Christ the Lord is Born!

In the First Light (Glad Accapella Christmas)
In the first light of a new day
No one knew He had arrived
Things continued as they had been
While a new born softly cried.

But the heavens wrapped in wonder
Knew the meaning of His birth
In the weakness of a baby
They knew God had come to earth.

As His mother held him closely,
It was hard to understand
That her baby not yet speaking
Was the Word of God to man.
He would tell them of His kingdom,
But their hearts would not believe
They would hate Him and in anger
They would nail Him to a tree.

But the sadness would be broken
As the song of life arose
And the First born of creation
Would ascend and take his throne.
He has left it to redeem us,
But before His life began
He knew He´d come back not as a baby
But as The Lord of ev´ry man.

Hear the angels as they´re singing
On the morning of His birth
But how much greater will our song be
When He comes again
When He comes again

Hear the angels as they´re singing
On the morning of His birth
But how much greater will our song be
When He comes again to Earth
When He comes to rule the Earth!


This song sums up the true meaning of Christmas. Not just that Christ came to earth as a baby but that He came to redeem us from our sins!


Merry Christmas everyone!
May you pause today to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas!

Goals for 2009

I know I'm a week early for New Year's resolutions but what can I say, I'm an overachiever! Plus, working nights has afforded me alot of thinking time (good/bad?). I enjoy setting goals for myself at the beginning of a year and then looking back to see which ones I've achieved. I hope that as the years go by, I'll be able to look back and see the growth in my life.
So here they are:
1. Be more consistent/faithful in my daily devotions (Deut. 4:29-31, Isaiah 50:4)
2. Be more loving/supportive/encouraging towards Daniel (Eph. 5:22-24, 1 Corinthians 13)
3. Be content in the season that God has placed me in...patience (Jeremiah 29:11-14, Psalm 37:4)
4. Be more intentional in inviting people over and meeting new people at church (1 Peter 3:8, John 15:13, Galations 6:10)
5. Be a better correspondent with family and friends (whether that be phone/email/letters)
6. Be consistent in going to the gym (yuck!)
7. Eat healthier and lose weight (my goal is to fit back into my favorite jeans!!)
8. Cut back on extra spending (i.e. my craft spending!)
9. Take master's classes (maybe if time/finances allow)

I'm sure I'll be adding more as I spend time thinking about it but at least I've got a head start. Maybe I'll be able to start some of these before the new year...definitely not the losing weight part! I'd appreciate your prayers in these areas especially the serious ones at the top...


Just a prayer to leave you with from the prayer "Humiliation" from The Valley of Vision:
"Whem I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me, by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but that in Christ I am reconciled, made alive, and satisfied; that I am feeble and unable to do any good, but that in Him I can do all things; that what I now have in Christ is mine in part, but shortly I shall have it perfectly in heaven."

My wonderful husband...

Have I mentioned how amazing and wonderful my husband is? He's not a big fan of home improvement projects. Yet, on Sunday, he spent the entire afternoon/evening picking up our new guest bedroom mattress, putting the bedframe together, and putting up 7 blinds in preparation for my family coming. The really amazing part of all of this is that I didn't even ask him to do it!! He's that wonderful ladies!
Honey, if you ever read this, I love you very much and am so incredibly thankful for you!!

His Way Is Perfect

I've been doing a lot of self-reflection recently...not quite sure why, it's definitely not usual for me to think deeply about anything! Maybe it's the impending end of yet another year but mainly, it's the messages Craig has been preaching recently about "thinking big" (see http://gracechurchfrisco.org). Sometimes, when I spend time in self-reflection it turns into self-pity which was the case a few weeks ago. I think about all the goals, expectations, and dreams I had for my life and realize that my life has not turned out how I had planned. Please don't get me wrong, I love where the Lord's path has taken me. I just never thought it would take me here...to the suburbs in Texas, to a small (not quite level 3) hospital, to no master's degree and none forseen in the near future, to no children (hopefully soon), and being far from my family. I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop trying to run my own life in my time frame according to my "list." Instead, I need to surrender daily to the Lord's leading for my life. I know that He has a perfect plan for me and will bring it to pass in His perfect timing! Last Wednesday, in care group, I shared with the ladies something I've been struggling with a lot in the past few months. I mentioned a song (which I couldn't remember the name or words to at the time) that has been so helpful to me over the years. It was the song that gripped my heart when I had turned so far from God. Every time I hear it, I can't help but cry! The song is titled "His Way Is Perfect." I'll try to post a link later to where you can actually listen to it but for now here are the words:
When my way seems dark and drear and the future I don’t know,
My heart feels so empty as the tears unending flow.
When my heart breaks with sorrow and a tempest fills my soul,
This one thing I know for sure: My God is in Control.

His way is perfect,
His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand His wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect.
His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes; His way is best.

When the toils of life are come and my heart is worn with care,
I faint ‘neath the burden of a cross I cannot bear.
When the joy has departed from my sorrow stricken soul,
This one thing I know for sure: My God is in control.

His way is perfect,
His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand HIs wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect.
His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes; His way is best.

Psalms 18:30 - "This God - His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him."

Craziness

It's been a wild and busy weekend! Friday afternoon, I got a pedicure with my very pregnant friend, Callie, and 30 minutes later, her water broke!! Yeah! She had a beautiful little girl and I can't wait to cuddle her!
For the rest of the weekend I have gotten phone calls from both my jobs asking me to work! Now, why do they always call when I already have plans that I can't change?!? First, Denton called to see if I could work Friday night...nope, sorry, Dan's Christmas party. Then, Denton called four times on Saturday to see if I could work either Saturday night, Sunday day, or Sunday night. Busy all three! Today, Frisco called to see if I could work tonight. I originally said yes and then realized I wouldn't be able to nap at all because of a Lauren's baby shower that I was having at my house this afternoon! So, I called them back and said I had changed my mind! Sorry friends in Frisco! Then, this evening I received the most wonderful phone call of them all...Frisco called to see if I would be willing to work Monday and Tuesday day shift instead of the night shift. As Caroline always says...Duh!! Of course I'd rather work day shift...normal sleep and more than four hours of it! No brainer! The most exciting part is that Callie is still in the hospital and maybe she'll give me some cuddle time with little Annie (Callie if you read this before I get there please say yes)!
So, overall, not a bad weekend at all.

I have a blog?!?!

Hello to all my friends! I have finally entered the blogging world...don't be scared, it probably won't last and I won't be offended if you never read me!
I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile. Why, you may ask? Because I am addicted to blogs. I read them day and night...just ask my husband! I probably check blogs more than my email and it doesn't seem to matter if I've never met the person whose blog I am reading! Do they make a support group for that? Hello, my name is Lisa and I am a blogaholic!
I thought that maybe, if I had my own blog, I would be meeting the need of some other blogaholic. Sad, but true!
So, here's my story for all of you who don't know me yet or know me but are bored at the moment!

My life began on a cold and snowy night in 1981...just kidding, I won't start there!
I am a newlywed of two years to the most wonderfully caring and gorgeous husband ever. We moved to TX a year ago from Oakland, CA and before that from Greenville, SC. We were nomads for the first year of our marriage, but have decided to put down roots. Why TX, some may ask...because women will do anything for the man they love! In all honesty, though, we moved here to be near family. My husband's older brother, sister-in-law, and niece moved here two months before us. We had to choose somewhere and my husband didn't like my idea of moving to NJ or NYC. So, here we are in TX, land of cows and nothingness for miles! How I miss the city that never sleeps, Broadway, the seasons, the traffic, the snow, my family! But, I have to admit that it is growing on me. I still am not fond of the cows, the bugs, the lack of a "real" fall. However, I love the house we bought (which we never could have afforded in CA, NJ, or Chicago), being near my sister-in-law (whose becoming one of my closest friends), enjoying my four year old (going on 16) niece, my church (http://gracechurchfrisco.org), all my new friends, and most importantly, my husband, whom I would follow to the ends of the earth!

So, that is the short history of my life. Maybe I will post more details in the future...depends on my mood and if anyone will ever look at this blog!