the LOVE of GOD

in honor of valentine's day, instead of sharing some SAPPY photo or quote from a ROMANTIC movie, i thought i'd share with you one of my favorite hymns that tells of the LOVE of GOD. the poetic writing in this hymn is so beautiful and it just goes to show that God's love is still the SAME today just as it was when this was written (the lyr­ics are based on the jew­ish poem had­da­mut, writ­ten in ara­ma­ic in 1050 by meir ben isaac ne­hor­ai.).

the love of God is greater far

than tongue or pen can tell;

it goes beyond the highest star,

and reaches to the lowest hell;

the guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child, He reconciled,

and pardoned from his sin.

when hoary time shall pass away,

and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

when men who here refuse to pray,

on rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,

all measureless and strong;

redeeming grace to adam’s race—

the saints’ and angels’ song.

could we with ink the ocean fill,

and were the skies of parchment made,

were every stalk on earth a quill,

and every man a scribe by trade;

to write the love of God above

would drain the ocean dry;

nor could the scroll contain the whole,

though stretched from sky to sky.

AMEN!

h-a-p-p-y b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y!

happy birthday to my baby sister!

no matter where we are in life, we will always have... movie quoting, spooning, videoweed, craig's brother, unibrows, nashville, the emerald city, black chucks, panera bread, "the EAGLES are coming!", cat photos, black parade, (shifting), the airport, obnoxiously LOUD sobbing goodbyes and then giggling, road trips, starbucks, hating your old boss--"YOU know why!", stomping to chevelle, pig tails, prayer pinkies, smelly finger, pride and prejudice, decorating, pillows, and SNUGGLING!

and so... on your birthday, even though we aren't able to celebrate your 19 WHOLE YEARS together, we will, as always, have our SPECIAL moments (that are never understood by the outside world) to remember together. (SHIFTING!!!!!) i love you juby. =D

who are you?

everyone bases their identity in SOMETHING. the question is, is that "something" worth placing your identity IN. below are statements from two different types of people: those whose identity is based as a child of God and those who base their identity in ANYTHING else.

"i worry constantly because i believe my needs will be met only through my own performance and effort."

"i never worry because my Father knows what i need and has promised to give it to me." (matthew 6:32)

"i am filled with envy and greed because my self-worth is based on the quantity and quality of my possessions."

"i am content in all my circumstances (phillippians 4:11) because the thing i value most is my Father's love, which He freely gives to me." (romans 5:5)

"i constantly try to impress people because i need their approval to feel good about myself."

"i am not controlled by other people's opinions because my value and worth come from knowing that Christ loves me so much that He died for me." (john 3:16)

"i have unhealthy relationships because i use people to try to meet my need for love and value."

"i have healthy relationships because my Father has already met my need for love and value." (1 john 4:19)

"i have trouble forgiving people because my pride tells me they don't deserve it."

"i forgive other people because my Father forgives me even though i don't deserve it." (romans 5:8)

"i am filled wit guilt and shame because of the things i have done and continue to do."

"i am filled with joy and peace because Christ's redeeming sacrifice has made me righteous and holy in my Father's eyes." (1 corinthians 1:30)

everyone needs reminded of what it means to be a son or daughter of Christ. i hope you will be able to read this and have HOPE. may the two people who actually read my B List Of Goodies have a wonderfully blessed day. =)

h&y

i LOVE hoops and yoyo. these guys CRACK me up!

ps. you are SOOOO cute!

timing is everything

this was NOT the look on my face

two seconds later

when the earring was PULLED OUT

by the little rug rat.

my name means what?

okay, so i was curious and i ACTUALLY looked my (first) name up in the urban dictionary (see this post). according to the ud, i am "the sexiest girl in the world." HECK YES! and... "the most adorable, retardedly funny, easy and fun person to talk to. has a sense of humor that never disappoints or keeps you from laughing, and she always has a smile on her face no matter what. and even though she doesn’t know it, she is very beautiful and smart."

yes? yes? keep talking....

"someone who knows what they want and can get it. once you meet a real stephanie, don't ever let go."

oh...
i get it.
ha. ha. ha.
my MOM probably wrote all that.
oh well, who cares. it was fun to read. =D
look up your name and let me know what it means.
just DON'T look up the name franklin.

i said DON'T!

clutz from birth

when you look my name up in the urban dictionary, this is what you may find next to my name: "a person who is never without a scrape or bruise. someone who always finds a way to trip, bump into things or people. and they are fond of knocking themselves out by walking into walls, doorways, corners, cabinets and/or desks."

guess what. that's ME. and how do i know this? well, i FELL in the parking lot at WORK, scraping my knee AND foot AND toes AND elbow... and pride. i don't even know how it happened! i was walking one second and the next, i was on the GROUND grasping for my foot. sure i was shocked at first, but once it set in what happened, the hurts started to come on and so did the tears. ...lets just say, you're never too old to tear up over a booboo.

i'm fine. i'm just glad nobody saw. i hope.

waiting for my free burrito

38 and counting... walter l., susan l., alyssa g., marco f., cindy w., allyson w., jonna w., jordan w., bethany w., natalie f., franklin f., galilee w., russ w., heather r., kirsten s., brooke h., al s., kaylene s., morgan s., derek k., jen k., marshall k., eddie k., samantha h., dana s., penni m., jon w., jessie v., kelly t., traci c., jim v., brenda l., ashley c., brian b., chris w., marissa d., jonathan w., jeffrey w., and lori d! 38 people who have two things in common. knowing ME and eating CHIPOTLE! 

in my short time as a chipotle lover, i have personally shared the wonders of its food to over 38 PEOPLE! i have single handedly provided chipotle with 38+ returning customers. yep. i do believe i'm due for a free burrito. (grinning WILDLY)

"i'm not a dancer. i'm just drunk"

what if a cop knew you were drunk but you passed every test given...?

aaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!

i salute you dad!

i salute you on your BIRTHDAY, dad--HEAD of the table, KING of the toilet, LORD HIGH COMMANDER of the remote control! you are officially 534,728 hours old--22,280 days old--3,183 weeks old--733 months old; all of which translates to 61 YEARS! happy birthday old man! i love you always. =)

blast from the past

while cleaning my room last night, i found a journal that i had written in back in 2004. i flipped through the pages, curious as to what i could have possibly written about, and i found  an entry that i'd like to share.

"as you come to Him, the living stone... rejected by men but chosen by God... you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [1 peter 2:4-5]

after talking to ziva saturday night about the difficult parts of how my relationship with [censored] ended, she shared with me that verse. i told her that it wasn't his rejection of me--who i was--that was so hard to deal with but it was his rejection of what i had to OFFER that was so completely hurtful and the hardest for me to deal with. man may reject me, BUT GOD HAS CHOSEN ME. with all my imperfections and failures, God STILL loves me and has still chosen me to be His own! ....WOW! that's a hard one for me to grasp because i AM human and that kind of love does not exist in human nature.

as i read that, i thought of how much my life has changed from the person i was 6 years ago to the person i am today. there's a quote by joyce meyer that always made me smile because no matter where you are in life, it will always hold truth: "i know i'm not where i'm supposed to be but at least i'm not where i USED to be!" AMEN! =D

cassette art

i'm being followed

guess who has followed me to florida..?

WINKY has! hahaha.

southerners

my sister-in-law lives in nashville, tennessee. she told me that school was canceled due to the snow. this is what she sent me as "proof" of the snow as seen from her front door. school? CANCELED!? psh! ...southerners. (shaking head)

a mansion for my mama

my mom has ALWAYS wanted a HUGE home that all her babies can come home to during the holidays. personally, i'm rather fond of the tight quarters and don't mind sleeping four to a floor by the fireplace. but my mom refuses to accept that scenerio and wants huge comfy beds for EACH and every child and i've found JUST the homes to accommodate her wishes...

this one:

and this one:

both are around 25 million each.
i'm not being TOO extravagant,
am i? =)