EEEeeeeeeepppppp!!!!!
Vintage Wanna Bee is having a huge... i mean HUGEEE giveway!!
She reached 1,500 followers!! Thats So exciting!!! I am not even sure
how I would handle that many people actually following and reading what I had to say haha =]
Well, for those who do read.. Go on over to her page and enter the giveaway!!!
http://www.vwbblog.com/2011/12/1500-follower-giveaway-100-shop-credit.html
Well, I found a new person to follow on her blog!! It is Bella Before and After...
http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com/
that is the link to her blog! she is having a HUGEEEEE ..... let me say that again...
SHE IS HAVING A GIGANTIC giveaway!!! you HAVE to go check her out and add her blog! Its looking fabulous!!! and i am really hoping to win!!
You need to check out this blogger & her awesome giveaway!!! Go on over ... just follow the link!!
http://www.littlemissmomma.com/
Also .. check out the website from the previous post and look at The Little Knit Lovey.. she is on Etsy too... SO cute!
http://agapelovedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/07/500-follower-celebration-little-knit.html?showComment=1311660065893#c175039082800420677
If you want to find some super cute stuff.. and some greats ideas then you HAVE to head over to
this blog... the link is below. GO .. now =]
http://agapelovedesigns.blogspot.com.
As we grow up we always have these ideas of what we want from life and what we want to do in life. Some people call them goals. I have definitely set a lot of goals in my life and as I am getting older I am realizing that not only are these goals in my life but they are my "hearts desire". Because of my relationship with the Lord I know these desires that he has places in my life are also the callings in my life.
When I was younger I had a burden on my heart for missions, or at that point I thought it was missions. I was given the opportunity to take several missions trips over the years, and I always had an amazing time and met wonderful people and my life was blessed by the trip. But looking back on those trips I remember the faces of kids.. the little boys & girls that I would meet. I remember how my heart would almost jump out of my chest when we had the chance to work with them and help them.
Several years later I found myself in a position that I had not been in before & need a job fast. The church I was attending gave me a position as an intern for the summer. I was placed in the children's ministry department and was SO upset. I did not want to work with the small children. I wanted to work with the youth. I really had no choice at this point and I needed the job. The church had recently hired a new Children's Minister. I was working under her for the summer and was just not sure I would be able to handle all the little children and VBS & Children's camp...ect. Little did I know that this summer would change my life.
Fast forward.... I thought after that summer that I would want to be a Children's Minister ( & to be quite honest there is still a pull in my heart for that) but the woman that I worked with really encouraged me to seek a route that had something to do with children. She gave me a few suggestions on the ways I could go. It only made since that because I had several teachers in my family that I go to school to be a teacher. Sitting here now I can vividly remember sitting with advisor during my college years telling her that I DID NOT want to be a teacher that I was going to school to get a degree but I wanted to work in ministry. I didn't realize that I was so busy planning my life that I was missing out on the '"desires that God had really placed in my heart.
I am slowly buy surely realizing that everything that has happened in my life is leading me to where I am now and God has placed these strong desires in my heart to be who He created me to be.
God has placed a huge desire in my heart to be a teacher. I now see that the mission trips where my heart was bursting for those kids and the fact that God placed me in children's ministry and I ended up with a degree in teaching was all part of the plan. I have had the opportunity to work in a school for the past two years as part of their Title One team working on reading, writing and spelling. Although young kids can be a lot of work I was excited everyday to get to see them and work with them. I am constantly online looking for new ideas that I can use in my own classroom. I am trying my best to be patient as I wait for God to open the right door for me and providing me with my own classroom. This is something I struggle with because it's hard to be patient and wait. There are times I feel like I am being looked over for jobs that I apply for and i just have to keep reminding myself that there is a perfect place for me and God will open the right door for me when it is the right time.
I am thankful for all the things that the Lord has allowed me to do in my lifetime. I guess that I am becoming nostalgic as I am approaching my 25th birthday. I am realizing that things didn't just happen... I was allowed to be where I have been and do what I have done, and I am thankful.
If you are looking for some cute things for summer you need to check out this!!!
http://agapelovedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/06/vibrant-ring-giveaway-discount-code.html
Go head on over and look at all the cute things she has!!!
Do you sometimes feel lost... Maybe you have come to the Father and drank from the cup of everlasting life. But maybe there is still a hole or an emptiness that you can just not seem to fill. In a blog I read today they talked about how even when we know the father there is sometimes still an uncomfortable emptiness in us that we can not seem to shake.
We face a lot of situations in life where things don't always turn out like we planned, and we run into failure more than we care to admit. When we hit that wall we can lose confidence and joy and start to drudge up all the things in the past that make us feel even worse. So we find something to help u fill that void and we end up feeling worse than when we started.
In the blog I read today they said this, " Luke 19:10 says that He came to seek and save that which was lost. Not Only is He out to save souls, He's out to restore Joy, Peace, Confidence and strength. He's on a rescue mission for your relationships, broken dreams and missed opportunities. He wants to save your health, your finances and totally renew every area of your life!"
That really spoke to my hear. If you know me or you know Jon... we have really been seeking the Lords will to figure out where and what the Lord wants from us in order to follow him better. We both know we have a huge calling on our lives and we seem to keep getting out feet stuck in the mud. And when we get stuck all the mistakes that have taken place seem to brought back to the surface so we can say things like,.... "What if?.... If I had only.....If we had to do over again.... and when all is said and done we feel worse than when we started.
Like I have said before, I know that God has placed something big in my life and I have been found guilty of sitting idly by waiting for the Lord to hand something over to me on a platter saying, "Here you go Whitney, I will whatever you want, and you don't have to do a thing." In all reality God is calling me to get up and go... He is calling me to stop and listen with my heart to what he is really telling me to do.
they gave an example in the blog I was reading about when you go hiking and you find outselfs lost that the number one advice is to Stop. Sit still,eat a snack and catch your breath. The same things is true for our spiritual lives. "That's why scripture says to be still and know that He is God. When you are still, it's a whole lost easier to be rescued than when you are running! We have to stop and feed on His word which grounds us, nourished us and directs our paths."
If you are like me, then you know how hard it is to sit still and just wait when you feel like you HAVE to be going to find what you are suppose to be doing. I struggle with being patient and listing to His 'still small voice' .... who has that perfect answer for me. God wants so much more than I could ever begin to believe of dream of. He wants us to soar in life. I will leave you with this thought.
"God wants you to fly. He wants you to Fly free of yesterday's guilt. He wants you to fly free of today's fears. He wants you to fly free of tomorrow's grave. Sin, fear, and death. These are the mountains he has moved. These are the prayers He will answer." - Max Lucado
It's been a while since I had posted anything and I thought that maybe it would be a good time to start posting again. (And This post is on the longs side.. but i promise if you are stuck in a rut of having a blues you will want to hear what I read about!! )
There have been so many things going on in my life and I feel like I have not had a minute to stop and catch my breath. Maybe this is a good thing, maybe not. I am also the person who thrives on going going going.. and i hate to admit it.. but I do enjoy a little .. ok maybe more than a little... stress. I seem to do my best work when its down to the wire.. or when I am feeling a little stressed out. Which seems crazy because... if you ask my boyfriend he will tell you that I LOVE to plan things... So I don't really understand what going on in my head sometimes. If I love to plan and get all the details ironed out how can there be stress left to deal with??? I am not sure what happens between the planning and then the last minute stress of life.. but I find myself there a lot.. and I hate to say... I seem to enjoy it.
The title of this post is fight the blues... and I know so far I have not written anything to do with that title.. so here it goes---> Like I said since ... well April I have been gone or busy EVERY weekend. I have been to four weddings, I am leaving this week for another one. We have dealt with the loss of two of our family members and I have been frantically looking for a full time job for this coming school year. In case you are reading this and you don't know who I am.... I am a teacher, and for the past two years I have been working part time in a wonderful school that I would love to have my own classroom. but It just so happens that they don't need teachers where I live. In fact , like many other places we are having to lay off teachers. So this has added to the business of my life....
Now you may be asking ... I thought you were going to talk about something else... like 'fighting off the blues' .... I promise I am getting to that.
What you also may not know about me is that I am madly in love with a wonderful man who I have been with for a little over 4 and a 1/2 years. But for the past 2 years.. maybe a little more we have been living 10 hours apart from each other. And now, I find myself waking up... and having to pull myself out of bed. I don't want to put my feet on the floor and face the day. I will do whatever I can to avoid seeing the day light. (that does not work to well because the sun shines in my window every morning) Lately I have realized that I truly may have a case of the 'blues'. I know you may be thinking well everyone goes through that... where they just have some off days or down days.... and yes... we do all go though that. but I have begun to realize that these few 'bad' days have turned into a few 'bad weeks' and that other people are really starting to notice that something is up. So today was I searching the internet looking for some online devotionals that could be sent to my email that I could read when I am on the go... Because I enjoy the thoughts from others and a lot of the time they see things in a different light. I just so happened to come across a daily devo talking about fighting the blues.
The writer talked about a great example of someone who had a lot of experience about shaking off the negative emotions. "He had to fight being moody, and he was the King of Israel. He had all kinds of opportunity, power and position. He was wealthy, and yet, he still struggled with being depressed and discouraged. That tells me that having to choose to rule over negative feelings is something every person has to deal with."
In Psalms 42, David started talking to himself when he felt this way... He said, "Why are you cast down, oh, my soul? Hope in the Lord."He was saying in everyday language, "David, what are you doing in a bad mood? Stop looking at your problems and start looking at your God." That tells me that true joy is found only in God, when you take your eyes off of how you feel and your circumstances and place them on God and His Word.
I am learning that the best thing I can do when I start to feel this way is to start talking to myself... Start quoting scripture over my life. When I wake up and all I want to do is be in a bad mood, I need to take a step back from 'me' and take a good look in the mirror and tell myself... 'Get your Joy back, Get your peace back. I am not going to live this life defeated!" And a important thing to remember is that we cannot wait until we are days or weeks into our 'grey skies' ... the minute things start going down hill - Stop it! Tell yourself your not going there... The Lord has given you this day!
The writer in this Devotional says, "Do you know being in a sour mood because of your problems doesn't make it better, it makes it worse? It puts more pressure on you. It makes you more miserable. A better approach is to say, "God, I'm turning this situation over to You. I'm not going to let it steal my joy. I know You're in control. And at the right time, I believe You'll not only turn it around, but You'll bring me out better off than I was before." Reading that lets me understand that God didn't create another amazing day just so that I can be upset or down... He wants us to be joyful, and be excited for another day!
Finally, There are people and times in our own lives that we may have cause or reason for a bad day... or to being down and discouraged. But pushing through those days and remember what the Lord has in store for us and our lives and how much he loves us is the BEST way to show God we are trusting him.
He closes by saying this... "Decide not to live by how you feel. Go deeper than that and start living by what you know. You know God is in control. You know He's got a great plan for your life. You know His power is greater than any other power"
So, my challenge to you... and to myself is when life seems to be swirling around us and there does not seem to be a single day where we can just sit and relax. And there seems to be a problem around every corner and stress is creeping up at your door step... and you find yourself (and myself) not wanting to step foot out of bed or wanting to face the world.... Stop, Remember how Great our God is.. and that he is in control. Tell yourself... Get your Joy back, Get your peace back and stop looking at your problems and start looking at your God!
Thank you Jesus for the unexpected blessing you place in my life. You knew what I needed and exactly when I needed it!
“Anyone who is having troubles should pray.” James 5:13
Have you taken your disappointments to God? You’ve shared them with your neighbor, your relatives, your friends. But have you taken them to God?
Before you go anywhere else with your disappointments, go to God.
I can get overwhelmed with the problems in my life, can't we all? And I have found that I have been so quick these last few months to run and talk to friends & my parents, my boyfriend about whats going wrong and how I feel like God has forgotten me. But as I took a step back tonight & realized that through all of these problems or disappointments I have been going through... I haven't taken them to God.
I keep thinking in my head Why this.. or Why that... and Maybe it's because I have not taken my pain & disappointments to God.
Today and from now on... I am making a promise, if only to myself, that I will go to God before I go to everyone else. God knew me before I was born, and knew what would happen in my life, the pain and happiness I would and will experience. He waits for me with open arms.
I have been visiting SO many new sites & blogs & etsy shops!! I found a shop today that I really like! She makes the cutest little toys for kiddos, and I found a Green & Pink Pinafore that I REALLY want to but when I have a little girl!!
The photo of the dress is too big, but here is a link to the dress!! you need to check her out & al her cute things. I also love the little owls.. they say.. Owl Love you Forever!!!!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57459187/pink-and-green-owl-pinafore-3-6-months
(thats the link)
Have fun =]
