We Encourage - My Hubby

As I sat down today, trying to decide what to write for We Encourage Tuesday, I was suddenly reminded of the blog post my husband wrote yesterday.

(Isn't he so cute?!?)

His post was similar to my post from yesterday in content, but much more detailed and truly inspiring.

It was such an encouragement for me to read his thoughts and see his heart shine through the words he typed.

I hope they will encourage you as well.

Check out his blog post here.

Stepping Out

We spent the day Saturday at a missions conference.

Only this missions conference was very different than any I'd ever gone to or heard of before.

We met in the morning for worship and a short message...and then were sent out to minister to homeless people in the city.

We were all assigned different areas to serve in, as there were over 500 of us that attended the conference.

I was on a team where we delivered meals to people who don't leave their apartments very often. Our "job" was to deliver the meals, and ask people if they needed prayer, and to pray for them.

It was an amazing day. We were able to pray over many different people...some even on the streets as we were walking from building to building.

We also listened to people's stories and shared Jesus with them.

It was amazing to be a part of...and amazing to hear the stories of what others did throughout the day.

We ate dinner in a local food court that night...and what culture shock that was! To see all these people walking around with their bags from a long day of shopping...

Source

It just made me realize how comfortable I am all of the time.

And watching various homeless people walking around the food court...looking for the leftover food people didn't finish eating...it just broke my heart.

In the morning, we sang a part of the song Hosanna. The part that says:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Jesus definitely broke my heart for the people we came across.

My prayer is that I will continue to love those around me...even those I come across in the grocery store or in Starbucks...and share Jesus with them.

Favorite Color

It's time for another Inspiration Workshop with Gussy!

This week's prompt was your favorite color.


Purple has always been my favorite color. I love it so much...

From lilac and lavendar, all the way to the very deep and rich purples...it's just beautiful.

I thought I'd share a couple of wedding pics so you could see how I incorporated this very amazing color into my wedding.

(Purple and yellow were my wedding colors. I loved the contrast from the deep purple to the bright yellow - and while that is not my natural color, as I dyed over brown to get it back to blonde, it is pretty close to it)

(My beautiful friends wore these David's Bridal dresses in the shade of Victorian Lilac. I loved it)


I've also always wanted to dye all of my hair dark brown and put purple streaks in it. I think that would be divine...

What is your favorite color?

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)