Martha vs. Mary

A friend of mine introduced me to a book called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  The author Joanna Weaver shares with readers how to find intimacy with God in the busyness of life.

Here is the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things but few things are needed-indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

 I have always "prided" myself in being like Martha in the Bible. I love to be going, going, going and doing, doing, doing. I strongly have felt that I show my love for Jesus by doing not by sitting. Being a Mary has never excited me. But reading this book and seeing how Mary pleased Jesus by just sitting at His feet and soaking up His every word has been eye-opening for me. Catch this: " The only requirement for a deeper relationship with God is showing up with a heart open and ready to receive. Jesus said: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28; Weaver, 2012). This book is not saying that my on -the- go personality or my love language of the act of service is wrong. But I am learning that I do not have to always be doing something. So many times I have allowed my life's busyness to consume me; and my relationship with the Lord is a quick Bible read and prayer at the end of the day. This book has been encouraging and convicting to learn to just stop and take time to rest in the Lord.

I will continue to share what I am learning in the book. I encourage all you Martha's to buy it and read it!

Holiday Recap

Phew! I have been slacking in the blogging department. Jared's 30th birthday, the holidays, Giana, and our new baby boy on the way have made life extremely busy! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with friends and family. We were able to travel and spend Christmas in RI with my family. It was a great visit. We were so happy to be able to celebrate my grandpa's 80 birthday while we were there. Also, my sister Ashley got engaged!  We are so excited for her and Jon. It looks like a summer wedding is on the horizon! Woo-hoo!
Mom had the house decorated so beautifully that I wanted to share all her hard work.(See below) My parents have not put lights up outside for the holidays for years; but because Giana was coming they put them up-too cute! Jared and I were excited about my mom's Christmas Eve dinner. Italians have fish on Christmas Eve, so we enjoyed an awesome meal of fish, baccala, shrimp cocktail, snail salad, Italian bread, salad, and the list goes on. Mom and I made some yummy monkey bread for Christmas morning. We all ate ourselves silly-isn't that what the holidays are for? ;) The visit seemed to fly by. We had a wonderful time.
I hope you all had a fun and safe New Year's Eve. We went to an awesome church service and rang in the New Year with friends. Fun times!
I am excited for a new 2013. Although we have seen 2012 to be an extremely difficult year, we have seen the Lord's faithfulness. He has blessed us with a new baby boy who will be here in just 3 months, Jared's new job, a beautiful, new city to live in, and a wonderful church family and friends. We are overwhelmed by His provision and blessings to us. At times I have let certain circumstances cloud my view of God's grace and goodness in our lives. My goal for this year is to not dwell on the negativity but to let it go and to trust in the Lord and His faithfulness. Well, I must get back to the family. I am hearing adorable giggles coming from the living room. ;)

Happy New Year!!

Love, AGM

                                         
                                                        The Engaged Couple: Jon and Ashley

                                                       Mom's Beautiful Decorations

Thankful

 I love this time of year! The smell of apple pie in the oven, the fall decorations, and the gathering of friends and family are just some of the memories that I anticipate for the day. It is a wonderful day to be reminded of the wonderful blessings God has given us. This Thanksgiving our dear friends the Theakers joined us for our Thanksgiving meal. We made a thankful tree made up of leaves on which we wrote what we each are thankful for. We had a great day and are so thankful for our dear friends and family!

-AGM

The Table Project

Where do I start? It has been a crazy month! It has been exciting living in a new city. We are enjoying meeting new people and adjusting to our new jobs. It's amazing how God places you right where He wants you. He has been so faithful! 

Indianapolis is huge! Of course, I have gotten lost a few times...but those stories are for another day! ha! This past Friday, I experienced downtown Noblesville. It has adorable antique stores and quaint places to eat. A friend took me to a yummy place called Rosie's. I loved it! The food was scrumptious, and Giana loved the mac and cheese!

I have been starting some fun DIY projects. I have always wanted a large dining room table...so...I searched Craiglist and found a beat up cherry wood table and 3 chairs for a whopping $35! The table and chairs needed a lot of work (sanding, staining, and painting). I thought painting the chairs and the legs of the table black would add some interest. I love how they turned out! I did have help sanding (thanks Kiersten!). The sanding took forever. Ugh! Jared did the painting and staining-thank you hun! I re-upholstered an old bench and the chairs with new fabric. We already had two red upholstered chairs for the head of the table. All in all it was a great accomplishment! We love how it turned out and can't wait to use it for Thanksgiving! 

Check out the before and after pictures:

Thanks for reading! -AGM

Snapshots

Giana's first birthday

I have been meaning to share the snapshots of Giana's first birthday, but life has been a whirlwind. We recently moved to Indianapolis, IN (yes, I will be blogging about that quite soon-I promise!). Life has been crazy with the moving and the starting of new jobs. But we are so excited to be where God wants us. We are thrilled to be on this new journey!

Giana's first birthday was filled with memories of family and friends. The pictures my sister took captured so many precious moments. We are so blessed to be a part of this beautiful little girl's life. 

Here are snapshots of Giana's first birthday- Enjoy! 

Thanks for reading! AGM