a spiritual exercise for your encouragement

we've asked our small group (as some of you blog readers know) to encourage one another this week through verses of Scripture, and i thought it would be good to share this exercise with you.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. ~Romans 6:11

as this is such an important command for us, i thought we could practice together remembering what it means to be "alive to God in Christ Jesus". specifically, i'd love to see comments posted with verses about the promises of Christ which are now true to us because we are in Christ Jesus (i.e. the blessings we have b/c we are in Christ, the privileges we have b/c we are His children, etc.).

Here are two I found this morning:
2 Corinthians 19-20: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Ephesians 2:14-18: For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law with is commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

what i learned on iron chef america: spanking a pomegranate

by watching iron chef america, i learned a great way to get out the pomegranate seeds:

1) cut the pomegranate in half.
2) hold the pomegranate, cut-side down, over a bowl. take a heavy spoon (i prefer wooden), hit the uncut side of the pomegranate.

the seeds just fall out. it can get kinda messy b/c some of the juices will start splattering, so just be mindful (especially since it tends to stain). i think that this makes it a little bit easier to eat the pomegranate.

as a side note, i really like iron chef america and watching the chefs cook. it's probably the closest i'll get to a fancy 5 course meal with some sort of deconstructed salad. ;)

never enough time

i thought that i'd have plenty of time to do lots of things on my list now that i'm a partial housewife. i think reality has smacked me in the face and laughed at me. the study is still unkempt, young couples night is still unplanned, and i haven't gotten very far in searching for a job.

where has all that "free time" gone? i think that i've slept a lot more (meaning i get up much later), and i've used the excuse of "not feeling well" for over a week now. and then, there are the social engagements--blurp party, new members meeting, Bible study reunion party, etc. (don't get me wrong, i love the social engagements!). i need to figure out a way to lay a smackdown on time so i can start crossing things off on my list!

planted by streams of water...

it says in psalm 1:3

He [a man who delights in the law of the Lord] is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

i have not been a wife that is like a tree planted by streams of water. i have been spiritually dry recently, though i've been reading the Word and praying. but the passion and hunger is missing. on saturday, i realized the extent of this when i realized i had not been spiritually intimate wiht nat (i.e. asking how he was spiritually, praying for him, praying with him outside of meals, etc.).

but God is so good to draw me back (ever so slowly). at breakfast, as we were preparing for small group, God put it on my heart to pray for nat. i read and prayed psalm 145 over him, and it made me weep. it was as if my soul was weeping because it realized how long it has been that nat and i were intimate spiritually. God is good, and i am so awestruck how He has lovingly wooed me and placed a desire in my heart to pursue more intimacy with Him and nat. it isn't by force or guilt that God has done this, but rather with gentleness and love that the Holy Spirit has nudged me! what an amazing God!

where do you donate a dead animal?

ok, it's not a dead animal, but it looks like one. i chopped off my hair last week, and i'm deciding where to donate it. i have two places beautiful lengths or locks of love. hair for beautiful lengths goes towards wigs for women who have cancer; locks of love is for kids. where do you think it should go?

looked what the rug dragged in!

when i brought in the rug after cleaning the kitchen, i found a praying mantis. i didn't want it to escape into the house, and i needed to catch the bus that was coming, so i improvised and did this:


fortunately, it didn't die, and i was able to free it out in the wilds of our backyard. it scurried along after resting for a couple of minutes. :)

crossing the line

last week i submitted my conference paper. i realized that i crossed a line somewhere between working hard and being wise with the gifts that God has given me to seeking praise and glory for myself. it was quite irksome, and it led to a conversation with nat, and then into small group.

i realized how much of a self-glorifying and selfish person i am. i need to take a bite of humble pie and seek God more. i think that this will be my number one goal and first item as a house wife for the rest of the semester. i wished i had this passion and desire to do this while i was working the past two weeks. but by God's grace, it's never too late to repent and turn back to seek Him.