Lovey Dovey Stuff

Sorry, I didn't plan on being all lovey dovey in my first real post in 4 and a half years, but this week is Valentine’s Day and at the end of the month the hubby and I celebrate our 2nd anniversary.  SO-

In almost 2 years of marriage, I feel like one of the best things for us is to recognize and remember each other’s love language.

The 5  Love Languages-

• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Words of Affirmation

The hubs and I both have 2 main love languages, one in common and one different.  For both of us, quality time is a big deal.  We want to be around each other, having good conversations, and doing activities we both enjoy.  Unfortunately, for over a year now, hubby’s job has taken him away from Texas 2 weeks a month.  So, the quality time we do get is an even bigger deal.  Some of the quality time we both love are just simple pleasures like tv marathons of our favorite shows, walks around the neighborhood with our puppy, and road trips (we love traveling!)  But after a while of just trying to squeeze time in when he WAS in town…it ended up ONLY being those 3 things we were doing almost all the time.  Don’t get me wrong…I loved the time we could get together enjoying those, but I just started feeling like we got in a dull routine of just doing the most ordinary and easiest thing at the time.  I remembered a few of my most favorite times we had had as a dating and barely married couple-

• A random afternoon trip to the lake in his boat taking pictures of the  bright green lily pads, flying white egrets, and tall trees.

• An evening at my apartment before he graduated from college, I was showing him the dresses I could pick from to where to his graduation dinner.  After I put on one “little black dress”, he loved it and we put some music on and danced the night away.

• At this one park in my husband‘s hometown (my favorite park I’ve ever been to) in the springtime, it’s kinda like walking in a fairytale or something.  These yellow flowers (really weeds, but I pretend ;-) ) grow almost as tall as I am.  Funny little road signs have been set up along this walking and biking path…tiny versions of car road signs, like a STOP sign and YEILD sign.  It’s super weird and I loved walking through it and taking pictures.

I was missing these kind of quality time ADVENTURES!

• So, we have made it a priority to plan a few of these lately-In the fall which is my absolute favorite time of year, we went back to that weird, fairy-tale like park because, well, it’s my favorite time of year!  We took our puppy for a walk there.  The trees and ground were covered with crunchy yellow leaves.  It was the most gorgeous day of the year, in my opinion.  Once again, we took pictures…I take tons.  Are you following me on instagram already?

• And over Christmas break, we took a random, silly date to a Good Will.  We each set out to find the most ridiculous items in the store, especially clothing items to make the other try on.  More pictures. :-)

I saw this quote recently-  “We assume others show love the same way we do - and if they don’t, we worry it’s not there.”  
It was a pin on Pinterest.  So, I have no idea who the author is lol.

HOW someone knows they ARE loved is pretty important, right?  So, I encourage you to make it a priority to make a big deal of your significant other’s, best friend’s, or family member’s love language however you can.

John 13:34
~Leslie~

Haven't blogged in years...

So, I haven’t blogged in YEARS, but I’ve really been missing it lately.  So, I’m gonna give it another try…

First, a few personal reasons I want to blog again-
1.  To share life and thoughts
2.  To practice more creativity
3.  To voice what The Lord is teaching me more often than I have the last few years
4.  To vent, at times/ have a place to release stress

I’m hoping these personal reasons will keep me focused when I write….instead of just blabbing on with randomness.

So, “to share life”

I am loving my mid-20s for the most part (minus the whole no energy and lots of headaches from some serious health problems a few years ago)

I adore the man who picked me to be his wife and helper.

I think I’m becoming even more introverted than I used to be

I have been interested in working on my artsy and photographer side more.  Instagram is my favorite right now….cool pictures+no drama= :-)

Isaiah 41:10 is still my life verse.

Hopefully, more to come soon
~Leslie~

Summer is over...on to new adventures!

Things that have made my summer happy!
Graduation…DUH.
Family time
Mamma cooked meals :-]
Geocaching with Katie Smiff and her Jared
Meeting Becca Minatra for dinner and a lovely chat in the SeaTac airport
Having an absolutely wonderful week in WA with Go-gess Amanda, Chris, Lizzie and Janese, celebrating Lizzie’s 1st birthday!
Friends from Oregon and other parts of WA coming to visit me too while I was there!
Painting my nails
Going to a 3D movie for the first time in years!
Being artsy with scrapbook paper
Being a Kamp Kingsland Kounselor
A few beach trips
Kingsland Baptist AND Ecclesia
My beloved Chickfila and old co-workers
Random night time adventures
Dinners with my brotha Jeremy
Gangzini
Sherman wedding, McDonald wedding, and 2 Fontenot weddings!
Reading My Utmost For His Highest
Lasik and Dr. Doe
Getting to hang out with Mr. Bill a few times :-)
Trips to Longview to visit frIENDS (spelled that way on purpose, to emphasize how I say it :-])
My good friend DJ writing music to go with some lyrics I wrote!
New phone
Watching seasons of Veronica Mars with mom!
Watching seasons of Boy Meets World
Dinner with my brother and sister-in-law
Dallas trips and finding a new home there (Well, in Lewisville)
One of the last celebrations before moving to Lewisville being Emily’s birthday celebration!

And! Summer quotes! For some reason, it was a summer of GIRL quotes!

Me and Eminy: Don’t talk about women that way! ;-)

Amanda W.: I’m all for car flirting…but put the zukenie away!

Me: Speed up your pee process!

Eminy: Victory is mine!

Me (Right after the car was turned on and Nickleback was on the radio): Nickleback is way overplayed…
(Erik changes the channel and it’s the SAME song by Nickleback again!)

Christi (talking about a certain actor): He’s so fine! He’s like a Greek god!
Me: He’s Jewish.
Christi: Oh, then he’s like a Jewish god!
Me: That would be Jesus….

Eminy: Are you still looking into doing that baby coaching thing?
Christa Sherman: (With a face that shows she is SO lost, but really, really wants to understand lol) …..Baby…coaching….
Later when Emily and I were talking about how funny this was…
Emily: Now, every time I think of baby coaching I think of baby gymnasts or something…

Bekah Brown: Oh, sorry….Let me show you how my hips work, sir…

Bekah Brown: Tequila makes me MAD. Seriously, I get so mad at the world!

Eminy: (To Amanda) When you look at just your eyes everything looks alright. But when you look at your whole face, you think SOMETHING’S WRONG.

Eminy: So, the computer has babies and AIDS…?
Amanda W.: See, it has a VIRUS!
(paraphrased, couldn't remember exactly haha)

Me: (To Rebekah, my sister-in-law, talking about http://www.makemebabies.com) Hey, did ya like the babies I made you for your anniversary?!….Um…hahaha…

Amanda W.: Yeah…when you have bourbon next to your bed, I don’t think people are REALLY gonna believe “I’m making a pie in my room on my bed”.

Love you, friends!
**Leslie**

Chambers

Learning so much from My Utmost For His Highest again. If you wanna see more thoughts about this, look at my post titled “Oswald”, a few posts down.

"We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we continue on through life, we find the presence of something which we have not yet taken into account, namely, sin— and it upsets all of our thinking and our plans. Sin has made the foundation of our thinking unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational."
Have you ever thought about how sin “upsets all of our thinking and our plans”? For example, my own pride and vanity makes me selfish at times. Selfishness, thinking of myself, makes me worry about MY life. Worry in turn leads me to make bad decisions sometimes just to make sure I feel good in life….it’s like a cycle, stupid cycle, that usually takes place until I finally come to God and cry out for mercy and rid myself of these. Then, He puts me back on track, but only AFTER I come completely broken. Too bad, I think about myself so much, that it usually takes longer than it should to get to this point!

"The recognition of sin does not destroy the basis of friendship— it simply establishes a mutual respect for the fact that the basis of sinful life is disastrous. Always beware of any assessment of life which does not recognize the fact that there is sin."
Wouldn’t it be a scary world if no one recognized sin in their life?

"We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be."
Wow. I have been foolish (in many ways, but definitely in this area) How hard to not say “it should not be.”

"Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience."
I have seen shallowness a lot lately. Isn’t this sad? Success= pride. Monotony of daily living= complaining. We are never happy! It takes sorrow to get my attention A LOT. I’m REdiculous.

"If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people."
I love people. I love to talk to people one-on-one and really learn what they’re all about. Encouragement and support has gotten me through much of life. I want to be that to others. After all, after The Word of God, what is the only lasting thing on this earth…the souls of everyone I interact with.

"". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 6:5 )— in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace"
Now. I love every part of this paragraph.

"There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace."
Sinner. Saved!

"Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!"
Again. Now! I have always had a harder time when things are not right in a relationship or friendship. I always want to fix the problem, and if it doesn't get fixed, it's hard on me, again it has to do with the fact that people’s souls are the only thing that lasts. You are important.

"There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment."
Heaven=PERFECT. :-)


**Leslie**

First memory

So, I've been reminiscing about all different times in life lately. I remembered I had written a paper about one of my very first memories of my life...

Outside was black and loud with thunder. Leaves were shaking mightily and falling from their branches that were dancing frantically in the wind. The swing Mom had pushed me in earlier that afternoon was now wrapped and tangled around the big tree it hung from. Trying to distract us from the rain and thunder noises, Mom helped David and I get cozy inside and begin baking brownies.
Even though I was only three years old, I already wanted to practice my home-making skills. Mom cooked dinner and dessert every night, ready for dad when he returned home from work. Anytime mom was baking, I was her little chef. As the storm stirred outside, the three of us stirred the chocolate mix in a big, glass bowl. I would always find a way to make the food into some masterpiece of art. The chocolate piles were mountains, dusted with sugary snow. The water poured in was a stream running around the mountain, as huge yellow boulders, the egg yolks, rose up out of the water. Smashing the chocolate mountains, squishing the eggs, and pouring in all the ingredients, everyone was anticipating a sweet treat that night.
As mom began to mix my mountain masterpiece into a smooth russet dessert, I wanted a turn! Mom handed me the fork. However, instead of putting it in my hand, she just dropped it. Or so I thought. I looked up. Mom had disappeared! Suddenly, I heard a groaning sound coming from the opposite side of the kitchen. Holding her hands to her head, Mom was sitting up against the refrigerator. She looked as if she had just gotten out of bed, eyes blinking and hair in disarray. Lightning had traveled through the phone line and hit the medal fork she was passing to me, throwing her completely across the room! If she had passed the metal utensil to me just one second earlier, I would have been flung across the room.
The rest of that evening, I would not leave Mom’s side. In fact, I didn’t want to get out of her lap. At one point, I had to get up so that she could unplug a tv and a lamp chord. Her hand shook and trembled, barely able to stop long enough to jerk the chord out of the socket. Staying up several hours past my normal bedtime would usually be fun for a three year old, but not tonight. I stayed curled up in Mom’s lap, finally drifting to sleep.
Awaking the next morning safe and snuggled in my soft bed, the storm was over. My family walked outside to examine the damage. We gathered a few branches that had fallen from the tree in the backyard and put them in a pile. Then, we untangled the swing from around the tree. We probably had a lot of shingles slide off the roof too, but I do not remember. As a three year old, knowing Mom was ok and my backyard play area was back to normal meant I would be ok. However, at twenty-two years old now, I still have not forgotten my first storm.

So, what is YOUR first memory in life? And what is your first memory of ME?

**Leslie**

Oswald

Some things that have been on my mind from reading My Utmost For His Highest since graduation time.

"Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults.”
Oh Lord, help me with this.

“It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually.”
Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
His Word says He is going to do more than I can imagine, so that tells me that I should NEVER be satisfied, always wanting to know more.

“A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand- Believe this and that; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus.”
Where do you get your standards? Or, more importantly, where do I get mine?

“It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong.”
I don't completely agree with him on this one, it's not God that's slow, it's us.

“Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to come to God; God is not to blame.”
I heard a pastor recently say someone told him this when he was young and had just accepted Christ, "You are as close to God as you want to be." God has given us everything we need to know him, it's up to us to decide how much we get to know him.

“Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love.”
It reminds me of lyrics I wrote- She's so easily shaken, but don't be mistaken, she will not break.

"A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty.....Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, “… I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2)."
Quit making excuses. Do what you know is right.

"But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive."
Honesty and integrity...hard to find these days.

"Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles. "

"Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative."
Being responsible is hard, but not impossible.

"Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must "work out" our "own salvation" which God has worked in us"

"He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, ". . . love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). He is saying, "I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you." This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated."
I try. Sometimes I fail, but I keep trying. Thank goodness The Lord's love never fails on me!

"No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests."
I'm so self-centered. Lord, forgive me.

**Leslie**

I'm looking forward to...

I’m looking forward to…

Lunch with Mr. Bill

Being in Washington state, visiting sweet friends!

Working with high school girls at Kamp Kingsland

Finding a teaching job for the fall

Several friends’ weddings this summer

Reading and learning from My Utmost For His Highest

Getting a nice golden tan!

Time with the family


**Leslie**