Convicted!

I have recently rekindled my fondness for reading, which has been to the absolute edification of my mind, heart, and soul. I have discovered a phenomenal author with whom many of you may already be familiar.

Francine Rivers is perhaps the most dynamic author I have had the pleasure of encountering.

Until this point, my favorite book has been the classic Pride and Prejudice; I doubt that Jane Austen's masterpiece shall be dethroned from number one in my mind any time soon.

However, Mrs. Rivers had absolutely captured my attention and challenged me to encounter God's love, forgiveness, understanding, suffering, and truth. I first read "Redeeming Love," which is a depiction of the love that Hosea showed to his wife, who was a prostitute. "Redeeming Love" is set in a more modern era and is recounted from the perspective of Gomer, Hosea's wife (though she has a different name in Rivers' book). In "Redeeming Love," God's love is so clearly demonstrated through the character of Michael Hosea in a way that I had never imagined or visualized so clearly before. It is truly a gift.

The story being an analogy, of course, as to the unconditional love that God has for his children caused me to be so grateful for the Lord's ever forgiving nature and loving character. The woman, Angel (as her name is in the book) is blinded and calloused, unable to feel and experience the tremendous love that her husband offers her, and yet he eventually breaks through her shell and she is able to reap all of the benefits of having his love poured into her. I realize that it's "just a book," but it honestly gave me the opportunity to personally recognize the powerful God that I serve, and that I take for granted.

Secondly, I just finished "The Atonement Child," which deals with the arguments regarding abortion, but in a very real, challenging situation: the life of a college student. The way that Francine Rivers writes causes her readers to be caught up in every moment of the book. I honestly finished the book in only a few hours because it was so incredibly engaging. The storyline involves not only hard decisions but it also deals with unspoken sins, bitterness, envy, legalism, and so many prevalent issues that must be dealt with today. Especially family quarrels and disagreements, misguided counseling, and so many other things that undermine our freedom as Christians come to light in this book.

I have just begun "The Last Sin Eater," but I am hopeful that it will be as rivetting as the first two I've read.

What an inspiring woman! Francine, you are amazing. :-) Thank God there are women like Francine who aren't afraid to attack the untouched issues in society today and make them powerfully relevant.

I encourage you to check out Francine Rivers. :) Incredible.

Here's a test of mobile blogging! We're treating cole to his first real meal since he broke his jaw a month ago! He chose Carl's as his choice meal so here we are! The boys won their game tonight too after going into extra innings so that's just one more thing to celebrate! Also Ben and Cole didn't believe that I would really blog about it... So this post is partially an effort to spite them. :)

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Bright Ideas from Bri

Kind of like Hints from Heloise. Part One.



When you buy cheap heels that cut into your feet, use leather softener.
It helps if you have brothers that play baseball and have leather softener handy to soften their gloves and such...and it works like a charm. Rub the softener along the outside of the heels and allow it to soak in. Even if the heels are not truly made out of leather, it creates a more cushy environment for you to enjoy. :-)

Let's Get Real.

So I was welcomed home to Ben and this gigantic monkey that he won at Knott's Berry Farm...ha!

In an effort to recap my trip to Texas, let me just reiterate that I feel so refreshed and excited to see what God will continue to do in my life. Everything that I learned in Texas has me reminded that God loves me so unconditionally...I am incredibly blessed by His grace and love.

Besides that, visiting with the Rydings was real fun! I realized that Texans say "real" all the time...for example, instead of saying "It was so much fun" or "It was really fun," they say "It was real fun." :-) Needless to say, I'm determined to bring that phrase here.

But just to keep all you picture lovers happy, here's some more pics from Texas...in no real particular order.

Here are my bargain shoes that I got at Target for $7.50...what a steal! :-D

John Wade and Matt playing some Ping Pong at the Rydings.

Yes, Ma'am, it surely did get above 100 degrees!

Some good bonding time with Josh and Cole. =)

A close up of Cole, who is probably the only cat that will ever actually curl up on my lap and cuddle with me. haha!

I love this picture simply because it is the epitome of how I thought Texas would be everywhere...this is the sign showing how tall kids need to be in order to ride the rollar coaster at the Kemah Boardwalk.

And finally, this is a shout out for ya'll who maybe don't travel a lot or just need some travelling tips. A seat in the emergency exit aisle = leg room galore. :-)

That's all for now...I'm excited for Bailey's shower that's happening tomorrow, and I'm even further excited about heading back to Ocean Hills on Sunday! God is good!

Insight to Wisdom

"If you are wise
and understand God's ways,
live a life of steady goodness
so that only good deeds will pour forth.

AND if you don't brag about the GOOD you do,
then
you will truly be wise!

But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition
in your hearts, don't brag about being wise.

That is the worst kind of lie.

For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom.

Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivaed
by
the DEVIL.


For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find
DISORDER and EVERY kind of evil.

BUT the wisdom that comes FROM heaven
is first of all Pure.

It is also Peace Loving,
Gentle at all times,

and WILLING to Yield to others.

It is full of Mercy AND Good Deeds.

It shows NO partiality and is always Sincere.

And those who are peacemakers will plant
SEEDS of Peace
AND
Reap a harvest of goodness."





James 3:13-18.

Characteristics of Texas

So here are some pictures to make up for the lack thereof in yesterday's post.

Some characteristics that I have observed in Texas thus far consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

Weird animals habits:

Letting a gecko inside.

Random souvenirs:

Shark in a bottle.
Random accessories:
Toilet shades.

Random vehicles:
A tall, tall, tall H2.

Also, not so random, but here are a couple pictures from Calvary Houston.
The sanctuary:

The coffee shop (which is legit):
Higher grounds (clever).

So tonight we had the midweek study at Calvary Houston, which was really good. It's weird to actually sit in a service. But I definitely needed it. :-)

After service we went out to eat again, even though we went to Sprinkles Frozen Yogurt before church, too. The after service choice was a Mexican restaurant called Luna's, which was actually pretty delicious! Reminds me of a more authentic El Torito. :-) Then everyone came over again to the Ryding house, where ping pong ensued for several hours. Since I figured I need to improve my ping pong skills anyway, I applied myself tonight and learned different spins to put on the ball. :-) Amy and I both needed to learn, so John taught me, then I taught Amy. Amy and I played for a while just trying out different spins and returns...it was fun! It's very relaxed and laid back this week, which is great!

Josh got off the next couple days, so even though we've pulled some late nights, we're gonna hit "the town" and see if we can't find something to do tomorrow. :-)

God's really blessed me so far here with some good time of restoration and I feel really refreshed - it's amazing!

And finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!! He's 14 today! AND he got called up to play on the Varsity team this weekend!! Woohoo!! I'm so proud of you!!

Plenty Fer Ya'll To Read

Well I'm spending a week in Texas with my wonderful family - Aunt, Uncle, and three cousins, the Rydings.
I grew up with them and I'm so happy to be spending some quality time with them for a week here in Houston. I got in yesterday after some flight delays and stuff, and went straight to Calvary Houston to lead worship with Josh for their service called "Overflow." It was phenomenal and an awesome blessing for me to be a part of it. Since then, I feel like I'm just a part of their group here. Everyone at their church is extremely welcoming and extremely nice. They have made me feel right at home and pretty much accepted me just as another Ryding family member. Last night we went out to dinner with everyone afterward, just like we tend to do at Ocean Hills, except we stayed until about midnight, then headed home.

Their house is so gorgeous...the carpet is my favorite. :)

Today we mostly just spent the day here at the house hanging out...I got to talk a lot with Sam and my aunt Mae, and somewhat Chris too. We just got to catch up and chat and have fun and relax. It was fun!

Later on Sam, Josh, me, and their friend J.R. went to Galveston Island, which is their beach. Quite different from our beach, but we had a good time looking around in a little souvenir shop, just hanging out. The whole town is still kind of devastated from hurricane Ike, which came through about 9 months ago, so there were some piers apparently in Galveston that are not there anymore.

So then tonight four of the guys from their church came over, and we all just hung out in the loft upstairs playing ping pong, watching videos and stuff, and just chatting. It was a lot of fun! I feel like I know them better than some of my own friends at home. Weird. But I feel great about it and I'm excited to be here for a while longer!