Maddy…
Spring blooms….
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” -James 4:14
Sing your Song…
Procrastination… This is something we all do! We procrastinate grocery shopping, cleaning, running errands, finishing projects, doing laundry (laundry.. my all-time personal favorite procrastination amongst many). Disposable clothes would be awesome! Sadly we also procrastinate loving and making time for people. The dirty dishes will wait, the unwashed laundry will not be sad. The errands never end. People on the other hand, don’t always wait. They feel sadness. And… their lives here on earth do end. We get so comfortable in our procrastinating lives. We put off dreams and relationships even though we know we are not promised tomorrow.
“Tomorrow, you promise yourself, things will be different, yet, tomorrow is too often a repetition of today. And you disappoint yourself again and again.”
― James T. McCay
I like this little clip from Phil Stuts
THE PRICE OF COMFORT
“Whatever a person’s comfort zone, they pay a huge price for staying inside it. It’s a shrunken world where ideas, opportunities, and new relationships can easily pass us by. Worst of all, procrastinators squander the most precious asset a human can have: time.
Our time on earth is limited. Every moment is an opportunity we’ll never have again. Procrastinators act as if they had all the time in the world. But deep down, they know they’re wasting parts of their life. The trouble is, most of us don’t know how to free ourselves. That’s why, in the words of Henry David Thoreau, most people “live lives of quiet desperation and die with their song unsung.”
We want you to sing your song before you die.
-Phil Stuts
I pray that I will sing ( even if I can’t carry a tune in a bucket)!
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” -Psalm 90:12
You are Enough…
“Lord, Thank you that I am enough because you are enough.”
Have you ever thought, I am not enough? Fill in the blank. I feel like I am not ?? enough.
I’ve thought it. I am not good enough, smart enough, talented enough…and so on.
In God’s eyes, we are enough because he is enough. When we give out lives to Christ, we become new creations( 2 Corinthians 5:17). We also gain access to all he has to offer and have everything we need for life and Godliness. – Gods Heart for You
We feel as if we have to strive for love and acceptance. Yet God invites us to come to him and believe that no matter what the world may try to tell us, no matter which lies have wounded our hearts, no matter how inadequate we may feel at times, we are enough. You are enough- Gods Heart for You
Know this:
– Gods Heart for You
Stretch your Heart…
” For those of us who serve Christ, Freedom means being able to give and receive love. It means embracing and passing it on to others. It means following God’s path and purpose for our lives rather than being held captive by fear” – God’s heart for you
It doesn’t sound so hard, to submit to Gods love and the love of others, then in return, pay if forward. It is very tough, more so for some than others. We keep ourselves in bondage. We may be in a “hard time” but at least it is familiar and seems “oddly comfortable”. God did not create us to keep ourselves in bondage and he does not want our hearts to be restless. He wants us free to love and be loved.
“We move from prison camp to His house, where he gives us the hope, peace, and joy we need” – Gods heart for you
” God understands your fear. He doesn’t condemn you for it or tell you to snap out of it. Instead he takes you by the hand and speaks to your heart words of courage, love and grace. Lean in and listen to his voice until its louder than fear.” – Opening the door to your God- Sized dream
A heart warming little quote:
If hurts had hairs
As I was reading today, I came across this verse.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.
It made me think about all the different seasons of life I have been in over the years. I can’t help but to think, no matter what season I have been in, whether it be a sweet or sorrowful time, God has always put just the right people in my life. He taught me to trust and let others help me during the rough seasons, share joy during sweet seasons and put the compassion in my heart to do the same for others as well.
It really saddens me to see people trying to manage on their own. Hiding behind walls of hurt, never letting people in. God created us to help each other. In the “Grace” chapter I’m reading there is a section that reads:
” If hurts were hairs, we’d all look like grizzlies. Even the smooth- skinned beauties of magazine covers, the composed pastors in the pulpit, the sweet old lady next door. All of them. All of us. Furry, hairy beasts we’d become. If hurts were hairs, we’d be lost in the thick of them.” -Max Lucado
Maybe hurts should be hairs…? This way, nobody could hide behind smooth skin, composure and fake smiles. We may accept grace, love and compassion from other “hairy people” because we know that they have hurts too…
A little prayer I found:
Lord, I am so grateful for keeping those around me safe and loved. I hope that you provide me with the ability and sense to show them every day how much they matter. I hope that you give me the ability to give to them the same kindness they have provided to me. I am just so grateful for all of your blessings in my life, Lord. I pray that you remind me of just how lucky I am, and that you never allow me to forget to show my gratitude in prayer and returned kind acts. Thank you, Lord. In your name, Amen.
When you don’t feel worthy…
Day 7 of “Opening your door to your God-sized dream”.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness. -Lamentations 3:22-23
It is funny that I’m studying Grace and this devotional ends up going right along with it! No matter what each day brings us, we always know we need grace. The word “grace” appears 170 times in the Bible. Gods job is Grace and our job is Faith.
Some highlights from this chapter that I love:
“Because God has this funny tendency. He chooses messy, broken people to do extraordinary, God-glorifying things”. Yea for me!
“The real danger to your God-sized dream is not failure. God took care of that on the cross through Christ. No, the deepest threat to your God-sized dream is that you will believe the lie that you must be worthy. Let’s settle that here and now. You’re not worthy. I’m not worthy. A God-sized dream isn’t something we are qualified for- it’s something we’re called to in spite of ourselves.”
Isn’t it nice to know that God uses unworthy people? We can fall over and over, but he always picks us back up and gives us another chance.
Blessings,
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made”
I have been reading a little daily devotional called “Opening your door to a God sized dream”. It is 40 days of encouragement. I have been posting little highlights of my favorite parts of the book each day. I am on day 6, “Embracing Your Gifts”. There are so many good points in this short little 4 page devotional to just pick one.
This chapter stood out to me because for years and years I always thought… “I don’t have any gifts worth sharing”. No Godly gifts for sure! I always thought, I am not knowledgeable enough about the Bible, I am not holy enough, I don’t have anything worth sharing and so on, then I studied a little bit about spiritual gifts and realized, I may actually have one or two…maybe.
In this chapter is says: Your strengths and skills are gifts God has placed within you that you can offer to the world. They are the heart of your God-sized dream. Because without them your dream would forever remain an idea. I’ve heard many women say, I can’t focus on who I am. It’s selfish.” But actually choosing to understand and embrace who you are is one of the most unselfish things you can do because it maximizes your ability to serve others and bring glory to God.
There is also a prayer in this chapter that I love.
God, thank you for creating me with gifts. I’m grateful for the strengths that you have placed within me and the ways those are expressed as actions through my skills. I humbly acknowledge that I do have something to offer and that you have made me to make a difference. Amen.
Have a Blessed Sunday!
“You just need more wrinkles”
See yourself as God, your friends and loved ones see
you…
Song of Solomon 4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is
no flaw in you.
Ok, a little confession. I do not like pictures of myself at all, somehow I
turn into a gremlin in front of the camera. I am so not photogenic. I
always ask my husband, do I look that bad in real life?! When my friends
compliment me, I feel my nose crinkle up and I immediately get the urge to
“excompliment” myself. That’s not even a word is it?! Well, It’s a new one
created by me I guess!
Why are we so hard on ourselves? Beauty goes so far beneath the surface. Have
you ever met someone who is so physically beautiful, then you get to know them
and their attitude makes them look ordinary after a while. Or, you meet someone
who looks ordinary and their inner beauty just makes them look beautiful to
you? The latter of the two happens to me all the time! All of my friends are
beautiful to me, and the things they dislike most about their features are
sometimes my favorite part of them.
I once read a story about a little girl who loved her white haired wrinkly grandma so much,
she would sit on her lap and stroke her face. One day she was sitting on her mom’s lap and she said
“mommy you are pretty but you need more wrinkles”. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
All that “silver and crinkle” was beautiful to that little girl!
Being truly beautiful has to do with your heart and your soul.
It has to do with having a beautiful spirit and that is
what makes you beautiful. When you feel good about yourself as a person,
your inner beauty will shine through.
beauty sketches, click below to watch!
His patient Spirit…
“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose”-Philippians 2:2
This entry is dedicated to my husband:
I want to start by saying our marriage is not perfect by all means. We have known each other since we were fifteen and sixteen, so you can imagine the ups and downs we have had and still have. We can disagree argue and drive each other crazy at times…imagine that!
One of my favorite things about my husband is his sense of humor. He can always find humor in any circumstance. Everybody who meets him, loves him. He can easily make me laugh. That’s the part of him I think I fell in love with at seventeen years old. Of course being the funny guy isn’t everything, so lucky for me, he has so many other qualities that as a young girl, I didn’t see until we had to make tough decisions, grew closer and got to know each other better. We made wrong choices that turned into our biggest blessings, funny how God works!
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps”-Proverbs 16:9
He became a husband, dad, provider and leader all by the age of eighteen. Piece of cake right?? Nooo… I have to say, it was extremely hard and I would never recommend it to any eighteen year old couple but my husband took on the role better than most thirty year old men could have done.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”-Ephesians 4:2
My Husband is very careful not to use harsh words, he has a patient spirit. He has kept me calm when anxiety gets the best of me. He makes our home feel like a peaceful place.
“But if any man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” -1Timothy 5:8
He is a great provider. Even back when we were a new young family and were living from “small paycheck” to “small paycheck”, he would always find extra side jobs to keep us afloat. He does not mind hard work and is always thankful for his job.
“In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church” —Ephesians 5:28-29
He takes care of me. He loves me unconditionally, He tells me I’m pretty. He tells me I’m attractive. He even loves me in the morning when my hair looks like Tina Turner (if only I had her legs too!) and my eyes have big dark circles. He loves me in my sweat pants and oversized sweatshirts, mix match matching pj’s and flannels.
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”-Ephesians 6:4
What really melts my heart is the Love my husband has for his children. Three daughters! There is something to be said about a man who shares a home with four woman. Drama, make up, perfume, whining, PMS, dating, driving, break ups, hair crises, giggling sleepovers, clothes drama, late night conversations about boys…I could go on for three more paragraphs at least. He tells them they look pretty, he tells them they don’t need make up, he risks his life in the car as a cheek clenched passenger! He tells them no boys are good enough for them anyway (at least for now while they are young). He once sent a message to one of our daughters after a “break up”. This was after a two hour chat with her until two in the morning. It said “there are plenty of fish in the sea, I just want you to be careful navigating, love dad”
I saved that message. I may display it at her wedding. I love watching Ava spring from the floor when he enters the room. awaiting a game of checkers, a game of freeze dance or a trip to the golf course. Bottom line… He loves his girls…all of us!
Thanks honey, for loving me even when I’m cranky and mean. When I forget things, when the house is a mess, when I make tuna noodle casserole which you hate and when I’m just…undeserving. Thank you for sleeping in the guestroom when your snoring keeps me awake. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for giving me my own way even when you shouldn’t. Thank you for holding me when I cry and telling me everything will be ok. Thank you for just being there and providing for our family and doing it so humbly…Thank you!
Love,
Capturing life 