Thanksgiving Tuesday-January 2010 List

154. Flies!
155. Common ties of blood
156. Meaningful time together with family
157. Relaxing by the quiet river
158. The inspiration of a friend
159. Christian accountability
160. Challenging marriage message through film
161. Time by myself to unwind
162. Brothers spending time together
163. Technological marvels... mobiles!
164. Setting goals for 2010
165. Memorising the Word
166. Being strong in conviction
167. Friends who share the faith
168. The passion of fledgling faith
169. Well loved resources lent to friend
170. Loving, devoted family
171. Your Word changing my family
172. Writing old fashioned letters by hand
173. Love letters
174. 10 minute oven cookies
175. % off after Christmas sales
180. Husband's unwavering love
181. Getting to know church family
182. The challenge and joy of serving
183. Email reminders from thoughtful friends
184. Music ministry

Completing Him Challenge Week 5

The Completing Him Challenge this week is: Make a list of 5 things you currently do and ask your husband to prioritize them for you of what is important to him. For example - a clean home, home cooked dinner, coupon clipping, service at church, having friends over for dinner, watching/doing sports with him, etc.


Last night I made a list of all the things I could think of that would be things that enter into Mr. Awesome's world. I gave him the list and asked him to prioritise the items. There were 11 things on my original list, and he added one more.  Here are his top five:


5. Keep the social calendar organised
4. Plan and prepare meals 
3. Invite people over to visit
2. Ensure bills are paid and mail is sorted/answered
1. Keep time for me


As we both work full time and I work varying shifts, Awesome is often home before me, so almost everything else on the list (including cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping) we share very evenly. At this point in our lives it works really well, so most of those things scored further down the list as shared items. The things above are those that Awesome prefers me to take care of. The item he added was #1 Keep time for me!  As I am often busy with work and church commitments during the week, it has always been extremely important for me to be at home as much as possible. Every now and then I jam my calendar full with too many out of house activities and by the end of the week things can get a bit wobbly round here! Thankfully we have recognised this pattern and I try very hard to keep it under control as much as possible. 


This was a really encouraging discussion for us to have and I was really touched when Awesome offered me the chance to make a list for him. It was great to just sit and discuss things together. Here (with his permission) is my list:


5. Garbage/recycling duty (that sounds very petty but we are on the third floor!)
4. Washing and ironing
3. Keep an eye on house maintenance
2. Initiate date nights
1. Plan time for us to read the Bible together


A couple of hours later, he asked me which nights this week I was free to read the Bible and go on a date night! We have planned these into the week's schedule! 


How did your top five go? 

Just a little encouragement today :)

"You gotta have God in your marriage"

Amen Sister!

Thanksgiving Tuesday - December 2009 List

121. Inquiring minds focused on God's plan
122. Faith that God works through all things to His glory
123. Sweet Christmas foods
124. Thoughtful encouragement from a Pastor
125. A reliable car
126. Cooling summer rain
127.Wonderful friends at church
128. Satisfaction in knowing God is at work
128. Bosciola chips!
129. Nacho pizza
130. Date night with my boy
131. Wise decisions from my husband
132. Prayers committed to faith in God's plan
133. Sleepless nights
134. Early nights
135. Wisdom of older women
136. Soft spikiness of his cheek
137. Firm touch of his hand
138. Dinner date night
139. Chilled out music
140. Moisturiser for dry hands
141. The will to study the Word
142. Made-up bed
143. Wonderful moments to treasure
144. Lifetime friends who know
145. Thousands crowding for carols
146. Candle light in the night air
147. Bat silhouettes
148. Clothes that still fit
149. Deep kisses
150. That last deep breath before their tears stop
151. Time to explain
152. Family loudness
153. Quiet fishing

Admiring Mr. Awesome!

This week's Completing Him Challenge is to admire your husband. It is so easy for me to focus on all the things that didn't go my way, or to pick apart the tiniest of flaws.  Today I'm going to be counter-cultural and tell you some things I admire about my husband. 


Things I think are Awesome about Mr. Awesome!


His maniacal laugh, his faith, his gentleness, his serving nature, the way he just gets on and gets the job done, his jokes, the way he would do anything to see me smile, his independent spirit, the way that he supports me in anything I choose to do, his BBQ skills!, his patience, his sense of humour, his hugs, the sense of deep loyalty he has for those around him, the way her perseveres when things get tough, his sense of determination and the strength with which he undertakes hard tasks, the warmth he has in his eyes when he sees me, his amazing intelligence, his practicality, the way he grins... 


Mr. Awesome... I love you!

Demonstrating how to be a red STOP light man. 

30 Excellent Books Update

Back in January I decided to read 30 excellent books in 2010. The point was to stretch my mind and spend time focussed on things that would pull me forward, majorly in the areas of Christian living and spiritual discipline. Its time to review the list and see how I'm doing!

I originally only chose 21 books so that I was open to reading other books that crossed my path throughout the year. It seems that so far I have read more "other" books than those on the original list! 

My 2010 30 Excellent Books List (in no particular order)

1. Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes
2. A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A Carson
3. According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy
4. From Clutter To Clarity by Nancy Twigg
5. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
6. The Lion Handbook to the Bible by David and Pat Alexander
7. The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick
8. Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
9. Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartin
10. Power of Praying Through the Bible by Stormie Omartin
11. The Plight of Man and The Power of God by Martin Lloyd-Jones
12. How Should We Then Live by Frances A. Schaeffer
13. Guidance and the Voice of God by Phillip D. Jensen and Tony Payne
14. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
15. Knowledge of the Holy by A.W Tozer
16. The Pursuit of God by A.W.Tozer
17. Commentary on Romans by Martin Luther
18. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
19. The Cross by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
20. Spiritual Blessing by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
21. Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
22. Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Leman
23. The Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman
24. How Women Help Men Find God by David Morrow
25. Finding God by Larry Crabb
26. Home Court Advantage by Dr. Kevin Leman
27. Hungry for God by John Piper

Some of the reason for my slowness has been the difficulty of finding the books I originally set out to read - most of these were recommendations so I didn't actually own them (note to self: next year I will pick all the books on my shelf I haven't read yet!). I also have had a number of work related books to read this year which have devoured some of my time and energy. I currently have about 4 of these books on the go (I have a very distractable personality so I like to have different options at anyone time!!) and I intend to blog about several of these that I have recently finished reading also. 

I thought it was probably also time to have a quick reflect on the goals I set for 2010. 

• Find time to have quiet time with God everyday - I am still working on this but at the moment I am managing around 3-4 days a week
• Use less internet each day - create stillness in the home - hmmm..this one needs work...!
• Have less junk in my life - physically and spiritually -physically I have been through 3 of the 6 rooms in our home so far and have been ruthless in riding us of the excess junk we just don't need - typically I have saved the harder rooms for last!!
• Read 30 excellent books
• Complete the first level of the Preliminary Theological Certificate - I am hoping that now that work has settled down I will be able to enroll for the next intake of subjects in the series.
• Plan meals to manage the budget more effectively - we are finally starting to save more effectively through managing our budget and particularly our food. I am learning to use my freezer and slow cooker to help keep the costs down and not throw out so much food. 
• Memorise Ephesians this year- oh dear - this is one I haven't even STARTED yet!
• Remember more and forget less! hmmm.... only those around me can tell me if this is working! I am trying very hard to return phone calls emails and messages in reasonable time frames and to remember the things that I promise people I will do for them! 
• Complete sewing projects for gifts and for the house - is a sewing list ever complete? I think that's a whole blog post in itself!

Overall, I have perhaps been a little ambitious in my goal setting for this year - but on the positive side we are only half way through! Praying that God will give me the strength to prioritise. 

How are your goals going this year?