Struggling with Emotions

Lately my emotions have been all over the place, happy, sad, mad...you name it. Mostly I write it off as hormonal due to the fact that I am pre-menopausal but sometimes I still let them get the better of me. Even if our emotions are brought on by hormones they still feel real, and fighting our emotions is one tough battle. Do you ever find yourself creating a situation in your head that hasn't actually happened and you begin to feel the emotions tied to it? For example, you imagine a conversation that you might have with someone if they say something and then because of that imagination you start to feel angry or sad or whatever? Does anyone else do that or is it just me? So what do we do when we seem to have a continual struggle with our emotions? The wisest thing we can do is to get alone with God and pray. Ask for His help and His guidance.

I've noticed that frequently, when I've had any type of issue the Lord has been pointing me to the same scripture:

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight

 

and yes, it sounds easy....just trust Him...just trust Him...but sometimes I get carried away in my own mind and that's when the problems begin. Well, this last time instead of just reading these two verses and saying, yes Lord, I know, trust you....I continued on, and guess what I found:

 

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.

¹⁹ By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
²⁰ by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
when you already have it with you.
²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.
³⁰ Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
when they have done you no harm.

³¹ Do not envy the violent
or choose any of their ways.

³² For the Lord detests the perverse
but takes the upright into his confidence.
³³ The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴ He mocks proud mockers
but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
³⁵ The wise inherit honor,
but fools get only shame.

 

 

I know, I know...a lot of reading...I hope you read it all...or at least the portions I put in bold, because those are the verses that really stuck it to me. This didn't say, don't cry, don't be sad, don't be mad, whatever...it says Trust Him, don't be wise in your own eyes, gain wisdom, etc. And some of these specific verses spoke to me of what I have not been doing and need to pay attention to.

 

So, how do we gain wisdom? By going to Him. You see, I don't think He's ever going to give me some "trick" way to just turn off the emotions. They are there for a reason. He put them there. The "trick" is use your emotions wisely, don't trust your own judgement, ask what He would do. Don't assume you know what He would do, go to the Bible and find out for sure.

 

I sincerely hope and pray that this has somehow helped someone today, other than myself. Life is not easy. Every day is a new adventure and a new challenge. Some are wonderful and funfilled and some are downright sad and hard, but each day, each moment, is an opportunity to learn from Him and grow in Him. I pray you take this journey with me.

How Many Followers Do You Have?

In today's world, dominated by social media, it seems that so many have the priority of how many "likes" or "followers" they have. The other day I was looking at my Instagram feed (yes, I'm on social media) and I saw a post from someone saying "have you ever noticed how so many S4S accounts never change how many they are actually following"? And the comments that followed were about how to so many people it was only the number of followers or subscribers they had, not about the content that was being produced. By the way, for those of you who don't know, S4S means sub for sub. The gist is that if you subscribe to them they will in turn subscribe to you. Anyway, the point being, why are people subscribing? Because they care about what you have to say or because they want you to subscribe back so they can have more followers?

This all brought me to, well why is it so important to have so many subscribers (followers). I could be wrong, because honestly I didn't do any research on this, but it seems that the more subscribers/followers you have the greater your chance of getting recognized by others? I don't know, just speculation on my part. My point being, why is it so important for so many today to be recognized or acknowledged by others?

A lot of people may want to believe that this is a phenomenon of today's society but in actuality this has been around since the beginning of time. Not social media...wanting to be recognized. It all has it's roots in pride. This can be traced back all the way to the Garden of Eden when Eve was tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit so that she could have the knowledge of God and see things as He sees them. Satan got to her through pride...basically saying to her ego, hey He's not any better than you, He's just trying to hide things from you, and if you do this you will see that! Lot's of paraphrasing on my part going on here, but the lesson is Satan was tempting Eve through her pride.

Genesis 3:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

 

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

That is the same thing that is going on today. Not with all people mind you, but for some people it is just about being able to say "hey look at me I have more followers than you" which makes them feel, in some way, more important. It's actually kind of sad to think that having a larger number after your name makes you somehow feel more significant.

Now, I have to admit, when I first started my YouTube channel, just a couple of weeks ago, I woke up to find I had 17 subscribers and I was shocked. I know, I know, 17 whoopity doo dah!! My point is, I was shocked that even more than two people would be interested in anything I had to say. It does kind of give you an ego boost, but we have to keep it all in check and remember, our mission on social media, and in life, should be about producing information and doing things that are helpful, beneficial, and uplifting, and pointing people to the Truth....not just on obtaining some number. If we are joining the social media ranks just to accumulate numbers and recognition then we need to examine our motives as to why. Are we trying to prove to ourselves or someone else that we are just a good as them? or better than them? or do we have some void in our lives that we are trying to fill? Are we trying to prove we are good enough? Good enough for what? or who?

The most impactful person in the history of the world was and is Jesus. How many loyal followers did He have? Eleven!!! I know, I know, some of you might say, no there were 12 disciples, or no what about the thousands of people who listened to his sermon on the mount? No, I'm saying his loyal followers! Those who went everywhere with Him and eventually gave their lives for Him? In the beginning He chose 12, but one of them, Judas, turned his back on Jesus because Jesus was not fulfilling the pre-conceived notion of what/who Judas thought he should be. Yes, eventually Judas realized his error and was so wrought with guilt that he actually killed himself....and that left 11. Eleven true and faithful followers who, because of their dedication and belief in Jesus, listened to Him, trusted Him, and did what He said to do, and the world was forever changed.

These people were not perfect. They all had flaws and made mistakes, just like we do, but the one thing they all had in common was that they believed and trusted Jesus. Their goal was not to get more followers than the next. Their goal was to get the true message out because it was truly a matter of life and death. They wanted to reach as many people as they could to change and save lives, not just so they could say "Hey Peter I have more followers than you!"

So my prayer today for me, and hopefully for you also, is "Father, let me always honor you, and Jesus, with my words and my life. Let me not be distracted or concerned with the number of people following me, or with the number of subscribers I have, but be totally focused only on the approval of one, of You! Let me not be concerned with the number of my "followers", but instead be focused on being the best follower I can be. A follower of You. A follower of Christ!" Amen!

I pray you are a follower of Christ and I wish you a blessed and beautiful day.

Her Pile of Rocks

Today is a very special post. This was not written by me. This was written by a former co-worker and current friend. This woman is incredibly sweet, caring, articulate, and brave. Her post is as a guest post on her sisters blog...also an incredibly articulate woman. I would be so pleased if you would check out her posting.

But be forewarned...it is emotional.

https://partrach.wordpress.com/2015/04/19/a-pile-of-rocks/

Am I that person?

Recently I started a YouTube channel. When playing back my videos to edit I was surprised at what I saw. Not the physical appearance, I see that everyday...the jowls, the turkey neck, etc...lol...what I'm referring to are some of the mannerisms. The pursing of the lips, the constant touching of the face, and the sound of the voice. I was truly surprised! Now I already knew that we hear our own voice differently but I never realized I was doing some of those other things. I've always tried to be a "what you see is what you get" sort of person. I never wanted to be the type of person who was putting on an act for someone else. It's just too hard.

Anyway, so I was talking to a friend of mine who had watched the videos and asked her, is that really me, am I really like that? Much to my pleasure, and my chagrin, she said, absolutely, that is totally you, anyone who knows you would know that is not an act, that is who you are. Well, like I said, I was happy to hear that I was not "putting on" but was surprised to hear that some of those things I was doing I do all the time. So let me clarify a little....it's not that I was "oh my gosh, that's horrible, how can I do that!" sort of thing, it was more just a realization that I do things without realizing I'm doing them, lol.

So here was my lesson, what else am I doing that I don't realize I'm doing? I prayed about it and this morning, on my way to work, I was talking to the Lord just about random things and I realized that probably one of the biggest things I do is complain to Him about things that other people do, yet I am actually doing those same things. Wow! It was as if He just put the thought in my mind, look in the mirror. Not, look in the mirror at your physical appearance, but look and see yourself, your true person. I complain to Him about other people complaining, but I'm complaining! Does that make any sense? I talk to Him about other people being so wishy-washy and then the next minute I take it back....being wishy-washy, lol. I tell Him about how frustrated I get with other people's negativity and then I go home and nit-pick every little thing. You get the point. I am what I complain about!!!

This is kind of a bitter pill to swallow but one that is absolutely necessary for me. If I want to be surrounded by positive, happy people, then I need to be a positive, happy person. If I want others to uplift me, then I need to uplift them. If I want compassion, I need to be compassionate. The Bible teaches us we reap what we sow:

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

 ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

I know a lot of people have referred to the above scripture in the context of giving money but I also believe that it applies to everything...giving of our time, or compassion, our heart. I believe this because of this scripture:

 

Galatians 6:7-10 New International Version (NIV)

 ^{7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.}

⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

Do good to all people! A man reaps what he sows! These are messages to me that how I am is what I will get back.

 

I know often in our life we have crappy things handed to us on a silver platter so you may ask do I really deserve this? I'm not here to say oh you obviously did something terrible at some point and now you are reaping your rewards, would that be a compassionate response? I know that sometimes terrible things happen to us for what appears no reason at all...look at the lesson of Job. (If you don't know Job he was a man in the Bible who was a good man, a righteous man, and yet lost everything...but ultimately more was given to him...we'll have to talk about this in another blog) I am just here to say that I believe we reap what we sow and that God has an awesome plan for all of us:

 

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

So the lessons He taught me today...don't judge others too quickly, be the person to them that He is to me!

 

May you all have a blessed and beautiful day!

Do you Validate?

Do you validate others? Do you feel the need to be validated? The definition of validation is to check or prove the accuracy of something; to demonstrate or support the truth or value of. Some synonyms are confirm, justify, vindicate, authenticate, endorse, approve, legitimize. I think we all feel the need to be validated...approved of...in some way. I'm not a psychologist, so I'm not speaking from an educated standpoint, I'm just a person who has experienced, and has seen others, wanting to be accepted, affirmed, approved of.

I know probably most of you reading this are coming from Instagram which means you follow my postings, which are beauty related, which brings me to the next point. Do we buy/wear makeup to get approval from others? To feel validated by others? Or do we do it because it makes us feel better? Because it makes us feel "acceptable" to ourselves? Either way we are looking for validation, whether from others or from ourselves.

I am certainly not going to sit here and say, hey, no need, stop wearing makeup, throw away all your makeup and run, be free, makeupless forever!!! Yeah, right....not happening. What I am saying is don't tie up your identity in what you look like or what you own. If you enjoy wearing makeup then wear it, but please don't think that by putting on makeup it makes you a better, or worse person. Makeup does NOT validate you. Your looks, your appearance, do NOT validate you. And as hard as it may seem, other people DO NOT VALIDATE YOU!!! I know it feels good when we get "likes" on our photos or our posts, and sometimes it's a bit disappointing when the people you think are closest to you don't "like" or even acknowledge your posts, but they DO NOT VALIDATE YOU!!

I remember back in high school, you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, that it broke my heart when people who I thought were my friends said and did things behind my back to hurt me or create an unreal, but unfortunately accepted, reputation of me. I began forming a very hard shell not letting people in and projecting an image of a "strong" person. Actually, I wasn't strong, I was either outwardly mean or cold, but it took years and years for me to realize that.

Let me back up even a little further. I was raised by a single mother. I never had contact with my father. I'm pretty sure if he had been in my life things would be different today, but I'm not saying they would be better. I'm saying they would be different. It's like when you're traveling, if you take a left you go one way, if you take a right you see something different. That's what I'm saying. I would have been on a different path, and I would be a different person....not necessarily better, not necessarily worse. So anyway, back to my single mom....she always projected to me that you can't depend on anyone else, you have to be strong, don't let people walk over you, etc. etc. So to me, strong meant keeping people out. Don't show anyone your soft side. And then, of course, when I would let people in, and they would inevitably do or say something that hurt, I would build that wall higher and wider and "stronger".

Ok, so now flash forward about 20 years and you find me....a woman who puts out the image that she is tough, strong, doesn't take crap from anyone, has it all together, blah, blah, blah. But on the inside I was very unhappy. I hated the things I was doing and I hated how I treated other people and I was riddled with guilt. I was blessed enough, although I didn't realize it at the time, to work with a man who was an awesome Christian. He never said to me, oh Danielle you're a horrible sinner and you need to get Jesus in your life! No, he was just a super nice, caring, compassionate man who led an awesome example and made me want the peace he had in his life. I began reading the Bible and one night, all alone in my house, I broke down and sobbed hysterically and asked God to please save me from myself and to help me. His peace came over me and I stopped crying and went to sleep. The next morning I went into work and said to my coworker...I think I became a Christian last night! LOL

My journey as a Christian has not been smooth sailing, trust me. I'll get into that more later, but I was under the impression that once you became a Christian everything was solved and everything was easy.....not the case people! It is a journey with bumps and bruises and twists and turns. But the one thing I have learned is that people don't validate me. They don't make me acceptable. And I don't validate me. I can't make me acceptable. The only one who can make me acceptable is Jesus! He is the one who cleans my soul. He is the one who is there for me every minute of every day when I'm doing well and when I'm falling on my face. He is the one who says "well done" and He is the one that, I believe in my heart, shakes His head with a smile and reaches out His hand to me when I stumble and fall and says, come on child, try again. He is ever-present, and ever-loving and if you don't know Him you are missing out! If you want to meet Him, it's super simple, and I guarantee He will come into your life and validate you too. It's as simple as just praying to Him and asking for His forgiveness and asking Him to cleanse you and to come into your life. Every prayer is different. Mine was simply, God help me, I need you, I don't want to be like this anymore. I know some people might say, well that's not the "sinner's prayer", but I know that God looks at our heart and He knew and He saved me.

If you're not comfortable with that, if you need specific words, that's ok too, but I'm telling you God knows our heart and that's what He looks at. If you want specific words to pray, and you truly want Jesus in your life, pray something like this:

Father God, I am a sinner, and I know it, and I don't want to be one anymore. I know Jesus is your son, and He is the way to my salvation. I ask you for your forgiveness and I ask Jesus to come into my life and save me.

I guarantee if you ask Him, He will. Things will not be perfect, they might not even be easy, but He is there every single moment of every single day and He will get you through it. I pray that you are His and I pray that you have a blessed, and beautiful day!

2 Corinthians 10:17-18New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^{[a] 18} For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Romans 12:1-3New International Version (NIV)

 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

 

Self-Forgiveness

This topic kind of took me by surprise today. I've had a beautiful day today enjoying the gorgeous weather and just such a feeling of inner peace all day so I was quite surprised when tonight, after dinner, when my husband and I were sitting outside just enjoying each other's company, and our dogs, all these thoughts of past things I had done, that I am definitely not proud of, started intruding my thoughts. Almost immediately the word forgiveness came to mind and I just knew that I needed to write about self-forgiveness.

Everyone knows that we are supposed to forgive others, and we also know how hard that can be, but did you also know you need to forgive yourself? As hard as I find it to forgive others, at times, I find it way harder to forgive myself. I think back of things that I have done and I am just ashamed. Yet I have to keep telling myself that Jesus has already forgiven me of those things and if He has forgiven me, and He is a far greater authority, He is the ultimate authority, then I also need to forgive myself.

It used to be that every time these types of thoughts would enter my head I would experience guilt and I would ask Jesus for forgiveness over and over again. Until one day this scripture finally took root:

Psalm 103:11-13 New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

The Lord has taken our sins and cast them away. He loves us and has compassion on us and forgets our sins:

Isaiah 43:25 New International Version (NIV)

 

²⁵ “I, even I, am he who blots out
    your transgressions, for my own sake,
    and remembers your sins no more.

 

 

He says that He blots out our transgressions for His sake. If He is forgiving us for His sake why do we feel that we need to hold on to them, that we can't forgive ourselves? Are we more important than God? Is our opinion of ourselves more important than His opinion of us? I think not!

 

So if you find yourself today, or any other day, hanging on to your past sins and not forgiving yourself, ask yourself "am I more important than God?" And as soon as you say "no" forgive yourself of your past and thank God that He has forgiven you, tell Him you love Him, and move on.

 

If you have never come to God and asked for forgiveness of your sins then you need to. It is the only way to have peace with God. My faith refers to it as the sinner's prayer. It is simply a way of declaring to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ as your Savior. There are no "magical" words that result in salvation. It is only faith in Jesus' death and resurrection that can save us. If you understand that you are a sinner and in need of salvation through Jesus Christ, here is a sinner's prayer you can pray to God: "God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!"

I pray that you have Peace with God today.

Who are You?

Let me just start by saying I love our Lord!!! His timing is amazing. Last night before bed I thought, Lord, what am I going to write about? This morning I woke up and thought Lord, what am I going to write about? It's been two days? I need something from you??? LOL, I swear now I think He must have been smiling, shaking His head, and saying "patience child, my timing is perfect". Now let me backtrack a bit so this all makes sense....

As you might know, from reading one of my prior posts, I have been a bit stressed and frustrated and because of this not dealing with things very well. Last weekend I felt that He was telling me it's time to stop my hurriedness and get back into spending time with Him every day....EVERY!! DAY!!

When I first became a Christian, back in 2000, I could not get enough of the Bible. I couldn't wait to get home and read. Later I started reading morning devotionals. But as time and years went on I got "busy" and would put it aside. One day one of my coworkers said to me that I was an inspiration to her because I knew so much scripture. Now I know that she meant that in such a complimentary way but truly it ended up being not helpful to me at all. Because of that one sweetly intended compliment pride snuck in and I began reading less and less, because after all, I knew so much, right? WRONG! Of course by neglecting reading the Word I lost a lot of that scriptural knowledge and, unfortunately I had head knowledge, and not heart knowledge, at that time so it wasn't deep enough in my heart and my actions began reflecting the unfortunate change.

I went for quite awhile not feeding my spirit and becoming more and more disgruntled with circumstances around me and did not handle challenging situations well. I knew I was saved and I would still pray, but it was more like me complaining to God then coming to Him for guidance. And even if I did come for guidance most of the time I just wasn't really listening. I was too busy with my own issues. I wasn't necessarily becoming disgruntled with Him, I was just beoming more worldly again and therefore dissatisfied.

So anyway, getting back to recently....He really put it in my heart that I need to slow down and pay attention to Him, and that is when this blog began. So, as I said in the beginning I was asking Him what was I going to write about? He put it in my heart again that I was focusing so much on a task and not on Him. So I tried to completely let it go and I said to Him ok, if I don't write another blog it's because you're done with this path in my life and I will accept it. I won't write anything else until I know you are telling me that's what needs to be put out there.

So at lunchtime today....yes I actually stopped and took a lunch...whoohooo...I felt He was telling me to write about busyness and ask my readers, and most importantly myself, who are you? Are you Mary or are you Martha?

Luke 10:38-42

At the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I used to think of myself as Mary but today, surprise, surprise, when I opened up my devotional reading, I saw myself in Martha. At first I was a bit saddened and shamed but that passed very quickly and was replaced with joy. Joy because again it confirmed to me that He was speaking to me, and to my situation, and showing me that nothing good comes from busyness. Spending time with Him is the most important thing we can ever do in this life.

After my devotional I went to another book that I'm reading, which I highly recommend. It's called At Jesus' Feet. I had started this book a few months back and stopped reading over a month ago. I picked it up today and what was it talking about? You got it! Mary and Martha!!! Later on in the chapter the author told a brief story about a man in his life that changed his life by three simple questions? How long can you hold your breath? Then you shouldn't go longer than that without prayer? How many meals do you eat in a day? Then you should feed on the Word of God at least that many times in a day? And what would happen to your body if you didn't exercise? You would become weak and flabby....well so will your faith. The man then said to this author, the rules over our physical life also apply to our spiritual life. At that exact moment I felt that the Lord was telling me to get up and go write this blog.

Matthew 4 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Begin this day, this moment. Look at yourself and ask yourself, am I Mary or am I Martha? If you are answering Martha I highly encourage you to take this step of faith with me. Begin each day, before you do anything else, with some time with our Lord. Read a devotional or a scripture or two, but give him your very first moments of the day. And don't stop there. Throughout the day talk to him. Pray without ceasing. Read His Word as it is your meal. Choose to be Mary. I guarantee He will bless you for it. He is already blessing me.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version (NIV)

 

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

It's not about the Bunny

I was raised by a single mom and I remember on Easter receiving an Easter basket filled with candy. I don't remember egg hunts at home but I do remember coloring hard boiled eggs. That's what Easter was about when I was young..an Easter bunny, colored eggs, and candy.

When I became an adult, and a Christian, I learned what Easter truly is about....and it's not about the bunny. Christians refer to Easter as Resurrection Day, and that's because that's what it truly represents. Jesus, the Son of God, came to us in the form of man, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and died a gruesome death to pay for our sins so we wouldn't have to. He then was buried in a tomb and three days later rose from death to conquer death for all of us so that we might have eternal life with Him. He was resurrected and He lives today. We too can have eternal life just by putting our faith in Him.

Acts 4:11-12 New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’^[a]

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

 

 

 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

 

 

 

John 14:6 New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

 

So how did the Easter Bunny come to be? The Easter bunny can be traced back to the 13th Century when people worshipped several gods and goddesses. One goddess was named Eostra and her symbol was a rabbit because she was the goddess of fertility, and since Spring symbolized new life and rebirth it all sort of got mashed together and this legend was born. My goal here is not to talk about this legend. You can Google it and read it for yourself. My goal here is talk about what Easter truly means.

 

I know that kids love the Easter bunny and candy, just like they love Santa Claus and gifts, but I just want you to remember that the real reason for those seasons is Jesus. It's all about His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection....all done because He loves us and He wants us to spend eternity with Him. I pray you are trusting Jesus for your eternal salvation, and please remember, Easter is not about the bunny, it's about Jesus and the Cross:

 

 

Frustration

Frustration...ugh!!! What is it? How do we deal with it? Personally I have been having a lot of feelings of frustration lately. The dictionary defines frustration as "a feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems". That says to a T exactly what I've been going through lately with my job. It seems that on a daily basis something happens that frustrates me and I find myself angry, which in turn literally makes my body feel tight and tense. By the end of the day I feel exhausted, mentally and physically, and sometimes I just want to cry.

Now, I'm not telling you this so you will feel sorry for me....even though we all like our pity parties once in awhile...I'm telling you this because I know that if I go through this so do others. And as you know, I believe that this blog was created not just to help me go through, and grow through, issues, but for others also. So, if you have been feeling frustrated lately....hang on!

How do you deal with your frustration? I'll tell you how I deal with mine. I tuck it away internally and let it brew and simmer. Then when I get home I explode to my husband. Women call it "venting", men call it "complaining", lol. Either way, poor guy, all he says is "how was your day" and then the explosion happens. My nickname should be volcano. Now sometimes before I get to him I will deal with my frustration another way....I'll shop. I'll buy things. Yeah, that's going to solve the issue. Now, not only have I not dealt with the problem but I've spent money I don't need to spend and brought more stuff into my house to create more clutter/chaos. Retail therapy we call it. Well bologna!! It's not therapy. Therapy is something that hurts in the beginning and makes you feel better at the end. This makes you feel good while you're doing it and then worse later on.

Lesson here....trying to hold in our feelings, or exploding on someone else, or covering them up with "things" is no way to deal with frustration. In the long run it solves nothing and can cause more harm than good. So what do we do? If we can, at all possible, remove the situation that causes the frustration, then awesome! But sometimes we just cannot do that. In those situations we have to learn how to positively and productively deal with it.

I am writing this right in the direct aftermath of something that caused me so much frustration I just wanted to scream. I know my blood pressure probably went through the roof and believe it or not, mature little me, sat in my office and stomped my foot! Yes, I threw a tantrum...luckily no one was around to witness...but yes, I threw a tantrum. Then just as quickly I was embarassed and sad and wanted to cry. Can you say hormones anyone? Ok, now here comes the good part. What did I do? I stopped, took a deep breath, and I prayed. I asked God to help me, please forgive me for my pettyness and my tantrum and help me to deal with these situations better. I always have a little fear with a prayer like that because I think, oh gosh, the only way for me to get better is through practice which means I'm going to have to deal with even more situations like this. But the truth is maybe not. Maybe just the act of so quickly going to God in prayer shows a little growth and a knowledge that acting in frustration helps no one, especially yourself, and shows a little stretch of trust toward Him and faith that He is there, listening, and cares.

All I can say is truly, within seconds of my prayer, I felt relieved. The tension was gone. The desire to cry was gone, and yes the foot stomping had stopped. God is there. He is listening. He does care! Now my situation was not gone. It's still there, and I still have to deal with it, but my frustration was gone.

So the moral of this story is: How do you deal with frustration? Pray! Prayer is the answer. Give it a try.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Do You Need an Inventory?

When I first decided to start a blog my intention was to talk about makeup. Take pictures of it, do swatches, reviews, talk about empties...you know the drill. You know it because if you are reading this you more than likely came here from Instagram and were following beauty accounts. I know for a fact that one of you reading actually has a YouTube account and does those things...Cherise!!!

Sidenote...if you are not already watching or following Cherise, you need to. Her monikor is BrownEyedGirlCherise

Now, I am absolutely not knocking those things at all! Absolutely not!! I love them!! If God had not taken me down the "makeup" trail I never would have found my way here. What my point is, is that my intention was not His intention. For whatever reason He wants me to use this blog to touch the women that are in the beauty community. Now I don't know the long range plan. I don't know what His ultimate intention is for this or for me, other than the fact that I know He does have a plan for me:

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

I don't know how He plans on using this blog to reach other women in this community or how those other women will touch others because of this. I just believe that He does have a plan. So, I'm trying to be faithful and use the gift that He has given me to tie in our mutual love of beauty into a greater love for Him, because ultimately He is the creator of all beauty.

 

 

During my lunch today I was talking with my friend Andrea and I was telling her how my original intention for this blog was to talk about makeup and I haven't done it yet. Her response was, "you are talking about the makeup of women". I thought that was profound and it enforced to me, the fact that I believe that what He has been showing me lately is that this mutual love of beauty and makeup can bring us together for a greater purpose. He brought me first through the season of learning to appreciate the beauty, and now bringing me through the season of seeing how it can teach me, and others, about ourselves, our lives, and more importantly HIM.

There is a time, a season, for everything, and when that season ends it doesn't end abruptly. There is always a transition between the seasons, and that transition is usually messy and that's when it seems chaotic. We don't just jump from Winter into Spring, right? Snow melts...messy...then we see some buds...then we get pollen...VERY MESSY...then, boom, we have beautiful Spring. We need to recognize that when we are in a state of chaos it means that something is changing, or needs to change. Try not to fight it. Try to recognize that a new season it coming.

 

Now as this relates to makeup, makeup is pretty and we like it but when we get too much it becomes a burden. It becomes hard to keep tidy and store neatly. It becomes messy! We have too much, we can't see the individual beauty, we put things aside and neglect them. We need to clean up. Remove what we don't need. Get rid of the clutter and chaos so we can see the beauty we have and enjoy it. But most importantly, we need to do this not just in our makeup but in our life! Stop neglecting the beautiful things and people in our lives. Stop putting them aside for the newest, greatest thing. Clean out the garbage, remove the clutter, get rid of whatever is taking away your focus so you can see clearly the beauty that God intends for you to see in your life.

 

God is speaking to me a lot lately about seasons and how everything has it's own season. Everything! He also is talking to me about trusting Him in every step I take. To stop holding on to those things that need to be released and instead look forward to embracing what He is going to provide. God is not a god of chaos. He is all about things being orderly and in their place, and at their due time. It might not look like that to us but He sees the big picture. He sees how everything intertwines and works together. During the growth process there is always what appears to be a little chaos, but in the end everything is put together the way it's supposed to be.

 

I encourage you today to take inventory. Inventory of your makeup collection, yes....but more importantly inventory of your life. Do you have clutter, garbage, things that are "sucking the life out of you"? Remove them! If it's too hard for you ask God to help you. Tell Him you want to trust Him more, walk with Him more, talk with Him more, BE WITH HIM MORE! He will answer, and you can be assured that when your greatest desire is to be with Him he will give you the desire of your heart.

 

Matthew 7:7

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart

 

 

Be blessed today, and remember beauty is all around you, just look for it.