New Year's Resolutions

Are you one of those people who starts the year out all fired up, hoping to loose weight,  have new workout regimes, diets, new jobs, not complaining so much, keep a clean house, making fun lunches for your kids to take to school, getting help for your marriage or your relationships, going to church all the time, etc, etc?

I think many of us do that. I'm no stranger to resolutions. I like resolutions. They always spur me on to make myself a better person when I lose sight of who I am during the busyness of each year.

It's so easy to lose sight of who we are and we forget to take care of ourselves the way we need to during the craziness of life. I mean, we're wives, mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, employees, teachers, doctors, nurses, public servants, stay at home moms, babysitters, cooks, cleaners, maids, and everything else in between. Life has a way of sweeping us up and carring us along without much for us to grasp onto and stabilize us. If we don't have a firm anchor in what we believe, Who we believe in and what we will do with those beliefs, then it can often feel like life is out of control. After the first couple of weeks in the New Year and the excitement of our new resolution wears off, what do we have to hold onto? Will we have the stamina and self discipline to keep at it even when we don't feel like it or feel too tired or lazy to continue on?

Sometimes life feels a bit like we got swept up into a tornado. Everything is whirling around us, yet there is nothing solid to grasp hold of and things just keep slipping by without us being able to hold onto them. I know I feel half nuts by the end of the year. It's Christmas break and my kids are home for two weeks and, right now, the two weeks break is almost over, and it can't be over soon enough. I can't wait for those little tiny tots to be back at school.

Go ahead, judge me...lol. But for real, I'm being downright honest here. I mean, I think if you got real too, you might realize how much you want a quiet house again and not so much mess all the time. Getting into a schedule and having things back the way they are for 40% of the year sounds pretty good to me. Doesn't it to you? I'm sure in a few days when they're back at school, I'm going to miss their cute faces and their sticky fingers, but right now? I just want the stickiness gone and my house to be quiet and free of dirt and toys and stuff everywhere.

But, back to resolutions! I am not sure I am going to resolve to do anything crazy, like lose weight or join a gym, or make fun lunches for my kids in 2017. I always have these grand ideas and plans and hopes and dreams, but in all reality, I end up just twirling around in the blender of life and end up a bit disappointed at the end of the year, knowing that half, or even more than half, of my resolutions went down the drain.

I think my "New Year's Resolution" is going to be to resolve to do things I know I can do, like being kind to everyone I meet. I'm going to try to be more supportive of my husband, my children and my friends. I am going to integrate and participate more in our church. I'm going to greet my kids with a smile every morning and be fine with feeding them cheerios for breakfast. I am going to be ok with who I am and the body that I was given. I am going to think positive. I am going to be thankful for the beauty that God has given me in my family, my husband and my house, and everything else too.

But the main resolution that we need to make and hold onto, despite being tired, discouraged, depressed, sad, frustrated, angry, busy, distracted or whatever else life throws at us is our relationship with God. He is our solid foundation. I saw a quote today that is quite common, but it stuck with me unlike other times. It said, "Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom, because it is the rock bottom that we hit that becomes our solid foundation." Hitting rock bottom sounds so low, so sad, so....far....down. But what happens when a house is built? They dig down and make a flat surface. They anchor the house to a rock solid foundation. Without that rock (concrete), the house would never stand. It would just be propped up and when the winds and rains came, it would blow down into shambles. In life, our foundation is Jesus. He is our Rock. He is the One who stabilizes us, who holds us together despite our failures. He is the One who allows us to reach rock bottom so we can discover who holds it all together. So, the biggest part of my New Year's resolution is to focus on my relationship with God and growing in Him every single day. He will be my anchor. He will be my song. He will be my strength. He will be my foundation.

Another thing I am going to work on is being happy. Happiness is a choice. It's something we create inside ourselves. We choose to be happy in life. It's like a kid at Christmas and he gets a fun toy; he could choose to be really excited and jump up and down, or he could choose to say, "I don't like this...this isn't what I wanted." Sometimes life doesn't dish out what we want. Sometimes life dishes out some really sour lemons and salty pickles, but we can choose to make some yummy lemonade with those lemons and make some scrumptious hamburgers with those pickles. Or we could choose to sit sadly, staring at the lemons and pickles, wondering why life keeps handing the yucky stuff to us.

The choice is yours. The choice is mine.

We choose every single day to think positively or negatively. We choose our reactions. We choose our actions. We choose, choose, choose.

What will your choice be this coming year?

Resolve something and stick with it. Don't over complicate things. Don't stress over failures. Don't worry about the things that you mess up. Life is full of mess-ups, clean-ups and pick-ups. We have to just brush ourselves off, learn from our mistakes and keep going.

In this day and age, it seems that perfection is called for everyone. There is no room for mistakes, but that is what is wrong with our society, in my opinion. We hold ourselves and others to impossible standards and then, when we fail, or others fail us, we fall flat on our faces and get all upset because of how things are going. Life is like a rollercoaster, going up and down and all around. Our hair gets a bit messed up, we squeal, we fear, we laugh, we cry, we shake, we scream, we throw our hands up in the air, we enjoy ourselves and then, we do it all over again.

Have a really wonderful, exciting, filled-with-joy New Year! Make 2017 a great, great year. Remember, happiness is a choice. Life can throw you a bunch of curveballs and craziness, but you can still choose to smile through it all.

Catching the Heat

Catching Heat was riveting, catchy, and made me want to read more. It kept me on my toes and kept my attention until the very end.

It was Christian based, but wasn't filled with a bunch of religious jargon. It would be enjoyable for Christian and non-Christian alike.

Full of romance, criminal justice and love, I enjoyed every moment of it. With all the twists and turns of the story, I couldn't guess what would happen next. Suspense, danger, commitment, fear and a heart to find justice, I found each character easy to get to know, love and want more from. It's a good thing this is a series, because I hope to read more. It's one of those books that you pick up in the evening and hope the little ones don't wake up for a while so you can get in as many chapters as possible.

Abby is easy to love, and you find yourself wanting her to stay out of danger, but yet willing her into the danger zone so she can find out what happened to her parents. Her love interest is full of twists and turns and you keep hoping he will keep her sane and on the right path, yet he has his own set of complicated issues.

I received a copy of Catching Heat for free in exchange for my honest review.

The Alignment of the Stars

Have you ever felt like your life is just not lining up? Like things just aren't going right? Like you'll never make it even half way up the hill called Life?

I think we've all had those moments, days, months and years. For some, it might have felt like your whole life you've been battling to just keep your head above water. I think it's been a years thing for me, personally. I mean, I have had it better than a lot of people in the world. I'm not complaining. I just know that I've faced some pretty big battles and there have been a lot of times I feel like things are just never, ever going to go right. So, sister, I'm coming along side you, saying, "You can do it! Don't give up."

But here's the point of this post. 

This morning, I was thinking about so many things. You know, if you have an ADD in your system, you might know what I'm talking about...my mind was going 90 miles per hour and suddenly I realized that the stars were aligning. I'm almost 30 years old and so far, in those years, I've not found my passion and purpose, besides being a mother. I'm not downplaying that purpose, by the way. But I'm talking about the things that God placed in my heart as Dream Seeds. Back when I was 15 years old, God spoke very clearly to me that Los Angeles was my home; that the people living there were my people. I was young, involved in a church that wouldn't accept my "hearing from God" and I had no clue how or when this would come to pass. (PS. I still don't know...) 

Then a few years ago, I got the itch to write a book. Books, actually. I have two books burning on my heart right now; one is the story of my life and the other is a relationship/marriage book. But who am I to write a book? Really? Me? What do I have to say that will help or encourage people? Sometimes, things just calls for obedience, and let God do the rest. 

Those are two very big things; a mission field amongst celebrities (that was the focus of the "Dream Seed" that God gave me) and then these books. It involves a lot. Here's just a few of those things.

To have a mission field in LA:

• Need to have a church that supports and backs us up
• Open hearts on where to live
• Money for the mission
• Moving so far away is hard
• Jobs
• Schools for the kids
• Safe area to live
• Hearts open to receive what God wants to share
• AND SO MUCH MORE..... the list really could go on for pages and pages, but I won't bore you.

To write a book:

• Time
• Lots and lots of prayer
• A publisher
• An audience
• Support from friends and family
• An open heart to hear what God wants to share
• Again, AND SO MUCH MORE....and again, the list could on for pages and pages. 

All this seems so nearly impossible on my own.

But then I realized, this morning, that things were lining up! Slowly, but surely. Nothing big has happened. There hasn't been some huge breakthrough. There are no plans to move to LA, there isn't a church that has come behind the vision yet, there isn't a publisher and only one book is half written in a very rough draft form. 

But, I was talking to someone the other day that goes to the church we go to and she was saying she heard that another family felt to go to LA at some point and that people were open to moving there someday to start a church. Their mission and heart? For the celebrities and of course other people out there. And, to top it off, my husband texted me yesterday to say that the company he works for has their sister company out in....yep, you guess it, Los Angeles. And guess what? They're hiring for my husband's position. It's a prayerful...very prayerful consideration. 

Then, as I was getting slightly discouraged about the whole book writing thing, I realized I am friends with a couple of authors who have been published. Maybe they could give me hints and tips on how to talk to publishers. 

See, the stars are aligning, as they say. Slowly. They're coming together. Little things come along to remind you that God's Dream Seeds never go to waste. They never fail to come to fruition. 

Has God given you a dream? Has He planted a Dream Seed in your heart? Do you feel like it's not everrrrrr going to come to fruition? Start looking at the signs. Start believing in His Word. Trust His plan. Trust His timing. His timing is perfect. His ways are so much higher than ours. 

Leave a comment on what God is doing in your life! Let me know what you think!

You are Enough

Being a Christian is hard. It's not an easy road to travel. It never has been and it never will be. It's not intended to be easy. It wasn't made for those of faint heart. 

But many are hurt by said Christians and they find themselves questioning who they are, who God is, and if there is even a reason to try to live for God. I've been one of those people before. I've been there. I know how it feels. It's a crushing, smothering, heavy, heavy weight. You question your purpose. You question how you got to where you're at. You question God. You question if you're saved, or if you ever were saved, or if you can even be saved. 

For the longest time, I thought asking God any questions was out of the picture. I was raised to believe that if I questioned God, I was questioning His Word and His plan for my life. I was raised to believe to never question God. Ever. I was raised to believe that if I left this particular church that I was automatically going to hell and could only raise my chances of going to heaven if I returned to the church, repented of my sins before the elders and the entire church. I was raised to believe that I had to question my salvation every single day and make sure that I was following God and the elders of this church explicitly (following God was following the elders, not God...to make that clear). Following God was difficult, because there was always this fear wrapping around my heart, wondering if I did something that God didn't approve of and wondering if His grace and forgiveness was enough for me. 

So once I left that atmosphere...a situation that still makes my heart ache from time to time...I started to learn that He is enough, and I am enough. Not that I can just go out and flippantly sin and take advantage of His grace and forgiveness, but there was a confidence in the fact that His grace and forgiveness exists for me. 

I've learned that it is ok to ask God hard questions. I've learned that it is ok to ask Him why? I've learned that it is ok to doubt His goodness and salvation sometimes. But I've also learned that when I do question, He always comes back with, "You're enough. You are who I created you to be. You are beautiful. You are lovely. You have My forgiveness and love." 

Finding that quiet confidence is something that many need so desperately, but haven't reached yet. I haven't even reached full confidence. There are days that my faith is so shaky and unstable that I wonder, once again, where I stand with God. It was just two nights ago I was sitting on my couch and something triggered inside my heart and I wondered if God cared, or was real, or loved me. Then I pulled my Bible out (well, I pulled up the Bible App on my phone...thank you to whoever designed that! Reading in the school line and at night when my heart is heavy, but I don't want to turn a light on and wake everyone up) and was reminded by Psalm 91 how He is my guide and my savior. 

Do you have doubts?

Do you wonder where you stand with God?

Do you wonder if it's even worth it to try to live for Him?

Do you wonder if He exists?

Do you question your salvation? 

Ask God the hard questions. There isn't anything that is too much, too big, too small, too hard, too bad for Him. 

You are enough. You are strong. You're beautiful. You belong to Him. You have a place in His kingdom. He cares about your questions. He cares about you struggles. He wants to hold you close. He wants to reassure your heart. He wants you to feel confident. He wants you to be sure of His love. He wants you to walk with head held high, despite what others have said to you, about you or over you. He wants you to have that quiet confidence, knowing that He has your back. He's got this. He's got you. He wants you to know that He IS worth living for. He wants you to know He is real. He wants to show you your purpose. He wants you to be sure of your purpose. He wants you to know that He came to earth, walked amongst us, struggled and battled through his own fears to help us conquer ours. He overcome death so we could someday live with Him. He overcome so we could be overcomer's too. 

Christmas Kindness

Holly and berries. Eggnog with nutmeg. Christmas music. Decorated trees. Presents under the tree. Amazon boxes arriving at the door. Children's laughter and giggles. Games. Family. Fun. Food and Christmas movies!

That is what the holiday season is filled with for many. There are traditions and things people do every year. Some people are more random. Each have their own, special thing that they do, in hopes of making some fun memories for themselves and their families. 

Some do the "Elf on the Shelf," some just listen to Michael Buble's Christmas channel on Pandora. Some bake tons of cookies and decorate them with their kids. Some travel across the world for festivities and fun. Some stay home and work hard up until the very minute Christmas dinner is being served. Some miss dinner with their families because of work. Some struggle through Christmas and for some, Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year. 

But what is the real "reason for the season?" 

Jesus. He was born in a manger, grew up in a regular household with regular parents and went on to being Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, our Savior. Our hope. Our help. 

Our family likes to sit around the tree with the lights shimmering and the ornaments glowing while we discuss the story of Jesus. 

Luke 2: 1-20 (The Message)

About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,

Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!

I think something that always gets me, as a mother, is that so often my kids think of Christmas as a time to get gifts and they want, want, want, want. But we're working on that. We've started a tradition where we give to toys for tots and have the kids pick out a toy that they would like to have, and then give it to someone else. We constantly ask them to make things for each other and we teach them, that when they do get a gift, that the first thing they do is say, "Thank you" and then offer for their siblings to play with them with their new toy. It helps them focus on not being so selfish all the time. 

We also have some fun traditions where we go looking at a neighborhood that is decorated a lot for Christmas. Normally it's chilly or even very cold, so we drive around and look at them with some hot chocolate (for the parents) and some juice for the kids! We put some fun, upbeat Christmas music on and enjoy family time. We also go to the Historic Frisco Town Square and look at the lights that are tuned to the beat of Christmas music on the radio. 

My husband and I have this little tradition of watching "Home Alone" (all three of them!) and sipping on my hubby's famous hot chocolate and a candy cane dipped in it while we watch. We will often put our little ones to bed early and then settle in for a fun date night at home. 

But then there is the not so fun part of Christmas. I have family that I miss a lot and don't get to spend Christmas with because of certain situations that I won't go into here. But it's something that has caused me to be extra tender hearted to those with no place to go for Christmas. Christmas can be a painful time of year for people and I think many would do well to remember that when they're helping others, or see people, or talk with them on the phone. Did you know the holiday season is the most common time of year for suicides? People get low emotionally due to finances, no family, family drama, feelings of deeper rejection when family doesn't have room for them, or want them around, etc. It's a time of year that people are working hard to just make ends meet and sometimes those ends don't meet. There are families that won't have gifts under the tree and won't have a tree with lights on it, or hot chocolate to sip on. There will be those who don't have electricity to turn on Christmas music or money to buy a nice Christmas dinner. 

So, when you call that business to pay a bill, or you are calling that business to fix a bill, be kind. When you go to the grocery store, ask the clerk how his/her day is going. When you are at work, smile at that co-worker you really just don't like. When you're shopping for gifts, be kind to the lady shopping next to you. While you're driving down the road, let the person in that has their blinker on, over.

Just be kind. Ask God to give you a soft heart for those around you, no matter how much you're going through or feel overwhelmed with. Your purpose this season is to be the joy to someone else's holiday season. Be cheerful. Your purpose is to be kind and loving. That is what everyone is called to. 

What are some of your favourite traditions and fun things you do with your family? Sound off in the comment section below! I want to hear them!

Have a wonderful, beautiful holiday season! 

From my family to yours! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Feliz Navidad! 

Strengths Based Marriage

This book about marriage came at a perfect time. Marriage is hard. It's not intended to be easy, because, after the fall of man, our selfish hearts play a part in making life more difficult everywhere. I don't think it is the "natural" thing to do, to not ever think of one self and want to just do what is best for us.

Being married helps us focus on other people, especially our spouses, and this book, "Strengths Based Marriage" by Jimmy Evans and Allen Kelsey helps us focus on the strengths in our spouses instead of their weaknesses. It's sort of like having a child who might be autistic, or have learning struggles (of which I have two of them that I know of so far). If you focus on building up their strengths, often times they naturally become stronger in other issues that they face as well, that aren't their strengths. It's a learning balance.

It's the same in our marriages and that is exactly what Evans and Kelsey show us clearly.

I love this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to better their marriage.

I received this book from BookLookBloggers for free in exchange for my honest review.