This verse has been near to me in recent months so I figured it was time to really engrave it into my heart.

And congratulations to Beth who will be receiving a snazzy memory verse pouch. I’ll let you know when I get some posted in the shop.

What’s your verse for February?

I was tagged by my friend Linda for this fun post. The instructions were to showcase 7 photos showing red around the home. {Side note: you can be pray for Linda’s family, too, as they wait to adopt as well!}
These photos can be enlarged by clicking.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

1. our Netflix “streaming disc” that lets us watch instant movies/t.v. shows through our PS3. We love this (when our crappy internet allows it to work).
2. these are actually salt ‘n’ pepper shakers that were our wedding cake toppers!
3. my apron.
4. our spacey, dorm-like microwave that our landlords let us use. It’s very small and not very powerful, but cool and red. Oh, and my favorite tea right now, TJ’s “Ruby Red Chai.”
5. just a glimpse of our bobble-head collection (most of the collection is more the color of Dodger Blue)- guess we should take them out of the box- and David’s international Mt. Dew collection.
6. a kitty that my grandma made (she sits on my headboard, that my grandpa made).
7. my collection/stash of reddish fabrics.

My turn to tag 7- but if anyone else would like to play, please come back and leave a comment with your link to your red showcase!
How about mom, bro/sis, sis, erika, emma, beth/david and rena?
Any takers?

p.s. speaking of red, my mom and I are taking part in this project for the Orphan Foundation… it’s not too late to join in!

cheaper than a latte and oh-so-good.

How do you take your coffee?

{click the photo to see what else I’ve been snapping photos of.}

I’ve been updating and adding to my wish list lately. Because soon, I’ll be 29 (A couple of months ago, I honestly had to stop and think whether I was turning 30 this year or not. It took a minute to remember I wasn’t. One more year in my 20s!).

I think having a winter birthday is what gets me through winter because I am such a summer girl. But I digress.

Everytime I add a new book or CD to my list, I pause and think of what I really want for my birthday.

I really want a baby. Our Baby.

We’ve been talking a lot about Our Baby around here. Writing letters to congresswomen on behalf of others and their babies, and reading blogs about adoption, and thinking about all my family members and friends with due dates, and scrapbooking photos of Baby Gigi (yes, I’m two years behind), and hearing about orphans who are sleeping in the dangerous streets, and planning a baby shower for a sweet friend… has all been making me long for Our Baby to come home even more.

Gigi often will ask a million questions about Our Baby. She knows that it’s not going to be in my tummy. But that’s probably where her 2-year-old understanding of adoption ends. Almost daily, I’m answering these questions. I love them. It soothes my waiting heart to hear her excitement over having Our Baby come home. Questions like…

“Will Our Baby use my high chair?”
“Will Our Baby ride Sofia [our neighbor]’s bikes?”
“Will Our Baby lay on the floor?”
“Will Our Baby play with my kitchen?”

And then there’s narrative she gives on taking care of Our Baby.

“We’ll rock Our Baby. And give her milk. And I’ll share with Our Baby.”

One day she says it will be named Sister, and the next, Our Baby will be a boy (a “brudder”).

We pray everyday for Our Baby to come home to us soon. And I know God will be faithful to answer that prayer. I just don’t know when, and that’s the hard part. There’s no due date, no scheduled c-section, no beginning of the third trimester. Nothing concrete to look forward to.

One of the biggest things God has done in my heart is that He’s taken away the desire to be/get pregnant (so bring on the fried eggs and margaritas). I honestly do not covet it at all anymore, like I used to. I admire my beautifully pregnant sister-in-law and I relish in the soft, rolling kicks when I feel my dear friend’s belly. But I’m not jealous of the pregnancy.

Just of the due date.

My heart burns for the day when we bring home Our Baby. When we give that baby life and the love of Christ and a forever family.

I’m hoping my birthday gift comes wrapped in a swaddling blanket.

But if not, I’ll keep waiting and keep praying, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in [me] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)

Never in my life did I imagine how passionate I would feel about adopting. About my desire to adopt. He is truly doing a good work in my heart, and I thank Him that he will continue it.

I like to start the year with something that sort of lays a foundation. Last year I picked Joshua 1:8.

I was thinking about faith, as our pastor spoke about it last week, and I was taken back to something God did through a few moms.  They followed His lead and started Project 320, something that turned out BIG, way bigger than they expected.

So, for January, I chose Ephesians 3:20-21. I want the kind of faith that expects great things from God because He is good and in His grace and power He is able to do big things through us. And as we await big things, we want all the glory to be His.

If you want to join in to memorize scripture this year (one verse a month), leave a comment here with your January verse or with a link to your blog post about your verse.

Don’t forget to sign up for the giveaway before January 31st, too.

I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

Memorizing scripture is so important.

I love God’s word but am constantly discouraged at how little of it I really know. I want really know more of it, so that I can pray it, apply it to my life and share it with others more effectively.

Last year, I tried my hand at Beth Moore’s “1st & 15th Scripture Memory” challenge and, it went great… for about half the year. Looking back at my verses though, the ones I did choose really speak to what I was going through during that time and I really love that.

I’ll be honest, 2 verses a month was hard for me. I feel bad saying that, because I want to be able to memorize at least 2 verses month, but that’s the truth.

I realized I want to go for quality instead of quantity this year. So I’m going to stick to one verse a month. This doesn’t count the verses I’m teaching my daughter (um, Colossians 3:20, moms of toddlers?) or the ones I learn with her through her CBS class or by listening to Seeds of Worship.

This is will be one verse, each month, that I feel the Lord is speaking to my heart.

I want to put it out there if any of you want accountability (because I know I could use some), I’d love to host a little monthly memory verse post here at Gidget Goes Home that will be like a virtual accountability meeting.

It’ll go like this:

I’ll post my verse for the month with a little bit about why I chose that verse (sometime during the first week of the month starting next month). This month’s will be up tomorrow.

You post a link in the comments here to a blog post where you share your verse.

Or, you just leave your verse and any thoughts about it in the comments here on GGH.

We can encourage each other along the way in real life, on facebook or twitter or whatever, but the point is, we strive together to grow closer to God through His word.

How does that sound?

If you are in, leave a comment here.

I will also, as a little incentive, because I feel this is so important, be giving away a handmade monthly memory verse kit to one of you who comments on this post. The winner will get to choose a color scheme for their zipper pouch.

*This giveaway is now closed. Please feel free to join in on memorizing with us at any time, though!*

I’ll have some of those for sale in my etsy shop soon for anyone else who is interested in a pretty way to organize your verses. These are a few that I made as Christmas gifts.

I’m excited to keep my verses safe in a little zipper pouch because I feel like when I zip them up in there it symbolizes them being “stored up” in my heart like one version of Psalm 119:11 says.

(I’ll leave the comments open for the giveaway until January 31st. Anyone can join later on in our venture any month though. Anything is better than nothing when it comes to memorizing scripture!)

Grab a 125×125 button like the one up above for your blog:

<a href=”http://gidgetgoeshome.com/tag/his-word-in-my-heart/”><img title=”his word her heart” src=”http://gidgetgoeshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hiswordherheart300.jpg” alt=”his word her heart” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

com⋅pas⋅sion

a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s exactly what I’m feeling for the people of Haiti right now.

I feel sorrow, with the desire to somehow help alleviate their suffering.

My heart is burdened for the country and its people and all they lost in such a short time. I’ve been following the story of a fellow blogger who was stuck there visiting the son her family has been trying to adopt for years. Reading about her experiences during and after the earthquake has been heart-wrenching.

She’s a survivor. I’m praying and signing for her son to get home to his forever family soon. She has finally made it back to the states and will hopefully be home to her husband and other kids soon.

But I keep thinking of those who are still there, whose homes and lives have been turned upside down, destroyed. The Haitian people will never be the same.

The heartbreak must so intense, so deep. Losing so much…

I don’t have much else I can say except that I’m praying and I know many of you are praying and giving support already, too. If you haven’t found a place to give of your resources yet, one place you can do so with is Compassion International.

As Kristen said,

I feel like, now more than ever, we are a world away from the poverty-stricken Haitians. An easy, comfortable, abundant world away.

Money and prayer. That’s what we can give from here.

HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED: All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.
You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate Eastern & Western medicine into my family’s health practices (that’s why I love my naturopathic doctor I’ll be seeing now as my primary doc). Since my family opted against any kind of flu shot this year, we were especially interested in what kind of herbal/natural remedies we could use to boost our immunity and fight off viruses.

So naturally, I was stoked to be contacted by a PR firm who works with Whole Foods and be able to try a few products. I love Whole Foods (my husband and I especially love having lunch at their salad bar/prepared food dept/smorgasbord). We had one nearby when we lived in Orange County and in Colorado and it was a great place to do some of my shopping. Now the closest one is in La Jolla and I always stop by when I’m in the area, but that’s soon to change as they are finally building on in North County!!

Back to the products. I was given free samples of the following to try out. Here’s my take. And read on to see how you can win a Whole Foods gift card!

1. Source Naturals Wellness Formula. This is an immunity supplement with all sorts of good ingredients like Vitamin C, Zinc, Garlic, Echinacea and much more. It’s very similar to one that my doctor recommended for this time of year. I used it in acute form when I had a bad cold/cough and although it’s hard to tell because I was taking a lot of remedies at the time, I do feel like it helped. All of these ingredients are great for immunity!

2. Gaia Herbs Rapid Release Black Elderberry Syrup. I love this stuff. It tastes good (in fact, my dad told me his sister used to make Elderberry Jam!), and it is proven to be an awesome immunity booster. Our whole family has used it and I do believe it has shortened symptoms when we’ve been sick and fought them off when we were on the cusp. I will definitely continue to use Elderberry Syrup!!

3. EO Hand Sanitizing Spray, Organic Peppermint. This stuff is great. I had to get used to the smell because it is different from other natural hand sanitizers I’ve used (the peppermint oil and thyme extract are unique) but now I really like it. It’s compact so it fits great in my purse and I love using a sanitizer that does not have the dangerous triclosan in it.

4. 365 Everyday Value Flu Ease. I really love the idea of an herbal alternative to pain relief as I’ve always been one to pop the Tylenol or Advil without hesitation. This was my first time trying one and I think I will definitely try it again in place of traditional pain relief when sick!

If you would like to enter to win a $10 gift certificate to Whole Foods, please leave a comment below telling me one natural way you boost immunity this time of year.

For 5 extra entries, blog or tweet about this and leave an extra comment telling me about each post or tweet.

Giveaway ends Friday, January 15, 2010 at midnight PST.
Now closed; thank you for entering!
Thanks so much to Whole Foods and The Rogers Group.

P.S. Keeper of the Home, one of my new favorite blogs, is an awesome resource for info on good herbs to use, and what to use them for.

————–

More Product Info:

-Gaia Herbs Rapid Relief Black Elderberry Syrup – 100-percent natural and organic, this super-concentrated syrup is infused with the immune-boosting power of elderberries, recognized for centuries for their health supporting properties.  Packed with Vitamin C, this natural syrup helps support healthy immune response. Suggested retail: $19.99 for 5.4 fl. oz.

-Source Naturals Wellness Formula– A powerful combination of herbs, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, Wellness Formula is the perfect pick to rebalance your well-being. Suggested retail: $8.99 for 45 tablets.

-365 Everyday Value Flu Ease – Take this homeopathic formula at the first signs of the flu. Each dose of quick dissolving, easy-to-take pellets provide natural relief from body aches, fever, chills and other symptoms. The best part? No side effects like drowsiness or drug interaction list. Suggested retail: $8.99 for six doses.

-EO Hand Sanitizing Spray Mint – One tip to stay healthy is to keep your hands clean, so try an organic alternative to hand sanitizers with EO Hand Sanitizing Spray. This combination of invigorating peppermint oil, vitamin E and thyme sanitizes hands, leaving a refreshingly soothing scent. Suggested retail: $4.99 for 2 fl. oz.

I love starting the new year. Fresh beginnings are so excited. My resolutions are more like goals, but nonetheless I have a few plans for 2010. Here are a few fun things I wanted to share with you (in no particular order)…

1. I joined the 365 Project! Now that I have a fun new phone, I’ll have an even easier time to upload 1 photo every day.

2. I’m using a Moleskine journal to get organized. In it I’ve “hacked” my own planner/notebook/to-do file and I’m hoping it will help me to have all my notes in (mostly) one place.

4. I’m going to get caught up on scrapbooking. This used to be a passion of mine that has slid under the radar in the last year or so (what? naptime is over?). I might not be doing it quite in the traditional way I always have, but I’m going to somehow get back in to it.

3. And, as I posted on facebook last week:

If I had to have one goal that’s on the “philosophical” side, it would be to be more engaged, more present, more content in the daily life where God has me. I spend a lot of time thinking about the future or about what I “need” to get done rather than truly focusing on the moment at hand.

Because I love this time of year so much I’m going to do a couple of giveaways this week that relate to a couple more goals of mine so stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3: 22-24

In November we had some family photos taken by my best friend. She’s been taking our pictures for a while (our engagement, maternity pics and more), and finally decided to actually launch her business. I’m so excited because she is super talented. I was happy to build and help her set up her new photo blog!

Please go check it out at Rena Anne Photography, leave her some comment love and see our family’s beautiful photos (scroll down until you get to ours or click here).