Psalms ::

As a Christian I battle the pride of, "I should have arrived in my faith by now." 

This is SUCH false thinking. 

If I've arrived what need of the God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit is there in my life? 

In the past & present I have been scared to go forward in church due to pride, but a few Sundays ago I went forward. 

Not needing to be saved, but needing to be washed again. 

I was in such a dark place, but the moment I set my pride aside and walked forward I literally felt free, felt chains falling, and my mind was clearing again. 

I encourage you today to go forward, 

humble yourself before God. He desires all of us... Our pain & our joy. 

I've come to grips with the fact that I will find myself going forward again & again & again...and that's ok. 

My hope is that it encourages others to do the same. 

#wearevictors #wearefree

For some reason I've never been one to love reading the Psalms, but recently that's changed.
I love the constant love, grace, and mercy you find in them. 
Maybe I'm at a point in my life where I realize more and more how much I NEED those things from God.
Psalm 73 (above): 
Here David's talking about how foolish and ignorant he was being, then goes on to say, "YET..." 23-24

Lately

 Kevin has been working so hard lately (well, always).
Recently he spent hours upon hours working on his Statistics homework.
He's a champ through it all! I'm blown away by his tenacity to not give up.
Knowing myself (especially with school), I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.
He's pushing through his PhD like nobodies business while maintaining a 4.0!
I can't even express how proud I am of him. 
I have seriously cried a few time now when thinking about the day he defends his dissertation.
What a moment. What an achievement.
It will be such a monumental occasion. I plan on throwing Dunks the biggest party he's ever had.
  This process of working through his Doctorate has caused me the utmost respect for those who have already been there and done that, but even more so, utmost respect to him.
Countless papers, countless reading, countless dedication, countless planning, countless sacrifice...
This is what it takes. 
On top of all this, he still works, he still loves, and  he still gives during his free time. 
I don't know how he manages. 
God has given him the grace and the strength every single step of the way.
 


CARPE DIEM
Something I'm trying to get better at, instead of allowing fear to control me.
Bought these TOMS at the Catalyst Conference &
got to meet the founder of TOMS there [picture below].
We met in the elevator, and he was a SUPER nice guy. :)

Our air-conditioning upstairs went out, so we slumbered downstairs for a few days.
It was kind of fun, because it broke up the monotony of life.   
I was having some fun with Bailey. I gave her a piggy-back ride.
She just sat calmly as I walked her around downstairs and upstairs.
She cracks me up. I then tried it with Mr. Leonidas, but he was NOT having it.


Someone looks grumpy. ;P
 
Beautiful sunrise as we ran. 

Dunks, super happy to now have his coffee.
And obviously wanting to go back to sleep. ;)
 
On our way home the sunrise over the mountains looked so pure and pretty.
The picture doesn't do it justice at all.

Here I am up and ready for my 2nd longest run ever.
:: 8 miles ::
I could tell both Kevin and I weren't feeling it that day, but we pushed through
and made it happen.
**Kevin is training for a marathon, so I've been trying to train alongside him
to see if it's something I could even begin to think about doing**
 
Here we are on the home stretch of our 8 miles that day.
Funny thing, we ended up crossing paths with the Lynchburg half marathon & 5k.
As we passed the photographer I told him we weren't in the race, but they still posted pics and we got tagged.
So now I have proof of our run! ;) It's fun to have it documented. 
 
On our way home we stopped off and enjoyed the sunset together.

Fact: when I'm rushing out the door to meet the girls for our morning run,
I always grab a jug of water from the fridge.
A lot of times I'll end up with a ton of these hanging out in my car.
I've gotten better lately about bringing them back into the house though ;)

It's always a beautiful view when driving through Candlers Mountain.
I love that I get to drive through it daily.
The lush green and view of the city always take my breath away.
Driving through the mountain after work, helps to put the long day at ease.

This is life lately.
I'm trying to be better at documenting it along the way. 

Anchored

Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, 

and He will save us. 

This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; 

we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. 

                                                   -Isaiah 25:9

Men and women of great valor

I have no tattoos, but if I were to pick a scripture tattoo right now it would definitely be this one:

One man of you shall chase a thousand,

for the LORD your God is who fights for you,

as He promised you.

Therefore, take careful heed to yourselves,

that you LOVE the LORD your God.

-Joshua 23:10-11

I'm trying so hard to write this on my heart and believe it in my life.

Sometimes I find myself wanting to write scripture all over my body, just for the sake of remembering it! I'm the type of person who constantly needs reminders in front of me. I'm not good at memorizing verses, so I need to stay constant in the Word in order to keep it at the forefront of my mind.

I bet God had a plan in that. Sneaky God. ;P

As I'm reading through the Old Testament, 

I've been noticing God referring to certain men as, men of great "valor." I love that.

Here's what the dictionary has to say about "valor."

val·or

boldness or determination in facing great danger,

especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery: a medal for valor.

I think I could go on and on about this, but for the sake of time I won't.

I just pray that God shapes my heart and your heart in such a way,

that we too can be called:

:: Men & women of great VALOR ::

In ONE sentence...

...share what God is teaching you at this time.

Mine: To be CONSTANT in the WORD!

Matthew 4:4 - Man cannot live by bread alone. He must feed off every Word that proceeds the mouth of God.

Zephany, Pilgrimage Collection

I found this picture online when searching the word pilgrimage. I love it.
To me this painting symbolizes, wounds, faith, grace, strength, beauty, and war all in one. 
As Christians, that's a lot of what we represent. 
We're on a continuous pilgrimage. 
Although our path is narrow, our hope is wide. 
Often times I get discouraged, trying to figure out what carrying my cross actually looks like daily, but then again I'm reminded, I don't have to take the lead on that, Christ in me has already gone before me.
I just need to simply follow.  
He is the author and perfecter of our faith. 
Hebrews 12:2
Keep pressing. 
He is the perfect leader. 
The perfect guide. 
The perfect companion. 
The perfect role-model.
The perfect inspiration. 
The perfect peace. 
The perfect faith. 
The perfect hope. 
The perfect truth. 
The perfect friend. 
The perfect helper. 
The perfect strength. 
The perfect anchor. 
Simply, perfect.

Press On

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect: 

but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

Philippians  3:12

No matter how discouraged you may feel about life, or a certain situation, keep pressing, keep pushing into God. We are not perfect people, but Christ in us is perfect. Keep pressing into Him! Never stop! 

Jesus has you :)

Really?!? **if you read nothing in this post, please at least read the letter at the bottom**

Paul sure does sound like a people pleaser to me.

Have you read 1 Corinthians 10 lately?  Yeah, I hadn't either till recent.

Has anyone ever told you, "You shouldn't be a people pleaser," or "You're such a people pleaser!"
Yeah, I've heard that a lot, maybe not always directed towards me, but it's the word on the street.

After reading 1 Cor. 10 (& other parts of the bible) I'm starting to differ on the "people pleaser" mentality.

**Mind you, I am not/nor do I claim to be a bible scholar. It may seem that I am taking these line out of context, but the principle behind it is where my thoughts went. So take what you will with a grain of salt.

Read these lines & tell me what they say to you.

• 1 Corinthians 10:24 - Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 
• 1 Corinthians 10:31-33a - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God---even as I try to please everybody in every way. 
• 1 Corinthians 10:33b - For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so they may be saved.  11:1 - Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 

People pleaser?

OK Paul, your saying I should not seek my own good...ever? AND do whatever I can to please people?

I think if Paul were here and I was able to ask him these questions, he would blatantly say, Yes. He then might nod his head towards me, look up with all seriousness in his eyes and ask this question back at me: "Who [pause] exactly did you say you follow again?"     


Christ. I said I follow Christ. [thinking: is this a trick question?]

{again with all seriousness in his eyes}: "What example did I say I follow?"


Christ. You said you follow Christ. 

So [pause] Paul, your saying people pleasing is a good thing?

{with all sincereness and love}: "I'm saying [pause], what did Jesus do?"

Gosh we are stupid smart people. We I clearly have trouble grasping the cross of Christ. Least I do.
[[God knew my intelligence wasn't so wise, hence the cross. I need him]]

HE DIED.  THAT is Paul's example. How am I suppose to follow that!? 

Is that really who Paul is following? Someone who blesses his enemies by dying for them? Yes. 
Yikes! I don't even know if my friends would do that for me let alone my ENEMIES!  Thank goodness someone stepped up to the plate and carried it all for us. Seriously.
Romans10:4 - Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

That's pretty selfless and might tip the scales of people pleasing if you ask me. Yet, I plow through life as if people owe me; as if they should love me. But Christ's example is that I should love you. 

I'm working on it. I promise. Give me grace please.  :)

And so it continues....

Love.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rom. 12:14

Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. Rom. 12:17

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Rom. 12:19b

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom. 12:21

....But the greatest of these is love. Cor. 13b

After reading these passages, I'm inspired to become the people pleaser Christ was. 

How can we love greater? 

Lord help us get this. 

This might inspire you. 

Just as I finished writing this post Kevin (ironically) asked if he could read me an email that he received today. It's from a student he helped (while working at Liberty) who had little faith that she could succeed in school after recovering from a brain injury. Some of my take from this email is that what we do does matter and that we have the opportunity to influence people; either for good or evil, better or for worse. 

In this case it was for better: 

Kevin -
Guess what?!!!  I just completed my graduation request form!!!  Praise Jesus Forever!  He is soooo incredible!  I can't tell you how many times I felt like giving up - but He would never let me.  I just finished re-taking the one class from that not so nice prof and get this - I have an A (the prof makes a big diff).  So I have all B's and ~5 A's - not bad for a brain injury survivor!  Thank you, thank you a million for helping me with so many things, Kevin.  Your rewards are huge in Heaven, but may God bless you immensely on earth as well.

I will continue taking classes as it has helped my memory so much.  I no longer leave the oven or stove on for 12 hours at a time or leave the vehicle running.  I do still lock myself out of the house a lot - but what can you do (but hide a key - lol). 

Take care, my friend and I thank you for everything!

In Him,
Sharon


*PS -Sharon is graduating with her MBA from Liberty.

[e]Nough said.

white as snow.

"Come now, let us reason together,"

says the LORD.

"Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

*

You may or may not know this, but I have ALWAYS wanted a white Christmas tree! I love them. I especially love them living here in Virginia. Since we don't get much snow the white tree reminds me of fallen snow.

After much pressure Kevin succumbed to my need for a white Christmas Tree this year. :) Saturday I was super sick, but fortunately I found the energy later that day to decorate the tree with Kevin. We still have our fake green tree we will put up after Thanksgiving, but for now heres the pretty White one.

{ I seriously love him and I'm ok with that }

{ love these 2; such blessings in my life }

{ staring contest with the tree - tree won }

{ poor little star wouldn't stay up - probably because it's a $40 tree from Wal-Mart }

{ first ornament - it's just a little guy }

{ Kevin havin some fun with the camera }

{ Leo loves the ornaments too! }

{ complete }