I couldn't have said it better myself...

I read the blog, Between Here and Home, pretty much everyday. While I don't know Christy in person, she has really encouraged me in my walk with the Lord more than she will ever know. I wanted to pass along this particular blog she wrote regarding 2009. Its so encouraging and such a godly way to start the new year. The one thing that I would add to what she says is that as we look at the empty calendar for the next year....nothing written, nothing known....we can know that over the next 363 days, even though we will not know the trials or joys we will face, God knows. He goes before us!!! He knows what lies ahead and has already seen each day. We can trust Him to carry us through anything we face. I think the biggest reminder I have for myself is to praise Him as He carries me through the joys of life. So often, I get caught up in the excitement of life and realize later that I am able to have those joys because He gave them to me. Because of His grace alone....nothing I deserve, but His amazing love for me. Some years we go through and don't see many joys, but that doesn't mean there weren't blessings. Trials are blessings!!! They are blessings because we get to see God work! WOW!! He allows us to see Him working in our lives. We have the opportunity to serve Him and trust Him! We have the opportunity to be more like Christ at the end of the trial. So, no matter what kind of year you and I have, I pray that we rejoice in ALL the blessings (the joys and the trials)!

I never really made New Year's Resolutions until New Years Day 2004. I have actually kept them too! So, I am keeping with that tradition I have given myself. Here are my resolutions for 2009:

1. Live Healthy! ~ This includes my spiritual life and having that personal relationship with Christ....letting Him into all areas of my life and having Him be my best friend. Eating less and healthier....I don't want to "diet" for the rest of my life! Workout more...not make excuses why I "can't" or "don't have time." This is the only body God gives me and I want to glorify Him with it in all areas.

2. Love my family! ~ I know this sounds like a "given," but I think that most of us take for granted of our families. We worry more about serving our churches and communities than we do our own families. We take advantage of them and expect them to serve us. We love them, but also hold them to certain standards. I want to love with no strings attached. I don't really know what this looks like yet, but I have been very convicted about it lately and know its something that God wants me to work on.

I haven't picked my verse for the year....but I did find one on a website that gives you your "birth verse." The first time I read mine, I didn't really like it.....it didn't "SPEAK" to me. But once I read it again, it really fit with my 2nd resolution. Here is my birth verse:

Proverbs 8:21 (NIV)
"bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full."
I want to bestow wealth on those that love ME! Why wouldn't I??? To make their treasuries full...not necessarily monetary, but giving them back love. Making them feel "full" on love! What better witness of Christ can we have than to love as He did. When we love and serve others, we no longer appear to be the same as the rest of the world. People see a difference! That difference is Christ and we can share that with them!

Two of my favorite verses are:
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
I love this verse because in both of my resolutions, I don't want to conform to the world's standards. In all I do, I want Christ to be seen and glorified! I want others to know Him. If I am living as the world does, then no one will see Christ in me. Why live healthy? Because taking care of what God has given me is not only being a good steward of my possessions, but its the vessel that can carry out the gospel. Why love my family? Because, serving and loving show Christ and lead people to Him.

John 3:17
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
God is a loving God! He didn't send Christ to condemn everyone and make us feel unworthy. That is what Satan does. God IS love....God IS truth! He desires that ALL people be saved. I want to represent the loving God that HE IS!!! Not the "god" the world tries to say he is. He is my Savior! And He can be your Savior too! No sin is too horrible or too "bad." His forgiveness is uncomprehendable and so amazing and he extends it to every person. All you have to do is accept it.

All you have to do for salvation is BELIEVE that Christ took your place and paid for YOUR sin on the cross and rose three days later defeating sin! Its that simple! BELIEF! God sent His Son for you! Christ lowered Himself for you!

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him will have everlasting life.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!

Welcome to 2009!!!!
I will blog about Christmas very soon!!! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday. I will be thinking about the last year and what I want to adjust this year and picking out my 2009 Verse that I use throughout the year. I will share all of that with you when I start blogging again.

Enjoy your families!!! Love you all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We went to Tulsa this last weekend to celebrate the December birthdays in my family...and to take family Christmas pictures. I will post those as soon as I get them. But here are a few from the weekend. Ken and I went to the Nutcracker...Tulsa's version is a little different from the traditional. Its worth seeing once, but I really miss the traditional version. It was also the first time Ken and I travelled with both dogs. You've all seen Ruger, but I think this is the first picture I have posted of Lexis. She is really a great dog!!! Her and Ruger get along so well...and they are hysterical to watch play!!! Anyway----this is a picture of them sharing the backseat. :)

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I probably won't be back on here until after the holidays. Hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas and New Year! I hope that you all see Christ not only in the holidays, but everyday! I am so thankful that we can celebrate His birth and His coming!!! Without Him, we would have no way of being in fellowship with God the Father! And now, the moment we believe Christ has paid for our sins and taken our place, we can rest assured that we have an eternal life with Him! We get to celebrate that wonderful gift this week....and everyday! I pray that you all have a safe holiday season and that God will bless you in ways you didn't expect!!

Love you all!!! ~Beth

Welcome to My Home

I haven't written in over two weeks! There has just been so much going on getting ready for Christmas that I haven't really had time to write....and there just hasn't been that much to say unless you want my day-to-day routine. Anyway---a lot of the women that are blogging are showing off their Christmas decorations for the Hooked on Holiday House Tours, so I thought I would do the same. Every year I add a few more things. Here is my home:

My Nutcracker collection. They all sit on my buffet in the entry way of the house. I try to buy at least one new one every year. And, my mom gets me a new one every year as a gift too!

This is my new one that I bought. I liked it b/c its different from any other one I've seen.

These are my LARGE nutcrackers. I bought my first one in high school at Mervyn's the day after Christmas. Its the red and blue one. I think my mom bought the rest of them over time.

This is my new nutcracker from mom this year. I think it might be more for Kenny than me. ;) Its a police officer!!!

I have two trees every year and this one sits in the den. This is the fun one with ALL the ornaments I can find to put on it. A couple years ago, mom gave me all my ornaments from growing up at home, and they now all go on this tree. I can't say which is my favorite b/c they all have some kind of meaning, but I added a few pictures of some of the ornaments. I wish I could put them all on here, but that take FOREVER!

This is my nativity ornament...if you look closely, you can see Joseph (on your right) and Mary and Baby Jesus in the center.

The rest of the den has an assortment of decorations. They have everything that has to do with Christmas. I bought a new advent house and it will probably go in the den next year.

I actually keep this angel and glass box up year round b/c I think she is so beautiful, but they were actually meant to be for Christmas. The block says, "Wise Men Still Seek Him." I keep it up year round as well, reminding me at all times that the wise still seek Him.

Next to the angel is this beautiful and festive new addition!!! My mom gave me this the last time I was home. I love it!!! It definitely gets me in the spirit when I look at it. :) And after Christmas, I get to take that big log to Kenny's wood burning stove! I love that thing!!! It makes his living room SO warm!!!

And, right next to that the log I have this. I love these Pottery Barn candles!!! They are hard to take pictures of b/c the flash makes them very shiny....but I love them. All three of these things sit on my fireplace. If I had a mantle...it would make my fireplace PERFECT!!!! And since I don't have a mantle, I have to hang my stockings from some shelves. :(

This is Kenny's stocking!!! YAY!!! I am so glad it finally belongs to someone....and he is the PERFECT someone for me!!! :) His reindeer ornament is from my mom. Its too heavy for his little tree, so I "stole" it and put it with his stocking. He asked me why my mom andI like elk so much...THEY ARE REINDEER!!!! NOT ELK!!! They can be elk the day AFTER Christmas!!!

And this is my stocking! The ornament that is hanging with it is also too heavy for my tree. Its from Pottery Barn and has a reindeer inside the glass ball.

This book is from my grandma and sits between our stockings.

My mom painted the two little pictures above. You can see the "Joy" one, but the other one glared from the flash. Its red with an abstract, gold Christmas tree. And the church is my ornament from my parents this year. It plays "Silent Night" sung by ELVIS!

Then as you walk from the den into the dining room this is probably what you would see first:

This is the centerpiece on my dining room table. Its an idea I got from Pottery Barn.

This is one of my Nativity Scenes I have. This one sits on the built in hutch in the dining room. I love it b/c each piece is so tall. What you can't see are the 3 wisemen and the shepherd off to the side. I only bring this one out at Christmas.

From the dining room, I take you into the formal living room. This is where I put all the "pretty" things and make everything coordinate.

This is my second Nativity. This one actually stays out all year. Its a reminder that everyday of our life, we should celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to this earth as a human, solely, to die for us so that we can be reconciled to God the Father. That is worth celebrating everyday and not just waiting until December.

And finally my tree!

And my cutie little tree topper...again from Pottery Barn (LOVE day-after-Christmas shopping!)

And, always my favorite, is my tree lit up at night! One of my favorite things about my house is that there is a HUGE window that faces the street! I love it so much that I can have my tree there every Christmas!

Now that you have seen all of my treasures from my favorite holiday, here is my imperfection. I love looking at everyone's Christmas decorations...and I have to say that I get a little jealous of the decorating bug that some people have. I wish I could put things together like they do. What I have realized is that I CAN put them together...I just don't have that visual talent they have. I am so thankful that God gives us all different talents and gifts....and that we can teach people, take things from others, learn from them, and use them in our lives. I am thankful for all the people who blog their Christmas decorations so I can see them in real life....I get wonderful ideas and it will help as I am "day-after" shopping. This is my favorite holiday....I love the music (which I honestly listen to NON-STOP from Thanksgiving until Christmas), I love the food, the get-togethers, going to see The Nutcracker, visiting family, buying presents, receiving presents, going to look at Christmas lights, and just the warm and coziness you feel going to other people's homes. Its all fabulous!!! So, no matter what little imperfections I am about to share with you, I have to remember that they build character and it just means we live real lives. :)

My first is that my "fun" tree with all the ornaments has no lights this year. I even plugged them in to make sure they worked before I got them on the tree....but guess what? Once on the tree, the decided not to work. So, there are no pretty lights on that tree. My solution is to find orange ones since I bleed orange! ;)

The second is my reindeer on top of my piano need to be cleaned. I haven't had time. Christmas snuck up on me this year and I just haven't had the time (or made the time) to clean the silver. But they are beautiful and I love them! I so badly wanted to buy them when they first came out at Pottery Barn , but there was NO way I could afford them. My mom and I were shopping at Hobby Lobby one year and there they were!!! And in my price range! I absolutely love them!

And, my favorite story of all!!! The magic of taking pictures is that you only get to see what I want you to see. I bought my first pre-lit tree when Ruger was 1.5 years old. Now, that is definitely still considered a puppy...or a 10.5 year old kid, right? Anyway---I had it up and it was so pretty and I was so excited....and then I came home from work one day....

The bottom portion of the tree wasn't working...I looked and looked to find the problem. The problem was my puppy had decided to chew on one of the lights. Thankfully it wasn't plugged in...however, I never found the bulb! So as you can see from below...my wonderful dog and the tree where only 3/4 of the lights work!

I love the imperfections of life. It gives us areas to grow. It shows our weaknesses and that we are human and can only do things through Christ. It reminds me that I am fallend and need a Savior! It reminds me that I can ask others for help. They love extending grace to me just as much as I love extending it to them. I love my home b/c its mine. I love my decorations b/c they have meaning...and as I get older, they will change and I will continue to add.

Holiday Help...

Hello Fellow-Works-For-Me-Wednesday-Bloggers!

Ok...I found these two websites yesterday and they have already helped with the holiday shopping. I wanted to pass them along to all of you! They really are pretty fabulous!!!!

The first one gives coupon codes for websites. Yesterday I found one for Eddie Bauer that gives 30% off and free shipping!!! They have them for most every website you are shopping from. This can beat going to the mall if you can get free shipping AND a discount!!!
http://www.retailmenot.com/

The second one is really helpful too. When you find something you want to buy, go to this website and put in what the item is, the website you found it, and the price. It will give you a list of website you can go to and buy it CHEAPER. Then you can cross reference all the websites with the above website and see which one offers the best coupons....giving you the best deal!
http://www.beatmyprice.com/

Hope these work for all of you and help you save some money!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day was SO very nice. I know I already mentioned it, but its worth mentioning again. This year, both my brothers went to their in-laws for Thanksgiving so it was just my parents and me. I invited them to come to Stillwater. They got there around 9:30am and I had breakfast ready with Sausage and Grit casserole (thank you Paula Deen), pumpkin bread, and mimosas! :) Mom brought the famous (and dad's favorite, can't-have-the-holidays-without-them) sausage balls. Kenny was able to stop by for breakfast too. The rest of the day, my mom and I cooked. We made Cornish hens, sweet potato balls (again, Paula Deen), proscuitto wrapped asparagus, yeast rolls (not homemade), cornbread dressing, peach cobbler (Kenny's favorite), Texas sheet-cake, and Bourbon Pecan Pie (AGAIN, Paula Deen...I think you could say we had a Paula Deen Thanksgiving....but we're not complaining...it was ALL very good!). It was fun to cook and listen to Christmas music. Dad watched football and played with the dogs. They brought Frasier.....so Ruger had some company too! Kenny got off work around 6:30 and we had dinner ready. It was so relaxing! After dinner, we played this TableTopics "game" and then watched OSU Basketball. Mom and dad stayed until 10ish...maybe a little after....and then headed back to Tulsa. I am so glad we were able to do this! It was really fun! Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was wonderful!!!

Finishing up the 30 Days of Thankfulness

I left my computer alone this weekend! It was so nice to have an enjoyable weekend with family and NO WORK!!!! Here are my final 4 days...

November 27th - THANKSGIVING!!! I love thanksgiving for so many reasons...It marks the holiday season for me! I love anything pumpkin! Its my first holiday break from work! Only 3 weeks left of work before our "winter" holiday break! And CHRISTMAS MUSIC BEGINS! :) I have to say the main thing I was thankful for this Thanksgiving was being able to have it at my house in Stillwater! I'm not thankful that I got to stay home or not travel....but I think every girl has that desire for holidays to be celebrated at her house. To be a hostess and have everyone over. I don't get that opportunity very often since all my family lives in Tulsa. I am so thankful that this year I was able to have my parents here AND I am so very thankful that I got to spend Thanksgiving with Ken. He had to work, but he spent what time he could with us. And, when he got off work, we had Thankgiving dinner ready. It was a wonderful and relaxing day!

November 28th - Shopping in Stillwater! I didn't get much Christmas shopping done, but I did start. It was nice to get out and run around without the typical "day after" shopping I usually face in Tulsa. I am also very thankful that I was off work Friday!!! It was so nice to have a long break!!!

November 29th - Football season is over! As much as I love football, I am thankful that Saturday was the end. I now have my weekends back!!! It was hard to find something to be thankful for when we have to play the Sooners and we get beat. It was a frustrating day, but I will spare you from my thoughts....I might have Sooner fans that read this! ;)

November 30th - Staying in PJ's all day! I know, I know....how lazy can I be!!! But, its holiday vacation, right? I actually spent a lot of the day cleaning out my closet....getting out my winter clothes....storing my summer clothes....doing laundry....and there was some tv watching and napping in there too. It was a great day to relax! The perfect Sunday...complete with cold weather, rain, and having elk roast with Ken for dinner (I wasn't in my pj's when he got to the house for dinner)!!!! It was great!