Our family business has been so blessed this Christmas season. Even with soaring precious metals prices, we have managed to stay ahead of the curve for another year.
Producing custom badges and mini-badge jewelry is our passion and we appreciate all who love our work and spread the word about our finely crafted pieces.
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. (Henry David Thoreau)
This is our ninth Christmas season and each one has been busier than the last, and with each one we had to put the idea of defeat or unmet deadlines out of our minds and just take care of the task before us.
I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much. (Mother Teresa)
Our little five-person family operation has been running around the clock all month so that we can deliver as many orders as possible in time to make it under Christmas trees across the country.
We are pleased to be making and exceeding even our own deadlines, expectations and goals for this Christmas season and are looking forward, with weary eyes, to the turning of the calendar at the fresh year approaching.
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. (Abraham Lincoln)
So, to all of you who have followed our family business, friends and customers alike, we say Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have a safe and memorable holiday season and may we all remind ourselves to step back, see the big picture, and enjoy the time together with family and friends.

Categories: On my mind · Our family business
Tagged: Abraham, Badge, business, Co., Company, Creaftsman, custom, David, G. Rowe, Gary, Henry, Houston, Jewelry, Lincoln, linkedin, Marilyn, metals, mini-badge, Mother, precious, Teresa, Thoreau
Hello all!
The kids and I have had such fun this winter with the crisp coolness and so much to see and do (when time allows). Here’s a taste of our winter fun.
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
my blog: Marilyn.WordPress.com
our family website: growecraftsman.com
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Categories: On my mind
Are YOU Pouring on the Pounds???

Click & watch this video from the NYC Health’s anti-soda campaign: How About A Nice Tall Glass of… Fat!?.
I am blessed to have never become addicted to sodas. I have an addictive personality to begin with, so it’s just a miracle that soda is not one of my inner battles (candy, on the other hand…). Anyway, watch this quick video and you may just break your soda addiction.
Categories: On my mind · Optimum Health Mission
Tagged: addiction, anti-soda, fat, habit, health, link, New York City, NYC, optimum, soda, Video
OK, friends, this week I am trying something new. Rather than posting single workouts each day, I am going to post this week’s workouts today and go from there…sound good? The following set of workouts, I actually wrote up for a girl friend of mine, but I love them so much that I’m going to do them this week, as well. Join me, it will be well worth the effort!
Tuesday 12/15/09 (I’m not a Monday exerciser…it’s like my day of rest from exercise)
5:00 cardio warm-up on your choice of machines
5 sets x 10 reps each of the following exercises (perform one exercise at a time, completing your sets before moving to the next exercise):
-Smith Machine Squats
-Stiff Legged Deadlifts
-Standing Calf Raises w/ Dumbbells
-50 Walking Lunges w/ Dumbbells
5:00 cardio of your choice, but it needs to be something that is leg-intensive to help work through some of the work your muscles just did
Thursday 12/17/09
10:00 Treadmill, 3% incline, hard push
10:00 Stationary Bike, medium effort, kind of a cool down from the previous 10:00 but still kickin’ it
10:00 Elliptical, hard push
25 reps Lying, straight-leg ab crunches
25 reps Back extensions
Friday 12/18/09
5:00 cardio warm-up on elliptical, enough of a push to get the blood pumping
5 sets x 10 reps each of the following exercises:
-Incline Bench Press w/ Dumbbells
-Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
-Flat Bench Dumbbell Flys
-Modified Pull-ups
5:00 cardio cool-down of your choice

Saturday 12/19/09
5:00 (are you ready for this?) backward walking on the treadmill, 1% incline, comfortable pace
10:00 Elliptical, hard push
50 Push-ups
10 Squat jumps
50 Walking Bodyweight Lunges
10 Squat jumps
10:00 Treadmill hard push, 2% incline
5:00 cardio cool-down of your choice

Sunday 12/20/09–I love Sunday workouts
Sunday is about core strength, shoulders, and calves. I love to go in Sunday afternoons, and work shoulders every which way possible, then throw in some intensive ab work for good measure, super-set with back extensions to tighten up the entire “love handle” area, then finish the session off with some calf work. These areas are all critical for strength and stability, yet often get overlooked while the muscles they support get worked. If we work the large muscle groups but neglect the small, supporting muscles, we set ourselves up for painful setbacks.
If you go through this series with me, you are going to feel on top of the world and POWERFUL at the end of this week!!!
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: abs, arms, back, chest, daily, December, Exercise, Fitness, Girl, gym, health, lunges, muscle, shoulders, squats, workouts
Seriously folks, doesn’t it feel like we have even fewer hours in every day from about mid-October until January second? It makes me tired just thinking about all that needs to be done in this accelerated time span of parties, shopping, gift giving, decorating, wrapping, unwrapping, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, on top of the usual day to days that already keep our schedules pretty tight. Is there anyone else out there who could just use a guilt free five hour nap?
All of this to say that I am sorry I haven’t posted much this month, I have so much to tell and so few free moments to type but I will catch up and catch my breath.
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Categories: On my mind
Tagged: busy, chaos, Christmas, holidays, Time
Today’s workout really kicked booty! Quite literally! Tonight I worked out with my awesome Power Sculpt class and let me just say: I will be sore tomorrow!
Here’s what we did:
5:00 jump roping
4 rounds of the following rotation (10 reps each)
*step up kick backs
*extend and tuck crunches
*one legged squats with medicine ball
*lunge kicks with medicine ball
*standing calf raises with dumbbells
4 rounds (20 reps each)
*side one-legged squats
*pushups
*alternating step kicks with medicine ball
*squat swings with medicine ball
*stiff legged deadlifts
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
my blog: Marilyn.WordPress.com
our family website: growecraftsman.com
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, Workout
The family and I are home from our Thanksgiving travels, and I’m ready to hit the ground running today…figuratively speaking. I’m taking the day off from training, as I do most Mondays, but for those if you who want something fun and effective to help work off some of the indulgent Thanksgiving calories, here you go:
10:00 treadmill running, 2% incline
3x following rotation:
10 pushups
10 squat jumps
10 straight leg ab crunches
Finish with a 5:00 treadmill hike, 3% incline
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Push-ups–step 1
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Push-ups–step 2
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Push-ups–step 3
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Exercise, Fitness, Girl, gym, health, hike, incline, push ups, sprint, treadmill, Workout

click image for more information
Right now, I am going through a Beth Moore Bible study covering the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) and am loving it. It also got me thinking about pilgrimages, both of ancient times and present.
The back cover of my workbook reads, “Three times a year, the ancient Israelites traveled to the temple in Jerusalem. Now it’s your turn.” Coincidence has a funny way sometimes. This coming weekend, some sisters in Christ and I are heading to Oklahoma City for the Deeper Still Bible conference. I have been looking so forward to the experience and It only hit me this evening that my weekend kind of counts as a pilgrimage.
So, even though I’m not even back from my first official pilgrimage, I have decided that it is going to become customary for me to embark on three pilgrimages a year, in following with the Biblical laws with a modern day slant.
Without over analyzing this to death, I am placing some guidelines out there for my own sanity.
1. Biblical law determined that the three pilgrimages centered around feasts. Mine will be about timing and schedules. As the mom of several active children, timing is everything. So, whenever I can, I will.
2. There are no rules as to what constitutes a pilgrimage on this regard or who can or cannot join me or participate in said pilgrimage. That sounds a bit legalized, but sufficed to say, I trust in the Lord to guide the people and circumstances to this end.
3. The only rule is that each pilgrimage begins with prayers of guidance and direction, and the faith to follow the pilgrimage paths set for me.
Worship on, dear friends!
Categories: On my mind · Road Signs to Him
Tagged: Beth Moore, Bible, conference, Deeper Still, pilgrimage, study
On the road again…
Well, my dear family is travelling back home today. I hope and pray that each of your Thanksgiving holiday was lovely, no matter how you spent it or with whom. I am attaching a photo I took I one morning at dawn (I love Texas sunrises).
Ok, so when it comes to training today, you can be sure that I will be getting my body moving ASAP once we reach our home destination. I’m craving a nice, slow run. Seriously slow, as I feel like I gained an extra person with all of the scrumptious feasting I have done for five full (very full) days. So, LSD (long, slow distance) is my self prescription for the days activity. Happy running, all!

Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, run, Workout
Well, I don’t know what happened to my posting from yesterday but let’s just say it involved 50 rep sets and lunges.
Today’s workout rocked. We found a power gym in Weatherford, TX, and had an awesome workout. My husband, two oldest sons, and I all got day passes. Good times!
I trained back, bis, and delts:
*T-bar rows, 3 heavy sets
*Straight arm pressdowns, 3 heavy sets
*B-bar pulldowns, 3 heavy sets
*Dumbbell jerks, drop sets, 4 drops
*Standing bicep curls, drop sets, 5 drops
*Lat pulldowns, 2 heavy sets
*Seated cable rows, 2 heavy sets
*Standing lateral raises, 5 light, high-rep sets
*Cable shoulder rotations, 1 light sets each movement
Here are some pics…I think (If they load)
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Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Fitting a workout in with all of the Thanksgiving feasting can be tricky. But of you have a chance to train, do what you feel like doing, get the blood pumping and a sweat worked up.
I hope you and yours enjoy a very special day of thanks, family, and friends.
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
My workout for the day is a wish workout…on the road to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. I will. likely go for a walk or light jog this evening to get the blood circulating. Happy turkey day, all!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, Workout

AR State-2006
Our bodies are temples of His grace and it is my job to ensure that I keep my temple clean and strong.
This weekend I have decided to get back into a muscle-building mode and put back on some meat.

AR State--2006
In July of 2006, I was a lightweight competitive bodybuilder. Then, my husband and I found out that we were expecting a sweet addition to out already large brood. Long story, short, the next two years paid a great toll on my body as I battled health issues during the pregnancy and beyond.
My workouts were hit-and-miss at best and completely non-existent at their worst. However, through that period of my life, I knew that if I listened to my body and resisted the urge to push it beyond its abilities at that time, that my body would recover more quickly and more thoroughly, and when it was healed my mind would be waiting with great anticipation.

AR State-2006
The waiting paid off and I was able to get back to training in the summer of 2008. When I got back into the swing of things, though, I was hit with the hard reality that I had to start from scratch. Let me just say that did not make me happy. I was well, I was healed, I was 20 pounds lighter than before, and I was down-right weak.
Because I knew what had to be done to get back into a healthy fitness habit, I just put my head down and got to work.

AR State-2006
I’m not telling you that it was fun, though. I’m not one to blow smoke. It was hard and I was out of practice at pushing myself. There were days when I just couldn’t seem to get motivated enough to get my workouts done. Other days I would allow just about anything to distract me from taking care of my temple.
But let me tell you this: the more workouts I made time for, the easier was to fit future workouts into my schedule. So many can attest to this truth. We can find time to so just about anything we want to do, but unless we find joy in working out it’s not going to be high on our priority lists.

AR State-2006
What kind of exercises do you enjoy doing? I love to weight train. I just realized over the weekend that I still get a thrill from running. I enjoy yoga, but rarely get to class and don’t enjoy it alone in my home (which is odd for me because I tend to be a loner when I exercise). I love to ride bikes like Lance and punch a heavy bag like Rocky, but those are not to-to favorites when I’m energized and ready to work. For me, it’s all about clanking weight plates and dumbbells around, dripping in sweat and forming the tell-tale signs of a weight trainer on the calloused palms of my hands (even through gloves). My go-to workouts revolve around the weight room floor.
So, here I am now…three years later. Through functional training and working to get into cardiovascular as well as strength shape, this is how far I’ve come. I’m not including any of the “in between” pics of how big I got with my third pregnancy, or how tiny I shrunk down to during the subsequent illness, but sufficed to say, I am happy that my body is responding to some weight gain. I feel more like “me.”
I believe that everything happens for a reason, and it’s how we respond to tragedy, loss, illness, and even bounty that shape us and teach us. Friends, let me tell you, I’ve learned a lot! And I am thankful for every lesson. Now, I think it’s time to hit the gym!!!
Today, I’m working upper body. Last night’s 10×10 squats were killer fun. Tonight, because we have a holiday looming and workouts will surely be hit-or-miss while travelling, I’m going to do an extended, seriously brutal workout…a series of 10×10’s. BEWARE!
10×10 Incline dumbbell press
10×10 Chin-ups (modify if you need to)
10×10 Incline bicep curls
10×10 Overhead Tricep Extensions
Here’s where I stand today, November 2009:
I know…I know…this is as dark as my skin gets…just call me Casper the friendly Gym Girl!!!
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts · On my mind · Optimum Health Mission
Tagged: health, Girl, Fitness, Workout, longevity, bodybuilding, gym, body, temple, daily, weight training, going, heavy, lifting, bodybuilder, competitive, Arkansas, AR, State, competition
My legs are still sore from my 5k, so what’s the best thing to do today? WORK LEGS! I love 10×10 workouts, so here’s what’s on my agenda for the day:
5:00 treadmill all out
10 sets of 10 reps each (60 seconds rest between sets): Smith machine squats–choose a weight that you can maintain throughout the 10×10, but by the last few sets it needs to be pretty difficult to get through the reps.
5:00 treadmill jog

Smith Machine Squats--step 1

Smith Machine Squats--step 2

Smith Machine Squats--step 3
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, legs, machine, Smith, squats, Workout
Hello all! I hope everyone’s Sunday is going well. I know today is a day of rest for most, but in my world weekends are great opportunities to train. Our weekdays run together so that even the days we are fortunate enough for time to train, the workouts can still be in ineffective. This is why I love weekend workouts; time to train. Not so rushed, more enjoyable because they are more energized; just an added bonus to the weekend.
That said, here are my thoughts for my own training on this beautiful Sunday afternoon:
Since I had the turkey run 5k yesterday, my legs, back, and obliques as still pretty smoked, so today my focus is going to be upper body bound. Shoulders, biceps, and triceps, with and some ab work thrown in for good measure. I’m going to hit the dumbbells and lift them every way imaginable to really get a good arm and shoulder pump. I’m going to keep the reps low and the weight at the top end of my lifting strength. By tomorrow, I will be ready to hit legs and glutes, but not today!
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: bicep, daily, delts, Girl, gym, shoulders, tricep, Workout
Good morning, all!!! There is nothing like choosing to wake up early on a Saturday morning to go run!
This morning is the Turkey Trot 5k that my friend, Dawn, wrangled me into. I’m pretty sure I remember literal arm twisting! Its been a while since my running days so this won’t be a quick race, but it will be a fun run.
Whether you are running this weekend , weight training, or just taking it easy, I hope your weekend rocks!!!
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, race, run, trot, turkey, Workout
Todays a day off for me in prep for tomorrow’s “race.” Whew!!!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, Girl, gym, Workout
Sometimes its more difficult than others to read the signs. For instance (because this is my latest obsessive compulsive thought), I’ve been planning for a month or more to upgrade mine and my husband’s cell phones in December. We have been Palm users for a couple of years, now, (not counting the original Palm Pilots that were not phones, also) so were originally planning to move to the Palm Pre. Then we started researching the apps, battery life, durability, and countless other nit-picks about every smart phone on the market and are now right back at square one. Actually, as of this postingm, we aren’t even at square one, we’re behind square one…and its frustrating and heck! How am I supposed to stop obsessing about cell phones (to upgrade, not to upgrade, what to upgrade to if we go through with said upgrade) when the issue is not being resolved?
OK, so I decided the answer to my obsession was prayer. That’s certainly logical. Now that I really think that God cares what phone I have or don’t have, but I’m pretty sure He still knows what’s best for me and which phone will help more and which will hinder more, if you know what I mean. So, I prayed. Yes, I prayed about cell phones. I know, I know.
So, I arose from my prayer time over cell phones completely at ease with whatever came my way. That if it was best for us to keep the phones we have for now and make no change, that I wouldn’t pout. That if the upgrades were a good plan (or at least not a bad plan) then that decision would be made obvious as the nose on my face or the crows feet around my eyes from years of big smiles. And my mind was (note, was) at ease.
So, I’m good to go and no longer obsessing. Then, I get to the office, and I’ll be darned if the very first email that pops up is from Fora.tv telling me that they now have an app for the iPhone. Now I’m just confused, because I’m sure that God isn’t really giving me the go-ahead for the phone of all phones, the acclaimed iPhone 3GS…or is He? I can justify the hack out of an iPhone purchase (or even some of the Android phones, for that matter). I do tons of stuff on my phone, practical stuff…now just games and goofy stuff. I blog, email, work on the company websites, facebook (thats no goofy), tweet (not goofy, either), and so much more. Phones any more truly are our personal computers, and this is especially true for me as we do not even have a computer at home anymore since we use our cell phones for everything.
So, all of that obsessing to ask: When we pray for definite signs and directions, and we get answers that surprise us, how do we answer? As for the phone, I’m still not convinced that I’ve gotten the last of my direction on that matter and I won’t buy a new phone until I am sure, but really this is just the latest of many personal examples of this kind of signal reading test. When do we know the answers from the wishful thinking???
I’d love your input!!!
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An hour or so later…
Anyone who reads much of my writing knows what’s to come. An little while after finishing up the posting on my cell phone conundrum, I came to the following passage in my New Testament reading. I won’t commentate further, the Word speaks for itself!
Then someone out of the crowd said to him, “Master, tell my brother to share his legacy with me.”
But Jesus replied, “My dear man, who appointed me a judge or arbitrator in your affairs?”
And then, turning to the disciples, he said to them, “Notice that, and be on your guard against covetousness in any shape or form. For this man’s real life in no way depends on the number of his possessions.”
(Luke 12:13-15, Modern English Translation)
and then further down…
“You must not set your heart on what you eat or drink, nor must you live in a state of anxiety.”
(Luke 12:29, Modern English Translation)
Categories: On my mind · Road Signs to Him
Tagged: Android, apps, Bible, cell, English, Fora.TV, God, iPhone, Jesus, logical, Luke, Modern, New, obsessing, Palm, phones, prayer, Pre, Reading, Signs, Testament, Translation, upgrade
Since I have a race in my near future, running will absolutely be high in my priority list once again today. However, for those of you not participating in our local Turkey Trot, check the weight room out and iron up!
Squats-reps of 21,15,9,5
Stiff legged deadlifts-same rep range
Walking lunges with dumbbells-100 steps
Seated calf raises-reps of 21,15,9,5
Beware: you may need someone to help you out of chairs tomorrow evening, once the soreness kicks in. But remember: its all worth it!!!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: calf, daily, deadlift, dumbbells, Girl, gym, hamstrings, legs, lunges, quads, raises, squats, walking, Workout
Good morning! I had planned on waking up and going for a nice run in the autumn crispness, but I instead awoke to a vomitting baby and my plans were altered. So, instead of running, I’m going to do four 7-10 minute bouts of assorted cardio work this afternoon at the gym. For those of you who are training with me, shoot for a medium to medium/high intensity; enough push to really get the blood pumping, but easy enough that you can actually get through 30-40 minutes of cardio.
I think I’ll start on the elliptical machine, then hit the stepmill (because its brutal and I want to get it checked off), then the treadmill for a good uphill jog, then end on the spin bikes. Sounds painful and effective…just my kind of workout. Hope you enjoy it as much as I will!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: bicycle, cardio, daily, elliptical, Girl, gym, running, stepmill, treadmill, Workout
November 16, 2009 · 1 Comment
Here is one of my favorite workouts, seriously!
PERFORM 25 REPS. PER EXERCISE
Bench jumps
1-legged squat, each side
Bent over lateral raises
Dumbbell flys
Arnold presses
Lying leg raises
Out out/In in on bench
Bent over rows
Tricep push ups
Front delt raises
Extend & tuck ab crunches
Bicycle crunches
Alternating bench step-ups
Supermans w/ light dumbbells
Concentration curls
Skull crushers
Straight leg lying ab crunch
Still legged dead lift
Dumbbell swing
Overhead press
High-knees
Alternating mule kicks
Calf raises
Fun???!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, favorite, Fitness, Girl, gym, health, Workout
The color that is so vibrant in my neighborhood is just too pretty not to share. I hope your lives are as vibrant and beautiful as these:

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. (Anne Frank)

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. (Frank Lloyd Wright)

The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration. (Claude Monet)
Who has not found the heaven below
Will fail of it above.
God’s residence is next to min,
His furniture is love. (Emily Dickinson)

Categories: On my mind
Tagged: happy, Color, autumn, fall, leaves, beauty, neighborhood, Emily, Dickinson, Claude, Monet, Anne, Frank, Lloyd, Wright, quotes
I feel so blessed that you have stopped by my blog to sample my writing, and that your eyes have landed here, as this is such a special message from my heart about our individuality and gifts, and I wish to share it with the world.
God has placed so many messages on my heart, they seem to appear out of no where and sometimes I can’t even find the time to make note of them amid the business of life. This weekend, as I was trying to sort through some of the glimpses of lessons and studies that have become apparent most recently, I began to pray. I prayed mainly for clarification and direction, to have some guidance as to which lesson to delve deeper into, which message was most critical both for me to hear myself, and to share with others. The answer came immediately,with my eyes still closed and my mind still quiet. It was one word, as audible as if He was sitting right beside me: thumbprints. so, I will expand on a lesson God brought to my attention last week, that has been rattling around in my head ever since.
It occurred to me that the best physical evidence that God created the heavens and the earth (in case the inspired Word of God just won’t convince you) is right there on the undersides of our fingertips. My thumbprint is completely unique to me, and yours is to you. No one else who has ever lived before or will ever be borne shares this exact mark. This is a phenomenal, wonderful, powerful realization for me. It warms my heart that God placed His special mark on each of us and that mark makes us unique, but at the same time, one in the body of Christ.
The Psalms tell us that He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name (Psalms 147:4, NIV). He has a very special name for each of us, as well. Do you think that when we get to heaven, we are still going to be called by our earthly names? Marilyn? Morgan? Kelsey? Bob? Joe? Sally? No, He has a special name for you and a special name for me, and he named us even before he created the earth (see John 17:24, 1 Peter 1:20).
And just as we rejoice that God has put this special thumbprint on our natural bodies, and given each our heavenly bodies a name, Jesus tells us that we also rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20, NIV). Oh yes, brothers and sisters, we are like the stars in the sky. We are too numerable for the human mind to comprehend, but to God we are special and unique. We are like stars in His eyes!
Thumbprints are funny little things. Some are more curvy or wavy, some are straighter or even swirly. There are many ways of classifying thumbprints and categorizing their styles, yet in the end they each have variations that make them different. We arent much removed from our thumbprints. But each man has his own gift from God (1 Corinthians 7:7, NIV). And although those gifts may be categorized or compartmentalized, only He knows each of our precise purpose within those realms.
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
We are meant to serve together and on our own, but always on His behalf.
Just in studying for this lesson, I came across a verse that I had read before but this evening it seemed to absolutely jump off the page at me. For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). I so enjoy reading the book of Romans, but when I came across that short verse, it was as if I had never seen it before (I love how God works that way!).
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
If you don’t have a clear picture of His will for your natural life, don’t sweat it. Pray about it! He will reveal His plan to you, but on His timeline, not ours.Continue to pray and to listen. The pastor at our home church loves to say, “There’s a reason we have two ears and only one mouth.” So true, Pastor Marty, so true! Talk to God through prayer, but then allow yourself to be comfortable in the quiet and just listen. He knew you before the creation and He knows you still; He calls you by name and you wear His special mark of unfailing love on your fingertips. He is there.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Dear God, Thank you for giving me such a special mark and for calling me your own. Please God, continue to live and work through me and using me as a servant of your will. I am yours completely. Amen.
Categories: Road Signs to Him
Tagged: 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, 2 Timothy, blog, categories, Christ, creation, Ephesians, evidence, fingerprint, gifts, God, Heaven, inspired, John, lesson, Luke, message, name, NIV, physical, Psalms, Romans, service, stars, thumbprint, unique, Word
Mondays, as a general rule, are not training days for me. I find that Mondays are already overbooked and either not getting my workout in or jumping through hoops just to get to it makes it not worth the stress. So, I start my workout week on Tuesdays, and love weekend workouts the most (most people’s Monday is my Friday…as the week progresses, I get more and more focused, I suppose). But, here’s a workout for you Monday Maniacs out there who want something to get your engine going…
Go through the following rotation twice, then end with 5:00 easy jogging:
10:00 easy treadmill jogging
20 reps lateral dumbbell raises (can be performed sitting as shown or standing)
20 reps box step-ups (holding db in each hand, alternating step-ups on a step or bench about shin to knee level)
20 reps overhead dumbbell press
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: daily, dumbbell, Fitness, Girl, gym, health, jog, lateral raises, Monday, overhead press, run, step-ups, Training, treadmill, Workout
Today, I’m going for a run. I have a 5k next weekend, and I haven’t run regularly in years (hence the reason I’m only doing a 5k!). So, I’m hitting the trails today for some quiet running to help get back into the swing of things. I think I will take my camera so I have an excuse to rest (“Oh, I just have to get a picture of this”… or “Wow, look at that stunning fall color, I better stop and take a picture for my blog”). Happy trails!!!
Categories: Gym Girl Daily Workouts
Tagged: 5k, daily, Fitness, Girl, gym, health, race, run, Workout