Comfy Cozy- Two Hundred and One through Two Eleven

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords; His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.

who made the great lights-- His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night, His love endures forever.....

to the One who remembered us in our low estate, His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies, His love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever."

Psalms 136:1-9,23-26

Thursday, February 3rd

201) Garage- A garage is definitely a convenience I have not had up until the last year or so, and after this snow storm, I am reminded how often I dreamed of keeping our car tucked away inside of one. Not only does it make leaving easier after a snow or ice storm, but it also helps protect your car from things like hail. One less thing to think about or plan for in the mornings, and that sounds good to me!

202) Affirmation-  Some questions are ever present in my thoughts. They drive me forward. They motivate me and inspire me to do better tomorrow than I did today. Some days I don't hear an answer, but other days I am blessed to hear one. It's not always a yes, but when it is, oh- what a wonderful, encouraging, propelling force.

Is the face that I see in the mirror the one I want others to see?
Do I show in the way that I walk in my life the love that you've given to me?
My heart's desire is to be like you in all that I do, all I am
Do they see Jesus in me?
Do they recognize your face?
Do I communicate your love and your grace?
Do I reflect who you are in the way I choose to be?
Do they see Jesus, Jesus in me?

Well it's amazing that you'd ever use me, but use me the way you will
Help me to hold out a heart of compassion and grace
A heart that your Spirit fills
May I show forgiveness and mercy the same way you've shown it to me

Well I want to show all the world that You are the reason I live and breathe
So You'll be the one that they see when they see me
(Do They See Jesus In Me, Joy Williams)


Friday, February 4th

203) This Little Light of Mine- When you are little and have sensitive skin, wearing diapers can be less than desirable thanks to the terrible diaper rash, so it is with our daughter. We go from beautiful, clear skin to a raging, painful bottom in no time flat and there is one little girl in this household who fears diaper changes because of it. However, she loves the song "This Little Light of Mine." In fact, it is one of the few times I love it when she tells me "no!". That is pretty much how she asks to sing the song. She holds up a finger, covers it with her other hand and says "no!", just like we do in the song. We have found that although she must still deal with the incredible pain of some intense and terrible diaper rashes, she handles them ten times better if one of us is able to sing "This Little Light of Mine" with her during the whole process, and at the same time, she is taking in some great lessons.


Saturday, February 5th

204) The wait is over- My little family is together again and this time, it will stay that way for a good while. Thankfulness seems like an understatement.


205) No deployments- Drew is in the Army and in today's Army, that usually means deployment and usually more than one. However, we are in a unique situation and that hasn't been the case for us. After the few shorter periods of time that we have been apart while we have been married, I can definitely say this has been a huge blessing. I don't expect it to be that way for the duration of his Army career, but I am grateful for all the time we have with him right now.


Sunday, February 6th

206) Our daughter's church friends- When I was pregnant with our daughter, I watched as the little kids in the church I was attending ran around and played together. I loved to watch their camaraderie and friendships develop and hoped and prayed our child would have the same chance for friends wherever we ended up. Tonight while we were at a Super Bowl party at our church, I watched our little girl toddle around with the other kids of the church and knew she had just that. She adores the older elementary-aged girls that have befriended her and she loves to scamper after the the other children close in age to her. Tonight there was nothing sweeter than to watch two little red-haired pigtails bob and bounce their way away from me as she headed off to play with friends.


Monday, February 7th

207) Laughter- When I think back on today, I think of laughter. We laughed and laughed, and it was a good day. I mean really, just try to practice your elephant sounds without smiling and laughing- it's pretty hard.


Tuesday, February 8th

208) Little Big Planet (the video game)- I have a confession to make; I am video game- challenged. I am not saying this to be humble or anything like that; I am truly quite bad at most of today's video games. I just cannot handle more than three, maybe four, buttons and if I have to move in a 3D world, I will fail miserably because I am terrible with the joystick. I have tried to improve by spending time playing because Drew likes playing video games to relax, but nothing has helped. I always reach a certain level of expertise (which is very low) and I get no better. However Drew does like it when we play together, at least sometimes. I am sure it is nice to see that I can share his interest to some extent and enjoy spending time with him doing something he likes, and this is where Little Big Planet comes in. It is one of the few video games I can play decently, and it is one we play together.  I am glad that I have this way to relax and spend time with Drew.


Wednesday, February 9th

209) A beautiful tapestry- I believe in the Bible. I believe it is truth- every last word of it, each story and every teaching. I don't believe because archaeologists or historians have proven it to be so, but I believe because I know that the Bible is God's word and I know that God is truth and therefore God's word is truth. However I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when the storyline that historians and archaeologists tell coincides and fits so perfectly with what we find in the Bible. It seems that so often the questions that perplex and confuse us the most about our ancient history is often due to the hand of God and His might and miraculous ways. I had a chance to see some of that happen today. It was so neat to see how sociological, economical, religious, historical and archaeological facts could all be woven together and explained when viewed in context of one Bible story. Incredible and beautiful!


Thursday, February 10th

210) Taxes are done (at least for another year)- After we enter the new year, taxes are something that is always high on my To Do list. I hate putting them off. I just want to handle our taxes and get them over with, and every year once I have them finished.... oh, what a wonderful feeling!


Friday, February 11th

211) A computer-savvy husband- When our computer is acting up or it appears we have a virus, it is nice that I can first turn to Drew, who has a fair bit of knowledge related to computers. He has generally been able to resolve most of our problems and I know he has spared me much stress and anxiety that I would have faced and experienced without him.