That's about 2,000 degrees

I think I have the most interesting friends in the World.  And I mean that in a good way!  Last night the ladies from my small group celebrated one of our own's last few nights of singleness.  We are so excited for Keisha and Noah and can't wait to celebrate their big day on Saturday.
Keisha is probably the most crafty person I know, so for her bachelorette, her sisters got friends and family together for something hot!  I mean, it's a bachelorette after all.  Can you guess what we did?

Not sure yet?
Does this help?

How about this?

Yep, Andrea is blowing glass!  Actually, we all got to make something.  It was such a great time with people I love so much!!

And pose for lots of pictures!

I'll show you what I made next time!

Have a great weekend!!

I'm saving my WW points for some Joe Squared Pizza tonight.  CANNOT wait!!

Patience and Why I'm a Mess

Don't you love when God teaches you the lessons you don't think you need to learn?

Week after week this keeps happening in my Bible Study.  Last week I thought I had a ton of peace and the lesson wasn't really that applicable to me...and then the anxiety reared it's ugly head!  This week was patience.  No comment, other than to say it's been ugly.  We were learning that one of the opposites of patience is judgement, and I thought "oh, I'm not judgmental" and almost immediately God sent the conviction.  I cannot stand to have MY time wasted.  When the lightrail stays extra long at a stop, it is inconveniencing me and I'm judging the driver or whoever it is that is holding us up.  When you drive slow in front of me, I hate to say it, but I am judging you.  When I'm stuck in meeting after meeting at work I'm finding myself irritable and more and more impatient.  I am so self absorbed, it makes me a little sick.  It's impossible to be patient when you think your wants and desires are the most important thing.

Sometimes conviction is painful!  As I'm asking God for less of me and more of Jesus and He hears my prayers and carves away my selfish desires, I often feel like a hot mess.  I was at the point yesterday when I thought "I just can't take this anymore."  I was frustrated with all the circumstances around me, overwhelmed with life in general and sick and tired of my bad attitude.  This is also known as "at the end of my rope."  God was pruning, but I kept holding onto the old branches He'd cut off.  In case you're tempted to try this - it's not beneficial - you have to let it go!

My friend Kim's birthday was yesterday.  I LOVE birthdays!  It's so great to have a special day to celebrate someone.  So yesterday, on her birthday, I mentioned I was having a rough time.  And on HER special day, she asked me to come over early before her birthday dinner so she could pray for me.  She modeled what I needed to see - less of us, more of Jesus.

It's funny, but that was the turning point for me.  Not even the actual prayer, but the offer.  I took a deep breath and got out my gratitude journal (that I hadn't been able to write in all day)...
# 30 Praying friends
And the gifts continued all night...

#33 Amazing food!

#34 Celebrating together


#35 Thank you Lord for growing those You love, and never letting us stay in the same place for so long that we become stagnant!

Count'n 'em

Peace.
I thought I had plenty.  Until my Bible study this week was on peace and I was talking to Seth about how I'm having a hard time applying the week because I don't feel like I'm missing peace right now.  Even as he chuckled a little and said, "Seriously?!" I started to remember Friday night, when I sorta freaked out, because he improvised on a recipe I was making.  And then the times my anxiety has ruled in the recent past came flooding into my mind.  My desire to control the things around me shrinks my life.  This is not truly living.
Is it because I lack trust in God to control things, that I feel that I must do it myself (even though, my control is just a facade anyway - none of us really have control around our circumstances)?
Ann Voskamp offers an interesting solution - "Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on."  Yeah, that should do it.
Here's a little blessing I visited last night.  She's about to be a big sister.

Determined to remain grateful today!

That's it?

I've been learning something recently that I wanted to share.  It's the simplicity of one word - gratitude.

Did you know that the mere act of giving thanks is life changing?  It is really and truly seeing God in everything.

After hearing Ann Voskamp speak a few weeks ago at a retreat, I bought a copy of her book, because I was so inspired.  She claims this is the secret to "living fully", a goal I have been pursuing thoughout my life, and with a revived strength most recently!  Ann took a dare to write down 1,000 gifts in her life and challenges us to do the same.  I extend that same challenge to you.

God is always doing something amazing.  When we actually slow down, truly take notice and let it sink in, I'm convinced our lives will be forever different.

With excitement, I give this dare a try!

Before and After

Before, I hated shopping...
Before, the beach was a bit of a curse...
Before, finding an outfit to wear was like punishment...
Before, I ate because I was bored, happy, stressed out, emotional...
Before, I actually looked just fine and was beautiful inside and out - I sometimes had a hard time believing that...

But now - oh but now!!!
After, I kinda like shopping, in fact, I can't wait to buy a new bathing suit...
After, getting dressed in the morning is easy...
After, I can run faster and longer than I ever thought I could...
After, I actually find the time to get up extra early in the morning to get that workout in...
After, I eat to nourish my body, to give me energy, and yes, also still because it tastes delicious!!!
After, I still look just fine and beautiful inside and out - and I STILL sometimes have a hard time believing that...

And the whole time - the whole entire time - I knew I was God's child....
The scale can never dictate the deep deep love that I know because of my Savior...
My weight will never define my worth...

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14


I'm so happy I lost over 30 pounds in about 5 months, and have kept the weight off already for 6 weeks (in Weight Watchers lingo, that means I'm now a lifetime member!), but I'm reminded that there are so many more important things in life than how much I weigh!  Taking better care of my body certainly helps me live this life more fully though!!  I'll have to find some before and after pictures to share!  And now that I shared this accomplishment with you, it's even more motivation to keep it off.


Have a great weekend!  Live joyfully and fully!!