Best Ever

I am so enjoying wedding presents right now. One of the most precious of presents was a book of family recipes that my Grandma spent many hours putting together for me. I am enjoying the tastes and smells of my heritage and the legacy of these recipes that have been handed down to me.

This morning the recipe was sugar cookies. The recipe is one from the kitchen of my Great Great Grandmother Lillie. I have a photocopy of the recipe that was typed out on what looks like a typewriter and is named "Grandmother Fitzgerald's Sugar cookies". I am in love with the recipe and don't know that I could ever give it up. There is a lot of faith in baking sugar cookies. I have to trust the time on the recipe in fear of making them hard if I don't. I think I did pretty well for the first time.

When my Grandma was putting the recipe book together for me she wrote her own little memory about them... she said on her way home from school she would stop by her Grandmother's house and she would always have these Sugar cookies in the Cookie Jar on the counter. What a fun picture to think about. My Grandma as a little girl going to her Grandma's looking for sweets!

Oh to be a Cat!

So today for me has consisted of hanging out on the couch reliving and enjoying again the blessings of a wedding! I am writing thank you notes for all that have blessed us over the past year. I am up to about 80 documented notes and many more that i have not recorded yet. We are so blessed and thankful to everyone that has given and sowed life into our marriage. I have a stocked house and a full heart.

Well I have not been alone in my writing today... Copper, my cat, has been my support and provided some giggles throughout the day. He sleeps ALL the time. Today I look over and he is on his back with his legs in the air asleep! It shocks and disturbs him that i must at some moments make some noise to get around. He looks up from his sleep and stares me down as if to ask me "Why? Why must you disturb my sleep"



Oh to be a cat!

Pictures

There are two slide shows of pictures for you from the wedding...

Check them out!

Bridal Portraits taken a week or so before the wedding by Chris and Katie (Charlie's sister) of
6 of four creations (6offourcreations.com)

http://www.6offourcreations.com/Maggie_Shank/


Then some from the wedding
taken by Jerrod Brown (jerrodbrown.com)
and edited by Katie and Chris

http://www.6offourcreations.com/CharlieandMaggie/





I am in love with them all!!

Inspiration

Last night in all my sorting and trying to get the house together. I finally got into the Casting Crowns CD my mom got for us at our first shower. The CD is called "The Altar and the Door". One of my favorite things to do with a new CD is lay on the floor and open up the words and just follow along. This is one way i used to learn words for songs and find music for Worship.

Sometimes I have a hard time with some Christian music because i don't always feel the passion that music about our savior should create in us. It seems some artists are just trying to find another "hit song". so with that said I was so greatly surprised and excited by what I found in the Casting Crowns CD. When you begin to look at the songs each song first has a short description on the inspiration or feelings they have for that song. They also provide the Bible verses that support what they sing about.

One song that I had heard before yesterday is "East to West". I always liked this song but yesterday I was truly inspired by the passion in the song. the description they write for this song is:
"God's forgiveness is an amazing gift. The problem is that our logic gets in our way."

I love this as it truly resonates in my heart. Someone in my life is also brought to mind. They are an inspiration to me at this moment in time. They are normally a very logic oriented or purely analytical in most situations. Recently there has been a strong change that has turned the focus on knowing God through faith not through understanding every nuance of who he is.
The mystery of God is so desirable and incredible. The wonderful part about it is we don't have to solve the mystery to believe.

I want to share the words of this song with you:

Here I am Lord and I’m drowning, in Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know you’ve cast my sin as far as the East is from the West
And I stand before You now as though I’ve never sinned
But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Chorus:
Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west
‘Cause I can’t bare to see the man I’ve been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
from You leaving me this way

I know You’ve washed me white
Turn my darkness into life
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel
But by the truth Your Word reveals
I’m not holding on to You
But You’re holding on to me
You’re holding on to me

I am inspired by the Journey into faith. The Journey to sell out to the good side of us and no longer choose to live in the bondage of the bad side.

Last night as I was listening to this song it began to snow pretty hard and it seemed so fitting. the beautiful peace and light that snow brings even at night. It reminds us that He has, as the song says, "I know You’ve washed me white, Turn my darkness into life"

Maggie