Verse of the Week

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

~Psalm 119:9-11

Of Creation (an excerpt from the 1689 London Baptist Confession)

In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom and goodness; to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.

After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, rendering them fit unto that life to God for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.

To Mia on her birthday

To my beautiful daughter on her birthday,

I thank God every day I am given that He has entrusted such a wonderful and special little person to me. You have grown up so much this year with your sweet smile and gremlin teeth.=)

I remember when we finally picked out your name and the first time I saw your face. I was in love. You were a screamer from the beginning but you were the toughest cookie in the whole jar. Any little bumps and scrapes you stoically took without a fuss. I remember when you discovered your beloved thumb at 3 months. I remember anxiously waiting for you to come out from hernia surgery. I love you for your funny faces and sweet heart. For your devotion to your sister and the crazy love for your father. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring for you....

Verse of the Week

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only,

have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

build up the walls of Jerusalem;

then will you delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

~Psalm 51

A Quote on Fasting

Over the past few weeks I have been reading A Hunger For God along with my devotional and cup of Trader Joe's Rooibus.

Like most of the Piper books I read, it's a bit slow going because of the content-however I am always blessed and convicted by reading it and can't wait to read another :)

So, as I said in an earlier post, I highly encourage you to read this one.

I was especially blessed this mornings chapter, Finding God in the Garden of Pain; here is a quote from John Chrysostom:

Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concuspiscence; it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it dis-burdens the flesh, it chases away the night-pollutions, it frees from headache. By fasting, a man gets composed behavior, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind.

A Birthday for Mia

Very soon a feisty little girl will be turning three...

One of her favorite books is Sir Maggie the Mighty, and since she greatly resembles Maggie...

We decided Maggie should be on Mia's birthday card...

Camping Pictures.......

At last, I shall unleash just a few of our camping pictures. For those of you who are wondering why, let me explain: We recently went...well, not really recent; more like...several months ago, but anyhow, as I was saying, we "not recently" went camping at Lake Texoma, with my Dad's side of the family and I will say this, we cheated. We slept in cabins; lovely, air conditioned cabins, and I have to admit it was pretty nice when coming back from the Lake, all tired and then to take a shower (although the shower heads were like 5ft tall) and then just lie on an actual bed...back to camping pictures. Here they are:

On our way up to Lake Texoma we visited my Aunt Terry in Flower mound, TX.

Uncle Jimmy being Uncle Jimmy. :) We had just got in to the campsite and after dinner I was taking pictures and my Uncle Jimmy gave me this look. :)

Our cousin Justin and Uncle Randy.

Uncle Randy smiling and Justin almost smiling.

After dinner what better thing to do than play ultimate Frisbee.
Justin, Me, Uncle Randy, and Taylor; the slow pokes were behind us.

Day Two: out on the Lake. The jet ski's were lots of fun even though the water felt warm, like bath water. :)

Me and my cousin sittin' on the jet ski's in the blistering heat, but it was still fun to ride on the jet ski's down to the Lake.

On the way back to the cabin, Dad and Mica found this centipede ( the poisonous ones) at a rather uncomforting size.

Sunday morning taking family pictures. Dad, Juliet, and Uncle Randy.

The big family picture......

On are way home, but with one more passenger.
Our new dog, Kate!

Verse of the Week

"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

~Malachi 4:4-6

Benefits of lemon, cayenne, and maple syrup

Here is an excerpt from Stanley Burroughs book The Master Cleanser.

The lemon is a loosening and cleansing agent with many important building factors. The lemon and maple syrup working together creates these desired results:

Its 49% potassium strengthens and energizes the heart, stimulates and builds the kidney's and adrenal glands.
Its oxygen builds vitality.
Its carbon acts as a motor stimulant.
Its hydrogen activates the sensory nervous system.
Its calcium strengthens and builds the lungs.
Its phosphorous knits the bones, stimulates and builds the brain for clearer thinking.
Its sodium encourages tissue building.
Its magnesium acts as a blood alkalizer.
Its iron builds the red corpuscles to rapidly correct the most common forms of anemia.
Its chlorine cleanses the blood plasma.
Its silicon aids the thyroid for deeper breathing.

Cayenne pepper is necessary as it breaks up mucus and increases warmth by building the blood for an additional lift. It also adds many of the B and C vitamins.

When reading this book, as with any other book, remember our standard for living is founded upon the Word of God. I found that many of the dietary things he advocates or condemns are clearly saying that what God has provided, in regards to food, is unhealthy and bad. Not only that, but some of his opinions in regards to how the body digests and uses certain foods is false. Much of his advice is good and the book is a quick read. And the actual cleanse worked and helped but I just had to be discerning while reading it.

In Christ,

Micaela

My friend Abigail over at Authentic Beauty has put on a wonderful, fun challenge called,

The Amy Challenge.

The challenge is simple: each day create a new outfit from your wardrobe. This would be the time to try your hand at some different style, a more Grace Kelly look or something more modern like Katherine Hepburn.

No matter what you try, always remember: Modesty.

As the change of season presents and change in wardrobe it 's important to remember the difference between our clothing needs and wants. Most often we can make do with everything we have already in our closets. It's easy to buy new clothes for each season but this isn't always practical.

So I would encourage you to take the challenge, let the must haves at the store pass you by, and use some imagination with your clothes!