I read the entire Bible!

Once again, it's been nearly three months since I've posted......I wonder why I even have a blog since I don't keep it up.  There have been many things going on.  One of the biggest things is that I read through the entire Bible in 90 days!  I found a blog, http://www.momstoolbox.com/blog/, back in January that told about a Bible called The Bible in 90 Days.  The lady who runs the blog was doing a 90-day challenge for anyone who wanted to read through with other readers/bloogers online.  I decided to start even though they were already a couple of weeks into their reading.  I started mid-January and finished in 58 days - yes, the entire Bible in 58 days!  It was the first time I've read through the entire Bible from front to back.  It was amazing!  I plan to do it again.  You only have to read 12 pages per day and you will do it!  I would highly encourage this Bible for anyone who wants to read through the Bible.  It has start and stop points for each day.  I plan to do it again soon!

Our city was hit by tornadoes on April 27....that is another post in itself and one I don't have time to write about now....

Putting on My Red Lipstick

I did not realize that I had not posted since November.  I knew it had been a while, but 3 months...Wow!  I've been contemplating my next post for a while now.  I want to be honest and transparent, but there's a part of me that shies away from that.  I want everything to look great even when it's not...isn't that human nature?  We want to put up a facade so that everyone thinks everything is okay....

I had a friend tell me once that I just needed to "put on my red lipstick and go."  Now that probably won't mean much to anyone, but for those of you who know me, you know that I always have my makeup on, including lipstick, when I go anywhere.  I blame my mother for this because she always told me that you never go anywhere without your makeup and she modeled that behavior for me.

Back to my story, when I was told to "put on my red lipstick and go" it was at a particularly low time im my life.  I was battling depression.  At the time, I was so sure that I couldn't be depressed.  I had everything going for me.  I had a wonderful husband, two wonderful children, I was a stay-at-home mom.  I knew something wasn't quite "right" with me, but I was certain I couldn't be depressed.  I went online and took the little test they give for depression.  Even though I answered "yes" to every question except one, I was still not convinced.  I finally broke down and went to a therapist.  I told him the very same thing.  I was not depressed even though I had answered "yes" to every question except one.

You see, I was putting up a facade.  I was putting on my red lipstick on pretending that everything was okay in my life.  I knew it wasn't, but I couldn't let anyone else know.  I felt like I had to hide behind my red lipstick and smile.  I was hurting on the inside.  I was hurting my husband and my children because at home I didn't have to put on my red lipstick and smile and pretend that everything was okay...

I don't know why I felt compelled to share this today, but like I said I feel that we, as women, sometimes feell like we have to put up a facade and pretend that everyrthing is okay even when it's not.  My prayer is that we, as women, wives and/or mothers, can be transparent and that we can realize that it's okay to hurt.  We need to share our feelings with others and with God. 

What Have I Gotten Myself Into???

I'm probably like a lot of people when I confess the fact the I have never particularly liked to study the Old Testament.  So much of it seems to be about a old people and really not applicable to life today.   I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have started in Genesis with grandiose plans to read the bible through in its entirety.  I can tell you, honestly, that I have failed at the task every single time.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  I was talking to my friend, Amy, about studying the Bible.  We were talking about how hard it is to study and stay on track and how it would be great to have people who would keep us accountable.  She and a group of ladies had been studying a book together several months ago, but, for whatever reason, stopped.  She wanted to pick it back up and I told her I would love to do it with them.  Imagine my surprise, shock, etc. when I asked her what they were studying and she answered 2 Kings....ok, Angela, focus...2 Kings is in the Old Testament and it's probably about a bunch of old men.....oh, no!  What have I gotten myself into?  Do I really want to do this?  Can I stay focused to read about a bunch of old men?  What can it possible say to me about life in modern times?

It only ended up being Amy, myself and 2 other ladies - one from our church and Amy's cousin who lives in Illinois.  And, I said I wanted to do it, so I decided I would do it.  Plans were to pick up around 2 Kings Chapter 9 - try to read daily and comment and share any research you feel pertinent.  I was going out of town from October 29-31, so I thought I would read chapters 1-8 that weekend and not do a lot of research.  I wanted to catch up with everyone else and then I would start "heavy-duty" Bible study.

I know this is long, but bear with me.  I read chapters 1-7 over that weekend.  I was wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into......could I even do this?  Amy was kind enough to send me the comments about the earlier chapters that others had made, so I would not feel so "in the dark."

I started chapter 8 last Monday and started delving into Bible study doing research on the internet and reading commentaries, etc.  Let me say, I am hooked!  It is so neat to see how the Lord was working in the lives of the people back then.  What is even neater to me, is reading what the other ladies are getting out of studying the same passages of Scripture.  Each one of us brings something a little different to the discussion.  We have since added three more ladies to the mix.  I am so looking forward to everyone's take on the Scriptures and seeing what God can and will do in our lives because of our diligence to this study!

And, guess what, I actually studied two chapters today - chapters 11 and 12...mainly because I wanted to find out what happened to King Joash of Judah and chapter 11 left me hanging! 

God is so good!

Vanilla Rich Chip Cake

I amde this cake for supper tonight (with a little help from Katie)....it's a recipe we found a long time ago called Vanilla Rich Chip Cake.

Here's the recipe:

Vanilla Rich Chip Cake

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Vanilla Butter Glaze:
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
3 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat all cake ingredients, except chocolate chips, in large bowl until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into greased Bundt pan.  Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes ut clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan.  Invert cake onto plate.  Cool completely.

Mix all ingredients for glaze until smooth.  Let stand 3 minutes or until thickened.  Drizzle over cake.

Blogging 101 (Or My First Post)

Well, I probably would not even qualify for Blogging 101 if there was such a thing.  I've been considering starting a blog for several years now....I've gone back and forth with reasons to start one and reasons not to start one.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I defintely needed (needed might be a strong word) to start one.  Not that I have anything interesting to say, mind you, but simply because I wanted to do it!  Then, I realized I had to come up with a name.  I wanted something clever, something catchy, something that might make someone want to read what I have to say.  Needless to say, I couldn't come up with anything.  The more I thought about it, the more I decided the name did not have to be catchy, but did need to be something that captured the essence of what I would try to do on my blog - which was talk about daily life.

Life is a journey and God intends us to find joy in the journey.  Now, that doesn't mind that life will always be joyful, it just means that we can only find true joy with God!  True joy is not a dependent on circumstances.  Paul says in Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again:  Rejoice!"  I readily admit that I am not always a joyful person.  If the truth be known, I am probably less joyful than most.  BUT, my desire is to experience true joy, and the only way I can experience true joy in every facet of my life is to truly rejoice in the Lord always.  Thus, The Joy is in the Journey was born!