M(ore) O(n) M(usic)

How's THAT for a subject?

I think there are 2 things to ask ourselves when listening to music (right now I'm talking about "Christian" music:

1) Does it glorify God?
2) Does it grieve God?

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth." ~John 4:24

If the song doesn't reflect truth, then how can we worship God through it? To find out if a song is truthful, compare it to the Word of God. If it goes against that, it can't bring glory to God. Right? I do try to be very careful of the music I allow myself to listen to.

As far as secular music, I also think we need to be very careful. I like plenty of songs that aren't "Christian." I make it a point, though, to listen carefully to the lyrics, and if it's offensive (vulgarity/blasphemous/etc.) I turn it off. Just like objectional movies, it's simply not worth it to have my spirit grieved and to know that I've grieved my Lord.

Anyway, any thoughts on these things? I want to hear.

I've been thinking about what Laura asked in a comment earlier -

"Is there any thing that is morally neutral? Or is everything we do categorized into the sin-section or the non-sin section?"

I'm not sure. I guess I DO think there are things that are "neutral." Let's look at the definition of sin. In 1 John 3:4, it tells us that "sin is the transgression of the law." Aren't there so many things we do that do not fall into that category? Boy, what a topic. Sure gets you thinking.

In other news, Jamie posted about prioritizing (sp??). It was so good that I VACUUMED my house (something I've been putting off for several uhmm... weeks? now). It looks much better, I must say. Thanks, Jamie!

One last thing. What would YOU do without your makeup bag?? Well,, Grace and family came and stayed for a night and for some reason, they took my makeup bag with them. With my face lotion, pluckers!, contacts, not to mention the makeup I wear sometimes. I'm not a big makeup fan, but I certainly do miss the option:( I've been having to put regular lotion on my face- yuck!- it's so greasy and feels like I'm putting sunscreen on. I'm hoping to get it back very soon.

That's all for now. I think my dad's coming over for lunch. yay! :)

A VERY selfish post

I DID IT! I RAN TWO MILES TODAY. WITHOUT STOPPING. YAY!! I just HAD to share that. Sorry for all that yelling... It'd been about 8 years or so since I'd run 2 miles. Phew. My dad encouraged me to just take it slow and to breathe using my stomach. I guess I was doing it wrong all along. So, that really helped, I think.

I had a LOVELY day with Ali and family and even got to see Mary! What a treat indeed. My mom and I took some pictures and ate a lot of Ali's food. :) Very yummy. we had avocado egg rolls. How could you go wrong with that?? Very delicious. Oh yeah, I got to meet quite a delightful PRECIOUS new baby. sigh. I think my heart melted. (Ok, Grace, not literally (she's VERY picky about people using the word "literally" b/c it's often used incorrectly)). (I'm pretty sure I didn't do all those parentheses right, but that's ok, I'm sure)

So, thanks for the encouragement Reva, Jamie and Grace. Y'all are great. Yeah, you, too, Christy:)

Music and Running (schedule)

What's the criteria for music you listen to- to be "appropriate" or "acceptable?" My Joseph and I were discussing this today, and to me, it's an interesting topic. Any thoughts? Opinions? Convictions? Please share.

Oh, I can't believe it's Week 6 already. Grace and Jamie, are you ready??
Here it is.....

Week 6

Monday- 2 miles (uh-oh)
Tuesday- rest
Wednesday- 1.5 miles
Thursday- rest
Friday- 1 mile
Saturday/Sunday- rest one day/ 1.5 miles the other

I hope that I can make the two miles tomorrow without stopping. Last time I couldn't do it- only lasted about 1.5 miles. So, we'll see. I'm a wee bit nervous, but I know I shouldn't be. and the other day I asked myself, why didn't I start this running BEFORE I had my Mikayla; it's not like I didn't have the time:) Oh well, here I am.

I have the privilege of taking some photos of a newborn tomorrow!! How fun:) Maybe I can post a picture or two of the outcome. I'm excited!

I hope to have a week that brings honor and glory to my great God! Good night.

Way overdue

Hello, people out there. What's everyone been up to?? It's definitely time for a new post, eh? It's almost Mother's Day. I like this holiday. We don't "do" many holidays, but we do like this one:) yay.

Tomorrow morning is the Birdwell's family photo session. I just get a tiny bit nervous- ha!- about the whole thing. We were going to shoot some photos @ a little gazebo in town, but I went there this morning and we would've had to swim to get there. Not worth it, so I moved to plan B. We're starting out at the park, then going downtown to to an old building. We decided this morning on black and white film. Yes, I still have a film (anyone remember those?) camera where you have to decide BEFOREhand what kind fo film to use. There are definite perks to having a digital camera, but I'm very thankful for my camera, and I mean to use it until they quit making film (which seems like it'll be in the next few months or so). SO, hopefully the whole shoot will go well and we'll get some good shots. WONDERFUL family:)

Running is going well for me. Yesterday my dad and I went together to the track and jogged around; afterwards we went to play tennis for a while. It was really a nice time and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. Hopefully my Joseph will want to play some tennis with me sometime. I'm pretty bad at it, but I do have fun.

AND, Grace is helping me with the photos this time. Usually it's my sweet mommy (and hubby) helping me, but my mom has to work the election (some excuse that is!). So, while I'll miss my sweet mommy, I'll enjoy Grace's assistance, while my hubby gets to sleep in.

Ok, I'm off to hard boil some eggs for tomorrow. Grace told me that once they start boiling it's 8 minutes. Does that sound right? Hope so!

It's week 5!

Ok, Jamie and Grace, here we go:

Week 5 and 6: Recovery

Your body is probably pretty tired from the last month of running. These next two weeks are about allowing your body to recover, so that it can continue to build. In our house analogy, I suppose we are letting the cement dry. These two weeks should be about staying hydrated (lots of water), trying to eat the right foods and letting your achy muscles have some rest (but not too much). You may also want to take some time to read more about running.

Monday- rest
Tuesday- 1 mile
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- 1.5 miles
Friday- rest
Satruday/Sunday- rest one day/1 mile the next

Sounds very doable, eh?

Jamie, I really enjoyed reading your running story about your "cheerleaders." How cute! Hope you all have a great week!

Psalm 130

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Lord, here my voice: let thine ear be attentive

to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,

O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee,

that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,

and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that

watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch

for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD

there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Ps. Grannybear's birthday is tomorrow! :)

Psalm 93:4

While I had my Bible opened, I looked down and saw this verse and it just seemed to jump out of the page.

"The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."

It's been a good day, but an exhausting one. Heather, thank the Lord!, came out of her surgery not too long ago. She has function in her arms and legs, but they are unsure if her speech will be affected from the surgery. I've spent lots of good time in prayer today. What a truly mighty and merciful God we serve.

We had my parents over for dinner which included: chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and steamed broccoli. I also had a bit of Emily's bread before we ate- very yummy:) (Thank, Emily!)

Off to bed "early" tonight. I praise the Lord for his goodness and his steadfastness. For his Word, for keeping his promises, and for giving strength. I love my Savior!

Good night!

ps. I was watching Jeremy Camp's dvd and found out that he was married before. I had no idea. He said he and his wife had been married about 4 months, and the Lord took her home; she had cancer. He was angry and asked the Lord "why?"; he said the Lord showed him that if her knew, then it wouldn't be walking by faith. Interesting. Any other JC fans?? I like most of his music.

My 100th post- dedicated to....Heather

I was contemplating who I'd "dedicate" my 100th post to, and I was having a rough time deciding. Until I thought of Heather @ http://especiallyheather.com. Grrr... I wish I could do a decent link, but I won't dwell on that.

Although I don't personally know Heather, I love this girl. I love her in Christ. And I'm praying for her. Her story is so loaded with sadness, heartache ,pain and shock. But, most of all, it's filled with a precious attitude of trusting in her great God, it's filled with encouragement, selflessness, and hope. I just stand in awe of the grace of God in her life.

Tomorrow morning she's going to have brain surgery. Wow. I pray the Lord will so richly bless this dear girl. She's a daughter, a mother, a wife and so much more. And my heart aches for her like crazy. Heather has helped me so much with perspective. She's a jewel; I'll leave you with a quote from one of her writings:

"Anger, bitterness, and hatred are Satan’s tools. They steal the hope that has been given to us at such a huge price. There are people that I haven’t been able to pray for in years, yet I find myself praying for them now- even in the midst of this, Christ alone gives me that strength. He reminds me that His love is not just for those I deem worthy, because I am so unworthy myself. His love is far reaching, it is all compassing, and in all honesty it is completely undeserved by any of us. "

It's week 4!!

Just posting the new running schedule I know you are all waiting to see. First read this:
(I should've posted this last week b/c it refers to weeks 3 and 4. sorry)

"Our bodies have started to understand what we expect of them now. Over the next two weeks, we will start to build the base of distance so that eventually we will be able to speed up. Remember, distance first, then speed. Right now you shouldn't think about how long it takes you to do your run. You should concentrate on breathing slowly, steadily, and deeply. You should think about running lightly; try not to make noise when your feet hit the ground. Pretend you are sneaking up on other runners or walkers. Don't get discouraged about being passed by runners and walkers. You will get faster, but first you have to let your body get comfortable. Build your base. You have to build the foundation of a house before you can live in it. "

That's not MY quote (obviously!!)

Ok, ladies, here it is:

Monday- 1.5 miles (what??!)
Tuesday- rest (ok, that's better)
Wednesday- 1 mile
Thursday- rest
Friday- TWO MILES (where did that come from?!)
Saturday/Sunday- rest one day, 1 mile the other

WHOA!, eh? I feel myself getting stronger. How exciting. I ran my mile today and didn't feel like death was as near as last time.

ps. Tomorrow's my daddy's birthday!!! and my friend Rebekah is being induced and will, Lord willing, have her baby tomorrow. Both need lots of prayer! :)


GOOoooooooo...........Ladies!

A very special gift

Here's what came in the mail today

from Mikayla's Aunt Laura. I cannot

imagine making something so cute!

THANK YOU, Laura; we love it! :)

My strawberry girl

This is Mikayla on the way home from McKinney looking

VERY content with that thing she has in her hand:)

THANK YOU, Jamie, for your encouragement today to run my

first mile. I did it!! I actually thought I might die, but I didn't. It's fun to

see/feel my body getting stronger.

It's sure stormy today, isn't it?

I guess it all depends on where you live. duh.

Hope you all have a great day. Yes, even you, Grace Leddy.

New, fun purchases

• Haircut! ( I was in desperate need)
• Jogging pants (nice fit, but it's a must that I wear a LONGer shirt with them. ahem.
• Ink cartridge ( you just feel kinda lost when you're out of ink, right??) (now we're just out of money)
• Photo album that holds 500 photos- it's time to get organized; I have photos EVERYwhere, and I just keep finding more.

Ps. Tomorrow's the big mile. gulp.

Pps. CC stopped by for a fun visit; we picnicked, watched Mikayla fall, and shooed cats away;

does it get any better than that??

Week 3

Ladies, this week marks the time when we start jogging a whole mile. gasp. Grace (cheated) went ahead and jogged her 1 mile already. Hey, no problem, Grace; nothing like a little togetherness. You always were "ahead of the bunch." :)

This week's schedule is as follows:

Monday- rest. awww..
Tuesday- run 1 mile (I'm still going to walk a little afterwards- do what you want)
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- run 1 mile
Friday- rest
Saturday/Sunday- rest one day/run 1 mile the next

Sounds like a pretty simple week, eh? All except for the running part. ha!

For those of you who want to be in an actual race, here are some details for the one Grace and I are running in:

Dublin Dr. Pepper 116th Bday celebration
10-2-4k
(free Dr. Pepper all day long- what a selling point, eh?:)
Saturday, June 9, 2007

ps. for some reason unknown to me they didn't say a time;
in the past the races have started @ 8am

Are you ready??

pps. No, Laura, we're not making jam:( We froze lots of strawberries to make smoothies later, and we've eaten LOTS of fresh ones:)

My favorite of the bunch

I HAD to share this picture b/c it's my absolute favorite of the bluebonnet pictures; last one, I promise:) What a face she's making. Love it!

We've had a nice weekend together. Jody and Mikayla came with me to the track to give me lots of support while I jogged and walked; it seems like I barely made it. phew. Next week we're running a MILE. WOW, it's been a LONG time since I've run that much. Hopefully, I can do it. (you, too- Grace, Laura, Jamie!)

We went to the strawberry picking place this afternoon and picked 12 pounds of strawberries. Mikayla even picked a few non-ripe ones, which I threw in the basket anyway. Even those tastse better than the "ripe" ones we get anywhere around here. It was fun watching her have a good time with the strawberries. We took turn watching her.

Then we had a wonderful visit @ Emmie's house where she fed us chocolate cupcakes and jambalaya with salad. Yes, in that order. (Thanks, Ma!)

Hope you all have a great Lord's day! :)

Bluebonnet girl

Here's one of many pics I took of my 1 year old.

She's getting so big! I know you can't see her face, but

it's one of my favorites anyway. The dress

was a birthday gift from a extra special friend.

We had a superb visit to McKinney-

it's so good to be home!!

This evening we got Chicken Express to go,

had a nice picnic in the park,

then walked 3 miles together.

Fun times!

More later :)

It's week 2, ladies!

I almost forgot to post our new running regimen- oops! I know you are all just waiting to see what workouts this week holds for us. Ok, without further ado, here goes:

Week 2

Monday- .75 mile run, 1 mile walk
Tuesday- REST
Wednesday- .5 mile run, 1 mile walk
Thursday- REST
Friday- .75 mile run, 1 mile walk
Saturday/Sunday- REST one day, .75 mile run, 1 mile walk

The good news is 2 of the 4 workouts will be done with my sweet sissy Grace! We're off to McKinney in the morning, Lord willing. yay!! :) So much to do before then, so I'd really better get offline. Somehow I get more done when I'm not on this computer. Good night!

No day @ the park

How sad. We were fully expecting to enjoy a nice WARM day at the park (Coggin), and it was absolutely too cold. Oh well. We enjoyed our time indoors- just being together as family. We did, however, make it out to the track where I jogged my half mile in the very windy and cold weather. Even Jody and Mikayla (all bundled up) came out to support me. When they were watching me plod around the track, Jody told me Mikayla kept saying "mama." :) awww... I love being a mommy.

I wish I could link b/c I'd have one to my mom's new post. It's so funny. A very energetic puppy (maybe it has ADD) showed up at their place, and my parents want TO KEEP IT. Unreal. They even bathed "Boo" and baked him some homemeade dog treats. I'm just tickled about the whole ordeal:)

I hope everyone has a good Lord's day tomorrow. It will be nice to be in church again. We didn't have services last week, so it seems like it's been forever.

Lord willing, we'll be heading to McKinney Monday morning- mama, Mikayla and me! I'm looking forward to a very nice visit (it always is when my sissy is involved) and just getting to spend time there. I even get to workout at their cool gym.

Later!
ps. Jamie, glad you're in with the running gang! :)

Scratch and Sniff...Gotcha!

Odd subject, eh? Well, that's what was printed on one of the TWELVE packets of fire sauce I received today at Taco Bell to go on my ONE bean burrito (with sour cream, of course). It's crazy how that guy just grabbed a huge handful for my little burrito. I've got lots left over.

My dear mommy watched our Mikayla today while I got in the second workout to train for the 5k. I started to go to the track, but when I was pulling up, I saw lots of kids (who looked like ants) piling onto the track, so I turned around and headed to Coggin. There were also lots of "kids" there (they're sure looking young these days!) playing tennis. It didn't look like there was much competition AT ALL. I really shouldn't say anything; I'm sure they all could've easily beat me. Aww... memories of tennis in high school. I was horrible and it was HOT.

Mike said they're naming their SON Jody Gregory. How nice, huh? Isn't that neat??? They're expecting a BOY!!! They just found out today. I'm teasing about the name. I believe they're going for the name Luke, which is a lovely Bible name!! I'm thrilled for them. Misty and I were due about the same time with our babies. It makes me kinda sad to think that we could've found out (around this time) if the baby we lost was a boy or girl. God knows.

I guess that's all the exciting news for the day. Oh yeah. Grace and fam won several vacations; hey, no fair! When we "won" our "prize", it only cost us 10 bucks. It could've been a LOT worse.We got hosed. Oh well. Good night!

Mission accomplished

I'm so thankful that my 90 day reading-through-the-Bible challenge is over. sigh. It's been a tremendous blessing, and yet it's been very challenging and sometimes downright HARD. When you have company, you can't just disappear for 2 hours at at time; it just doesn't work that way. I read these precious verses this morning and HAD to share:

"And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb is the light thereof."

~Revelation 21:22, 23

GOOD STUFF HERE!

Jody started his new job today working 6-6. I guess all in all it was a good day for him, but it was quite long. We're not sure exactly what his hours will be, but we know he's working straight days. Yay! :)

Tomorrow's the first day of actual running. I'm so excited. What do I do if I can't make it around the track twice? HOPEfully I'll make it. For all of you in it with me, tomorrow we're going to:

1 warm up lap
Run 1/2 mile
1 mile walk
1 cool down lap
...which equals 2 miles. (Christy, I hope you got that)

Buenos/as(?) Noches.

ps. Laura, good job on the reading. God's Word is SO GOOD. Keep on truckin'. Hope you made it to the gym today:-)

What would thoughtful parents do?

My poor daughter's legs are BARE IN THE SNOW. We really don't have her in shorts; her pants just scooted up for the picture. It's crazy that it snowed a bunch here yesterday. The other picture of Mikayla was taken the day before the snow one. My lovely parents had us over last night for a wonderful dinner at their house- meatloaf, carrots, potatoes with mushrooms, and avocado slices. Yummy! Afterwards we trotted over to see if Christy's cats were still alive- they were. phew.

I'm stoked about all the ladies wanting to participate in the 4k (Vivi, Grace, Laura, CC, etc.). I do appreciate the good advice from Heather, although I can't see myself EVER running 12-14 miles. WOW! It's been a HUGE goal of mine to run in a race for a long time now. And this year seems like the perfect time to do it. Just to clear something up here: when I say "run", I mean a s- l- o -w jog. I didn't want to deceive anyone- ha! I won't purposefully go slow, but will "run" the best that I can:)

It's been a VERY lazy day. Our church services were cancelled this morning AND this evening. This morning b/c of weather and this evening b/c of people being out of town. SO, I think my dear Joseph is going stir-crazy. I might be joining him.

Ok, I'm off to look at a vest for my lovebug. No, CC, not a sweater vest like you're so fond of. Hope you all have a good evening.

ps. what are some of YOUR goals?

do share.

Lace 'em up, Ladies!

Who's with me? I'm planning on running a 4k (2.5 miles) within 2 months, and a 5k (3.1 miles) within 3 months. I found a neat program online (where else?) that I want to try. The 4k is in Dublin (Dr. Pepper) TX on June 9th. Anybody interested? Then we could all do the race together. Woudn't that be fun?? If so, we're starting on Monday with this workout:

Monday- rest (I knew you'd like it:)
Tuesday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Friday- rest
Saturday and Sunday- rest one day, .5 mile run + 1 mile walk

Sounds easy enough, right? :)

AND, for other news: Lord willing, I'll be finishing my 90 day Bible challenge on Monday!!! I was pretty far behind b/c we had so much LOVELY company (which I thoroughly enjoyed- don't get me wrong). I'm seeing the finish line...

Lastly, a few minutes ago, a spider floated down on me. shiver. Those things are so NOT appealing to me. I nearly dropped this laptop all for a tiny spider. I'm crazy.

Good night, my faithful readers.
Are you game?