The ensemble reminded me of Iris, so I called it “Dress like Iris Day”.

Another new outfit from Nana.

Reading up on the latest news.

1. She saw her Bryan put on a hat (baseball cap) before leaving the house.

2. While Bryan was gone, she was looking at one of her books and saw a picture of babies wearing hats. She pointed to them, looked up at me and said, “Dada!”

3. When Bryan came home she kept looking up at him and smiling, fascinated by his hat. So he gave it to her and she did this…

…and this.

]]> http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/pictures-january-22-28/feed/ 0 joyfilledbloggers DSC_0005 DSC_0006 DSC_0014 DSC_0018 IMG_1348 IMG_1353 IMG_1355 http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/psalm-1611/ http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/psalm-1611/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:23:16 +0000 joyfilledbloggers http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/?p=1842 ]]> You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

This verse has been on my mind for the last few years, so meditating on it this week was very sweet. I have been challenged by this verse with the reminder that we, as humans, are created with a longing. A longing for something that we all have trouble “putting our finger on”, at times. Even Especially this “I’ve  been a Christian since I was 6 years old” girl who knows a lot in her head but so often has a disconnect from head to heart. For a large majority of my life I have struggled with making God an emotional priority in my life.

Though I have been blessed with the privilege of calling him my Savior for so much of my life, it has still been far too easy to get distracted by the things of this world. I have known (in my head) for years that, yes, even logically, I have the fullest of joy available to me and more pleasures than I could ever think to seek after. He is the answer to my longing. Logically and emotionally. Yet my heart and emotions are weak, still trying to find joy in the fleeting pleasures of shopping, eating out, beauty, stuff, success, friendship status and much more.

Honestly, I hesitate to even post these thoughts because I want to “save face” and keep looking like the young, Christian woman who has a strong faith in God, is desperately in love with Him and is not caught up in such frivolous things. But I am done with that. I want to be real, not fake. I want to be able to be honest, even if that means honestly admitting that I am not as sanctified as I would like people to think I am.

My prayer, not just for 2012, but for the rest of my life, is that God would daily increase my longing for more of Him and decrease my longing for clothes, fitting in, making certain friends, and a life of ease. That every day when I wake up, I would really, truly look forward to spending the day in his presence where fullness of joy can be found. And I know that this will look different through the various stages of my life. Not necessarily an hour or two of reading the Bible and praying before my family gets up in the morning…I might be lucky to get 5 minutes, or I might get no time before they are up. But whether I start my day with an official “devotion time” or not, I can spend my day lingering in God’s presence by praying: asking for his help, surrendering my selfish thoughts and desires, praising him when I have fun with my child(ren), thanking Him for beautiful weather; and also by meditating on his Word: thinking about the Fighter Verse(s) for that week, posting Scripture around my house (it doesn’t have to be a beautifully framed, expensive piece of decoration), looking for verses that I could use to encourage my husband or others, etc.

Having said all of that, I feel I must explain that my prayer is two-fold. The second part is that I would find fullness of joy in His presence not merely with the mindset of, “Of course I should do this. It gets me what I want. I would be crazy not to do the one thing that will gain me fullness of joy.” I also hope that the more I find my satisfaction in Him, the more I live a life that reflects Him. I want people to look at me and see a beauty that is different from the world’s idea of beauty. I want them to see a woman whose longing is fulfilled by the only One who can fill theirs. And I want them to ask how they can filled by Him, too. Not for my glory, but His.

*this week’s Fighter Verses are Romans 15:1-2

The many faces of Joy…

Baby in the bath water.

A day to stay inside.

Here she is in her new outfit, Aunt Laurie and Grandma.

Crazy hair.

Swim class (props to Nana for the swimsuit).

]]> http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/pictures-january-15-21/feed/ 1 joyfilledbloggers DSC_0035 DSC_0046 DSC_0054 DSC_0062 DSC_0068 DSC_0073 DSC_0092 DSC_0037 DSC_0130 DSC_0147 DSC_0153 DSC_0159 http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/romans-1013-15/ http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/romans-1013-15/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:13:23 +0000 joyfilledbloggers http://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.com/?p=1812 ]]> For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

I pray that God would give me a heart that longs to see people call on his name and be saved. I am so prone to go about my days thinking mostly of myself, consumed with the small bubble of my own life. I forget the big picture very easily. This is not my home. There is a reason that I am here and it has a great, eternal value. I am here to be salt and light on this earth. I am here to sow seeds. Seeds of kindness, a smile, selflessness, an encouraging word, an effort to get to know someone, a listening ear, an offer to help.

And during the times that I am not sowing seeds of the Gospel myself, I have the privilege of being a faithful sender of others “who preach the good news” all around the world. I can pray God’s Word for them, help send packages to them, pray for their requests, encourage them with an e-mail or letter.

I want to be a part of the enhancement of God’s kingdom, spreading the good news of the Gospel. I want to have beautiful feet…not by the world’s standards, but by God’s.

*this week’s Fighter Verse is Psalm 16:11

I haven’t even started memorizing these verses. But, this week there is only one verse so I’m going to devote Monday and Tuesday to Romans 10:13-15 (expect a mid-week post) and then the rest of the week I should be back on schedule.

Thanks for your patience!

watching football…

and making funny faces…

…then he left us for 5 days. And I was sad.

- Monday, we went grocery shopping.

- Tuesday, we went on a walk with Kelly and Iris, visited Becky and Solace Laparra again and then went to IKEA.

- Wednesday, Joy woke up with a terrible cold that I didn’t even see coming! We got to hang out with Dave, Kelly and Iris.

- Thursday, I woke up with a cold that I did see coming. We went to Joy’s 15 month check-up. She weighs 20 lbs (12th percentile), is 30 inches long (37th percentile) and her head is big (80th percentile).

- Friday, Bryan came home in the evening!

Today, Joy had her first swimming class. It was very cute and fun and she loved it. I didn’t get any pictures since I was in the pool with her but hopefully next week I will.

And, after we got home from swimming class, Joy had her first injury involving blood.

She was a trooper about it and hardly even seemed to notice it for the rest of the day. I was surprised that I didn’t cry or freak out when I realized there was blood. It really wasn’t much, nor did it last long. But I felt bad for her.

That was our week. I wasn’t good about taking pictures. Boy, that’s an understatement. The bottom line: I was sad that Bryan was gone all week therefore I was not in my right mind and therefore, did not take pictures all week.

The end.

I actually got to hear two different messages about God’s Word this week and both have given me quite a bit to think about. The first was from Jason Meyer, one of Bryan’s professors at Bethlehem College and Seminary. He gave a 15 minute devotional on Isaiah 40:8 at the Fighter Verse kick-off program on Wednesday night. One thing that stuck with me was his urging us to look at past evidences of the power of God’s word and use that to fuel our faith and hope for the future.

The second message was from Pastor John at church this weekend. He traditionally focuses the first two sermons of the year on prayer and the Word of God. I like that a lot. What better way to start off a new year, right?

Pastor John’s sermon text was 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 (I highly recommend listening to the sermon online at desiringGod.org). I’ve been thinking about the last phrase in verse 13, “…the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” It reminds me of Isaiah 55:10-11, especially verse 11, “so shall my word be…it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.“

Memorizing Scripture is a great avenue to see the power of God’s Word in my everyday life. His words will not return empty. So the more that I have committed them to memory, talk about them and pray them for others, the more opportunities I will have to witness the work that he is about. Being a mother, wife, friend, neighbor and fellow “Baby & Me Storytime” attendee is affected by this truth. There is power in His Word. Why would I not want to have it stored up in my heart and running through my mind constantly?

*this week’s Fighter Verses are Romans 10:13-15

She is beautiful.

Born at 11:30 am on January 1st, 8 lbs 8 oz, 20 3/4 inches long.

I decided to let Joy play with my scarves, gloves and hats since she has been showing interest in putting coats on, lately. She was happily occupied for quite awhile.

I made this banner for Joy’s birthday party and had the intention of putting it up in her bedroom after that. We just got around to doing it this week. Joy loves it. She’ll look at it and say, “Baby!” I love it because it goes perfectly with the colors in her room and I enjoy seeing the pictures of her throughout the year.

Every year I think about doing the Fighter Verses because I really want to have more verses memorized so that I can meditate on God’s Word even when I don’t have make time to sit down with my Bible.

So, I’ve decided that this is the year. By God’s grace, I will memorize the Fighter Verse(s) each week all the way through 2012. Feel free to join me, if you would like!

I also thought it might be helpful to post the verse(s) here each week. A way of keeping me accountable, perhaps. I will aim to post the verse on the Sunday of the weekend that the verse is recited (in the church services, the person sharing announcements will ask if anyone wants to recite the Fighter Verse from the past week).

For example, the first verse of the year (that I’m meditating on this week) is Isaiah 40:8. So I’ll be back this Sunday to tell you more!

January

- Bryan left his full-time job at Desiring God to start a part-time job at Bethlehem Baptist Church. As far as budget and income go, it was a leap of faith accompanied by prayers that God might provide another part-time job for Bryan. In April, Bryan started working part-time for DG on the website, as a contract worker.

- Bryan was gone for 3 weeks in a row. Looking ahead to it, I wasn’t exactly sure how Joy and I were going to get through. But with the help of family (paying for Joy and I to come to PA so that we could spend two of the weeks with them) it turned out to be not so bad.

March

- Joy starts eating solids.

April

- Joy is sitting up on her own.

May

- We dedicated Joy to the Lord at our church.

- Bryan finished his first year of seminary. One down, three to go. A small victory in your eyes, perhaps. But a big victory to us.

- Bryan’s sister, Meg, graduated from high school and Bryan had the privilege of speaking at her graduation ceremony.

July

- Bryan’s sister, Meg, came to visit for almost 2 weeks while Bryan had a 6-week Hebrew intensive. Something else that I was not looking forward to but we made it through, greatly helped by Meg being here.

- Joy started crawling while Meg was here.

- During the summer we felt that God might be leading us to move out of our apartment and he provided a single family home for us. More like, he dropped it in our lap, so to speak. 1200 square feet to call our own and a backyard for our dog to call his own.

August

- Bryan started year #2 of his seminary training.

October

- Our baby turned one!

November

- Our one year old learned to walk!

- I sold caramels for the first time.

- We flew to PA to spend a week with our families and celebrate Christmas a little early.

Summary

- We started the year with a 2 1/2 month old and were just starting to feel like we were coming out of the fog that characterizes your life when you have a newborn. She was just starting to really use her voice more, laugh and interact with us. Looking back over the year, I would say that 3-6 months (January through April) was one of my favorite baby stages. We end the year with a 14 1/2 month old who is talking up a storm, walking all over, joyfully playing with “Bubba” (Buddy) and other children and making us laugh everyday. What a personality she has!

- I enjoyed my first full year as a stay at home mom. I have my dream job!

What we are looking forward to (God willing) in 2012:

- Going on a retreat without Joy…our first time away from her overnight.

- Swimming classes for Joy during the winter.

- Bryan finishing another year of seminary.

- Weekly Storytime at the library.

- Celebrating 6 years of marriage.

- A summer filled with many hours of playing in the backyard with Buddy, taking walks, going to parks, swimming and much more.

- Joy becoming a two year old.

- Overall, another year of God working the good and the bad for our ultimate good. We don’t deserve it but we are grateful for his grace toward us.