Beautiful Encouragement

I had a really rough day today and received some amazing encouragement from some dear friends.

Here is some of what they shared with me:

"Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway"
(quote by Mary C. Crowley shared with me by B.H.)

"When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart"
(quote by John Bunyan also shared by B.H.)

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10, shared with me by S.S.)

(Another beautiful pic from our honeymoon)

No matter where you find yourself this evening/morning/afternoon, know that God is there to listen to your worries. Know that when you experience moments of feeling weak, that is when God is strong.

And, if that is the case, bring on the weak moments!

(Linking up with Jami)

Initial Reactions

My church, for the last three years, has had a women's worship night...with women leading worship and women speakers. The first two were amazing...so part of me wanted to go to this year's (which happened to be last night).

But there was another part of me that didn't want to go at all...

I saw a picture of the women's band that was coming to play...and I really had my doubts that it was going to be all that amazing.

Yet, I needed a night out with the ladies, so I decided I was going to go...whether it was lame or not.

My dear friend decided it would be fun to get a group of women to go out to dinner beforehand, which sounded like a blast to me. She put an open invite out on Facebook to all the women in our church. We ended up with a very diverse group of ladies in very different places in life. But, it was such a blessing...knowing that we are all a part of the body of Christ...and that we all have each other.


When we arrived at the church for the worship night, I was pleasantly surprised. The women's band was a.maz.ing. They shared parts of their testimonies, and had many of us sharing empathetic tears. It was a huge blessing to be there...and I know God orchestrated it to be just the way it was for me...and for all of the other women there.


When I got home last night, I started thinking about how often I allow my initial reactions to shape my overall view of things. It's like that whole conditioning concept: the way someone reacts to something the first time they experience it tends to condition the way they'll react the next time...which will probably be very similar to the first.

Even though my experiences with the other two worship nights had been positive...my initial reaction to this one was negative.

I hate that, in many situations, I tend to think of the negative before the positive. I see all the things that could go wrong...instead of focusing on what could go right.



And, many times, I will try to get myself out of situations that seem too negative to me...instead of seeing that God could have a purpose for me being in them.


I hate that, as Americans, we are so consumed with being comfortable and safe. Where does it say in the Bible that we are supposed to be comfortable and safe all the time? We are called to go into the world and preach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 28:19-20). It doesn't have a disclaimer that says, "But only when it's safe to do so...and only in situations that you are most comfortable". We are not called to live comfortable lives that don't involve risk...we are called to share God's love with everyone.


I realize that my story of the worship night last night is not a story of risking my personal safety to share the Gospel with someone...but I think it just reminded me how often we choose not to do things...because they are out of our comfort zone or don't seem to be "fun".

I really want to live my life not worrying about being safe or comfortable. I really do want to live the way God has called all of us to live. And, even though I know I am not perfect...and I tend to get hung up on stupid things...I really do want my life to reflect Christ.



That is what is on my heart today.

(All photos were taken on our honeymoon 3 1/2 years ago)

(Linking up with Casey)

Inspiration Workship: Front Porch

It's time for Gussy's Inspiration Workshop!

This week's prompt was the Front Porch.

I do like our front porch...I think it's darling...but we live near a vegetable processing plant...and it always smells nasty outside during the summer. So, it's not really a place we tend to hang out.

So, if we lived somewhere else, I would like a porch like this...

(Pinned by Morgan via oldfield1732)

I love all the greenery and home-y it looks.


Or, maybe a porch like this...

(Pinned by Natalie via sheseespretty)

Isn't this just gorgeous? I love how clean it looks...with that sweet pop of baby blue.


Or, maybe this porch...

(Pinned by Teri via marthastewart)

This one looks so cozy. It makes me want to curl up with a book and lightweight blanket...and waste the day away.

What kind of front porch would you love to have (it can be yours, of course)?

(All pictures came from Pinterest)

Food is Not my Friend

I love fast food.

Like, a lot.

I pretty much like any food that is not good for me to eat in excess.

Yet lately, I've just been so sick of it.

Nothing fried even sounds good to me.

(Yellow squash and zucchini)

Maybe it's because I've been feeling convicted to get healthy again.

(Add a little extra virgin olive oil so they don't stick to the pan)

For those that don't know, I used to be a ballerina (WAY back in the day. We're talking 10 years ago). It was my passion for the majority of my life. I lived and breathed it.

(Add a little salt...and a little pepper)

Right around the time I turned sixteen, I decided to just take jazz dance lessons and stop the ballet. I took jazz for another three years before I quit dancing altogether.

(Stir frequently so they don't burn)

And, when I quit dancing, I quit exercising on a regular basis...and I have never been able to get back into that routine (for those that know how old I am, you'll know it's been quite a few years that I haven't been working out).

(Once they're getting close to being done, add a little butter or margarine)

Needless to say, I've tried, on and off, to get into something...but nothing ever sticks...because I love eating horrible food and I love watching TV in the evenings with my husband.

(Let the butter melt completely)

So, I finally decided it was time to change all that.

(Voila! Don't they look yummy?)

I exercised twice this week...for the first time in about a month and a half...and it felt good! I got the sweat going, I got my heart racing, and I was out of breath. It was such a good feeling.

(Red potatoes, washed and ready to be cut up)

The hubby and I also made dinner together on Tuesday night (for those that don't know me very well, I am not a huge fan of cooking). It was so much fun! Josh was outside BBQing up some chicken breasts while I was inside cooking up some yummy yellow squash and zucchini, and red potatoes with rosemary and basil (and now the pictures finally make sense, huh?). We topped off our meal with a glass of milk. It was fabulous! We both enjoyed it so much and felt healthy while we were eating it. We decided that we are going to try our best to eat like that as often as we can. While we both love our pasta and other things that aren't the best for us, we both are sick of not feeling good about ourselves.

(I cut each potato in four sections)

So, my goal is to exercise at least 3 times a week, and to cook at least 5 healthy meals in a week. I'm also being careful not to just eat whatever I feel like. When I've had the urge to eat something sweet, I've instead grabbed some baby carrots. One thing I have not decided to give up is soda. There may come a day in the near future that I change my mind...but for now...that is my splurge (and trust me, I don't drink soda all the time. On an average week, I probably only have four or five total).

(Put a little extra virgin olive oil in the pan, as well as some rosemary and basil)

I set some other goals, too...but those can be saved for another blog post.

(I kept them covered most of the time and just shook the pan a few times to make sure they weren't burning. It only took about 15 mins for them to cook)

If anyone has any advice on ways to eat healthy or tips on good exercise programs (that preferably do not require a gym membership or tons of money), I would be very grateful!

(The finished product! I don't have any pics of the chicken...because I was inside taking care of everything else while my husband was BBQing outside. He just used a little bit of teriyaki sauce on the chicken breasts)

Revelation

So, when I initially sat down to write this blog, I thought I'd write about how we got scammed yesterday.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized there's no point dwelling on it.

It's over, it's done...and hopefully the one who did the scamming was blessed.


Instead, I'm going to focus on the good stuff we talked about with our college group tonight.

We're doing a short series on the basic doctrines of our faith. Last week, we studied the Trinity. Tonight, we talked about Revelation (and no, I don't mean the last book in the Bible with all the crazy stuff).

We talked about how God reveals things to us in His Word.

Some are general revelations - things that most people know about, like that we all have a conscience, for instance (see Romans 2:14-15). Others are special - things like supernatural occurrences, such as Jesus being the image of the invisible God (see Colossians 1:15-17 and Hebrews 1:1-3).

We also talked about this verse:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16, NIV)

It's important, as believers, for us to believe that. How can we accept something as truth if we don't believe what it says?


I love the fact that, no matter how often I read the same verse or the same passage, I get something different out of it. That is God revealing His living Word to me! He wants to speak to me, where I'm at, with something I need to hear. And, the times I'm not having things revealed to me, are usually the times that I'm not spending time in the Word.

(Linking up with Casey)