Shameless Persistence

*I'm taking a break this week from the study of 1 Samuel, but I'll be back soon with more David!*

I’m involved in an amazing program called the Student Action Leadership Team (SALT) and it is truly my heartbeat. Over the years I’ve taken on more and more responsibility, and now I’m one of the coordinators. Part of my job is handling online registration. Which is pretty easy to manage. IF people actually fill out the application.

See, what happens is that people forget to fill it out. (I can’t blame them. I’m a total procrastinator, too.) Then I have to contact the veterans, the people who SHOULD know what they’re doing because they’ve been doing SALT for YEARS, and tell them that they MUST fill out the form. (Trying not to rant here, ha!) I’ve finally learned that telling them once usually doesn’t work. I have to bug them repeatedly, text them every week, nag them at the planning meetings, for them to fill out the form.

I hate doing it. I hate nagging. I hate having to remind them. I’m not a confrontational type of person, so I just don’t like it. But I’ve learned that there are times when being persistent is necessary.

One of those times is prayer.

Sometimes I struggle with praying for the same thing over and over again. Like, God already heard me. Surely He’s getting annoyed that I keep talking to Him about the same thing over and over again. But that isn’t true.

In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus tells a parable that explains how prayer should work: be persistent until your prayer is answered.

Jesus said to them, “If one of you has a friend and goes to him in the night and says, ‘Friend, give me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine is on a trip and has stopped at my house. I have no food to give him.’ The man inside the house will say, ‘Do not trouble me. The door is shut. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you bread.’ I say to you, he may not get up and give him bread because he is a friend. Yet, if he keeps on asking, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Luke 11:5-8

In my Bible next to this parable I wrote: shameless persistence.

See, the man in the house doesn’t get up because he’s friends with you. He gets up because you bug him enough that he gives in. Shameless persistence.

The verses after explain that as we persist in prayer, we should progress in intensity.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Luke 11:9-10

Ask: Verbalize your requests to God
Seek: Continue approaching God, as if you’re looking for something you’ve lost.
Knock: Persist until the door is open. Keep praying. Pray more intensely and aggressively.

Wow. This parable totally debunks the myth that we only need to pray once for something! Yes, God knows the need, but He wants us to continue approaching Him for it. He WANTS to give us things, but He also wants us to ASK him for it.

So I’m doing it. I have things I’ve been praying for years and I haven’t seen any results, so I kind of backed off on those prayers. Not anymore. I’m bringing them before God again, and I’m not feeling guilty that I keep praying the same thing again and again. I want to be shamelessly persistent, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s doing any good, so I can see those prayers answered!

Balloon Fest

A few weeks ago, Casey told me about a balloon fest outside of New Orleans and asked if I wanted to go. Of course I said yes! I went to one in Shreveport a few years ago with my second family and it was so fun!

You can see the photos from that balloon fest here. For some reason they are some of my most favorite photos I've ever taken. Probably because they are colorful and also because those memories are so special!

Speaking of colorful...

The best thing about festivals is the food! We got some kettle corn and corn dogs!

The sunset was beautiful, so of course we had to take some pics at golden hour.

Most people didn't realize that you could cross the bridge and go to the other side of the little creek to get up close to the balloons. But we did! So we went over there and spent a few hours talking to the balloon pilots while we waited for the balloons to fly.

Unfortunately, it ended up being too windy to inflate the balloons, so they decided to just light the fires in the baskets. It was nice and toasty standing next to them while they made the balloons twinkle!

After the festival, we headed back home, about an hour and a half drive away. At some point I realized we weren't going the right place, and Casey told me we were going to one of my favorite bakeries in NOLA—Angelo Brocato's! We found it a few months ago when we had dinner with friends in New Orleans and wanted dessert after. Casey is truly the best at finding amazing restaurants, and Angelo Brocato's is no exception!

I absolutely love their cream horn, their hot chocolate, and their cafe au lait. Casey loves the cannolis. It was a wonderful way to end the evening!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you're having a happy Thanksgiving!

We are spending some time with Casey's family and having a wonderful time. The last few days have been relaxing and fun. Yesterday my best friend Julianne (who is dating Casey's brother) and I made some yummy goodies—pumpkin dip, firecrackers, and apple pie! Baking is one of my most favorite things, so being in a cozy cottage by the lake surrounded by family and baking with my bestie is definitely my happy place!

We had a huge lunch with all the good stuff. Afterwards some of the family went on the lake while Casey and I took afternoon naps. Once it got dark, we made a bonfire and ate smore's! Now everyone is watching the Saints game (except me, obviously, since I've been editing photos and decided to blog). I finished off the last of the mac and cheese a while ago and better go get a piece of pie before it completely disappears.

I have so many things to be grateful for that it would take forever to list them all, but some of my top things are:

• Knowing and having a relationship with my Savior
• Being married to an amazing guy who is everything I could have ever dreamed of and more
• My adorable little fluffball, Oxford
• A beautiful house that we have made into our home
• An incredible church and church family
• Being able to work alongside my husband in ministry

And one I'm super excited for...

• WE'RE GOING BACK TO SINGAPORE!!!!!

Needless to say, I'm beyond blessed. 

Florida Trip Part 2

A month and a half later and, well, here's part two. (And here's part one!) Maybe I'll get part three up in 2019.

On our second day in Florida, we went to our friends' wedding! (Which was the reason we were in Florida in the first place.) And... I have not ONE photo. Of the wedding, of my outfit, nada. But it was a beautiful wedding!

After the wedding, we changed and Casey and I went to play mini golf. I think I've said it before, but Casey LOVES mini golf. We played five games of mini golf over the course of our three-day trip. Not even kidding. And we LOVED IT! We played at one place that let us feed alligators on the course!

After mini golf, we met up with our friends for an evening at the beach and some delicious Cuban food. So enjoy our beach pics with friends!

Florida Trip Part 1

Casey and I went to Florida last month for a wedding and I wanted to share photos from our trip! I brought the DSLR and made a purpose of pulling it out and using it as much as I could. As much as I love the convenience of my iPhone, there is nothing like beautiful, high quality photos! (Though I'm sharing a mix of both here.) Plus I enjoy taking them. The editing, however, I don't enjoy as much, which is why I'm the worst at sharing photos when I DO take them!

I have lots of photos so I'll share them over a few posts.

We woke up really early on Friday morning and left Louisiana with the goal of making it to the beach so we could watch the sun set. It was totally, absolutely worth it. And there was also a rainbow!

Once it got dark, we made our way to a restaurant on the beach where I had the best coconut shrimp of my life. Seriously. All coconut shrimp from now on won't be able to compare, I'm afraid.

After dinner, we of course had to get dessert. We saw a super cute ice cream shop called The Mint Fox when we were walking to dinner, and I told Casey we had to go back. We got yummy ice cream made in-house and also a big cookie!

After dessert, we went to our AirBNB, which we shared with some of our friends. Paige (check out her blog!) bought the stuff to make key lime pie, and then we learned that our definition of "completely stocked kitchen" is not the same as other people's version. I mean, WE would like to think that a fully stocked kitchen came with a KitchenAid mixer (alas, we knew not to hope for such), but we thought there would at least be measuring cups and a whisk. No such luck.

We had to get super creative. Like, REALLY creative. See that gorgeous meringue? We made that WITH A FORK. Let me say that again in case you didn't get it the first time.

WITH.

A.

FORK.

It took us about an hour taking turns whisking furiously. 

It was so worth it.

The Father's Correction

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 18. See the first post here!*

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

1 Samuel 18: 6-9

Whew, I’d hate to be David right now. He doesn’t know what’s about to happen, but it is NOT a pretty sight. David has gained the favor of the people, but now? The King of Israel has his eye on him. King Saul is just looking for a reason to strike.

How did King Saul get here? He was once an humble guy. How did he go from humble to green with envy, wanting to kill someone?

The answer comes from 1 Samuel 16:14, right after David is anointed to be king and the Spirit comes upon him. “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.”

Jealousy. We’ve all faced it. Especially in this day and age. Instagram and Facebook can certainly spark it!

I’ve faced jealousy through my life. Even to this day! Even yesterday to be specific! But I know I’m not supposed to be jealous, so what do I do?

When I feel jealous, I then feel the Spirit correct me. Remind me that I shouldn’t be jealous, but happy for that person. It doesn’t completely take my jealousy away, but I have a tool to help me overcome it. I just have to allow the Lord to help me.

For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:12

The Lord was no longer with King Saul. It’s not that God didn’t love Saul anymore, but Saul was tuned out. He wasn’t connected with God and therefore couldn’t/wouldn’t listen to His correction.

When we aren’t connected with God and don’t allow him to correct our wrongdoings through His marvelous love and grace, we find ourselves in a downward spiral that we can’t get out of without His help.

Jealousy is human nature. If I were the king and all my people were singing songs about how this random kid David was better than me, I’d be jealous too! But the way we fight our human nature—the flesh—is with the Spirit. 

Saul could have conquered his jealousy if he had allowed the Lord to correct him. Instead, his jealousy grew and grew. Just TWO verses after “Saul eyed David,” he tries to kill David!! Twice! And then he tries to kill David more times! The green monster grew until he could no longer control it.

The Bible says that “whoever hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1) I definitely feel like stupid is an appropriate word to describe King Saul.

When you fall and fail, allow God to help you. He’s not here to chastise you. He wants to help you up and correct you like a loving father. He has a plan for you and wants to help you accomplish it. So let him. Don’t be like Saul. Don’t be stupid.

The View From Down Here

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 17. Again. See the first post here!*

David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked... “Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?”
1 Samuel 17:26 MSG

Today, let’s back up a little bit. Let’s go back to before the fight.

David isn’t even supposed to be there. I mean, obviously God sends him there to kill Goliath, but David wasn’t already at the battleground. David is not a part of the army. He’s a shepherd who also works part time as the palace musician and Saul’s armor bearer (1 Samuel 17:15). The reason he’s even at the battleground is because his dad sent him to take some food to his brothers who were in the army.

David was just being obedient and going on an errand. He had no idea that errand would change his life.

After David gets there, Goliath comes out tormenting the Israelites (God’s people, the side David is on) and calling for someone to come fight him. Back in these days, sometimes armies would put forth two of their best warriors and let them fight each other. Whoever won got to claim victory for their side. This prevented major bloodshed and loss of life.

So Goliath is out there yelling “FIGHT ME!” and he’s been doing this for FORTY DAYS. And no one has stepped up to fight him yet. Because, oh yeah, he’s NINE FOOT NINE and his armor alone weighs 125 POUNDS. When he comes out, the Israelites are so scared they run away! (1 Samuel 17:24)

But not David. Because David has a secret weapon. It’s not his slingshot. He doesn’t have any superhero powers like invisibility or super strength. The kid doesn’t even have any armor. But what he DOES have is God on his side.

When David sees Goliath, he asks, “Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?” (1 Samuel 17:26)

While everyone else saw a giant, David saw a mortal man defying his God. And he knew that, with God on his side, Goliath wasn’t a threat.

If David had looked at the situation from a human point of view, it would have been intimidating. David was shorter than Goliath. He had to look UP to Goliath. When a problem seems bigger than us… that’s scary. But David looked at the situation from God’s point of view, and from God’s view, Goliath was just like anyone else. He wasn’t intimidating. Because nothing and no one can intimidate God.

When faced with a situation that seems impossible, we need to be like David instead of the Israelites. The Israelites were afraid of the giant, but David found boldness in the Lord to fight. When we view impossible situations from God’s point of view, our giant doesn’t seem so big anymore.

And that’s when we find the courage to say, “I’ll go fight!”

Height Doesn't Matter

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 17*

David and Goliath. One is a giant. One… not so much.

Thing is, we don’t really know how tall David was. I was reading 1 Samuel 17 and wondered how much taller Goliath was than David. Goliath is said to be nine foot nine. When David is described, the Bible doesn’t bother to mention his height. I guess it wasn’t important enough to note.

David’s height didn’t matter anyway. He had God on his side.

It didn’t matter how tall he was. It didn’t matter how young he was. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t equipped with armor or a sword or a shield. God was enough.

By human standards, David wasn’t qualified to go out and face Goliath. The boy wasn’t even in the army! He was a shepherd and a musician. An animal-loving harpist does NOT seem like the best guy for the job. And actually… he wasn’t the best guy for the job. There’s someone already there on the battlefield who is very skilled, has tons of experience, and… is tall. That someone is King Saul.

When we meet King Saul in 1 Samuel he’s described as “a head taller than anyone else” (1 Samuel 9:2). In fact, the Bible mentions his height a few times. I guess Saul’s height WAS important enough to note.

So if Saul is the tallest one there, it would seem as though he would be the most capable man for the job, right? But Saul was not called to kill Goliath. God had chosen David.

When God calls us to do something for Him, He gives us what we need—not what we THINK we need. David didn’t need a sword or a shield or a few more feet of height to conquer Goliath. He used what he already had—a slingshot. He already had what he needed.

You may feel like the least capable person for the job. You might be looking at Saul and thinking, “He’s way more capable! He has experience! He has a sword! He’s tall!” Stop comparing yourself to others’ talents, abilities, and experience. If God has called you, then you can rest assured that He has already given you what you need.

You may feel unequipped for what God has called you to do. You might be looking at your slingshot and wishing you had a sword. Just like David’s height, what you don’t have isn’t worth noting. With the Lord on your side, you have everything you need. So go fight your giant.

Life from my iPhone

I am currently in the courtyard at the Courtyard Cafe, enjoying writing blog posts and just being out of the house. I just took the above photo of my apple caramel latte and it. is. AMAZING. The perfect fall drink. (Though Casey would argue that their pumpkin spice latte is better. I'm just not much of a pumpkin fan myself.) I was pretty excited that I got the Charizard table marker.

(This photo is from the last time I was here... last week.)

I got in the mood to blog and dug through my photos on my computer only to remember that I've not been carrying my DSLR around much, so... I've got nada. But I have a ton of photos on my phone! They may not be high quality photos, but they are high quality memories. (Yes, I'm aware of how lame that was to say.) So here's my life lately from my iPhone camera!

After living with my mom for several years, I'm so excited to finally have a home of my own again! We're renting an old house, and my decor style fits with it perfectly! I have a ton of antique pieces passed down from my family and they fit perfectly in this cute old house. This dresser was my great-grandmother's which my mom painted. It currently stores a portion of my cookie making supplies. The clock is an antique as well and doesn't work but it's so cute. Honestly I just took this photo because I was excited about my new pink plant!

This is my favorite spot in our house. The papasan chair is so cozy and comfy. I always hated that green color but it works so beautifully here that I've decided I like it! The yellow pops in the pillows look perfect with the vintage yellow chair on the other side of the living room, and Casey loves that it correlates to our yellow bathroom. (I love it too.)

Oh, and that ladder! It's new. Well, new to us. We got it from an antique store a few weeks ago when we were enjoying a Saturday in Ponchatoula. I sure wasn't planning on buying a ladder that day but thankfully it fit in the car! I recently added a few tiny pumpkins to it to make it fall festive. Next to it is a vintage milk jug which wins all the heart eyes.

The lamp is from Target and I was so excited to find it. I've literally spent years looking for lamps I like and found two from Target recently! (The other one looks exactly like it but is a table lamp.)

We got a new oven recently and I've been doing more baking! Our kitchen gets so much natural light and it is positively dreamy. 

We got a new Indian restaurant in town and Casey and I go like every other week. It's inside a gas station. Like, literally. You go in to get a snack and are met with a buffet and tables. At first it seemed a little sketch, but the food is amazing and reminds us of Asia. (And makes us miss Asia!)

Casey loves golf and putt putt (on our honeymoon he got done playing a round of golf, saw a putt putt course on our way back to the AirBNB, and then we played a game of putt putt) and has been on a major putt putt kick lately. I'm terrible at it (and anything else that requires coordination) but still enjoy playing. Last week we went to Baton Rouge for the day to play a course and... it started raining. So we played in the rain. We had a blast.

After putt putt, we went to the Asian market! I was so excited to check it out. We got some snacks and drinks that are similar to things we had in Singapore, and I was thrilled to find... pandan leaves! I didn't know what they were, but knew they were used to make kaya, a traditional Singaporean coconut egg jam. I crave it like once a week and haven't been able to find any around here. So I bought some pandan leaves (which I learned is similar to vanilla) to make my own. As soon as I opened the package, the smell took me back to Toast Box where we love to have breakfast when we're in Singapore. I found a recipe for Hainanese kaya (caramel flavored kaya, like they have at Toast Box) and gave it a shot. Besides burning my finger terribly (don't put your hand in hot caramel, k? But you probably already knew better) it turned out amazing!!! 

You Aren't What You Look Like

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 16. Again*

Last time I touched a little bit on David being anointed as the future king of Israel. Instead of moving forward, let’s hang out here a little longer.

This part of the story is one we cover a lot in kids ministry. We have a skit that we’ve done all around the world (literally—we did it in Singapore and probably Malaysia. I can’t remember) that shows the importance of this part right here.

I mean, obviously it’s important. It’s an extremely important part of Israel’s history—King David being anointed. But it doesn’t go quite how one would expect it to go.

As I mentioned last week, the prophet Samuel had to anoint David in secret so the bad King Saul wouldn’t be all, “I’m killing you for treason!” So when God told Samuel that he needed to go to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons, Samuel told King Saul that he was going to make a sacrifice in Bethlehem. (Which he did, so he wasn’t lying.)

Samuel told Jesse to bring out his sons. He had bunches. Seven or eight of them. (Some of the wording in the Bible is confusing. I personally understand it to be eight sons, but some people say seven. Anyhoo, that’s just a side note and beside the point.)

So Jesse brings out his boys and Samuel looks at the first one, Eliab, and says (and I’m paraphrasing), “I know this has to be the guy God picked!”

But God says, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Then this happens six more times. Samuel is all, “It’s gotta be this guy!” “Look how handsome this one is!” “Man, this one is strong.” “This guy won the superbowl three years in a row!” “This one is supahhh rich!” Or, ya know, something along those lines anyway. Each son that was put before Samuel LOOKED kingly but God was like, “Nuh uh.”

Finally, it comes down to the point where all the sons have gone before Samuel the prophet and there aren’t any left. So Samuel asks Jesse, “Um, is this all of them? You got any more kids?” And Jesse’s like, “Well… there’s the youngest. He keeps the sheep. But, I mean... he's just the baby.” (1 Samuel 16:11)

And Samuel says, “Go get him."

Okay, let’s pause. You read that right. David wasn’t even there. He wasn't invited to the party. He was still out with the sheep. His family didn’t even bother to go get him for the family meeting. He was literally an outcast in his own family.

Tradition says that David was an illegitimate child. I’m not going into details—you can look into that on your own. But it would sure make a lot of sense, huh? Let’s ban the illegitimate kid to working with the sheep. Keep him out of the way.

But he’s the one God picked.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:12)

Whoa, wait, what? You're picking the guy who is all stinky because he's been with the sheep all day? You're picking the illegitimate kid? It doesn't make sense!!

It all goes back to that earlier verse.

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

God isn’t looking at your outward appearance, or how many degrees you have, or how much money is in your bank account, or how many Instagram followers you have. He looks inside. He looks at your heart. He looks at your character. He sees your potential (because He placed it inside of you). And the cool thing? He can see those good things even through the bad inside of you. In the future, David will commit adultery, yet he’s still called “a man after God’s own heart.” Thankfully, our sin doesn’t keep God away. He sees it and sees through it. He’s looking for a heart that desires him, even when that heart messes up and falls into sin.

David was the outcast. Who else knows what that feels like? (Hand lifted high. Actually I’m raising both hands.) I think everyone has felt like an outcast at some point.

God uses outcasts.

God doesn’t view us like the rest of the world does, but rather as something far greater. David will later be called a king, a warrior, a giant-killer. God saw that potential in him while he was still an outcast to the rest of the world. And God sees that potential in you, too.

What the world thinks of you doesn’t matter. God doesn’t look at you like the world does. He sees you as something far greater. He sees the giant-killer in you when everyone else just sees the keeper of the sheep.

So don’t let the world get you down. Because you aren’t what you look like.

The Waiting Game

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 16.*

I really hate the DMV. And the social security office. Because it doesn’t matter when I go in, I’m going to have to wait. I usually take a book with me, which makes the wait more bearable, but it still stinks and I just feel like my life is slowing wasting away. Am I being a bit dramatic?

No matter what, waiting sucks. Waiting on your food (I get hangry), waiting for your Amazon package (whatever happened to that drone delivery idea?), waiting at the red light (did you know you’ll spend about 6 months of your life waiting at red lights? whyyyyyy?).

As humans, we’re programmed to be impatient (at least I think most of us are) and it especially doesn’t help in this day in age. We are the “microwave” generation. We like things to be done NOW. But God isn’t a NOW God. He’s an ON TIME God. And unfortunately for us, NOW is usually not the same as ON TIME.

Let’s look at David for an example. (David’s my favorite.)

Before David became king, Israel was ruled by King Saul. Now King Saul had started off a good ruler—God had anointed him and equipped him with the ability to be a good king and a good military leader. But Saul didn’t put God first and ultimately ended up disobeying God, and God was obviously not okay with that.

It was then time to prep the future king of Israel—David! God sent Samuel the prophet to anoint David. Since King Saul was still reigning, it had to be done in secret. Only David and his family knew. Once David was anointed as the future king, God’s spirit left King Saul and instead rested upon David.

You’d think by the next chapter David would be king, right? But NO! In fact, he was still a ways away from being king. BUT in the very same chapter, God set up an opportunity for David to start king lessons. (Kind of like those princess lessons in The Princess Diaries movies, except the king didn’t know he was teaching lessons to the future king. So I guess it’s not really like the Princess Diaries.) David was invited to King Saul’s court to become his own personal musician. King Saul loved him so much that he made David his armor bearer! So David was able to gain firsthand information about leading a nation since he was right next to Saul, who, though he no longer had God’s spirit upon him, still had those awesome leadership abilities and was still leading Israel in victories over their enemies.

David still has a lot of things to go through before he will become king. He has a lot to learn. He has situations to go through that will force him to rely on God. He will find himself in leadership positions that will allow him to grow and become the leader that Israel needs.

David has a promise from God but he still has to wait.

God has a plan and a promise for everyone. For you. Perhaps He’s given you a direct and clear promise and you’re wondering when it’s going to come. I have some of those. I literally have no clue how or when He will do it. But I know that it will come in the right time. In the meantime, I’m going to grow where I’m planted and allow the Lord to mold me into the person I need to be for his plan to take shape.

I encourage you to do the same thing. It’s easy to get weary in waiting, but use it as an opportunity to bloom where you are and let God grow you and show you some things. He may need to work on you still. He may have some things He needs to teach you first. Allow God to use this time to shape you into the person He needs you to be to experience the fullness of His promise.

27

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling... 27??? I'm almost to 30! How did I get this old? Like, have I accomplished what 27 year olds are supposed to? I've never even taken my own car to get an inspection... like, how do I adult?

Thankfully age is just a number and life is wonderful and I had strawberry cake and gold number balloons for my birthday. I've loved those big gold balloons since they started popping up all over the place and was afraid they'd no longer be cool by the time I turn 28. So mom and I picked some up before a small family dinner at one of my fave Italian restaurants.

We road tripped back to Bossier for my birthday weekend so I could spend time with family and friends and also because my home church was having their kids revival! Casey and I are in kids ministry and love going to kids revivals. We've been to four since July! The one in Bossier was superhero themed so... we dressed up, of course.

Oxford's Robin costume was Casey's idea. (Even though he didn't go, he looked fantastic.)

All in all, 27 is definitely looking good. I'm so excited to see what all God has in store for us this year. I'm hoping to make another missions trip to Singapore and would love to have another trip as well, but we shall see! I feel like I should make some "27" goals or something. Hmmm... I'll think on it.

Seek First

But seek first the kingdom of God… Matthew 6:33

What’s the first thing you do each day? For me, it’s making the bed. I haven’t always been a bed-maker. A few years ago, my mentor sent me some words by Admiral William McRaven. It encouraged me to start making my bed every day, and it’s been an easy and rewarding habit to incorporate into my life. It literally takes less than a minute, and then my bed (and, therefore, my bedroom) looks nice every time I walk in.

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project (disclaimer: I haven’t read it), says, “Your bed is a symbol of you. There’s something about having your bed feel orderly that makes your life feel that way.”

About a week ago, I was having a rough morning. I was awake earlier than normal with my mind racing about things I needed to do and things I wasn’t doing that I should be. Since I was up earlier than normal, I decided to start my Jesus time earlier too.

I opened my Bible to the scripture I’d been led to the day before as I wrote "I can do it myself". Funny enough, grace had not been the topic I was going to write about that day. I’d started to write something along the lines of “Are you giving your all to God, or just a part of yourself?” But as I wrote, something else poured out, and I found myself writing about God’s grace.

So on that rough morning, I decided I would just continue reading from the verse I’d been reading (Hebrews 4:16), hoping that God would give me a word of encouragement for the day. I read the page and moved on to the next where there was a prayer written out. (I was reading this Bible, which has devotions and prayers scattered throughout.) It was for “When I don’t feel good enough.” I read the words aloud, feeling every single one, and spoke truth over my life that when I don’t feel good enough, Jesus is good enough.

I checked to see which scriptures the prayer coordinated with… it was the verse I’d written about the day before. And I realized that I had to ask God for grace to help me once again. I didn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed. I came before Him boldly, knowing He had what I needed.

After asking Him for grace, I thanked him for giving me what I needed at the right moment, and thought about how it was so amazing that He’d given me the day before a word I needed for the next day. I felt a nudge in my spirit saying, “If you come to me first, I’ll give you what you need.”

So many days I wake up, make my bed, wash my face, then find myself doing a few tasks-- laundry, dishes, picking up the living room--before I speak to God. These aren’t bad things to do, as those tasks are what keep my home nice for my family. But many times those things lead to me doing other things and before I know it I’ve gotten my day started without God.

As I reflected on the words He gave me, I realized that He will give me what I need right now. It might be an encouraging word, a particular scripture, peace, or grace. But I also believe He was saying that He will also give me what I need for later today, too. Or He might give me something today that I’ll need tomorrow. He can help me in my current need, with my current situation, thoughts, and emotions, but He will also equip me with what I need to face the rest of today, and face tomorrow and the rest of this week.

But He can’t give me what I need for the rest of today if I don’t come to him this morning.

I’m still going to make the bed as soon as I get out every morning, starting my day with an accomplishment. But I know that making my bed won’t make my life feel near as “orderly” as that morning time with Jesus.

I’m giving God my mornings. My “first thing.” So yes, first thing I’ll still make the bed and wash my face, and probably sometimes grab breakfast or start the laundry, but I’m not going to start my day without Him. Because I need Him today and tomorrow and every day for the rest of my life.

I can do it myself

“I can do it myself!” said Ego.

Last week, I worked at my church’s equivalent to Vacation Bible School called EKWIP camp, which stands for Equipping Kids With Individual Purpose. It was an amazing week, and a great way to get to know more people in my new church. Coming together with my church family to provide a fun-filled week for the kids made my new church feel like home.

One of the things I was blessed to be a part of was the drama team. Casey’s brother wrote a script that spanned the week of camp, and I was the old actor as everyone else was a teenager.

The main character’s name was Ego. The gist of the week’s story was that Ego, a mechanic who worked for the bad guy, had come to the Master Mechanic (the good guys) shop as he tried to fix his boss’s broken car. When Grace, the owner of the shop, offered to help him fix it, he refused her help. “I can do it myself,” Ego said a thousand times during the week. He would not ask for Grace to help him.

Oh, how I know that line all too well. “I can do it myself.” When I was stumbling along through some tough stuff, I would pray and ask God for help. But ultimately, I didn’t think it was stuff God would fix for me--I thought I had to fix it on my own. I was the one who had gotten myself into this mess. I had to fix it myself.

Months after trying to deal with everything by myself, I admitted to God that I was so broken. I needed Him to put the pieces of my heart and my life back together again, because I couldn’t do it by myself. It was a hard thing to admit, because it made me feel like I hadn’t been strong enough. It required humility, which just made me feel even more broken.

God had been there the whole time. His hand had been in my situation even before I realized the mess I was in. He hadn’t forsaken me, even when I didn’t want His help. But when I called on grace, He gave it to me. I sure didn’t deserve it.

It’s easy to believe we don’t deserve grace. That we are too broken. That we’ve messed up too much. But Jesus says,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When we are stumbling along in life through our weakness, God’s strength is made perfect in us. Paul even said:

“So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

2 Corinthians 12:9

At the end of the drama, Ego learned that there was nothing wrong for asking for help when he needed it. There was no shame in needing Grace’s help. All he had to do was ask.

Asking for grace may sometimes feel like a moment of weakness, but you can rest assured that through grace, your weakness is made strong. We all need grace, and it is a gift that God gives freely.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift...
Romans 3:23-24

Do you need grace? Don’t be ashamed or afraid to ask for it. God wants to give you grace. All you have to do is ask.