Small, petty happenings

"My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God."
- Oswald Chambers

Challenge: This week I challenge you to have this attitude about your circumstances. I'm doing this too and I'll let you know how it goes!

Dark Horses

 

Song: Dark Horses

Artist: Switchfoot

In the Light of Eternity

"It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah."
-Ephesians 2:2-6 (The Message)

It's not often that I refer to the Message interpretation of the Bible but in this case I love this interpretation. In particular I love the line: You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. It's a powerful truth.

This makes me wonder... Why do we settle for less? We seem to have this idea that God doesn't know what's best for  us. Didn't He make us? Didn't He make our desires? If you believe this than it makes sense to believe that He knows what's best for us. So why don't we believe this? Probably because of our sinful nature and also because we get instant happiness from the things of the world. Sure, heaven is going to be great, but heaven isn't here right now... so why not have fun here, right? Wrong.

I wrote something powerful on my quote board this weekend after attending an awesome speaking session of how to find God's will for our lives. I wrote: "When we see things in light of eternity, we start seeing things with a different perspective."

We aren't meant to live here. We are meant to be creatures of heaven. We are aliens here. If that is the case, why are we so easily satisfied?

We need to start looking at our lives in light of eternity. Eternity doesn't start when we get to heaven, it starts now and it's affected by the decisions that we make now. So stop letting the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, affect your perspective. If we have heaven and a relationship with God as our goal then we need to start letting that affect our outlook on life.

Don't settle. God embraced us with incredible amounts of love that we don't deserve and He made us alive with Christ. Why don't we make the most of this new life?

Promises - SOTW

A great reminder of holding on to God's promises 

in tough times.

Song: Promises

Artist: Sanctus Real

When you are truly in love...

Very powerful and challenging words. I hope that they impact your week!

 "When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You'll drive for hours to be together, even if it's only for a short while. You don't mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, and not annoying. You'll willingly spend a fortune on the one you're crazy about. When you are apart from each other it's painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together. We need to be like this with God."
- Francis Chan

Thought: Does the amount of time that you spend in prayer with God reflect how close you believe your relationship with Him to be?
 

Florals and Stripes

Just because it's winter doesn't mean that you need to shy away

from floral patterns. Here are three easy ways to pattern mix using stripes and florals

that are winter appropriate.

Stripes and Florals Level One

Pair a bold striped shirt with a subtle floral patterned scarf.

Top it off with a textured blazer for a put together look that is right on trend.

Level Two

A bold floral shirt goes really well with a neutral toned stripe. 

If you live in a colder area, try a pair of nude heels or brown boots instead

of the heels pictured above.

Level Three

Ready to go a bit bolder? Try a full on floral skirt and a bold 

striped shirt. Add neutral accessories to keep the outfit appropriate

and rock it!

One Thing Remains - sotw

Simple truths with awesome accompaniment.

My kind of song!

Song: One Thing Remains

Artist: Kristian Stanfill

words

lyrics from "Words" by Hawk Nelson

Words with Impact

Here are a few quotes/snippets of lyrics that have greatly impacted me over the past few days!

They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began
Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out

-Words by Hawk Nelson

----
 
Sometimes it's hard to keep believing
In what you can't see
That everything happens for a reason
Even the worst life brings
If you're reaching for an answer
And you don't know what to pray
Just open up the pages
Let His word be your strength

And hold on to the promises
 Hold on to the promises
 Jesus is alive so hold tight
Hold on to the promises

-Promises by Sanctus Real

----

"Only God can unscrabble eggs."
-Author Unknown

----

"Getting over a painful experience is like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."
-C.S. Lewis

Winter Weather

Here are some quick tips to help keep away the winter blues and create a few more choices for you to pick from on these cool winter mornings!

1) Neutrals, neutrals, neutrals
I know that I talk about mixing neutrals a lot but it's definitely a way that you can get some new life out of your old favorite pieces. Try mixing soft beige and greys like Kayley from Sidewalk Ready does in the photo below to create an outfit that will fit right into a winter wonderland. Or try pairing black and dark brown for a striking outfit that is classic and pulled together.

2) Scarves!
These lovely inventions are perfect for adding colour, pattern, texture and a bit of fun to any outfit. Check out this video here to see 27 ways to tie your scarves!

3) Summer Pieces
Yes, you read that right... summer pieces. Pull out your favorite tank tops and layer them with classic pieces from your winter wardrobe like a black long sleeved tee or a heavy, knit cardigan. Grab your favorite summer dress and pair it with some heavy tights or leggings and a sweater! Having some summer pieces in an outfit will help brighten your day and remind you of the sunshine to come!

4) Play with Patterns
Polka dots, stripes and leopard prints are huge right now in the fashion world. I also think they add a bit of fun and playfulness to an outfit which we sometimes need at this point in the winter. Try pairing two different types of polka dots like Jessica did on What I Wore for a whimsical, still very winter, outfit.

I hope that at least one of these tips was helpful to you. Click over to the two websites that I posted here for some more great outfit ideas!

Rise - SOTW

Such an awesome, catchy tune with beautiful, hopeful lyrics.

Song: Rise

Artist: Shawn McDonald

Samestate lyrics

I heard this song today and one line really stood out to me... 

{Love Remembers by Samestate}

1 up, 1 down

It's my new favorite quote. Or at least, it's partly my new favorite quote. Partly because I love it on one hand and disagree with it on the other. Let me explain...

When you look around at our broken world and look at the interactions between the people on this earth, this quote has so much truth to it. I see examples of this all over. If we think we are worthless we will not accept love. If we think we deserve infinite amounts of love we will take hold of that love even if it is not offered. We create a quantity of love in our minds and roll with it, no matter if that's our own version of the story or not. It's a problem that needs to be solved.

In light of faith, though, this quote is not correct. We did nothing to deserve God's love; nothing to deserve Jesus coming and dying in our place; nothing to be saved of all our sin. We deserve no love. And we need to figure that out before we can truly know the full extent of God's love. I don't think that we ever will understand how much we don't deserve His love until we're in heaven, but I do think that we need to strive for this. We need to accept His love because we don't deserve it; because He is an awesome God.

This quote is beautiful and I love the meaning behind it but you have to be careful when you pick and choose words. People are not perfect and their words will not be either.

Somebody Tell Them - SOTW

One of my current faves.

I challenge you to make 2013 the year that you tell the most

people about the love of Jesus!

Song: Somebody Tell Them

Artist: City Harbor

It was the year...

2012 - IT WAS THE YEAR...

... we started calling colours by fancier names to make them sound fresh and in style (ie. maroon turned into oxblood. what??)
... we caught a glimpse of the "end of the world" before reality struck
... we got a very real and close to home view of the evil that ravages our world
... we were offered a challenge to think of Jesus beyond the realms of just a religion (check the video out here)
... we saw records shattered and heroes made
... we saw the end of a movie era (good riddance!) and the start of a few more phenomenons
... we reveled in great defeats and even greater feats

2013 - WHAT WILL IT BE THE YEAR OF?