Thought for the Day...

I have a little plaque hanging over my phone (and I should probably put one over the computer too) that says: " O Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I've said enough."

I like it because it reminds me that the Bible says, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Proverbs 10:19 NIV) Or as the New Living Translation puts it "Don't talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!" Isn't that great? Sadly it's advice that I've failed to follow at times and I just hate the taste of crow! ; )

Our words are powerful things! They can hurt. (The Don Imus fiasco this week is one example that comes to mind!) I've been hurt by words at times. And too many times I've lost sleep at night worrying about things I've said and how they came off to the people who heard them. On the other hand, I have also experienced words from others that were insightful, enlightening, encouraging or even healing. And hope I've used words in this way as well.

Matthew 12:34 NIV says, "...for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." And Matthew 12: 36-37 also tells us that we'll have to give account for every careless word we've spoken! The Message puts it this way,

"Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."

Wow! That makes you stop and think, doesn't it? I truly want to be a person whose "mouth is filled with worthwhile stuff", so the words on my little plaque are a very appropriate prayer reminder for me!

Just thought I'd share this thought with my few (but precious!) blog friends. Do you have any prayer reminders around your house?

Have a great weekend!

My Daughter The Rock Star and Other Catching Up!

Wow! Where has the time gone? Since I last wrote a "real" post, we've had guests here for Thanksgiving, Christmas and one guest in January. We hit the ground running in 2007 and it hasn't slowed down yet! Ashley is staying busy getting ready for Prom, Graduation, Student Government activities, Choir concerts and her job. Ashley's prom dress is gorgeous and we had a fun time shopping for it. They took it right off the mannequin and it fit her perfectly! Just needed a little hemming. She's going to look absolutely beautiful! Chelsea is running track, playing basketball and singing in Choir. In February she sprained her left ankle during a basketball game and then a few weeks later she got hit with a hockey puck in PE and got three stiches over her left eyebrow! Needless to say, those two girls keep us pretty busy. Stephen is still waiting for his job situation to settle down. The company he works for was sold in October so everyone's future is up in the air. Stephen and the people that work with him have been very busy trying to keep everyone calm while waiting to see what's in store for their own job situations as well. It's been a stressful time for him, but he seems to be handling it well. He has two or three very promising prospects. We hope to know something by the end of April. Please keep him in your prayers.


Just before Spring Break my youngest daughter, Chelsea, competed in a Talent Show at her High School. She and her friend sang a song by the Wreckers and had another friend play guitar for them. They were awesome! They won second place out of the 26 acts that performed. At the risk of sounding like a bragging mom, I think they deserved first place. (Imagine that!) But another fun thing that happened at the show was that when Chelsea came on to perform, she had her own (rather large) cheering section calling out her name and rooting for her. As a mom, I have to say that was a really cool feeling! Stephen and I looked at each other and said, "Our daughter is a rock star!" : ) She and her friends did a fabulous job, sang and played beautifully and looked beautiful/handsome. We are very proud of them.

We just returned from our week long Spring Break trip to Texas. We jokingly called it our "Tour of Texas" because we put a lot of miles on the car and made so many stops. We stopped in Abilene and visited the ACU campus. Ashley is so excited about going there next year and just wanted to hang out a little bit. (She also wanted another ACU t-shirt to torture our youth minister with. He's an LCU alum. Love ya, Josh!) ; ) Next stop was the Ft. Worth area where we visited the Carman side of the family. We got to see a lot of our nieces and nephews and had a nice time catching up with everyone. Here's a picture of the lovely "Carman Girl" cousins:

While there we also took a tour of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing where they print the paper money. It was really interesting and lots of fun. There is only two of these facitlities in the U.S. One in Washington and one in Ft. Worth. I now can show you how to tell if you money was printed in Ft. Worth or Washington. Did you know there is even a kind of "money C.S.I. team"? If paper money is damaged by fire, flood, termites etc. (even if it was eaten by a cow!!!!!), there are people whose job it is to try and identify the money by the serial numbers so they can reimburse the owner. Isn't that cool? After leaving Ft. Worth, we made a little side trip to Strawn, Texas to go to the Dreamer's Candle factory. These are my absolute favorite candles and Stephen let me replenish my supply. What fun!

We then continued on to the Houston area and visited the Genaro side of the family. It was so great to see my brother and sister-in-law, my sister and my mom and dad. But best of all was getting to spend time with and spoil my precious nephew and niece (the most adorable children in the world!!!). They are at the perfect age to just have a blast with. I adore them and it is my goal to be "Cool Aunt Libby". ; ) Since I won't be with them on Easter to give them a treat, I took them to Build-A-Bear and we had a great time!
Jacob made a cat and dressed him as Superman. Jenna made a pink princess cat (she loves all things "pink" and "princess" right now) and dressed her as Cinderella. We had a ball! I miss those kiddos so much! Hugs and kisses, Jacob and Jenna!

It was a nice Spring Break. We got to see the people we love most, eat some wonderful food, and as an added bonus, all the Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush and Red Bud trees were in bloom so we got to enjoy God's creation along the way! But then, it's all God's creation isn't it? What a blessing! We had a great trip but it's nice to be home and get back into the usual routine.