Trouble with temptation

Hey everyone!

I'm back from a few days of Christmas recovery.

 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

This month I've been keeping myself busy with some DIY fun.

These are my latest creations:

 

bookpage wreath

 

Bible verse coasters

 

3D wall art

 

decorative tray

 

Those are just a few things that have kept me busy this month.

 

I've also been doing a lot of reading lately.

Ever since my last post, I've thought a lot about the many different reasons why God became human through Jesus.

In today's reading, Hebrews chapters 1-6, something really stood out to me. It stood out so much that I felt the urge to write about it.

Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Now, I've known this truth, but honestly, I sometimes forget about it, because it's just so hard for me to imagine. Why? I don't know.

I mean, Jesus was a human so of course, He would be tempted.

I guess because He was perfect, I just tend to think He was exempt from temptation, but that's not true.

 

Hebrews 14:5 tells us that He was tempted in every way possible, just like us.

Think of all the things you're tempted to do in a single day.

It may not seem like a lot, but I bet we are tempted more than we even realize.

Jesus faced every temptation, however, He did not follow through like we often do.

Wow. I don't know about you, but that gives me hope.

Jesus can sympathize with us in everything we face.

He must know how hard it is to be tempted.

This shouldn't give us an excuse to follow through with our temptations, but it should motivate us to rely on Him.

 

When we are tempted to shout out in anger, 

Jesus says, "I know how it feels, but rely on me and I can help you resist."

When we are tempted to find pleasure in worldly things,

Jesus says, "I know how it feels, but rely on me and I can give you true happiness."

When we are tempted to give up on our dreams,

Jesus says, "I know how it feels, but rely on me and I will give you your heart's desires."

When we come to Him, His strength can help us resist our temptations.

A bunch of randomness

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't been as consistent as I was last month. With Christmas around the corner and my 2 new, lovely medicines that are causing me some pain, I've been either busy or resting. Anyway, I wanted to stop by for a little bit and let you in on some of the stuff I've been up to...

 

painting DIY 3D wall art...

and more painting...

 

creating...

 (This little guy is a SUPER simple DIY Rudolph made out of a piece of wood, lightbulb, paint, glitter and branches. Maybe this is silly, but it was a fun little project.)

and decorating!

 

Also, I've been nominated for the Liebster award again! My new blogger friend, Cat, over at This Little Life of Mine nominated me. She is such a sweet woman of God with a moving testimony. I ran across her blog a couple weeks ago and told her about Alisa and Jaime's story. She even blogged about their story-so sweet! Please go check out her blog...you won't regret it! Thank you so much Cat! I nominated some blogs for this award a couple months ago and if I would have known you then, I would have nominated you in a heartbeat!

Since I just nominated a couple months ago, I'm going to wait a few more months to nominate again so that I can nominate new bloggers :)

These are the questions Cat asked me, so here's your chance to get to know me a little bit better :) I hope it's somewhat interesting! Haha.

 

1. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because I felt that God put it on my heart to share with others what He has taught me. Honestly, I had always hated the idea of "blogging" before and was totally against doing it...God has a funny sense of humor haha.
2. Favorite Movie? Gah that is SO hard...how bout I list 3? A Walk to Remember, Remember the Titans & Accepted - this should tell you that I like Nicholas Sparks books/movies, football and comedies. What can I say- I'm a girl of variety!
3. Favorite holiday tradition? I guess it would be decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music. What's even better is when the tree is all finished and we can sit back, drink some hot chocolate and enjoy our masterpiece.
4. Who is your role model? I know this may be a Sunday School answer, but I would have to say Jesus. I have many people I look up to, but even though they are wonderful, they aren't perfect and the only perfect person is Jesus. He sets the example of how we should live.
5. Movies or a book? I think it just depends on my mood because I like both. Right now-I would say movies.
6. Do you have a favorite scripture? Just like my favorite movies, I have a tie of 3 or 5 or even 25 favorite bible verses. I'll just go with 3 right now- Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:1-6
7. Where is your favorite place for vacation? Here's another tie..(I guess I just can't make a decision haha) Vegas & Destin, Florida-Vegas just has so many things to see & I like the weather. Destin is just gorgeous-nothing like crystal clear water and white sand!
8. Are you ready for Christmas? Oh I'm ready for Christmas! I'm always ready for Christmas, but the real question is, am I prepared? No way. I have so much to do and so little time. I knew I should have gotten started earlier.
9. Do you have any pet peeves? Hmm...tapping!! It could be nails tapping on a table or a foot tapping on the ground, whatever- it drives me nuts haha.

Now that I've filled you in, I figured I'd share some encouraging words. It comes from the Bible, so rest assured that these words are 100% true.

 

 

Mmm...I love that. God is with me (& you!) He is mighty to save (mighty-oh yeah!). He takes great delight in me/you (woa!). He quiets me/you with His love (He sure does!). He rejoices over us with singing (wow-I feel special!).

 

Rest in these truths & may they bring you peace.

 

Today's scripture for read-your-Bible-in-a-year plan was 1 Corinthians 12-14.

If you would like a copy of the plan, check it out here or send me an email!

 

 

 

 

 

DIY Halloween & Fall Decorations

As I was looking around the house, I realized that we don't really have any fall decorations. So thanks fellow crafty bloggers, I learned how to make decorations out of books!

All you need is...

• Books (paperback preferably)
• Hot glue gun
• Construction paper
• Stick (for pumpkin)

How to make Jack-o-Lantern:

• fold first page back to the spine, halfway and crease...continue with each page
• fold front and back cover to spine & glue covers to the spine
• Cut out shapes for eyes, nose, mouth and glue

How to make pumpkin:

• Draw a pumpkin shape on book
• Cut pages with scissors (I used exacto knife) (about 15 pages at a time).
• Once all pages are cut, glue a small stick to the spine
• Pull front and back cover together and glue.
• Fluff out pages to resemble pumpkin and add ribbon to your pumpkin (or whatever else you want to add)

These crafts were fun, easy and free! However, the pumpkin was a little time consuming. Have fun and happy fall!

Laboring on Labor Day

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a restful, fun Labor Day! My Labor Day was actually pretty laboring, but fun laboring, I guess you'd say. I woke up, had my morning reading time and got to work! No, I don't have an "actual" job just yet, but I have been rather productive lately. I have been hooked on DIY (do it yourself) projects. On top of that, it seems like the more I craft, the better I get at it and the more creative I am, therefore, I want to do more! I have alllll these ideas in my head and I feel like it's going to explode. Do you ever feel that way?

So everyone keeps telling me I need to rest, but I just have to be busy no matter how I feel! I'm tired of Lyme Disease getting in the way. However, I realize I gotta slow down so I can get better and beat the heck out of Lyme sooner rather than later!

As I lie on the couch, throbbing with pain, I realize, "Hmmm maybe I should take a break and slow down." Don't you hate when people tell you something & you go against what they say because you're stubborn (which I am) and then realize...they were right... the whole time. Yep, that's where I am right now. So I figured I would show you what wore me out today, followed with a family gathering. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow? Nothing. So those of you who know me personally, please encourage me to rest and take care of myself. I know I'm stubborn, but please stay on me...I'm giving you permission...remind me of that.

So the first thing I did was DIY bathroom wall art for my parents' bathroom. All I used were shoeboxes, paint, craft paper, and stencils. Super cheap. Easy to do. Time consuming if you are a perfectionist like me (and they aren't even perfect). I'm glad I'm finally finished with this project and somewhat happy with it.

Lastly, I made a fall monogrammed wreath. This was super easy and super fun! All I used was a wreath, fall garland, ribbon, hot glue and a wooden letter.

This is what I did today, plus some cleaning and chasing down kiddos. Productive day, but totally exhausting for a Lymie (a person with Lyme). Anyway, I hope you all had some rest from your work and have a wonderful week!

Success: it's what we all want, right?

Whew! I don't know about you, but this last week was crazy and long! We came back home from my monthly doctor's appointment, errands, trip to the ER, DIY project fever (thanks to Pinterest), sister's birthday party and much more, so in other words, I'm glad it's a new week! And what a better way to start the week off by making it to church, finally! There are many mornings when I just can't get out of bed because I'm hurting so much. In that situation, I watch church on the internet (gotta love technology!), but yesterday was different! I was up early and not as stiff as usual. I'm glad that churches now have online podcasts, but it's definitely not the same as being in church with a body of believers. Anyway, the sermon was so good that this post is going to be based around it. The sermon series the church is in right now, is titled "The Cardinal Rules of Success". Everyone wants success, right? I mean, I think it's part of being a human being to want success. In everything I do, I try to aim for success. Is there anything wrong with that? Welllll.....I think it depends on our definition of success. The world (and dictionary) tells us that success is defined by "the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence." The media tells us that success is owning 5 different sports cars, owning a Fortune 500 business (or two), having your own reality tv show, earning a 4.0 GPA and so much more. Hmmm....according to the media, I am not successful at all! So I'm thinking something is wrong with this picture. Are all the things I listed, true proof of success? Well, Pastor Craig Reynolds doesn't think so. He said, "Real success is not about us, it's about Him. Real success is about being in His presence." I'm not bashing sports cars or owning a Fortune 500 business or reality tv shows, but I think it's important to think about the motive behind those three things. If the motive is to show off and make people jealous of you, I don't think that is success. Real success is when we glorify God. Whether it be praying with someone or moving across the world as a missionary, we can glorify God through the little and big things in our lives. When we are in God's presence, we are blessed. When we focus on Him and not on ourselves, we are blessed with attributes like gentleness, kindness, love, patience, wisdom, strength, comfort and the list goes on. I don't know of any sports cars or reality shows that gives all of that. If you do, let me know, but good luck finding it! Pastor Craig also said, "It's about who He is and His will....if we focus on ourselves, we won't be able to find His purpose." So not only do you get all of those attributes when you focus on God, but you also find the purpose of your life! I don't know what could be more successful than that! So think about how you can be successful this week. Don't worry about attempting to get your own reality tv show or 5 sports cars...you can be much more successful...and it doesn't even involve money! Sign me up! :) Romans 12:2- "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will." Be blessed today! Oh, if you started back to school today (whether student or as staff), I hope you have a great & successful school year (it's a great mission field)! I would attach the podcast for the sermon yesterday, but it's not up yet. If you would like, you could look occasionally on http://www.second.org/North.aspx. Also, there was a lot more to this sermon, but I'll write more about that later :)