Seriously?!

"Life isn't perfect...its messy" (from Bride Wars)

I was driving home on this beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon, and the boys and I decided to get some Moe's nachos for dinner. All was going well until I had to stop for a red light and......sure enough the nachos and all their glory went flying all over the floorboard of the car....SERIOUSLY???

Thick white cheese sauce, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and all those delicious toppings that were to make up our tasty dinner... are now a giant mess on my floorboard....

Life can me messy....amen! But have you ever felt like it was just you...that you were the mess? Like life would be fine if it weren't for you messing it up all the time...if you would just shut your mouth...you would never say the wrong things...if you would just not have cared as much...it would not be so painful...if you would have taken the right advice...you would be a successful person by now...if you were prettier...you would not be spending another Saturday night alone...if you would have just tied up the bag...you would be eating nachos instead of cleaning up one big mess!!

I will write often about the subject of seeking after God to find your confidence and worth in Him because that is what God has been teaching me for 15+ years....and it is a valuable life changing thing to grasp hold of!

We all have messy days and yes life is messy....BUT YOU ARE NOT THE MESS...YOU ARE THE BEST! GOD'S BEST!

"I will praise you Lord for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" Psalms 139:14

Anytime you feel like like a failure, or someone unworthy of love and attention, or a mistake, or a hot mess, or you just feel like a big dork (I often have those moments....lol) keep repeating this verse in your head, put in on a post-it note on your mirror or refrigerator....keep it forever on your lips....because you are wonderful, and God sees past all the mess and into your heart, and He calls you His child--He claims you as His!

And do you know what is just as amazing....when life does get messy...or you do mess up...God does amazing cleaning jobs. He can remove a stain better than Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers.....scarlet red to white as snow! SERIOUSLY!!!

the heart of a child

"we are to become like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven"

I am a single mom of two boys who are now 7 and 6 years old. My youngest child fears only two things: shots and splinters...other than that his slogan in life is "its go time baby!" Of course he is usually saying this to battle someone in a duel..."fighting is my talent" he says...but I would like to just apply it to life in general. My oldest is a lover. (yes, I have the lover and the fighter) He is a friend to all, a parent figure to anyone younger than he is, and someone who truly finds joy out of life while he spends much time laughing so deeply his dimples seem to almost pop!

Passion, strength, joy, perseverance, fearlessness, compassion, abundant positive energy, love, and the ability to dance at the drop of a hat no matter what seems to be going on at the time; these are characteristics I see daily in my children....characteristics that I pray take root in my life on deeper levels than ever before....

sweeping

"My favorite definition of romance is that it is 'love in action'"
Gregory J.P. Godek

Do you believe in fairy tales and being swept off your feet by Prince Charming? Is there really a "Mr. Right" out there that will romance you and make you feel like a queen? Or do you believe that it really is just in the movies?

I was reading the book Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul today, and the above quote is on the back cover; it could not have come to me at a more perfect time. I believe that if you care about someone or love someone deeply, then you show effort and thoughtfulness not only to win their heart, but to keep it as well. Sweeping someone off their feet requires action. Sweeping is an action, although when doing it for housework it is not all that fun....but when creatively showing your affection towards someone you love, showing them they are worth the effort and attention of your heart....now that can be a lot of fun!

I am a 32 year old divorced, single mom...so I very much understand the realities of life/love/dating/marriage/ect....but I am also still very much a romantic at heart and I believe for the impossible!

After reading a few stories from this book filled with true love stories, not ones hand written by people just trying to make a blockbuster hit....it showed me that real fairy tales do exist...they were funny, refreshing, heart-warming, and full of romance. I believe that action is the key to keeping a relationship/marriage alive. Action comes in many forms. Talking/communicating is an action! Physical expressions of love = action...very fun, rewarding, and even good for your health for a few reasons type of action! In a movie I just went to see called "Leap Year", an old Irish man said something like "Every time you kiss your wife...kiss her like it is the first time and like it will be the last time...that is what keeps the marriage alive!" I love this quote! I am all about the passion and fire staying hot in a marriage! :)

But it is the small thoughtful things that are very important to me...those sweet,surprising,random, romantic acts that make you smile, cry (joyfully), laugh, and love deeper than you already do. Here is where I would like to insert some suggestions...but this is where you take the effort to think of the one you love and dig a little deeper....

Rekindle the romance...make sweeping fun!

Everyday Heart

I like using iHearts on Facebook....I like sharing the love....lol...I don't get into the games like Farmville; mainly because I am already a very competitive person and love to win...so I don't need to get hooked on some computer game and spend all my time on it just so I can try to beat everyone. But I do like using the iHearts, bumper stickers, flair, and growing gifts; hint, hint if anyone wants to send me a gift. :)

The other day, I saw this new iHeart called an "everyday heart" and I thought it was cute so I sent it out to a few friends. Now I was just laying in bed thinking about the everyday heart....

We talk about how important God is in our lives....we praise Him while on the mountain top....we seek Him in the valley....but what about our everyday heart? Is it caught up in the mundane day to day reality that keeps our focus elsewhere or is it hungry for more of Him?

define yourself

I know I make a lot of comments about how I have been alone for a long time....but it is when God is all you have...you truly find that He is all that you need.
This concept I did not fully grasp until this last year or so.....unfortunately I spent too much time the last six years after my divorce trying to understand what is wrong with me and why am I alone....I have spent most of my life dealing with the straining battle of insecurity.
I was never good enough....
But by whose standards?
How do you define yourself?
Is it by the highly impossible to reach standards of the world? (certain size, right color...this can refer to hair as well..gotta love the blonde jokes..lol...biggest bank account, if you are married or divorced, career, ect.)
Is it by the qualifications that past boyfriends/girlfriends or out of reach men/women put on you?
Is it by the hopes and dreams that you strive for, yet fail to reach daily...leaving you constantly feeling in a pit of emptiness?
Do you take any negative comment that comes your way as your manual that defines the very depths of who you are?
If any or all of these are true; or if you are constantly attacked by any other form of self-criticism that rips apart your life and leads it down a dark road of destruction....which is exactly what insecurity can do; then I would like to show you the only standard that you should use to define yourself. And you can cast all the other deceiving/degrading self checklists back into the pit of hell from which they came! Those lies that are being whispered in your mind that you will never amount to anything, that you are useless, or unworthy, or a mistake, or unlovable....those lies come from hell and to hell they need to be delivered back--by use of express packaging! And the following are some labels that you can paste on the package sent to the master of deception to show him you no longer believe his line of lies:

• "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" John 1:12
• "I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-15
• "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" Philip 1:5-7
• "So God created man in His own image" Gen. 1:26
• "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Colossians 1:12-13
• "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinth. 12:9
• "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1

These are promises printed in the word of God....and it is for you..yes you! I don't care who you are, or what you are going through, or how you feel about yourself right now.....stop believing the lies and hear the truth--the only truth that you should use to define who you are!

These words from a God who created you state: that He made you in His image (which equals awesome), will continue to develop Godly character in you and never give up on you, that you are a saint and an heir to a throne (one that sure beats all earthly thrones put together and then some), and that it is OK when you are weak because He is powerful and He is in you, and that you are wonderful!

So whenever you are questioning who you are....read the words of the one who loves you enough to die for you, cares for you enough to take all your burdens on Himself, and sees the very depths of your heart even at its ugliest moments, yet still calls you His beloved child. These are truths to hold onto even in your darkest hours....which because I have suffered years of doubting who I am in Christ; I know all about those life-threatening pits of insecurity, and I will do all I can to reach out to you and pull you from that pit and set you on the solid rock of Christ.

I have learned not to seek after my value in worldly things, or in a man, or in other relationships. It has been a long journey out of my pit, but from where I stand now...I see a beautiful sight...even in my own reflection....because I see Christ in me.

Find your completion in Christ alone.

Whenever those negative thoughts began to crowd my mind and choke the hope of a life that God has called me to live, the following songs have always helped lift me back up to higher ground:

You're the One" by a collage friend of mine Devin Williams on his album Pour it Out (you can find it on itunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pour-it-out/id302129791, rhapsody, amazon, cdbaby, and reverbnation) The whole album is defiantly worth it; I play it all the time, and I am so thankful for his heart and ministry. But this song is my favorite and speaks to my heart every time I listen to it. It reminds me that it is Christ who completes me, and He is all I need...and it is not about what I want but about His will for my life.

Also "You are For Me" by Kari Jobe http://my.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZPersonalizer.woa/wa/viewCMA?id=303754179

And "Wallflower" by Laura Woodley (which I apologize I cannot seem to find it anywhere...if anyone knows where to find it; please post a comment. Thanks)

These songs really encourage me when I am feeling unworthy I hope they uplift you as well....just remember to find your confidence in Christ and smile...

Joy

Though the sorrow may last

for the night...

JOY comes in the morning!

Last night I went to bed deep in prayer for many of my loved ones who are dealing with sorrows of many sorts, and it built up a righteous anger in me and made me want to kick the teeth in of the Devil....if you are tired of the attack on families please join me in prayer.

One of the best things about me being alone this last six years (wow....yeah I'm actually saying there was good to come of it...I know my close friends will be shocked, but I am so thankful for what God has done in my life these last 6 years and would not change it) was that whenever I began to feel lonely; God placed in me a pleading prayer life for marriages. Instead of whining about being alone...I would put all my passion into praying for God to strengthen marriages and families, and for God to be put back into the center of homes again. For husbands to rise up and be the strong men of God he is calling them to be. And for wives to grow in their confidence in who they are in God, and allow Him to daily develop a Proverbs 31 woman in them; building Godly character in them so that their husband and children will rise up and call them blessed. For children, even young ones, to find such a deep desire to serve Christ, and to fall deeply in love with Him that nothing in this wicked world will compare to that relationship with their Heavenly Father. Then a true generation of warriors for Christ will rise up in our schools and many will follow.

I pray for passion to reenter marriages; a deep selfless desire to grow truly into one spirit....to become one as the word says...in every area of a marriage. I pray for communication barriers to be broken and for the impossible to be done in marriages and families. I want to hear testimonies about the marriages of those I love becoming the new standard of Godly marriages- that many others come to them to find out what makes their marriages work and so filled with passion, confidence, joy, peace, and love. The answer--God is in the center again!

I am so thankful that joy can come again to the lives of those I love deeply. Because it is promiced in His word. There is only one place to find this joy we seek after....at the feet of the One who believes in us, and who created the family, and whose heart is also pleading at the feet of His Father on our behalf.

I pray that your home is filled with laughter, dancing, peace, strength, wisdom, love, and joy in the powerful name of Jesus.

If you are hurting...if your pillow was covered with tears last night....please know there is a Savior, a friend, who cares and hears your pain crying out from the depths of your heart. He is there even when you feel so distant. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And if you can just let go of all that you are tightly holding onto (and I am saying this to myself as well) worries, doubt, fears, anxiety, your desires, your pain, and your problems.....

let it go...give it to God and your JOY will come in the morning!

Just Float

OK...so Disney Channel is on all the time when you have two young kids, and we were just watching The Suite Life on Deck when I heard that Zack was talking to a girl who is a professional swimmer training for the Olympics. She was talking about how she is always training and working hard; she never gets a break.

He told her sometimes you need to stop swimming and just float.

Doesn't our Heavenly Father say the same thing to us?

"Be still and know that I am God" Ps. 46:10

In the mist of our chaos we need to remember to take more time to worship and praise the very one who gives us breath for each day and the strength to get through them. Believe me....as a single mom of two small boys...I know how busy life can get! I feel like it never stops spinning! But then I have those moments that remind me to stop, breathe, and smile.

I was just going over the to do list in my mind, while checking my facebook, and finishing up homework, when the boys began dancing to some commercial (again on Disney); it was so adorably funny that it brought such a huge smile to my face. Which of course made them dance even harder. They were excited to be noticed by someone they love, that they put on a great show and enjoyed the joy on my face. God does the same for His children.....

When we take the time to show our love to Him, He cherishes every moment. When we praise Him even more from the depths of our hearts, when we dance in His presence, when we smile at the beauty of His work that surrounds us, when we laugh with our loved ones, when we take the time to give to others and share the love of Christ....all these things bring joy to His heart. But all these things take us learning to relax in His presence in order to seek out the things that matter most.....

This year try to put aside the to do list more often....be still....and focus on what matters most--your relationship with Jesus Christ.....
Hey, then He promises if you seek Him first and His righteousness.....then all else falls into place anyways....