Don't forget, the "Carnival of Beauty" is here this week!

Carnival submissions are due Tuesday by 3:00 (pm) - my email address is ellen at mzellen.com .

A few years ago my husband and I took the kids on vacation and one of the places we camped was Colorado National Monument. It's on top of a mesa and the road to the top can be tough on a car (if you've got one of "those cars")

We had a conversion van and I took advantage of the space and packed everything (including a kitchen sink - a dry sink that was made to be in the "way back"). The evening before, we had gone to a ranger talk and forgotten a flashlight so somebody walked along with us to lend us their light. One our way down out of the park, I was talking to the kids about how God puts people in our path to help us out.

But just as important - even more important - is that God will put us in the path of other people that He wants us to help in His name. And he did...

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I have a friend that I don't see very often - we work in different places now and life is busy...but when we see each other we don't do "fluff". When we were seeing each other on a regular basis, our visits included: I check on her, she checks on me. Sometimes it wasn't very pretty.

There are times that I visit myself with "fluff" I listen to music, walk, read, some other stuff.But other times, it's a real "visit". What is it that I need to tell myself? Do I have the honesty to face my own inner self and say what needs to be said? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

If I want my "visits with myself" to be profitable, I need to nurture an examination of where I am and where I need to be.Sometimes, it's not pretty.The quote is right. "Sometimes we have to take a break and visit yourself." But it shouldn't stop there - visit yourself for the right reason. Do the right things while you're there.

If your "visits" with yourself are full of fluff, your walk with God will reflect that.

If your "visits" with yourself focus on the "who" that you are, and where you should be, you'll find changes taking place. Good changes; God changes.Visit yourself, take the opportunity to connect with the "who" that you are and ask the One who is with you always what you should do next.

Scripture alone.

I'm still "settling in" to the new blog - sort of like settling into a new house. There's a place in the sidebar for "pages" and I've got a section for "what I believe". In the process, I thought I'd repost/revamp the originals and add a few things.

I am Reformed - my understanding of "reformed" is based, in part, on the "Five Solas".

My belief about Sola Scriptura is that the Holy Scriptures are our final authority. It is not that we don't recognize any other authority - we recognize our spiritual mentors, pastors, etc. But all of the other authorities are measured against Scripture.

Paul praised the Bereans for examining what he said against Scripture; we do the same. We don't have our Scripture interpreted for us through man - the man is judged against Scripture. If they don't agree - Scripture wins.

If a person tells me that something is permissible, but the Bible says that it is not - the Bible wins (example: homosexuality).

If a person tells me that something is not permissible, it is up to him to show me in the Bible where the law comes from (example: having a drink with dinner).

If a person is teaching a doctrine that is not in the Bible, that doctrine is rejected (Tongues as the sign of the New Covenant).

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Mr. Picasso Head...

Courtesy of The Road Not Chosen, one of my "visit every day" blogs.