Hello! Greetings from snowy Texas! Today is a snow day here in the DFW metroplex, which equals AWESOME! It’s been awhile since I’ve had a snow day…so today’s icy blizzard was a welcomed surprise ☺
Snow! Yay!
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Positive People
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Thankful Thursday!
Sometimes I forget to be thankful for the little [and big] things in life. Its not that I’m not grateful, it’s just that I get so preoccupied that I forget to be thankful. Know what I mean? Sometimes I like to make a list of the things that have happened lately in my life that I truly am grateful for. It’s a good reminder to look for the little things in life that sometimes escape my consciousness. So, here’s my list from the week!
Thankful Top Five Of The Week:
5. Our amazing new apartment. Seriously, it rocks. And God has truly provided for us in a difficult season of transition this fall. So incredibly blessed to have a place to stay, food to eat, a wonderful husband and a spunky little kitty. Things haven’t always gone according to plan, but God has always provided, no matter what.
Love Our Place.
Turn That Frown Upside Down – The Importance of Positive Thinking
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
Where do you find your Inspiration?
Hello! Hope you all are having a great weekend so far! Ours has been good – so glad it’s a little less hot outside today. Thinking we’re going to be able to actually take a walk without melting into a pool of sweat! It’s the little things. I’m also very thankful to have James home again – he was away all last week on a business trip, and it’s been so nice to have him back☺ I don’t sleep very well when he’s not here, so this weekend has been all about catching up on some lost sleep from the week. I’m feeling much more energetic today!
But, even with some good sleep under my belt, I still just haven’t been feeling very motivated to write. I’ve been putting it off all weekend, like I usually do, and focused on other tasks instead – like running errands, grocery shopping, cleaning up the house, laundry, etc. When I get the notion to write, I immediately think of something else I just NEED to get done, or that task that simply cannot wait. And then, when everything has been crossed off my to-do list [except for writing of course] I am just too tired to think about starting. I guess you could say I’ve been lacking motivation, but most importantly, I have been lacking inspiration. I am most inspired by my surroundings, and being confined to a small apartment in the heat of the summer does nothing for my imagination. It’s not an excuse, but it does pave the way for distractions to easily interfere with the creative process.
Unfortunately I’m not really able to get away and do anything inspiring at the moment, so at times like these I like to look at my inspiration board – basically a picture board of places I’ve been, family members I miss, things I want to do, places I would love to go, even some quotes from some pretty inspiring people. Just taking a few minutes to lose myself in the memories associated with the pictures somehow gives me new motivation and inspiration to begin writing again.
Currently, these pictures and quotes live above my writing desk in my office, but they’ve had many different homes throughout the years. I’ve had an inspiration board for a long time, and although the pictures and quotes tend to change slightly with my inspiration, the concept has always remained the same. If you’ve never done something like this before, you really should! It may seem a little strange, but pictures and words are such powerful tools to draw inspiration from – both have always helped me tremendously. So, I thought I would share a few of the quotes and photos I have taped above my desk to give you an idea of what I am currently drawing inspiration from – enjoy!
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
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Conquering Your Giant.
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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Boaz: A Man of His Word.
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!
Perspective.
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:)
Choose to find a Way–Not an Excuse.
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:)
The Problem with Fear.
Good Morning! How is your Thursday going so far? Mine has been going well so far—I got to sleep in which is always an added bonus:) I feel like it’s been awhile since my last post—I apologize. I have no excuse apart from general business over the past few weeks. Anyways. Let me share with you what I read from Exodus this morning…
“The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:11-12
The Lord was speaking to Moses when he said this, right after Moses started giving him excuses why he couldn’t lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Obviously God didn’t really think Moses’ excuses were relevant.
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Be a Witness…Not a Conformer.
Hello, and Happy Thursday! Again, this week has truly flown by. Fortunately, the rain stopped sometime last night…not that I don’t like rain, it’s just that two straight days of it starts to get a little old. But, I know we needed it, and after the drought we went through last summer I vowed to never complain about rain again! Anyways, enough about the weather and the ever increasing speed of time. I read the book of Jude this morning. This sounds impressive until you realize Jude doesn’t even have chapters—just 25 verses. But, just because it’s short in length doesn’t mean its lacking in importance. It is actually a very relevant 25 verses.
“Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
Jude 22-23
While this may sound a bit graphic, it demonstrates one of the most important aspects of the Christian faith—witnessing. Whether it be through our words, actions or deeds, we should always be reflecting Christ’s love to others—sharing the good news with them in any way we can. But, just because we are called to be loving and merciful, doesn’t mean we should be tolerant or condoning of the sin we see around us. While we love the sinner, we need to hate the sin.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when believers say something along the lines of, “Well, Jesus hung out with sinners, so therefore it must be okay for me to behave like them, tolerating the things that they are doing.” I’m sorry, but that is just not how it went down. Jesus spent time with sinners yes, but he did so for ministry purposes. He didn’t condone what they were doing, encourage them to continue sinning, or even look the other way. He went into the darkness with the intention of bringing them out into the light. He loved, and still loves, sinners, but that doesn’t mean he approves of the actual sin. In the same way, we need to love those who are living in sin, or unbelievers, but what we don’t need to do is become tolerant of the sin. We need to lovingly minister to them, just as Jesus did, with the intention of bringing them out of the darkness and into the light.
The bottom line is that we live in a sinful, fallen world. As believers, it should be our goal to witness to those around us in whatever way possible—whether it be through our words or actions. But, remember to ‘show mercy mixed with fear’, using discernment as we witness in our sin-stricken world.
On that note, I’m off to go tackle my to do list for the day. Hope you all have a great Thursday! God Bless:)