I Am Not Lucky I Am Blessed

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blessed, matthew 25, operation christmas child, pinterest, travel

 

Photo Credit Pinterest

I came across this quote on Pinterest a few weeks ago and it keeps coming back to my mind. “I am not lucky I am blessed”. I think many times in life, when something great happens, I take for granite the one who made it happen.

In the past year, I’ve had many moments that have overwhelmed me and I wonder….How did I get here? For some, it might come across as just being “lucky” but I know without a doubt, that my life is planned and ordained by the blood of Jesus Christ.

You see, I was not a very obedient girl growing up. I remember one day, when I was very young, my father told me not to put my fingers near the weight machine. He even pointed to the exact spot where I could get hurt. Well, I am sure you can guess the end of this story. Yes, I ended up with an almost broken finger and I missing a fingernail. I say all of that to explain, that if my life were based off of luck, my life would look a whole lot different.

Growing up I had this dream of helping the less fortunate. Every night when I would pray with my parents, I would ask God to help all the homeless people. My prayers grew as I got older and I developed a passion for needy children overseas. In college I volunteered at homeless shelters and would go on the occasional mission’s trip but I knew God has something more.

Throughout my 7 years of college (long story), I would feel discouraged, not understanding why I had this deep passion and no opportunity to use it.  When I cried out to God, wondering what my future held, He would remind me of Matthew 25: 21. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness.”

The parable in Matthew 25 reined daily in my life. I knew that if I wanted to be used by the Lord, I had to show him that I am His faithful servant. Don’t get me wrong, this was not always an easy thing and I failed many times. Despite my failures, we serve a loving God who knows our hearts and is full of grace.

I now work for Operation Christmas Child where I am able to use my college degree. Every day I am overwhelmed knowing that I am exactly in the place that the Lord wants me to be. All the years of having a passion and not “feeling” like I was using it, was just the Lord’s way or making my walk stronger with him.

So, I want to ask you, can the Lord trust you with the small things in your life?  Open your eyes today, to the things around you. As you recognize the small things, watch as the Lord begins to bless you with bigger opportunities to be used by Him.  The greatest joy in life is being used by the Lord and bringing Glory to his mighty name.

Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse headed by Franklin Graham, and is the world largest Christmas project of its kind. This year Operation Christmas Child will send out their 100 millionth shoe box gift.  For more information visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.

2012, Let’s Get Organized

Tags

clean office, D.I.Y decorating, motivation, my own space, office space, work creativity

I have been M.I.A for the past few weeks due to the wonderful laziness of vacation. My wonderful hubby and I went back to sunny California for two weeks to celebrate the holidays with my family. It was a blast.

Now that we are back to the real world of work and getting ready to start my last semester of college, I am trying to get organized. I am studying mass communications, which is great for freelance work.

Now that I am closer to graduating I have been blessed to get some freelance professional opportunities. It is wonderful to do freelance work for many reasons such as being able to be flexible. With that being said, I am learning the importance of focus and motivation. In order for me to be focused at home I need an office space that I like to be in, a inspirational clean atmosphere.

So, I would like to share some D.I.Y office space ideas that I have come across with you. I like these ideas because they are seem do-able on a low budget. I look forward to slowly making my office space into my own artistic bubble.

image from stylizimo.blogspot.com

Image From Pinterest.com

Image From Pinterest.com

Now that I have some great ideas I am off to decorate!

Happy Nesting

New Years Eve

Tags

2012, celebration, Greg Laurie, new year, new years eve, new years resolutions

I admire my home Pastor, Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Ca. I love reading his daily devotions and his blog. I am sharing his blog post with you today because it really opened my eyes to welcoming this new year with eyes, mind and heart set on our Lord. Pastor Greg is a man who lives what he preaches and I have the utmost respect for his words.

Right now around the world many people are making their new years resolutions. Some popular new years resolutions are: Loose weight, Drink less Alcohol, Manage debt, Get a better job, Save money, Eat Healthy, Quit Smoking and the list goes on and on. The sad thing about all of those resolutions….they are all focused on ourself. Pastor Greg brings the right prospective on where our focus should be.

I hope you have a wonderful night celebrating the welcome to a wonderful new year. Enjoy Pastor Greg’s post.

The 3 Things we can give to God in 2012.

Blog by Pastor Greg Laurie.

December 30th, 2011 Posted in sermons

As we enter into a new year,here is something to remember-

When it’s all said and done, we have three things we can offer God: our treasure, our talent, and our time. Each of these is given to us by God, and each of them should be given back in generous portions.

First, there is our treasure.

I urge you to commit yourself to give faithfully and generously to the Lord in this coming year. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21 nkjv). Whenever we put our money into something, we develop a vested interest in it.

It makes sense to us that we would place our treasures where our hearts are. If we love reading books, or being entertained, or the latest technology, we spend our treasure on those things. And if our heart’s desires change, that changes where we put our treasure.

But it works the other way too: Where we put our treasures, our heart will follow.

Do you want your heart to be in the things of God? Then put your treasures in the things of God! Develop a vested interest in God’s kingdom.

The second thing we can give to God is our talent.

God has gifted each believer in different ways. Everyone has something to offer for the work of the kingdom.

Romans 12 says, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us different work to do” (nlt).

Finally, there is our time.

Let’s say that one day your phone rang and it was the president of the bank that you use. He told you that an anonymous donor who loved you very much had decided to deposit 86,400 pennies into your bank account each and every morning.

At first, maybe that didn’t seem like a lot. But then you figured out that it was $864 a day. At seven days a week and 52 weeks a year, those pennies add up to almost $315,000 each year!

But the bank president added one thing: “The anonymous giver said you must spend all of the money on the day you receive it! No balance will be carried over to the next day. Each evening the bank must cancel whatever sum you failed to use! Remember, what you don’t spend is lost.”

That may sound like fantasy, but here’s the reality: Every morning, Someone who loves you very much deposits into your “bank of time” 86,400 seconds, which represent 1,440 minutes, which of course equals 24 hours each and every day.

God gives you that much to use each day. Nothing is ever carried over on credit to the next day. There is no such thing as a 27-hour day.

It’s called time, and you can’t escape it. Time is ticking away right now. The Bible tells us to “redeem the time”—to make sacred and wise use of every opportunity.

Offer God your treasure, your talent, and your time. Live this year as if it were your last…because it could be.

Make those minutes count!

Sunny CA

Tags

California, hiking, Home, southern California, sunny

We are back in Southern California and soaking up the sunshine. Being home for the holidays is such a blessing. Enjoying tons of food, games, movies, and time with family and friends. There truly is no other way I would want to celebrate this season.

My husband and I have been taking every opportunity to get some exercise and sunshine on our pale skin, on top of relaxing of course. We love living in western Colorado for its beauty and endless adventures but the sunshine against my skin has been missed. I just want to share some pictures of my time back home. The pictures above are from a little adventure in my parents back yard. I hope you get to go outside and enjoy your day!
Happy Nesting!

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 12

Tags

breakfast, christmas, christmas morning, easy meals, family, ham and egg

Family Breakfast

I am on the last day of the 12 days of pinterest. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Pinterest is a great website to gain ideas for any occasion and I love making their ideas into my own style.

My last post for the 12 days of Pinterest is one for the family. I am back home at my parents and with a house full of people my mom knows ways to make a delicious breakfast that is quick, easy but extremely tasty. She got this recipe from pinterest. She made a crockpot ham and egg dish. This recipe is great when you have a house full of guests. It is not only tasty but saves the host hours of slaving cooking and cleaning in the kitchen.

Crockpot Ham and Egg Breakfast.

• Eggs
• frozen hash brown potatoes
•  cooked ham, cubed
• green onion
•  shredded Cheddar cheese
• Add some whole milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

You can use as much or little as you need for the meal based off of the amount you are serving. Scramble the eggs and mix on all of the ingredients. Keep Crockpot on low or warm and cook over night. When you get up for breakfast it is hot and ready to eat.

We had this for breakfast this morning and I will tell you, it is amazing!

I hope you enjoy your time with your family no matter what you do or eat:)

Happy Nesting!

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 11

Tags

christmas music, o holy night, pinterest, reason for the season

Let us not forget

The past two nights my husband and I ventured to the mall to finish our Christmas shopping. It was a little more stressful and time consuming that I thought. We live in a small town in Colorado and I can only imagine what the shopping would have been like at the malls back home in Southern California.

We are finally home with my family and all of the stress of travel, shopping and money is no longer in sight. The reason for the season is celebrating the birth out our Lord Jesus Christ. This wonderful Christmas song brings me to tears every time I hear it. Please read each word in remembrance of what God has done for us that has forever changed out lives. We are only two days away from Christmas. Jesus truly is the reason for the season and I pray we all put the worries away and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas!

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

God Bless. Happy Nesting!

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 10

Tags

christmas gifts, cookies, homemade holidays, last minute ideas, unique gifts

Last minute Christmas gifts

My husband and I have finally finished our Christmas shopping! As much fun as it is giving gifts, it can be exhausting. Not only can be shopping tiring, if you have to travel for the holidays it can add to the exhaustion. I am so blessed to be able to go home for Christmas; however, it is kind of difficult taking all of our gifts along with our clothes, in a carry on suitecase.

So, I am looking forward to making a few last minute gifts when I arrive to my parents house. Whenever I give a gift I think first, does it fit the persons interest whom I am giving? And second, is it a gift I would like to receive? These fun cookie or goodies in a jar are a great thoughtful and fun gift.

If you are looking for a few last minute gifts look no more! To make this gift is easy. Think of your favorite cookie recipe, get all the ingredients, and layer away. You can decorate the mason jar as much as you want. There are even printable tags online. This cookie mix idea is the perfect addition to any gift you are giving this year!

I hope you enjoy making this. Here are some other ideas:

Happy Nesting!

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 9

Tags

anthropology, christmas decorations, diy christmas gifts, mason jar ideas

One of my Favorite Christmas ideas on Pinterest

D.I.Y Christmas Globes

Anything inspired by Anthropology has got to be great….and this sure is. I am not one for giving Christmas ornament or decorations on Christmas (unless it’s an “our first christmas” item), but this little do is adorable. Whether it is for a gift or just something for your home. Christmas is a special time for families to have fun and spend time together. This cute idea is a great idea to do just that! I wish I were home closer to Christmas because I know my mom and I would have a blast making beautiful decorations.

I love this Christmas idea! It seems simple and requires the use of mason jars…..sold!

Happy Nesting

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 8

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Here are some beautiful gift wrapping ideas that I found on Pinterest. You just need white wrapping paper, some burlap and whatever you feel like picking up from your local craft store. These gifts are bound to make the receiver light up. It is worth it to go the extra mile.

Or to save money, you can go the simple route….Brown paper looks simple but add your special touch and it can be the cutest gift under the tree. They sell the brown paper at the Dollar Tree along with twine and some other things you can use for this idea.

Once you get all of your Christmas shopping out of the way, you can sit back relax and get creative wrapping them all!

Happy Nesting!

12 Days of Pinterest, Day 7

Tags

christmas gifts for him, not-for-profit, unique gifts

Gifts for Him

Shop online at Light Gives Heat

Let’s face it, as wonderful as Christmas gifts are, they sure can be stressful and for some reason men can be the hardest to buy for. If you are a frequent follower of my blog than you know who Light Gives Heat is. If you do not, check out there website and see all of the awesome things they offer. Not only do they have great products, they that provide a consistent income for women in Jinja, Uganda.

Light Gives Heat has gifts for him that are unique and are the gift of hope to the women in Uganda. When you buy a product from LGH each product comes packaged with a picture and a story of the lady who made it. You will not only be giving a great gift, you are making an impact across the world! I don’t think it gets much better than that.

Christmas is only a week away so act fast and see if you can get items shipped on time. LGH T-shirts are great for any occasion. The texts on the shirts are encouraging and tell a story of the people in Uganda. When you wear one of their shirts, jewelry or handbag, you are guaranteed that people will ask you about what you are wearing and then you have the opportunity to spread the word for this amazing organization.

I love giving LGH gifts for any occasion and the receiver always loves the unique creative product. Act fast and visit lightgivesheat.org for more information and to see all of their unique products.

Happy Nesting!