I'm Glad

Why am I glad?

You would be too if:

-you realized that God loves you so much He is never going to leave you alone

(even when you mess up an astronomical number of times!)

-you recognized that a truly sincere love does not hesitate to throw you into the fire - because, that is the only way that you can be purified

-you discovered that when you empty yourself of {you} and ask God to fill your spirit, soul, and body with {Him}, that is when you find true fulfillment and satisfaction

-you were just so delightfully overwhelmed by the greatness and goodness of your God, because the fact slaps you in the face every day that you.are.no.good. and how could a just God love you?

Because He is also a mercifully loving God. <3

These are a couple of the thoughts that have been swirling around in my rather chaotic brain at the moment.

I have by no means achieved an A+ on any of the aforementioned.

Being a slight perfectionist - ;) - , I confess I find the fact incredibly disheartening.

Why can't I perfectly pass all the tests and exams that are served to me in the classroom of my life?

Then the thought comes to me ...

If I could perfectly pass them all, where would the need for a Teacher be?

Praise the Lord that I need Him every hour!

The Apostle Paul nails it,

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

God has given me some crazy-awesome opportunities this month, let alone the entire year! I am excited to see Him work...

and I am glad.

Ta-ta,

Phia

Post Script - I realized there are no pictures in this post!

{photo credit: Evangeline Renee}

I know right, what better picture could you ask for!

That picture is practically 2 1/2 months old now...I'll try to get an updated one on here soon. =)

Life is Fleeting~

And the question arises: "Just how is it that we find ourselves already in the first week of October?"

It is positively astounding that there is a mere two months, and 26 days remaining in this year of 2011.

*dink-dink*

I have found this verse appearing quite frequently in my ponderings of this past week,

"Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

~ James 4:14

Life is fleeting ... like those vintage cars that wouldn't stay still on the highway when I was trying to take their picture ...

... and those strawberries that were right there before my eyes ...

(then like *that* they ... weren't there ;)

... and those tiny girls you used to babysit; then five years later ...

... they have graduated from 'tiny girls' to 'little girls', just overnight it seems.

(but really, we know that it was five years, only it didn't feel that long)

So, why is it that we feel the need to hold on to and have more 'stuff'? It might not even last a year, let alone eternity ...

(this is something that I must continually remind myself of)

{mental note: there is a difference between need and want}

But, what will last?

The time, love, energy, and resources that you pour into someone else's life, out of your own, because Jesus has filled you with that much joy and desire to bring glory to His Kingdom!

I have the gift of showing Jesus' love to these little ones ...

How many times have I missed out on the blessings that God wants to bestow upon me, simply because my priorities are not what they should be? Again, being predominantly an S, changes in sheduals {schedules} are not always met with ... smiles? So, while I didn't do things that I normally would have done on a Saturday morning, instead, I had the privilege to witness the baptism of a dear friend and sister-in-the-Lord. It was a joy to be there, H. <3

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

~Proverbs 27:17

We spent the time together singing praises to our Lord, and engaging in uplifting and stimulating conversation. =) What a blessing I would have passed over if I would have listened to the whispers of the Enemy, trying to keep me in my little box of routine and shedual-ness.

{I hadn't seen this dear girl since 2009! R, it was so much fun. =)}

This little man will not stay little for too long ... hmm, I do believe I shall take every opportunity, that I can, to hold him while he'll still let me. =)

She's 11 already!

(why isn't there an emoticon for pulling one's hair out, because of sheer astonished-ness?)

Life is fleeting ...

what things are eternally worth your time?

Ta-ta,

Phia

Opportunity & Dreams Realized

I love starting my week off with a visit from him =)

...

{making new fashion statements}

{birthday picnic! hah I'm still working on improving my self-portrait skills =P sometimes it takes ten pictures (or more) to find one where someones head is not cut off ... ah, the joys}

It has been my express wish, this past Summer, to repaint the gel's room! For those of you who are familiar with the DISC personality test, I am a rather high SI (C is balanced, and D is ... basically not on the chart =P) So, this causes me dilemmas sometimes; because, I get all of these inspirations and dreams of fun amazing things to do! Alas, my poor microscopic D is unable to perform. =( Howev-ah! This week I was resolved. I told myself that I must do this week.

{excellent book on doing}

And thus we began ...

{definitely before}

Again, being a high SI, I love being around people and such; however, stepping out of my comfort zone is, regrettably, not my cup of tea. =( Yet, God in His mercy, has seen fit to place me in many situations where I had/have the opportunity to do that. Something that is stepping outside of my comfort zone is doing things spontaneously ... such as serving at an event with one day to spare. =) My initial thought was, "schoo, okay...it's kind of spur of the moment, but why not!" And I am immensely glad that I did do it. =)

{such a lovely time to work with friends, meet new people, and learn things}

{the grounds were g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.}

{some of the team}

I will be sure to keep you updated with the room pro-gress. =D

{even while painting she's cute!}

{somewhat after; but, not quite there}

Don't give Procrastination and Indecision the time of day ...

do something!

Ta-ta,

Phia