Monday, April 29, 2013

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Sharpie Nail Designs

Hi, everyone!  :)  It's been a little while since I've participated in Pinned It, Made It! Monday, but I wanted to share this nail design trick!  :)  It's so neat.....


Pinned It, Made It! Monday is a linky party hosted by mama on her blog, Country Girl at Home, so that bloggers could share what they're pinning and making and to encourage us to actually try out what we pin.  :)  Click on the button above to go to my mama's blog and see what she and others are pinning and making, or to join the party yourself!

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So, I saw this pin on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea, but at first I wasn't sure if it was really a good idea.  I mean, really?  Using a sharpie on your nail?

Via Pinterest
But after a while, I decided to try it.  I was on the look out for gold sharpies at Walmart, and they finally showed up.  I bought a two-pack of gold sharpies and a bottle of rubbing alcohol and tried it on Wednesday night.  I pained my nails red and then used the gold sharpie to make polka dots.

Via my Instagram
Here's my verdict:

I think it will work really well if you make sure the nail polish you're using under the sharpie is completely dry.  I guess mine was still a little sticky and it messed it up a bit.  But overall, it worked out well.  And they're right; before you put the top coat on, you can use rubbing alcohol to get the sharpie off.  And once you're ready to take all of it off, it comes off pretty easily with nail polish remover (though you might have to use some rubbing alcohol then, too).  

Now I'm wondering if any sharpie will work well on nails the way this one did.  It couldn't just be the gold sharpie, could it?  Hmmm....

God bless you guys and have a great week!  :)
Joy :)

Friday, April 26, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ Like a Ballerina.

Hi, everyone!  :)  It feels like it's been a long time since I wrote my last Faithful Friday post.  I don't know why.  :)

Doodlebug



Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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I know a few of you that may be reading this have taken ballet at some point.

Ballet is interesting.  It's packed full with gracefulness and beauty, and yet it takes so much strength.  It can be rather difficult.  There are lots of turns and twists and swiftness and speed.  And there's also lots of slow, deliberate movements that take strength and patience and control.

I think each ballerina has a few movements that just come as a challenge to her.  Maybe she's not flexible or isn't great at pirouettes, or maybe leaps and jumps don't come easily.


I think following Jesus can kind of be like being a ballerina.  There is so much beauty in following Jesus.  So much grace and love and peace and forgiveness and mercy.  And yet, our strength is tested a lot, too.  We have to stretch and bend and learn and grow.  After all, we wouldn't need mercy or forgiveness if we didn't fail.  

Sometimes, our Christian walk is rattled by change--good or bad--and we are forced to move quickly, to fly along the path of life we're on at the moment and everything seems to be happening so fast and we might struggle to keep up.  These are the times when God is working at our lives, changing them, possibly preparing us for a big opportunity or calling.  We can feel so uneasy. 


At other times, things can seem to be going painfully slow and circumstances can pull at us so heavily.  We just feel so down, dragging along the path.  Maybe we just feel so disheartened by all the depressing, sorrowful things going on in our lives.  Or maybe it's a place where we feel bored, in a rut, and like we're failing; feeling like we can't be used by God.

Sometimes we struggle with certain areas of our Christian walk.  Our thoughts, actions, tempers, having patience, playing the "comparison game," reading our Bible and applying or meditating on it, praying, or whatever. 

But through all of our shortcomings (and boy does the Lord know we have them--that's all humans ever seem to do!) and our failures and mistakes and mess-ups, God is so loving and faithful and forgiving.  He never stops loving us or forgiving us or offering His big, comforting hand of mercy toward us.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8

Wow.  Seriously, who does that?  Who loves like that?  Who is that merciful? 

Jesus does.  Jesus is.  

And just as a ballerina "spots," or keeps her eye on one spot as she's spinning and turning her head, a spot in the direction she's going (forward), we must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).  

"I can do all things through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:13
We must keep moving forward and focusing our eyes on Jesus, not looking back or to the side or taking our eyes off Him, because if we do, we can fall into confusion and dizziness.  

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.
-1 Corinthians 14:33

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

God bless you guys and have a great day!  :)
Joy :)

All pictures via Pinterest

Monday, April 22, 2013

I Need.....

I need.....

Those stylish clothes I pinned

An iPhone

The internet

More movies

Something to fangirl over

To meet my favorite band

To be accepted

To be social and have friends

To be up on the latest in popularity and culture

To have more money

To have fame

To look and feel perfect

To have a boyfriend

To watch the movies and listen to the music everyone else is

To be normal and fit in

JESUS.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Faithful Friday ~ A Gift or a Curse

Good morning/afternoon, everyone!  It's Friiiidaaayy, and that means it's time for Faithful Friday!  :)  I'm especially excited about this Friday because tonight I am supposed to be going to my first swing dance!  Very excited.  :)


Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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I think we've all heard people talk about "blessings in disguise" and abilities or circumstances that are "both a gift and a curse."

But when you think about it, everything could be both "a gift and a curse."

My daddy told me one time that if you really take a look at the qualities in a person that are unpleasant, frustrating, and annoying, you can usually find that they're just misusing (or not using) a gift they've been given.

Someone with a knack for the English language and words and writing could misuse that gift by constantly correcting people's grammar and acting like a know-it-all.  Now, on the surface, that person may seem bossy, big-headed, and just utterly irritating.  But it's all about looking closely and searching out the good in every single person and situation you can!

Via Pinterest
It's up to you to find beauty in the ugliest days.

Someone with a real talent for writing can use their writing to the full and give God the glory and provide wholesome, intriguing literature weaved together with Biblical truths, or they can just throw it away and not use it or use it for perverse uses.

We all have God-given gifts and talents, but it's up to us to use them the way we were meant to, the way God designed for us to use them.

So, we've talked about gifts that can be taken or used as "curses," but what about the "curses" that are really gifts?

At first glance, things like blindness, deafness, cancer, and Down Syndrome may look like a "curse," or a huge, life-shattering misfortune.  

And they can be, if a person lets them.  

But a person that is blind or deaf can be such a breathtaking, inspiring person when they decide to embrace life as it is and see their "curse" as a gift that God wants them to use for His glory!  Someone that has cancer can be a big testimony to both believers and non-believers when they stay faithful that God will heal them if it is His will, and accepting of His will if it isn't.  

And I don't think I even have to explain how much joy a child with Down Syndrome can bring to someone.  God uses these precious children for great purposes.

Via Pinterest
Sometimes it's hard to accept the things that come our way.  It really is!  Sometimes I don't want my blessings to be in disguise.  But people say that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.  You can go through life with a dark, negative focus, staying bitter and disappointed and sorrowful over every single "bad" thing that happens, or you can live life trying to find the gift in every single person and situation God sends your way.

It's your choice. 

God bless ya'll and have a great day!  :)
Joy :)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What Can Narnia Teach Us?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what Narnia can teach us?

I'm pretty sure we all love Narnia.  I mean, what's not to love?  It's so enchanting and daring and lovely, and who doesn't love the Pevensies?!


And as I've watched the movies and then, a year or so ago, read through all of the series, I've begun to realize that there are so many beautiful parallels to the Bible and the story of Jesus--the story of grace.


From Lucy we learn that faith is ever so important.

Lucy was the first to come to Narnia.  She believed and believed, even when everyone else dogmatically put her belief down and made her feel like a silly child.


She believed anyway, and she didn't rely on her feelings, but rather on her lovely, childlike faith.  

Lucy is sweet, faithful, and yet vulnerable.  She doesn't harden herself to her loved ones and her surroundings, even though she's been through a lot.

She's full of joy and love.  


She never doubts Aslan, Narnia, or Mr. Tumnus. 


And she doesn't hesitate to forgive her brother, Edmund.


And she's rewarded for her faith and loyalty.  I'm sure there's a reason she was the one that was chosen to "discover" Narnia!  :)

She's Lucy the Valiant.


Later on, Lucy struggles with the kind of insecurity most of us girls deal with.  And Aslan helps guide her through that.


Susan, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of her sister.  Maybe in a way we can learn what not to do by some of Susan's actions.  Susan is practical, "logical," and, in Lucy's eyes, just old and serious.  


Susan has lost her childhood.  She's lost her innocence and her imagination.  War has ravaged her life, and so she tries to build up walls and harden herself against all the scary circumstances around her.

    
On the other hand, Susan is her siblings' second mother.  She just wants what's best for them, but sometimes she's stretched past her limits.  She's a pleaser and she wants to be mature and grown-up for her family.  She's kind of the mother hen that wants to shoo them all under her wing, but sometimes her clucking gets too loud and she drives them away.


Susan learns that sometimes you just have to have faith.  You can't be dominated by just the seen and felt.  And she rises up to being a true, elegant queen of Narnia.

  
Queen Susan the Gentle.

And Peter.  Peter is very like his sister.  He wants to be protective of his family and likewise show his manhood.  He's struggling.  He wants to be noble and brave and strong, but he's carrying so much weight on his shoulders--the strain of his siblings, his parents, all of Narnia, and the war back home.  


Peter takes his role as king of Narnia very seriously.  He wants to be honorable and serve Aslan and please him.

He works hard, and I think that in the end, he learns that truly, bravery is doing what is right and what needs to be done, even when you're scared to death.

King Peter the Magnificent.


And then there's Edmund.  

Oh, Edmund.  :)  

Edmund takes us on this emotional roller coaster.  At first, Edmund is just hurt and somewhat annoying and one has half a mind to be really irritated by him, and half a mind to want to cuddle him. 


The truth is, Edmund's a coward.  He's selfish and irresponsible and insensitive and I guess he really just represents the worst in all of us.  To be honest, I know I can be pretty selfish.  :/

He tears other people down in an attempt to build himself up.  He puts down every single one of his siblings in different ways.


And ultimately, he betrays his family and friends and the "good guys."  He does all this because of vanity and greed.   

And what does Aslan do?

Aslan swoops down to protect this boy he's never met, who has betrayed them all.  He takes him under his wing.  He gives him grace and forgiveness.  He loves Edmund unconditionally.


It's beautiful.  

Edmund becomes responsible and honorable and he matures.

He becomes King Edmund the Just.


All of the children learn so much, and there's so much we can learn from them.


Apart from that, in the other books, there are so many other parallels and little Biblical truths intricately woven into the story.  I love it.  I greatly respect Mr. C.S. Lewis because of his faith and the way he combines his faith and his writing passion in a way that's real and genuine and classy.  I would love to be able to write like that.  

Maybe that's why Mr. Lewis wrote these books.  Maybe a visit to Narnia was meant to help us know Him better in our own lives.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ That Little Bit of Good

Hi, everyone!  :)  Friday has come around again...time for Faithful Fridays!  :)


Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
-Romans 8:28

I have heard this verse for a long, long time.  And I guess it never really sank in because you're always kind of just sitting there going, "But....bad things happen to us sometimes."

But recently I've been using the "pronunciation method" to meditate on Bible scriptures.  I love it.  You take a verse, such as Romans 8:28, and you say the verse over and over, emphasizing a different word or phrase each time.  It brings such new meaning to verses I've heard all my life.  It's like squeezing all the juice out of a lemon.  :)  

Here's what I mean:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(We're sure of this.  We know it!)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(In ALL things.  From glorious missionary stories and nearly perfect circumstances to storm clouds and cancer and doors being shut in our face, God is working all these things out for GOOD.)

Via Pinterest
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 
(God works for us!  He works for our good!  He's working to turn even our mistakes and sins into good for His glory.)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  
(For the good, and only the good.  God is using even the circumstances that seem bad to us to achieve great things.  Our struggles can bring others hope and encouragement and inspiration and make us stronger!)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(All of this is for those who love God.  That's important!)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(God has called us, so He will take care of us and lead us and guide us in His will.)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(God has called us.  He has a purpose for every single thing that happens to us.  Whether it be something small like passing a homeless woman on the side of the road, or something that may hurt like having a sickness or having a [metaphorical] door slammed in your face, it's all fitting into a pattern for good set up by God.)

See what I mean?  :)  I love doing this.  It's so beneficial and can teach us so much that we never grasped before.

So after examining this verse and reading things and hearing things and just having God impress stuff upon my heart (I love it when He does that), I've begun to feel that it's so important to put a big emphasis in my life on finding the good, finding the best, in every person and thing and situation; finding the "silver lining to every cloud."  



And that's so hard sometimes.  Believe me, I know.  I say all this now, but it can be pretty hard to really believe when I'm lying on a hospital bed, practically writhing in pain, thinking of all the activities and things I'm missing.

Yeah.  Stuff stinks sometimes!  And God doesn't like that.  But if we humans hadn't sinned in the first place, we wouldn't be separated from God and we wouldn't have all these problems!  God uses trials to bring us closer to Him and make us stronger, but if sin hadn't separated us from Him, we wouldn't need to be strengthened because we would walk with Him all the time!

Sorry, I know that's a lot to take in.  :)  

But God has just really been teaching me stuff lately.  I love it.  I just hope I can stand by it and remember it and wholeheartedly believe it when I'm having a struggle.


I guess my point is that people ask all the time why "a loving God allows bad things to happen."  Some people even conclude that God couldn't be loving!

And here's my answer to that.  

A) If Adam hadn't sinned and we hadn't sinned ourselves, this would be a perfect world and there would be no punishment or any reason for God to strengthen us in Him through trials.  Anything bad is really our fault.

B) Because we're separated from God by sin, God uses our trials to strengthen us and build us up in Him and bring us closer to Him.  

C) God has (and really IS) the most amazing, deep, unconditional love ever known to anyone, ever!  

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along will him, graciously give us all things?
-Romans 8:32

I think that verse just says it all.  

One last thought before I go.  I watched a movie the other day called "A Greater Yes: The Story of Amy Newhouse."  It's based on the true story of a girl named Amy.  Amy was on fire for God.  She was pretty close to being the "perfect" Christian.  She was planning on doing great things for God and being a full-time missionary.  



And then she got cancer.  And everything changed.  

Amy was in the hospital a lot.  She had to undergo chemotherapy and she lost her hair.  But her whole town was praying for her, and people in towns all across her state, and, I'm sure, even across the rest of the country!  People were praying so hard for her.  And she got better!  And that strengthened people in the faith.

But then Amy relapsed back into cancer.  And everyone else lost hope.  Everyone that had prayed faithfully for her before, everyone who had hoped and waited and been so uplifting and encouraging really just left Amy.  

But through everything, from start to finish, Amy never gave up hope.  She was faithful.  She was prayerful.  She was encouraging and inspiring and probably a bit perplexing to everyone around her.

But that's the point!  Even her worst "misfortunes" and "horrible catastrophes" were fit into a pattern for good.  It was not in vain at all!  Amy grew closer to her Savior, others came and grew closer to Him, and people were encouraged and inspired beyond belief!

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I know today's post was a bit long.  I'm sorry about that.  :)  I just had a lot to get out!  

God bless you guys and have a great weekend!  
Joy :)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ From Heaven, Through Me, Out to Others.

Hi, everyone!  It's time for Faithful Friday!  :)


Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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Most of us make plans, right?

We make plans and we say, "I'm going to do this and I'm going to go here" and all that.  We might even say, "I'm going to do this great thing for God" and then gallop off to go accomplish whatever it is!

And all of that is nice, but....we're kind of missing the point when we live life out in our own little circle of a world.

I mean, I guess humans can accomplish some pretty cool things when they put their mind to it, but the majority of times when something big needs to happen, you know who does it?  All of it?

God does it.  He does it through some willing servants of His.

The inspiration and the calling comes down to the servant, and then, if the servant says yes and is a willing vessel, the praises go back up to God as He accomplishes His will through this person.  They shine like a lantern out to the world because God is putting His light in them.

God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible.  What a pity we plan to do only the things that we can do by ourselves.

-A.W. Tozer

Guys, we can do so much more when we simply open ourselves up to God and say, "Lord, I'm here.  I'm ready to do what you ask," and then when the calling comes, obey it!  

I mean, doesn't it just make sense that God can accomplish more through us than we can in our own power?

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God bless you guys and have a great day!  :)
Joy :)

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