His Grace, His Gift

Have you ever had one of those days where you wish you could just start over? Well, that's how my morning was going today. They were just little things, but the little things added up, and when my sweet girl went down for her nap I seriously contemplated napping too, in hopes to wake up and start over.

My cup literally runneth over ... pun intended! I spilled coffee everywhere ... my dogs tracked dirt through the house ... I tried to do laundry without realizing we are out of detergent (and when I do laundry, I start the water, throw everything in, and then pour in detergent - so needless to say everything was soaked before I realized we were out). Little things, I know, but to top it off our plans to get our Christmas tree this morning were halted by the rain. Which really meant that the dirt the dogs tracked in was mud! We had a great time visiting family in VA for Thanksgiving, so this was the first chance to get our tree and I was really looking forward to it. I just LOVE decorating for Christmas and we usually start with the tree so I was really disappointed when our plans to get it today fell through.

I decided to not take that nap but to go to God's word in hopes to improve my attitude and my spirits. I spent some time reading and praying (specific prayers for some of you) and came across this verse. "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:26). It made me realize that we have many opportunities to start over with the Lord ... that He gives us grace upon grace, he lets us start over and over and over again. He forgives our spills, when we track mud all over His house, and he cleans us time after time. I then realized that my focus was on the wrong Christmas decorations. We have this amazing grace because of the birth of God's son, because of the gift of Jesus. So, the tree can wait. I decided to pull out my favorite decoration - my Willow Tree nativity - and I thanked God for His son. I'm thankful for this morning, for all of the little things that happened, because without it my focus would be in the wrong place. I've decided that from now on, this nativity will always be the first decoration we put out at our house. Because it's really not a decoration at all - it's the "reason for the season". Of course I will still love every second of picking out and decorating our tree with my family, but  I'm going to do my best to keep the nativity as the focal point in our house, instead of the tree, so that our focus will stay on Jesus.

Here is a pic ... I'm obsessed with burlap these days (and mason jars) so I'm going to try to incorporate them into my decorating. We are doing Christmas on a tight budget this year, so instead of buying any new decorations  I'm attempting to re-purpose and reuse all that we already have.

And for the little one ... we have the "Fisher Price Little People Nativity". It sure does warm my heart to see my precious baby playing with His baby!

Thanks for reading friends ... May Your Cup Runneth Over! (And I don't mean your coffee cup :)

Starting a blog!

Hello family and friends!

After thinking and praying about starting a blog - I have decided to just do it! I love reading other blogs (probably because I'm nosey :) and hope that maybe some of you will love reading this one too. I can't promise that it will always be funny or insightful but I can promise to do my best to share life with you as openly and honestly as possible, to encourage you through the wonderful messiness of life. I have always loved to journal and will probably still keep up with one because I love putting a pen to paper but decided to embrace technology and take a stab at blogging too.

Part of the purpose behind this blog is selfish because I love the idea of keeping track of life - and life with a 1 year old is always exciting! But part of the purpose is also to share - share that exciting life with you but also to share my love and faith in Jesus with you. My pastor has recently been preaching about using all of the technology at our fingertips to impact the world in a positive way. So I'm going to do my best! Celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I was reminded again how very blessed I am and how the good Lord has given me more than enough. I chose "May Your Cup Runneth Over" for the title of the blog because of Psalm 23:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (King James Version)

I pray that your cup will runneth over as well ... that the Lord will provide you with more than enough than you will ever need. I find myself saying "My Cup Runneth Over" to myself when I feel full, when I feel so very grateful that tears fill my eyes. I pray that for you as well!

Had to share with you just one of the reasons why my life feels SO full ...

I hope that you have enjoyed reading - my hope was that this first post would make an impact, would encourage or lift someone up. I plan on posting about anything and everything. Life as a stay at home mom and wife, struggles and successes as I learn to sew and embroider, photography attempts, DIY projects, faith and failure, everything in between ... hope you come back. Happy Reading!