We are blessed!

Psalm 126:3

heart check // part one

I think we've all been there. In that place or that season of life when your priorities are all sorts of crazy, and you find yourself neglecting your devotional time more often than you care to admit. I've reached that point. That point where I literally cannot go on without setting myself straight. Without running back to the arms of Jesus and holding on for dear life.

we can do hard things.

photo taken when I was flying over Tennessee. :)

It's true. We can.

And even though I've heard it said a million and one times that Christ's strength is made perfect in my weakness ((2 Corinthians 12:9)), I've never understood it quite like I do now. And I imagine that as my life continues on, I will continue to understand it more and more.

But let me start by saying this:

We all have our own versions of "hard." One of my closest friends lost both of her parents to cancer in a matter of four months. Some friends of mine currently have three foster children in their home and are facing battles almost daily with parents, caseworkers, and judges. I'm currently living over a thousand miles away from my husband. Every situation is different, but one thing they have in common is that they are all hard. Hard to face, hard to think about, hard to get past, hard to prepare for. Just hard. I'm sure as you're reading this, you're reminded of that hard situation in your life right now. I would venture to say that everyone has something. 

Over the last few months, my eyes have been opened to just how weak I am on my own and just how strong I can be when I lean into God's strength. Yes, it's true that we can do hard things. But not alone. We need God's help. Desperately. So so desperately. And I've realized lately that I (and probably many other people) tend to default to one of two modes of operation that make those hard things even harder. Let's talk about them:

Mode of Operation #1: "I can't."
This is when I look at the battle ahead of me and become so terrified that I'm paralyzed. I choose to dig my heels in and stay put because I'd rather look at it than actually fight. I'd rather be stuck than try to win. I listen to the lie that says I can't. The lie that says I'm not capable. The lie that says I have no chance of winning this battle. So I give up.

I'm forgetting where my help comes from.

Mode of Operation #2: "I got this."
This is when I decide I've got everything under control. I start making my plans to do it all on my own. I don't need anyone. I don't need anything. Me, myself, and I are going to fight this battle head on, and we. will. win.

I'm forgetting where my help comes from.

Just typing those two M.O.'s makes me chuckle. I mean, really...let's get real. In #1, I'm just a big cry baby. And in #2, my ego has completely overtaken. Both are wrong. The bottom line is that God carries us. On the days when we can't take another step, he carries us. HE is our strength. On our own, we are nothing. But with God, we are strong. When God calls us to something that seems completely impossible, He pairs it with a promise to never leave you. A promise to equip you with every single thing you need. And a promise to see you through to the end. But it's up to YOU to grab hold of His hand and follow His lead.

We can do hard things. With God.

Book Review: To Know You

Y'all. If you enjoy reading fiction, this is your book.

Holy moly, this story will grab your attention and not let go! I'm serious!

To Know You is all about Julia, a mom whose son is battling a serious medical condition and needs a new liver. Before Julia got married and began a family, she led a pretty rough life that yielded two daughters, both given up for adoption.

Everything | Book Review

Y'all. Something has happened to me. I think I need someone to check my vitals... 

Since September 9th, I've read 12 books. ((WHAT?!)) Okay, that may not seem like a big deal to you, but I am not a reader. Or should I say, I was not a reader. In fact, reading felt like punishment to me. I didn't enjoy it one bit, and I was the queen of starting a book and never finishing it.

But something happened --still not sure what it was-- and now, I can't seem to pry books out of my hands! And I'm loving it!

So I'm really excited to start sharing books with you. If you look up top, you'll see a button called "Books I Love." It's still under construction, but soon, you'll be able to see the books I've read and read my reviews on them. I hope you enjoy this new feature! I would love to hear your book recommendations too!

So let's kick this off with my very first book review! You're gonna love this one.

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Everything | what you give and 

what you gain to become more like Jesus

By Mary Demuth

I want to start off with a healthy dose of honesty. I stopped into the bookstore the other day and happened upon this book. It was on sale, which (I'm not gonna lie) is the first thing that caught my attention. I glanced at the front of the book, and thought, "Eh. Probably like all the others." Then, I saw that Jen Hatmaker was quoted on the front. I love Jen Hatmaker. It HAS to be a good book. So I flipped through the book, read over the description, and decided to take it home with me. After I paid for it, of course.

Constantly.

I had some friends come to visit last week, and naturally, we took a trip to the beach. I was sitting right at the edge of the water just watching it roll in and out, in and out. I noticed something I had never noticed before.

Mean to.

Wow. This almost feels foreign to me. Sitting down at the computer and writing. My blog has definitely been neglected over the summer. It's been quite eventful in my world lately, and I wouldn't have it any other way. A new home and a new ministry has provided lots of new opportunities and adventures, and we've been enjoying them! But it does feel good to get back to writing. Over the last several weeks of being away, I've been jotting down notes (well...the iPhone version of "jotting down") about different post ideas I've had, so I'm excited to share them with you. One at a time, of course. :)

I wasn't planning on writing for the blog today. In fact, I woke up with the intentions of spending my whole morning writing for my book (details later). But you know how that goes. Things change, we get sidetracked, and plans go down the drain. After a couple hours of random tasks around the house, I sat down and decided to write about something that came to mind last night. So here goes. I'll make it quick. You're welcome.

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So I've been thinking about intentions lately. You know -- good intentions, bad intentions, being intentional, and the like. It's pretty obvious, but usually we're most productive when we have intentions. I'm a list girl. I like to make a list of every single thing I need to accomplish in a day and cross them off one-by-one. Intentions are good. But not just in the sense of productivity and accomplishments.