Goal

I find that writing goals down (or saying them out loud to someone other than myself) makes them more of a reality- more "tangible".

I'd really love to get my legs done so I can run again. Believe it or not, I really kind of miss running as much as I used to. I also use this annoying pain as an excuse to not exercise- how lame.

I have compartment syndrome. I'm honestly abnormally good with pain- if I complain about something... it's for a reason. But this is a pain that I can't handle everyday. I want to run (even walk) without feeling as if my lower legs are going to explode.

The next step after I get my legs fixed: I'd really like to run a marathon (or lets start out with a 5k?). I'd be happy with a half marathon. It's a goal that has been "burning a hole in my pocket"- now I just have to accomplish it.

I figure that I have been blessed with 2 functioning legs.... might as well put them to use in a really powerful, rewarding way.

I'm done getting frustrated with not being able to run.

Confidence

Confidence. What a crazy, powerful word. In my own mind, this word was a joke for many years. Confidence- what's that?

I hid behind this thing called confidence because I listened to the enemy for far too long. Not only did I personally hear the enemy, but the enemy worked through the people that were closest to me- as he does in all of us. Words and actions that were just beating me down further and further into a never ending hole. I lived my life constantly not feeling "good enough" and always felt as if I wasn't capable of doing anything.

I now am very aware of the enemy and have slowly crawled out of that never ending hole- took me a long time and I still have trouble deciding if what I'm hearing, or feeling is the truth or if it is just him squeezing in his 2 cents.... he can be so sneaky. I still have trouble calming myself down in a sticky situation, but now I know the difference between someone really genuinely being mean, and the enemy working his magic- the difference is that there isn't really anyone that is genuinely mean.... it's him egging you on. We go through "option b-z" WAY before deciding to call upon "option A"...... God.

Lifeprint Church started a new series called, "God's A-Team" (and yes, we are in the process of having our own A-Team Van). At first it was just a cool idea (and pretty darn hilarious), but as Pastor John started digging into the Book of Hebrews, I found that we are all allowing the enemy to work through us....... we choose the easy way out- we're drifters. All of us. We choose the "cool factor" over listening to God. We all know what's right, we just choose to follow the rest of the drifters (that is, if we aren't already the one in the lead).

What really struck me in this last sermon is that evil is in our nature. Every last one of us. From day one we are taught how to do good things- no one is out there teaching us how to do bad things.... we already know how to do bad things- it's in our nature. I had never thought about it that way (at first my jaw dropped and thought, "who me?? No I'm not. I'm not evil- Rude." But as John talked about things as little as knowing a Twinkie is bad for you, but you eat it anyways......... shoot- oh man, SO guilty).

Why does that thing called confidence go along with this? Because I let the enemy get to me more than I should. For so many years I chose "option b-z" before even thinking about "option A". I had no confidence in myself and I had no confidence in my life. Putting God first has opened my eyes to a new confidence- in myself, AND in this crazy thing called life. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have a ways to go with completely ignoring the enemy, as well as the confidence I have in myself.... but I finally know who to call upon from now on. Option A.... God.

I put this verse to a photo I took last week because #1- we are doing the series in Hebrews at Lifeprint, but also #2- I went to the KTIS website and it was their "life verse" for today. Crazy, huh?

If we live our lives to be "good enough" in GOD'S eyes- we are already ahead of the game. And "good enough" is a TOTAL understatement when we are doing what's right in His eyes. Who are you trying to impress other than Him? He already knows who you are- and it shouldn't matter to anyone else. We are made in the Eyes of God- we could not be any more beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I'm looking forward to keep putting the confidence in God above all things in this life. I also have started to allow Him to put confidence in myself- what a crazy ride! I encourage you to take that first step with me in allowing God to work His miracles through each one of us. The coolest part of it all is that "when we have done the will of God, we will receive what He has promised"........ man, am I looking forward to that!

If you'd like to listen to some of John's sermons, please check THIS out. Or if you are in the area and want to experience a "one of a kind" church service (literally), please come check out Lifeprint Church in Prior Lake. It will change your life.

Have you smiled today?

If you haven't, I think this might do it for you....

....it might even make you laugh. Miss Emma at her finest :)

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

4.25.09 Baby Shower

Again, if anyone knows why I would be getting grainy photos every time I use my zoom lens, it would be greatly appreciated if you'd pass that info onto me..... it's a huge bummer.

Today we had Kate's "friend" baby shower. It was over at her sister Abby's house in Farmington. So fun and they decorated everything really cute- the food was really amazing, too.

Instead of cards, we all brought Baby Logan a book with our "message" inside. What a cool idea- lots of memories and lots of fun in the years to come!

Serena playing with Lyla

The girls helped with the gifts!

Serena :)

Baby Logan should be arriving in about a month! Any day now- being my impatient self doesn't really work in my favor during these situations!

Lyla

Can you stand it? I can't. She was so happy and so alert.

ps- does anyone know why I get grainy pictures whenever I use my zoom lens? Kind of drives me nuts! Any suggestions, please comment...

Open House

Here are just a few photos taken from the open house (Intentional Serenity). 4.24.09

It seemed like I was taking a lot of pictures but I guess not? There were a few that weren't in focus but I'll go through them again to see if there are any more good ones... I have such awesome friends.

Flowers by the wine.

That is Teena (founder of Intentional Serenity) in the middle. The others are French teachers (from France!)- Teena is from Canada so she can talk to them all in French, too. It's pretty fun to listen to them have a conversation!

They had MUCH more than just trailmix...... they had a huge spread but for whatever reason, I don't have any photos of it all?

mARTii

This is a post dedicated to my dear friend, Martii (I didn't get a picture of Teena last night). It's so crazy how God works....... seriously. I met this amazing woman at Rosie Posie (a boutique in Savage). I was coming in (the new girl) and she was moving on to do more of her AMAZING artwork. She can do the whole 9 yards- murals, watercolor, plaster, paint, etc etc etc etc. You name it- she can do it...

So I wasn't really able to "get to know her" because I only worked with her for about a day. Little did we know that we'd be connected again down the road. She works with Intentional Serenity/Teena Dietz empowering woman and children to follow their dreams. It boggles my mind that there are such encouraging people out there- I sat with these two woman last night for hours just talking. They have a way of boosting your spirit just by being in the same room- no words... just being there. It's such a positive energy that empowers you to feel as if you can do anything. There is no dumb question, there is no right or wrong answer, there is no put downs, there is nothing but encouragement- "I can do anything." And that's just how they are- how many people do you know like that??
So what I'm working on is taking compliments and being confident in the work that I do. I rarely am satisfied with what I do- but they have made me realize that there is some reason why I took that photo, or why I decided to edit it, or why I decided to post it here on my blog. So I know that I'm not perfect and what I do or say is not perfect- but it is here on my blog for a reason. There will always be someone better than myself- and that's ok. I respect that.
A huge thank you to Teena and mARTii for staying up with me for so long and totally boosting my spirits- like always :) Intentional Serenity had it's grand opening/open house last night at the Diamond Center in Eden Prairie- I encourage you to check it out. Your life will turn upside down in SUCH a positive way.

Beauty

This is from a different day- 4.9.09

Thought I'd share- they were taken about 20 minutes apart. What an amazing God we serve- He makes this life beautiful with such simple (but extremely grand) things....

Not really in focus- but I don't think it has to be... kind of speaks for itself. Gorgeous.

Sunsets 4.22.09

So I was thinking of doing something with all of these but I would rather just post all of them that are my favorites. Lazy, huh. They are all at different times of the 2 hour sunset...

Clouds are amazing- God clearly knew I was going to be taking pictures I guess... Much love :)

I was waiting for the cool "rays" to come out of the clouds but it never happened. This is as close as I got to getting what I was hoping for :)

The sun is a little "whoa" but I still like the sky and clouds.

I like the sky in this one. Perfect quote area- I'll work on that.

Much more, but I think I'll do something with them. Hope you all enjoyed this 85 degree Spring Day! AMAZING.

Dare to Dream

I found yet another really inspirational quote while stalking blogs again.... This is another photo I took while the sun was setting last night. I'm upset the words don't really show up, but hopefully you get the gist to DREAM. And dream big- the only one stopping you is yourself.

Again, totally don't know who these people are that came up with these quotes- but I like them.

Another Good One

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure-which is: Try to please everybody." -Herbert Bayard Swope

I don't know who Herbert is either but Amen to that!

How long will you?

I found this quote from going through a series of blogs. I think it's quite powerful. Don't let this world discourage you from doing what you are led to do. Don't let the world keep you from accomplishing it either. Know that HE always has your back- no matter what. Keep going.

Photo taken at sunset 4.22.09 in good ol Savage, MN

"God is never intimidated by the size of the enemy or the complexity of a problem. With Him, there are always enough resources to resist the pressures and win your battles. If God has called you to action, then bravely commit what few resources you have to God and rely upon Him to give you the victory."

Link Question

Does anyone know how to post a link so it opens in a NEW window? It's kind of annoying that when you click on the links on my blog, it closes my blog instead of just opening a new window- which really defeats the purpose of putting links that "go with" my post. Let me know!

Thanks :)

Hope

I don't know what made me think of this. You can think it's corny if you want- I think it is, too :)

I was listening to one of many favorites by DOWNHERE (the band that came to LIFEPRINT Church last Sunday). The song is "Hope is Rising".... I really liked this photo that I took tonight as the sun was setting (I barely did anything to the actual photo besides make the sky a little more blue- the light was seriously that bright!). And although the words are "rising" and not "setting" I figured it went well together. If you'd like to listen to the song click on THIS and click on "Hope is Rising" on the playlist. What an incredible group of guys- if it's possible, I think they were better in concert. Guitar strings were breaking and their music literally oozed out of their entire bodies- I'm surprised that their fingers weren't bleeding. Such an inspiring night. Check out their tour to see if they are in a city near you!

Hope IS constantly rising when you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. What a gift!

I'll have many more sunset photos that are ready to post- I'm trying to pace myself :) Sweet Dreams!

Joy

I have been so blessed with the people that have come into my life. Truly. It's like an addiction- I can't get enough of them. This post is primarily geared towards an amazing woman I met at LIFEPRINT Church. Her name is Carol and is seriously one of the greatest, funniest, generous, happy, supportive people I know. She's one of those beautiful souls that you can never see mad or unhappy. Which I know probably isn't true, but that's the only way I see her. I wrote those exact words to her on facebook and she sent me this quote... (so of course I put it with a photo that I had taken a few days ago).....
I was struck by this because it is really an easy thing to say that we "try" to do- but really, it's not exactly the easiest thing to do in this life. Being joyful/happy is a choice. We are not necessarily given happiness- but we are given the opportunity to be happy- to carry joy along with us. We can't buy happiness. We can't earn happiness. We ARE however given the chance to wake up everyday with a new day and another opportunity to be happy- Praise God for that! He is our happiness. He is our joy.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the happiest person all the time. I am not always the most positive person either. I can even be NOT very nice (guilty- Amy, if you read this... I feel terrible). I have a lot of pain and open wounds that I'm trying to give away to Him. THAT also is not the easiest thing to do- when really, it can't be more simple. But as my faith in Jesus grows, I am finding that joy IS absolutely contagious. With these people that I'm surrounding myself with- I'm finding that missing piece to the puzzle. I need to forget about the pain and have my cup overflow with His grace and His love. These amazing people bring joy into my life because they believe in Jesus Christ. They all have their story- good, bad, happy, horrifying, sad, amazing- we all do. We aren't all going to be happy 100% of the time- but that's the awesome part about having a personal relationship with Christ. You give Him all of the negative and painful things that we are going through- and He takes it with no questions asked. How many people do you know that can (or want!) to do that? For me. For you. It's all washed clean and made new again.

If you are going through pain or trying to bandage an open wound upon your heart- give it to Him... I'm right there with you. Just forgetting about the past and looking forward to an everlasting life. What an awesome thing.

Have you passed on Joy to someone today?

At the Cross

So this is super random... I found this song by Hillsong (Australia) on accident trying to find a totally different song. I'm so bummed I didn't go check them out when I was there in 2005. I was at such a different point in my life that unfortunately I don't think it was even an option. I'd DIE to go back just to experience that- but how awesome is it to know we will be doing that for Eternity! I'm so blessed to have the Lord moving in His ways in my life now. Not to mention He has led me to cross paths with some pretty incredible people (and some RIDICULOUSly amazing opportunities)!

I got home today from a run with Chloe and wanted to take some photos. It was slightly sprinkling but I went for it anyways. I was putting them on my computer while listening to At the Cross (my new song obsession). Because I was slightly bored, I was going to start doing my "quote/word" pictures. But then realized that I might as well do the whole song- I had enough photos :) Then I was thinking of doing a powerpoint but don't know how to blog those yet- so this is my pretend "powerpoint" blog post.

Please click on THIS to hear the song while you go through the photos with the lyrics on them.

I LOVE THIS SONG- I'm sure you will, too! Enjoy!

Definitely my new favorite song. I can't stop listening to it. There are many others by them to check out (like Mighty to Save- Laura Story is usually the one singing it on the Radio). I can't get enough!

Jorden

This little cutie belongs to Jayme (Kate's cousin). I was playing around with my ISO's again and clearly they were too high- grainy pictures... oh well. Still adorable. He is such a boy and loves the outdoors! This was my first time meeting him in person and he's already 2 years old! Such a sweet spirit!

God Bless You Jorden!

After the Shower

After Kate's Baby Shower today, I went outside to take pictures of the little buds on all of the bushes and trees in the backyard. They all kind of look alike but I was really in love with the different colored buds with the pink tips. So pretty. Happy Spring!

After seeing all of this, I think Green is my new favorite color!