Visiting the Captiol and Friends - May 17, 2016

It was such a great day today! My mom, sister, and I headed down to our Capitol to visit our legislators and friends before session ends for the year. It is a busy time of year for them as they only have about one week left. Please remember to pray for your legislators! They work hard!

Our Capitol in MN is currently under construction...  I took these pictures on my phone so they aren't great, but I wanted you to be able to take a peek at it.

 

They are also working on the outside of the Capitol building. Here is one of the cranes lifting something onto the Capitol.

 

While there is very limited public access we were able to get a pass to visit the House Chamber and visit some of our representatives.

We also were able to visit a friend that has cancer. It was such a blessing to visit with her and her mom. The t-shirt I have on says "Not all cancer is pink". Many times we see the pink ribbons that represent cancer, but there are so many different forms of cancer and her t-shirts are raising awareness for that!

 

It was such a blessing to be around so many people that share the same passions. Many of the friends we visited with share our Christian faith and I really felt encouraged after spending time with them. One of my friends reminded me that home is where Jesus is and we are also at home when we are with other believers. It was a great reminder!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

Indiana! May 8-13, 2016

On Mother's Day, May 8, my dad, mom, younger sister, and I left for Indiana! My dad had a work convention and we girls went with just for fun! We love road trips, so it was a fun ride out there and back. While there we went exploring and did a lot of walking in downtown Indianapolis. (Actually, we walked eight miles one day and 12 the next, 20 miles in two day!)

The view from our hotel window

By the Indiana State House

Also from our hotel window

The canal that we walked along

I Love Words!

I really do love words, but, whether good or bad, they have a very powerful affect on me. They can lift me up, or tear me down. 

If you have ever heard of The Five Love Languages* (book by Gary Chapman), you may have heard that one of the "languages" is words of affirmation. Whenever I take the love languages test*, that is the one that comes up highest. 

Yesterday was a good reminder of just how much words impact my life. 

Yesterday morning, my family received some very hard news, news we may have predicted, but, nevertheless, it was still hard news to get. Of course, that news came through words. It was like someone stuck a knife in you. It cut right into my heart... Those words hurt...

Yesterday morning, I also posted my last blog post about my sabbatical on Facebook. I wasn't sure what the response would be. I wasn't sure if I would want any responses. But this time God used words to completely bless me. I didn't receive any negative response. Everyone was so supportive and it was such an encouragement to me. I felt like it was just one more affirmation that I was doing what God has asked of me. 

While yesterday certainly had its ups and downs, I certainly saw how words affect me. 

Another "down" was going to a funeral of a young women who was only years older than me. It was hard. One of the family members spoke and he reminded us just how short life is and to remember to tell those around you, "I love you". He encouraged the listeners to call an old friend or reconnect with a family member. Those words resonated with me. 

Finally, after all that happened yesterday, we went to run some errands and decided to go to the new Hobby Lobby store that just opened nearby. The place was filled with words! I love all the signs and plaques that they have. I went up and down the aisles reading the words and was so encouraged. The words filled my heart.   

All this brings me back to the Word, the most important word, Jesus Christ. In John 1:1, it says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I love that we can point it all back to the Word, to God. He has created each one of us and not one the same. I am so glad He created me to love words and that I have the privilege to love the Word and be loved by Him. 

Do you love words? 

What is your love language?*

*Link to the Five Love Languages: http://www.5lovelanguages.com

My Sabbatical - A Leap of Faith

A new season of life.

Change.

Going outside of my comfort zone.

A challenge.

A leap of faith. (It is leap year after all!)

With the encouragement and blessing of my parents, peace from God, and the desire for change, growth, and something new, I am setting out on a new season in my life.

I am taking a personal sabbatical.

There have been many things leading up to this decision. I have felt so many affirmations in my decision. This was truly a choice I made that was between me and God (and encouragement from my parents!). There have been road blocks, questions asked, doubts, and maybe even some tears at the possibilities of change, of going outside my comfort zone. I like my comfort zone. After all, it is pretty comfy there, but in the end, staying in my comfort zone will not lead to growth for me. So here I go; I have taken a leap of faith.

According to Merriam-Webster, a sabbatical is defined as: a period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job and is able to rest, travel, do research, etc.

So I am going on a sabbatical. Today, was officially my last day at work. (I worked at a great job and loved my co-workers. I will definitely miss them and their fun nature.)  Leaving my job was a hard choice to make. I left behind good people, pay, and benefits. But I believe there is so much more to life than just money. I want to go experience more of the world. I want to rediscover my passions. I want to live with no regrets. One thing I keep thinking about is that my grandpa always said that he wished he could have done more. When he was in his last years of life, he continued to encourage all of his family to travel and do things while we still could.

The truth comes down to the fact that none of us know how much time we have left on this earth. We could have decades, years, days, or even minutes. But I believe each one of us was put here for "such a time as this". I believe this is my time to do this. I want to do this while I am young, able, and have the resources to do so.

I know there will be more questions asked of me and, honestly, I have not been ready to answer these questions. This is not what the world would say is smart to do. In fact, I am not sure if all of my family and friends will agree with my decision, yet I have felt God is telling me to step out in faith. And I believe He will bless me for that.

I am planning on blogging about my journey, so please stay tuned for more information and feel free to comment below. God has already been doing big things in my life and I hope to share those things here soon. I have many plans for the summer and am excited to see how I can be used by God and how He will work in my life.
 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

You're The One I Want ~ quote

I'm so excited to read this new story by Susan May Warren! I made a special trip to the library today to pick it up (even though I had just been there yesterday)!

"You are not the sum of your bad decisions. You are the decision you make right now. You are the decisions you will make tomorrow."

-from You're the One I Want by Susan May Warren

Now back to reading! 

Charity’s Cross by MaryLu Tyndall ~ Book Review

Charity’s Cross by MaryLu Tyndall 

~Book Review~

I loved Charity’s Cross because it tied both the Charles Towne Belles series and the Legacy of the King’s Pirates series together and made me want to read those books again. This book could be read as a stand-alone, but you will want to read the other if you haven’t yet! The Red Siren, which is the first book in the Charles Towne Belles series, was the first book I read by Mary Lu Tyndall. After that book, I fell in love with her stories on the sea, especially the two series that I mentioned above! This book does not disappoint.

Charity’s Cross has a prevailing theme. There is romance, a chase, storms on the ship, and the opportunity for a new life. But there are also betrayals, deceptions, and a lot of blame. Charity most definitely has a cross to bear. So many of the characters felt the need to blame someone, whether it was themselves or someone else or God… I think we can relate to that. It is much easier to blame someone/something than finding the reason for the blame, or seeking forgiveness. After realizing that there was so much blame going around, Elias, one of the main characters thinks, “Wasn’t it just like human nature to want someone to blame for life’s tragedies? Someone on whom to enact revenge.” He sees so many lies and betrayals and yearns for them to stop and for there to be truth.

Lastly, we see how forgiveness can prevail. MaryLu does a great job of showing our humanness and ultimately how God’s love for us can overcome it all. This quote does a nice job of summing things up:

 “’We are all so flawed, we humans…We make mistakes every day, and we will make many more in our lifetime…How can I blame you for not trusting me…?’”

‘Tis no excuse…’

‘Nay, but it is a reason. Besides, how can I not forgive you when God has forgiven me of so much?’”

 

Forgiveness can cover all the blame, all the sin. If only we are willing…

I believe you will find things you can relate to in this story. It has lessons to learn, but is fun in the telling. It is a great book to pick up if you have never read any of MaryLu’s in the past. If you have read her past books, you will love to see many of her stories come together. I highly recommended Charity’s Cross.

Check out the book on Amazon

Find MaryLu Tyndall on Facebook 

Follow MaryLu on Twitter

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*­­

My word for 2016 - Loved

My word for 2016 is...

LOVED

Last night, I was still praying about my word for the year. I asked God to show me if the word was supposed to be "loved" (some things I was thinking about were leading to that). 

At church today, during Sunday school, we were asked to share what God has taught us and what we want Him to teach us in the next year. We were to tell our "personal faith stories". Last year's word, "trust", was brought up over and over again. And then the word I was praying about kept coming up as well...

When it was my turn to share, I said something like this:

Trust was my word of the year last year. I learned that I can't put all my trust in people. They will let you down Trust must be in God. And God alone. He will never let you down. 

Leading into this next year, I feel like my word is supposed to be "loved". I didn't know if I wanted it to be that. While my name means "well-loved", it is hard to love others deeply. It can hurt deeply as well. But I think I need to look at how God loves us. How we can love Him and His children. 

So it went something like that...

And it was confirmation that "loved" is the word. 

Here are some other things that led me to my word for the year. 

This bracelet:

I bought it after Christmas. The charm part with the word is interchangeable. One of the charms I happened to pick was "loved" because that is what my name means. 

This song I have heard over and over again on the cd Wow Worship 2016:

You Are Loved by Stars Go Dim

You are loved
If your heart's in a thousand pieces
If you're lost and you're far from reason
Just look up, know you are loved
Just look up, and know you are loved
When it feels like somethings missing
If it hurts but you can't find healing
Just look up, know you are loved
Just look up, know you are loved. ooh

(Video with lyrics: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-YbdaR7Plac ) 

And also this verse:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NIV

May it be a year to see what "loved" really means. 

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What is your word of the year?