INCREASE

"Whatever you spend your time focusing on is what will increase in your life."  ~Joyce Meyer

Believing that quote is true, should I seek to focus on:

The numbers on the scale OR new and healthy habits?

What won't matter tomorrow OR what will still matter in heaven?

Things I am upset about OR things that make me happy?

My pain OR my joy?

Seeking my value through others OR knowing my worth in Christ?

Feelings of loneliness and fear OR boldly reaching out in friendships?

My past failures OR my future victories?

Me, me, me, me, me, me OR Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit?

The many people who have pushed me away OR the God who is ever pulling me closer?

Building my own name OR bringing glory to God's name?

What others have done wrong OR what they've done right?

What I have done wrong OR what I have done right?

What is tearing me apart OR the God holding me together?

Hopelessness OR HOPE?

...the right side is the pretty clear choice here, but it's amazing how quickly we can forget that!

January has been difficult, overwhelming at times.  Monday and Tuesday marked the first two-full-days-in-a-row that I've made it through without crying.  Progress, yay!  Part of the tear-fest was honestly healthy and good; but part of it was because I chose the left-hand column over the right.  

But HOPE is strong, and I am already climbing out of the pit I've been stuck in, and I believe with everything in me that there are wonderful things in store this February!  =)  So... get excited!!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."  ~Hebrews 10:23

Thankful Thursday!! (56)

"Therefore, we who have fled to HIM for REFUGE can have GREAT CONFIDENCE as we hold to the HOPE that lies before us. We have this HOPE as an ANCHOR for the soul, firm and SECURE." ~Hebrews 6:18,19

Today, I am thankful for:

1)  God's kindness/comfort; feeling closer to Him.

2)  The happy surprise of finding a new John Eldredge book at Mardel this week!  (So far, I'm really connecting with it - much as I don't actually know the man, I always feel like I'm listening intently to a brilliant and insightful friend who really understands me when I read his books.)  :)

3)  Joyce, for speaking truth with love and boldness - sometimes it slaps me in the face and is difficult to hear, but I know God uses her to correct me and help me grow up!

4)  Whoever gave the little presh Boo puppy a FB page and calendar, because just looking at him brightens my day and makes me happier! =)

5)  A fun Zumba marathon with the fabulous Laura Allison this past weekend, and for being inspired/motivated to exercise and get in shape!

6)  For perspective shifts:  Realizing that (ironically) I am only affected and bothered by the self-centeredness of others to the degree that I am being selfish and wishing they would focus more on me.

7)  For life in this present moment, (however difficult it might feel), for beauty, for the hope of redemption, for being alive and "infinite" in Christ, and for all the people I love most in this world!!

"Yaaaay!"

Here is a fun little pre-Christmas video of my nephew, Jace-man, clapping the softest baby-clap ever when he hears the word "yay!"  It's something he's trying hard to imitate, and I LOVE it. :) 

We'll pretend that he's clapping because he knows today is Mom's birthday!!  ...or perhaps it's that he's excited about being a big brother soon!!

Either way, it's a good day to celebrate! =)

Top Ten Tuesday!

My Top 10 Favorite Restaurants =)
...what better thing to write about at the start of a new year when everyone's trying to be healthy? lol

These are in no particular order, because it really just depends on my mood.  Sadly, two no longer exist, but they're still on the favorites list.  Also, I missed breakfast and I'm really hungry this morning, so thinking about all this made it worse. lol

10 - APPLEWOODS
Ahh, I miss it!!!  The apple fritters (pictured), the amazing dinner rolls, the cheese soup (better than it sounds!), Hawaiian chicken, potroast, mashed potatoes, even the green-on-green salad with parmesean dressing... so good!  (This was Mom's favorite restaurant, so we would usually go there for her birthday and Mother's Day... till they closed it down and put a super-classy place called "Bikinis" in its place - ugh!!)  

9 - DON PABLOS
I'm starting with the two that have shut down.  I have so many fun memories here with Rach, Holly, Megan, Mark, Wes, Josh, Sarah, etc.  It was a frequent dinner spot for us, and they had what was by far my favorite queso of any Mexican restaurant ever... yum!!

8 - JOHNNIE'S
Or Johnnie's Charcoal Broiler, to use its full name.  (This pic was my lunch the day Jace was born. lol  A kid's meal chili-cheeseburger, fries, and teddy grahams... awesome!)  This was a common Sunday after-church-lunch spot for my family, and I wish they'd open one in the Tulsa area!  Something about the grated cheese just makes their burgers so much better - so for me, this beats Five Guys or Red Robin or Republic for the best cheeseburger!!

7 - MAGGIANO'S
We discovered this through Julie Methvin, I believe.  (Not in Oklahoma, but we've been several times on trips to Dallas and Vegas.)  They serve a family-style dinner where you choose two appetizers, two salads, two main courses, and two desserts.  I still have a hilarious bossy email from Holly where she was trying to plan ahead so we wouldn't take forever to order. :)  Rach's "crystallized banana" dessert (the pound cake) is pretty awesome, as is their cheesecake and their chicken parmesean and the lasagna and fried cheese appetizer! =)  Yes, I'm hungry and ready for lunch... these pictures aren't helping.

6 - CHICK-FIL-A
When it comes to a favorite fast food place, mine is definitely Chick-Fil-A!  I love their waffle fries, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwich, chicken-minis breakfast and the cookies-n-cream or banana pudding shake!!!  I also love that it's a Christian company, but that's not really part of why it's a favorite... their food is fantastic!

5 - OLIVE GARDEN
It was a tossup between Olive Garden and Bravo, but Olive Garden wins for their awesome breadsticks and baked ziti! :)  (Bravo's bread and red sauce is fantastic, but there's no specific meal that I always get there.)

4 - TED'S
(Ted's Cafe Escondido, that is).  Best tortillas ever!  And awesome fast service and tasty cheese enchiladas and tons of good memories with fun people. =)

3 - HIDEAWAY
My favorite pizza place, definitely!  (Always with hand-tossed crust, never thin.)  Their baked ziti is also pretty great!

2 - MIMI'S CAFE
Oh, the muffins!!  Honey bran and chocolate mouse and cinnamon apple streusel - all amazing!  Finding this picture made me happy, bc it's the muffins and the broccoli cheddar quiche that I love!  (And fruit, but I tend to skip that part. lol)

1 - PANERA BREAD
Obviously!!  Love the breakfast souffles & sandwiches, the cutely-named muffies, chocolate pastries, cinnamon crunch bagel, several soups, bread bowls, mac n' cheese, the 'big-kid grilled cheese' sandwich, and even the strawberry poppyseed chicken salad!  I love the cozy-casual atmosphere and that it's the one place where I'm comfortable eating alone.  Love it! =)

And on a lighter note...

Song of the Week = Some Nights (originally by Fun, here by the cast of Glee)

Ridiculously ob-sessed with this one right now.  So fun!  I seriously LOVE this and have played it over and over!  Not sure how people can be so passionate about not knowing what they stand for or who they are, but I love it anyway. lol  And I don't even watch Glee, but I wanna be the last girl in the "Oh, COME ON!!" part.  :)


This John Crist video = hilarious... and so true! :)
You CAN'T settle! ...You know, you might wanna think about settling.
You know who else was single!?  Jesus!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"Why do I talk about the benefits of failure?  Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.  I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me."  

~J.K. Rowling

"And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world."  

~Anne Frank