Changes…

My life is changing. I don’t know if it’s for the better (i would hope so), but it’s definitely gonna be different. I’ve recently watched several documentaries about food. All those toxins going into our systems is not a good thing, and is most likely a very bad thing

(how many people these days have cancer?) One of the changes I’ve made is by going Organic, at least on the food that matters. Some can’t be helped, like eating at events or at people’s houses, but the food I do have control over will change. My roomies and I spend the afternoon at Earth Fare grocery store, and we got organic chicken, vegetables, homemade peanut butter, cereal, and many more things. Before the grocery store, we went to joann fabrics for materials. I’m just turning into a regular prairie girl!!

And speaking of prairie girls (and you won’t believe this), I’m seriously, and I do mean seriously, considering raising a few chickens. I know, right!? I got a chicken book at barnes & noble and have been studying up. A small, portable chicken coop would be relatively easy to build, and I could keep it in my back yard. I think I could do this (along with my awesome roommates who are totally on board).

Yep. Things are changing.

Saturday Adventures

So, last saturday was a day filled many wonderful things (including exploring Green Mtn & celebrating a lovely V-day with you-know-who), one of which was venturing out to The Flying Monkey at Lowe Mill with my roomie Kristen.  This place is just full of wonderful treasures and intriguing oddities and is a great place to spend a beautiful saturday afternoon, providing that you don’t mind seeing creepy baby doll art, witchcraft books, and jewelry-making lesbians.

Anyway, Kristen and I ventured into the vintage clothing store, which is always an adventure, and we bought these:

 

 

You might think us crazy for purchasing mumu’s, but we had a plan. The thing that caught my eye (aside from the light, breezy, all-around comfiness) was the big pockets. I thought, wouldn’t this make a great skirt??  So that’s what we’ve done!  It’s super easy, providing you know how to sew. All you need is a mumu, a piece of elastic, and a sewing machine & thread. Start with cutting the elastic to the length where, when stretched, is the appropriate length of your waist.

So, first you cut the top half off right under the armpits.

 

 

Next you unbutton the front to where it’s one long piece of fabric and fold over the top about 3 inches, or however wide your piece of elastic is.

 

 

 

 

Once you’ve pinned the folded over part, sew the elastic (using zigzag) into one end of the fabric, where the waist will be.  Next, sew the folded over section all the way across the fabric. Once that is done you will need to pull the elastic through the sewed-over tunnel and sew at the other end the same way the other one was done.  Now button the skirt and sew up the front so that you don’t have any gaps in it.

If the fabric is too thin and needs another layer just add that in.

 

 

 

 

 

And it’s finished! 

Your mumu skirt is complete. Mine looks a little different since Kristen took her’s in a bit, but we love them!

Yum…

I’ve been meaning to blog more…maybe I can add a few up here within the next week.

Until then….look what I made on my snow day off!

You can find the recipe here, thanks to (who else but) the Pioneer Woman.  And believe me, they’re worth every single point. 6 points, to be exact.

You’re welcome Storehouse Leadership team-who-will-be-receiving-these-in-less-than-2-hours!

Live Weak

This next paragraph is an October excerpt from the blog of a teenage boy from my alma mater, who was in my younger sister’s graduating class. He died a few weeks ago from cancer:

At this point, I am ready for death. I’m actually afraid of getting healed because then all my hopes for heaven will have to wait several years. [...] I am now living the idea of “Live Weak” to the fullest expression (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The more my weaknesses are displayed the more God is glorified. [...] Some may say that I don’t need to push myself too hard, but this is looking at my strength rather than seeing it as God who strengthens me, “with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” Besides, if I push myself too hard, then I will get to go to heaven sooner. It is a win-win situation regardless of how you look at it. Praise be to His holy, righteous name. I rejoice that I have been chosen to suffer to for the glory of God. -Christian Schmidt (read the full blog here)

How freaking amazing is that?

On a much, much, much lesser note, I lost my voice last week because of straining it not long after I had a cold.  I cancelled the singing commitments I had in which I could be replaced by someone else, but I couldn’t get out of leading Sunday morning worship at my church (my job/ministry) last minute.  When Sunday morning came around, I was just as nervous about singing as I was the very first time I led worship 7 years ago. Now, I’ve always known that my singing ability is solely from the Lord and not of my own ability (my voice was never that great before I was called into worship ministry), but why would I be nervous, knowing that it is not by my might, but by His Spirit?? I think a part of me got comfortable. I started relying on my own ability and not on His strength to do what He has called me to do.

Christian quotes 2 Corinthians 12: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My weaknesses are dealing-with/leading/stirring-up/encouraging/teaching/basically-anything-that-has-to-do-with people, being a front-of-stage presence, & I would have to say that singing would be at the bottom of the list of instruments that I play well. So, of course, He would call me to be a worship leader.  Now, He has definitely equipped me with what I need to do this. It’s one of those “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called” situations. He has given me the strength to do what he has called me to do. I lost sight of that yesterday morning.

Another thing He has called me to do (me & everyone else) is to make disciples of all nations. However, this is a call that I feel like I have done a crap job of answering & obeying. Now, why would I obey my call to worship leading and fully rely on His strength to get me through it, and not trust Him to help me out with this one? I mean, HE ACTUALLY SAYS: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” (Matt 28:19-20). The other call was an urging of the spirit, but this call is stinkin’ WRITTEN IN HIS WORD!!!

This is more important than anything else. For example, Peter saw Jesus’ majesty during the transfiguration (Matt 17), and he later says “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place”. In other words, Peter says the Word is a more reliable source than actually seeing Jesus and hearing the Father’s voice. How can we, in our right mind, neglect this calling?

Shortly after my sister told me about Christian’s death and I read his blog, I was driving in my car and had a vision, of sorts, of me standing before Jesus, and I couldn’t tell Him how I have made disciples of all nations. I couldn’t give Him a reason for saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” This brought me to tears as I drove. This is the most important call that He gives us! Will He say that to you when you one day see Him face to face?

Times past…

I’ve been on a british kick lately. I had a fancy tea party on saturday for my birthday, and it was so much fun just to play dress up!  And I’ve really been wanting to go back to England….it will be ten years next week since I was last there.  The only thing, though, is that I can no longer justify a trip overseas that isn’t a mission trip.

Beautiful pic by Rachel from the Tea Party

 

What is it about the Regency Era (1812-1830) that is so captivating? Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Wordsworth, Beethoven…they’re all laced with subtle passion & beauty. Not over the top exciting, but a rich sweetness once you look closely. Listen to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, or read/watch Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” or “Sense & Sensibility”. They’re so emotionally moving!

Becoming more alive

It starts slowly.

You oversleep and don’t have time to do your morning bible study. Maybe you make it up in the afternoon.  And you’re fine for the rest of the week. A few days later, in your barely-conscious stupor, you hit the snooze button a few too many times, so you don’t have time again to read or pray. But this time, you don’t have time to make it up. You tell yourself you’ll just study twice as long tomorrow.

Before you know it, you pull up to church and grab your bible from the back seat of your car. That bible has stayed in that one spot since you threw it back there last Sunday.

The next part starts slow as well. So, you skip your daily bible study and prayer time for  a week or two. You still feel ok; still feel close to God.  Maybe it’s been a month since those red letters have seen the light of day.  Here’s where we see the down slide. First come the bad moods for no reason. People start to annoy you when they’re doing nothing wrong. You get frustrated easily. You start talking about people behind their back. You see opportunities to reach out, witness, encourage someone, but you don’t because you “just don’t feel like it.” Worship becomes boring; the band played the last chord and you realize you have no clue what you were just singing about. Your heart wasn’t in it.  Sin doesn’t have the same effect on you as it used to. There is no ‘godly sorrow.’  Sad things don’t phase you. Happy things don’t phase you.  You’re numb, dead. You’re living…but you’re not alive.

The fact it, the further we are from God, the less alive we are. We’re simply existing. But when we submit to his will, when we draw close to Him, our heart begins to awaken.  There’s a common misconception among unbelievers that submitting to God means adopting a robot personality that doesn’t think for itself, and living a boring life.  But that’s not it at all!  The more we become like Jesus, the more we become the person we really are. The person without all that baggage….without the layers of junk that we put on ourselves.  We start to shine!  We become fully alive!  We begin to realize that the life we were living before wasn’t really a life at all…we were just going through the motions. But this new life experiences everything for itself.  Life becomes beautiful, in the happiness AND the sorrow.  We feel joy AND pain….and that’s a good thing!

I occasionally cross paths with people that are FULLY ALIVE.  It’s rare, but it’s a sight to behold. You can just tell by talking to them.  They get so excited about everything! And when they hear about something sad, even if it has no connection to them, their eyes fill up with tears and their heart breaks for the other person. They are overflowing with love, with joy.

I want to be like that. Fully alive!

 

For You and You alone awake my soul, awake my soul and sing!

Like the rising sun that shines, awake my soul, awake my soul and sing!

Only You can raise a life, awake my soul, awake my soul and sing!

-”Awakening” by Chris Tomlin & Reuben Morgan

I am thankful

Nov 24: Watergate & Layered-lettuce Salads

Nov 25: Watching old movies

 

I’m sitting on the couch at my parents house as “Miracle on 34th Street” comes on ABC Family.  It’s quite a serene moment.  Today we took family pictures and went to my grandmother’s house for lunch.  I love those little things in life that are just so sweet.