Category: personal

personal

To The Man Sitting Next To Me In The Pew

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Hey Loves!

I’m back with another post for the She Shares Truth Challenge by She Reads Truth. Today we are reviewing 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

Last Sunday, I was inspired by the man sitting next to me at church and wanted to share the following with you all. Then, God answered with the She Shares Truth verse for this week. Let me know what you think!

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, you don’t know me or I you but you taught me something that I will carry in my heart.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, I noticed you give all you could in the collection plate. The pennies, nickels and dimes that barley totaled $1 moved me in ways you will never know.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, I know you put on your best to come to church today. While I got up and changed my outfit three times, you put on dated hand-me-down jeans and a shirt that was too big.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, I saw you take your old bible and be steadfast and attentive through the sermon while I used three electronic devices to follow along and enjoyed my protein shake.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, thank you for reminding me what Jesus needs from us. Thank you for not being ashamed of what you brought to The Lord, what you wore to worship Him, and, most importantly, not letting any of that stop you from coming to church.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, thank you for inspiring me to draw closer to God and not to things or appearances this world tells me I need. Thank you for reminding that what I give to God should only be validated by God and not what the person next to me gives.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, what you taught me today was just that, a lesson, not condemnation. You don’t have an address and I don’t know where your next meal will come from but the joy in your heart is remarkable and God rewards the dutiful like you.

To the man sitting next to me in the pew, thank you.

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personal

The Jonah In Me (and you) part 2

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Hey loves!

I’m back with week 4 of the She Shares Truth Challenge by She Reads Truth. This week we are studying Jonah 3 and 4.

Have you ever been upset because something bad didn’t happen to someone? (I know that sounds terrible but let’s take a little time to look at ourselves.) Upset because a person didn’t get what you felt they deserved? Upset because you had to forgive someone for what they did to you? If not, my hat is off to you.

If you have, come join the club with Jonah and I. You see, once Jonah was spared by God’s grace and was obedient to His command, the people of Ninevah fasted and wore burlap to show sadness. They didn’t want God to destroy them so they sacrificed with hopes that He wouldn’t. They confessed their sins and made efforts and promises to change. So, God spared them and that’s what upset Jonah. It would’ve upset me too.

Get ready for some conviction…

The thing you, me and Jonah need to realize is that same grace that was shown to so many people who we believed didn’t deserve it was shown to us many, many, many times. We can’t determine where or how our great God shows His grace and mercy, but we can choose to be grateful for the grace and mercy He has shown to us.

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Psalm 38: The Joy in Guilt

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Hey Loves!

So I am back with another post for the She Shares Truth Challenge from She Reads Truth. This week’s post comes from Psalm 38.

Let’s talk about guilt. Personally (and sadly) it is often a motivator for me. Sometimes, I go to the gym and refrain from things I want (but shouldn’t have) because I will feel guilty if I indulge. I attend certain events because I will feel guilty if I don’t. For too many women, guilt is a common emotion and a natural response to things.

Thankfully, our Father knew that and left us great teachings. The author of Psalm 38 is my favorite king, King David. You see, like us, David knew about guilt. In fact, he knew it pretty well. He made some bad decisions, the kind where that guilt would just overtake my being. However, David’s story isn’t about his guilt, it is about redemption and praise and that can be our story too.

Psalm 38 begins with the fears and guilt we, as humans, face often. Like David, we pursue good and evil comes. We too can call on our Savior in our times of need and guilt and He will come quickly to help us. David praised God for a Savior that was to come generations after him. We have a risen King that has already come and will come again. Our Lord knows what we long for and desire, when we feel alone and deserted, when we feel guilty and He saves. He stands by you, heals the hurt, absorbs the guilt and saves.

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My Take On Psalm 130…She Shares Truth

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Hey loves!

So I am accepting the challenge from She Reads Truth to do a blog post every Friday of lent on a bible chapter and/or verse(s) for the She Shares Truth Experiment. This week is Psalm 130.

Let me preface this post by saying, I’ve been praying about how and when I should use my God-given talents and it is no mistake She Reads Truth came into my life and came up with this challenge.

Ok…now for my take on Psalm 130.

Out of all the great praises and pleas in the chapter, the words that stuck out to me were “Pay attention”. I think it is funny this Psalmist asked our great God to pay attention. I mean, how could He not? He is the God that freed the Hebrews from bondage and continually saved them in battles. He even paid enough attention to the future, our present needs, and sent His son as the ultimate sacrifice so we can be forgiven. Yet, the Psalmiat insists the God pay attention to his plea.

Have you ever been there? Wanting God to pay attention to you? Your needs? Your pleas? Your desires? I have and I am here to tell you He surely is. The same God that formed you before you were born and knows the number of hairs on your head is paying attention. He hears you.

In those times of desperation and pain, I urge you to pay attention to all God did for his children, the Bible and know you are no exception.

Later in Psalm 130, I guess the author realized who he was asking to pay attention and said “7. O Israel, hope in the Lord, for the Lord exhibits loyal love, and is more than willing to deliver. 8 He will deliver Israel from all the consequences of their sins.” (NET)

Sisters, pay attention.

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My Life… The stay at home edition

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Hey Loves!

As most of you know, one of the reasons I started this blog was to build marriages. This post is to empower wives in whatever you do. I am mostly a stay at home wife. I work part time and write freelance but my priority is my husband, our household and our family.

It took me a long time to get to the point where telling people I was a stay at home wife was ok and I didn’t feel inferior. The majority of my confidence came from growing in my faith. At the end of the day God has a purpose for all of us and all we have to do is submit to his will.

I found this blog post from kitty-ears.com and wanted to share as she took the words right out of my mouth.

“If I was working, managing a household on top of a full time job would be extremely difficult. This is not to say it couldn’t be done–it is and has been done by many people–but the way my husband and I wanted to structure our household was for me to be the primary homeworker. In order to cut back on stress and for me to have enough time to keep up with our house and prepare all meals, I needed to be a stay at home wife. He also needs me to be here and take care of those issues so he can then completely focus on work.

Perhaps the greatest factor that helped me be a stay-at-home wife is that I felt lead by God to be one. This is a touchy subject, because I know not all stay-at-home-wives are Christians, nor do I expect them to be. The truth is I feel very comfortable being at home and taking care of my husband and helping others with my time instead of being paid for clocking hours. I know that I am doing the right thing. Daily I pray that I am doing what God wants me to do–and I am not the least bit stressed about my position or embarrassed about my status as a stay-at-home wife.

Perhaps the final point of my stay-at-home status is the direction I want to take my life. I want to eventually own my own business. Right now its just a small Etsy shop, but that shop is my passion and my dream. Staying at home allows me to work towards my goal of being a small business owner and gives me time to grow creativity and plan projects. If I had another “Outside” job I would never be able to give my business the attention it needs to flourish.”

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A Letter to My Unborn Child

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You are wanted. I am telling this you this now because I know at some point in your life you will feel like you aren’t. Whenever you think that, know you’re wrong.

I want to give you the world but that won’t happen because I don’t own the world. I own my heart- andit’s yours. I will do my best to teach you the wonders of God, the power of His redemption of and the freedom in His forgives. I will make sure you know the delight that comes from dance parties, jumping on beds, playing in the rain and building sandcastles. I want you to know the power of music. I will sing you love songs all the time. I will expose you to the greatness that is Dr. Seuss.

Education is important to me. You will go to school and I will expect your best. I will fight to make sure you are treated fairly and given every advantage available to you. I am your advocate.

Be different. It is so hard to tell you this because I know to be with ‘the in-crowd’ means you have to be the opposite, and being on the outside is hard. I promise the best way to find out who you are is not try and be like other people. Be the best you every minute of your life.

Don’t waste time with regret- repent and keep moving.

Say “m’am, sir, please and thank-you” all your life. Manners will take you farther than you know.

Race is an issue in America (and other countries for that matter) but it is not in our house. We accept and respect all races, ethnicities, creeds, religions, and sexual orientations. I will struggle with that fine line of raising you to be proud of your culture and being open to others. I don’t want you only identifying yourself by some box you check on applications. I don’t want you feeling pressured to fall into the stereotypes of that box, or spend your life trying to defy to said stereotypes. At some point, somebody, somewhere (some jack ass) will point your race out to you in an attempt to make you feel different and less than what you are. You are going to be confused. You may be hurt. You may be angry. That’s ok, as long as you don’t let that anger darken your heart. The seeds of anger have the power to make you make become a change-agent or…well, let’s just focus on you being a change agent. Feel the anger but don’t succumb to it and I will do my best to answer your questions.

It’s ok to cry.

Always vote…always be an educated voter.

You will apologize for many things. Never apologize for who you are.

I’m much smarter that your dad ( like, by far) but you will learn so much more from him than you will from me. He will teach you true selflessness, how to protect and provide for a family, compassion, patience, how to enjoy the little things and what a gentleman does. You will see a man of God that loves his family more than he realizes. He won’t be the one teaching you how to make a bed (that’s where I come in) but he will be the one you will have to answer to if you fail to do it. Oh! He’ll also teach you fear of punishment.

Fear will probably be the first way you learn how to make decisions. That’s ok when you’re 2, not 21. Don’t let fear stop you from experiencing new things, challenging the norm or challenging yourself.

Self-doubt is something the devil made.

There will be times when you don’t like what I say to you or what I make you do. I really do want to be your best friend but I can’t be that and your mom at the same time for the majority of your life. Just know I’m really not trying to make your life miserable. I’m trying to protect you.

You will fall in love one day and it will be awesome. You may get your heart broken and that will suck. (Sorry. That’s really the best way to describe it.) Just remember, you’re greatest love will always overcome any heartbreak.

I love you. I love to kiss you. I love to hug you. I love to see you smile and hear you laugh. I love seeing you happy and drying your tears. I love all those quirks that make you mine. I’m not perfect but I am going to do my best to get as close as I can for you and your dad every day.

I can’t wait to meet you. I already know you’re simply amazing.

-Your mom (and your biggest fan)