Long post ahead...not for the faint @ heart or casual skimmers ;)

the only chick who answered my previous post says...
" undonegirl said...

Personally, I think it's a choice. But I think that sometimes it is a difficult choice, no matter how much you want it. I think it gets easier with age...

June 17, 2009 10:16 AM"

Well said, my friend. you get a gold star! maybe i should send her a lil sumthin ;)

I apologize for setting y'all up and then taking longer to hit you with the rest.

But that is how life is, right? even the best laid out plans can come to ruin within seconds!

So, in the midst of that do we choose joy or misery?

My spring/summer bible study this year has been this.

God always meets me exactly where i am. He's amazing like that, isn't He?

This particular study has been no exception.

Little golden nuggets everday.

The week on joy blew me away!!!

1) Joy is a sacred delight--sacred b/c it isn't of this earth;what's sacred is God's; and joy is his!

...and it's all within my reach; just one decision away.

at first i thought, "what does this mean? i have accepted Christ; what decision is he talking about???"

The very next day, the next day i tell ya, He(God) gave me a little taste of what he(Max Lucado) meant when i heard this as documented in this post.

i fall in love with God all over again when he does his thing like that! :)

2)We must make the decision to pursue joy in Jesus' presence in spite of a busy schedule and distractions b/c the mountain where he is is only one decision away..."ok, i thought, there it is again...the decision!"

Immediately, I felt Him speak to me..."The decision is for you to say 'yes, i will go with you' to the mountain."

I want to share the joy of Jesus and have a stubborn, unshakable peace!!! oh, yes, i do!

Well, then, pay attention. Yes, pay attention!!! He will give it to you. All you need to do is pursue him.ask. knock.receive.

3) Joy is the result of an extensive reconstruction of the heart.

But it takes courage; courage to believe that you are, indeed, actually, truly, totally forgiven.

4) Because there is fear. Fear is there waiting. Waiting for you, wanting you, begging to steal your joy away. He's a professional thief! Joy buries itself deep within despair.

So, yes, we must make joy a willful decision and not rely on it as an emotion. Joy is not happy. not temporal. not bought with money or power or fame. joy is a sacred delight that can only be found and given in and through God.

Some days we can't seem to make the choice to be joyful--feelings of being overwhelmed, grief, confusion, hurt, the dog poops on the carpet for the 10th time b/c it is raining outside and she is prissy like that...oops! got my joy off track there for a moment...lol ;)

5) Lastly, joy just isn't about us. It can't be--we aren't the point.

God is. We are not.

I really have made a verrrry brief summation of this study. I would recommend it to anyone.

do it yourself. with your small group, best friend, husband. you won't be disappointed!

so, i made a LO. not just to share. i needed to document this. get it down on paper.

maybe even frame it and put it up somewhere just for me.

i applied a faded process to the pic on the right...loved them both...couldn't choose.
i think God is a fan of scrapbooking.
really.
i didn't have to take these pix in order to construct this LO. had them.
i didn't have to go out and buy new supplies. had them.
nope! He had it all there waiting for me.
Thank you!!! :D

i chose not to share the details of what gets to me.
i just chose to share God. that's enough.


in other life stuff.
storms have been raging here. there have even been tornado warnings!
weird monsoon like rain. humid. rare sightings of that big ball of fire commonly
known as the Sun!
i captured this pic b/t storms one day.
i am sure my neighbors think i am odd for running outside with my camera from time to time. ;)

it kinda looked like a stairway to Heaven to me.

and yes, the little puppy pooper got her first haircut.
she hangs her head in shame.
i like it. she was getting a little afro-esque for my taste in a Janis Joplin kind of way.
not very endearing. i have decided her new name is now Kiki Rodriguez!
no reason. just came to me one day.

i am off, off, off to the beach next Friday!!!! yippeeeeee!
i hope that big ball of fire is there!
not b/c i want a tan. this rain is de-press-ing. a tan can be the perk, tho ;)
and getting away with my family. seeing my husband regulary for more than 5-15 minutes...that will be nice.

if you endured this post- thank you, thank you!

have a wonderful summer!!!!

choose this

today.
no pix or LO.
just words.
have you ever thought about JOY?
is it an emotion or a willful choice?


think about it...
more on this later...


have a great week, peeps! ;)

while it is fresh...

...in my mind and in my heart :D
this makes being a mom worth everything.

you're kidding, right?

as you can see, i did this LO almost a year ago.
never wanted to put it out there, just made it for me.
but then i was looking for a LO that had more cool vs. warm colors on it,
just to practice "tooling" around with my camera and i settled on this one.
should i blog it?
yes.
no.
yes.
maybe.
just go ahead already!





it is just a frustration of mine. a pet peeve, if you will, that ppl ass-u-me that b/c i stay
home that i sit around all day, doing nothing and eating bon-bons whilst watching my favorite
TV programs.
i don't.
at the end of the day i am tired, too.
my days are full.
i am who i am and i am happy with that :)
it is all about perspective.

school is out for the summer tomorrow!
weeeee! let the roller coaster ride begin! ;D

happy wednesday :)

always love her work. inspiration for the above pic. thx, Tina. ;)
gotta give credit where credit is due.
blogged here today. made some changes. change is good.
thought about summer. summer is so good. :)
and i hear that California is getting rainy, easy coast- like weather...so i hear...
thinking about what the summer routine is going to be.
cleaning.
cleaning is good. at least in my mind ;)
in the midst of the busy i hope to relax and enjoy my summer as best as i can.
my oldest won't be with us much longer. not so good. :(
i know what you are saying...i am much too young looking to have a child about ready to
leave the nest in 2 years...i know, right??!!
such is life. i loves her lots--and she knows it ;)
life passes quickly. don't think it won't b/c i swore that she was this little baby just like yesterday and i also swore that time would never pass as quickly
as my mother told me it would--in my smart @$$ teenage years.
it comes back to bite ya.
it does.

cherish the moment.
peace & blessings.

he noticed

... this past Friday i had a horrible, no good, bad day :(
i didn't think anything of it. i didn't think he would either.
until i got home.
i saw these.



and then i read the card...

oh! i said...who are these from? *wink, wink* :D





i loved everything about them. it wasn't about the flowers at all, though.
it was about that he (my hubs, in case you were wondering) took the time to
say..." i care, i want to cheer you up and i'm sorry about your day."
and that made the flowers even more beautiful to me.
maybe some of you experience that often in your relationships, but i don't.
to be honest, a lot of times things like having a bad day get lost in the whirlwind of
activities that consume us and we forget about comforting one another.
i am guilty as well.
but this makes me realize that small, genuine gestures really DO matter.

so, today....go tell someone you LOVE them! with a hug, a cup of much needed coffee, a small
note or a beautiful bouquet of flowers. it could make a HUGE difference in someone's day!!!

*********************************LO ALERT!!!*************************************

of course, it was imperative that i document this moment the only way i know how ;)






have a wonderfully blessed day, all!