befriend faithfulness

Psalm 37:3-5

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act”

When I first read through this today, my heart was amen-ing that he will give me the desires of my heart and he will act. Which is a blessing, that the Lord chooses to pour out goodness on his children. But the Lord slowed me down to look back again and see what I am called to do. To trust him, do good, befriend faithfulness, delight in him and commit my ways to him. (Oh, I love that part....befriend faithfulness). All of these things require a guarding of my heart and thoughts, discipline and a whole lot of grace. I am thankful that the strength needed to be obedient to God's word does not come from myself, but the one who calls me to them in the first place.

Step One: Memorize this passage :)

Sauce Master

Traci and I had a big adventure a few weekends ago making apple sauce. I know, how domestic of us, we even impressed ourselves. Well. If it wasn't for this handy mill (http://www.norpro.com/store/products/sauce-master) we borrowed from Auntie Laura, it would not have been so easy. Now our first batch was coming out pink, we couldn't imagine what we did wrong, but apparently it was just the type of apples we were using. Then we discovered the ultimate secret of apple sauce making... Honey Crisp Apples. Yum.

Our little helper aka a pleasant distraction.
The handy mill aka sauce master.

So, I was out running errands and said a little prayer that the Lord would help me find good deals. I run into Home Goods real quick just to check prices on some things and what to my wondering eyes would appear but the SAUCE MASTER!! The sticker said it generally runs for $65 but that their price was $50....but it was a red sticker and at the bottom said $18. WOW MOM. I took it up front to make sure there was nothing wrong with it and left the store a very happy domestic wife. I brought it home and made sure everything functioned correctly. Next on my list of things to make: Spaghetti Sauce. Too bad the tomato season just ended.

Jeremy does a good job trying to be excited with me when I get good deals. But I think other wives are the ones who really appreciate a good deal.

So, share your most recent deal or find???

and the color is.....

Ryegrass: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/search/?search_terms=ryegrass&section

We found out that we only had 6 options. Since green is both of our favorites, and a generally safe color, we went with that one. The big move will happen October 27th/28th. I can't wait!!! I started a list with Moe yesterday of all the things I will be able to cook now with a full size oven and 4 stove tops!! Pizza and cookies are at the top of the list. :)

Once we move we are going to try to get a new desk and a new dining set. So, I am on a big hunt for a good deal. Send me any ideas of places to check out!! Below are the images I have in mind. Not necessarily a white desk but that is the sort of frame I am looking for. Even if I find a beat up one at a thrift shop, I'm thinking it would be fun to fix it up and paint it. Megs, I saw your green one and was very jealous, but was able to show Jer just what I had been talking about. I hope some day you have a blog just devoted to decorating tips. :)

I found out today that the liquor store up the street from our house is a great place to get boxes. Hopefully, our new neighbors won't think we are big drinkers because of all the labels. :) Though Aunt Reenie, I do miss those lovely paper boxes. I do have two left from my Philly to MD move.

Next on my to find list is a Tape Gun.

photos

Ha. Ok, so we went to Georgetown and it was lovely...and the only pictures we have are these dark ones on these scary and epically long steps. But apparently these are the steps in some famous scary movie.

Christine, Jeremy's cousin, goes to Mount St. Mary and is on the soccer team.
This horrible picture would normally never make it on my blog. BUT that is her coach. He is also the brother of Jon on Jon & Kate plus 8.

Jer & Colleen.

My pregnant Stephie.

Jer teaching Caleb some wrestling moves.

Proof that Miss Brewer is trying to steal my man!

The O's game. First time I've ever been to Camden Yards. Courtesy of Uncle Sean.

This guy moved home.

We were really close.

Yet, this guy, still need his trusty binoculars.

Surrounded by Redsocks fans.

My dude turned 24.

Traci and I made applesauce. It was on our bucketlist. The secret of applesauce making: Honey Crisp Apples and Auntie Laura's handy mill. Which might be added to my christmas list.

While I was doing this, Jer was playing in the mud. Aka atv'ing with the boys.

Then the next day he organized a little soccer game. A nice fall day. Except all the guys who went atv'ing could barely walk let alone chase a ball around the field.

My favorite short stop.

Joey.

We keep forgetting....

Multiple times this weekend, we've been hanging out with people for quite a few hours before we remember to tell them our big news. We're moving. Not to Philly, just need to clarify that one, since it was a popular question. We are saying goodbye to Olney and hello to Columbia. The Lord has really been teaching us a lot about his faithfulness to us over the last few weeks. We literally went from thinking we should move to maybe we are called to live here another year to we are moving at the end of the month. :) Which is why we keep forgetting that it is actually happening.

I love to see how what the Lord has ordained is always so much better. The place we are moving to seems to have one blessing after another. Jeremy will be their "courtesy officer", which allows them to give us a pretty good % off our rent, and doesn't require too much of Jer's time. A full kitchen, I will have a full stove top and oven!!! For a new wife that is huge. I keep thinking of all the things I can now make. It has a washer and dryer in the apartment. A little walk out patio. A big walk in closet in our bedroom. There is a pool and 24 hour gym on the property. We can walk to the mall, movie theater, a bunch of restaurants, the library and Merriweather where Jer sometimes works concerts. The place seems very community oriented which we are excited about another opportunity to get to know more people. In the club house is a little mini starbucks hub where you can get free coffee, cocoa and tea. AND the best part of all is that it is in the Charlie area where Jer works, so if he needs to stop home while he is working he is able to. So, he could come home for dinner or just to say hi. :)

We know that all of our searching would of come up short if the Lord had not directed our steps. And we are so thankful for his kindness to provide for us. The BIG question now is what color to pick for the accent wall they are painting for us. So, do submit your suggestions. :)

should post more

hello. anybody still out there? if you are, i am impressed because by now i would have given up on this blog. it can tend to be boring. if i was artsy it think it would have more flair, and draw many. but alas it is not that. so, if you read this you must just like the person...not the blog. and for that i am thankful.

current happenings:

• i am reading two books at the moment... the 3rd book in the Anne of Green Gables series, i think it is called Anne of the Island. someone who shall remain nameless (the only other person i live with) spilled water on it today. don't tell the library, i feel as if that is something they would frown upon. since i am reading about my girl Anne i like to now say that i am in the depths of despair, which i am not, it is just one of those really fun things to say. and i am also reading Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. now the funny thing about that is that it took me so long to finally just do something about buying it from the book store. now that it is my hands i can't seem to put it down. such good blunt truth. i wish that i had it in high school. if you don't have it yet, get on that.
• someone turned the same age as me this week and that makes my heart happy. with are both even numbers now which is lovely. so we went to dc for the day to the natural history museum and the american history museum. you don't have to pay to get in, which is foreign to a philly girl. they were big fun. it was free to walk through the butterfly thing the particular day we were there, but we did not go through it cause it was not the boy's "thing" and i didn't want to walk through it alone. raise your hand if you would have gone through with me?! we ended our adventure with lunch at an irish pub called the Dubliner, because my husband is a big big big fan of all things irish.
• we had a bonfire with our cg and at water ice and cake in honor of said husband. we have an up and coming cg camping trip on the calendar and it will be an adventure.
• grandma g had a birthday this week as well. so the other night husband and i made dinner and took it to her place. we played some sequences and then she taught us a card game called manipulation. it was a winner. then ween's had everyone over for cake thurs night, hopefully grandma g doesn't read this, but my favorite part of the night was when weens puts a 5 and 0 candle on the cake and then she adds a pack of 24 regular candles. well that equals 74....grandma g turned 77. well the thought was that she wouldn't even count them anyway. so as is any gallagher event the torch comes out to light the cake i'm yelling for all the little boys to come up. they stampede up the stairs. uncle brian is on the phone trying to talk to grandma g. while we are all trying to sing and in the midst of it all we realize grandma g is counting the candles!!! unbelievable. but thankful weens swept in knocked her hand away and reassured her that there were indeed 77 candles... shhhh keep that one a secret.
• oh i almost forgot i went to my first orioles game. uncle sean couldn't use these amazing tickets. so, jesse, colle en(their cousin) and her neighbor went. we were the 3rd row behind the redsocks dug out. i personally had never sat that close before. it was pretty sweet.
• the nice thing about jer's schedule is we can do things randomly during the day. and a week or two ago we watched three of the brewer kids and they are always so much fun. but the reason i'm mentioning them is because i'm pretty sure sarah brewer is trying to steal my man! she has him wrapped around her little pinky.
• lastly, we are coming up to philly the first two weekends in october. which we are very excited about. because we heart everyone there.

8 Truths

Jeremy and I love to go to the nearby Barnes & Nobles often on his days off. Recently I grabbed J.I. Packer's book Praying off the shelf. This is an area I want to grow in. Not to have big impressive prayers, but to have a heart throughout the day of dependence upon the Lord, specifically displayed through prayer. I skimmed through the book, getting the main idea, that "true praying is an activity built on theology". My prayers, though they are only between me and God, speak loudly of what I believe about who God is.

This is Your God: 8 Truths
1. God is personal
2. God is plural (trinity)
3. God is perfect
4. God is powerful
5. God is purposeful
6. God is a promise-keeper
7. God is paternal
8. God is praiseworthy