Introvert v. Extrovert

People seem to be drawn to the extroverts of the world. They are the ones with high positions at work, leadership roles in ministry, and given opportunities. They tend to be more outspoken, seen as bright and confident, and seemingly "have it all together". Extroverts are usually the teacher pets and the class clown, but inside there is a world of secrets waiting to be untold.

Introverts are the quiet ones who usually make a beautiful backdrop wherever they are. They are given the menial tasks and tend to have the behind the scenes jobs. People seem to overlook them or even ignore them. Introverts are usually the servants of the group, but inside there is a world of wisdom waiting to be tapped.

I've been a part of many small groups in my day; some great ones with extraordinary leaders, some terrible groups with dominating leaders, some lame groups with no point or purpose, I've lead various groups of my own, to name a few, but in the small groups, I've seen and learned about personality types more than anything. I've looked around the circle in some groups and all I want to know is what is going on each person's head? What great potential has the leader not tapped into yet? What's that person's story? Who is she? What does she have to offer? What is the potential of this group? And wow, I can only imagine!!

Here's some food for thought. . . . imagine a group where the introvert feels safe to share and the group benefits from her wisdom, the extrovert thinks more before she speaks, the passion and creative juices get stirred up, and the leader who can see the great potential offered by each member and inspires action. What could that group do together to bring hope and love to a struggling community?

Mary and Martha.

Hey pretty ladies!!

Without airing out too much of my dirty laundry, I want to be transparent with you in hopes that I may encourage other women who may be in the same season of life as me.

Let's call it the "Mary" Season.

There seems to be a lot of debate and conversations going on with opinions floating around and different views and beliefs. One person believes in pursuing career, one person believes in full time daycare while another believes in staying home with kids, breastfeed or not, diaper or disposable, the list goes on and on. If I ask one question to five different people, I'll get five different answers.

So I block all that out and find myself asking why has my life been so quiet at home for over a year?

As my readers know, I was laid off last year after only a month of work so we decided I would stay home for a little while and . . .little did I know that "little while" would turn into a year and a half plus. It was like heaven at first, I had all this time to pursue secret dreams and work on art stuff always wanted to try, I could help people whenever the opportunity came up, and along with that came the opinions and judgments....

Now for the past 3 months, with no change in the job field and baby on the way; we're in a new town, new apartment, I find myself still asking that same question.

Why am I still home? God I need to do something!
I'm anxious to be useful!!!

 I feel so worn out, ragged and discouraged!

And then through a friend's wise insight... it hit me so clearly.

The story of Mary and Martha.

 [ At the Home of Martha and Mary ] As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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!" Luke 10:37:42

Haaa. . .I can breathe again.

I am in the season of being a "Mary" and God has been teaching me to slow my pace of life, control my tongue and cultivate the virtue of gentleness. He's teaching me to be still , to be quiet and to pray. God has been opening my eyes to the importance of sitting at His feet and showing me nothing else matters. Yes, life gets chaotic and kids will bring more demands on my life, but for right now before Asher comes, God is teaching me what's important. I've had to block out opinion and judgments, and focus on where God has me right now
. . . . Can you relate?

 "Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." 1 Peter 3:4

Did you catch that part of being great worth in God's sight? I missed that part many times! God doesn't care how busy we are, how many church events we go to, who we are trying to please; all He cares about is being in relationship with Him, being gentle and quiet-- that is of
great worth to God.

Who wants to sit and be quiet? I don't know anyone, including myself, who wants to. But if we're not pursuing a relationship with God then what is the point of this life? We need to be able to pursue that relationship in the quiet AND in the chaos.

If you're in the quiet Mary season. . . . soak it in, I'm sure the chaos will come again.

If you're in the chaotic Martha season. . . . open your window and soak in the quiet outside your chaos.

We can feel ragged and worn out no matter which season we're going through, but at the end of the day. . . are we enjoying the
 presence of God?

 We can still choose to smile and be joyful no matter the season.

Footprints.

Winter months can be a great time of growth. It's like God brings us through this season with early nights of darkness, shorter days of work and tells us to rest, to be still, to wait. Then Spring slowly blossoms and we get a fresh start. The sun comes out, the birds chirp, new life is born. We get to make new memories and take what we've been learning, and be the new creation God has been molding us to be.

"...the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

I'm not here to rub my opinion in your face or speak louder so my voice will be heard. My hope is for others to see beyond the words I say or words I write in a blog, and see the Great God I serve and the lessons He is teaching me. My hope is for you to be encouraged and inspired by what He reveals. I know we all come from different backgrounds, different beliefs, different families and it's our differences that make up our community.

 God rejoices in our differences!!

It's our differences that can come together as one community and become a stronger, more influential and effective group of people reaching out to serve the community where we live.

God has been revealing to me that we all have a desire to be heard. We all want to be valued. Some of us will budge in line to be heard, some of us will wait our turn to be heard, and some of us will not say anything at all. But God wants His Church people to feel valued so they will offer up their gifts when opportunities arise and God wants His lost sheep (eg. neighbors, co-workers, friends, family) to be found so they will feel loved.  We can step out and serve the community where we live and make people feel valued and heard. We can search for the lost and reach out a hand.

I was looking back on old photos this morning and remembering sweet memories. I was reminded of where I was and where God has brought me... there's something so sweet about Spring and sunshine and fresh starts. There's also something so sweet about the long, quiet months of Winter. And through these winter months. the Lord has been revealing to me what truly matters in this life. I may have wasted hours of time but it hasn't been a waste to be home because in this time, I've been learning what truly matters and what only matters is a relationship with God and thanking Christ Jesus for what he did on the cross.

That's it.

That's what the big story is all about.

Jesus.

When I was 18 years old headed to college, I was brainwashed to believe what mattered most was a career, success, a role in ministry, finding a husband, but underneath all those messages I was so torn and confused. Somehow it didn't fit, it didn't feel right, something didn't make sense, this couldn't possibly be what this life was all about I thought.

College felt empty, church felt dry,  people seemed lifeless and hopeless.

And that's when FOOTPRINTS was born.

God came to me one dark winter night and birthed in me this great idea, this vision to bring people together to step out and serve, to leave our footprints on the community where we live and a thumbprint of the

God we serve.

Lately in our small group, ideas have been tossed around, great ideas, in fact. I have this beautiful picture of all of us individually serving- the girl who sees an elderly needing help at the grocery store, the man who can perform CPR at any moment. Like I said earlier, we are different and with that, we all have different opportunities to serve. Picture all 40 of us serving in our own way. This person serving at the grocery store, that person using CPR to save a life, etc and then coming together to share those moments of opportunities we had to serve. It would encourage all of us, inspire us to do more, to empower us to step out when an opportunity arises. Picture with me how we as a group of people can disperse out into our community to serve and how we as a group of people can come together to serve the community where we live.

You, the employed, who have opportunities in the workplace but the unemployed don't. 

You, the stay-at-home-mom, who can't just get up and go but the wife with no kids can.

 You, the wealthy, who can give hundreds of dollars but the struggling who can't.

Ask yourself. . . what can I give?

Time is a gift.

Money is a gift.

Yourself is a gift.

Words are a gift.

Tea parties are a gift.

Smiles are a gift.

Patience is a gift.

Prayer is a gift.

Serving is a gift.

CPR is a gift.

Jesus is a gift. 

What's ONE gift we can give this week? 

Share what that one thing is with a friend. Maybe even start writing that one thing down each week and keeping a jar or journal. Maybe it would inspire us to be on the look out more throughout our week and when opportunities come up as a group, maybe we could come together and be that . . . .be that . . . I keep getting this mental picture of a game of "Simon says" and how the link gets stronger as we add another person. . .

let's be that.

A great Professor of mine, Dr. C, once said, "Our God is a God who cares about planting seeds and nurturing each of us in our blooming process." God sees our beautiful potential and what we can become. Let's be a people who care about others in their blooming process by serving

one opportunity at a time.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe... in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15

Am I still valuable? pt. 4

When you're sitting home on a Wednesday morning, just woke up with your coffee and grapefruit, with the whole day ahead of you, what will you decide to do? What you decide to do is what you value most.

Yes some days get away from us, time seems to slip by, but what we spend our time doing is what we value. Since I've finally resolved and accepted that I am a "stay-at-home right now,  let's make good use of our time and get practical in the how-to of what we value starting with our coffee and grapefruit (mmm...grapefruit sounds so good right now!) Do you turn on a talk show or open your Bible?

1. God values His Word

"The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true, each one is fair. They more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them." Psalm 19:7-11

The Lord's Word is perfect, trustworthy, right, clear.

Reverence for the Lord lasts forever

More desirable than the finest gold

Sweeter than honey dripping from the comb

Reward for obedience

The Lord's Word gives insight into living each day. If we recognize reverence for the Lord lasts forever then we might start spending more time opening His Word to learn how we can respect Him better and obey His commands more.

You took the last sip of coffee (I know ....sad moment every morning) and you opened the Word of God... what's next?

2. God values physical training, but values godliness even higher.

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Let's do something to get active; a walk, a run, at the very least put your tennis shoes on so you will walk a little faster around the grocery store, and remember godliness has more value than physical training so when you're at the grocery store (walking fast!), you may have a chance to show some godliness.

3. God values obedience

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 28:1-2

God wants us to follow Him only, no other god, and worship Him alone

IF we obey Him THEN He will bless us

If we come across an opportunity to show godliness AND we obey then God will be pleased. And if we value respecting God then we will want to obey when those opportunities come our way. So what do we do when an opportunity does come our way?

4. God values forgiveness and compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14

God says to forgive twice in this passage and He says to forgive as the Lord forgave. Not as an option, but as a command. Forgive. We are to clothe ourselves every morning with qualities of true value; compassion and kindness.

An opportunity does come our way at the grocery store, the woman in front of us is scrounging in her purse, can't find her money to pay the cashier. Do you tap your foot impatiently, make some unkind comment to hurry her along or do you offer to pay for her items? Maybe her bill is over $100 and you just don't have that in your bank account, well maybe you could be kind and patient, assuring her it's no problem to wait the extra 3 minutes.

In those times, God is testing what we value most.

5. God values perfecting my faith

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7

When Jesus comes again one day, he will take up those who believed in him, believed that he died on the cross and rose from the dead and God will judge our faith. Have you ever heard people say what's important on a gravestone? It's not the dates or the phrase, but it's the dash between the dates.

The dash between the dates is the time frame when God is refining our faith, testing our faith, bringing us through fire and trial because our faith is much more valuable to God that gold (and if you did a study on gold, you would learn gold is of great value in the eyes of God).

We may be tested at the grocery store when the lady can't pay, but God values obedience, forgiveness, patience and kindness. Our faith will be tested and it will grow.

Now we're home from running our errands, we still have the whole night to spend with our family. Will you busy yourself with your to-do list, hobbies and chores? Only to look at your watch at 9:30 and discover it's a little late to start a board game with your husband?

6. God values quality time

"...But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. The is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

Some of you know the story of Mary and Martha. Martha is running around with details while Mary is spending quality time at Jesus' feet. Jesus says that is the ONLY thing to be concerned with and it will not be taken away.

Quality time with Jesus. Quality time with our husbands.

The list could go on and on, the Bible is full of insights to apply.

God values loving others selflessly, commanding us to love. Matthew 20:28 "For even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."

God values wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 13:15 "Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her."

God values a noble wife just as valuable as wisdom. Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous and noble wife? She is more precious than rubies."

God values marriage and children.

God values prayer and fasting.

God values inner beauty.

God values you.

If you have a full crazy schedule and work outside the home, I'm not judging you for one second, but for women who are stay-at-home, we constantly hear the messages that "we are nothing without a job" and we should be able "to do it all"....it's simply not true. God never said any of that and we have to fight to separate those worldly messages from what God tells us.

You are beautiful and you are valuable. Jobs, hobbies, chores, leadership roles; those are all just cherries on an already delicious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

God loves the cake with or without the cherries on top.

　

　

　

　
　

Am I still valuable? pt. 3

So how do we find the woman we are and discover 
God's beautiful potential for us?

Well, I don't know how God works or how He will bring out the beautiful potential, but I do know it starts with reading the Bible, reading books by beautifully written authors, and learning from the women around you.  

I am loving this book as I pray and prepare for little Asher to come in May. It is beautifully written and supported with Scripture.

Our values tell us what is important, worthwhile, and desirable. Values direct our life and put us on a path. We value certain things and go the direction we want to go, but God turns man's values upside down.
"What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight" (Luke 16:15)

1. God values Character

"Man cares about externals, but God cares about inner qualities. Man values beauty, brains, wealth and power; God values a pure heart. Integrity and faithfulness have greater value to God than success. He says, 'The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is of greater worth than a pretty face and nice clothes (1 Peter 3:4). It is more important to be beautiful inside that outside."

Are we cultivating who we are by spending time reading the Bible?

2. God values Time

"Physical holding and carrying of the infant turns out to be the most important factor responsible for the infant's normal mental and social development." The absent mother might leave a greater void in a child's life than we realize. There are things in life that rob our time of what is valuable; housework, careers, hobbies etc., all great things in themselves, but rob us of our time to invest in our husband and children.

How much time are we spending with the people we care about?

I won't sit here and summarize the whole chapter for you, but Jean Fleming is a wife, mother, writer, speaker and missionary, and her words of wisdom are worth
learning from.

Jean said one thing that really stuck out to me, "It isn't the creative ideas or the great insights that lie at the heart of mothering, but the mother's commitment and willingness to pay the price. She must be willing to invest time in cultivating a heart and lifestyle that will make her values a reality in the lives of her children." What am I doing NOW to cultivate my values in myself so I can cultivate them in my son? Did it ever cross my mind that maybe God has me home to teach me, to tame my heart, to prepare me for what's next? To prepare me to be a mom?

 Is that my lightbulb #3?

Time is a sweet gift and we don't have much of it in this life. Emerson says it best, "Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thyself." There is nothing I am more clear about than wanting to give my son the gift of myself and that requires giving my sweet time.

I'm going to keep digging in Scripture to see what else God values.

And the book says to list 5 values that I want to succeed in.

1. Obey the Lord God and you will be blessed (Deut. 28)

2. Spend quality time with my husband and (soon) son (Luke 10:38-42)

3. Love others selflessly (Matt. 20:26-27)

4.

5.



Am I still valuable? pt. 2

My husband came home from work and saw me still in my pajamas. First words out of his mouth, "Hey lazy" then proceeds to kiss me hello. Did I mention being seen as lazy was one of my worst fears? There have been days I scurry around tidying up the place right before he gets home just so it will "look" like I did more than he could tell. Then lightbulb #1 came on... I have been putting my value in how much of my to-do list is checked off each day.

I know I'm not alone on this one. Stay-at-home moms, wives I've talked to feel the need to have something to show for their day. We are not all traveling rockstars or world renowned authors or sought after artists filling our days with glamorous careers. We aren't supposed to put our value in those identities anyway. Take away "what you do" for a living and what do you have left? That is where you begin to look for your value.

Lightbulb #2 came on yesterday while I was laying in the darkness of our room not able to sleep....I have been devaluing myself because I do not have a job. I applied for this interesting non-profit supervisor positing a few years back, didn't get it then, the job came up again recently and someone 5 years younger than me got it. Am I really letting that bother me? Really?

On one side, I hear "you are worthless, you didn't get the job" and on the other side, I hear God quietly whispering "Heidi, let me tell you a little secret, I don't value you by what job you have or how much you accomplish in a day. I value you by the woman I made you to be."

Is that a freeing thought or what?
That leaves the question.... who is the woman God made me to be then?

So tell me... what is underneath your job title?
What is underneath your mask of emotion?

Peel away all your layers and are you finding value in the woman you are underneath?

 "a girl can be one way on the outside and another way on the inside. But, I think it's what's underneath that really counts."

I was reading in old journals and discovered God is working out our salvation in our place of brokenness. God won't relent until He has our heart and He waits until we are authentically broken. In that time He can make us and mold us into the women He wants us to be. C.S. Lewis said, "The breaking process is a catalyzing process that ultimately helps the soul reach its potential. We need to be broken in order to be humbled. An unbridled soul restricts God's work in a person's life. That kind of soul cannot be guided. Energy cannot be harnessed in the untamed state."

Imagine that..... we are all wild stallions and God is taming us so our true beauty can shine out. We go through times of brokenness, times of wondering why we didn't get a job, feeling we didn't accomplish anything that day, but none of that matters to God. His goal is to peel away our layers and get us humbled so He can tame us, and ultimately bring us to our most beautiful potential.

Our most beautiful potential. Hmmm.....let's think about that one for a minute. God sees the bigger picture and knows where He wants us to go next, maybe we should try trusting that He knows what He's doing. I don't know about you but I want to discover my beautiful potential as the woman God created me to be.

So how do we do that?

Stay tuned for pt. 3 

Am I still valuable? pt.1

A stay at home mom is not seen as a worthy job and definitely not as a glamorous job. You think being a mom is a job? The world says when I say I want to be home when Asher arrives. Are you nuts? They say. And a stay at home wife? Are you weird? Who does that? The world can be a harsh place to navigate. Am I valuable even though I've been at home? I ask myself that question everyday and everyday I come up with no answer. Or maybe it's an answer that I don't want to hear. 

I want to feel valued and validated. I have degrees and college experience behind me. I'm capable and qualified. But I walk around the world and feel nothing but stares and judgments penetrating my very being. I hear them saying "loser, lazy, wasting away your talents..." not really saying it but that is the message the world gives about staying home. 

After attempting to work and then being laid off last year, we decided I would stay home our first year of marriage, but that "year" has turned into a year and a half now, with no job on the horizon when that year was up...

What does God say about staying home? What is truly valuable? If I could fuzz out the voices and stares of the world, what would I hear God saying to me?

I'm going to be searching for that answer. Stay tuned for what I learn....

Life an Adventure??

It's our 3rd move in 2 years.

Adventure?

Some would see it that way.

Me?

I'm tired.

But I decided to change my attitude and go for a walk to collect some flowers.

It's been two weeks and it's time to make the place feel more like home.

On my walk, a beautiful Bald Eagle flew over head. How cool is that? So rare to see and so..... magestic.

I knew in that moment God was going to see me through and it was going to be ok. Life is an adventure if I choose to trust in His ways. God's ways are higher than our ways and my guess is probably won't be our last move...watch Sam take me to India or something then I'll really have to trust God's ways. Ha!

Time to be more optimistic and look for the beauty wherever my husband wants to take me and wherever God wants to lead.  

What does Proverbs 31 say? She laughs at the days ahead? Oh boy... here we go... might as well jump on and enjoy the ride.

Being a wife.

My beautiful lady friend readers, I have been learning an extremely valuable lesson during the time I've spent at home this first year of marriage. I share a lot of pictures of accessories I make and items I refinish, but I want to challenge you to accessorize yourselves in something much deeper than outer adornments and jewelry. 

Accessorize yourself, my beautiful friend, with respecting your husband.

Respect is not a word often used or taught anymore, maybe in the context of authority or teachers, but somehow we've lost the words honor, respect, admire when it comes to our family and our especially our husbands. We need to sit and rest on that thought, let it soak in.

Many wives talk negatively behind their husbands' back, they feel unloved and under appreciated so they think it's ok to sit around jabbing at their husbands to their girlfriends. Many wives respond snippy when their husbands ask them to do something for them. They don't feel treated right so they punish their husbands by snipping back or giving the silent treatment. And many wives show their husbands contempt when they believe their husband is lazy or careless. They ignore them, or worse, they treat them like a child.

A BIG one in our culture now is neglecting our husbands. Because women are all about their careers and pursuing the "do it all" mentality, in the process, their husbands are being neglected. The wife gives her best effort and energy to her day job, rushing around doing errands after work and coming
home completely drained.

Busyness + Neglect = division in marriage and eventual divorce

I am guilty of all of these at some point in our first months of marriage. I'm not here to preach to you. Simply to challenge you with what I've thankfully started to learn early on.

I've seen this all too much over my growing up years and if I've stayed home this year just to learn to respect Sam then it was worth far more than any career I could've pursued. We still have a lot to learn and I still fail in respecting him, but the beauty in it all, I can get back up and ask him for forgiveness. Ladies, it's OK to stay home and be a wife, in fact, I believe it's an honorable decision if that's what you choose. Your marriage is worth far more than any other pursuit.

It just breaks my heart what disrespect does to a man. It destroys the very nature of who they were created to be. God created men to thrive at their work, to provide for their family, to feel honored in their home, and to know their wife LIKES them. Maybe you were like us when you were dating and remember telling your husband you like LIKE him, like more than a friend. Remind yourself of the times when you were sweet and flirty with each other.

Challenge: Go home tonight.....and tell your husband....."Honey, I respect you". Tell him you like him. See how he responds in the hours, days to follow. We need our husbands to love us, they need us to respect them. Sit with him, do an activity he enjoys, appreciate his hard work and faithfulness to go to work everyday, tell him you like him. He needs you, do you realize that?

Do you want to shatter who he is or build him up as a man?

For further insight read the book "Love & Respect" By: Emerson Eggerichs and I'll be sharing more as time goes on.

Messages we receive.

I know I said there would be more cheery posts, but it seems God is teaching me some cool lessons and today I want to encourage you, my sweet blogger friend. I don't care if one person reads or nobody reads. This might be the message for YOU today.

God wants you to know You are Beautiful and Loved. 

And I'm truly starting to believe that for myself.

When I was a little girl, I somehow got the wrong message "I wasn't good enough" "I just slip through the cracks" "I'm not important". When I was little older somehow got the message none of the girls at school liked me when they threw rocks at me. When I was in high school I got the message "I wasn't like everyone else" "I was weird". As I've shared my testimony of a coach molesting me, boyfriends breaking my heart, and gone through my struggles...... I started to BELIEVE the wrong messages I was receiving.

Those messages were lies from satan.

satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, and he was out to destroy me.

I got tangled up in his web of lies.

Here's the good news, The Lord is untying my knots and untangling my mess. For the first time in my life, I am believing positive messages.

I am beautiful.

We don't get told the positive messages nearly as much as the negative messages. We ALL have been fed negative messages throughout our lives, but the good news is we DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE THOSE LIES.

So let me be the first maybe in years to tell you..... You are Beautiful.

Jesus felt emotion, he was fed lies, but he didn't give into the emotion or believe the lies.

Jesus understands our pain.

He died on the cross to take that pain away.

When we feel so tangled up we can't go on, we can turn to Jesus.

All the lies we believe, all the junk that piles up, all the wrong thinking patterns, all hold us back from realizing our true potential, our true beauty.

If satan can make me believe I'm incapable then I won't try to accomplish anything worthwhile. We must listen and obey to the voice of God so that it may go well for us (Jeremiah 7:23).

Emotions are a good thing ladies. Emotions are a gift. They enable us to feel and show compassion and love other people who need love. But giving into emotion, letting them control you and believing the lies only holds us back.

We've all been wounded by wrong words, but we can turn to Jesus and replace all the negative with good messages.

This prayer has really helped me in dark moments, maybe it can help you.
"Jesus, I am glad you understand my feelings and you don't condemn me even when I condemn myself. I don't want to give vent to my emotions. Help me forgive who has wronged me and not slight them, avoid them, or seek to pay them back for the harm they did to me. My emotions sometimes run my life, but I ask you to teach me to appreciate them as a gift you can use for good. Help me not to sit in emotional pit of despair, but to turn to you. Amen."

Date night idea.

I'm going to start including my bloggers in more day to day stuff, not just my deep words of inspiration. It's a new day. And as I've shared with you, it's been a rough year and I've learned a lot of lessons, lessons still unfolding, but today I am reminded of God's faithfulness, and it's a new day.  

"They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23

So how about a fun, easy idea when you're going through a drag week because God is faithful and today is a new day and we have a lot to smile about. .....Friday night, my husband and I needed a night out. We needed some pep in our step. Life was getting pretty dull and dragging, so we picked ourselves up and headed to the cute, quaint town of Anoka. I surprised Sam with a love note and $5 to buy me a creative gift in the Antique store. I had to do the same thing, and if any of you know antique stores, it's pretty tough to find a worthy treasure under $5 but we were up for the task.

Then we headed across the street for Hot Chocolate......

 and to share the gifts we found.

 So here's my news for today!! We decided on
baby names.

Cora for a girl

Asher for a boy

Which one will it be? We can't wait to find out!

He gave me a puzzle with an explanation I'll make a great mom, and a Hawaii postcard book to remind me of the happy memories we've shared over the years.

I gave him the baby blocks with the explanation he will make a great dad and I admire his love for life, and childlike faith. And a sprinkle jar with a fat chef because when I think of Sam, I think of sweet, creative, baker, and fun loving.

So I challenge you my beautiful friend, get off the couch, stop staring at the gloom outside and go take your sweetheart out, give him $5 and show eachother a fresh face of love.

Happy Fall.

Incredible.

I just wanted to share an incredible piece of art, probably my favorite at the Minnesota Institute of Art. I just stared at it up close, far away, sideways, anyway I could and was just completely mesmerized by it. I have to give God the glory here. What a truly gifted artist this man was with true talent and creativity. Good job Abraham Mignon. Wow!

Seasons of life.

A very dear mentor of mine famously says, "You're either going into a storm,
in a storm, or coming out of a storm."

Life is a series of seasons.

 Winter

My winter was a season of drought.

God allows difficult seasons so that we feel the pain, we feel the loneliness and the quiet. When everything is taken away, everything we put our focus on and need to get through the day is taken away, God comes in and says "I AM GOD AND I WANT TO BE ALL YOU NEED". God wants ALL of me, not just some of me. He takes that time to bring us to our lowest so we realize our need for Him. We can't do this life on our own.

 Spring

My spring was a season of pruning.

After we realize our great need for God, He begins to tear off all our "dead branches" (John 15) and prune away our dead leaves. Any gardener knows we have to tear off the dead leaves and branches in order for fruit and flowers to grow. And let me tell you, the pruning process is painful but if we can be willing and moldable to let God do His thing with us then it will be worth it, afterall, look around God is the Great Gardener. If our focus is on heavenly things then it won't matter what we endure on earth.

Summer

My summer was a season of growth.

Anyone gone through puberty knows growing panes hurt. Our muscles get tight, we're being stretched, we can't eat enough or drink enough to feel satisfied, it's a process. There were days in my growing months of marriage and personally that just plain sucked. I didn't see any glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. Everything was being taken away from me and then let's throw in a broken foot, bed rest and no visitors for the cherry on top, but you know what, the growing season doesn't last forever.

 Fall

My fall was a season of blossom.

Out of all the trial, drought, hopelessness, doubt, confusion, pruning, and growing there I see my FIRST BLOSSOM of the harvest. Out of the pain, God brought a blessing.
 I'm going to be a Mama.

Among the thorns of my season, there is beauty again. I have no idea how things will work out, some days I'm frozen in uncertainty, but I have to choose to PRAISE THE LORD ANYWAY. God is with me and there is nothing to fear. (Psalm 56:3-4)

When everything seems a mess and uncertain, God makes all things beautiful once again. And I for one am thankful for the little blessing growing in me.

 The beauty will stand out among the thorns once again.

Samples.

Sewn on a sash or
clipped in your hair.

Medium Ivory

 Medium White w/ splash of peach

 Medium White w/ splash of crystal blue

 Large Ivory

What's your vote?

I need all my lady friends' opinions!

 I'm in the process of making 3 sample Bride Flowers that can be made into hairpieces or sewn on a sash, and I'm going to take them into
Bridal Boutiques.

Would you like a custom order like this one?
Yes or No

How much would you pay?

I will post my final 3 samples when they are finished.

Craft Fair. See what's new!

It's a beautiful morning for a Craft Fair!!

Check out what's new FOR SALE!!

Message me or check out my Etsy shop for all the items still available.

Beauty Among Thorns Accessories

 is going on the road.

Partnering with my Sis-in-law

 Headbands

Lace Headbands

Several Jewelry Holders

Not the best start in sales but it was a fun experience and I'm still smiling for Jesus!

As always first time Etsy shoppers get 20% off.

Stop on by.