A Cricut Dilemma: Which one to get?

Okay ladies I need your help!

 I have been wanting to get a Cricut machine for a long time but they are so expensive I have been putting it off. 

Well I finally decided I think I'll bit the bullet and get one! But which one to get?

This is where I need your help!

Do you have a Cricut machine? 

Which one? Do you Love it?! 

I'm currently looking at the:

Personal Electric model...the cheapest one of course. But does it do everything I need it to? 

The Cricut Expression...This one may be the winner. I mean it can cut so large!! 

The Cricut Imagine. If money were not object this would be the CLEAR winner! But is the color ink really worth the extra $$$? I may just need to save for a bit longer. 

Okay so any advice ladies? 

Anything you have would be wonderful!!!!! :)

To Live for God's Glory

Today is a busy Monday filled with work, two classes, online class work, and dinner making. So in line with my new 2011 word of the year I would like to leave you with a little Edwards Inspiration.

This is Edwards first Resolution

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

Edwards begins his Resolutions with the greatest statement we can make as humans. Resolved to do whatever would be most to God's Glory.

Amen.

Enough said for today.

Going out trying to live for God's glory in each and every thing.

Resolved. 2011

Last week I posted about Jonathan Edwards and his 70 Resolutions. {See post HERE}

Well now I'm finally getting to my 2011 word of the year. Can you guess it?

Resolved

I have been reading a lot about Jonathan Edwards lately and have really been learning a lot about the Puritans and other classic Christian writers.

I have been delving into a rich and deep theological tradition and can't get enough.

Unfortunately I haven't been able {or willing} to find the time to dedicate myself to the things that really matter.

So in 2011 I will be Resolved.

I will be Resolved to above all else, make my walk with God the number one thing in my life.

I will be Resolved to learn from past hero's of the faith such as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon.

I will be Resolved to give my last semester of school my best effort while not neglecting my home and my husband.

I will be Resolved to make my love and commitment to my Husband made known to him each day.

I will be Resolved to read. To read and not waste my precious time on things that don't matter. More on this to come.

I will be Resolved to form new relationships. I will try and learn from those who are older and wiser. {Titus 2}

I will be Resolved, along with my Husband, to jump into the young marrieds & families bible study and form new lasting relationships....regardless of how much time it takes up. {We live a ways away from our church}

I will be Resolved to find a place to serve in the Church regardless of the distance we live.

I will be Resolved to make this new church switch work {regardless of distance} and jump into serving and forming relationships unless the Lord directs us otherwise.

I will be Resolved. In all that I do.

Resolved: To make Christ the center of my life.

My New Workout Buddy

I have been wanting these for a long time but have not yet been able to justify the price. They are normally around $100 and I can't believe I didn't get them sooner!

My newest workout buddy is the sketcher shape up!

I was so skeptical of these at first and honestly thought they were pretty dorky looking! lol

But I have to say...I am now In Love!

Seriously, I want to where them everywhere!

I was hesitant at first because they aren't the most attractive, they are soo expensive (for a girl who loves to shop at ross), and I'm not one for really wearing tennis shoes.

But my in-laws found these at Costco for only $50 (They are normally around $100) and knew that I really wanted to try them. So they got me a pair for my birthday!

And I am oh so glad that they did!

They are so incredibly comfortable.

I thought I was going to feel awkward with them so high and they could feel clunky to wear but no! They are actually incredibly comfortable.

They also really help my back!

I have a bad back (get it from my dad) and doing things like cleaning for a long time and doing dishes and stuff really start to wear on me. So last week I had a huge cleaning day doing all kinds of sorting and throwing thins out and cleaning cleaning cleaning. I wore them ALL DAY long and my back didn't hurt nearly as much! :)

I also have horrible posture (which makes my back hurt worse) and for some reason the way that you stand in these really helps my posture.

I also think they really help when just walking around. I know they are not miracle shoes but I do really think they help to firm everything up.



Okay wow I sound like an ad! I'm not getting paid for this or anything I just wanted to share how awesome these are!

I need to talk Hubby into getting me a few more pairs before I wear these ones out! :)

They are ON SALE at Costco right now-Only $50! The lowest price I have ever seen them for!

Zappos.com has them for around $60 I think.

Lessons from Jonathan Edwards

In my last post I talked about some things that have affected my Husband and I from going to the Resolved conference this past year.

The Resolved conference is a conference on Christian life. Everything to do with Christian life and being an imitator of Christ and living out his ways every day.

There are some amazing speakers and I am so thankful for their obedience in preaching and allowing God to speak through them.

But what is important in this post is why the call it the Resolved conference.

The term Resolved for this conference comes from Jonathan Edwards. I'm sure most of you have heard his name but might not be very familiar with him. So let me tell you a bit about him.

Jonathan Edwards

Edwards was a puritan in the 1700's and is a great hero of our reformed Christian faith. He was a great preacher and inspiration to many. He obediently lived out his Faith and did not conform to this world.

He is also an inspiration because even from a young age he recognized that living your life for Christ was not a light decision. He realized that in order to really live out his faith and be a slave for Christ he must live that out each and every day.

He knew he had to be firm on his commitment to the Lord. At just 19 years old he recognized that his life must look different from the world. He decided to sit down and wright out his commitments to the Lord and then began reviewing them each week so as not to forget how he was to serve.

Each commitment consisted of a short statement summarizing how Great God is and how low man is. Each of these statements began with the word Resolved.

As Edwards sat down to write his 70 Resolutions he began by saying,

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

A few of my favorite  of his Resolutions are:

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.


16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.


Just to name 3 of 70! These Resolutions are a wonderful way to start off your day, week or month. Each time I read them I get something different from them. God is so evidently in Edwards writings and words and reading them gives so much encouragement in serving the one true God.

If you want to learn more about the Resolved Conference go HERE {You can even download the past 6 years worth of sermons from the conference for FREE!!} But if you are not ready to be convicted and ashamed of your walk then don't listen!!

To read all of Edwards Resolutions for free go HERE!

Next up is my 2011 word of the year. Can you guess what it is?!

Getting Focused for this Year's Focus

In June 2010 Hubby and I and his family went to a conference in Palm Springs called the Resolved Conference.

It is spear headed by John MacArthur, Rick Holland, Steve Lawson, Al Mohler, and C.J. Mahaney. We had such a wonderful time last year and the conference really impacted my outlook for this year.

One major impact of the conference was that my Hubby and I both felt really convicted to switch Church's and the week after the conference we made the painful switch. We have now been attending our new church for since June and are loving it and committed to serving God and forming biblical and deep relationships this new year.

Another thing that I was really impacted by was a message by Rick Holland. Rick Holland is the college pastor at Grace Community Church {The church we now attend} with John MacArthur as the lead pastor. Rick Holland talked about how he and his wife had arrived at the conclusion that their days are numbered and they can only read so many more books in their lifetime.

This really struck home with me! I am a reader! I love reading all kinds of books and get so sucked in. I have a million great books just waiting on my bookshelf and yet every time I go to pick up a new book my hand goes to the fiction.

This got me convicted that I need to be more intentional about what books I read and that I need to write more. Anyway more of that later.

For know it is plain that the Resolved conference really impacted my year and I am so excited to go again this June.

And this is all related to my new focus and word of the year for 2011. More will come tomorrow explaining a little bit about the Resolved Conference and where it's name came from. Here's a hint, a personal hero of our faith: Jonathan Edwards.

Read more about our time at the conference
HERE and HERE

More to come...

What's up for 2011!

I have many posts brewing around in my head to kick of the new year!!

But first thing I would like to share just a few of the things we have to look forward to this year.

1. May 7th-I graduate with a double bachelor's degree in History and Biblical Studies. 

2. May 8th- Start my new job {Hehe this is wishful thinking but it is of course God's timing}  

3. May 17th- Mine and Hubby's 2nd year anniversary!

4. Tentatively Hubby will be starting his MBA in FALL! We are so excited but still pursuing and deciding if this is God's timing.

We are so excited to start this new year together! I feel so blessed to be finishing my degree in just three years! I am so excited to start working full time and paying off some student loans ;)

I am so excited to celebrate our 2 year anniversary! Can't believe it's been almost 2 years already!!

And Hubby may be starting his MASTERS degree. So excited and blessed by that opportunity. We have a full and exciting year ahead of us and we cannot wait!

Christmas Vacation

Well after two weeks of fabulous vacation we are now back into the daily grind. Back to work and school starts again for me in (Yikes! Less than a week).

But before I kick off the new year here at Intentionally Living I wanted to just give a little recap of our Christmas.

Our Christmas time really began on December 10th on my Hubby's 23rd birthday!

We had a great night. We went to his favorite restaurant, Red Robin, and had cold stone for dessert. And then Hubby got a nice little surprise for his birthday present!

He got an Xbox!

He has been wanting one for a while and I knew he was not expecting it!!

Then we left on the 17th for a two week vacation to visit our families. We had so much fun with both our families and got to spend Christmas with each. Unfortunately I do not have any photos yet from Christmas but I'll get them later!

Then yesterday (the 3rd) was my birthday and we plan to celebrate this weekend with a trip to Olive Garden and some fabulous red velvet cheesecake for dessert!

When we were up with our family we went to Lake Tahoe to go Snowmobiling and hang out. My Mom and her boyfriend took me and Hubby to a wonderful dinner in the snow! We had such a good time.

This is my mom's boyfriend Pliny, My Mom, me and Hubby!

Winter Wonderland! 

Hubby and I went out last night for my birthday and hubby got me some adorable new boots!!

Tahoe is so beautiful this time of year!!

Here's a picture of my Hubby's family..okay this is technically from Thanksgiving :)

And this is my fam.

Overall we had a wonderful Christmas season! I am refreshed and ready for the Spring 2011 semester and 2011 year! I have been taking a break from blogging but will hopefully be jumping back in!

Stay tuned for my 2011 word of the year later this week. Happy Tuesday!