I Love that I am a Christian

I love that I am a Christian. I say this all the time, because no matter how tough it gets, no matter how impossible a situation seems, no matter how alone I feel, I can turn to Jesus Christ and by His mercy, He lightens a burden, He makes the impossible possible or reminds me that nothing is impossible for Him, and Jesus reminds me that I am never alone and He will put scriptures to my mind that encourage me, strengthen me, and build my faith. Or the Holy Spirit fills me with His power and I pray in a language only God knows, on my behalf. Or God will have a friend send me an encouraging text unexpectedly that speaks directly to the situation I'm in. I love being a Christian because I know the ending, I - along with other Christians - win. I am given a Bible that tells me the beginning and the end. I am given fellowship with the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit and with His sons and daugthers. I am given a purpose. I know why I exist and I know Who I live for. I am endued with the Power from on high. I am more than a conquerer. Death and hell no longer have power over me. Have I mentioned that I love that I am a Christian? And what I love is that I serve the only true and living God and He offers this amazing gift to everyone who will believe and receive it and follow Jesus all their lives. Yes, I love that I am a Christian. 

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

Because it's funny...

Credit goes to 2 Cows and a Chicken cartoons

My Treadmill Neighbor

I finally made it to the gym tonight for the first time this week - I celebrate all my small accomplishes. But that is not why I'm writing. Tonight, I want to tell you about what happens when your treadmill neighbor thinks that your headphones are working. I take my cellphone and my headphones in hopes to listen to my music while running. But as I begin to run and the music begins to play, I realize that the left ear piece is not working and I can hear the gym's music play in my left ear and my personal music play in my right ear and that is not fun. So I turn off my music but I keep the headphones on, don't ask why - I don't have an answer - maybe it's because it feels more private. Well, shortly after, a tall and athletic looking guy in his late 20's begins to run next to me and he also has headphones on - with just one difference - his work and I know this because every two minutes of the song he joins in the chorus line - loudly - "all my women, I'm riding with all my women." I think it's a hip hop song. This song is very long or he might have it on repeat because I am running for 30 minutes and every two minutes he belts out "all my women, I'm riding with all my women." The only time he pauses is when I take off my headphones for a couple of minutes to fix my shoelaces and the moment my headphones are in again, he begins to ride with all his women.  Next time you're at the gym and you think you're safe to sing because your neighbor is wearing her headphones - beware! I might be listening. 

A Sweet Treat for You

Here is a sweet, Italian treat for you. Yes, it is as good as it looks, my friends and I had this lovely morsel in Italy. May your weekend be filled with delicious, sweet things that satisfy your taste buds and fill your soul.  I think I will be running to the bakery tomorrow. Ciao bellas!

Dear well meaning, married for many, many years friend...

Dear well meaning, married friend who married in your teens or early 20's.  I know that you are concerned for me, scarily more than I am my for myself, that I am single in my 30's. I know you think you understand what it's like to be single in her 30's and that you can relate to me but you can't, so please don't council me, just be my friend and let's talk about makeup, food, fashion, fun stuff that happens to us, let's just fellowship. Just like I can't relate to you about you marrying before you finished high school or college and I won't ever know what it's like to have kids in her 20's, you can't ever, ever be able to relate to a never married single girl in her 30's...ever. So please STOP worrying about me because you are not helping, you're actually making a good situation bad.  As a Christian, where is your faith and why don't you believe that this is God's calling for me right now? Why must you ask me every time if I have someone? Why don't you believe the Bible that says that I'm already complete in Christ?  Why must I constantly remind you that I'm not looking for any guy at this time and that I'm enjoying my life? Why can't you just be a friend and ask me what I've been up to? You know very well your marriage is not as great as you try to make it out to be and are you forgetting what 1 Corinthians 7:28 says? That married people will have more troubles than single people? So that means that right now, you have many more problems than I do. So I should be the well meaning friend and be concerned about you. Even if perhaps I would like to get married right now, why do you expect me to wear my deep desires on my sleeve? You have your own deep desires as a married person, does that mean that someone is making you feel obligated to share them each time you see them?  I only have one problem as a single person in her 30's: the Christian society has trouble with people who aren't married by the time they're 25ish and constantly try to - in a well meaning way - make us 'older' singles feel better about ourselves by constantly reminding us that there's someone out there for us and not to worry, that one day we'll be happy when we're married - but that approach doesn't help, society needs to face reality and accept the fact that singles are now beginning to consider marriage in their 30's and 40's and they are just as happy as you are - except that they have less problems than you.  So well meaning friend, next time I see you, will you please just give me a hug and tell me you missed me and that you'd love to know where I bought my jacket, because you know it's cute? And I will ask about how your kids are doing and where you bought your awesome leather clutch and then let's talk about getting together for dinner. Thanks! 

p.s. I love you, my well meaning friend :)

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself...

 

Thank you, Jesus!!!                                                         Amen. Say it with me girly girls. Amen!

 

          Thank you, Father, in heaven.                                         Thank you for your promises.

Thank you, Jesus, for fulfilling your promises.            Yes, we will be still and rest in You, Father. 

                                             

My Online Shopping Experiences

I do a lot of my shopping online. Usually I'll go online already knowing what I want but sometimes I'll receive an email from my favorite brandname, offering great discounts on their items. It's rare that I'm tempted to buy just because of a sale, I like to be smart with my money but I must admit that at times I do cave in and sometimes I regret it and sometimes I'm so glad I did cave in. For example, I love my makeup brand. Their lip balm has saved my dry lips! However, I have found that their online sale items have much to be desired and I won't be buying from them again anytime soon. But I just took a chance on a two day sale from a sporting goods store and ordered the most comfortable compression pants and top. I'm wearing the set right now. It's more than what I expected and both items are 50% off with no shipping fees and I received them within 48 hours of my purchase.  Makes me want to go running outside right now in the beautiful Fall climate and breathe in the fresh air in my new, warm workout clothes.  

What a Sweet Dad!

Pic I took in Italy :)

 I came across the sweetest story on a blog today about a father wanting to keep his relationship strong with his daughter.  At first, you got the impression that the story was about a car the dad wanted when he was younger, but that was not the moral of the story. I liked his other posts, too. His writing style was simple but creative and it pulled me in.  Link to the story: Purple Camaro