Happiness is here.
Hey guys! So this is definitely not one of my favorite outfits, and I must admit, I think anything “babydoll” lives up to it’s name (no I am NOT pregnant, lol), so I’m not sure why I still have them in my closet! But I like the colors, and I had the photos in my Flickr, so it was the only outfit I could blog from the boyfriend’s house! And I needed to blog something today. Going through withdrawal because my computer is currently fried!
Decision-making models are practically countless. Just take one business class and you’ll find that out! But we, as Christians, as Good Girls, have really only two options: world-based decision-making, or Heaven-based decision-making. Or, as a more pleasingly alliterative alternative, “Fear vs. Faith.” Have you ever seen someone make a decision based on worldly assumptions, convictions, and desires? I truly believe it comes down to a decision made in fear: I have to do this or I won’t be good/cool/rich/thin enough. Or the worldly decision is based on selfishness, which is really just fear cloaked in self-righteousness.
What does the alternative look like? Well, it looks…scary and humbling, if we’re being honest. It looks….unpredictable. Oh dear. This is really making me want to put on that cloak of self-righteousness and cower under selfishness again. A faith-based decision is based on two things that seem at odds: a knowing and a not-knowing. We may not know why a decision makes sense, we may not know the full details of how it is going to work out or what glory God will be given, but we know with utter certainty that God has our backs. God does not want us to be fearful or selfish. Jesus equates little faith with fear.
A faith-based decision allows God to show us how strong He is, and often allows us to learn a lesson and be refined. “Giving in” to a faith-based decision may mean letting go of long-held ambitions (that whole cool/rich/thin thing?). It may mean de-focusing on the scary 10% of something and focusing on the rewarding 90%. It may mean relying on the kindness of strangers, or taking a pay cut, or riding the city bus next to that not-so-clean looking person. Sounds scary right?
Fear enslaves us. But when we receive the Holy Spirit, we are freed from fear! Embrace that truth. And we can cry, “Daddy, Daddy!” to a Father who blesses our faith.
Dear Abba,
Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have not given us a spirit of fear or timidity! Thank you that you allow us the grace of your strength when we step out in faith. When we call to you, when we cry out to you, you answer. Help us to make decisions based on your convictions and promises, Lord, not those of this world.
Your Daughter,
Natalie
And this song. This lullaby of a love song:
Monday Mid-Day Pick-me-ups!! Not that I need a pick-me-up. I’m pretty darn happy! 😀
Cloverton’s “Take Me into the Beautiful” I posted a few Mondays ago is the free song download on K-Love this week! Click here to download to your iTunes!
Mom, this one’s for you. The Aveda Confixer is really expensive, but I scoured the shelves at a few stores to find this one, which I believe is very close, and at least $5 cheaper (though still a bit of a splurge!). It’s a fantastic liquid gel that you put on prior to styling.
It’s the end of the night and the end of yet another pretty journal filled with my life.
I always feel like the start of a new journal marks some sort of significance in my life. What will it be this time? What year and a half worth of life will I capture within its pages, within my heart? My journals are my prayer journals. They hold cries of my heart, longings, prayers answered, prayers unanswered; they hold all of my foibles and all of my fears. They hold the triumphs when there is no one else to share them with, the little inconsequential battles won. They hold all of this so I can remember. So I can see later. Indeed, there was an answered prayer. Thank goodness God didn’t answer that prayer! See how He was preparing me for that?
He is always preparing us, molding us. He is always refining us, defining us again with His love {this song}. Shaking the dust off us and saying, “Now try again, my child.”
At the end of the night, I run to my Heavenly Father. I run to Him and I say, “Daddy! Daddy! Did you hear about today?! Did you see that? Did you know?” and He says, “My daughter, my dear, I was there with you. I ordered your steps today, and it gave me great delight to sing over you.”
And tonight, I run to Him and I am all smiles. You know how a happy little girl runs to her daddy and says, “Daddy, I LOVE you!”? That’s what I do tonight. I lavish my love and praise on Him. I raise my hands and I sing Him a new song. My heart loves to bring Him praises.
I have a feeling good things will be in this new journal. Very good things, indeed.
There is no real sunshine in the skies. There hasn’t been for days….weeks….But I found some sunshine! Pure, apricot sweet tartness in a jar! On my toast!
Toast? Actually good gluten-free bread!!! Good enough to eat straight out of the bag! Or use for sandwiches! It’s true love! I canNOT get enough of this combination. I’ve been eating it night and day. Literally. For breakfast and a late night snack. Sometimes I even add a swath of natural peanut butter. Gooey deliciousness.
{Lucy’s gluten-free cookies in the late-afternoon sunlight)
Also check out Jen’s adorably-adorable outfit today. I love it so much!!