This weekend we had our fabulous birthday celebration for my fancy girl. I thought I would share some highlights.

Fancy game: pin the crown on "fancy miss E"

Fancy food…mostly taken from this inspirational book.

Fancy cake.

Fancy gifts…what a thrill!

Super fancy guests.

A few unexpected guests. Thankfully they kept their distance.

And of course, a fancy new crown for my birthday girl. 

His [Jesus'] message is: What I am asking is more than any of you can possibly give. You must ask for terms.
There is no hope for any of us until we confess our helplessness to be Christians. Then we are in a position to receive grace.  There we have the "terms": grace– first, last, and always. So long as we see ourselves as competent, we do not qualify. Jesus vividly depicted the obligations as beyond us. But "Come to me," He says. Carry your cross and come with Me. I alone can make you a disciple.

-Elisabeth Elliot
Be Still My Soul

The most wonderful gift is probably the least acknowledged and appreciated.

Taking a moment to savor an ordinary day.

Oh give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!

Psalm 105:1-4

As I read these verses today, I found myself wondering how different my days would be if I actually did these things.

Give thanks to the Lord: would probably not leave much time for discontentment.

Call upon His name: would eliminate a lot of loneliness and isolation…the product of days at home with small children.

Make known His deeds: this would wipe out my time for griping and complaining to those who will listen.

Sing to Him: a perfect occupation for the times when my hands are busy but my mind is idle.

Talk of His wondrous works: a good way to guarantee that my words are beautiful.

Glory in His name: if my ultimate goal is His glory, that can never be shaken or lost. As opposed to when I am seeking my own glory and nothing is certain.

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord: who could possibly find anything wrong with a day full of rejoicing?

Seek the Lord and His strength: this one's obvious. If I'm busy seeking Him, I probably won't have time to think about how I'm never gonna make it through the day.

Seek His face evermore: this is not a one-time thing. Every morning comes a new day to do it all over again. 

I look at this list and think I will not have time to do anything else. But the wonderful part is, if I'm doing these things, there is no need for anything else.

My days will be perfect.