23 before 23

I found a list titled: 23 before 23 on my computer today....

Well, let's just say that is it more like a grand list of 5 before 23 that didn't happen.....

And it was created over 2 years ago!  I really don't know what I was thinking...

My 23 before 23 list :D

1. Learn to dance to The Civil Wars – Dance Me to the End of Love
2. Go sky diving 
3. Visit Portland, Oregon
4. Go hiking in Washington State
5. See Chris Thile in concert

A few, okay 2, of the items on the list would be cool to do but as for the rest....

Christmas favorite songs...

Christmas time with the Turbeville's is lots of fun, I assure you.  I will post pictures later but for now, here are a few of our favorite songs....

Favorite Drive Time Song:
Lifehouse- Between the Raindrops

Dancing in the Kitchen Favorite:
Brenda Lee- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Favorite Song to Sing in the Kitchen:
George Strait- Christmas Cookies

Christmas Season Song:
Joy Williams- Here with Us

And of Course what Christmas would be complete without:
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

I hope you enjoy this season of life and take time to celebrate the Saviors' birth.  Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Merry Christmas!!!
Blessings,
Carolyn

December Weddings

December weddings are my favorite.  They are elegantly filled with white dresses, flowers in an assortment of red, white and green, handsome young men in suites, faces filled smiles and tears, parents of delight and friends of excitement.  They are a symbolic and gorgeous gift.

They remind me of the most wonderful gift of all: Jesus Christ.  Luke 2:11-12: “11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

All weddings are a gift, a gift unity.   

A promise “to be a faithful and true, to “love, comfort and keep,” “forsaking all others,” “remaining true”  “as long as you both shall live,” wedding and endowing “all my worldly goods, in sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, 'til death do us part.”

They are a beautiful union of three: the bride, the groom and God.  They are a lifelong commitment.  They are committing to be faithful, to remain true and pure to one another before friends and family.  They are allowing those dear to them to keep them accountable during sickness and health, poverty and wealth, until they die. They are giving each other their time, affections, wealth and lack thereof.

Wow. That doesn’t leave any room for giving or living erroneously! And then to follow the command in Ephesians 5:22-33:

Wife: love your husband and submit lovingly to him because he is called to love you with a Christ-like love.

Husband: love your wife like Christ sacrificially loves his children.  Love her better than you love yourself.  You would never want your body to go without anything, so don’t let her go without that which you wouldn’t go without. Love her so that she maybe holy and blameless then she will be loved and nurtured like Christ loves the Church.

To love each other and live together for the rest of their lives like that is huge!  This charge is ginormous, yes ginormous. What kind of true and pure love most compel such actions!

Many of my dear friends have married in December, Lizbet, Julianna, and Lindsey.  I am thankful for their weddings and more so for their marriages.  Thankful they accepted the challenge to love like Christ and display his love to the World.  For these sweet friends, and all of my married friends, I pray blessings and a deepening of their love.

Ephesians 6:24 “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”

Here's to days...

Here's to days of...

1. Failing and requiring lots of grace
2. Days when I get up late and the rest is lost
3. Intentional lies that need forgiveness
4.  And glory in the small victories

Thankful: Lizards, clothes and the Gospel

Funny things happen growing up as an American.  For example, I have to fight the culture and the lies that daily bombard me.  I have to learn to be thankful the lizard  I found in my house is not a snake.  I have to learn to be thankful for the 30+ outfits I have in my closet instead of the 20 million cute ones I don't currently own but am obsessing over on Pinterest. (Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE Pinterest, I just need to use it as a tool for my creative juices.)  I have to learn to be thankful for running water and toilets instead of complaining about how the shower sounds when I don't have the water combination.  I have to learn to be thankful for the time spent with my parents instead of wishing we had taken a grander vacation this year.  I have to preach to myself daily of all I can be grateful for. I have been given many earthly things yet I take them for granted daily. 

Not only I have been given many earthly blessing, I have been given heavenly blessings.  Least I never forget the Gospel and the Ultimate blessing that comes through Jesus Christ death, burial and resurrection.  The Ultimate gift I could ever receive the free gifts of mercy and grace that flow abundantly and lavishly from the Cross.

Colossians 3:15-17 reminds me to "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." 

Now that the Word would richly dwell in me in order that I may overflow with thankfulness.

Here are a few blogs that also remind me to be thankful. 

1. Bekah's blog post on the Peruvian dump
2. http://gracefullmama.com/mama-never-said-thered-be-days-like-this/
3. http://gobolivia2013.blogspot.com/

The 5:30 am club

Well, the 5:30 am club met for the first time today and I can safely say both members are alive and awake. (Ask me at 9 pm tonight and you might get another answer....)

In an effort to get the most out of their days, Carolyn Mahoney writes in Shopping for Time about waking up at 5:30 am to start her day with the Lord and phone call to her daughters, the other members of her 5:30 am club.  Her days are fuller and the best use is made out of them because she has gotten up early and started her day before most people are awake. 

A friend and I have begun to embark on this 5:30 am journey as well... Want to join us??? Definitely feel free to text or call us at 5:30 am to see if we are awake.  (I promise I won't hate at you for it.)

This is what it took to get me downstairs this morning :D

Thankful: my daddy

If the chubby cheeks don’t automatically give it away, spend an hour with my dad and I and you will quickly realize we are very similar (in more ways than even we would like to acknowledge). We like the same things.  Dad runs. I run. We run.  Dad reads. I read. We start lots of books and never finish them.  Dad loves backpacking & the outdoors.  I love backpacking & the outdoors.  We go backpacking adventures in the outdoors.  He does triathlons. I would love to have time to do them. He has 7 letters in his 1^st name. I have 7 letters in my 1^st name.

We do the same things: if there is a new diet or a new way of eating dad wants to try and you can bet your bottom dollar I will be the 1^st to join him. We both like quite.  We both retreat from chaos and enjoy solitude.  He listens.  I listen.  He listens to me a whole lot more than I listen to him though…. but I do listen. ;)

We are different: he is an electrical engineer with a shop full of tools and nails.  I know how to spell the words like substation, transmission lines and bucket truck with a closet full of toys and games.   Going further though, Dad is the giver of sound biblical advice.  He is the family theologian.  He speaks.  We listen.  He leads.  We follow. 

I have been blessed by the Father for the protection, strength and security this man offers.  I can honestly say my earthly father is a gift from the heavenly Father.  I the past I haven’t always wanted his advice or wisdom yet when I have obeyed it (not always very compliantly or passively) I was rewarded for my obedience.  The rewards weren’t always immediate or physical or monetary but rewards and blessings happened in return for my obedience.  

No, it’s not Father’s Day but my daddy has blessed my life more than a short blog post can express.  And yes, my dad is still the MAN of the House, the only man in the house with 2 girls and a lovely wife ;) but THE MAN, nonetheless, and the head of our household.  

Daddy, I love you :D