Love Brightly

After following my 7 Universal Tips for Packing in Winter , here's how my outfits panned out for my 7 days in Rome! I was there to take a seminary course, but the week allowed for a little time away from studies for sight-seeing and fun dinners out with friends. Hubby kept the kids at home for the whole 7 days! And as usual, my fashion disclaimer: I do not idolize clothes, nor what people think of me wearing them. I do enjoy clothes, and all things of beauty--colors, textures, etc. Putting together outfits is a creative expression for me, and I feel like challenging myself to keeping the creative pieces to a minimum is a good way to steward my resources. See the post for how I chose my layers.  Day 1. Layering allowed me to forgo my bulky coat on this chilly yet sunshine day. This striped sweater is actually a tunic that I turned under to create a different look. Day 1, evening. For a night out I removed the striped sweater and added this infinity scarf and lipstick....

Packing a week’s worth of clothing in a carry-on is fairly easy in Summer, but in Winter—when you have bulky sweaters, hefty shoes, and multiple layers of clothing, it can be a bit tricky. After I spent an afternoon planning ahead, I managed to get it all in one carry-on with room to spare for other essentials.  A friend who wanted my packing help said to me, "I love your outfits, but I don't think I can do what you do because not only is your style is different than mine, but also your size." So I'm aspiring to share 7 universal tips for packing in Winter. These tips are cumulative, so I've labeled them in Steps-- and if you want to see my personal 7 day wardrobe, click here . Step 1: Check the weather. My 7 days in Rome forecasted 5 days of cold rain. Step 2: Plan your shoes. Most of the time when you travel, you spend more time on your feet than on ordinary days, plus you don't have access to your entire closet of shoes. You need GOO...

I like lists. I'm not a "Dear Journal..." type person because hand-written diary entries take way too long. But I like lists because I can quickly record many thoughts with few words. While I was reading today, a list formed. David's love song to God contains so many colorful descriptions! Here's a list of qualities of God from 1 Chronicles 16. (And because lists are even better when organized, these qualities are grouped by likeness). everlasting faithful committed enduring loving welcoming joyful joyous good honorable holy just worthy (of praise) worthy (of reverence) deserving (of worship) majestic splendid glorious miraculous strong personal--and for this last one, a list within a list--Ways God demonstrates his personal interactions with us. God acts as: Father Creator King Ruler Protector Giver Receiver Doer Speaker Warner Maker of covenants Keeper of covenants Savior Judge Rescuer and Redeemer! I love how God giv...

I don't do the typical New Year's Resolutions, mostly because that term brings to mind a style of writing a list of desired achievements, usually varied, lengthy, and lofty, and typically without a workable plan to accomplish the tasks. But I do like to plan, evaluate, tweak, trash, restart. Here are 3 restarts for my 2015: 1. Morning Prayer and Make-up I set up my prayer focus on the wall. I wanted/needed it visible. I posted our wedding vows in this fun collage and pray over our promises to each other. Using Ikea frames with plastic fronts and dry erase markers, I actually write down requests of friends that they share on facebook, email etc. I've blurred the contents of the picture to protect privacy. Also on the picture is lists of neighbors, co-workers, kids of friends, friends of friends whose names I would never remember unless they were in front of me. Behind the dry erase surface is a map of my city--I pray over it generally--that God's love and light...

I can best tell you how I experienced Matt Mikalatos's book " The First Time We Saw Him " with a story. In the early dark morning, a jolting loud crash woke me. I wandered around the apartment inspecting for fallen items. When I came up short, I determined that it must've been something outside or in the neighboring apartment, so I went back to bed.  Just as my eyes closed, my neighbor's kitchen light shone through my bedroom window, and I snarled at its disturbance. This is why I close the shutters at night--why were they open?! Then it dawned on me--the shutters caused the big crash!  We had been told that the "wind was going to change tonight." With it would come Fall. Growing up in Texas and living there most of my life, this concept was lost on me. Fall breezed into Texas slowly. And it rarely stayed a day or two before Summer returned. A pair of shorts and a t-shirt were kept in our closets beside coats and boots because of the ever fluc...

After an exceptionally pleasant morning of homeschool, we opted for a picnic lunch. We stopped by the corner market to purchase a few supplies, and the sweet gentleman who owns it gave each of my kids a piece of candy as we left. As too often happens, after I checked the label, my eldest daughter couldn't eat it because of her severe nut allergy. I told her that I would give her a different sweet treat later at home, but as she watched her brother and sister enjoy their candy at the park, she began to cry. I gave her a hug and told her I understood how she felt because I have watched them eat delicious pizza while I couldn't partake. The empathy helped, but the burning question within her--one that she and her siblings have asked before, one that each person struggles with at some point if not many points--arose from her lips once again: "But why?! Why does this have to happen to ME?!" Upon discussing the qualities of an imperfect world, and how she is not the ...

I saw this with my own eyes. I truly paused before posting due to its utter sacredness: the oldest copy of the Torah/Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible in one volume), dated 1125 AD--one scroll, scribed on leather. It was discovered not long ago in the recesses of the Univ of Bologna Library (which has existed since the late 11th century), and is a perfect exact match of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Absolutely in awe! Just this week, the babes asked "How can we know that the Bible we read in English is actually the words God said?" Because He promised that not one jot of the pen would fade away. You can read more about it's discovery and authenticity at the UK Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332806/University-Bologna-Rare-complete-Torah-scroll-turns-worlds-oldest.html