i have nothing to say today.
***bird painting made by the fabulous jeanne oliver at "a bushel and a peck" ********
ok…i do have one thing to say.
i read this this morning in my book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.
"God does not demand that you and i have blind faith,
but abandoned faith, a faith that trusts Him fully.
Through His Word, God willingly reveals much about who He is, what His plans are,
and what He requires of us.
As we come to see Him and know Him he urges, "Trust Me."
Hundreds of times in the Bible God implores us to trust Him.
We tend to make trust a gray area, but with God the issue is black and white.
We either trust HIm or we don't.
We're for Him or we're against Him.
We're in the game or we're on the sidelines.
As i think about true faith, heartfelt throw-yourself-in-with-complete-abandon faith,
two things come to mind:
*faith is rooted in God's character.
*faith is based on God's Word, not on our feelings."
that spoke out to me this morning.
this book is REALLY good…even though i don't like the title or the cheesy painting on the cover.
i am not an anxious person but i love this book.
i do not like my books to look like feminine product ads on the cover but this does.
still a great book.
i think you should order it. :)
**************and i am really wishing i could eat a cupcake right. this. minute.**************************
eryn - ps, I’ve been doing no sugar for two weeks. Other than the comfort of eating a big fat cookie or cupcake…i find my cravings are seriously dwindling.
And…4 lb. down!
eryn - I also want a cupcake right now…but I’m choosing “eye cupcakes” on your blog. It’s eye candy to me!
LOVED the quote today. So fitting for where we’re at in our adoption stuff.
How do you get your pics side by side like that?I’m guessing it’s photoshop or somethign…is it an action? LOVE it.
traci - your pictures speak when words don’t! love them.
michelle - you are awesome meg! i’ve been traveling and am just now catching up on your blog and all you’ve been up to! congrats on the “homies” win thing, love, LOVE your kitchen remodel, no sugar!!! ugh. i too am an addict :(. you never cease to inspire me.
lissa - that is soooo good. I’m going to print it and put it in my journal. Thank you!
Shannon - I also love that book. I have two copies so that I can lend it out to friends when they need it.
I cried when I read ‘the prayer’. Do you know what I mean? the one by Betty Scott Stam (is that the right name?). It took me a long time to be able to pray it myself. So glad you like it as well.
Awesome pictures, as always. I covet your ability & your camera and have been trying to save up for my own for a couple years…. someday.
🙂
~Shannon
Jessica - So glad you shared that part from the book today! It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear from the Lord! Again, thanks for sharing!
Rachelkidd - Did you know yesterday was delurker day?!
http://lastyearsgirl.pixlet.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/delurker.jpg
Meg, I read your blog nearly every day and love it, it’s so colourful and fun and your kids are gorgeous.
I’ve written before but come on all you other lurkers, say hi to Meg!
Rachel xx
(Glasgow, Scotland)
P.S. Ordered that book you were talking about – A Long Way Home – off Amazon and it just arrived this morning, yay!
deb meyers - Love that study, too, and with you on the cover.
You’ll like this: http://stuffchristianslike.net/2008/01/4-books-with-people-on-the-cover
of course I left my thoughts in the comment section there, too : )
jeanne - The book sounds amazing..bad cover and all:-) It has been a tough week around here. My friend and neighbor tried for three years to get pregnant. The babies (yes twins) were making her so sick that they had to be taken at 28 weeks so she would live. She almost died three times after their birth. The girls had been fragile but stable. The littlest (2pounds) died on Wednesday. She was three weeks old and I have had such a hard time because of their sadness and I was so sure…so sure that she would live. It is hard to trust that God does all for our good sometimes. Sorry for the book..I really needed this today.
Tiffany - Just recently found your blog and am loving it – you inspire me to see and use more COLOR in my life. Thanks for sharing that snippet from the book you are reading. For me, living in the gray is an unstable and unfulfilling place to be. God wants more for us – the abundant life. Thx for the reminder 🙂
Trena McNulty - great book…lent mine to my SIL…need to get it back..or order a new one…fav quote…later on in the book…”faithfully following the Shepherd…on step at a time?” And a prayer for every day…”if my Children sin against you Lord…may they get caught!”
Stephanie - And pictures say 1,000 words….so you technically said 14,000 words based on how many photos you posted today.
karen - mmmmmmm..froot loops!
Tracy - I love the pictures and I too have cut out the sugar in my diet as well. I know it is so hard to do but I know it will be so worth it. Thanks for the passage – it was so nice to read! Have a great weekend! Big hugs! xoxoxo
Jess - I am always inspired by your great, colorful photos. Today you have inspired me on a different level. Thanks for sharing.
gina - This post was timely for me to read, I posted today about my ongoing effort to calm my anxious heart. and mind. and the pictures made me smile. as usual. 🙂 which is why i have a post publishing on Sunday about you. thank you.
shelly - Thank you! I really needed to hear that today! I’m not anxious…just the whole reckless abandon really struck my heart!
Doing the no sugar too. Last night, while the boys were being little barbarians, I REALLY wanted an ice cream bar, but I held out and everyone lived to see another day 😉
Julie - are any of these photos a part of your etsy updates? i’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll add to it!
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - We are on day 6 of the “eat clean” diet. Every meal consists of either egg whites, oatmeal, chicken, ground turkey, brown rice, sweet potato, zone bar or some other veggie or berry. It’s been very challenging. I love bread sooo much and anything sweet. But in this short amount of time I’ve already lost 3 pounds. Just push past the cravings…eat a little fruit. I find that helps me immensely.
Thanks for the encouragement about trust and faith, and the black and white of it. I’ve been living in grey a bit lately and I know that’s not pleasing to the Lord.
Have a great weekend Meg. Beautiful pics as always. Did Jeanne make you that bird collage? Looks just like her:)
Leslie - Thank you for posting this! You have no idea how we needed to read those words today!
Jackie - I think you say a lot with your pictures!! I do love the quote you gave and will have to check out that book (though now I’m scared about the cover).
Kristin - There is nothing I love more than a jar of Crayola markers.
LISA CURRIE-GURNEY - MEG, I’M GOING TO GET THAT BOOK NOW, BUT NEVER WOULD HAVE FOR ALL THE REASONS YOU STATED. GLAD YOU SHARED. NOW, COULD YOU PLEASE SHARE THE “HOW” TO PUTTING PICTURES ON YOUR BLOG IN THE WAY YOU DID. I AM SO SLOW ABOUT STUFF LIKE THAT, AND WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR STEP BY STEP INFO. YOUR ROCK MEG. THANKS. GO NO SUGAR !!!
HUGS FROM MAINE
susie whyte - did you get the bird canvas from bushel and a peck? looks like her stuff. 🙂 love the photos and i will have to add the book to the list!
Susan - I am a faithful follower of your blog….you don’t know me and you will probably never know me….but I just had to comment today. Today has been a life changing day in my life as I found out today we will be having our 6th child in 7 years. I am so excited and SHOCKED at the same time and I have to TRUST that God KNOWS what He is doing in my family and our lives. I think I am going to have to get this book! With a husband that is in the middle of loosing his job right now and not getting a regular paycheck, I am a bit anxious in ALL aspects of my life. I can now only trust that God has a plan for us much bigger and better than what I can imagine! Thanks for your wise words and always making me smile. You are an inspiration and I wish I were just bit more like you! You just seem to have it all together! Me…Not so much:)
Nicole M - Thank you for that. My husband and I have no other choice but to trust the Lord right now. I am pregnant with our first, and the doctors saw cysts in her brain. THey could be nothing, which all signs are pointing to that, or they could be fatal. All i can allow myself to dwell on right now, is that I trust the Lord and i have faith in His purposes. Thank you for that little piece from the book. I have read it over and over and will continue to do so. Blessings!
natalie - hi!
ive read your blog for awhile and even posted about your blog once {http://theroefam.blogspot.com/2009/07/daily-dose.html} but i dont remember if ive ever commented?
anyway we read that book last year in our bible study and so many parts of it did speak to me. {minus the cheese :)}
enjoy it!
and wow i love your photography – so inspiring to this novice
Kate - Meg, That message is wonderful! Thank you for sharing it!
julia - How do Fruit Loops manage to stay in your house???? Those would be gone in a SECOND around here.
Meredith - You crack me up. The cover of that book does look like a feminine product ad now that you mention it. One of my favourite reads, even though I wouldn’t call myself anxious either. Coincidentally, we’re doing the no-sugar thing also. My daughter’s on a special diet for her epilepsy, so we’re doing it as a family. Oh my giddy aunt. It’s tough going, but I’m assured that after two weeks, the cravings will subside. Protein shakes with frozen berries are our saving grace. Hope you have a great weekend. Meredith xo.
Anita - When you have nothing to say, your pictures are awesome. I am a color lover and the white blanket of snow here currently is just making those colors pop right out. Maybe I’ll get out my BIG box of crayons 🙂
amy - funny…about the title and the feminine product ad cover.=) what a great read, though! and is that beautiful bird plaque made by jeanne oliver?=) thanks for sharing!
Casey - Love your thoughts on the cover of the book. You keep me laughing, Meg!
Kelly - That is a great book! Thank you for sharing that today! Happy weekend!
Tracy - hang in there!! No sugar – the rewards will be so good!!
LOVE those happy-colorful pictures…they warmed my heart on this gray-day.
AND – that snippet from that fabulous book. That completely touched my heart. Thank you for that this Friday!
TGIF ~
Diana - Meg…. I buy the individual fruit cups, applesauce, those kinds of things for us. And blocks of cheese. And apples. Oranges. Good food like that. When you get a craving, cut a chunk of cheese. Grab an applesauce snack pack. A couple or so carrots from a bag of those little “baby” carrots. Or one of those “cutie” oranges in your jar up there. Those things are small and will curb your craving, get you by until it passes. And won’t hurt your appetite for mealtime later. And are GOOD for your body! All those things are inexpensive — especially compared to the sugar goodies! If you don’t like applesauce, look at those shelves and see what’s there you like. YOU CAN DO IT, MEG!!
I like those red and white stockings!! Very cool! 😀
paige - sounds like a wonderful book
i struggle with fear issues ….maybe i should go buy it now!
love all those cute as heck photos meg
xo
Hattie - Wow I might have to get that book. Loving the socks, supper cute!
Ivy Bettinger Smith - We read this book in my bible study last session…it was life changing for me! I LOVED it. I WAS an anxious person but now I trust that He will always take care of me and I dont need to be anxious or worry. God doesn’t like it when we worry b/c he feels like we aren’t trusting him!!
Rachel - That sounds like a very good book!
You might try a detox. It is supposed to “reset” your cravings.
Courtney Walsh - That is good stuff. I struggle with the trust issue in all aspects of my life…especially the little things, oddly. Why is that? I can hand over bigger things easier but the small things I assume God doesn’t care about those as much.
And I think it’s the little things that matter the most.
Holly - I fought the urge to have a diet coke at lunch today and I am so glad I did now. I really dont know if I could fight off a cupcake! Hope you have a good weekend Meg!
Flower Patch Farmgirl - I think Rachel really helped define trust and faith for me…I don’t think I’ll ever view it the same way again. I hope not.
And Oh…I’m the worst at judging a book by its cover. Literally. I can see a shady looking character on the street and see all kinds of intrigue and fun and warmth behind the “unique” facade, but if I see a bad cover on an actual book? Nope.
Lisa - That’s a great book! I have recommended it to so many friends. I think I need to read it again…
alyssa - I hear ya. You helped inspire me to go the no-sugar route. I hate it, but I’ve been meaning to do it for some time now. There is never a good time. So, yesterday, I made myself do it. Literally NO sugar. NO bread. Basically nothing that tastes good. It sucks. How about you? Are you eating NO sugar, or just the obvious stuff. Good luck. You can do it!