A few of my favorite things

Here are a few things I'm diggin' lately.



So timeless!



Nude nail polishes are pretty much all I've been wearing as of late.




Because my hair is so short right now, I can't do much with it. So I've been rockin' the headband!



Red lipstick. 'Nuff said ;)



I got this perfume for Christmas and I LOVE IT. It's light and crisp and easily one of my all time fave perfumes.

Weight of the world

Ever have one of those days where it feels like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders? That's the kind of day I'm having.

"Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?

Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow's share?"

Excerpt from William Blake's "On Another's Sorrow"

Forgiveness is more than saying sorry.

Matthew 5:23-24
The Message (MSG)
 23-24"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God."


Matthew 18:21-35
The Message (MSG)
21At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"
 22Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.


I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately. There have been some circumstances more recently in my life that, if I were not a Christian, I would most likely feel entitled to hold a grudge. In fact, I got to the place where I could feel it starting to build up. I immediately felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit regarding my attitude. I had been wronged, yes. But He has provided me with the tools to overcome it. I know from past experience that holding a grudge and a spirit of unforgiveness is spiritually unhealthy. I may have verbally tried to fix things, but internally I was still raging. I felt the wedge I was driving in between myself and God. In that circumstance, I thought I had done things right... I went to that person to make things right before presenting my offering to God. But that verse didn't say "verbally apologize" it says MAKE THINGS RIGHT. That means I had tocompletely forgive the person who wronged me, admit my wrongdoings as well, drop my self-defenses, and wholly make things right. To forgive the person who wronged me not once, not twice, but seventy times seven! But I didnt do that, at least not immediately. When I felt that rage start to boil, I should have been forgiving that person over and over. Instead, I added fuel to the fire and caused it to burn bigger and brighter than ever. Why? Because I was not obedient to the Lord in forgiveness. And it wasn't until I was obedient that I felt peace over that situation and renewal in my spirit. And so it goes with what I'm going through now. If you're reading this, I ask that you pray for me. That I will be able to completely forgive those who have wronged me. That I will be obedient to the Lord so that I may be free of a grudging spirit. Forgiveness involves so much more than an apology. It must be part of our spiritual lifestyle. It must be part of MY spiritual lifestyle.

Seize the day.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
The Message (MSG)
   Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.

 2 Don't hoard your goods; spread them around.
   Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.

 3-4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
   When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
   Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.
   Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.

 5 Just as you'll never understand
      the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
   So you'll never understand
      the mystery at work in all that God does.

 6 Go to work in the morning
      and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
   You never know from moment to moment
      how your work will turn out in the end.



The other day, I was taking a walk when I came across a single crocus blooming in the middle of moss and a huge puddle of water. I thought to myself "What a great photo opportunity!" But I relucted to take picture because there were a lot of people around and it just felt awkward. So I told myself I'd snap a picture on my way back around. Well, I ended up getting distracted and I forgot on my way back. I figured I'd just get it tomorrow. Except when tomorrow rolled around....it was gone. I had lost my chance to capture the beauty of the moment.

It kinda goes like that in our relationship with Christ. We are not promised tomorrow. In fact, we are not promised the next second, minute, hour,etc. All we have is THIS MOMENT. Right here, right now. We can't be reluctant with what God has commanded us to do. We can't be fearful about what others might think. We might not be given another moment, another chance to be obedient. We MUST Carpe Diem. We must seize the day while it's still available to us. That means loving others, spreading the Gospel, and following His commands. Being a follower of Christ is rarely easy, but the risks we take for His cause come with rewards are better than we can even imagine. So seize the day. Make use of what He has given.

Hebrews 3:13
New Living Translation (NLT)

13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

Stop and smell the wildflowers

Matthew 6:30-33
The Message (MSG)

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

Beauty for ashes

"To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory."(Isaiah 61:3 NLT)

My prayer as we begin this week is that the Lord will give us beauty for ashes, a garment of praise for our heaviness.... Restoration so that we can continue to seek His glory in the midst of trials and sadness.

Breathing life

Ezekiel 37:1-14

"Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!’” (11-14)

As we come to the end of this week...and as I reflect on this passage in Ezekiel, I pray that the Holy Spirit will renew our spirits and breathe fresh life into these dry bones. He is the Author, the Healer, the Redeemer, the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE.

"You bring hope, You bring life. Awaken hearts, open eyes; with our voices hear them rise. We call these dry bones to come alive. You are faithful, You are true. We can always run to love that never fails, arms that never close, nlood that covers sin , grace that never ends.You have saved us, You have won. Sin is broken, death is gone. Freedom's found us, breakthrough's near. In your presence, no more fear---Our savior's here." Savior's Here, Kari Jobe