#12MofBliss - January recap + {Distractions}

Last week, I kindly shared some pictures with ya'll of our little Disciple Now weekend from a few weeks ago. The lesson for the weekend was somewhat goofy because #teenagers, but the overall message was something that resonated deep for me.

 

 

 

The purpose of this lesson was to really encourage our students and each other to dissect our own lives and find what is distracting us from our relationship with God, if we even have a relationship. I couldn't even begin to list the ways I was distracted from Him. I had fallen so far off the beaten path of my spiritual walk, I honestly didn't even know where to begin.

 

As we journeyed through the study, we found that some distractions can be good distractions. Things like nature and admiring the Creator's creations (remember, admire the Creator not the creation) can be a good distraction because in the end, you're still praising Him for His glory and wonders. What about those other distractions? Here were a few that I found to be distractions in my life that keep me from spending time with God and deepening my relationship with him:

• Netflix -- let's be honest, it's a really hard distraction to peel away from
• Busyness -- I have a really hard time sitting still and just being - I have to always be doing something
• Church stuff.



That last one was actually really hard for me to admit to as a distraction. Now let me explain myself before I get all you church-goers' panties in a wad (what movie is this from?)... I fully believe Church (as in the body of Christ, believers in Christ) is a very important and necessary aspect of growing one's faith. We need to have fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to challenge each other with theological ideas and debates, all done in love. We need to come together regularly to ready ourselves for the world around us.

When I say "church stuff" I'm talking about the mundane, ritualistic, religion-practices side of things. I'm talking about the endless meetings where people sit and talk about "what they're going to do", but nothing is ever actually done. I'm talking about the church stuff that really doesn't GO OUT and share the Gospel (thus making disciples) and just meets once a month to eat and talk about what you've done (get that gold star!) and what you're wanting to do in the future (but we all know it's not going to happen, unless it involves feeding you food). I know some of ya'll are reading this and can feel your blood pressure rising. No worries, feel free to call me out on my shortcomings - I can take it.

So I found that I had somehow allowed that one thing to become my biggest distraction. And I knew I needed to do some spring cleaning. Since ridding myself of that distraction, I have been able to see an almost immediate turnaround. I've been allowing myself to meet with brothers and sisters in Christ in so many different ways. Through bible studies, small groups, prayer buddies, spending a Saturday to do ministry, reading, etc. I have found ways to not only fill my empty spiritual well, but have the ability to begin pouring it back into those around me. I can feel Him saying, "Alright girl. Now you're getting back into the groove. You've got quite a ways to go, but you're doing it sister" (yes, God's my homeboy #peacefingers). I'm finding that by doing these things, I'm being intentional with my spiritual walk. I'm realizing that I can't just sit back and wait for different things to pour into me. Sometimes, we have to go and seek it because isn't that what we should be doing anyways? Always seeking Him?

I have been working on cutting Netflix down, and saying no to things to reduce my busyness. I'm learning that it really is okay (and necessary) for me to just sit, and be, and hang with God.

What are some things distracting you from seeking Him? I seriously challenge each of ya'll to take stock of where things are in your life and your spiritual walk. It really is a humbling experience. I'd like to think I've fully accomplished my goal of making my spiritual walk just right. But I know that this goal of ridding my life of distractions will take time, and pain, and tears, and triumphs to be celebrated. For now, I'm celebrating that I'm covered in His grace entirely.

  

I'm a little late to the party but...

I've been seeing a trend in the blog world at the start of the New Year and it has kind of inspired me. Many lovely ladies have dedicated their year to a word that can serve as a goal for the year, and I've loved reading about each and every one! At first, I wasn't going to jump aboard that train simply because I couldn't really think of a single word that would perfectly summarize a goal I have for 2015.

 

After a conversation I had with Hunter (and with others over time), I realized what that word would be:

 

You must be thinking, "What an odd word!" Allow me to humor you. The word Reserved is an adjective and by definition states this:

"slow to reveal emotion or opinions; kept specially for a particular purpose or person."

I am a very out-there person - you will know how I'm feeling, what I think about something, and I'm not afraid to share that. It's a quality I appreciate in myself and others because I feel like too many people push things under the rug, hoping it all goes away, and leaving so much left to be unsaid.

I really struggle with being able to do that - just quiet my mouth when it's necessary to do so.

I have found that by being liberal in my feelings, I have unknowingly caused quite a stir for some folks (more personal than blog-related). Thus, my word is Reserved. I wanted to seek the Lord's thoughts on this particular word, or at least the practicing of it, and I found this:

I will be Reserved in my words and rest in the Holy Spirit's wisdom when it is best for me to speak so boldly on a topic, versus remaining quiet on others. I will never refrain from sharing His love with people, even if it irks you. I love sharing those God moments with ya'll that happen in mine and Hunter's lives so that certainly won't cease.

I want SoKo Blog to be a place of faith and humility, of love for this life, and a place to capture those beautiful moments. Sadly, some people have the inability to accept a perspective that is outside their own and that is where I will be Reserved. I will be Reserved in the sense that I will allow the Holy Spirit to flow through me with His words, and not my own. With that, I bid you a glorious day!

Embrace change

Time flies when you're having fun - ain't that the dang truth?! Christmas has come and gone like the cold fronts here in Florida. Here one day, gone the next.

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Now we're staring down the start of 2015 and I'm excited and ready for this new year. 2014 was a year full of just so much. In December, my only goal was to praise Jesus for He is our King. I think I did a pretty good job of that. I was mindful of the reason for Christmas, focused my attention on celebrating His birth, and even spent Christmas morning giving to others.

 

For January, I have a couple of goals I want to set up for myself:

 

+ Get back into walking/running. And if that doesn't work, do exercises in the comfort of my home for at least 30 minutes, 3x per week. I'm starting slow here...

 

+ January is full of birthdays! Hunter kicks the month off with his birthday, and then shortly thereafter, several of our friends will be celebrating their's as well (hi Mike P., Brooke, Erin!). My goal? Celebrate the lives of these amazing people!

 

I'll be the first to admit, I'm never the one to set New Year's Resolutions. I just don't do them. I forget about them about mid-January (yes, that quickly), and they just set me up for failure. BUT! I'm turning over a new leaf this year. I am setting a New Year's Resolution with my husband.

 

Become debt-free.

 

Now, we won't be able to pay off all our debts within 2015. But we are dang sure going to knock a few of it's teeth out. Have ya'll met Sallie & Perkins? Seriously, their determination to face their debt head-on, and win, is so encouraging to Hunter and I.

 

With that being said, we will be taking measures to cut back unnecessary spending, paying for things up front with cash (like our Disney trip in November), and learning how to manage with so little money while still having so much fun. It's going to be really hard for us but we know we can do it. Just yesterday, Hunter and I were reminded of God's faithfulness during our trying times. Because of some extra money that we had no idea was coming, we were able to set up an emergency savings account and pay off Hunter's credit card. God had my tear ducts working in overdrive yesterday.

 

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Fun fact: By changing Hunter's relationship status to married with his truck insurance company, it saved him $29/month. I'm jumping onto his insurance policy with my car come February and we'll be saving $80/month. That's $960/year that we're saving!! Great things are already in motion.

 

Whatever your New Year's Resolution is, and wherever you are in your life, know that God's faithfulness and timing are always right, and just, and holy. Happy New Year friends! See ya'll next week!

 



Monthly Wrap-up + Planning Ahead

I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Christmas is this month. This month is a bussssyyyyy month for Hunter and I. Between Jesus' birthday, other friends' birthdays, a wedding, Christmas parties, graduation parties, and just the general fact that it's a holiday month, I can honestly say we're going to be thoroughly enjoying this month!

 

Before I get too ahead of myself, let's take a look back at the goals I set for November and measure my skeeeellsss (skills, for people who don't speak my language):

• Try to really buckle down on ministry things for Quincy such as youth stuff or finding a program that helps abused women. We've planned a few ideas for reaching out to the community of Quincy. One of those things involves cookies and spending time with folks on Christmas morning. We're very excited to put our ideas into action!
• Forget running, at least go walking with that hubs of mine. Not only will we feel better but we'll feel better - win win eh? Does walking all over the woods pre-hunt season, setting up stands and trail cameras count??
• Knock some Christmas shopping out. I can't get over the fact that Christmas is next month. So we've decided to not spend money on ridiculous junk for people, but rather make or purchase things that go for a good cause. For example, have ya'll checked out this company?!
• Complete the paperwork and have my last name legally changed over. Moving from the front of the alphabet to the back ya'll! I'm totes digging my new last name :)



 

Looks like I had a pretty good month of goals huh? For this next month I only have one goal:

 

Praise Jesus for He is our King.

 

I think people have a tendency (myself included) to get so wrapped up (pun intended) in the materialistic things of Christmas and completely lose sight of the importance and the magnitude of Christmas. I want to be intentional in my thoughts and actions this Christmas when it comes to loving like Jesus does, and putting myself into the true Spirit of Christmas. Sure, I'm going to decorate our tree and sing those carols. But I'm also going to remember why I'm singing and dancing and decorating. It is by the grace of God alone through His Son Jesus that I can do all of these things. Let's rock December's socks off shall we?

 

 

Following the sound of His voice

Transparency moment time: I go through seasons of faith. There are moments when I am in the word every day, I can confidently say I'm tight like this with Jesus, and that I'm stronger than I've ever been. Then... There are those moments that I'm not proud of. Those days that slip by without even glancing at my worn leather bible. It's those days that I feel like I've stepped so far from Jesus that I'm pretty sure I would need a spotlight to find Him again.

 

It's those moments that I'm reminded how blessed I am to have a God that adores me and welcomes me with open arms. ALWAYS.

 

I hate excuses. I really do. And that goes for everything in life. You couldn't show up? Just say you couldn't show up. Didn't feel like being social? Just admit you would rather spend time with the remote and tv. And what's even crazier is the fact that I'm making excuses right now. I don't know if it was the busyness of our wedding, or the traveling, or the approaching holidays, or the fact that I am exhausted by 8:30pm, but I have drifted from God like a lost pair of sunglasses in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

And I hate that feeling. It's a feeling of shame and bewilderment in my futile attempts to practice what I preach when in actuality, home girl hasn't whispered words of prayers to the Big Man like she should be. I can't help but always think, "WHAT are you DOING?!" Last week during bible study, I had that realization that my excuses are useless and wasted breaths. My season of wandering is solely because of me, and me alone.

 

Have I restored that kindling fire into a burning inferno for my passion of God? Not quite, but it's a daily process for me. And God is so patient with me. These seasons remind me so much of Nehemiah 9:16-33. It's a continuous war going on between our flesh and our spirit to follow God wholeheartedly. In the midst of all of the chaos, God provides His love, comfort, forgiveness, and so much more.

 

But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. (Nehemiah 9:31)

 

In realizing that I have struggled with my nearness to God lately, I also realized that I have failed as a dutiful wife to Hunter. If I'm not encouraging him towards the Spirit and we're not growing together towards God, then what good is our marriage in the eyes of God?

 

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11)

 

So friends, the beauty in all of this is this: we will always fall short of the glory of God. It's just human nature because we are never of capable of being perfect. But, because of the love and mercy of God, we are always welcomed back with open arms.

 

...Come behold the wondrous mystery
Christ the Lord upon the tree
In the stead of ruined sinners
Hangs the Lamb in victory

 

See the price of our redemption
See the Father’s plan unfold
Bringing many sons to glory
Grace unmeasured, love untold...

(– Matt Boswell, Michael Bleecker, Matt Papa 2013)

 

A Follow-Up of Sorts

So in the midst of getting back into the swing of things yesterday, I totes magotes realized it's November. Which means October is over. Which means I need to recap my October goals and make some newbies!!

 

In case you missed it (or need a reminder like me), here were my October goals and the pass/fail rate....

• Get married - this is a no-brainer but hey, it's important and needs to get done. Le duh...

 

• Really reduce my eating out habits. I'm talking no more iced coffee's from Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, or Starbucks. This actually pains me to type this but I have found a few iced coffee recipes that I'm going to try. Thank you Sarah! PASS! Gotta love that iced coffee.

 

• Put the rubber to the road with ministry things. In all honesty, I have been running around like a crazy woman trying to plan a wedding but hey, no more excuses! Fail. I don't even want to talk about this. I'll do better Coach.

 

• Knock down more debt - Hunter and I just got our checking accounts and savings accounts combined (I know, real life stuff here) and we have some big plans to pay off debts. Slowly but surely, we're becoming debt-free. Half-pass I guess... We're knocking out stuff much quicker now that our finances are combined.

 

• Send out thank you card's for wedding gifts - I've been working on these as each wedding shower has happened so I'm staying pretty on top of it right now. Just can't slow down now! Ha! Fail... But I am working on those this week because it's just rude to not thank people.

 

• Run - I'm not even putting a specific mileage number here. I just need to get back into running. Hunter has decided to start running with me so I'm very excited to have a running buddy. He just needs to take smaller steps with that big ole stride of his! What does this even mean?! *whomp whomp*

 

So my little chickens, this brings me to my November goals....

• Try to really buckle down on ministry things for Quincy such as youth stuff or finding a program that helps abused women.
• Forget running, at least go walking with that hubs of mine. Not only will we feel better but we'll feel better - win win eh?
• Knock some Christmas shopping out. I can't get over the fact that Christmas is next month.
• Complete the paperwork and have my last name legally changed over. Moving from the front of the alphabet to the back ya'll!

October goals - yep I'm on that bandwagon

I'm always seeing other bloggers' monthly goal lists whether it's to eat healthier, craft more, date nights, save money. Whatever it may be, I've finally decided that maybe I should just try this out.

 

Ya never know if you don't try, right? Right.

 

So I bring to you, my friends, my goals for October!

• Get married - this is a no-brainer but hey, it's important and needs to get done.



• Really reduce my eating out habits. I'm talking no more iced coffee's from Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, or Starbucks. This actually pains me to type this but I have found a few iced coffee recipes that I'm going to try. Thank you Sarah!
• Put the rubber to the road with ministry things. In all honesty, I have been running around like a crazy woman trying to plan a wedding but hey, no more excuses!
• Knock down more debt - Hunter and I just got our checking accounts and savings accounts combined (I know, real life stuff here) and we have some big plans to pay off debts. Slowly but surely, we're becoming debt-free.
• Send out thank you card's for wedding gifts - I've been working on these as each wedding shower has happened so I'm staying pretty on top of it right now. Just can't slow down now!
• Run - I'm not even putting a specific mileage number here. I just need to get back into running. Hunter has decided to start running with me so I'm very excited to have a running buddy. He just needs to take smaller steps with that big ole stride of his!

Overall, these goals are pretty achievable, basic, and good starting-out goals I think. We don't wanna be starting off on the wrong foot now do we?

Hope you lovely folks have a fantabulous Friday and weekend! It's only supposed to be in the high mid-70's here so I'm squealing like a pig.