The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Goodness

Happy Friday! And on a Holiday weekend?? Score. 

Today I am continuing my series on The Fruit Of The Spirit Series. The Fruit today is going to be brought to you by: Me! No guest poster today. 

So, Goodness huh? I gotta be honest, this one was a toughy for me. Goodness isn't as easy to define and talk about to me as lets say - Love, or Kindness. 

Think about it. Goodness. Is that like Kind-ness? Slapping a "ness" to the end of the word. The act of being good? So is that, what, being a good person? Is one of the attributes of being one who believes in The Lord and is seeking after Him - being Good? 

Seems too simple.

So I started thinking about all the times I use the word "Goodness" Here is what I got: "I can't wait to enjoy this mocha and all it's  chocolately goodness"  "oh my goodness! look at those cute boots!" 

That really got me no where.So then I started thinking about God and all the times I think/ talk about Him being good.

 "God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good" 

So that's when it hit me. That's the angle I am going with. God is good. He is so good to me. He is generous, gracious, He has a plan for me, He is loving, He knows the depths of my depravity and He still loves me.

God is good. 

Even though life isn't perfect. Life is hard. Nothing, and I mean nothing, in life is certain (which if you're me can lead to anxiety). But even though nothing in life is certain. God is still God. He is still good. I still have a reason to worship Him. I still have hope. 

Well after I had established that I still wasn't really any closer to figuring out how to apply this to my life. I am not God. I am not able to forgive sins, and save people. Then it hit me. Being Good/ having Goodness just means being like Christ. All the things about Him we would label good - I, we, should strive to be that way.

Serving people, loving people, forgiving people, forgiving ourselves. 

I apologize for this rambling, incoherent, not super conclusive post. I don't have it all together. I don't have a lot of the answers I am searching for. But I am trying. Thank you for stickin' around. 

What do you think Goodness is? How do you see Goodness in your life?

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Kindness

Hello Reader! I am so glad you found your way over here today! Today I am continuing with my Fruit of The Spirit Series and the lovely Katie from Hot Tea and the Empty Seat is guest posting! I have gotten to know Katie through her blog and emails we have exchanged. She is adorable and a great writer! Be sure to check out her Blog, Follow her on Bloglovin' and Like her Facebook page to get the haps over in Katie's world - you won't regret it!

Hey friends! I am so excited to be guest-posting on the fabulous Mary Keith's blog today! She is such a sweet friend that I am blessed to know. I have so loved reading each post in this series. What an encouragement it is to be refreshed & reminded of the power of the fruits of the Spirit!

Today's focus is on Kindness.

"How precious is your lovingkindness, O God!  And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

Psalm 36:7

If you are a daughter (or son) of the Most Awesome God, chances are, you have experienced God's lovingkindness! He has lavished His kindness upon us in so many ways. By sending His son into the world to save us, broken sinners to blessing us with food and water and life and friends and coffee. The Lord is so kind, there is no doubt about that!

What amazes me is that this same kindness that God possesses is in those who are His redeemed children.That awesome, powerful kindness is in you and me!

 To be honest, sometimes I'm not the greatest steward of that specific gift. Am I the only one?

Let's be real. There are days when showing kindness will seem impossible. Whether you're late for work, the kid poops on ya, your husband isn't understanding, or you flunked a test, it's hard to be open to showing kindness when our circumstances aren't prime. But the Lord gives us strength to do just that.

Jesus showed ultimate kindness on the Cross and that circumstance wasn't even close to being good or ideal. It was actually the hardest struggle anyone in history will ever endure. Yet He endured it and conquered it. For us. His kindness to us was that great. This gives me courage to push through the bad days and choose to show kindness even when it hurts.

Our Lord is selfless and the key to being kind is to be selfless, to always be looking outwardly to the needs of others and less focused inwardly with what we ourselves want, need, or desire.

Look around you. People are in need of genuine, pure, & honest kindness. It's something this world can't give. The world tells us to be nice in order to get something in return. But Jesus wants us to give our kindness to our family, to strangers, and to everyone we meet... without expecting anything in return!

How can you show kindness to your family today?

How can you show lovingkindness to your husband today without expecting anything in return?

How can you give kindness to someone who may not know Jesus this week?

How can you speak  kindness into your sister in Christ's heart who is struggling?

When we show genuine & pure kindness to others, we are glorifying the God who shows us kindness like a waterfall, every minute, never-ending!

Christmas Craft: Gold Dishes

This past weekend I got together with my friend Jackie (who blogs over at Run With Jackabee). I have actually known Jackie since high school. We were talking about how we have been friends for over 10 years! Blows my mind! How in the world did I get that old? ANYWAY!

Jackie has been blogging for a while now about running, crafting, her adoption story (she herself was adopted), and her fun filled life! I discovered her blog on Bloglovin' a few months ago and I decided to reach out and tell her about my blog. Because until Last week I had not shared my blog with anyone in my life! I finally got up the courage and did it. Took the plunge. Truthfully, it wasn't that bad! 

So this past weekend Jackie and I got together and did a craft. A Christmas craft. I do not have an artsy bone in my body. I don't have an eye for detail and I am not super patient so crafting is not my thing. So I scoured Pinterest and found this pin and thought "I can do that"  Guess what - I did! Believe me, if my craft can turn out half way decent - I assure you you can do this and it'll look amazing! 

First we went to the dollar store and bought some plain white dishes. Then we headed to JoAnn's and got the spray paint. We used Krylon 1000 Premium Metallic Spray Paint, Gold for the gold and Krylon 12-Ounce Triple Thick Clear Glaze Aerosol Spray to put over top to avoid chipping. Jackie already had Painter's Mate 671372 Green 8-Day Painting Tape, 0.94-Inch by 60-Yards, Single Roll.

That's it - those are all the supplies you will need!

• Plain white dishes
• Spray paint color of your choice
• A glaze to put over top
• Tape to map out your design

First tape out the design you want to show up on your mug/dishes. I suggest taping EVERYTHING you do not want to be covered in paint because little tiny specs will get everywhere if you don't!

Then we went outside and sprayed everything down. 

I suggest holding the can at least 6-12 inches away from the dish to avoid pooling and drips. (We, uh did not exactly do that - as seen above)

Let the paint dry for 2 minutes and then spray the glaze. Then after 8 minutes peel off the tape.

If you notice any "oops" spots - and we had a few- use a little nail polish remover and take it off. Easy Peasy.

That was it! When it was all completely dried everything looked super cute we were so pumped! We really were thinking this was going to be a Pinterest Fail but it ended up turning out great!

While I probably won't be opening up an etsy shop anytime soon, I am SUPER pumped with how it turned out!


Are you crafty? Have you made any Christmas crafts? Do you think you will make this craft? 

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Note: Affiliate Links used

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Patience

Y'all, I'm so glad to be able to guest post in Mary-Keith's space! I've had the pleasure of getting to know her a little bit more over the past couple of months.  She's funny, down to earth and just one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.  When she asked if I would be a part of her Fruit of the Spirit series, I knew I couldn't say no! I mean, really? How can you say no to that face? 

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 
Galatians 5:22-23

Forbearance, or patience, is something I've struggled with since I was a child and I would be lying if I said I've conquered it.  However, as I've grown in the Lord and as He has worked on me, I've learned a little more about what being patient truly means. 

Our lives are go, go, go.  After completing a task, we are always off looking for the next one. It seems, nowadays, that we just can't sit still.  Sure, we pray about what direction we need to go in but do we really want to wait around and see where He leads us? Nope.  At least, I don't.  I'll pray for days, weeks, months even, and He won't reveal where He would like me to go so I just decide for myself.  And more times than not, it ends in disaster.  Romans 8:25 says, But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  We don't know the plans He has for us so it's not up to us to make up our own, we have to be patient in Him. 

It's hard, y'all. It's hard to be patient. And it's tiresome. As our patience wears out, so do we. Our bones start to ache, our heads start to hurt and we just feel so run down and like we can't keep waiting. But the Bible tells us that if we do wait,  our strength will be renewed and that we will soar on eagle's wings, we will run and not be weary, we will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31).   

How many of us are quick to anger?  So often we get into petty arguments and disagreements  because one (or both) of us blows our top before knowing all the facts.  So many times I've gotten my panties in a wad because the first sentence out of someone's mouth is one I do not agree with. I don't take the time to listen to the rest of the statement and I get angry.  I've worked on this, a lot, and while every once in a while I do get angry, I try to remember James 1:19-20, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because  human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

For example, right now, my husband is being REALLY sweet by making my morning coffee and breakfast. However, he keeps interrupting me and it's causing my blood to boil a bit. Even though he's not being malicious or trying to interfere,  I feel annoyed because I'm working on something and he keeps coming in my office. Annnnnd as I type that, I realize that I need to be patient with him, in this moment. He loves me and he wants what is best for me. Heck, he's being patient right now because instead of spending time with him, I'm working on this post! I told y'all that God was working on me. :)

What do you do in those times that you are feeling impatient and anxious? 

Thank you so much, Sarah, for doing this post! I am so honored to have you guest posting for me! Just a reminder to anyone who didn't see: I have a Facebook page for my blog: Facebook Page Go over and Like it for updates! xoxo

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Peace

I am so very honored to be writing a guest post for Mary about the fruit of the Spirit! Mary and I met 6 years ago during an internship, we were roommates. I prayed for weeks before meeting Mary, as she would be the newest roommate to our tight knit group. Everyday, at least once, I would ask Jesus to help me be friends with my newest roommate. Then…Mary moved in. And she HATED everyone, even me! I thought this was quite the hopeless cause. But about a week later, while walking from the cafeteria to our dorm, Mary turned to me and said, “You know Casey, this might sound totally strange, but out of everyone, I just feel really drawn to you.” I smiled real big, and I exclaimed, “That’s because I asked Jesus to make you my friend!!!” And we have been best friends ever since. Thousands of miles apart, we still share the unbreakable bond of a Christ centered friendship, we were in each other’s weddings, our husbands even have the SAME NAME and are BOTH Pastors—you can’t make this stuff up! We are now both bloggers, and someday we will both be mommies! (You are welcome Mary!)

You can find out more about me on my blog: The Not So Perfect Life of a Pastor’s Wife.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Peace. 

If I were to ask you to describe for me a word picture of peace, what would yours look like?

I know some would describe a place out in nature, maybe a lake, ocean or some body of water, that is quiet and still, and absolutely beautiful. Others would say its a quiet house, in a cozy chair or bed, and another might describe a snow-covered lawn, roaring fireplace, Christmas lights, and a hot drink in their hands—the latter is my current experience. However, as beautiful as these pictures are, they still fall very short of what God describes as the peace that He gives.

Peace.

In the doctor’s office, hearing the news you always feared—infertility. 

Peace.

When taking steps of faith, with many unknowns as to the outcome.

Peace.

In the midst of sorrow and pain, holding the hand of your loved one as they cross from this life into eternity. 

Peace.

When the reality of this broken world leaves you with the feelings of uncertainty and little hope.

Peace.

When your worst possible nightmare becomes a reality.

Peace.

When you lose your child.

Peace.

When your dreams come crashing down.

Peace.

When it does not makes sense. 

Peace.

These, are the pictures of peace. Peace is not some feeling that takes away pain or fear. Peace is trusting God in the midst of all of those things. Peace comes from God—from knowing Him and trusting Him. 

Some of you may be wondering if I have ever experienced situations like those listed above. Yes. More times than I would like to admit, God has graciously given me peace in the middle of a less than peaceful situation.

Peace is not something that comes naturally to me. I used to be a very anxious person. I freaked out about everything, (and I still do sometimes!) I didn’t trust the Lord to help me, or to have good intentions for me. I did not believe that “He works everything for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28). I was a mess!!! Always worrying, always anxious, trying to be prepared for absolutely everything but never succeeding. Then God brought me to this verse:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

God had given me the simplest answer and the best answer He had to my question, 

“How can I have peace??” 

Prayer. 

Supplication (Seeking). 

Thanksgiving(the attitude not the holiday). 

And…letting go. 

We have to surrender our control in order to receive the peace of God. And this peace, it surpasses all comprehension, we can’t try and manufacture it, and we can’t control it. This peace, it not only is obviously from God, but it guards our hearts AND minds. Why is this important?

What we think and believe determines our attitudes and actions. Are you choosing to believe God today? Are you choosing His way over your own? Are you trusting Him to be faithful? If so, peace should reign mightily in your heart. But if peace is not reigning in your heart, maybe it is time to ask ourselves if we truly  are trusting God or if we are really putting our trust in other things. 

Trust is only as good as the object we put it in. So if our trust is in God, are we safe? If we trust in God, are we secure? Yes, but we are not without pain…yet. 

That day will come when we are finally reunited with God in heaven, through Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, who came as fully man and fully God, lived a sinless life, fulfilling all prophecies and laws, and through His death and resurrection paid the price for our sin so that we could be reunited with God for eternity, and have hope each day we are living and breathing because we are now adopted as children of God.

Trust in Him. Receive His peace. He will never let you go.

5 Things Your Emoji History says about you: A link up

So recently Stephanie and I were texting and somehow we both confessed that we love using Emojis. Emojis are probably my love language. They just express so much more emotion than what I can use in black and white letters.

We had the idea that if you just looked at the most recently used Emojis tab on someone's phone you would learn a lot about them. So that is where this idea came from. Because what you emoji about is what your heart cares about. OK that is not true but I really hope you will take up this challenge!

So here are my most recently used Emojis and 5 things you can learn about me from them!

Number 1 - I am really, really, really excited for Christmas! I use those emojis ALL. THE. TIME!

Number 2- I cry a lot. I cry more than I probably should.  I can't help it. Life is beautiful. There are still good people in this world and they make me happy cry tears of joy all the time. 

Number 3- I am bashful & embarrassed a lot. The Monkey covering his eyes? I use that little guy when I mess up. Or when other people do something confusing or weird. It's like saying "I can't watch this silly thing unfold I am going to cover my eyes until it goes away!"

Number 4- I am emotional. I am tired often. That little sleepy guy gets used on the reg! Being awake is hard work sometimes. I also send my husband those heart eyes all the time. I am that person. I send him kissies! (that was over the top on purpose)

Number 5 - The remaining emojis prove that I am a sugar- obsessed- strong-armed- ballerina! (Who doesn't dance and has limited upper body strength!)

What about you?? Go screen shot your most recently used Emojis and link up with Stephanie and I right here! RIGHT NOW (but we will also keep this open for a bit so you can have a second to do so!) 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Joy

Hello everyone! Day 2 in The Fruit Of The Spirit Series is here! Today our guest poster is Stephanie from the Just A Little Bit Louder Blog! I "met" Stephanie just a few weeks ago but she has quickly become one of my favorite people! She is from The Northwest and is a Children & Youth Pastor. So basically she has super incredible patience and a huge heart! Plus she is real, honest, relatable and HILARIOUS! We have so much in common and I am so lucky to know her! PLEASE go check out her blog because she is awesome and I love her so I know you will too!

I tend to think in extremes. When I process any decision, I think of either the ultimate best situation or the absolute worst consequence. Once I made the mistake of teaching the teenage girls at my church to filter all their words through this: “Helpful or Hurtful?” and it ruined all of my fun because I’d say “Ew, you mix your slurpee flavors together? You are a freak of nature.” and one girl, Sarah, looked me straight in the eyes and said “Stephanie. Helpful or hurtful?” Ugh. 

Anyway. I used to think that the opposite of sadness was joy. Like my whole life I thought that if you cried or felt sad or anything, you didn’t have joy. 

When I was 20 I was diagnosed with depression. I reached out to my church and they didn’t have anything to give me except a shrug and a “pray more.” Then they would continue to talk about things like “joy” and “peace” and I’d sit there thinking “what in the freaking heck is wrong with me, and why do I cry every single night instead of being so happy and so cheerful and stuff?” 

And it took me like 7 years to figure it out. Seven years of wondering why God had passed me by when he was distributing joy and gave me a lot of sadness instead. But one day, when I was feeling happy, I started wondering why my happiness would always fade away back into sadness. If that was what joy was, then why did it always go away? I prayed about it for awhile and it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

In all of my sadness, through all of my tears, despite my always-broken heart... I continually turned hopeful eyes towards the Lord, confident of his delight in me. When I looked around at the things of this earth, I would experience temporary, fleeting emotions. Feeling happy or accepted or rejected or alone or unworthy or appreciated. The point is, it was all temporary. Feeling unworthy would fade away when a whole table full of people I admired would laugh at my jokes. Feeling sad faded away when I was happy. 

I’d actually had joy the whole entire time, because in the deepest depths of my sorrow I knew the One to cry out to, the One who was listening and crying for me. Joy wasn’t -and still isn’t- the result of any earthly circumstance. You know when you’re having a rough day and you FEEL overlooked and you FEEL unimportant and you FEEL not good enough, and then you stumble upon a word from God - maybe in a song, maybe through a person, maybe on a piece of paper tucked away in a book... and you close your eyes and breathe deeply the assurance of God’s existence and his love for you? I think that moment is joy. It’s quiet, but it’s constant. It’s unchangeable. It’s untouchable. It’s eternal. 

Thank you so much Stephanie for sharing your thoughts on this subject with us! 

Be sure to check from every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from now until December 5th to keep up with this series!

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: LOVE

Hey everyone! 

I am super excited to announce my first ever series! The Fruit of The Spirit Series is starting today and posting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 weeks! I am going to be having some amazing bloggers guest posting. I am really looking forward to it! I hope you will come by and read the posts and learn about the Fruits of The Spirit with me!

For those of you who are not familiar, The Fruit of The Spirit are characteristics of a person who is Saved. When you truly put your life in Christ's hands and commit your life to Him then your life should show fruit of The Spirit of God living inside of you.

[Man, explaining that without Christianese is really hard]

Today's Fruit is Love.

There are a billion, trillion things I could say that I Love. In fact, if I counted all the things I have said I have I love in my life it would probably be around a billion trillion things. Not even being dramatic. I overuse the word Love on the reg.  I think a lot of us do.

So that makes it hard to talk about Love because Love is everywhere. Heck, I even have Love tattooed on my arm. I am always wearing Love, literally can't take it off.

However, I think as a Christian who claims to have been transformed by the Love of Christ I think Love needs to mean something more. Something more than cute boots. Something more than Gilmore Girls. Something more than puppies.

If I am looking to my Savior on how to live my life, as I should be, shouldn't I take note of how He demonstrated love?

He literally gave up His life because of His great love for us. He showed love to everyone. He loved me before I gave my life to Him. He loves me still even when I mess up. And I mess up all the time. 

So looking at that rather daunting example of Love - does that inspire me? It does. It inspires me. It encourages me. I want to be like Christ. 

So I have to love everyone!

LOVE ALL THE PEOPLE!

If you don't get this reference please refer to this post

Don't worry, friend. When I say "everyone" I mean everyone except that idiot who cut you off. Everyone except the person who just laughed at your kid. Everyone except your unsaved friends. Everyone except that hussy that wore a mini skirt to church, she really needs to cover up for the sake of my husband. Everyone except those homosexuals - they're obviously beyond hope. Everyone except your husband when he forgot to put the toilet seat down in the middle of the night - again! 

Incase it wasn't clear - I was being extremely sarcastic. My point is, we have to love everyone even when it is hard! Even when we don't want to. Why? Because Christ loves everyone. And if we claim to know Christ than the Fruit of The Spirit needs to be evident in your life. Starting with Love.

But do not fret, the beauty of The Fruit of The Spirit is the Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and guides us and helps us Love everyone as Christ does.

What do you think about Love? Do you think Loving everyone is hard? Is Love evident in your life?

I have a few open spots left in this series, please email me if you are interested in being a guest poster!

What I am Thankful for!

Hi!

I am linking up to the Thankful Thursdays link up today!

I am going to be talking about WHAT I am thankful for.

This is a really long list but to save you from being super bored I narrowed it down to 10!

1. My Marriage. - It is not perfect by any means, but it is ours. Our marriage is the best marriage I have ever been in and the only marriage I will ever be apart of. Our marriage challenges me daily to put him before me, to look to God in complete desperation, and to find joy in all circumstances.
2. My job: It is no secret my job can drive me bananas! But as I only have 2 days left here I am so grateful for all the people I have met there and the chance to make some moolah.
   
3. My  home: I just did a living room home tour and I love my cozy place. But on top of that, I love that I have a place to welcome people into to where they can feel safe and have fun!
4. My church: I am sure I have mentioned we are part of a church plant. It has been a rough 1.5 half with numbers going up and down. I am so thankful that we have a home church and for all people we know because of it.
5. Boots. - I just love boots.
   
6. Yoga: Yoga is amazing. It helps me sleep, be less stressed, get in shape, and keeps me regular. Yeah that's what I mean.
7. My iPhone: I would literally be lost without it!
8. Faith: Without this I would have no hope.
9. Thanksgiving: I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my awesome family!! Can't wait!
10. Board games! 

What about you? What are you thankful for??

Yes, Sir.

You could call it please pleasing. You could call it not having a back bone. I like to think of it as being agreeable. However you slice it or dice it, I am a "yes" person. I don't like disappointing people. I do not like letting people down. I prefer to just make everyone happy.

No matter what kind of a fancy pants spin you put on it - it is not a good trait to have.

 Allow me to explain a bit. 

I want people to like me. I want people to be happy. I do not want people to fight. I do not want people to be mad at me. So I go to all kinds of lengths to avoid that. I will figure out a way to make their request happen no matter what. Even if that means lying. In fact, sometimes, when a situation pops up the lies to make the situation better flow outta me before I have a chance to stop them.

For example, I arrive to a friend's house and they assumed I was going to bring something. Even if they didn't communicate this to me I instantly start to say "oh no I completely forgot!" What? Why? I didn't forget. I just don't want them to feel bad.

Example number 2, someone asks me to help them do X activity. But I really do not want to. But I do it anyway. I help them, I go there, I do this, I change my plans. Why? Why? Am I such a people pleaser?

BECAUSE I AM A GIANT WUSS!

This is the long and the short of it, my friend. I am afraid to speak up. I am afraid. This fear turns me into a CRAZY PERSON!

So, I guess that's it! This is a confessional of sorts. They say admitting it is the first step. What about you? Are you a People Pleaser? 

PS this is an old picture but I thin kin' about bangs again. Thoughts? 

Living Room - Home Tour!

I didn't get tagged in any sort of home tour post. I didn't get asked to show pictures of my house. 

That didn't stop me, no sir!  I just wanted to post a few pictures of my home! My hubs and I worked so hard to decorate it to show our personality and I am finally sorta good with it so I wanted to share!

If you ever came over to my house I would make you come in and sit on my impossibly comfy couches while I made you a cup of coffee or tea!

Maybe we would watch a movie or TV. Most likely, though, I would rather talk to you and chat.

This picture wall took hours to complete! But, I kinda love it.

My Mother in law painted these guitar pictures for Philip a while ago but I think they are awesome so I took them from his parents house and put them up in our house.

That's it! That's the extent of my living room! Small but cozy. Colorful but us.

Do you like your living room? What does it look like? Do you feel like it is a reflection of you? Let me know!