Friday Favorites

I'm excited to share with you some of the things I've been loving this week. It IS Favorite Things Friday, isn't it?

1. I'm pretty sure this tank would make me want to get dressed for the gym everyday! No diggity! Ashley Brooke even makes a Too Legit to Quit mug. Love it.

Ashley Brooke Designs

2. This popped up in my newsfeed this week. Very timely at this parenting phase we are in and probably forever. I love this reminder for all of us. I'm thinking this craft is in my future. (Hint Hint Ross.)

3. I'm a 90's kid all the way! All this nostalgia just makes my heart happy. Cut. it. out.

4. So glad I decided to start Mark Driscoll's sermon series on James during my time at the gym. This sermon (Hard Life, Good God) really ministered to my heart this week.

5. This book which I hope to share more about this week. I think everyone should read it. It has seriously turned my world upside down in so many ways. 

6. Loving these two recipes: the Pioneer Women's Baked French Toast (perfect prep ahead breakfast when people are visiting or when you just have little mouths who love hot breakfast in the morning) and her Skewers of Glory (a new family fave for special occasions).

Ok, time for the weekend! I'm looking forward to making yummy Superbowl food, studying and deciding on the best advertisements this year (like a good Newhouse grad) and celebrating my hub's 31st birthday! Enjoy your weekend, friends! 

The First Step

Embracing Grace and Glitter.

These four words describe the work God began in my life a few years ago. The truth is He began the process long before that, but it was about five years ago when I really started to notice the theme in the things He was revealing to me. More than seven years after putting my trust in Jesus for the very first time, my world was being shaken up. My eyes were being opened to deep and life transforming truths God was teaching me about Himself, His love and who I really am. After many years in Christian ministry and what I considered a close relationship with Jesus, I was stepping into new territory. If you know me, you know, the unknown is terrifying for me. But, this time I knew that whatever was going to come out of stepping into the unknown with God would be GOOD and it has been.

None of it is past tense. The lessons aren't done being learned. The truth isn't seared into my mind in a way that never causes me to waver. The process is still very much that, a process. But, it's in the messiness of it all that I've found beauty. And when we discover beautiful things, we want to share them with whoever will listen. So...I'm creating this space as a place to process, discover, document and share that beauty.

Are you wondering how I came up with the title?

Embracing- Embrace is the word I want to define my year. Learning to embrace Jesus, relationships, each day, each moment, the circumstances I'm given, the mundane, my true self. The list goes on and on.

Grace- the unearned, undeserved favor God has given me through a relationship with Jesus. My salvation. The love that changed my life course from one of destruction to righteousness in Jesus. The only thing that continues to transform my life. Forgiveness. Truth. True Love. My only hope. What I stake my life upon. What I want to define me. Beauty in the brokenness. God's grace. 

Why Glitter?

I spent so much of my life as a chameleon, trying to figure out who others wanted me to be and becoming that. I spent my life before Christ living to please people.  From a young age, I became a student of others, sometimes at the expense of being me, kind of like Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride. As a result, I lost bits of myself along the way.

When I dedicated my life to Jesus, I learned that He calls us to live our lives to please Him. The problem was...God and I had (and still have) lots of work to do to reprogram my mind with His truth. I had to learn how to live for God and not others, but instead of looking to the Bible for what that looked like, I started by looking at other Christians. Without realizing what I was doing, I let other believers define me, not the God who created me. As a result, I lost bits of myself along the way.

I've learned that a very big part of pleasing God is becoming and understanding the person he created me to be. Not who others think I should be, but who I am. My personality, my interests and passions, where I come from, my likes and dislikes are all things God has used to shape me uniquely. I'm exploring and learning to embrace my true self, while simultaneously growing closer to the Lord and in turn learning what it means to be a Christ follower and please Him. And it's fun! It's fun to be me and not a cookie cutter version of what I thought a Christian was supposed to be. There is so much more freedom and fun in following Christ than I ever dreamed AND the only reason I know that is because God has shown me His grace.

So why glitter? Because I love glitter (especially, but not limited to chunky gold glitter)!  Seriously, glitter is my happy place. Glitter represents my love for lovely, girlie, colorful, sparkly things, so I'm embracing it and wearing a super cute, sparkly scarf while I type!

The hardest part of starting this blog was taking the first step and choosing to share life with my friends in a new way. I'm not really sure what it will look like, but I'm sure my voice will grow with me. It may be something I'm learning. It may be something I find exciting. It could be an interesting story I want to share. It could be book review, a favorite recipe, a memory, a list of some of my favorite things. The possibilities are endless, but all of it will be a bit of me embracing grace and my "glitter"!

wearing my reminder and singing Rihanna's song in my head while I do