Thankful Thursday (9)

Today, I'm thankful for...

1. The successful rescue of the 33 Chilean miners.  So exciting and awesome!!
2. Joyce Meyer... I cannot say enough about how much she has impacted my life by speaking the truth with boldness and living in obedience to God!
3. Sarah, for her friendship and for teaching me to cook.  We're planning to get together once a week and cook a different meal and dessert, and have some friends over to help us eat it!  :)

4. Movies that do something to inspire me on a spiritual level!  Lately, Gladiator and Secretariat are topping that list.
5. Thankful for the "shield of FAITH" -- that I can overcome worry and confusion and doubt by simply leaning myself entirely on God and trusting His power, wisdom, and goodness!!
6. That I'm now fully certain I won't have to miss my OneRepublic & Maroon 5 concert! Awesomeness. :)
7. Being reminded how short my time here will be, and that I need to live well, to make each day count.  (And yes, I totally just pictured Kate, aka Rose Dawson, raising her glass and saying, "To making it count!")

8. My new denist (Dr. Neil Hasty) for being a genuinely kind person, and for the complimentary teeth whitening, and for making my new retainer for free!!
9. Cookiecake... for obvious reasons. =)

10. That Babah has been breast cancer free for years and has been able to enjoy life and be healthy... (random, but Race for the Cure made me think about that and all she went through, so it kind of applies to this week.)

11. For having the internet at work now... how did I ever make it without it that first year!? lol
12. My Avalon Greatest Hits CD... In Christ Alone... love it!
13. The promises in Deuteronomy 28:1-14!
14. That my super-annoying credit card issues have been resolved.
15. Experiencing (I barely felt it while I was still in bed at 9:15) my first earthquake yesterday.  In Oklahoma.  So random!  (*It was minor, and I just thought it was kinda fun.  But I'm not actually thankful for earthquakes, other than them being a sign of the end times and the soon-to-come rapture!)

MoRe raNdOm QuoTEs!

“Time you enjoy wasting... was not wasted!” ~John Lennon  (Love that one!)

“Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it.” -Unknown

"Everything is kung fu!"  ~Jackie Chan, Karate Kid :)

"I'm a grown woman, and I don't have to dance around in the middle of a circle if I don't want to!!" ~Laura, explaining her refusal to take over at Zumba class :)

"Is she wearing jeggings??"  -Me
"Probably!  And if so, she's probably like, 'Oh, jeggings, pour your love on me!'"  -Rach (random hilarious conversation during the LC worship service)

“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word and thought throughout our lifetime.” ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” ~Lucille Ball

“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.” -Unknown =)

"Hey Swadie, why don't you get online right quick and figure out a way to make us a billion dollars.  Or really, a hundred million would be good enough!!"  ~Mom, after we saw The Social Network  (I'm on it.)

"But then the white man brought the syphilis."  ~Tara Lynn, at the end of a ranty conversation during Bible study! lol

"Shut up!  ....You guys suck, and I'm leaving."  ~Megan, as we were cracking up when she almost fell getting up from Malori's couch

"And now I look like Olivia Newton John."  ~Malori in her Race for the Cure sweatband :)
"Let's get physical, physical!" -Mom

"I've decided that the people who talk about how exercise gives them so much energy are FULL OF IT. Since I've started running, I can barely stay awake til 9:30. This is severely cramping my happenin' night life, i.e. staying up til 10:30 to watch The Office reruns."  ~Laura B. :)

“Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.” ~Theodore N. Vail

10-10-10 Weekend Update

• Just a brief weekend recap with pictures. :)
• Friday night, we celebrated Natalie's B-day at Johnny Carino's!  Fun group, fun night!  After the party, I drove home to OKC for Race for the Cure weekend! 

• Happy Birthday today (10-10-10) to Natalie!!  Woohoo!

• Ran in the OKC Race for the Cure with Malori... Mom was our #1 fan and driver... JB was there too and walked in the race. :)  The 18,000+ crowd was intense, but the race was fun... I enjoy running 5ks and 10ks.  15ks are a little much, the Half is sounding a bit overwhelming at the moment, and the Full still sounds terrifying!  But I will do it eventually.  "We're marching on..." :)

Went to help paint at JoBug's house and to see the progress on their pool... it will have a hot tub section,  a rock garden, and a waterfall... and it's gonna be awesome to swim there next summer!! =D

• Saw "It's Kind of a Funny Story" with Malori and Megan... and I would argue that it was kind of a sad story, but good movie.
• Dinner at MiMi's Cafe - their cheddar broccoli quiche is always a favorite!  And the honeybran muffins.  Yum.
• 
  Finally tried a salted caramel hot chocolate... good, but I still prefer regular HC.
• Went to Malori's and helped Megan with her Halloween Party invitations... black and white themed party, and the invitations were super cute!
• LifeChurch with the fam, minus Dad, who is at an SF thing in Branson this weekend.
• It bothers me that I KNOW my core values and spiritual gifts and personality and God-given burdens, yet still feel clueless about my actual "chazown" or vision or purpose in life.  What is that about??
• Lunch with the fam (and Josh and Carter and Triston) after church... chaotic, but fun!



• Saw The Social Network with Mom after church.  Good movie!
• I'm sooooo tired, and now I'm off to take a Sunday afternoon nap.  :)
• And tomorrow, I am off work in honor of Columbus Day.  Hooray!!

Thankful Thursday (8)

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." ~Psalm 136:1
This week, I'm so very thankful for...

1. Awesome and powerful worship services at church!
2. Being raised in a  loving, Christian home!
3. My new photo collage software... because sometimes, one picture just isn't enough. ;)
4. Malo-riah and Chet Lee, still two of my favorite people... so excited for our NYC trip this December!! =)

5. Grilled cheese sandwiches. :)  One of few things I'm good at making, but I'll be adding to that list soon. lol
6. Getting to see the "Art in the Square" exhibit this past Saturday - awesome timing!
7. Letters from Judith, my Compassion child, especially when she draws me pictures or says she's praying for me.
8. Sleeping well.  (Sometimes I go to bed later than I should, but I always go right to sleep and sleep all through the night, and I'm very thankful for that!)
9. Hearing (from Tara Lynn) about the Hospitality House!  Thankful that it exists and for what they're doing, and thankful that I'm at a place where I can get involved now!
10. My wonderful, encouraging girlfriends who mean so much to me!!

11. Getting my hair done -- because changing it up will always be fun to me, and I love when they wash my hair and massage my scalp. :)
12. Relaxing Sunday afternoons.
13. Starting tennis lessons with James - fun and very educational. And ever-so-slightly exhausting.

14. LaFortune Wednesdays jogging with Laura!  And the fact that she quoted One Republic's Marching On in her FB message to me. :)  Love it!!
15. Feeling God's love and finding renewed strength in Him, and being hopeful and excited about my future!!

A bit of advice...

Whenever I'm going through something difficult and feeling down about life, the famous Christian advice is to get my mind off myself.  Other Christians often encourage us to think about others and do something for someone else so that we'll magically stop feeling discontent.  And I understand the heart of it, and think it's great advice when someone is truly just being self-absorbed and arrogant, but there's a big difference in being selfish and being wounded, and I wish people would remember that.  It would be exhausting and probably very fake if I went out and tried to share the love and goodness of God with others when I'm absolutely not feeling it in my own life. And I don't think God expects that, nor do I think that Jesus would view that as the perfect solution to our problems.  Obviously, we should always walk in love with the people around us, but to go out of our way to find a new volunteer project is not always the most 'Godly' thing to do.

It is not selfish or wrong to take time to let God speak to your heart and strengthen you before you try to really give back to others. I thought about that last week as I was leaving Tara and Kristin's Bible study - Tara told us all about the Hospitality House (an awesome Christian ministry for the families of terminally ill / long term hospital patients - providing food, a place to stay, someone to talk to and pray with, etc. - something that is incredibly similar to what I've talked about wanting to do before). And I absolutely plan to get involved with that soon - but I was in such a bad place emotionally and spiritually that it would've been ridiculous and probably crushing for me to talk to grieving/worried families whose lives have just been shaken and drastically changed.  And I knew that, but it felt like others believed that was exactly the cure I needed.

People imply that when you see others who have it worse than you, you'll suddenly be full of thankfulness for all that you have.... and if your problem is seriously wanting more stuff, that may be true. But more often than not, the problem in our hearts goes much deeper than that.  And when that's the case, when you're sincerely thankful for all you have, but you're doubting God's love and feeling abandoned and broken and confused in some area, stepping out of your comfort zone and trying to minister to others who are in worse suffering will likely be insincere and is not going to fill you with joy or make you feel much better about God's heart toward people. My point here is that I believe God wants our hearts, and He wants us to be REAL, and to minister to others from a "whole and healed" place.  And I am tired of Christians misunderstanding that and failing to show compassion when someone is hurting.

So if you are ever tempted to give the wildly popular, "Get out there and help someone else" or "Just think about all the people who have it so much worse than you" advice, please stop and remember that being wounded and being selfish are very different things, and God will not find it sinful for His children to wait to regain strength and find healing before trying to help heal others!!  Instead of giving that advice, perhaps you should focus on simply being there for them in their need.

John Eldredge sent an email today talking about the difference in canals and reservoirs. That a canal spreads the water out as soon as it comes in, and because of that, it runs dry very quickly. While a reservoir waits until is it completely filled, and then overflows, "and thus without loss to itself it shares its superabundant water." God doesn't want us to spiritually burn out and run ourselves ragged because we feel like we have to constantly give, give, give and never take time to be restored and let God fill us up. So when you are genuinely hurting, don't let anyone make you feel guilty or pressure you into doing more "acts of service" to get better.  Take some time off, and wait on God.  Your HEART matters to Him, and He wants to first heal and restore you, so that He can really use your life as a testimony that will restore and strengthen others!!

The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end

• Finally watched all of Gladiator this week (the toned-down, less graphic TV version -- yes, please).  It was EPIC.  Full of spiritual truths and parallels.  I was really surprised by how much I loved it, even the ending!  Movies like that do so much for my spirit.

• "You have a great name.  He must kill your name before he kills you." ❤
• "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."  Woo, for a tiny moment, that made me a Russell Crowe fan.
• "Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive."
• Satan is also cruel and cowardly and uses anything he can against us, especially in areas where he knows we are weak and hurting, but God has chosen us and given us authority, and we have the power to overcome evil when we "lock our shields" of faith and use our Sword.  LOVE IT.
• I am so thankful for the grace of God.  For His mercy.
• My talk with Jeff last night made me think about what I've learned from my past, what I want for my future, and how that is changing.  Blog post coming soon.
• "I'd rather have five minutes of wonderful ...than a lifetime of nothing special!"  -Shelby, Steel Magnolias
• First tennis lesson yesterday.  I'm an awful tennis player, but it's still fun somehow. :)
• This FB status cracked me up: "Attention all Creepers, Go to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market right now. You all are having a convention of sorts at this time." (Amanda Wille)
• I commented last week in Bible study that I view Satan as the enemy of God, and all people as people that God loves... yet David refers to people as enemies of God in the Psalms. 
• And then I found this verse: "You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? ...Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." (James 4)
• "Your loyalty is divided" - that phrase really gets me!  God so desires our entire heart, and we have to humble ourselves before Him to be called His friends.
• Another appropriate Gladiator quote (that applies to all enemies of God): "The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end." 
• I want to be humble and pure before God, to always fight for His glory and honor and not my own.
• Okaaaay, time to get back to work!!

Hope Floats

• Today was refreshing, relaxing, and fun.
• Hope floats.  It is immortal.  No matter how far down it may sink, you will never drown it - it always rises up again.
• I've spent a lot of energy questioning everything and getting upset lately, probably being prideful and ignorant... but I believe my emotions are stabilizing.
• John 14:27 has been helpful... Jesus gives me His peace, but it's up to me to not let my heart be troubled, or as the Amplified says, "stop allowing yourself to be agitated and disturbed."
• Jogged 6 miles this morning and had a good talk with Natalie on lap 1 and Laura on lap 2! =)
• New weight loss plan = eat well and exercise often, but avoid the scale till January 1st.  I love it!! 
• After my hair appt at Ihloff, I browsed the Art Show at Utica Square, which was fun and gave me several abstract painting ideas.  It was such a nice day today!
• I bought a clearer version of the above picture ...black and white where only the balloons are red! (photo by Mia Bella)  Kinda random, but I liked it for several reasons - it represents so much joy and hope! :)
• Oprah interviewed J.K. Rowling, and I was very impressed with her -- her story, imagination, intelligence, and down-to-earth attitude were inspiring!  Perhaps I'll start reading and become an extremely late fan of Harry Potter now? lol
• *2019 Edit - YES, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.  I'M ON ROUND 4 OF LISTENING TO THE AUDIOBOOKS NOW.  SOOOOO FANTASTIC!!
• "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. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.  You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all."  ~J.K. Rowling
• Failure stripping away what is inessential, and rock bottom becoming a solid foundation - love that.
• "Life's really not worth living if you can't have a Cosmic Brownie binge now and then!" -Malori  ...amen to that! lol
• Monday night tennis lessons starting soon... get excited! =)
• I want to learn to cook... for real this time... and sometime soon, Sarah's going to help me get started. :)
• Last night's Los Cabos outing was also a lot of fun... and this picture makes me laugh!

• I'm really tired, so that's about it for today.  Goodnight!