The Week in Words: April 19

Taken from The complete works of Anne Bradstreet

The treasures of this world may well be compared to husks, for they have no kernel in them, and they that feed upon them, may soon stuff their throats, but cannot fill their bellies, they may be choked by them, but cannot be satisfied with them.

(spelling edited for clarity)

And from Elisabeth Elliot's Keep a Quiet Heart

God came down and lived in this same world as a man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities, that we might be changed - not into an angel or a storybook princess, not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world. The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.

That's really it, isn't it? To be content in this world isn't the point. Not what my heart should seek, despite its cravings. I whine because I don't have a perfect life. My Savior loves me too much to give it to me.

Wait, He whispers. Just wait.

And so, thankful for a small, ordinary life, I settle in to do just that.

The Week in Words - April 12th

Sorry for the unplanned two week break from The Week in Words! But I'm back with a really great quote. In fact, it's an entire blog post that truly rocked my world. Click here to see if you agree. Then come back and link up your own posts.

The Week in Words A Day Late + What's on My Nightstand

I'm still playing catch up at home, so I haven't had time to pick out my favorite quotes yet. I've highlighted so much of Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual, it looks like the yellow pages :-)

And since that's on my nightstand, I decided to be exceedingly lazy and make this my What's on My Nightstand Post, too. Just think of it as my service to you...giving you books that you can get great quotes from!





~Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. I've been wanting it for a while. I couldn't resist it in the store last week, but it was okay because I had some extra fun money. I'm really looking forward to digging in.

~Watch Over Me. Lauren's review is here. I'm still in the middle of it, but I'd say her review is spot on.

~Family Feasts for $75 a Week: A Penny-wise Mom Shares Her Recipe for Cutting Hundreds from Your Monthly Food Bill. I used nearly an entire pad of post-its to mark the recipes I want to try in this one. Aside from the recipes, Mary gives some terrific and practical advice for saving money.

~In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Several bloggers have had good things to say about this book, and I'm hopeful it will help us eat healthier and cheaper.

Reading something that spoke to your heart? Link your Week in Words post below. If you've got a stack of books on your nightstand, head over to 5 Minutes for Books and link up there.

The Week in Words - Birthday Edition

Today is my birthday. My sister-in-law sent me a "Happy 21st Birthday" text this morning, and it hit me that 21 was half a lifetime ago. Yes, I'm 42 today. It sounds strange to hear those words coming from my mouth (or, in this case, my fingers). When I was 21, I pictured my life at 42 much differently. And I'm thankful - so thankful - that my plans didn't prevail.

I started this day like any other, alone with my Jesus. But today was different, powerful. My very own birthday gift from my Abba. He used my Bible reading in Numbers (I'm a little behind) and my study of Hebrews to speak into my soul:

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. - Numbers 14:24 (ESV)

Oh! I want to have a different spirit! I want to follow God fully! I want to enter the Promised Land that He has for me, so that CJ and her children will possess it. I want it to be said of me that I was faithful.

After I prayed for these things, I went on to my study of Hebrews. And what did I find there?

What kind of faith is necessary to have real rest in this life? Faith that trusts God wholeheartedly with our lives, faith that leaves behind the desert existence of expecting this world to meet our needs, faith that moves forward with God into the life He is holding out for us.

-Nancy Guthrie, Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual

Suddenly it hit me that I've been living in the desert, only I didn't see it. I thought I was in the Promised Land because it looked pretty good. The security, the affirmations, the stuff...all a deceptively beautiful mirage; something I wanted so badly that I imagined it for myself. But today, Jesus calls me to live differently and to be different, to quit building castles out of desert sand, to refuse to settle for a mirage because He wants to deliver the real thing. 

It's the best birthday gift I've ever received.

I'm glad you stopped by to share my birthday with me! What words spoke to you this week? Share the direct link below.

The Week in Words - March 8th

Okay, everyone! I'm late to the party because I've been busy battling the cooties at my house. ICK!

The one thing I read this past week that really hit me hard is Psalm 50:3

Our God comes; he does not keep silence. (ESV)

It's definitely one thing I'm so very thankful for!

And one thing I didn't READ, but I HEARD..."Mommy, I love you so terribly much. I just don't think I can live without you." - CJ, age 11 1/2. (I know I'm breaking my own rules, but I think it's certainly justified in this case!)

What did you read this week?

The Week in Words - March 1

I've done very little reading lately. Between a horrendous work week and helping my husband with his college and job applications...I've been BUSY. I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to visiting everyone who's been linking up. I've been a terrible hostess. I hope you'll forgive me, and that my life will be back to normal soon.

In the meantime, these are the nuggets I gained this week:

There is something better than pursuing our own dreams of security and passion and significance. It is finding our security and passion and significance in God's dreams for us. - Nancy Guthrie, Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual

RT @kirkfranklin:Soldiers, these R tough days. but YOUR hands aren't big enough to fight this battle. that's why you're tired; 4 THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS...!

RT @tweology: For his own glory, God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. (WSC. 7)


Now it's your turn to share the words that inspired you!

The Week in Words: February 22

I don't know about you, but since I've started this carnival I've been much more intentional about my reading. I pay more attention to the words. I start the next week's post early, so I can immediately put in any quote that catches my fancy. Here's the best of this past week.

In this social media day and age, eyes are on us whether we know it or not. We are creating a reputation that will not only become a legacy but a lamp illuminating our character. Every tweet, facebook blurb, blog post, etc., is a catalog of who we are and what we are reflecting to the world. We are called, as followers of Jesus, to be intentional, prayerful, and wise about our presence.

- from this post at (in)courage, written by Sarah Mae

~RT @kirkfranklin: God is NOT trying to figure out His next move for you. you just need to make sure you're ready for it. Sovereign. 

And just for fun:

"It is enough," said she; "to say that he is unlike Fanny is enough. It implies everything amiable. I love him already." - Mrs. Dashwood to Elinor, Sense and Sensibility (Insight Editions) (a very fun edition indeed!)

Your turn! Remember, the link's up til Friday.

The Week in Words: February 15

I'm in a mad dash today, but here are the three quotes that hit home this week:

Our lives either put the beauty of God's truth on display, or they obscure it. - Joshua Harris,
Dug Down Deep

~We prevent ourseves from excelling by overmothering ourselves. - Chantel Hobbs, Never Say Diet: Make Five Decisions and Break the Fat Habit for Good

~I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. - Psalm 32:8 (ESV)

What spoke to your heart this week?

The Week in Words - February 8th

I read SO many great words this week that it was hard to limit myself to only three quotes. However, I didn't want to try your endurance, so I'm cheating and putting one aside til next week. Here's what I couldn't resist:

To habitually prefer things temporal before things spiritual in the predominant acts of heart and life is the certain character of a graceless soul. He who deliberately prefers riches and beauty in another, before the image and fear of God, gives a very dangerous sign of a graceless heart and will. If you value beauty and riches more than godliness, you have the surest mark that you are ungodly; if you claim not to value them, then why do you prefer them? How could you do a thing that detects your ungodliness and condemns you more clearly? Does this not show that you either do not believe the Word of God, or else that you do not love God and regard his interest? Otherwise, you would take his friends as your friends and his enemies as your enemies. ~The Godly Home by Richard Baxter, as excerpted at Crossway

This book is most definitely going on my wishlist.


God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. - Exodus 2:25 (ESV, emphasis mine). This one blows me away because it reminds me that God sees my circumstances & He knows what I'm going through. He knows the pain, doubt & fear. He knows how hard this trail is, and He hasn't forgotten me. Praise His Name!

[The Christian woman] looks away from the troubles and miseries and obstacles of life that seem to make the future bleak, and she focuses her attention on the sovereign power and love of God who rules in heaven and does on earth whatever he pleases (Ps. 115:3). She knows her Bible, and she knows her theology of the sovereignty of God, and she knows his promise that he will be with her and will help her and strengthen her no matter what. This is the deep, unshakable root of Christian womanhood. ~John Piper, This Momentary Marriage, p. 97

John Piper's book is a must-read. I could say a lot more about it, and I have at 5 Minutes for Mom. Click on the link for a chance to win a copy of this amazing book...but not before you've left your specific link to your Week in Words post below!

(The link will be up until Friday at 5:00 p.m Eastern)

The Week in Words - February 1

Sorry I'm late! I was busy playing in the snow Saturday (WOO-HOO!), and Sunday is my "unplugged" day. Are you ready with your quotes? I confess, I found some wonderful quotes in Anne of Avonlea, but I forgot to write them down before I had to return the book to the library. So, I only have one quote this week, but it's a great one from John Piper's This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence

God took the record of all of your sins that made you a debtor to wrath (sins are offenses against God that bring down his wrath), and instead of holding them up in front of your face and using them as the warrant to send you to hell, God put them in the palm of his Son's hand and drove a spike through them into the cross. It is a bold and graphic statement: He canceled the record of our debt...nailing it ot the cross (Col. 2:14)

Nothing to add to that, except PRAISE JESUS & AMEN!

Are you ready to play? Remember, leave your specific link below.

The Week in Words

Welcome to the first post of The Week in Words! Didn't Leah make a cute button? For your post, grab the code in my sidebar (and feel free to put it in your own sidebar).

Did you have fun looking for quotes this week? I know I did! Let's get this carnival started!

~"She looked like a collision between a fashion plate and a nightmare." ~Mr. Harrison (Anne of Avonlea, Chapter V)

~"You're never safe from being surprised till you're dead." ~Rachel Lynde (Anne of Avonlea, Chapter VIII)

~"She can put a whole sermon, text, comment, and application, into six words, and throw it at you like a brick." ~Mr. Harrison about Mrs. Lynde (Anne of Avonlea, Chapter IX)
 
 ~For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. - Romans 7:18 (ESV) If Paul struggled, why should I think I won't?

There are plenty of other quotes I could give, but these were the highlights of the week. The first three made me laugh out loud. The last brought introspection and gratitude for my Savior.

Remember to leave your link below, to your specific post. I can't wait to read the words that spoke to your heart this week.

Announcing The Week in Words

Although I'm not a wordsmith, I love words. Love them. (Just ask anyone who knows me. I've always got plenty to share.) One of the things I enjoy most is seeing how other people put them together. Think about it. A few carefully crafted words can make you laugh, cry, or dream. They can completely change your perspective and your life.

Anyone else?

Lately I've found an abundance of good words from many different sources. Words that have inspired and encouraged me. Words that have spoken to the depths of heart, and words that have made me laugh out loud. Words I want to share.

And I want you to share the words you've found. So I'm creating the "Week in Words" carnival. Playing along is simple, just write a post of the quote(s) that spoke to you during the week (attributed, of course) and link back here. They can be from any written source, i.e. magazine, newspaper, blog, book. The only requirement is that they be words you read.

Let's start on Monday the 25th, shall we?

I won't pretend that I can create some cute button to go with this carnival, but if anyone else can, please do ;-)