2 things.

notes taken from tim's reading through the bible study

1. remembering why it's so important to read the Bible: it's always pointing us to God, His promises, and His faithfulness.
2. taking up our cross means we deny ourselves and follow jesus. this makes christianity different from any other religion. we aren't seeking self-fulfillment but self-denial. we are only truly transformed when we deny ourselves by putting ourselves last and Christ first.

look @ me trying to kill that husband i love.

miss hannah martz took these pictures for rachel's wedding!

they all were really cute and hannah did a great job.

i love my husband.

and i especially love it when i get to hear him preach.

i had to leave early sunday morning to get to work on time and did not get to hear the conclusion to his sermon but i took some notes. the notes won't do any justice but the message was still good.

2 Timothy 4:1-8

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing."

The first part of this passage Paul is pretty strong in his words to Timothy:

I charge you... in the presence of God... preach the word.

preach the gospel

But how do we do that? in a culture where "evangelizing" becomes "proselytizing" and offensive, we have to find actions that speak louder than words.

1. take the blame. imagine your boss taking the hit for a mistake you made. wouldn't that be confusing? wouldn't you wonder why? take the blame for someone like jesus took the blame for you
2. have an open home. invite people for dinner. be hospitable. adopt literally and figuratively.
3. give a large amount of money to someone who needs it. when you live a life in a way that jesus did, people ask questions.

preach the gospel. and if necessary use words. remember, we are not good. jesus is.

believe the gospel.

when we reject the gospel, it's often to excuse how we want to live.

jesus makes incredible demands of our lives. the first part of the gospel: we are all damaged goods (in reference to one of last week's oprah episodes)

two parts of the gospel

1. we are far more wicked than we ever feared
2. we are all loved more than we could hope

today i woke up on the right side of the bed.

i just have to share the happy and positive energy that i woke up with naturally today.

it all started off with a great night's sleep. perfect 8 hours and perfectly rested

woke up to an alarm, but slept in an extra half hour. more like cuddled with nash and tim for half a half hour while we all dozed. that's my favorite.

we were able to sleep with the windows open last night. amazing.

i could hear birdies outside my window as i dozed and still hear them. they sound glorious. i feel like i'm in a jungle (we have lots of trees in our neighborhood).

i was too warm as i woke up and had to kick the duvet off. do you know how awesome that is?? the windows are open and i'm not cold!!

the sun is shining. the sun has been a bit distant in indiana for the past few weeks. it came around here and there but the fact that i woke up to it makes me feel all warm on the inside.

i feel a little bit better today, which means i am drinking my morning coffee and it's not grossing me out!

i'm going to try and make a new smoothie today. i found some really cheap nonfat plain yogurt from aldis and i'm going to use it instead of milk. i also haven't felt well enough to mess with smoothies the past few days.

as i walked to the kitchen to prepare our coffee, i was able to see the sun shining in through the window by our dining room table. when it does, it reflects off of my shiny green candle and sends little shimmery squares all over the place. it's only in the morning that this can happen and i mostly open at starbucks so it was good to see!

i will have time before church to spend time with Jesus. i woke up so refreshed and so excited to study scripture and pray.

tonight's the LOST finale and i managed to get off work today at 8:30 so i'll be home to see the conclusion of one of my favorite shows!

tomorrow i have the day off.

tuesday i work but wednesday i have the day off.

tim turns 27 this weekend.

julie's wedding is this weekend.

i love weddings.

i'm actually kinda excited to go to work today since i feel so positive!

i think that's all :)

shoes. these shoes rule.

i would just like to start off by saying that nash is passed out on my lap right now. he is too big for this and even though it makes me uncomfortable as i type this little blog of mine, i'll deal with it because he's just so super cute.

so i have to start looking for a pair of shoes to wear in my sister's wedding. lacey decided this is what my dress will be (purchased and hanging in my closet, by the way... note to self: don't get pregnant before the wedding!!)

so my dilemma is shoes! the shoes i bought for rachel's wedding are really too chunky for this particular dress. they are also deadly uncomfortable. lacey had the idea that i wait until the end of the summer and then check out all of the sales that stores will be having for their summer shoes. i like this idea! i'll probably just see what i can find but today i sought some ideas from zappos.com.

unfortunately, i love the nude pump trend. i can't help it. i am pretty sure that i won't be headed down that alley, though, because i'm not sure i'd wear them much at all and to find a shoe i like of that nature, i'm probably going to have to spend $300.

these are stuart weitzman. these are out of my price range. they're also too shiny.

these are cheaper. they also bring my back to terrible miss foy show choir choreography days. and really, i don't like them.

i could just opt for a black pair, but i think i should stick with something jennifer aniston-y (strappy). i did love this pair even though they aren't strappy

they are only 529 dollars.

zappos is really an entertaining website to go when you are looking for shoes! i may not be able to afford much but i can still have fun. i'll leave you with a few pairs of shoes that will make you say "waaaaa?" and "what the crap"

i'm not sure why but these are on sale.

there is actually a "clear" section you can sift through on zappos... the previous two pairs are the only gems to fight over.

i picture a she-bigfoot wearing these.

photos courtesy of zappos.com!

hotness.

i've been a bit under the weather for the past couple of days. i didn't have a chance to check out all my favorite blogs yesterday because i took a 3 hour nap after work and then went to bed at 7:30! i checked my most favorite today and will leave you with a beauty from their site.

courtesy of eclipsemovie.org

love it!