Lifting It Up and Letting It Go

Philippians 4:6-7 says that I shouldn't hold on to these things that are bringing me fear and discomfort. I shouldn't hold on to them and cling to them like a dirty security blanket. I need to lift them up to Him, while thanking Him for the blessings and answered prayers I've been given already. I need to keep my mind set on His strength, not mine.

There is no greater spiritual comfort than the confidence that God is near, not only to hear my cry for help but also that He is able to provide help and strength. He wants us to rest in His true peace.

I'm finding more desire and need to spend time in what I call "air mail". Tying these things bogging me down to big balloons and letting them go up to Him. 

Corrie Ten Boom put it this way: “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.”

Are you needing rest? Look to Him and send your fears and frets His way, rest in His peace and comfort and focus on His will. Have a blessed and beautiful day!

I Won Something!

I don't win things. I just don't. I've never been the "lucky name drawn" or the one who gets the door prizes. That's why I never play lottery! ;)
I entered a giveaway recently on the beautiful Rebecca's blog- The Plus Side of Me - and I won! I actually won! Prize? A beautiful (and expensive!) blouse of my choice from the Foxcroft Collection.
I've never ordered from them before (not in a single-mom-with-no-income-budget) so I was unsure what size to choose. Apparently, I could have gone ahead with a 20. I ordered 22 concerned about it being fitted and button-up but... well, you'll see.
The shirt is ridiculously comfortable and soft. I'd sleep in it if it wasn't an $80 dollar shirt. (I'm just sayin' this might be the most expensive piece of fabric I've ever worn besides my wedding dresses so if you see me out in this don't you dare come spill anything near me!!!)
I'm short, so the 3/4 sleeves pass as long sleeves on me but I dig it.
Thank you so much Rebecca for having the giveaway! <3

Five MORE Blogs I'm Following... And Why You Should, Too!

In an earlier post I linked to five blogs I'm following and enjoy reading and told you why I thought you should check them out as well. This would be part two to that post. ;)
You can see the first post here.

1. My Weight Loss Bucket List - I just found Jen's blog a few days ago and I love her honesty and positive attitude! If you are struggling with weight problems or trying to lose weight also, she's definitely got a simple, straightforward and honest way of writing you can relate to.
2. Daily Musings - Another one I just found in the last couple days. Carrie's post today (3 Questions to Move Us Out of the Drive-Thru Church) hit me good and hard in my heart. Really needed that. Have browsed through a few posts and this is definitely great reading for any Christian woman!
3. Hope in the Healing - Still, yet another I just found. So much inspiration, I couldn't EVEN begin to describe so just, seriously, go look. 
4. The Plus Side of Me - Rebecca kinda rocks. Not just because I won a giveaway on her blog the other day, either (even though I'm totally stoked about that and will probably be sharing a pic tomorrow of my new prized possession, ya know, when I feel like putting some makeup on!). Plus size gal? Yep, you'll probably love her posts. She's beautiful and rocks plus size fashion!
5. Embracing Him - Yep, another I just discovered! Actually spotted Andrea on twitter first when I (oops!) missed what was going to be my first twitter chat experience with Christian Mommy Blogger and decided to check out the tweets I'd missed. Embracing Him is an AWESOME blog and resource for Christian women and moms. 

Thanks for taking the time to check these super ladies' blogs out. ;)  I really enjoy their work and I hope you do, too!

This post shared at Fellowship Fridays!

Inspiring Individuals - Mike Ratliff

Y'all just know my eyes are crying but my heart is smiling as I type this post.
This dude right here, Mike Ratliff, he's got a calling on his life.
God's gonna use him for a really cool purpose, I can just feel it.

Let me tell y'all how I met Mike. He's Michael to me. I called him "the real Slim Shady" when we were kids but that's not who he is. He was part of a group of guys I started running with as a teenager when I was taking my own "turn in the wrong direction". I always knew he was different from some of the other "guys runnin' the street" and saw his heart. Now, he sees it and is sharing it with the world.

He's been there. He's come through drugs, alcohol, prison... where you think nobody understands or could reach... he's been there. He's faced those adversities and is overcoming them. He's got a message. It's already starting to touch lives. His messages are able to relate to and touch the people who refuse to listen to ministers, who refuse to walk into churches.

Here is his most recent (and most personal) video. I know this one was hard for him but it's the most real thing I've seen in a while.




You can see his other videos on his youtube channel, BleedOutT.v.
\SNAKES IN THE GRASS and Frog Named Fred are my other favorites.
You can also follow his facebook page for Bleed Out T.V.

I Need To Play The Background

I really need to take a step back here and consider my purpose and the purpose of this blog. I had the right idea a few weeks ago but I'm finding it easy to slip and try to simply emulate trends and other bloggers to boost traffic and that's not my goal. Just shows how quickly things can get off track if you ain't watchin' your step. I don't wanna totally lose my footing I'm establishing here so I'm having to spend some time in prayer over where I need to go with this blog and what my purpose is.

I realized today that my addictive personality can be dangerous even to this day. I promised I'd be delivering posts to you "squarely" and to me, that means being totally candid and including everything even if I don't wanna and being totally authentic, not leaving anything out. I gotta be real and admit that over the course of a week, combing through other blogs, reading articles on SEO, traffic analyzing and promotion have cut hard into my prayer and devotion time.

That's not gonna work. How am I going to keep my life and this blog heading in the right direction if I ain't letting God guide me?

Hit me hard this morning when I was trying to work out and LeCrae's song Background was playing. Here's some of the lyrics:

"It's evident You run the show, so let me back down. You take the leading role, and I'll play the background. I know I miss my cues, know I forget my lines. I'm sticking to Your script, and I'm reading all Your signs. I don't need my name in lights. I don't need a starring role.And why gain the whole wide world, if I'm just gon' lose my soul."
"So let me fall back and stop giving my suggestions. Cause when I follow my obsessions I end up confessing that I'm not that impressive, matter of fact I'm who I are. A trail of star dust leading to the Superstar."
"So I don't want to take the lead. Cause I'm prone to make mistakes. All these folks that follow me gon' end up in the wrong place. So, just let me shadow You, and just let me trace Your lines. Matter of fact just take my pen. Here, You create my rhymes. Cause if I do this by myself I'm scared that I'll succeed. And no longer trust in You, cause I only trust in me. And see, that's how you end up headed to destruction. Paving a road to nowhere. Pour your life out for nothing. You pulled my card, I'm bluffing, You know what's in my hand. Me, I just roll to trust You, You cause the dice to land. I'm in control of nothing. Follow You at any cost. Some call it sovereign will, all I know is You the boss."

I guess you could consider this a continuance to "Transparent Tuesday". I'll call it "What's Real Wednesday". ;)

Transparent Tuesday 2/4/14 Lazy Day

There is a new trend popping up on social media that makes me nervous and makes me smile at the same time.
#transparenttuesday

Admit it. You're not going to post pictures of yourself that don't show you looking just the way you want or pictures of your house untidy on a regular basis. We want people to see a certain image. We've all done it. Shared the adorable picture of our kid with an icecream cone but left out where it ended up in your floorboard making your car smell like spoiled milk for months. We've shared pictures of our cute nail designs but left out the picture of them bare and possibly bitten or snagged.

Enter Transparent Tuesday. Where what you see is what you get. No filters, no lies, no frills. It's you being you, squarely for what you are. Fits perfect with the name of my blog, so ofcourse I have to jump on this wagon. I'm not brave enough to do this every single Tuesday. There's my first transparency. I'm going to plan on doing this maybe the first Tuesday of every month.

So here I am in all my bedhead glory as I lay on my bed with my laptop typing this. No makeup, no filters, no hairbrush, not even a real smile because I'm not gonna be fake about it. I'm not sad but I'm not all grins today either.

It's almost time to get my kid off the bus and I'm still in jammie pants. Eeyore jammie pants at that. They are almost a decade old and are insanely baggy on me now but I just can't part with them.

Those are my wigs, just slung on the over-the-door hooks. I had great plans to shampoo them and my makeup brushes yesterday but it just didn't happen.

I snagged two of my nails last night. Tried to just file them down a little but ended up making a mess of them. This is even more nerve-wrecking to post because of my weird little pinky.



So there. It's a rainy day, I slept in, I've fixed lunch for my mom and I and typed this. That's it. No excuses, no regrets, either.

I challenge you to do the same! Let me know if you get brave and blog a Transparent Tuesday, post on FB or Tweet your day.

I joined a linky party here.

Start Here

"With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere." – C.S. Lewis

True that, yo. Seriously, from the beginning of time (note: beginning.) everything has had to have a beginning. Some beginnings didn't have good endings. Some beginnings had torturous journeys through but a fabulous ending. Still, some beginnings are still beginning!

What are you feeling called to begin? A journey, a good habit, lay down a bad habit, start a business, start a ministry, a friendship, a relationship, a book, a project, a to-do list ten pages long or a pile of laundry rivaling Mt. Everest? 

Deposit the why-you-can't-right-now's here. Drop them slowly and walk away.

Pick up the why-you-can-right now's here. Okay, now hold tight. You're not alone.

*breathe*

Don't you dare let those "can'ts" come back.

Wash, rinse and repeat process daily, hourly, or minute by minute if necessary.