Still God

I don't have anything to say really, but I found this on Facebook and just wanted to share. I'll be back tomorrow with more to say. :-)

looking for inspiration on the web

I think I mentioned somewhere that I have recently started using Twitter again. I have to tell you, I still have mixed feelings about it. It's a thrill for sure, when someone else re-tweets something you said or mentions you in a tweet. But it still feels a bit stalker-ish to me. I mean, I don't really know these people I am following so closely.

I was hugely thrilled yesterday morning when an actor I follow responded to me. It was just a "hey there, I see you stalking me" kind of moment, he was just letting his fans know he was alive. It was very cool. But also weird. Maybe I will get used to the weird, but I kind of hope not. :-/ It just seems to me that stalkers shouldn't get too comfortable, ya know??

Anyway, I have also found Twitter to be a source of inspiring thoughts and quotes. I have shared a few here and there with you. I actually have a lot more. Almost a whole journal full. For that reason, I will keep using Twitter. But I am still a Facebook girl at heart. There I can connect with family and friends. I can see pictures of my nieces and nephews, and feel really connected to the lives of some of the most precious people in my heart. And that may be just about the most inspiring thing ever. When I am feeling down, I can log in and reach out to my sisters (who live in another state) or a friend from high school and instantly receive love and support. I can go to my prayer group and ask for prayer and someone will always respond. That is, hands down, the best inspiration out there.

WOW! Look at the time. I really have to stop typing and go get ready for work. Before I go though, I was wondering, where do you find your inspiration?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Just some random beauty I picked up somewhere. :-)

Sunday thoughts and some pictures....

This week I wanted to share a couple of blogs with you, but I didn't send off my requests to the authors until this morning (procrastinate much??) and I have not gotten a response yet. :-(

So, I am just going to go with some of my favorite quotes and pictures from the week. If I hear back from either of the ladies I contacted I will update this post. Or save it for next Sunday, we will see.

I found lots of inspiration on Twitter this week. It's funny, I actually read a tweet at some point this week from someone who said that they wished they could remove all the inspirational "crap" from their feed. First of all, to each his own. But can I just tell you that the inspirational tweets are pretty much the only reason I even get on Twitter. When my feed is full of negative comments, I just shut it down.

Anyway! Here's some of my Twitter inspiration:

"Do not be surprised that what God asked of you yesterday is insufficient for your journey of faith today." Justin Davis
I love that thought, that God expects us to grow.

"The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose is to give it away." Emma White
Find it and give it away, every single day. And the miracle is, the more you give the more you find. :)

"The best thing about today: You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. Just be you." Justin Davis (again)
Just be me, even if me is kind of nuts...I like it!

And here is a good question from Nicole Unice:
"Are you living in a personal vacuum?"
I know I have been guilty of this. Blogging has actually helped me with this, drawing me out of my comfortable shell and making me think and look at the world around me in a new (and I hope better) light.

Here's some stuff I found on Facebook:

"He is not limited by the natural, He has supernatural power. When you consider God instead of your circumstances, amazing things can happen." Joel Osteen 

Let me be filled with you Lord.

 "God can open doors no man can shut" Unknown

Yeah.

 

 

And here are a couple of scriptures that just reached out and grabbed me:

"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old." Proverbs 8:22

 "Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, 
O' Lord." Psalm 89:15

This past week was a rough one at work. On Monday we found out that a coworker had found her son dead the morning before (last Sunday). This pretty much rocked everyone. I personally cannot imagine coming back from that. I'm not sure anyone who hasn't been through it can. This verse has been on my mind when I think of my friend and has become kind of my prayer for her and her family:
"Thus the Lord God has said...In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15

And finally I wanted to share just a couple of pictures I took this week with my cellphone.

Random beauty from my front yard.

View down my street. Look at that sky!

From Saturday while wandering around at my mom's

This one too.

Diva, queen of the dirty clothes

Maggie Mayhem and Sassy, queens of everything else!

*If you want to see more of my random pics, you can follow me on Instragram  (that would just make my day) 


Okay, I think that's it for now. I hope you found something here that blessed you, made you think, or just plain made you smile.

OH! Here is one last thing that made me laugh out loud:

0:-)

Have a blessed week!

What is the bravest thing you've done?

That is the NaBloPoMo writing prompt for today.

What is the bravest thing I've ever done?

The first thing that came to mind when I read this was writing this blog. I never saw myself as a writer. I have been reading so many blogs by people who have always had the drive, the desire to write. That is not me. This is a completely new thing for me. And it has grabbed hold with a vengeance and will not let go.

The next was my marriage. Sticking it out through the tough times instead of giving up. If you have ever been married, you know what I mean. **And before I hurt anyone's feelings, I am not saying that divorce is giving up. Not for anyone but me. I know that sometimes it's the only option. Sometimes things are not fixable, no matter how hard you try. We all have our own path, our own story, I am not here to judge anyone's story , I just want to share mine.

But I really think, if I stop and think about it, that the bravest thing I have ever done is to seek and follow (to the best of my ability) the heart of God. His heart, his desire for my life is leading me into new territory every day. This blog for one. Being married is definitely one. Singing with my church's praise and worship group is another. I NEVER thought I would stand on that platform with a mic in hand and sing. But this past summer after a service in which most of the group was unable to attend I followed God's nudge and offered to help. Been on that platform ever since. It terrifies me, right up until the music starts. Then God steps in. I don't know how I sound or look, but I don't care. At least in that moment. Because it isn't about me, it's about Him.

Prayer is another path He is leading me down. I have a Facebook prayer group and I manage a prayer group at work (how completely cool is that???) and a few times God has moved me to just go to someone and ask to pray for them. Talk about scary. I always feel this overwhelming fear of looking stupid and being rejected. But not once has that happened. I believe that is because I am following the leading of God.

Yeah, following God is the bravest, scariest, most beautiful thing I have ever done. I think I am gonna keep doing it....

Sunday thoughts and some pictures

Last Sunday I started something that I would really like to see become a habit. I am going to call it "Sunday thoughts". Basically this is going to be a wrap up of the previous weeks inspiration. Pictures, quotes, other blogs, anything I saw that inspired me, made me think, laugh, smile, or cry I want to share with you. I hope this is a habit I can stick to and that it will be a blessing to you.

I found 2 blog posts today that really touched my heart. The first is written by Trinka Polite and is titled Breathe...
 I hope you will click the link and read the whole thing, but I want to share my favorite line:

My other grandmother told me that’s how I came to be. 
God took my body and in it He breathed.   
So when you inhale and exhale notice your breath 
and realize God is dwelling in your chest.

God is dwelling in my chest. The gift of life is so precious and is something I tend to take for granted. I really want to remember to just slow down and breath.

The second blog I wanted to share is written by Ashley McKenney and is titled Come Away with Me (as NJ says) 

Please click the link. This blog is full of some really beautiful images. And Ashley has some really good insight into finding balance between being a parent and being a person. I think a lot of my "mommy" and "daddy" friends will appreciate her words.
  

Now, can I share with you some pictures from my phone?
Of course I can, cause it's my blog!

 Yesterday we were out at my mom's place and while my hubby worked, I wandered around taking pictures. I do this a lot and my mom just shakes her head at me. She doesn't get it. :-)
I love this place. I was raised here and one day I want to move back, if my stubborn parent will permit it. 
I love this image, the contrast of colors just speaks to my heart. God made this simple thing and created it with so much care and beauty. It blesses me.

This is my sweet husband mowing on the tractor. He really got a lot more than he bargained for when he fell in love with me, because I am a complete momma's girl. He will never escape my never ending drive to be there for mom. And he takes it in stride. Sometimes I think he loves her more than I do. He is a great helpmate and son in law. 

I saved this screen shot of a text message between me and my hubby a while back. It makes me smile every time I stumble across it. He really gets me. Route 44 Sonic drinks are a great weakness of mine, I can't pass one without wanting to stop. He gets that. He gets me. How awesome is that? 

 This is one of my many fur babies, Tom-Tom.
Isn't he beautiful? 

Here are a few quotes I picked up around the web this week:

 "I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once." -John Coltrane 

"People who make you laugh are the best people in the world" -Emma White

 "In war, there are no unwounded soldiers" -Jose Narosky

"If we learn to be amazed at what God has done and is doing in our lives, we will never be without hope" -Joyce Meyer

and my favorite this week:

"Follow me and I will make you fishers of the human soul" -Jesus Christ

(from "The Book of God" which is the Bible written as a novel. I love this spin on the traditional "fishers of men")

The last thing I want to share I got from a Facebook friend. I won't use her name here, to protect her privacy. But I just had to share her thoughts with you. If you are a "facebooker" you know that during the month of November a lot of folks try to post a daily thankfulness thought. I saw tons today about being grateful for our Veterans (it's Veterans Day today) and that is wonderful. We should all always be grateful for those who put their lives on the line for our freedom. But my friend had something a little different to say:

 

DAY 11: I guess I could take the easy way out and say I am thankful for our vets and I am but instead I want to say today I am thankful for all the people who love them and are left behind to worry about them...I am thankful for the ones they come home to ... more times than not the vet that comes home is not the same person that left.. these people have to stay strong and learn to love all over again sometimes a whole new person..so thank you family and loved ones you are also my heroes

(beautiful!!)

okay, that's it for this Sunday. I hope that something here has blessed you, inspired you, made you think, or just made you smile. God bless!

where does my validation come from?

This is a question that has been rattling around in my head/heart for a few weeks now, I just haven't taken the time to put it into words. But it's quiet in the house this morning and I have caffeine in hand (Diet Dr Pepper is my caffeine of choice) so I thought I would give it a shot. 

First let's look at the definition according to Bing: 

validate

Definition

val·i·date

[ válli dàyt ]

TRANSITIVE VERB 

1. confirm truthfulness of something: to confirm or establish the truthfulness or soundness of something

2. law make something legal: to declare or render something legal or binding "validate a passport"

3. register something formally: to register something formally and have its use officially sanctioned

4. make somebody feel valued: to make somebody feel valued as a person, or feel that his or her ideas or opinions are worthwhile

I would like to focus on #4.

Validation is the act of making somebody feel valued: to make somebody feel valued as a person, or feel that his or her ideas or opinions are worthwhile.

Not too long ago I read an article online about teens and social networking. It startled me to realize how much of a kid's self esteem is tied to whether or not they get enough "likes" on their pictures or status updates on social networking sites. Some will attend parties just to be able to take pictures and post updates showing their presence on the scene. Like I said, it startled me. And made me think...

Am I really so different from these kids? I will admit it gives me a thrill every time I see a "like" or a comment to something I post on Facebook (my social media of choice). And since I have been dabbling with Twitter, I find myself hurt when strangers don't respond to the tweets I send them. And then there is this blog. If I could I think I might send out a virus to every computer owned by every person I know that would open a link to my blog automatically when I post something and then the window wouldn't close until they had read it AND posted a comment. (let's be glad I am NOT capable of this.)

As I am writing this I am glancing at my other screen, (yes, we have 2, my hubby did it. I thought it was crazy, but now I use it more than he does)  monitoring my Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts. This cannot be healthy. But I can't seem to stop. I crave the status updates and comments, I can't seem to risk missing a single email. I am sick. Sicker than those kids, because at 41 I know better.

 I am seeking my validation in all the wrong places. Now, don't get me wrong, social media has it's place and short of a zombie or alien apocalypse (or the 2nd coming) I think it's here to stay. And it has it's uses. I have reconnected with old friends and been able to keep up with family in ways that were impossible before. I have found great sources of inspiration and humor online. I have read words that really made me think and see my world in a new way. All because I have an internet connection. 

But I have a deeper connection inside me. One that isn't contingent on my ability to pay my phone bill. I have a direct line to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He loved me so much that he gave me the ultimate validation before I breathed my 1st breath. He gave his precious son for me, to wash me clean and give me a second chance to live this life in His light. Talk about making someone feel valued. 

I would like to ask you to pray for me. Pray that I will remember this truth, and that it will grow in my heart and shape how I use the internet and social media. Because I don't think I am meant to turn off the computer and walk away. I think that I am doing some good here, that I am following God's will for my life. But I need to find and maintain my balance. I need to remember where my heart lies. Where my true validation lies.