reminds me of the allergy drops that I took when I was younger.
7. I have glasses, but rarely wear them, therefore I feel guilty at times because my dad paid alot of money for them.
8. I still dislike the new Facebook.
9. I usually only keep about 10 outfits in my closet at a time.
10. I have re-read many parts of many of my high school text books.
11. Every room in my house is a different color.
12. I like to travel, but I am really a homebody.
13. I just renewed my West Memphis Library card. Yes, I am a nerd.
14. I have an obsession with papers, pens, books, paint, chewing gum, containers, & cleanliness.
15. I miss my grandparents more and more each year.
16. I keep all paper shopping bags.
17. I rarely follow a recipe when cooking. I read recipes, but rarely follow them.
18. I love mail, envelopes, postage, and the United States Post Office.
19. I prefer the small town life over the city life, but I really like big cities.
20. I once put diswashing soap in the fountain of the West Memphis funeral home.
21. I read a lot.
22. I own more pajamas than I do any other type of clothing.
23. I am so glad I went to India in 2003.
24. I talk to strangers all the time.
25. I prefer life before cellphones!
26. I always share my Pop Rocks with my dog, Noel.
27. I love cash registers and adding machines.
Today I found these old Polaroids of me from my childhood. Both were taken at my grandmother’s house, Noni Red. Awww, what great memories!
Tags: Facebook 2009, Random stuff
Fudge and the dentist– on opposite ends of the like spectrum. They don’t go together, but just so happens I wanna talk a minute about both topics. Starting with the least favorite, the dentist.
I think I’ve finally learned my lesson with putting off dental work. Like many people, I suffer from severe anxiety with anything dental related. I put off going to the dentist until it’s pretty much absolutely necessary due to extreme pain. I want to briefly share with you a scare I had last week so that you don’t end up in the same situation. Some time ago I broke a tooth. I’m not even sure when it happened, the break was painless. So of course since that was painless I didn’t visit the dentist to have it repaired. A couple of weeks prior to Christmas the painless break decided to give me a big shout out since apparently I had forgotten about it. The toothache set in during the busiest, most money-less time of the year. Yay! I treated my toothache with Extra Strength Tylenol every 4 – 6 hours for about three to four weeks. The pain was pretty severe– throbbing, shooting nerve pains, but it responded to the medication. Well, last week the pain changed. Not only was I having the throbbing, shooting nerve pains but now there was an achy soreness that started taking place. Next came an overall feeling of yuckiness and that’s when the Tylenol stopped helping. Then came swelling, fever, nausea, fainting spells and the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life (considering I haven’t experienced natural childbirth). I ended up in a doctor’s office so sick that I could barely hold my head up. The infection in my tooth was going haywire and I was at the risk of that infection entering my bloodstream. Gratefully I got the medical attention that I needed in time. I left the doctor’s office after receiving two shots and three prescriptions. By the end of the day I was already doing better, but it took me several days to recover. Today I went to my new dentist and left there after a filling, a root canal and an appointment with a oral surgeon Wednesday morning to have two wisdom teeth removed. ALL this to say: GO TO THE DENTIST before those little things get out of control. It ends up causing more pain, more money and you could end up very sick.
If you are local, I HIGHLY recommend the dentist office of Dr. Pat Clark. I’ve been to five different dentist in the last 15 years and today’s visit at Dr. Clark’s office was by far the best dental experience ever. Seriously, y’all! This is coming from a girl that’s had at least four root canals, four crowns, too many fillings and lots of other dental junk done in her lifetime.
Also, if financial reasons keep you from going to the dentist, you may want to consider CareCredit. I just learned about this option for healthcare services. Basically it works semi-like a credit card, but you can finance your cost for 12-16 months with no interest. Now if you don’t pay on time or complete your payment in the time frame there are some nasty fees and interest rates that aren’t so helpful.
Now on to something more fun to talk about– FUDGE! This gal, Annie has the cutest most tastiest blog ever–Annie’s Eats. I just love her and her recipes soooooo much! I made this super simple fudge recipe at Christmas and passed it out to neighbors and friends. It. Is. The. Bomb. Make it, eat it and then go visit your dentist.
photo by Annie at Annie’s Eats
P E A N U T B U T T E R F U D G E
Ingredients
8 oz. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16 oz. confectioners’ sugar
Directions
CREDITS :: Dog Art by KeptFresh Fudge Recipe by Annie’s Eats
Tags: etsy, dog art, dentist, Dr. Pat Clark, Memphis Dentist, Dental anxiety, peanut butter fudge, fudge, fudge recipe, best peanut butter fudge recipe, Annie's Eats, Kept Fresh Art
Years ago my mom gave me this little postcard. I loved it, framed it, hung it and even brought it with me to my new home after I got married. It currently hangs in our kitchen. All this to say, I’ve known this Bible verse for years. It’s been IN MY SIGHT for years, no pun intended. It wasn’t until this past year I was challenged with what does it MEAN to walk by faith.
As this challenge came upon me, God so gently pointed out so many areas of disbelief in my life. Disbelief does not equal faith. I kept crying out to God that I wanted to have faith in Him, then again He gently showed me you can’t have FAITH in something you don’t KNOW– my faith was weak because my view of God was weak. My view of God was weak because my time in HIS WORD was weak.
As I have been in His word, my faith has been strengthened BY Him and therefore now I can see what WALKING BY FAITH looks like. It’s having peace knowing that God is good and His ways are far better than mine. It’s resting while life happens knowing that God is in control of every speck of my life. It’s believing in Him and that He will work all things together for good. More personally, it’s freedom from worry if this medicine is going to work, it’s trusting my husband’s decisions over doing things my way, it’s courage to be obedient when God tells me to build an ark, it’s trust in God that His promise of a child will be fulfilled in His timing, it’s believing that His grace is sufficient for me, it’s receiving love and forgiveness from God so that I can love and forgive those around me, it’s peace that passes all understanding.
So with this at heart I look back at 2011 and I thank Him for His goodness to me and I look forward to 2012 having faith in Him to carry me through it step-by-step.
For these things I say, “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36
Tags: 2 Corinthians 5:7, 2012, faith, Walk by faith
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Thank you so much to all that entered the Christmas G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y! Today a random comment number was picked using the True Random Number Generator on Randon.org
Drum roll please, drrrrruuuuummmmmrrrrrooollll…NUMBER ELEVEN!
Karen McAteer wrote,
“I love Christmas and I love you too…..and even David! lol”
You are the winner of this original watercolor and ink illustration, a coupon to my Etsy shop and another little happy!
Tags: Giveaway, winner announcement
As promised, I’m here to host my Christmas Giveaway! Entering to win is so easy– just comment on this blog post and next week a winner will be drawn at random. Since it’s Christmas I am allowing multiple entries….say whaaaaaaaaaat? Yep! Each person can enter up to three times. THREE TIMES! (see the details below)
Wanna know what I’m giving away? How about this original watercolor and ink illustration of my little modern Christmas tree farm.
Also in your package you will receive a few happies including a coupon to use in my Etsy shop!
Giveaway Details:
Need ideas on what to say in your comments? Talk about Christmas. What’s your favorite tradition, Christmas song or recipe? Do you decorate your home? Real tree or artificial? Best Christmas gift received? Best Christmas gift you’ve given someone else? Greatest Christmas memory? Hope these suggestions help!
Tags: art giveaway, blog giveaway, christmas art, Christmas Tree, etsy, free stuff, Giveaway, illustration, ink, jill denton art, modern christmas tree, watercolor
This is the latest I’ve ever waited to put up my Christmas cheer around the house. Between having company, hosting events, fulfilling orders and battling some kind of terrible stomach virus I’ve just now been able to slow down and enjoy the decorating. Two years ago I decided to simplify my Christmas decorating–mainly because it can easily start looking like Hobby Lobby blew up in the house. I sat back one evening and thought about what I really like as far as Christmas decorating goes– the list quickly got narrowed down to simplicity and meaning. Well, two large tubs filled with ornaments and lots of sparkly stuff that I’ve collected over the past 7 years doesn’t really define simplicity and meaning. However a collection of around 20 of my favorite ornaments, a white porcelain nativity set, a jar full of vintage glass ornaments, my Christmas journal book, a few handmade items, a small tree and my Christmas candle does define simple and meaningful. Here’s a little peek at my home at Christmas.
Vintage ornaments that I found recently at an estate sale!
My mother-in-law gave me this vintage inspired Christmas plate. It’s one of my favorite things!
Our little 3 foot tree filled with some of our favorite ornaments.
My all white nativity scene that my childhood neighbor gave me several years ago.
I’ll be hosting a Christmas giveaway next week, be sure to check it out and enter to win!
Tags: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Tree, Simple Christmas Decorating, Vintage Christmas
Be Thankful by RetroModernArt on Etsy
Learning to give thanks in all things has been a huge source of joy and peace in my life. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many times when I’m running late and I look down and I’ve got toothpaste all over the front of my shirt– in that moment being thankful isn’t what pops into my head. But in the midst of life, there is always something to be thankful for– sometimes we have to look for it. I have found that my soul is strengthened when I stop and give thanks in all things. Pain. Happiness. Fear. Joy. Death. Life. Victories. Failures. Peace. Sufferings. In all things, give thanks!
I’m very thankful for my husband, my family, our friends, our church, Arkansas, our home, God’s word, His faithfulness to us, and His peace that passes all understanding.
Tags: 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Give Thanks In All Things, Gratefulness, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving
