This week has been a busy one! Tuesday - Thursday I was at the Territorial Social Services Conference. There I attended different workshops like "Immigration 101," "Cultural Competency," "Working with Challenging Children," and "Recovery Models in Behavioural Health." I really enjoyed my time there and learned a great deal.
Friday-Sunday (Today) were spent involving my beautiful cousin Sarah (now) Dawson's wedding. Friday was the rehearsal, Saturday the wedding, Sunday the traveling.
All in all it was a wonderful week. I had the privilege of officiating for Sarah's wedding. She looked so beautiful. :)
However, there was one downer. I saw a side of myself come out that I haven't seen in quite some time. I don't know why my nerves were so high, but I could not get them under control this weekend. The result was a short fuse, a temper, and unkindness shown especially to my siblings and mother. How very embarrassing. As we rode in the car to and from Clinton I kept thinking to myself, "Aubrey Ann, what in the world were you doing?!". Pieces of me were shown that I don't want to even exist within myself: an immaturity, pride, a flippant attitude...the list goes on. The worst was that my family had to witness such gross behaviour.
God, please forgive me for behaviours, thoughts, and actions that did not glorify You. Forgive me for the way I treated my family. And God, make me new again. You are faithful and just. I trust in You.
"God of Elijah, hear our spirits cry; to make us fit for You to live or die, to burn up every trace of sin, to let the light and glory in. Lord, let the glorious revolution now begin. Send the fire! Send the fire, O Lord, to magnify Your name, to never be the same. We need Your holy flame; send the fire!" - trans:Missions adaptation of "Send the Fire"
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Random
Oh my, I haven't posted in a bit!
Here are some entirely random thoughts/schedule bits:
1 week until Territorial Social Services Conferences.
10 days until my beautiful cousin, Sarah, gets married.
2 weeks until Divisional Business Seminar.
20 days until SACEP (+ I get to see the best friend - Chrissy).
My mind has been swimming with the events of the news in the recent hours, days, and weeks. I do not know how to process them all. I can become lost in my thoughts if I am not careful.
Yet Lord, through all of the days, may my heart focus Heavenward. May I not allow myself to be swept up in the sensationalism of this world. May I always remember who I am and Whose I am.
William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, once wrote the following:
"For Thy sake I once more separate myself from the world, from its amusements, from its friendships, from its fashions, from its sins-and here and now in the presence of my General and of my comrades I promise that , as a Salvation Army officer, I will follow Thee with all my heart."
"Search me and know my heart, O God. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the road everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
Here are some entirely random thoughts/schedule bits:
1 week until Territorial Social Services Conferences.
10 days until my beautiful cousin, Sarah, gets married.
2 weeks until Divisional Business Seminar.
20 days until SACEP (+ I get to see the best friend - Chrissy).
My mind has been swimming with the events of the news in the recent hours, days, and weeks. I do not know how to process them all. I can become lost in my thoughts if I am not careful.
Yet Lord, through all of the days, may my heart focus Heavenward. May I not allow myself to be swept up in the sensationalism of this world. May I always remember who I am and Whose I am.
William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, once wrote the following:
"For Thy sake I once more separate myself from the world, from its amusements, from its friendships, from its fashions, from its sins-and here and now in the presence of my General and of my comrades I promise that , as a Salvation Army officer, I will follow Thee with all my heart."
"Search me and know my heart, O God. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the road everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
Monday, April 18, 2011
Seasons of Love
Perhaps it's because it's currently wedding season, but I can't get the following thought out of my head...
I love watching young and old couples alike holding hands in the grocery store, opening the door for one another, referring to each other as "My Beautiful Bride" or "My Love." I enjoy seeing newlyweds that can't sit farther than a few inches apart at church. I love hearing "how we met" stories at the nursing homes. I find beauty in hearing that my best friend misses her husband when he's been gone but a day.
I'm beginning to sound like a creeper, so let me cut to the point...
While I am not another person's bride (yet), I still have an identity as a bride. I am part of the Bride of Christ. I want to live each day craving to be close to the Bridegroom - Christ. I want to draw nearer to Him everyday. I want to cling to Him when my world shakes. I want to tell those with open ears how we met. And yes, I miss Him even now, though He is not gone. I look so very forward to the day when I can be with Him in His kingdom.
Remedy Drive has a song called "Daystar" (from their "Magnify" album). Here are a few lines from it:
Hasten the day You come take Your Bride away. Send your cherubim chariots to carry the conquering children home to the Promised Land. Bright and Morning Star paint the sky so far with the colors from a dawn of an eternal dawn that will chase shadows away that will set up light upon a throne in the center of it all. So hear me call: "Heaven open. Sprinkle stardust in my eyes from the day that's dawning. Hear me call. Rise the Daystar in my heart. My King is coming!"
I love it. :)
I love watching young and old couples alike holding hands in the grocery store, opening the door for one another, referring to each other as "My Beautiful Bride" or "My Love." I enjoy seeing newlyweds that can't sit farther than a few inches apart at church. I love hearing "how we met" stories at the nursing homes. I find beauty in hearing that my best friend misses her husband when he's been gone but a day.
I'm beginning to sound like a creeper, so let me cut to the point...
While I am not another person's bride (yet), I still have an identity as a bride. I am part of the Bride of Christ. I want to live each day craving to be close to the Bridegroom - Christ. I want to draw nearer to Him everyday. I want to cling to Him when my world shakes. I want to tell those with open ears how we met. And yes, I miss Him even now, though He is not gone. I look so very forward to the day when I can be with Him in His kingdom.
Remedy Drive has a song called "Daystar" (from their "Magnify" album). Here are a few lines from it:
Hasten the day You come take Your Bride away. Send your cherubim chariots to carry the conquering children home to the Promised Land. Bright and Morning Star paint the sky so far with the colors from a dawn of an eternal dawn that will chase shadows away that will set up light upon a throne in the center of it all. So hear me call: "Heaven open. Sprinkle stardust in my eyes from the day that's dawning. Hear me call. Rise the Daystar in my heart. My King is coming!"
I love it. :)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
There are days when I wish I could simply jump back in time a few hundred years. I'd love to live in a time where families lived close, evenings were spent together, education and manners were taught at home, and the church was the social hub of society. Obviously this wasn't the case "back in the day" all the time and there were many "cons" as well, but I'm sick of everything that is not from the last five seconds being considered out of date and unimportant.
Solomon said, "There's nothing new under the sun." SO true! Even with technology advancing every second of every minute of every hour of every day, the ideas behind them are the same. Social Media? Wanting to connect to one another! Aka...God's idea behind creating relational beings.
You want to know the real reason for this rant (GRR)?
Respect your elders. Don't regard every thing they say as stupid or out-of-touch with reality. Many of them have seen heights and depths of humanity you cannot imagine. And for Heaven's Sake....quit ignoring them!
Solomon said, "There's nothing new under the sun." SO true! Even with technology advancing every second of every minute of every hour of every day, the ideas behind them are the same. Social Media? Wanting to connect to one another! Aka...God's idea behind creating relational beings.
You want to know the real reason for this rant (GRR)?
Respect your elders. Don't regard every thing they say as stupid or out-of-touch with reality. Many of them have seen heights and depths of humanity you cannot imagine. And for Heaven's Sake....quit ignoring them!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Tis a gift..
One of the first songs I learned to play on piano was simple gifts. It has a sweet little melody and folk-y words. I never thought much of it before, but ironically while the words are simple, the message is deep:
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
It was originally written by an elder Shaker. (They were an interesting group!)
Maybe it's just the small-town girl in me aching for a bit of familiarity and simplicity, but there are days I just can't wait for Heaven. No paperwork, no schedules that are filled beyond capacity, no attempts to do so much in order to "feel" likes something. Heaven is sure to be much simpler, for we will have but one focus - worshiping the King.
Yet, should that not be our one focus here? In all of our busyness and chaos, worship should be the one focus. Can I not worship God by living a holy life, by remember the mission He has called me to? Sometimes this involves being involved in complicated things, for life itself can be complicated. I suppose the question is what in life is made up of unnecessary complication and what in life am I trying to bury with all of those other things?
Enough rambling....just some random mid-afternoon thoughts to get out of my head. ;)
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
It was originally written by an elder Shaker. (They were an interesting group!)
Maybe it's just the small-town girl in me aching for a bit of familiarity and simplicity, but there are days I just can't wait for Heaven. No paperwork, no schedules that are filled beyond capacity, no attempts to do so much in order to "feel" likes something. Heaven is sure to be much simpler, for we will have but one focus - worshiping the King.
Yet, should that not be our one focus here? In all of our busyness and chaos, worship should be the one focus. Can I not worship God by living a holy life, by remember the mission He has called me to? Sometimes this involves being involved in complicated things, for life itself can be complicated. I suppose the question is what in life is made up of unnecessary complication and what in life am I trying to bury with all of those other things?
Enough rambling....just some random mid-afternoon thoughts to get out of my head. ;)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Oh my.
Friends, I just need some space to process a few things. Here goes:
In the month of May I will only have 3 full days available to be in the office. Next month I will be on Emergency Disaster Services, going as a delegate to the territorial social services seminar, doing my cousin Sarah's wedding (yeah!), attending the divisional business seminar, and going to SACEP. Mind you, I am looking forward to all of these things, however, I feel quite guilty for not being in the office more. Additionally, in June, I will be attending the pre-Jamboree, Commissioning, and music camp. This takes me away from the corps three Sundays in a row. July brings the Jamboree and Pilgrimage (2 Sundays) and August brings SACEP, brief furlough, and returning my family to CFOT. October brings the Scandinavian Jubilee with the divisional youth band and Officers Councils. November begins kettles.
Oh. my.
Quite simply, I will not neglect the responsibilities I have assumed in the next months. However, I am painfully aware that when August comes I will have to do some serious pruning of activities I'm involved in. Army though they may be, they do not all have direct correlation to my corps. I want to be more available for my people. I do not want them to always assume that I am too busy for them.
Dear Lord,
Grant me wisdom. Show what to do (and not to do). Teach me how to be in Your presence. Teach me Sabbath - not laziness - but Sabbath.
Amen
"In the chaos, in confusion I know You're sovereign still. In the moment of my weakness You give me strength to do Your will. So when You call I won't refuse. Each new day again I'll choose. There is no one else for me. None but Jesus. Crucified to set me free. Now I live to bring Him praise." - Hillsong
In the month of May I will only have 3 full days available to be in the office. Next month I will be on Emergency Disaster Services, going as a delegate to the territorial social services seminar, doing my cousin Sarah's wedding (yeah!), attending the divisional business seminar, and going to SACEP. Mind you, I am looking forward to all of these things, however, I feel quite guilty for not being in the office more. Additionally, in June, I will be attending the pre-Jamboree, Commissioning, and music camp. This takes me away from the corps three Sundays in a row. July brings the Jamboree and Pilgrimage (2 Sundays) and August brings SACEP, brief furlough, and returning my family to CFOT. October brings the Scandinavian Jubilee with the divisional youth band and Officers Councils. November begins kettles.
Oh. my.
Quite simply, I will not neglect the responsibilities I have assumed in the next months. However, I am painfully aware that when August comes I will have to do some serious pruning of activities I'm involved in. Army though they may be, they do not all have direct correlation to my corps. I want to be more available for my people. I do not want them to always assume that I am too busy for them.
Dear Lord,
Grant me wisdom. Show what to do (and not to do). Teach me how to be in Your presence. Teach me Sabbath - not laziness - but Sabbath.
Amen
"In the chaos, in confusion I know You're sovereign still. In the moment of my weakness You give me strength to do Your will. So when You call I won't refuse. Each new day again I'll choose. There is no one else for me. None but Jesus. Crucified to set me free. Now I live to bring Him praise." - Hillsong
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Let's Start Again - Extreme Couponing
Hello, Friends!
At the end of this month I'll be doing a Women's Ministries program at the corps on couponing (how to get the things you need for the least money). Until then (and perhaps after) I'll be posting the biggest deals I've found as well as some tips for good couponing. On the page you'll also find a couponing widget from www.thegrocerygame.com. I recommend checking it out!
To start, here are some basic tips (that I recently posted on a friend's FB):
This website compares store circulars with coupons that have not yet expired so that you can get the best deal (sometimes FREE): couponmom.com
She also has links to printable coupons.
I've set up coupon binder to help with the organization a...nd finding of coupons faster. Here's a website with some help for that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3byETfcMXc
I have different categories than this woman does, my categories are:
laundry, cleaning products, toothpaste, toiletries, paper products, baby items, medicine, freezer, baking needs, grains, meat, canned, breakfast, dairy, snacks, condiments, restaurants.
You will DEFINITELY want to check out www.thegrocerygame.com
I still like the coupon binder though...
Probably the 2 most important things to know are:
1. GET THE SUNDAY PAPER!!! Start clipping away and SAVE - DON'T throw the coupons out the next week - keep until the expiration date.
2. Store coupons and manufacturer coupons can be combined at most places. For example, if Colgate total is on sale for $1.75 at Walgreens and you have $1/1 ($1 off of one) coupon from a manufacturer insert (Proctor & Gamble, Red Plum, Smart Source, etc.) and a $.75/1 coupon from Walgreens...you get the item FREE!!!
I'm still learning couponing too, but I'll let you know if I find any more helpful websites. :) I'm preparing a Women's Ministries program on it for the end of the month.
Oh yes, and if you see it coming on TV, watch the TLC special "Extreme Couponing." Good stuff...as long as it doesn't consume your world. Happy Couponing! :)
At the end of this month I'll be doing a Women's Ministries program at the corps on couponing (how to get the things you need for the least money). Until then (and perhaps after) I'll be posting the biggest deals I've found as well as some tips for good couponing. On the page you'll also find a couponing widget from www.thegrocerygame.com. I recommend checking it out!
To start, here are some basic tips (that I recently posted on a friend's FB):
This website compares store circulars with coupons that have not yet expired so that you can get the best deal (sometimes FREE): couponmom.com
She also has links to printable coupons.
I've set up coupon binder to help with the organization a...nd finding of coupons faster. Here's a website with some help for that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3byETfcMXc
I have different categories than this woman does, my categories are:
laundry, cleaning products, toothpaste, toiletries, paper products, baby items, medicine, freezer, baking needs, grains, meat, canned, breakfast, dairy, snacks, condiments, restaurants.
You will DEFINITELY want to check out www.thegrocerygame.com
I still like the coupon binder though...
Probably the 2 most important things to know are:
1. GET THE SUNDAY PAPER!!! Start clipping away and SAVE - DON'T throw the coupons out the next week - keep until the expiration date.
2. Store coupons and manufacturer coupons can be combined at most places. For example, if Colgate total is on sale for $1.75 at Walgreens and you have $1/1 ($1 off of one) coupon from a manufacturer insert (Proctor & Gamble, Red Plum, Smart Source, etc.) and a $.75/1 coupon from Walgreens...you get the item FREE!!!
I'm still learning couponing too, but I'll let you know if I find any more helpful websites. :) I'm preparing a Women's Ministries program on it for the end of the month.
Oh yes, and if you see it coming on TV, watch the TLC special "Extreme Couponing." Good stuff...as long as it doesn't consume your world. Happy Couponing! :)
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