{shine a light]

This is from Wendy's birthday recently.

Oh my, I pray my sisters and niece are ok with me posting this image.

Oh, Please say yes, Wendy, Gretchen and PG.

Yes, there is one more sister, Kelly. There is a force of us in a way...oh my!

Any hoo...

I looooovvvvveeeee my family!

Please forgive for my being long winded as I had much

to say but the end of this has to do with you.

My family.

We are known as "Cold Mountain Girls" to each other.

When life gets hard we just will look

at the other and sometimes say..."Cold Mountain Baby!".

That means dust off and buck up...you can do this life and beautifully at that!

Well that and the sweet grace of God, ya know!

We might say it to you as well, so know this!

We will smile with you too and know we will say it gently and walk it out with you.

We girls are not quitters and let one another know

one just can accomplish great things or deal

with hard graciously and bravely...to the end!

Meaning we are girly girls but tenacious and don't give up!

And my sisters will have you laughing hard. They are just funny, period!

Need to note: Wendy was called to a new duty in her occupation.

"The Squad" as a Fire Fighter.

A rare and unique opportunity that she was chosen for

amongst and elite group of people in her field likened to The Delta Force.

She started this new adventure on her Birthday.

I admire her so very much and am so excited for her in this opportunity.

Woo, be safe please!

To her, I/we just might have already given the "Cold Mountain" talk too!

I am not saying she even needed it but

for our sake I am just sayin we might have...smile!

I mean, she has given me the "Cold Mountain Baby" talk before so all is fair,....right?!

She is going to shine and shine bright as she is this light of sorts.

To know her....there are not words

but you know it when you are with her that

to experience her is as if sunshine has hit your soul amazingly.

Hope you do get a bit of that kind of shine Wendy gives on you.

This below is my prayer for you today.

"The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Work is consuming my every moment these days.

I am so fortunate to say that I know and it is a honor I do not take it for granted.

I am blessed to have work, and am working hard to get

out of debt and get my house paid for and oh yes...

that cute shirt at J Crew! Oh my...but bills first!

In this, please forgive me for my lack of being present.

My lack of commenting on all things that matter dearly to

me that you post on your blogs.

Someone said the other day to know your reader.

I giggled as I thought, I don't even know me!

But know I desire to encourage.

To bring light and hope.

I am not here to naval gaze or be narcissistic in gaining your pity for my trials

or be a victim to my circumstances. I just will not.

If I can't use my hardship for good and get the focus off of me then it is of little worth, ya know!

Please know in the mean time

I care much, and promise to make a better effort at touching your lives

and leaving comments as I wisk through and read and say "that is precious",

or "wow that matters", or "I know I don't know you but am proud of you".

I want you to know that I am fortunate to know you all as well in this world

and have grown to be a better person from your allowing me to see into your

lives, your families, your worlds.

I promise to handle that as a gift.

Please know I am wishing your days amazing and beautiful.

Perfect really in every way.

Sending you amazing and full soul shine today!

mwah

Back to work for me!

{Better Than A Hallelujah}

Please turn off the music on the bottom to listen to Amy Grant from her CD.

Years ago she was my very first experience with Songs of God outside

of hallelujah in church.

I giggle as I remember I would sing her songs at the

top of my lungs in my car....Oh yes, she might hold her ears but I thought

she and I sang really well together...or so I thought.

{We All sound that good in the car singing loud!

Oh you know exactly what I am talking about...you know you do, wink!}

Her cd was the first thing I ran to when my life long kindred best friend

went through something of a heart matter.

Praying Amy's song touches your heart good today with this song.

Praying you feel the touch of grace on your life today as if the hand of God gently holding you.

Praying you feel the kind of smiles that He feels for you just because you are His child.

To know that God loves me like this is so incredibly Amazing and so very humbling too.

I pray I delight Him with my life solidly serving Him to His pleasure and will all the way down in me where solid true rests.

Praying you the kind of Soul Shine day that makes your soul bright and beautiful.

Happy Weekend to you!

"Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience,

courage, work, hope,

fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest, prayer, meditation,

and one well selected solution.

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun,

a pinch of goodness, a sprinkle of play and a cupful of

good out-loud laughter and you have one amazing day."

Yes, yes, I know that is alot to accomplish in a day!

That image above is PG, My LuluPie {My niece from years ago.}

It fits somehow with her little hands clasped as if to say,

"{Ahem...} People, listen up! I am only gonna say this once!".

Yes....she looks in this image like a who from whoville, right?!

Any who....no pun intended there! :)

She always is saying these profound

things of wisdom that take me off guard and in honesty,

sound like they should come from a 120 year old.

I am not even kidding!

She is right on in her thoughts 99% of the time.

Yes, it takes me back but I find that

I am always perplexed to listen as if she is Yoda!

So yes, I take advice from a 8.5 year old at times.

What of it? :) You would too if you heard her!

The above just

struck me as something she would say, but using

8.5 her age or 120 year sweet old words.

Just sayin it might make a day a speck more wonderful.

I'm going try it!

I hope you will too! Pretty Please!

Happy {all those things above in that quote} Day to you!

éveiller : Friday French For Ya

éveiller (ay-veh-yay) verb

: to wake up, to excite... "to pull from sleep" (tirer du sommeil)

I like it and like saying it too!

I wonder if French people see our language and

like meanings of certain words and how they sound romantic to say?

Just makes me wonder?! {Smile}

Hoping your Day so good you look back and

feel as if Sunshine has literally Touched Your SOUL

and that success is with you even in the smallest of details.

...And Amazing Hope too if

your heart feels heavily burdened by life.

I even challenge you to be a warrior and not a worrier.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you

hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Praying your Friday peaceful and smile filled.

French word of the day...kristin e....image via: citified

A little bit of Salt and Light

It just takes a little pinch of salt and a~lot of light! 

If knowing answers to life's questions  
is absolutely necessary to you, then forget the journey.   
You will never make it,  
 {You will never learn or mature in your soul}   
for this is a journey of unknowables,-- 
of unanswered questions,
enigmas, incomprehensibles, 
and most of all, things fair and unfair.
-- Madame Jeanne Guyon 

I like this quote but want to add....
But, so beautiful if we surrender...yes, yes...it all.

 Just really all about prayer, faith, 
surrendering all in trust of the one that loves us most 
 {He loves us better than honey on a buttered biscuit I tell ya! Wink!}  
and He will see this journey through to beautiful.

Yes, we can trust Him.  
{Insight people} I am not good at this always. 
I know you are soooo surprised! {No way! Smile!}

I even played tug~of~war yesterday  in this sort of, 
I will give you this
God if you give me that back to hold. 

As if to amuse Him only to find He really is not amused. 
I know He is saddened that I want to hold it 
and that I don't always trust.

God says, bless her {me}!  
He knows that I know it is not  up for negotiation...
all my stuff that is good and bad!
I know he wants better for me than the stubbornness, 
my fierce~grace, full of independent~fiesty~spirit I have to offer. 

If I could only see things from His view and just trust Him!

If you struggle with this as well, I know He wants better for you than the  
tendencies you might or might not fall to in your nature. 

Do you feel this way too?
Holding onto things with your fists held tight 
with false not so great securities or yuck when He has so much better?

Or, is it just me?

I will continue to be a trier in complete  
surrender and opening my hand to the 
end of my finger tips until I get it gently right and fly. 

I mean who doesn't want to be free of pain!
Raise your hands if you don't want freedom from pain 
and I will try to convince you otherwise!

Just wish sometimes I had a easier time at learning to lay things down,
 prying my hands open gently
and placing my all into the hands of the one that 
can handle it. Just simply surrendering
and humbling myself to lean in and trust God in it all
and stepping on the light before me in trust.
Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I can handle it.
ha ha ha.

I can't! as if to say...

Hi my name is Kristin...I am one of those people. {eeeek!}

One of those people insentient on jumping in and getting all muddy in the pit 
{possibly flailing or rolling around in the mud...,Oh my, in my humanness.}
and dusting myself off out of my daily mess because  
I am used to this life mess....
as if holding onto my all as if a child that 
holds tight to an old stuffed animal that is dirty and falling apart.

But we love our messes so much...for what reason I ask?

Funny how security even if not healthy or really negative feels right?
Are you confused yet? {Smile}


I hold onto it because it is what I know.  
As much as I hate it I hold tightly to it.
Not healthy by the way!!!!! 

I am ready to let go of it. It is too heavy for me to hold after all.

If you are feeling this way too, you know we really can let go of it for God's best? 
We can!

Using sugar {sin} because it looks sweet.  
It is not. 
When all I needed really in my heart  
was a pinch of salt {His light/word/truth}.

As if to say God you can have it all, okay?

Today I will take just this one thing back! 

I do say pretty please though! 

It is polite after all as my Mamma taught me to use my manners! 
Your Mamma probably taught you this too.
GOD IS NOT SURPRISED by this action in me! 
I know, I know, I am surprised by this too!  

I wish He {God} were surprised though!

Like, God would say...Oh My Land Kristin, that is just so not of your character!

Surprise...it is.

He smiles gently at me, possibly a bit frustrated and says bless her and 
lets me stumble, get muddy, bloody, dust off and learn. 

Here we go again.....

Are you muddy too? Again, it could just be me!

So today, I had just a normal heart to heart talk with Him.
I actually talk with Him all the time.
Yes, He knows our tender voices.

I know His.

I just need to listen and quit interrupting!

This morning though was one of those real, 
God, solid of my soul,  I lean into you  and yes, you can have my dirty stuffed animal
that I hold onto so tightly kind of prayers.
As if we washed the stuffed animal {my pains and all}
and gave it to Him for good not to be seen again kind of deals.

I want God to become the joy of my soul.
I come with a humble and contrite heart.

Please forgive me of me. 
Mold me and make me the woman You desire me to be.
Make my life what You really want it to be.
A sweet melody to you. 
A life you can say "Go Girly...you did me proud!"
"You became a woman after my heart."
That would be so amazing to me!

On my own I try to keep a sober view of me with my 
fierce~grace never give up attitude that I talked about earlier.
However,
I am not Amazing...even if I dream I wish I could be sometimes.
Only with Him in me is there anything Amazing of quality value.

 
Show me God, how to not just read your Word, but know it. 
Write your sweet and bold words on the tablet 
of my heart and help me act according your complete word.

Yep, do your word...beyond all emotions...
Because that emotion thing.....will fail you ever time.
Because feelings change. They just do!
And sometimes feelings take us places we wished we did not go!

No, I am not even kidding you!

God, today I am giving these things that keep well,
landing me in that muddy pit.
I don't want to be muddy, dusty or bloody anymore.
I just don't, thank you very much. 

I mean I am a pinch OCD~clorox~clean and everything 
has to have order kind of girl after all 
and muddy does not fit my personality! {Smile}

I want to be free and fly and have my heart 
open with light in it and a pinch of salt too.
I pray the same for you if you are less than brave some days too.
We can get Brave though! We can and will!
A little bit of Salt and Light for ya.
 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
ouch! {me}
 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
So for today and every second ahead. 
Shine on Bright and Beautiful Please!

I mean, I used my manners and said please, wink!