H is for October!?

1 Corinthians 13:6
" Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. "


I certainly didn't mean to mislead you with my post title today. If I have offended or confused you, I am truly sorry. And that's the truth! Are you rejoicing?? That's the hardest type of sin to confess, isn't it? If we don't know we have sinned, then how can we confess it? Fortunately we have wonderful prayers that help us to cover these types of situations. Here's one that I rely on.

"Most merciful God, 
we confess that we have sinned against thee
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved thee with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we earnestly repent.
For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, 
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in thy will,
and walk in thy ways,
to the glory of thy Name. Amen. "

I borrowed this from the Book of Common Prayer. While I no longer attend an Episcopal Church (a story for another day!), the resource of the prayer book is still invaluable to me. We can't escape sin, but if we confess each day and follow this simple "formula", we can cover in prayer, those sins that are less obvious to us. Lord, forgive my sins, things I have done, those things I have left undone, and those things that I don't even realize that I have done. Forgive me, Lord.

So now, to the fun!! H is for October because there are (and have been), so many fun things that begin with H this month that make me Happy! First, this is our first October in a new town. Each year, here in Chestertown, they have a HP Festival! No, not Hewlitt Packard, Harry Potter!! And as coincidence would have it, the little girls and I had just decided to re-read (read for Frankie) the Harry Potter book series. So we were ready to hit the streets in our wizard robes and wands. Here's a pic of my very favorite wizard at our first HP Festival.

We also have been busy with HoCo (Homecoming), 2 weekends worth! My son went to Homecoming at his former high school with his beautiful girlfriend. And, my beautiful daughter went to her first Homecoming dance at her new high school with a group of friends. Here are some cute pics.

My girl is on the left.

Then, on Saturday, my 2nd oldest daughter had a birthday. So, H is for Happy Birthday!

Here's a cute pic of my parents and 5 of my babies.
My birthday girl is front and center!

And, finally, we have to look forward to Halloween!! We love dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating. Here's what my 4 year old wants to be this year.

We found this costume here-  HalloweenCostumes.com

I hope you have a happy, harmonious, healthy, start to your week!

               

Living the dream!

Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
" And the Lord answered me: 'Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.' "


I am definitely a visual learner. I really need to see something to understand. Just hearing someone tell me about it is not going to do it for me, I won't retain it. It's gone. If I can see it, or touch it and feel it, or experience it, I've got it. God knows that some of us need more than just to be told what to do, we need more than a good Sunday sermon. We need time to figure things out. We need to make mistakes, we need to have experiences, we need to see what He has put before us, He has to light with clarity the path we need to take. Even Habakkuk was commanded to write down God's word and post them, so that people could see the words that God had spoken. Thank you, Lord, for showing us, leading us, and teaching us your will for us. Thank you for coming to us, just where we are.

Yesterday, I had an experience that I could only have dreamed of as a young woman. And now, as a (let's just say) mature woman, I can certainly appreciate it that much more. I was invited to come to a meet and greet for a local clothing company, and be a MODEL!!! Now, to be clear, I don't know if any of the pictures that were taken of me last night will ever be seen by anyone outside of their offices. If they do, I'll certainly let you know, but truly, I felt so beautiful and blessed by the experience that if it doesn't happen, that will be OK. If someone had told me that this would happen to me, I probably wouldn't have believed them. The only pictures I have posed for taken by a professional photographer, were school and wedding pictures. I never even did a Glamour Shot in the 80's! Most of the pics you see of me on this blog are taken by me or my children.

The lesson that I learned last night was, had I not acted on this opportunity, it wouldn't have happened. Just like this blog, and so many other opportunities and blessing in my life, I didn't just hear about what could happen or what was possible. I had to put my fears and insecurities aside, make a plan, and take a chance. One of the other ladies last night said, that she could now check off- be a model, on her bucket list.  I'm going to use this opportunity, to continue to push forward and visualize and realize some other goals in my life. We are given such short years here on earth, I don't want to waste my time wallowing in unbelief and fear. God gave me so much to use and share, it's time to start doing, it's time to run. It's time to live  the dream!!

Here I am!! This was the first dress that I was photographed in.
It's so comfortable and it has pockets!!
Behind me is the designer/creator of this amazing local clothing brand
 and some of the fabulous women she has on her team. 

Yes, when you are a "professional" model (lol), they bring out the good snacks!!

Here's my 2nd outfit!
Can you tell I'm having fun??
I didn't take a pic of my 3rd outfit, it was the same top with a skirt that matches the first dress.
So comfy, so cute!

Have a blessed Thursday!! Run after those dreams. Truly live the life that you've been given.