Less than a week left until [RE]volution YOU is released as an e-book! I’m so excited to share this with you all so soon!
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Wrong Way or Right Way?
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
– Proverbs 14:12
Sometimes the wrong way is disguised as the right way, enticing us to follow down the incorrect path, leading us deeper into sin. We see our peers in the world on the path beside us, and blindly assume we are on the right track. If everyone else is doing it, then it must be okay for us to join is as well, right?
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Set Yourself Up for Success – Include God in Your Plans
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
-Proverbs 16:9
Learn To Trust God More Than Yourself.
“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
How many times do you try and do something entirely on your own, only to end up failing to complete the task?
Or, have you ever tried to answer a specific question, only to realize you don’t actually have a decent answer?
Happens to me all the time.
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Our New Place!
Hello! Hope you all are having a wonderful day so far. I thought I would share a few pictures of our new place, so all my far-away-family-readers can see where we live now. And there might be a few pictures of Samson thrown in the mix as well. NBD. I had to get a little creative with storage, and I’m planning on doing some Pinterest projects eventually to make everything look a little bit more homey and cozy – but for now, I’m just happy that we are all moved in and unpacked, and that everything fits! That seems like a major accomplishment to me – especially going from a two-bedroom to a one. And so far so good – we are loving the new place, the gym is awesome, and the grounds are relatively quiet. The gym is actually in the same building as our apartment, so I literally have no excuse to not get up in the morning and head down there for a quick workout before work 🙂
Anyways, here are a few pictures, and as I try my hand at DIY type projects, I’ll keep you informed!
Kitchen
The Kitchen, Complete With An Island.
Happy Birthday Samson!
Happy Birthday Samson!
Why Hello…
So – we celebrated Samson’s first birthday yesterday! I know. It’s not his ‘real’ birthday, but it’s the day we adopted him last year, so we will celebrate it as his birthday:). He got to eat lots of treats, play lots of ‘red dot’ [aka chasing the bright, flashy red laser pointer light around the apartment] and of course, he got lots of cuddles! I’m so happy we were able to adopt him last year – he has been a great addition to our family. For me, he has made the cross-country move a little bit easier, especially when I’m feeling homesick and miss my family and our pets back in Michigan [Samson’s cousins – Gandalf and Mr. Piggers!]. Call me crazy, but I really think animals can be therapeutic. Plus, they are great little companions. Cats may have their quirks, but in the end they win you over with their unique, charming personalities 🙂
Such a Little Charmer 🙂
So, in honor of Samson’s first birthday, here are the top five reasons why you should own a cat, and why cats are superior to dogs [sorry Mr. Piggers] :
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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!
