[VIRGIN].

so this is one of my fav drinks... a VIRGIN strawberry daiquiri.

and - yes - i do look and act that silly without the aid of alcohol.

hope that clears up any misconceived notions out there.

coupons!

decided to start the year off with more of a system for couponing...

it's amazing how something cute can motivate you to get more organized and save $!

resolutions

a couple things i hope to do more of in 2010... (call them resolutions if you so desire)

1. taking (more) pictures

2. updating my blog (more)

3. reading (more) books

lots of (more) in there.

i love reading christian fiction books but have been convicted lately to spend my reading time on books that really grow and challenge me. so my goal is to read 1 book/week in 2010. overall... 52 books. if all goes as planned (does it ever?), i shall post what book i most recently finished on my blog.

--

on a different, yet connected note...

ever think someone is a 'lost cause'?

like 'eh, they'll never change'.

been thinking that a lot lately and God has reminded me (for the 50th time) that believing someone can't change really shows that i'm NOT believing that God CAN change the person. so my hopelessness in that person's state really reflects how i'm not hoping and trusting in the Lord (ouch).

i've also seen an ugly result of thinking someone is past the point of no return (anyone else sing that phrase in the phantom of the opera's voice?)... is that...

i stop praying for them.

i stop trying to reach out to them.

i stop caring for them.

i stop loving them.

in blunt terms, why waste my (precious) time to someone who is never going to change (& thus is not worth it)? (double ouch, anyone?)

so what do i take away from all this?

i need to trust that God is indeed mighty to save.

of course i believe this. but i need to remind myself of this constantly.

the more i trust that God is able...

the more i will pray for seemingly lost causes,

the more i will reach out,

the more i will care,

the more i will love,

the more i will give my time investing in others' lives for God's glory.

will my faith in God's ability cause that person to change? by no means. but it will honor God by making me a much more faithful and obedient believer.

maybe this year, my ultimate resolution should be:

*trusting God (more) & thereby being (more) faithful in my calling to love others (more)... and leaving the changing up to God.

"surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear"

-isaiah 59:1

2010.

i'm starting to see how if you update pics to fb... it seems pretty pointless to also update them to your blog. so i'll just show a few pics... to see more, check out fb.

NEW YEAR's EVE

me in my cute new apron baking blueberry muffins.

we celebrate new year's eve by doing things we love...

we baked treats (blueberry muffins and chocolate dipped strawberries),

we made dinner (calzone and pizza),

we watched a movie (the holiday),

we rang in 2010 with strawberry daquiris (mmm),

we played some rollercoaster tycoon (current rediscovered addiction)

sounds low-key but it was definitely what we needed.

SNOW

it also snowed last week!

view from out front door... in between the bushes is our sidewalk. the snow was so beautiful!

COWBOYS

last night, trent and i sported our new dallas cowboys jerseys (thanks mom & dad) as we watched their playoff game against the eagles.

they did so great and are really stepping up their game... 1st playoff win since 1996! hope they keep it up for next week's game against favre's vikings (sunday, 1pm est).

go cowboys! :)