Galatians 6:14

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Friends

What a blessing friends are! They are iron sharpening iron and a constant encouragement in my life. My best friends, the Edmondsons, came out for 3 days to help us clean our basement. What a blessing!! On Tuesday afternoon us girls got together with sweet Hannah Moore at Starbucks and spent some lovely together.

Look at the cabieros, don't they look like trouble? We had a scrumptious treat of frappuccinos and muffins/cupcakes/donuts :) What a special time!

*Thank you sweet friends for all your help at home!! Love and miss you!*







Thursday, February 23, 2012

Snow!!

Hey Everybody!

It is finally here! The first snow of the year! (do we have Dr. Suess in the house?? :D) I was so excited when I heard the news that is was going to snow, but I was extremely skeptical because we have had some crazy warm weather for the past couple of weeks, but lo and behold, on Sunday morning it started snowing! We ended up getting 10 in! It snowed all day and well into the night and oh wow, everything looked so beautiful under the cover of the snow. It reminded me of the way that Christ has washed our sins much whiter than snow!








 





His bondservant,
Charity

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello to everyone!
Happy Valentine's Day (+4 :D)!!

I love Valentine's Day, the flowers, the chocolate, the romance, and a day dedicated to plenty of time contemplating LOVE. As I was contemplating what love really is, I found some great verses that have hit the nail on the head for what true love really is:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Ephesians 4:2-3 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Aren't these beautiful??!! They go far deeper than just skin deep cheap romance that this world has to offer. Don't they just light a fire in your heart for Jesus Christ?! Oh how He loves us!
Here are some lyrics from "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band that captures this incredible love:

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
We are His portion and He is our prize

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

I am also such a sucker for quotes, so I found some great ones to ponder :D :

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God. God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love. Lavish it upon the poor, where it is very easy; especially upon the rich, who often need it most; most of all upon out equals, where it is very difficult, and for whom perhaps we do the least of all. ~Henry Drummond

To love at all is to be vulnerable. ~C.S. Lewis

You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving. ~Amy Carmichael

I pray that as we experience Christ's love, we may dare to love others without reserve!!


His bondservant,
Charity

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Reilly is 1!

Today is my nephew's 1 yr birthday!! I cant believe it, it feels like just yesterday I was out in Texas meeting him for the first time...time flies...
Here he is:

Happy birthday, sweet Reilly! Aunt Lube loves you! <3

His bondservant,
Charity







Happy February and Happy Birthday's!

Hello Friends!

Happy February! I can't believe that January is over and gone, time sure does fly...Nothing much has been happening in my life except school, work, more school, and more school :) But oh how grateful I am for this time in my life! I am exactly where God wants me at this point in my life and I am so content. Mom had been gone for 3 weeks (2 weeks in California, and 1 week in Mexico) supporting my grandmother while she was undergoing cancer treatment. She came back last weekend and boy, am I happy! :)

Today we are celebrating a couple of birthdays!! Its Dad's birthday (I'll not reveal his age...lol) and my beautiful nephew, Reilly, 1st birthday! I am so blessed to have the family I have!

Just wanted to catch y'all up on what's going on in my life. Have a great weekend!!!

His bondservant,
Charity

"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister." ~Hebrews 6:10

P.S. this is in New Zealand, Milford Sounds, such a gorgeous place! But unfortutately there hasn't been much sight of snow here in Virginia :(