Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Why not a selfie with a Palomino?
Believe it or not, I've always wanted to love a horse. And Palominos have always been my fave horse (in looks).
Well, today I finally found a mild, sweet, gentle Palomino named Banana that I can really love and have zero fear of. And she loved me.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
And if someone runs into my husband...
please feel free to back me up and tell him to stop cooking bacon and grilling steak inside on the inside gas grill on the island. I can not stand the smell of meat and bacon cooking at 9-10 p.m. or 8 a.m. or any time for that matter. I can not stand for one more second to have my newly deep-cleaned kitchen that smells like a combination of lemon scented kitchen cleaner and Yankee candles polluted and deeply penetrated with the smell of meat on meat on meat and filled with caked on nasty grease everywhere.
i can no longer cope with living in a house that smells like Texas de Brazil. It's totally grossing me out. If you intended to live this way, Adrian Bishop, you should have married a man.
(I posted this one my fb status and this was my brother's response to this - and my response to him.) - and then Adrian's response via text is below that.
i can no longer cope with living in a house that smells like Texas de Brazil. It's totally grossing me out. If you intended to live this way, Adrian Bishop, you should have married a man.
(I posted this one my fb status and this was my brother's response to this - and my response to him.) - and then Adrian's response via text is below that.
And Adrian's response via text:
Monday, September 22, 2014
Kitty, Cow, Abs
Abby wants everyone in the world to see her kitty, her cow, and her.
She arranged and posed this natural setting and layout herself.
She arranged and posed this natural setting and layout herself.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
MY SIL ROCKS
So, my fave SIL Holly took a trip to Seattle last week. Among her other touristy pics like the Seattle Space Needle, she took a picture outside the first Starbucks ever (that's my girl).
Here's the pic she took of it. Apparently she also stole a cute little Seattle boy and put him in her large purse as well.
Here's the pic she took of it. Apparently she also stole a cute little Seattle boy and put him in her large purse as well.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Can't stop crafting and decorating this week
I made this today. I found the initial postcards and had the idea to do our family name to put on the wall in the mudroom. Then I found this white wood frame that matches the cubbies in the mudroom perfectly. Then I had black poster board cut to fit, taped on the postcards, windexed the glass inside and out, and presto: Modern art by Sarah.
The size of it is 33" long and 13" tall, so it's a nice size. I can't wait to hang it.
If this preaching gig ever doesn't work out, I'm going to open my own interior decorating company called "Decorating on a Dime."
The size of it is 33" long and 13" tall, so it's a nice size. I can't wait to hang it.
If this preaching gig ever doesn't work out, I'm going to open my own interior decorating company called "Decorating on a Dime."
Priority Number 1 Today
Andrew wrote/drew this for me at the kitchen table when he was 4. I had just taught him how to write most of his letters in the 2 months prior to this. He was sitting at the table asking me letter-by-letter how to spell Momma (while I was busy doing something in the kitchen). Then he ran over so proud and gave it to me. I loved it so much that I always wanted to have it matted, framed, and hung above my desk - but I never found time to get it done.
I moved it to priority number 1 today and got it done.
I moved it to priority number 1 today and got it done.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
I loved this. Well said. Worth reading.
How To Be Insanely Awesome
15 September 2014
You want to be insanely awesome, right?
And you want to do God’s will.
You believe He has big things for you.
But the problem is, you don’t know where to start.
To make things even more difficult, you don’t want to think too highly of yourself.
Or maybe you’re not even meant to be insanely awesome?
You know you could be, but it’s not about you, is it?
Here are the facts:
Fact: The Christian life is obviously more about how awesome God is and what He’s done, rather than you or I being insanely awesome.
Fact: Where, or how you spend eternity, isn’t determined by whether you are insanely awesome. It is about calling on the name of Jesus.
But…
Fact: After you discover Christ, you're responsible for how you live, for what your life amounts to, and for the way you share the Gospel.
Life after accepting Jesus as Lord is about living under His Lordship.
You can choose normal, ordinary, and boring.
Or
You can choose “insanely awesome”!
That decision will change everything!
What do I mean by insanely awesome?
Call it what you will; being faithful, on fire, full on, living to your potential.
It’s all about a life that constantly points people to Jesus.
It means you share the Gospel with your words and your actions.
It means you reflect God and His goodness in everything you do.
Insanely awesome, means you steward your life, you don’t waste it.
It means you care about all the little details that other people say don’t matter.
Being insanely awesome is a choice to be different.
Absolutely different!
It’s about taking on Godly qualities, Godly wisdom, and Godly ways.
Complete abandonment to Him.
Doing that will set you apart from most people.
Most Christians could be insanely awesome, but they’re not.
Most people aren’t prepared to do what it takes.
Most people settle for ordinary and NOT insanely awesome!
Think about the people you admire. They’re not on your ‘insanely awesome list’ by chance.
If you want to take the challenge of being insanely awesome it won’t be easy, but it is possible.
Here are 11 qualities you’ll need to become insanely awesome:
1. Know What You Believe and Why.
If you’re going to do amazing things for God, to be insanely awesome, then it’s going to take deep conviction. You’re going to need more than an average faith, the truth of Jesus is going to have to burn in you!
You’ll need to become like the prophet Jeremiah who couldn’t hold the word of God in. In Jeremiah 20:9b it says;
“…his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
2. Know Who You Are and Who You’re Not.
People who are insanely awesome don’t try to be something, or someone they’re not. They know who they are in Christ. They’re not perfect, but they are new in Him. The old has gone and the new has come. Old behaviour, old thinking, old ways are gone.
‘So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ – 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
3. Be Super Confident, But Incredibly Humble.
You’re going to need to walk in super confidence, but also manage the tension of incredible humility. This confidence isn’t in how great you are, but how great God is. And, this humility comes from knowing how great you’re not!
‘Come, let us bow down in worship,Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; For he is our God. And we are the people of his pasture,The flock under his care.’ – Psalm 95:6-7
4. Make Excuses Something You Don’t Relate To.
Anyone can see problems. Only the insanely awesome amongst us get about finding solutions. Most people make excuses. Insanely awesome people don’t even think about making up a reason why not to help, or why not to get involved, they look beyond limitations and think bigger.
‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ – Philippians 4:13
5. Leave Fear Behind You.
Most people fear from time to time. But to be insanely awesome this needs to become a thing of the past. Why would you fear if the God who created all things, and rules over all things, is with you? You have no need to fear. Even death is subject to our God. Nothing, even the worst of things, can stand in the way of His will being outworked. Leave fear behind you!
‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ – Isaiah 41:10
6. Have a Crazy, Impossible Plan.
To be insanely awesome you are going to need a crazy, impossible plan. A dream so big that you know you can’t do it without God. In fact, a dream so big that everyone knows that God has to be in it if it’s going to happen. And when it does, all the glory automatically goes to Him.
‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’ – Ephesians 3:20-21
7. Love People More Than Your Crazy Plan.
Insanely awesome people make plans that serve, care for, and bring hope to others. Their crazy plans aren’t for their own benefit. That’s what makes them insanely awesome people. They don’t see their plan, their dream, or what they’re doing as more important than loving God and serving others. That’s what being insanely awesome takes!
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ – John 3:16
8. Be Outrageously Consistent.
Insane awesomeness comes at the price of day in, day out, consistency. It’s this building a life of outrageous consistency that will make you insanely awesome. It’s choosing to make the right choices over and over again. To avoid sin. To make plans, but to seek God in all the little decisions along the way. It’s about seeing everything as His. All of it. Every step. It’s about walking the talk.
‘The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.’ – Proverbs 16:9
9. Determine to Be Fruitful, No Matter What.
Fruit grows on healthy plants. To be insanely awesome we need to have a determination to grow fruit. This is a choice to remain healthy. To stay connected. It doesn’t matter what others do. It doesn’t matter what choices they make. To be insanely awesome you are going to have to choose fruitfulness every time. The God kind of fruit. Despite what others say to you, or about you, remaining connected to the true Vine and being fruitful is the only choice for insane awesomeness.
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ – John 15:5
10. Think Long Term, Live Short Term.
To be insanely awesome you’ll need to plan, strategise, think, and pray about the future. Your earthly and eternal future. Yet, even with this long term view, you’ll need to live day to day. The difficulty is in the tension of doing the daily without losing sight of the big picture. The daily is often full of routine. Routine can become boring and hard work if the long term isn’t kept in good perspective. Each day is a building block for the next. An insanely awesome life is one where the days aren’t wasted and they end up building a magnificent structure of a life.
‘Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”’ – James 4:13-15
11. Never, Ever, Ever, Give Up.
It’s easier said than done, but giving up, for the insanely awesome, is not an option. To give up in any area, would be to admit defeat. To admit that something other than the power of God in us has triumphed. This is not to say you can’t change tack along the way. It’s the attitude that matters. Insanely awesome people keep their eyes firmly fixed on Christ and everything else is secondary. Never for a minute is giving up on anything that God has ordained what insanely awesome contemplate. They press on!
‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ – Philippians 3:14
I know what you’re thinking.
You may have gotten this far and are thinking, ‘who could ever do any of that?’
You can!
That’s the point. Being insanely awesome isn’t easy, comfortable, or normal, but you can do it.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, you can do it!
In His power and strength, you can be all God wants you to be and do all He intends you to do.
It may take everything in you.
It will take hard work, determination, and grit.
In the end though, would you rather finish your life having done your absolute best and having become insanely awesome, or would you prefer to settle for a half hearted, ordinary, normal, even lukewarm, average kind of life?
God deserves more than average.
You’ve got more than average in you.
He deserves you to be insanely awesome, so go for it!
Over To You...
Rich
You want to be insanely awesome, right?
And you want to do God’s will.
You believe He has big things for you.
But the problem is, you don’t know where to start.
To make things even more difficult, you don’t want to think too highly of yourself.
Or maybe you’re not even meant to be insanely awesome?
You know you could be, but it’s not about you, is it?
Here are the facts:
Fact: The Christian life is obviously more about how awesome God is and what He’s done, rather than you or I being insanely awesome.
Fact: Where, or how you spend eternity, isn’t determined by whether you are insanely awesome. It is about calling on the name of Jesus.
But…
Fact: After you discover Christ, you're responsible for how you live, for what your life amounts to, and for the way you share the Gospel.
Life after accepting Jesus as Lord is about living under His Lordship.
You can choose normal, ordinary, and boring.
Or
You can choose “insanely awesome”!
That decision will change everything!
What do I mean by insanely awesome?
Call it what you will; being faithful, on fire, full on, living to your potential.
It’s all about a life that constantly points people to Jesus.
It means you share the Gospel with your words and your actions.
It means you reflect God and His goodness in everything you do.
Insanely awesome, means you steward your life, you don’t waste it.
It means you care about all the little details that other people say don’t matter.
Being insanely awesome is a choice to be different.
Absolutely different!
It’s about taking on Godly qualities, Godly wisdom, and Godly ways.
Complete abandonment to Him.
Doing that will set you apart from most people.
Most Christians could be insanely awesome, but they’re not.
Most people aren’t prepared to do what it takes.
Most people settle for ordinary and NOT insanely awesome!
Think about the people you admire. They’re not on your ‘insanely awesome list’ by chance.
If you want to take the challenge of being insanely awesome it won’t be easy, but it is possible.
Here are 11 qualities you’ll need to become insanely awesome:
1. Know What You Believe and Why.
If you’re going to do amazing things for God, to be insanely awesome, then it’s going to take deep conviction. You’re going to need more than an average faith, the truth of Jesus is going to have to burn in you!
You’ll need to become like the prophet Jeremiah who couldn’t hold the word of God in. In Jeremiah 20:9b it says;
“…his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
2. Know Who You Are and Who You’re Not.
People who are insanely awesome don’t try to be something, or someone they’re not. They know who they are in Christ. They’re not perfect, but they are new in Him. The old has gone and the new has come. Old behaviour, old thinking, old ways are gone.
‘So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ – 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
3. Be Super Confident, But Incredibly Humble.
You’re going to need to walk in super confidence, but also manage the tension of incredible humility. This confidence isn’t in how great you are, but how great God is. And, this humility comes from knowing how great you’re not!
‘Come, let us bow down in worship,Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; For he is our God. And we are the people of his pasture,The flock under his care.’ – Psalm 95:6-7
4. Make Excuses Something You Don’t Relate To.
Anyone can see problems. Only the insanely awesome amongst us get about finding solutions. Most people make excuses. Insanely awesome people don’t even think about making up a reason why not to help, or why not to get involved, they look beyond limitations and think bigger.
‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ – Philippians 4:13
5. Leave Fear Behind You.
Most people fear from time to time. But to be insanely awesome this needs to become a thing of the past. Why would you fear if the God who created all things, and rules over all things, is with you? You have no need to fear. Even death is subject to our God. Nothing, even the worst of things, can stand in the way of His will being outworked. Leave fear behind you!
‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ – Isaiah 41:10
6. Have a Crazy, Impossible Plan.
To be insanely awesome you are going to need a crazy, impossible plan. A dream so big that you know you can’t do it without God. In fact, a dream so big that everyone knows that God has to be in it if it’s going to happen. And when it does, all the glory automatically goes to Him.
‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’ – Ephesians 3:20-21
7. Love People More Than Your Crazy Plan.
Insanely awesome people make plans that serve, care for, and bring hope to others. Their crazy plans aren’t for their own benefit. That’s what makes them insanely awesome people. They don’t see their plan, their dream, or what they’re doing as more important than loving God and serving others. That’s what being insanely awesome takes!
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ – John 3:16
8. Be Outrageously Consistent.
Insane awesomeness comes at the price of day in, day out, consistency. It’s this building a life of outrageous consistency that will make you insanely awesome. It’s choosing to make the right choices over and over again. To avoid sin. To make plans, but to seek God in all the little decisions along the way. It’s about seeing everything as His. All of it. Every step. It’s about walking the talk.
‘The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.’ – Proverbs 16:9
9. Determine to Be Fruitful, No Matter What.
Fruit grows on healthy plants. To be insanely awesome we need to have a determination to grow fruit. This is a choice to remain healthy. To stay connected. It doesn’t matter what others do. It doesn’t matter what choices they make. To be insanely awesome you are going to have to choose fruitfulness every time. The God kind of fruit. Despite what others say to you, or about you, remaining connected to the true Vine and being fruitful is the only choice for insane awesomeness.
‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ – John 15:5
10. Think Long Term, Live Short Term.
To be insanely awesome you’ll need to plan, strategise, think, and pray about the future. Your earthly and eternal future. Yet, even with this long term view, you’ll need to live day to day. The difficulty is in the tension of doing the daily without losing sight of the big picture. The daily is often full of routine. Routine can become boring and hard work if the long term isn’t kept in good perspective. Each day is a building block for the next. An insanely awesome life is one where the days aren’t wasted and they end up building a magnificent structure of a life.
‘Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”’ – James 4:13-15
11. Never, Ever, Ever, Give Up.
It’s easier said than done, but giving up, for the insanely awesome, is not an option. To give up in any area, would be to admit defeat. To admit that something other than the power of God in us has triumphed. This is not to say you can’t change tack along the way. It’s the attitude that matters. Insanely awesome people keep their eyes firmly fixed on Christ and everything else is secondary. Never for a minute is giving up on anything that God has ordained what insanely awesome contemplate. They press on!
‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ – Philippians 3:14
I know what you’re thinking.
You may have gotten this far and are thinking, ‘who could ever do any of that?’
You can!
That’s the point. Being insanely awesome isn’t easy, comfortable, or normal, but you can do it.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, you can do it!
In His power and strength, you can be all God wants you to be and do all He intends you to do.
It may take everything in you.
It will take hard work, determination, and grit.
In the end though, would you rather finish your life having done your absolute best and having become insanely awesome, or would you prefer to settle for a half hearted, ordinary, normal, even lukewarm, average kind of life?
God deserves more than average.
You’ve got more than average in you.
He deserves you to be insanely awesome, so go for it!
Over To You...
Rich
"One In A Million You" by Larry Graham (the song my dad picked for our Daddy-Daughter dance at my wedding)
I haven't heard this song since my wedding almost 7 years ago.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
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