Week in Pictures

I have been busy this week signing and sending support letters for my trip to Brazil, Skyping with Holly in Brazil to talk about teaching painting and crafting classes down there, and dealing with some pain.vso in lieu of ignoring the blog altogether, my week in pictures:

Had lunch with friends at the famed Thai Basil in Chantilly. It was pretty good, but the company was better. This plastic lobster, and my friends Christy and Janice.

I call this my Robot Manicure. Pictures can't do it justice. Holographic sparkles over a silver base.

A bird started to build a nest in our light fixture. Kind of sad to kick it out, but it was a fire hazard.

I cannot describe how good this smells. It cost $18, so I didn't buy it, but it smells amazing. I wonder what they put in it that makes it so much better than the Suave and Bath and Body Works body wash I alternate between.

Julia asked me to flat iron her hair last night and we both were shocked at how long it was! It is naturally curly and stinks up quite a bit. Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture? I can't believe she will be 15 next month.

This is how Joe stands when he gets ready to jump off the escalator. Adorable, yes? We went to Target after a dinner at the Four Sisters in Merrifield (delicious, by the way) and he did this on every escalator.

Three movies we've watched this week. I would recommend them all, though all three contain coarse language.

How was your week? Anything exciting planned for the weekend?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

I'm a few days behind in my chronological Bible plan, so I just started Judges today. In my old school paper journal I've been making a fancy page for each book of the Bible, but I couldn't come up with a theme for Judges. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, wanted there to be room for me to write, I guess.

So in Judges, the people of Israel go through this pattern of rebellion, distress, and then the Lord raises up Judges for the people to guide them. I was struck by chapter 2 verses 13 and 15:

They abandoned the Lord... and they were in terrible distress.

How often do we "abandon the Lord" and then wail in our own great distress? The kids are out of control. The spouse is more of a roommate than a partner. The finances are a mess. We may not be worshiping Baal or other gods, but we are making other priorities and obligations "gods" in our life, and shoving a mighty Creator God into a Sunday box and wonder why our life is out of control.

We abandon the Lord, and we are in terrible distress.

 

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What's in my makeup bag?

Lauren (@redheadphd on Instagram and RedHeadPhd on YouTube) asked what's in my makeup bag today.

Mirror, lotion, purse brush (where's the powder?), oil absorbing sheets, Travelo with Flower by Kenzo, Baby Lips lip balm (I wouldn't recommend it.), Mac Hot Tahiti lipstick, Mac Fanfare lipstick, Revlon lip butter in Pink Truffle, a little sample of Buxom lip gloss in Dolly, Urban Decay 24/7 lip gloss pencil in Glinda.

 

Too many lip products! I end up bringing them down from my vanity and putting them in my purse and I only remember to bring them up once a week or so. When I clean it out, I leave just the lip balm and tiny lip gloss in there for lip products. I need to find a spare powder to put in there. I ran out a while back and never replaced it.

Tomorrow, maybe my vanity makeup bag?

 

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Selling Drawings for my Brazil Trip

I hesitate to call what I do with a pen and paper art. But it does help write God's word on my heart. When I was thinking of ways I could raise money for my Brazil mission trip, I thought of selling some drawings based on my journal drawings.

 

These are two of my favorite designs. I have already done a few different versions, changing up the words and colors, and fonts. It's feels nice to excercise the creative part of my brain again. Speaking of which, my journal has been crazy creative lately.

 

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RBC Summer Missions Trip: Brazil

I'm going. I'm excited, and a little scared, but mostly excited. This Sunday, as I was leaving church, I stopped to talk to a friend whose family is involved in the summer mission trip, and I was asked to go as an adult leader for the teens. This video is a few years old, but this is the same group of people I will be involved with:

Brazil Mission Trip

I've wanted to do a short term mission trip for three years, every since I started going to the Reston Bible Church Missions Conference. Our church does this kind of amazing thing where about one third of giving goes to global missions. I just looked up the exact number for 2012: $1,760,347 to global missions. Mind boggling. So because of all this giving, they hold a conference and missionaries on furlow will come and speak, and we have brunches and special small groups, and it's just kind of the best thing ever. So combine getting fired up from that with our church's special heart for Brazil and you have me going to Brazil this summer.

Whoa.

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Onward.

"The question is whether she is a grumbler or a grumble. If there is a real woman, even the trace of one-still there inside the grumbling, it can be brought to life again.” C.S. Lewis

I focus on the Light. On making myself useful. If I let go of those things, I might just let go altogether, and become a trace of myself within a grumbling, and then eventually a shell of myself that can't be brought back to life. I focus on the Light.

People say "I wouldn't have known you were depressed." I reply, "Acting!"

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Beach with friends

Everyone is sleeping. I am up late, like always, reading a little, watching some videos, enjoying some time to be by myself and with God.

Sometimes I wish I could just lie down and fall asleep like a normal tired person can. But my mind needs to process the day, whether I want it to or not.

Today was spent at a relaxing beach, where I finally went in the ocean again after a rough tumble last summer. After coming back to our friends' beach house, we picked up some pizza then went to a bonfire with just my kids and that was nice, when Julia was where she was supposed to be.

Like I said, I need to process the day.

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