Pure Is Not Just For Ivory Soap

TRUTHBOMB

This is what I'm teaching my 11 year old daughter. For most of my adult life I have willfully disobeyed God when it came to sex and I admit it. In the movie, "The Devil's Advocate", the devil, played by a couple of actors - Al Pachino most notably, at the very end of the movie looks right into the camera and says, "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin." Well, for me it's always been lust that I've struggled with almost all my life.

In the movie "Oklahoma" there's the song, "I Can't Say No" with the line in it that goes, "...kissin's my favorite food...with or without the mistletoe, I'm in the holiday mood". Yup. Kissing and everything else that follows. But here's the thing. Yes, lust has historically been my favorite sin, so to speak. Somewhere along the way, I started to believe that in order to get a man's attention or keep it, that I had to offer up my body. Cheapen the act of intimacy and turn it into something crude and rude and vulgar. Sometimes it was so that I wouldn't feel lonely. Sometimes it was to prove to myself that I was desirable to others because I had extremely low self-esteem, regardless of my looks. Sometimes it was just because I wanted to feel close to someone. Sometimes it was just because I wanted to.

Maybe it had to do with the childhood trauma of being molested, not raped, thank God, but by more than one person as a child. One, a single adult in the neighborhood who'd been friendly to all the kids. I suspect I wasn't the only one, but I could never prove it. Two others, one girl when I was very young who was much older than me, one boy my age when I was older... All of these years apart from each other, but all under the age of 10 for me. My mom only knew of the one at the time, and only because my best friend back then forced me to tell her. Back in the late 70's through mid-80's, you just didn't discuss stuff like this and I didn't know what to say or do about it. The one was dealt with quietly and she protected me as best as she knew how and I love her even more for it. But you don't experience stuff like that and not have it leave some sort of damage to your soul.

Regardless of the reason, I KNEW it was wrong. As I got into my late teens, I finally caved to the pressures of the world that said, "if it feels good...DO IT" and continued to do so for many years. Growing up in a strong Christian household and having accepted Christ at an early age, I was definitely not ignorant of God's Word and what it said about intimacy and sex outside of marriage. I was just willfully disobedient about it. Like so many Christians I know today. People who claim to know and love and follow Jesus, but think that living with someone or having sex before marriage is perfectly fine because purity is old fashioned and...everybody's doing it.

I'm woefully guilty of this myself. I KNEW it was wrong but did it anyway. I desensitized myself to God and what His guidance is.

There are reasons why God says that we are to save ourselves for the person we marry. GOOD reasons. There's so much heartache to be brought into a marriage if you've contracted an STD or have "tried somebody else on for size". Too many people to compare your spouse with and what if they fall short of your prior experiences? What disappointments are you bringing to them? To yourself?

There's a REASON God says we are to remain pure and chaste for the one He has chosen for us.

Casual sex is rampant in many societies. There is, in truth, no such thing as “casual” sex, because of the depth of intimacy involved in the sexual relationship. The following analogy helps you to understand just what casual sex and multiple partners does to us. If we take a sticky note and attach it to a piece of paper, it will adhere. If we remove it, it will leave behind a small amount of residue; the longer it remains, the more residue is left. If we take that note and stick it to several places repeatedly, it will leave residue everywhere we stick it, and it will eventually lose its ability to adhere to anything. This is much like what happens to us when we engage in “casual” sex. Each time we leave a sexual relationship, we leave a part of ourselves behind. The longer the relationship has gone on, the more we leave behind, and the more we lose of ourselves. As we go from partner to partner, we continue to lose a tiny bit of ourselves each time, and eventually we may lose our ability to form a lasting sexual relationship at all.

Yes, I have a rather colorful past. God, in His grace and mercy, has forgiven me for the sins of my past. It has been 2 years since my divorce and I have not been intimate with anyone since then. Not even when I was seriously dating someone a year ago. I know now WHY God says these things. I am so thankful that God did not allow me to reap the punishments I deserved for my sins. I don't have to explain to someone that I contracted something that can't be gotten rid of because I gave myself away to someone who was just as reckless with their bodies as I had been with mine. But I have friends...family in Christ, who have had to deal with the fallout from their sin of lust and sex before marriage and it's hard. It is difficult for them. It's a whole different world to have to deal with. A permanent reminder. Even if it is an STD that has gone away through surgery or medication, the fact is that they still had one. It is just one result of not honoring our bodies and the gift that God has given us to give ONLY to our spouse that He has chosen for us. Of not respecting ourselves...or God.

Do you not think that God doesn't love you and that He wouldn't have chosen the best person for you? Perfect for you? Why ruin something wonderful by being unwilling to wait for God's best?

If this the lifestyles in this world are what's considered "normal", I'm glad to no longer be "normal". I'd much rather be considered "different" as I finally follow what God says about sex. Yeah, it might be "old fashioned", but so what? At least I know that the one who is worthy of the person I've become loves me for me, and not because I'm an "easy" catch. Someone who's an "easy" catch is just as easily thrown back while they search for someone who is worth keeping...someone who isn't so easy to catch.

So, here are some other truths for you if you're single, whether you've never been married or are married and divorced - once or more than once, like myself.

1. God desires us to be pure, maybe the reason you are single is that He is removing that temptation from your life until you are ready for the one He has chosen for you.

2. God is still writing your love story so don't mess up the ending by trying to write your own.

3. God wants your focus to be Him first. Keep your eyes on HIM and delight yourself in Him and He has promised to give you the desires of your heart.

4. You should be so hidden in God that someone needs to seek Him in order to find you, and when they do find you both of you should keep seeking Him together because, as the Bible says "a cord of 3 strands is not easily broken".

5. Trust in God means trust in HIS timing. We can't force God to move and if we try to do it on our own, how can He bless us with His best?

6. The RIGHT one will respect you and your decision to remain pure and will want to honor what it is that God has given to the two of you by not pressuring you to have premarital sex.

7. Ladies...yes, it is a man's job to respect you...but it is your job, as a woman, to give him something to respect.

So, what happened on Saturday?

There is so much talk of Good Friday and Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, but very few people actually talk about Saturday and what happened in between the two. I wonder why that is? Saturday is the pivot point. The day before the single greatest event in history. The day before death and hell were conquered! It’s the day of uncertainty and worry and sorrow.

Put yourself in the Apostle’s shoes for a moment.

You have just seen all your hopes and dreams shattered by the Roman executioners. Not only that, but you aren't that proud of yourself, either. For three years, you followed the Master. You personally witnessed His miracles, from walking on water to feeding multiplied thousands with a young boy's lunch to healing the sick and raising the dead.

You heard His wisdom; you felt His Power, witnessed His Transfiguration . . . and when the chips were down and it was time to take a stand, you folded up like a Wal Mart lawn chair.

You ran and hid like a coward, not daring to show your face for fear you'd share His fate.

(And you once had the nerve to ask Him if you could sit at His right Hand!)

He faced His enemies alone, without a friend to speak up for Him -- including you, who promised NEVER to forsake Him.

On Good Friday, 1980 years ago, the last thing on any of their minds was writing a detailed record of their own failures. They just wanted to put the entire sordid experience behind them and move on.

He had forsaken everything to teach and prepare them, and when the time came, they not only betrayed Him by deserting Him, they never had a chance to beg His forgiveness afterwards.

How would you be feeling at this point if you were them? Ashamed? Afraid? Numb with grief? Confused? Here you expected Jesus to rule over all as King. Instead He has been tortured in a way that the Bible says no man has ever suffered more and then was crucified and now lay in a sealed and guarded tomb. Your hope is gone. What do you have to look forward to now?

And what about Mary, the mother of Jesus? Being the mother of a precious little boy, myself, I can’t imagine what she went through. Seeing Jesus beaten, tortured, ridiculed, spat upon and crucified like a common criminal – knowing He was innocent. Did she replay in her mind as Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross, the other times He stumbled in His childhood…and, yet, knowing that this time she was unable to pick Him up and hold Him in her arms, kiss the boo-boo and assure Him that everything was going to be ok?

Being a mother, that, to me, is the most difficult position to try and put myself in. I can’t. Honestly, I don’t want to. It hurts my heart too much to even try to imagine being in her place.

BUT…

What we know now, and what the disciples and Mary didn’t know then, was that Sunday was coming…

Just one day away…

And that would be the day when EVERYTHING changed!

AMEN!

Who are you calling donkey?

There was once a donkey for hire.  He was chosen out of the rest of the donkeys to be the one hired out for a day.  At the end of the day, the rest of the donkeys asked him how his day went.

The donkey was thrilled.  "It was amazing," he said.  "There were crowds lining both sides of the street.  They were throwing palm fronds before my feet and shouting 'Hosanna!' as I passed by."

"You know," said the donkey, "I think they're gonna crown me King."

The point is obvious. Nobody remembers the donkey.  It is the Message he carries that people pay attention to - the donkey is only part of the background. Your life should be about presenting the message that the Lord is preparing to return, not about the donkey carrying that message. The donkey only carried the Message, and so should we all.

Strive to be the carrier of the message and show by example in our lives how that Message has transformed us, instead of braying like a donkey to bring attention to ourselves. The message we carry is far more important! It's eternal...

Maybe the reason is...

Rocked. My. World. I believe this is exactly RIGHT! God knows this is the single area in my life where I have the biggest temptation. Not gonna lie. That's where I've gotten myself in trouble in the past because I went with my emotions, full speed ahead, jumped in with both feet, used no restraint and absolutely, positively did what I knew to be against what God said in the Bible about intimate relationships. It wasn't until God really started getting hold of my mindset a couple years ago and not just my heart that it truly hit home just how very wrong I had been in the years past, and I have finally been living by what is in the Bible ever since. Easy? Not always. Not for someone who has lived opposite for pretty much all of her adult life.

Seeing this, after all the frustration I've been through as to why I haven't been able to find a relationship worth keeping, made so much sense. It was a huge DUH moment...the kind applied like a sledgehammer upside the head. That is His way of removing what is my biggest temptation and keeping me pure for the person He has had planned for me all along.

So I am working on being the person I need to be and preparing myself for the one HE has in store for me! I can't wait to see who it is b/c I know they will completely rock my world and be better than I ever could've dreamed! I'm asking him for a Job 29, Oneand2Blue kind of man while I am working on becoming a Proverbs 31, Oneand2Pink kind of woman.

Just like the verse scrolling across the top of my blog says, when you put God at the heart of it all and wait on HIS timing, it makes all the difference in your perspective of things. "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalms 27:14...

What God has promised...

He has promised me...and my family...and you...a hope and a future (Jer 29:11), to never leave or forsake me (Heb 13:5), that the Godly will never be abandoned nor their children begging for bread (Ps 37:25) that He is near us always...even until the end (Matt 28:20) and on and on are His promises.

Here's the thing that most people do not understand tho...for those who are in Christ, God has promised to supply all of our NEEDS...not all of our "wants".

Key difference.

You have shelter, you have food, you have transportation, you have clothes...tho all of those may not be the kind you "want", those needs are met. Never will He leave or forsake us, even tho sometimes it might feel like it when we can't feel His presence.

But remember this. The teacher is always silent during the test. Will your faith in Him pass or fail?

We often say "show me...and THEN I'll trust You" God says "Trust Me...and then I'll show you". And it's often more than what we could have ever imagined.

Rather be Single

Being out of a relationship for right at a year now, there are definite things I miss about being in a relationship. But sometimes love, no matter how strong, is just not enough. Sometimes the differences are just too great and people don’t want to compromise or bend or grow or you find out that you didn't have as much in common as you originally thought.

So you let go, you move on, and you work on becoming the right person for the RIGHT person because a successful relationship does not depend solely on *finding* the right person, but on *being* the right person. Working on oneself to become the right person is not easy...kind of hard at times, in fact, but you have to take an honest look at yourself and realize the one common denominator in your failed relationships is...you. Yes, most of the time it takes two to make or break a relationship, but, fact of the matter is that something wasn’t right on either side.

What made me choose...unwisely...each time? Why didn't any of the relationships last? Digging deep and being brutally honest, I’ve come to understand where I went wrong in my choices and why and now it’s about changing myself to make sure that

1. I don’t make those choice mistakes again and
2. that I am no longer that person. Besides, I know that when all is said and done, I won't be single forever.

After all, the BEST is waiting for me to be ready to handle everything I've been praying for. But, being single, for someone who truly enjoys being part of a couple, is not exactly my cup of tea - and single parent dating is rough! However, I know this much, from what I have learned in my experiences, I have come to realize that at the end of the day I would much rather be single right now than be with the wrong person. For myself and for my children.

Fear WHAT?

Have you ever had that time in your life when you feel like you are on the verge on a momentous personal breakthrough that could change everything about your life?

Yeah, that’s what I’m feeling right now sitting here at my J-O-B. That there is...something...hovering just out of the scope of my peripheral. It’s right there. Much like the word on the tip of your tongue when you know it but can’t come up with it.

It’s exciting and frustrating all at the same time. It’s sitting perched on the edge of your seat and waiting in anticipa...............tion.

It’s feeling nervous and a tiny bit scared because you aren’t sure you can handle what’s coming or about to happen, even though you want it so much!

It’s the barely suppressed tears that you have no clue why they’re there or why you want to cry and if it’s a cry of happiness and excitement or just a slight touch of fear.

I said it in December on my Instagram page, but I truly feel that 2013 is MY year. This is the year of my breakthrough and of significant change for me personally and for my family. I just don’t know exactly what it is or when.

Am I ready? I’m not sure.

I’m not entirely positive I can handle this anomalous...something...that is headed my way. But I’m ready to try. I want this so much that I’m willing to push that fear aside and go deeper and be more bold. Punch fear in the face, kick it out the door, do what’s uncomfortable in order to get what I want.


The time is now. Everything I am being faced with...like literally encountering on a daily basis...entails getting rid of fear. And for me...that’s scary. I think I’ve been so comfortable in my own fear that it’s become a real part of me for 30 plus years and that’s no longer acceptable to me because it has affected my life, and not in positive ways.

But it is life changing when you have incredible friends walking beside you and who believe in you more than you believe in yourself and then their belief in you starts to rub off on yourself. And the Bible says "Fear NOT" 365 times. One for every day of the year. HELLO?!?!?!

I CAN do this...whatever IT is. I can and I WILL. Whoooooooooo...that was actually hard for me to type.

But I am determined.

I am decided.

I’m feeling a little nauseated.

Shedding a few tears.

Breathing deep.

Determinedly ready to move forward and change my future, and that of my children. In 3...2...1...

You lost your faith? Where did you put it?

Faith...One loses one's faith when one forgets where he put it.

Many claim Christ, but misplace their faith in a religious system, or a particular preacher, or even a particular translation of the Bible. People tend to put the faith in a man of God, and not in the God of man, and when something tragic happens, or that misplaced faith is trampled on because the PERSON that faith was placed in was found to be fallible and a mere human who falls into sin just like everyone else, then faith can be damaged and even bring the believer to the point of loss of faith. That is why we cannot misplace our faith in humans or a thing created by mere, mortal man.

My faith is NOT in a particular version of the Bible, but in its Author, and that is why, when the going gets tough, when things seem to be weighing on me, when the stresses of the day and of life start to beat and batter me down, I remember that God is always faithful to me, has proven Himself in that faithfulness over and over and over again, and I know that He is always with me, always watching out for me and my children, always there to provide, to teach, to guide, to show me how greatly He loves me.

You can have FAITH or you can have fear. The choice is yours. It's what you allow to take the foremost thought in your mind. Faith or fear...which will it be? Faith is of the Lord and fear is of the enemy and the enemy is a liar. God has not created us for or given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but He has given us a spirit of boldness and power and love. To paraphrase parts of Deuteronomy 31:6-8,

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you....Be strong and courageous...The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Be strong.
Be courageous.
Do not be afraid.
God is with you.
He will never leave or forsake you.

Hello? Is this getting through to anyone? Place your faith in the hands of the One who will never let you down and who is not the creator of fear, but instead is the One in whose presence fear flees.

Faith or fear? The choice is yours.

Waiting on Romeo

I know several languages with which to say "I love you" to someone. Greek, Hebrew, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, German, Afrikaans, Creole, Gaelic, Mandarin Chinese, Hawaiian, Sign Language and, of course, English.

In the past I have rushed into love, or what I thought was love b/c I followed my impulses instead of waiting patiently for God's choice for that person in my life. In the past 2 years I have grown a lot...in the past several months I have grown exponentially in my faith, my walk and my obedience to God.

There's a couple of reasons why I've not had a relationship for a year now and have been completely celibate for going on 2 years now.

1. I want the best that God has to offer me and in the past I chose selfishly b/c it was MY choice and what *I* wanted and I know NOW that those relationships weren't what God had planned for me. I'm waiting for that ONE to be brought into my life and I know he's out there. But, especially now as a single mother of two precious children, I can't afford to bring the wrong person into their lives. So I'm being patient in my belief that God really does know what He's doing and that His timing is always right.

2. *I* was not ready and I still am not. I have been working on myself to be the person I need to be for the man that God has planned for me but I know that I still have a bit to go. I'll be honest. But I'm a long way from the person I once was and it's a good feeling!

I know that the man who will be in my life, and the children's lives, will put God first, instead of keeping Him as an afterthought or a "never thought" as have all of my past relationships been one or the other. There's a reason they didn't work out. I'm praying for a "Oneand2KindaBlue" for a Oneand2KindaMarriage. There might be some of y'all out there who know what I mean by this, and if not, I encourage you to check out Oneand2 Ministries.

I've come to realize it's all about trusting God and His timing instead of trying to force God's timing into my own frame. That just doesn't end well. Trust me. I know all too well.

Someday I'll have my "As you wish..." and it will be better than any storybook story. 

Providing Solutions...

So, as you all know in my last post I did the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge and was super excited to see the results I was getting after just 3 days.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure what to expect when I went on the 24 Day Challenge, but after finishing it, I'm a true believer in the AdvoCare products. After the 24 days was up I lost a total of 15 pounds and had an over all inch loss of 32.5"...and I'm STILL losing weight and inches and gaining energy 4 weeks after by continuing the products after the Challenge. I am now at a total of 18 pounds (and 4 dress sizes) lost and 35.75" overall gone from my body! 

I am NOT the kind of person who endorses a product, that is unless I TRULY believe in it, but I can't stop talking about the 24 Day Challenge and the other products that have me able to work out harder, longer and faster with better results than I've ever had. This is a product that I wholeheartedly endorse! Not only do I have the body back that I had 15+ years ago, but as a single mother of two kids with a full time job, I have more than enough energy to keep up with my kids when I get home and on the weekends...especially my extremely active 2 year old!

I decided to become a distributor and an advisor after several friends asked me about it from seeing my results so far. I figured why not help others get the same or better results than I did and catch the same excitement to live an EXTRAORDINARY life?! 

Along with the weight loss and energy increase, in 6 weeks I now have a debt-free business and made over $1,000.00 in profit (every little bit helps these days!), the person helping me is currently making an extra $1,200.00-$1,500.00 a month, and is on target to make well over $3,500.00 a month before the end of this year – doing this part time, I might add...and the person helping HIM went from making between $3,000.00-$4,000.00 a month in January of THIS year to making over $12,000.00 a month with the company, as of LAST month. That is how explosive the growth is behind these products and who doesn't want part of that?

AdvoCare provides solutions for what your goals are and gives you a way to reach them. My vision is to be able to have no more debt and be financially FREE and able to work as a single, work at home mom who can support myself and my children and AdvoCare is providing the way. If you are interested in the opportunity to do the same, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will be happy to talk more with you about how YOU can do it too. In this economy, the opportunity and ability to make money, be your own boss, be debt free and to help others is really a blessing!

Here are some links for you to check out if you are interested in either the Challenge, the Business Opportunity, or both:

Challenge Information: www.choosethechallenge.com

Business Opportunity Information: www.workwithchampions.com

If you have any questions about the products or the business opportunity to become financially free and be your own boss please email me at southaustinadvo@gmail.com and I will be happy to answer them for you! If you want to take a look at the AdvoCare products lines, you can view them online at www.southaustinadvo.com and order from there if you want to try anything out. And...they have a completely 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

I KNOW where I'm going with this company! I'm looking forward to getting more out of AdvoCare in all ways and bringing others along for the exciting ride!

By the Way: Here are the final results!

And now for something I've never done before

Ok, so I never endorse a product unless I love, love, LOVE it! Especially anything having to do with a "diet" or anything like that, but it's getting to come up on tubing season AKA TOOBIN'...AKA bathing suit season. *CRINGE*

After 2 kids and a body where the hormones have gone out of whack for the past 9 years, I am in dire need of help. So...enter Advocare.

I have several friends who have taken it and have had fantastically amazing results on it. Not just women, but men too. Their weight is down, lost inches, BETTER cholesterol, heart function, lower blood sugars...all the stuff I need to work on.

One of my friends, who is my advisor these next 24 days, lost 7 inches from his waist alone and 25 pounds in that first challenge.

I will be posting pictures/stats for the next 24- days so you can keep up with my journey to a healthier me on the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. I'm SUPER excited about this. I started on Sunday and ALREADY there is a noticeable difference in my my stomach. It is not as flabby and looks more trim and flat...and it doesn't "done lop" over my jeans (as much) anymore.


                                                     Day 1                                                                       Day 3

                                                  

It's about love, love, love...it's about love.

I've had a lot of time to think about the verb, the action, the definition of love lately. Andrew Landon summed it up pretty much perfectly here (with a few additions of my thoughts) so I will let him take over, for the first part anyway. This is probably one of the most important and well said definitions I have found yet of what love, the reality of it, is all about.

"Love is a funny thing. You expect it to be easy. You expect it to be a world of roses and laughs and perfect moments that you find only in movies. You expect them to always say the right thing, and always know exactly how you feel, or exactly how to react to it. You expect them to calm you down when you're yelling or to chase you when you run away. You expect so much that you feel entirely and utterly defeated when something doesn't exactly match up with all your plans. But that's the thing. Love isn't a plan. It doesn't have a certain beginning and it certainly has no end or visible finish line to those deeply in it.

Love happens; and it is so incredibly messy. People around you can't comprehend why you do the things you do, or why you fight so hard for something that seems to cause you so much pain, because simply, they can't see. They can't see the invisible ring of insanity that surrounds you when you're in love. It's inconvenient and painful and devastating at times, but we can't live without it. We can't breathe the same way or function quite right without it. See, that's the thing about love. You hold it up to all these images you've learned to attach to the word 'love' since you were little.

We learn so many things about love before we are even capable of falling. Don't rush in. Keep steady. Prince Charming/your Princess will fix everything. What you don't learn is how hard love is. How much work it takes. How much of ourselves we have to put into it. How it isn't worth it until we are complete and utter idiots about it. Don't rush in? I practically dove with my eyes closed; fully aware that I had drowned before. "Love is a battlefield." Never really made sense because it is contrary to everything we have been taught to believe how 'love' is supposed to be. But it is so entirely different.

Love isn't them calming you down when you yell. It's them yelling, just as loud, just as hard, right back at you, right in your face to wake you up and to keep you grounded. It isn't him bringing you roses everyday or pretty things that make your relationship appear more presentable. It's after a long fight, that drains the life and bones right out of you both, and yet him showing up at your door the next morning anyway. It's not her saying all the right things or knowing exactly how to handle you. We are human beings. We don't handle one another, and we can't be handled. We are mutable creatures that need something different everyday. Need something more or less to keep us going, to keep us believing that it's not all for nothing.

So no, it's not them holding you and telling you everything is going to be all right and will be sunshine and roses. It's them standing there, admitting they're just as scared as you are. You have to remember that with love, you're not the only one involved. You've unknowingly put your life, your heart into the palms of another person's hands and said, "Here, do what you will. Mash it into mince meat. Or forget I ever handed it to you. As long as you have it."

That's the thing about love. It makes us crazy. It makes reality invisible and it erases all the lines that we shouldn't cross. Because love isn't about fencing ourselves in; feeling safe, feeling sure about the future. It's about scaring the shit out of every nerve in our body, but pushing forward anyway. Because all the fighting and all the tears and all the uncertainty is WORTH IT. And it's a hell of a lot better than being 100% happy without someone to show us that there is a world of a difference between feeling 'happy' and feeling whole."

In love you don't give up when the going gets tough. Love can be simple, and it actually really is. It can be made to be so complicated though when people over think it. We have become a disposable, throw away society, tossing what doesn't conform perfectly to our idea of what we think love "should" be. There are a lot of "should's" in life, but rarely do they ever match up with that fairytale definition/vision in our head. "Should" isn't "IS".

We have become so conditioned to thinking love HAS to be a certain way. BS! What works for one, doesn't work for someone else, and so forth and so on. Love is not perfect. It IS messy. There are no perfect relationships or people. There are only perfect moments worth cherishing and treasuring that are created by two imperfect people who share love. If you know someone who thinks love should be a perfect story from beginning to end, tell them to go see a romance movie because that's the only place in life where things work out "perfectly"and in the span of 2 hours.

There will be arguments and misunderstandings in love, let downs happen and illusions are shattered, but love will mean that you will try your absolute hardest to get over any hurdles and issues together. True love isn't selfish and can bring people together in a way nothing else can, it is a soul connection, a commitment of the heart. Love is seeing the person for exactly who they are and loving them anyway, with all their faults, flaws and the things that annoy or irk you sometimes and that you may not understand because you know that they are so much more than those things. So much more than their past. They bring life to your life because of who they are.

Love is understanding that the differences, big or small, are ok because you know that those differences compliment each other. Where I am weak, you are strong and vice versa. Love is celebrating the similarities. Love is allowing the other person to expand your experiences and show you things you may have missed without them there to show you. Love is knowing that you can trust them with your deepest secrets and know that they won't look at you differently because they know YOU...and love you anyway.

Love should never be taken for granted, although often it is. Love is more balanced than the highs and lows that passion and frustration bring. Love can conquer all, but only if work and effort from both sides is implemented in order to not destroy love. Understand that it is not perfect, but it can bring perfect moments together, moments you want to capture in other ways, so you build and grow together.

If the person in your life makes you want to be a better person, if they challenge and motivate you and make you think, if being around them allows you to just "breathe" because you can be yourself, relax, allow yourself to be vulnerable with them...hold on to that. If they encourage and support you and don't laugh at your dreams, that is worth its weight in gold.

Love is feeling more right with a certain someone than you have ever felt with anyone else, regardless of the challenges or the differences. Because you know you belong. You know you, and your heart, are safe with them. Because they let you know in ways, big or small, that you matter.

Love is give and take and falling in and out of love several times...but always with the same person. And when the "out of love" happens, it's holding on because you know that those seasons in life come and go. So do the good times and the hard times. Having someone there with you to weather the storms and celebrate the joys is what makes all of it worthwhile.

Love isn't the fairytale we would all like for it to be. It, like life, doesn't come with an "easy button". It's hard, it's work, it's gritty work sometimes, it's fun, it's acceptance and understanding, it's bending so that it doesn't break irreparably, it's trusting the other person with your heart and taking care of theirs, it's mutual respect and honor, it's creating the good memories and the laughter to guide you through the tears and the sorrows and the not so good times, it's opening yourself up to hurt and pain and allowing yourself to be vulnerable, it's letting someone else in with all their baggage, their past experiences, and being unable to see your life without them in it...it's protecting and cherishing each other and what you have created. Love, as non-fairytale like as it is, truly is beautiful in all of its forms and inceptions. It's worth fighting for and working on daily once you have it.

Love, after all, is what they say makes the world...makes YOUR world...go 'round.

Trust...so easy to say...so hard to do

Have you ever just had "one of those times" where it seems that everything you want is within reach and then it starts to crumble? I've been going through a REALLY tough time since early, early Wednesday morning. It's personal. It's taking a toll on me. It really sucks. It's nothing life threatening, just emotionally painful. It's a struggle to make it through the days with such limited sleep. About 5 ½ hours since I finally got in bed around 6 a.m. yesterday morning. I feel like a zombie. And it's especially difficult to be dealing with this on my own, so to speak, with no buffer between myself and the kids. My mom is out of town for a few days so I am putting up a brave front for them but it gets tiring. But, as always, I have to be the strong one.

But God has my back. He's told me so in no uncertain terms. I'm a firm believer that if God says something twice, He's really trying to tell me something – just as my pastor says – if God says something in the Bible more than once, He's trying to get our attention on that subject.

And I agree 100% on that...HOWEVER...if God tells me something SEVEN times...I'd better be listening, understanding and obeying.

All of the below posts are from around 7 or 8 last night through around 11 this morning. All of them from friends who know nothing about what is going on in my life. But POOF, there they were at different times. SCREAMING at me to LOOK and PAY ATTENTION.

As I said...SEVEN posts on the same theme...I'm being given a "God Smack" right upside my head.

3/28 FB Post: Picture: "My child, you worry too much, I've got this, remember? Love, God"

3/28 FB Post: So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

3/28 FB Post: "Doubt less, more Faith "

3/29 FB Post:
Don’t Be Troubled
TODAY’S VERSE
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.”
I Corinthians 15:58
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ”
John 14:1
TODAY’S THOUGHT
In life we will have trials. We will have struggles. To grow is to stretch ourselves. With this come risks. So we step out in faith; and even then, we can have times of fear, doubt and anxiety. Many times we avoid conflict, hide from our struggles or simply try to escape pain through various ways. We can try and ignore our pressures but sooner or later avoidance won’t work anymore. We have to face the situation we find ourselves in. The good news is that God is faithful. He knows our struggles, He knows our limitations. Paul the Apostle encourages us, because of the love and power of God, to stand firm and let nothing move us. Jesus encourages us not to let our hearts be troubled by believing in God who is almighty and all loving. God is for us. He loves us. He is our strength. So today, stand firm, put all your trust in God. Exercise your faith and give all your struggles, trials and temptations to Him.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You know all about my situation. You know my worries, fears and anxious thoughts. Help me stand firm. Help my heart not to be troubled. I do believe in You, dear God. I come now and trust You with all my life.
AMEN
TODAY’S MEDITATION & AFFIRMATION
I will trust in God
Feel yourself being weighed down by trials and tribulation. You burden is so heavy. You are at the end of your rope when you remember to call out to Jesus. You cry out to Him and decide to stand firm letting nothing move you from your resolve to trust God. You feel you burden become lighter. You sense that God is giving you strength to live for Him. You affirm, “I will trust in God!”

3/29 Tweet: "And once again I say... NO MAN can open a door God has already SHUT nor can they SHUT a door that God has already OPENED #DEPENDENTonHIM"

3/29 Retweet: "If anyone has had a rough day: 1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you ". (This actually goes with what a dear friend told me yesterday that God was telling her to tell me to read, which was all of 1 and 2 Peter. This retweet is by someone who also doesn't know my other friend who told me that. How's that for a READ THIS NOW!?)

3/29 Tweet: Tough times? The reason why GOD gave the assignment to you and not to someone else, maybe because HE TRUSTS YOU with the task!

All of these random, posts, all with a central theme all for me. DON'T WORRY...so easy to say...so hard to do, but I'm trying. It's hard but I'm really trying. I'm a worrier by nature. I constantly feel like I HAVE to be in control of my life b/c it's so hard to give over that control to anyone else. On this earthly realm I've never really been able to depend on anyone but my mom and myself and my best friend, MC. Everyone else has let me down in some form or fashion.

God has proven time and again that He is nothing but FAITHFUL to the very end...but my human nature and propensity for worrying is so strong that God really does have to "hit me upside the head" a la "Gibbs" style with these messages. (Those of you who watch NCIS, will get the reference there)

So, God, I'm trying to give that control over to You. It's painful for me to do, so please be patient, as You have already been. But please know that I'm trying. I'm listening and I'm trying.

I love You... ♥♥