25 Random Facts

I've seen this tag blog post/video around for a while, and thought I'd give it a shot! Here we go!

Sidenote: These facts will be in no specific order. And may not be of any interest to you, whatsoever! :)

 1. I've been pregnant 5 times, but only had 3 babies. 

 2. One of my miscarriages was due to a molar pregnancy.

 3. While I've sung my entire life, I didn't start publicly singing until my junior year in high   school.

 4. One of my goals in life is to write a book and have it published.

 5. I once wrote a very cheesy romance book in eighth or ninth grade. I still have it. 

 6. In eighth grade, I received one of the highest scores on the TAAS writing portion in either the district or state...can't remember which. 

 7. I like to rub cold satin between my fingers. It relaxes me. 

 8. I also like to rub cold ears...don't judge me. Its my own little quirk!

 9. I could literally sleep all day sometimes. 

10. I'm a night owl. Probably explains why I could sleep all day. 

11. I gave birth to my middle child without any meds or epidural...not on purpose.

12. I love to spray paint. I seriously look for things I can spray. Ha!

13. Every night after I brush my teeth, I crave ice cold water.

14. I had my gallbladder removed 7 weeks after I had my third baby.

15. I'm clausterphobic. It slowly seems to get worse.

16. I hate flying in planes. 

17. I can't stand it when people add extra salt to chips at Mexican restaurants. Just ask my friend Shara.

18. I'm a secret gamer at heart. I know. I'm the biggest nerd.

19. I can't do scary movies. 

20. My favorite show of all times is 'Felicity'. I watch the series at least once a year.

21. I'm a big time list maker/note taker. 

22. I have a serious shopping addiction.

23. I love crafting!

24. My sister and I quote movie phrases everywhere we go.

25. Growing up, I was a part of a puppet team and also did mime and human videos for church functions and competitions.

Whew... done! 

Hope you enjoyed some of these random facts about myself. Comment below and let me know one of your random facts! Or if you know a random fact about myself that I left out! 

A Book Challenge

I have a problem....

A mountain of them, to be exact. 

I love to read. And there lies my problem. I see so many good books out there and feel compelled to buy them! All of them. 

So needless to say, I'm way behind on my reading. My excitement for these books have gotten the better of me. And that's not including all the books that are living on my Kindle. Ha! 

AND a lot of these books are a part of a series, so that means more books in the future. 

Anyone else have a problem that's similar? Or anyone else just love to read and up for a little challenge? 

I'm going to challenge myself to read 2-4 books per month. Depending on the speed of your reading will determine how many books you can do. So, if you know you read fast, then lets go with 3-4 and if you read a little slower then shoot for 2 per month. 

If you're up for it, then comment below so I know who's all with me and with the number of books you're challenging yourself to read each month. We could form our own little book club so to speak. Keep each other accountable!

It's time for some serious reading to go down! So pick up your first book and lets go!

A Penny's Worth

  Penny for your thoughts?

At the end of my incredible experience at Bethel School of Worship this summer, we were given a gift. Something that would hold significance to each of us. Something we'd always remember and treasure. 

A penny.

You may be asking, "Huh?". At first, I think all of us were too. 

A penny holds almost no value, right? Its just one cent. It basically doesn't even count. We pass by them on the ground daily. How often do you actually pick up a penny? Yet, if we see silver money or a dollar bill, we're quick to pick it up and pocket it. 

Pennies are overlooked at times. Most pennies are tarnished, dirty. So it hides the beauty that a brand new penny holds. 

Someone once asked a millionaire how he did it. How he became a millionaire. His reply? One penny at a time. I don't know if this story is true, but it brings home a truth that we all need to realize.

We represent the penny. We think, so many times that we are insignificant. We don't matter. There's little to no value that we carry. We feel overlooked. We feel like a penny.

Pennies matter. Pennies hold value. 

YOU hold value. You matter. Your life is valuable and it means something. God made us, each with a purpose. He designed us to be different. No matter what your talent or gifting is (and everyone has talents and giftings), it holds such a high value when it comes to the Kingdom. 

We all feel insignificant at times. We feel overlooked. Unappreciated. 

God takes us in His hand, and cleans us. Like the dirty, tarnished penny, He makes us brand new. A clean, new penny. You are never overlooked by Him. He sees the beauty in you. When He looks at us, He sees us as He created us to be. 

I'm reminded of lyrics to a song, "Moving Forward". 

You make all things new, yes

You make all things new

and I will follow You forward

He's made you new. He gives us worth. Will you follow Him to where He leads? Will you recognize your own worth? 

Will you look at a penny the same? 

The Process to Your Purpose: Spending Time in the Wilderness

Photo: Courtesy of Creative Commons

Process stinks

Can I be totally honest with you guys?

The process stinks. It really does at times. It can be hard, disappointing, discouraging. 

Here's another word for it. Are you ready? 

Its being in the Wilderness.

How's about those apples, huh? What do you think of when you hear the word 'wilderness'? 

I looked it up on my dictionary app and this is what it says:

wilderness

-noun

1. a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland

Synonyms: badland, barrens, boondocks, desert, middle of nowhere, waste, wasteland

Sounds fun, huh?

The phrase 'uncultivated region' stood out to me just now when I typed the definition. So, I looked up 'cultivated'. 

Here's one of the definitions: prepared and used for raising crops, tilled

and another:  educated, refined; cultured. 

Ok...remember that for a minute.

God's all about processes.

God is God. He can do ANYthing. Nothing is too big or too small for Him. If he chose to, He could come in and rectify any given situation/problem/circumstance. He could restore you or place you in the seat of your calling in an instant. But then, what do we learn from that? Do we then expect Him to do that at all times? 

For example: I'm trying to lose weight and get in shape. I've been working at it for a while. I'd be lying if I didn't say that on may occasions, I asked God to just supernaturally take the weight off! And He could...but in doing that, I would go back to eating the wrong things. Stop exercising. It'd skip the process. I would turn around and gain it all back when I failed to maintain the things that I would have done in the process of losing weight. 

Get it? You'll never know what's inside with out a test. Through the process, God is chipping away to reveal the true you. 

Now, I'm not saying that God never comes in and just supernaturally shows off. He does! More than we probably realize. But its in the process, in the wilderness, that He's able to teach us. To whisper to us. 

Its where we find Him. 

Up until recently, I also thought the wilderness was a scary place to be. In my mind, its where we're all alone. That God abandoned us, in a way. However, His Word says that He'll never leave us. Or forsake us. He's always with us.

In the wilderness, its just you and God. There's no better place for the process to happen than in the wilderness with our Beloved. 

As you take one step into the wilderness with Him, in the process, you will begin to see just how you can get from where you are to where you've been called to be. 

We have to search Him in the wilderness. Cling to Him. 

When you walk into the wilderness, you are taking the first step into your destiny!

In the wilderness, there's no water to be found, but God wants to take us into the wilderness with a pick axe and wants to teach us how to dig. How to search for Living Water.

But I've been "called".  

All of us have been called by the Lord to do something for the Kingdom. But even after you become aware of that calling, or have that encounter where God comes to you and tells you, you still have a process before you come into the fullness of your destiny.

Moses was living in the wilderness when he went up to the mountain of God and saw the Lord's glory manifested. Afterwards..he went straight back into the wilderness! 

Remember David? The shepherd boy? When Samuel came to Jesse to anoint the next king, the Lord promptly said no to each one of them. Until they had David come from the fields where he was tending the sheep. This was the one! This was the next King! And Samuel anointed him right there. Surely after that, David was escorted straight to the palace to live until he became king. Right? Nope. He was sent right back to the sheep in the fields. 

And then, Jesus. He hadn't even begun His ministry yet. He was being baptized by John, and as soon as He came up out of the water, heaven opened,  He saw the Spirit of God and a voice from heaven said "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Matthew 3:16,17). And afterwards? Jesus was sent into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

What? This is JESUS we're talking about! He had to wait before stepping into His ministry. I think if Jesus could wait and go through the process, then so can I. 

What do I do while I'm here?

Being in the wilderness is the best place to be! Its not a scary place, like we've believed for so long. Its the place where God can speak and you can hear Him clearly. Its quiet there. So you can hear His voice better. Its the perfect place to hear Him. 

Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10

If you allow it, the wilderness will become the place where you hear Heaven and sit under its rain. And then....you'll know what it feels like. What it sounds like. And when the process is over and He leads you out of that wilderness, you'll remember. You'll then recognize His voice. When He speaks, you'll know it! 

Like I said earlier, when you're in the process, deep inside the wilderness, is where God can teach you. Refine you. And then lead you right into your destiny. 

Remember when I gave the definition of  'cultivated'?

-educated, refined; cultured

The wilderness is where God educates us, teaches, refines us. So that we will no longer be an uncultivated region. We will be cultivated; prepared and used for raising crops. Where we will bear fruit when we have stepped into our destiny. Into our ministry. 

My prayer for you all, and myself, is that we come to appreciate and love being in the wilderness. That we become so in tune with God's voice. That we allow Him to teach us and refine us. That we come to know His heart for us! That we come closer to Him.