Precious Grains of Sand: what i'm loving wednesday

I've been earning more bucks through avenues other than just searching and it's been exciting to see my bucks increasing. I still have a long way to reach my goal but I'm hopeful and excited!

(To read more about why I love Swagbucks check out the Frugal Fun tab/page I added last week)

2. Writing

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I've been really enjoying this new journey of blogging. I've always loved to write but get easily distracted, too busy, or lazy. Blogging has begun to hold me accountable to consistency, which was my main goal, but it has also allowed me the opportunity to explore my voice in a new way. Writing this blog hasn't only rekindled an old love for writing but it's taken that love to a deeper level. After writing a post or working on a fiction piece I feel giddy. I reread things that I've written and laugh at myself because I don't just enjoy the process but find the results entertaining.

3. How writing has strengthened my Christian Walk

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I have a friend who has a Facebook album titled "Across the Road" in this album she has roughly 20-30 pictures taken over the last couple of years of the beauty she sees there. I admire the way that she captures these moments of beauty and "collects" them. Last night I looked through this entire album and I could see the slight changes from one picture to the next, the position of the camera, the lighting, the season etc. I love that by taking pictures of it she has become more aware of the beauty there, and shared that awareness with her 400 fb friends.

I feel like that is what writing has done for my walk with Christ. That by sitting down at various times of the day and processing my experiences, I am becoming more aware of Christ around me. By sharing my most recent brush with the Peculiar Prayer Phenomenon I have remembered more examples of when that has happened to me or benefited me. While writing the post for Owen's Birthday I was able to take truths for us and put them into these words: And every time we spoke of what the Lord had done, and continued to do, we grew stronger. Our faith grew stronger. Our walk with Christ grew stronger. Our love for each other grew stronger. Words I can now use to share with friends who are struggling or return to for reflection and encouragement during our next trial.

I want to make it clear that in no way do I think that I have this life figured out, or that my Christian walk is better than anyone elses. "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins" Ecc 7:20. I'm merely saying that being able to come here and share these snapshots of Christ around and in me, my walk has grown exponentially. I have a long way to go, but I'm so excited about what the Lord has been doing in me and I love sharing this journey with all of you.

4. The book of Ecclesiastes

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Usually I do my morning devotions from Proverbs but when I finished on March 31st I some how kept reading and before I realized it I was reading the intro to Ecclesiastes which really caught my attention and so for the last few days I've been immersed in that for both my evening and morning devotions and I'm loving it! I plan to do a post or two on the insights I've gleaned through the notes in my study bible but for now I want to share this passage which has touched me specifically.

A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

And one more verse I found last night, which made me laugh out loud. I'f you've been here long, or made it through this entire post you will see that brevity is not my strong suit, I tend to verbose.

The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?

Ecclesiastes 6:11

5. My Family