Living Life with Purpose and Passion Every Day!
Hello! Hope y’all are having a great week so far. It’s been cloudy and rainy since Sunday, but I’m not complaining – cooler weather is finally rolling in! Yay! I love how it’s FINALLY starting to feel a little more like fall. And cooler weather means fall clothing like jeans, sweaters and boots 🙂 The best.
Yay For Fall 🙂
Anyways, I’ve been reading through the book of Joshua lately, which, if you haven’t read it before, is an awesome book. I would highly recommend it!
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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
Sometimes it can be really difficult to be courageous. Or strong. Or bold. Or confident. We face challenges every day, whether it be at work, home, within our relationships, or even in standing up to others regarding our own convictions. It can be much easier to simply blend in with the crowd. Get lost in the background. Choose to be a follower when you were destined to be a leader.
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Hello! Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend, and are enjoying your Sunday! I haven’t been feeling the greatest this past week, so our weekend was pretty low-key. I am feeling better today though, so I guess the rest and relaxation really did the trick 🙂
So today I was reading through some various, random scriptures, and came across one of my favorites:
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7
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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3: 5-6
Sometimes I think that I know what’s best for me. That I have everything figured out, and no one else could possibly have a better plan when it comes to my life. Sometimes things work out for a little while – sometimes even for a long while – but eventually, without fail, my plans end up falling short. I always seem to forget that there is someone who is far better at making plans than I am, and what’s more, his plans always work out for my benefit, even if it’s hard to see how exactly at the time.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” It can be difficult to abandon our plans in order to pursue God’s, but when we choose to listen and stop relying exclusively on our own knowledge, our lives will improve drastically. “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” When we choose to rely on him, we are setting ourselves up to succeed – God’s way. With him at the helm, directing our footsteps and our paths, we can’t fail. Even when we face trials we can be sure that he will lead us through them, and that eventually they will work together for our good.
What about you? Is there something in your life that you need to surrender full control of to God? It might seem scary at first, but don’t be afraid to let go! God’s plans and purposes are so much better than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves.
Hi guys! Hope you all are having a great week so far! Sorry I have been so infrequent in my postings lately – it’s been a very busy [and really fun] summer so far. Last weekend my aunt and uncle were here visiting from New Zealand! They are going to be in America for a bit, and we were their first stop on their trip. We had such good time hanging out, showing them around Dallas, and just spending some quality time together. It’s always so good to see them! I’m in the process of editing some of the photos from the weekend, so I’ll be doing a post on all of our adventures soon here on the blog:)
In the meantime, I thought I would do something a little bit different. As some of you might know, I have been working on an inspirational type book for the past couple of years, and am in the final stages of editing and read throughs. I hope to release it as an e-book in the VERY near future, so if you think of it, I would really appreciate your prayers as I am finishing up the process. Seeing as I am still in the editing stage, and am in need of some feedback, I thought it would be a good idea to share a portion of the first chapter with you all here on the blog. I truly value your opinions [you are me readers after all – I write for you guys!] and would appreciate any and all feedback you can give me. So without further ado, here is a portion of the first chapter of [RE]volution YOU. Let me know what you think!
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Hello! Happy day after the fourth of July! Hope you all had a great day yesterday celebrating our country with family and friends. This was the first year I wasn’t at Lake Michigan with my family to celebrate the fourth, so it was a little but strange, but we ended up having a great time celebrating in Texas – slept in, got coffee, went to the pool, and had dinner with friends and watched the fireworks over Lake Grapevine at night. All in all it was a great day, and the fireworks were awesome!
Lake Grapevine
Hello! Hope you all are having a great week so far. Things have been pretty relaxed around here, which is always nice. It has been really hot though, and is supposed to be over 100 tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll survive the heat wave! My Michigan body still isn’t used to this Texas summer weather – craziness I tell you!
This morning I was reading about David and Goliath, a story that I’ve read countless times, and for some reason it really stood out to me today as being extra important. I was literally sitting on the couch with Mr. Samson, wondering what I should read for my devotions, and I opened my Bible right to the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel. Kind of like God was prompting me to read it. I love it when that happens.
Anyways, so I read the story, and if you didn’t know, David [small, insignificant shepherd boy] ends up defeating Goliath [powerful, strong giant] armed with only a slingshot, smooth small stones, and the power of God. No one thought it would be even remotely possible for David to defeat Goliath, but David knew better. He didn’t see Goliath as a giant problem in his path, but as an obstacle to overcome through the power and strength of God. He knew that all things were possible through God’s strength in him, and he wasn’t afraid when he faced Goliath. He was confident in the power of God working in and through him.
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Hello and happy Sunday! Hope you all have had a great weekend so far. If you tried to visit the blog yesterday and weren’t able to see the website, I am very sorry. I had some issues with my server, but everything appears to be back up and running again. Yay!
James and I have been laying low this weekend which has been kinda nice – the past few weekends have been pretty busy, so it’s nice to have some down time.
Last weekend my mom was here visiting, and we had so much fun! It was so good to see her, and we had some great mother – daughter time. Last time my family was here we explored Dallas, so this time we went to Fort Worth and visited the Stockyards. James and I had been before, but just briefly. This time we were able to actually explore and take our time looking around. Very cool!
Hello! Hope you all are having a great Tuesday so far.
I don’t know about you, but watching the news last night, seeing all the devastation in Oklahoma from the tornado, really made me appreciate all the things I have in life. It can be so easy to become ungrateful when we have everything we need right in front of us, but there’s something about natural disasters that really puts life in to perspective. I definitely need to do a better job at being thankful for all the blessings in my life, and not taking anything I have for granted. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people who have been affected by the tornado in any way.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
In all situations—good and bad—we need to be thankful for what God has given us. We may not always understand his plan, but we do need to trust that he knows what he’s doing. It’s harder to give thanks when our situations are bad, and it can be easy to forget to be thankful when times are good, but God wants us to draw near to him in good times and in bad. Whatever your situation, choose to be thankful and grateful for all the blessings God has given you.
Anyways, hope you have a great rest of your day, and stay safe out there if you’re in an area affected by all this crazy weather! God Bless:)
Good Morning! Hope you all are having a great Saturday so far! James and I are going to go check out Main Street Days in Grapevine, TX today, which I have heard is pretty neat. I guess its kind of like a big festival…I’m not really sure. I’ll definitely take lots of pictures and let you know how it goes! Hopefully I survive the 90+ degree temperatures:)
Today I wanted to talk a little about self-discipline. It used to be something I was really good at, but lately I’ve been struggling with it. It’s like—I should have enough time in the day to do everything I need to do, but for some reason I just can never get it all done. Why? Because I waste so much time doing things I don’t really need to do. Know what I mean? It is frustrating. And I feel like if I don’t hunker down and focus on being self-disciplined in the way I manage my time, I will never be able to accomplish the things I know I’m supposed to do. It’s like that quote: “If it’s important enough to you, then you’ll find a way, if not, you’ll find an excuse.” Something like that. But seriously, that’s what it’s coming down to. I need to choose to find a way instead of an excuse.
What about you? Is there something in your life that needs to be given a way instead of an excuse? If so, you’re not alone. The only way to change your situation is to want to. You have to choose it—no one can do that for you, and no one can do that for me. We are the only ones who can decide if something is important enough to find a way to accomplish it instead of an excuse.
Today, I’m choosing to find a way. No more excuses.
With that, I’m off to be productive. Hope you all have a great weekend, and God Bless:)
