Carve My Waistline

In the month of January I worked on Carving my money by tithing 10%.

In the month of February I worked on Carving out time with God.

In the month of March I am going to work on Carving my waistline. I would really appreciate some encouragement in this. I have tried several times to lose weight, and I usually end a successful dieting stint while I'm working on a production and start eating crap to get me through rehearsals, and never being home.

Now that I am more or less of a stay at home mom, a YMCA membership is part of my job perks, and the girls at my home are striving for a healthy life style- I think I will be able to be more successful at losing weight and shaping my body.

Tonight is the last supper before I begin a 90 day challenge. I will touch base with you once a week reporting my failures and successes.

Please pray for me on this journey!

Five Minute Fridays:Home

Artwork by Thomas Kinkade (no copyright infringement intended)

Start.

Home.

They say home is where the heart is, sometimes, home is where you hang your hat. I haven’t felt “home” for a very long time.  When I visit my parents I sleep in my old room, but now only a quarter of it belongs to me. The rest of it is a sewing room. Sometimes I just want my own things about me. My bed, my furniture, my dishes. Anything.

But then, I’ve been learning that home is where God places me. Somehow he blesses me with an easy feeling of going into the refriderator without caring, a cozy nook to read and pray. The perfect color on the walls.

I think home is where you find people that love you, and where you find peace.  I love that Michael Buble song “I want to go home, how I miss you, you now.” Sometimes when I hear that song, my heart cries out to the Lord. I know that my real home is in heaven, and my heart is truly there. On earth, home is where I hang my hat. In heaven, home is where my heart is.

Stop.

Freebie Friday

Cash Envelope System Printable

Did this. Love it! Go here.

5 "Truths" I Stopped Believing

Hey! Excited to be Guest Posting over at Single Roots Today. Click on over there to check it out.

I’ve grown up believing these truths of man and have learned that they are actually defeating lies.

“Truth” #1: Fake it ‘til you make it....

Esther Chapter 7

Since I apparently failed at meeting my deadline for finishing Esther. Please forgive me. I bit off a little more than I could chew I guess. :( But! I have really been changed by this book. I love how Esther is changed by God and how the book of Esther shows us God working in the background in her life, as he sometimes works in the background of ours. It's opened my eyes a lot more to see God working.

So let's take the next three weeks to finish up this book.

Memory Verse

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

(1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV)

The Story Chapter 7 

At the second banquet, King Xerxes interest is really piqued. He wants to know what Esther wants out of all this. Esther tells King Xerxes that there is a death sentence out for her and her people. Once the King is good and furious she rings the bell on Haman. Xerxes is so angry he leaves Esther and Haman to blow off some steam and figure out what to do. Haman is sure he's going to die and begs Esther to save his life. While his throwing himself at Esther, Xerxes comes in and finds a perfect excuse to get rid of Haman, without destroying his own reputation. Xerxes sentences Haman to hang on the same gallows Haman had intended for Mordecai. 

What hasty decisions were made in this situation? 

What decisions, or things spoken were made for their own interest and reputation?

How many times do you twist a story just a bit to test the waters, so the you don't receive the worst of the blow? 

What speck in these peoples eyes reflects the log in yours? 

Dear Dreamer,

God has a dream for you. It's not the dream you thought you dreamed. It's the one hidden in your little girl heart. Yeah. That one. The one you pushed aside, writing it off as impossible.

Dreamer, that dream, that one right there, the one you don't want to show the world, the one you had before you knew anything of idols, that's God's dream for you, with all of it's impossibilities.


And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
(Mark 14:36 ESV)

It was planted right there before you were even born. You've been doing bits and pieces of it your whole life, you just didn't realize how it would all come together. Like Joseph, you have to open your hand. Surrender your dream to him, it's so hard, I know it's so precious to you, but it's even more precious to God. I promise, he won't hurt it, he's just going to shine it up a little. Make it brighter and more wonderful than you could possibly imagine.

It's going to feel like he took it away. Like you're wandering in the desert, but there is a promised land hear on earth, it's your God-Sized dream. Every morning you wake up, you have work to do dreamer. You're still  in this foreign land because you have work to do.

Know that God has given you a dream, and if you listen, if you wait on that still small voice, when you feel that gentle nudge of your heart go. Step out in faith, and know that there will always be solid ground under your feet. He is timely in his provision. He is loving in his teaching.

Pray for Faith dreamer. He will teach you . It will be painful and drawn out sometimes, sometimes He'll do it "quick like a band-aid," sometime it will bring you to your knees in joyful tears. It will be healing, refining, and it will bring Him SO much glory.

Go out into the world with your dream in your hand. Tell His-story. Seek God and Serve Him always.

Love Your Heart.

The Little One in You

By Tina Phillips

You were created the way you are, hands legs, eyes, hair, lips, looks, style, passions, personality, life and all for a specific reason; to fit perfectly into the work of the Lord. Some of us last saw that person in elementary school and have her crying, alone in a corner somewhere, forgotten. Go find her. Put your trust in the Lord and let the child come to him. Let her be healed, let her take off her pretty starched dress, and put on the overalls, let her comb out her sticky perfect curls and braid them into pigtails, or let her go to the dress up box and put on the pink tutu and dance joyously in front of the King of Kings. Let Him delight in her, and then let him send you to catch frogs and climb a tree, or dance in front of thousands, so He can delight in His creation, and He will be glorified.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;

he adorns the humble with salvation.

(Psalm 149:4 ESV)

Tearing out Idols

by Chris Van Den Berg

http://thejourney.org/media/deeper/substitutes-god

Yesterday we began a sermon series on the ten commandments. It was an introduction but a couple of the points the pastor made were poignant, and lessons God has been teaching me a lot lately.


“You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3 ESV)


C.S Lewis says

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I feel like God has been doing just that. Sometimes it hurts SO much. It is disappointing when my ideas are not realized. I was brought up in the typical middle class philosophy of getting a job, making money, getting married and owning a home. When I was younger I rebelled against "typical" and was set on making my own way, when my own way wasn't working I set on "typical" which made me just as miserable. I find that every time I become lord of my own life, I am miserable and broken. My hand opens up and I surrender another piece of my house to God.  

How many more idols are still hidden in my heart? Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV) Rip them out of my heart and let me know the joy of Jesus, whose only God was You. Let me follow your laws, that I might have a functioning relationship with you. 

(Re)arranging

by bruce jennings

I just started my new job last week and moved into my new home. So it's been near impossible to keep up with my blog.

While I wasn't writing-I was thinking about what might be less pressure for me-and more beneficial for you.

So the set schedule for my writings will be as follows.

Sermon Reflections will be posted by midnight on Mondays.

(W)omen (O)f (G)od Weds. will be monthly bible studies of women in the bible. On the last Weds. of every month, I will point you to other historical women of God so that we can engage in discussion about their lives.  I will post the bible lessons by 10am Weds mornings. We will finish up our study of Esther, and then we will begin a new study-I'm still deciding who the next woman will be.

Book Club will be held on Saturdays. The month of March we will be reading "Pride and Prejudice"

Single on a Sunday will be held the 3rd Sunday of every month. I am looking for guest posters. So if you have something to say about being single, please contact me, and I will be more than happy to arrange to post your insights.

Of course, I will write and post random things as they come to me, or as I link up with other websites, but I wanted to make my focus on the 4 topics above.

Purim and Esther

I know I've fallen behind in my study of Esther. Please excuse the mess I just moved into my new job and new place of residence. The whole process has been up in the air for a couple weeks so it has been a little stressful. 

I was kind of excited about sharing Purim with you. But it looks like that is going to have to wait until next year. 

In the meantime: 

Head on over to Live It Well and check out the video about Purim.

http://sara-liveitwell.blogspot.com/2013/02/purim-story-of-esther.html

Also, to feast after you fast check out Epicurus' Purim Meals 

I'll try to get caught up on Esther as soon as I get settled in here.

Happy Purim!

Freebie Friday

Scripture Memory Cards Click here.

Life Management Notebook

It's Snowing!!!!

I think the Lord is allowing me to become better prepared before I pop into a new way of life. I’ve said before that I am about to become a kind of “foster mom” to six teenaged girls.

SURPRISE! You prayed for it! BAM!

Well…it’s not QUIET been like that…it’s been more like…

Weeks of interviews…testing’s…medical appointments…background checks and piles of paper work.

And then my start date keeps getting pushed back due to unforeseen circumstances…

Like today for instance was supposed to be my start day AND It’s SNOWING LIKE CRAZY!!!

So, in between substitute teaching, I’ve been staying up really late and NOT waking up in time to do my Hello Mornings working on this:

I know, I know it’s huge! But I like the idea of keeping EVERYTHING in one place so I know where it is and don’t have to make a huge mess tearing things apart.

I just had a meeting with my new supervisor and she needs me to come up with three goals for the first three weeks living/working there.

So Goal #1 is to carve out my mornings and begin my days before the rest of the house wakes up in bible study, and daily planning, and exercise…like I’m supposed to do with Hello Mornings anyways….but some weeks I’m more consistent at it than others.

I have used a system similar to this before, an it has always been helpful to have schedules and plans made. I feel a lot more accomplished and find I have a lot more time in my day because I tend not to waste so much time surfing the net or watching television.

Many of the worksheets I included in my binder I found through pintrest or other means on the web. It took me awhile to find a combination of worksheets that would serve my exact needs.

You can check out my pintrest board for links to some of the forms I used as well as this previous post. 

There are a few items I created myself because I couldn't find them online. You can download them off of the printables page. 

I used a combination of resources to help construct me binder 

Leslie and Eric Ludy's Book: When God Writes Your Life Stories 

Donna Partows Book:  Becoming the Woman God wants me to Be

Holley Gerths: You're Already Amazing

Laurie Beth Jones: The Path

Fly Lady

My first section was section my "personal" Section

A place to develop my life mission Statement: As Inspired by "The Path"

Contents

Personal

Mission Statement

Goals and Habits

Daily Routines

Planner (including daily bible studies)

                                                      Spiritual Tools

• Body (sexual expression. exercise. beauty. nutrition.)
• Heart (friends. family. significant other. creativity)
• Soul (personal growth. discovery. personality. expression. style.)
• Selectivity
• Mind (education. profession. balance.)
• Spirit  (prayer. praise. bible study. ministry.)
• Affirmations
• Prayer Requests
• The Gospel
•  Promises of God
• Attributes of God

Emergency

Money

Budget

Bills

Dave Ramsey Budgeting

Car Information

Contact Information

Meal Plans and Shopping

Menu Planner

Take Out

Entertaining

Ideas

Planning

Community

Home

Insurance Information

Lifestyle Purpose Statement

Decorating Plans

Cleaning

Room Zones and Cleaning Schedule

I also included cork boards in the front and back for additional information I might need on hand

The Physics of Walking on Water: God Sized Dreams

Part of my "journey" in Los Angeles included a bi-weekly trip to a Career Coach. I kept telling her I hadn't "figured out" what my life was supposed to look like.
Laurie said, "We need to change your language, it's not about "figuring things out" it's about being open."
My mom had a similar bit of wisdom to share. " I learned that I needed to stop asking God for what I wanted to happen, and start asking Him for what He wanted for me."
In college I had a roommate named Quin, we called her Quindolyn. While I didn't always agree with her she would frequently ask, "Why does everyone have to DO something. Sometimes there is nothing to DO, you just have to BE."

Joseph Campbell said, “You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.”

I frequently feel like a TOTAL failure because I am not living the life I would have imagined for myself,

but the life I would have imagined for myself required me to fit God into it, as opposed to God being the center of it. 

Laura at The Wellspring spoke of how I feel frequently, God's provision and last minute "yes"'s. 

Sometimes I think those last minutes are to remind us that He is in charge, and not us; to teach us to relax in His will and not our will. 

But when he opens the doors, after all that resting, the constant reminders that we don't need to worry, for God provides for the birds and loves us more than they, we need to take that same peace, that same relaxation, and that same courage to walk through the door. 

I'm about to start my new job as a House Mother (yay! I got the job!) I keep getting asked if I'm excited. I'm not excited. I'm at peace. 

I just scheduled my interview to attend Seminary in the fall. (Yay! I'm on to the next step.)

I am hoping to attend "lay counselor" sessions in a couple weeks, and a singles bible study at the church I'm trying to plug into in march. 

I'm about to hit 2,000 views on this blog in less than two months. (I truly hope and pray that it is bringing glory to the Lord and encouragement to you.)

I've been asked if I was "excited" about starting my new job. I'm not. I'm at peace about it. It is the answer to multiple prayers. I'm trying to go where God leads me.

When Peter stepped out of the boat, he didn't spend too much time thinking of the process. He asked permission, received confirmation and took that first step with his eyes on the Lord. 

It was only when he started worrying too much about the waves and the storm around him, the process of putting his foot down on the inexplicable, trying to "figure it out", focusing on the process, taking his eyes off the Lord. 

Take the first step. ...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

(Matthew 6:32-34 ESV)

Sometimes we plan and plan and plan. We look for all the possible things that could go wrong, and we try to circumvent them. 

Commit your work to the LORD,

and your plans will be established.

(Proverbs 16:3 ESV)

(When your) ways please the LORD,

he makes even (your) enemies to be at peace with (you).

(Proverbs 16:7 ESV)

The heart of man plans his way,

but the LORD establishes (your) steps.

(Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

Linking up with Holley Gerth

The Gospel in the Story: Brigadoon

   

 I have a background in theatre and entertainment. I've been working and teaching in the industry since I was a teenager.

       What God has made aware to me  in the past couple of years is how we flock to stories, novels, plays, movies that tell us allegory's of the gospel. The entertainment and story industry spends a lot of time focusing on telling truth. This is really close to my heart, and I will probably speak to it from time to time as I come across it.
      Sunday evening I attended a high school production of the musical, Brigadoon.

The story is this:
The main character Tommy, and his buddy Cliff are living successful, unfullfilled lives in New York. Tommy has come to Scotland to sort out his thoughts. The two men get lost in Scotland and come across this magical village that appears every 100 years. Every year it appears is one day in Brigadoon. The men visit the village and learn it's secrets. Inevitably Tommy falls in love with one of the women in the village and he finds for once in his life he feels "alive."

"Maybe the sun gave me the pow'r,
For I could swim Loch Lomond and be home in half an hour.
Maybe the air gave me the drive,
For I'm all aglow and alive."

Tommy has to make a decision; will he stay and leave his world behind him for love, or will he he leave the woman he has fallen in love with?

While the story isn't particularly well constructed, there is always a point in a well loved story that my heart begins to swell and I know that truth is being spoken. God is speaking through the story, just like He spoke through Jesus' parables.

The reason that the village is magical is because the priest in the village was worried about witches entering the village, and he wanted to protect his people from evil, so he asks God for a miracle. Knowing that he couldn't ask for such a miracle without giving something up, he figures that the greatest thing he can give up is his own life, so he leaves the village to experience the outside world, never to be seen by the villagers again.

Research on story says that the stories that are the most loved, and make the most amount of money are stories about the fully alive or the living dead: the redeemed or the lost, the redeemed walking the fine line of becoming lost, or the lost walking the fine of becoming redeemed. We are horrified while we watch someone choose death, and cheer when they choose life.

When Tommy chooses to go back to New York and leave Brigadoon behind, we are horrified for him. Our hearts sink. While we understand he would be giving up his whole life for love and living in the 18th century, we somehow instinctively know that it's worth it.


I don't want to ruin the end of the story for you. Gene Kelly I believe is in the movie version of it.

But I did want to leave you with a couple quotes to ponder the truth in the story.

"Why do you have to *lose* something, to find out what it *really* means? "

"You'll never find peace by hating, lad. It only shuts ye off more from the world."

"It's the hardest thing in the world to give everything. Though it's usually the only way to get everything."

"What happened in Brigadoon was a miracle, and most folks dinna believe in miracles. Miracles require faith, " 

"No, lad, he didna! No, a stranger could stay if he loved someone here... not Brigadoon itself, mind, but someone *in* Brigadoon... enough to be willing to give up everything to stay near that person... which is only right because after all, lad... if you love someone deeply enough, anything is possible. "

Can you see the truth of the Gospel already? 


Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
(Matthew 13:10-13 ESV)


Jesus taught us in stories. God is still speaking truth in parables. The story of the Gospel is all around us. We are in love with it and are drawn to it. What's your favorite play? Movie? Story? 

Check it out: Is it speaking the truth of the Gospel? Is it about the living dead or the fully living?