Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

Every Friday @ 12:30pm (CST), you can hear a weekly challenge from me on Faith Music Radio.  My podcast is called Posted by Rebekah. You can listen online HERE or download the free app for your smartphone.  I would love for you to join us, listen and take the challenge!

Tune in any time of the day to Faith Music Radio for uplifting Christian music and talk. 

Here is today's podcast in blog post form. :)

So my husband has this thing – he likes new clothes.  He actually enjoys clothes shopping – me- not so much.  Ok, I don’t like it at all.

So his favorite store is JC Penny and he is always coming home with new stuff.  OK, I can deal with that.  What I can’t deal with is the overflowing closet.  He likes to put in but he never gets rid of anything.

You see, if he constantly is putting in and never taking out…the closet will not be able to serve the purpose it was intended for.

And so it is in your Christian life.  If all you do is go to church and take in every week, you are not serving the purpose God intended for you.  If you live your own life throughout the week taking in all for your life but never giving back – you have lost what we are here for.

Do you have a balance in your life?  Take time to take in – read your Bible, listen to preaching, attend worship services, do a Bible study…and then take time to give – teach a class, host a small group, visit a shut in, have a friend over for coffee.

My challenge for today is:  Don’t let your life lose the purpose that God intended for it.  

Will you take the challenge?

Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

Every Friday @ 12:30pm (CST), you can hear a weekly challenge from me on Faith Music Radio.  My podcast is called Posted by Rebekah. You can listen online HERE or download the free app for your smartphone.  I would love for you to join us, listen and take the challenge!

Tune in any time of the day to Faith Music Radio for uplifting Christian music and talk. 

Here is today's podcast in blog post form. :)

So here is a story that happened the other day…my husband is counting calories and tracks his steps and all that.  He was coming home and he called me…”Can you make me a salad and keep track of all the calories for me?”  “Sure!”

So I made a big salad measuring everything out.  I left it with the salad dressing and a tablespoon to measure the dressing on the kitchen counter.  My husband walked in and while he was talking – starts dumping salad dressing on his salad.  Well, I immediately said, “Wait!  What are you doing???  You need to measure that to count your calories!”

Well, that set off an argument.  He didn’t want to be nagged and I wanted him to be aware and grateful for my efforts to count calories!

I learned two things from this lesson from the ranch dressing incident.

1.     Don’t make a big deal when it isn’t a big deal.  Yes, he asked me to measure out his salad ingredients.  Yes, it took me time and effort and I wanted that recognized.  Yes, dumping ranch dressing on a salad is not a wise choice.  Yes, it made me upset.  NO, it wasn’t a big deal.

Most time, we take our feelings and react on them.  Not on truth.  My feeling was – “You don’t care about the work and time I put into making this salad for you.”  The truth was – “I’m a guy and my old habits are to dump on the dressing.”  Don’t react on your feelings.  Examine the truth.  And in the end, it shouldn’t ruin my day or break up a marriage!

2.     Relationships are more important than my need to be accurate.  That one is difficult!  Women, we like to be accurate.  Men, they just want to be respected.  So in this situation, it was more important for me to respect him rather than worry and stress the need to be accurate.  Was the accurate calorie count more important than him?  No.

So the next time you see ranch dressing, I hope you remember this challenge.  Don’t make a big deal when it really isn’t and being accurate is not always needed.

Will you take the challenge?

Getting Some Air

I'm taking a break from blogging.  

Thank you for stopping by!

Believe...

Thank you for stopping by my blog this week! Maybe you are having things going on in your life...take time to believe.  The song - Be Thou My Vision - came across in the car today.  I love the thought in that song...Thou my best thought in the day or in night.  Sometimes, you can get your thoughts focused on everything else but God.  Take time to believe in God and all He is to you.

This week was an off week for me.  Having a lot on my mind and being really tired - didn't make a good combo.  I hope this next week proves to be better. :)

I didn't blog about my week last week - it was a very busy full weekend.  We hosted dinner on Friday, lunch on Saturday and lunch on Sunday at our home for different families in our church along with a visiting couple - Joe and Keren.  So between grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, babysitting, work with Senior Helpers, school - I didn't get to my weekly post.

I worked Sunday night - 8pm - 8am.  When I got home, I showered and got ready for the day.  Eric was helping a friend from IL, Josh Beutow, with a few things that morning and then we took off to pick up our friends, Joe and Keren McCollough, visiting from AL. We went to Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs - I just love that breakfast place!  I got their veggie omelet which again is one of my favorites.

Our plan had been to go up to Lake Tahoe.  It was pretty bad weather wise but we still went up.  

We went to Heavenly Ski Resort - walked around the shops, sat by the outdoor fires.  

This was one of the beaches - it was windy and snowing.  You can see how choppy the water looks.  No blue skies on this day!

A Jamba Juice and then we headed back down the mountain.

We had come back down and reached Galena when all of a sudden, we hit a patch of ice.  Our van veered into the lane to our right nearly hitting a truck within just inches then suddenly veered to our left.  We went across three lanes of traffic backwards and landed on the side of the road.  It was all in slow motion it seemed and we just sat there shocked.  I just praise the Lord for protecting us from hitting any other vehicles, not flipping our vehicle and we were all just fine.  

As we pulled back out onto the road, we looked back and another vehicle hit that ice, went flying right into another vehicle on the road.  That truly could have been us.

We went for pho for dinner and then home.

Tuesday came bright and early.  Up at 3:45am to take my husband to the airport.  Back home for a shower and then off to pick up Joe and Keren and take them to the airport at 6:30am.  School, babysitting, house cleaning.  All that normal stuff.  Piano lessons.

That night, we did a little movie night and watched The Apple Dumpling Gang and had popcorn and soda.

Wednesday was much the same.  School, babysitting and I also cleaned the church.  

That evening, we took Addie to youth group and then ran errands.  Sierra was able to spend her gift card at Toys R Us and she was happy.

Thursday, my husband was supposed to fly back in at noon.  However, a crazy man on his flight caused them to delay. So it was another regular day of school, babysitting, house work, laundry, etc.  

I always enjoy getting a new magazine in the mail!

Summer's writing paper.

Friday proved to be the sign of bad weather coming in.  I had two photo inspection jobs early.  13 houses total.  Dropped off the dry cleaning and then home to upload all the photos to Dropbox.  I was glad to beat the rain on that.  

School, babysitting.  My life doesn't seem to be very exciting this week.  LOL!

Saturday morning started practices for our softball spring season.  My husband had the men's prayer breakfast at 8:30am.  I dropped off Addie and Autumn for Autumn's practice at 9am.  Sierra and I took Summer to her practice at 9:30am.  Back to get Addie and Autumn.  It was SOOO windy.  Two hours in the wind chilled me good.  

But I always enjoy this part of our life.  We have great people on the board who run our league.  It is great to get in something and just stick with it.  You make so many memories and many friends.  Because all four girls want to play - however, they are all in different age divisions with different teams, practice and game schedules - we have decided to only have two play at a time in one season.  Autumn is playing in 10U this spring and Summer in t-ball. Sierra and Addie will play in fall ball.

So if you don't hear much from me, I am most likely at a practice or game every night of the week and Saturday.  :)

 Coach Andy helping show the ropes to the tball teams.

I can not explain how cold we were.  The wind was super, super, super crazy!!!  It made it feel SO much colder than it was.  

Autumn practicing her pitching.

After two hours of practice, it was back home and then my husband went off for some time together. 

Then off to Red Robin for my free birthday meal!  Of course, I get my standard there - Bleu Ribbon burger and sweet potato fries. :)

I still had $2 left from a previous gift card so all in all - a pretty cheap meal.

We also hit up Payless for Easter shoes for the girls to surprise them for their Easter baskets.  We found some good sales plus also needed socks which were 50% off along with a 20% off coupon.  Yay!

I picked out some warm socks for me at Sportsman's too along with my birthday present from my husband. :)

Along the middle of the night, I wake up to two kids vomiting at the same time.  After that, it was a blur of the three of us taking turns upchucking.  It was a rather unpleasant time. Sierra, Summer and I stayed home crashed onto the couch.

Yes, she is sleeping on top of the dog.  LOL!  

This dog!

My family brought home some surprises for my birthday from church.  This was from Bob and Linda Hector.  So sweet!  The funny thing is I was lying sick and was thinking - I need to text my husband and ask him to get me a couple Vitamin Waters cause I can't keep anything down and so miserable.  And here he came with four in my gift bag!

This was from my secret sister - so nice! :)

Card from Becca Ruby. :)

This is upside down - I'm not sure why when I edit them on my phone that the edited pics won't transfer to my computer.
This is from my baby Aaron love!

This is a special gift - a prayer shawl - made my some of the ladies in our church. :)

My favorite flowers from Papa Vern.  Love you, Papa!

During the day, we have experienced very high winds.  Blizzard conditions in the mountains - thankfully, no snow for us in the valley.  However, we did lose power for awhile in the afternoon.  What do you do when you lose power - board game!

That is my week.  I hope you have a great new week!