We finish each other's...Sandwiches!

Last Thursday, in yet another Life Group/Bible study, we had our monthly potluck at the Leader/Facilitator’s parent’s house. It was Chinese food themed, and it was delicious (Ok, so my husband and I ate beforehand). We arrived just as the group was finishing up. After a few minutes of conversation, we moved from the dining room table to the living room to converse and enjoy each other’s company.

The Leader/Facilitator was recounting with his fiance their recent missions trip to Romania. I don’t know what made the transition switch, but then he started talking about the Taj Mahal. He had gone on a missions trip to India a month or so prior to this Romania one, without his fiance. She rolled her eyes as he began yet another retelling of how amazing this World Wonder was. She had heard this time and time again and I don’t know what number of retelling this was.

What amazed me most, is she was able to lip/mouth every word he said. There were a few she stumbled and guessed on, but for the most part, she hit the nail on the head.

How amazing is that. They spend a ton of time together getting to know each other in this engaged process, and so much of the time she gets to hear him tell stories of where he’s gone in the world. She knows his words so well she can repeat them word for word.

 

Isn’t that what God calls us to do? Joshua 1:8 says that we need to meditate on God’s word day and night. This was an eye opener to me. We should be able to recite and recount God's word and all He's done for his people accurately. Sure, we can stumble a bit, but if we're in His word daily, meditating on it, reading it, talking to our friends and family about it, we've no reason to stumble at all.


I'm working on reading through the bible in a year. Because I jumped ahead and read Joshua and Judges in lieu of Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers, I'm in 1 Kings currently, thanks the Daily Walk Bible (NLT version), and I'm slowly reading bits here and there of those 3 books I've missed. It's so cool to see for myself firsthand what God has done for his people. It's also quite interesting which verses keep coming up and get repeated in my life. For example, Joshua 1:8, I've heard it 3 or 4 times now, and I'm blogging about it! God is so cool. Seriously. Go read His word and see for yourself. I know I had to.


Best. Decision. Ever.


Amen and Amen.

We all wanna be a little ‘Wild and Free’

Towards the end of last year, Gretchen, from Life Lived Beautifully, posted all the books she had read last year, the books she wanted to read this year, and the book lists of her LLB team that I think were ‘To Read’ this year. I immediately copied them down to my GoodReads account and told myself, this would be the year that I read more (previously, I haven’t made a lot of time to read books, I preferred the mind numbing Netflix), that I further enrich my walk with God, to read books to help me understand Him and understand the Bible better.

I also thought it would be a great idea, if I involved some good friends of mine who also love to read, and we could go through some of these books together. And the whole thing flopped. I knew some people were going to be out of town, but then when the time came to actually meet up, there were “Oh this came up” “Oh life got busy”. So I ended up just going to dinner with one of the book club crew people, my sister-in-law. My enthusiasm was either more than theirs, or it wasn’t quite the right timing. I’ve been wrestling with this dilemma for a bit now.

As I compose this, God’s put it on my heart:

It’s not the right timing my beloved daughter. I want to take you through some things personally, that would be better rendered if you read the books by yourself. You may share what you learn should I lead you to do so. But I have other plans for your leadership skills. Trust me.

Well. There I go. Thanks God J

Our first book, or my first book that I was tackling was Wild and Free, by Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan. I definitely had mixed feelings about this book

I read 2 chapters and thought, this book is amazing. I read a third chapter and was beat down, “What is this? Why am I reading it?”, and that’s about the point I had dinner with my sister-in-law. After, I persevered, and then I got SO MUCH out of the rest of the book. SO MUCH that God had for me in that book.

A brief synopsis: We are called to live wild and free as daughters of the King. Wild does not mean haphazard carelessness. Free does not mean to do whatever we please. This book goes through small testimonials of the authors to help paint a picture of this Wild and Free lifestyle we are called to live.

Finishing it was something I’m really glad I did. This will be a book I hold onto, and re-read and lend out to friends who need it. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are feeling a little lackluster and that your fire has dimmed.


What are your reading goals this year? What are you reading through right now? I'd love to read along with you, or read what you're reading next. Comment down below and let me know.


Amen and Amen.

Disclaimer: Links are provided for simple convenience. I have no ties to Amazon, I am not getting paid to promote anything mentioned or any links provided. Amazon is not the only retailer for items, just a site I happen to like and use.

Rewriting the script: My identity

I’ve got some identity issues going on. And they’re related, and I can’t seem to figure it out. So I’m going to just brain dump my thoughts here


Now that I’ve been married for 5 months and 3 days, you’d think that I’d be totally accepting of my new last name. I write it on work stuff that I sign, but it still doesn’t hit me. When I see it on my Facebook everytime I post something, Facebook has a weird glitch. Occasionally I’ll be writing my draft as “Samantha Jo Pfisterer”, then, as it posts and loads in that semi-grayed out it’ll still show that, but when it posts, it corrects itself to “Samantha Jo Wolcott”. But, I am a Wolcott.

For 27 years I was a Pfisterer. So, I can see the difficulty in trying to break that habit of seeing who I am. It’s. Still. Weird. to me. Every time I write it, it comes off that I’m like a high-schooler, writing my name with my crush’s last name. But I am legally a Wolcott. I did get married. I did profess to our 150 guests that I will love my husband until my dying breath. I changed my name legally on all the important documents (minus my passport, but I’m working on it) I am a Wolcott. I no longer “belong” to my parents, I “belong” to my husband. Instead of parents over boyfriend, it’s now husband over parents. I am a Wolcott.

So that’s issue number 1. Issue number 2, is as follows.

I am a child of God. I am a daughter of the King. I have a destiny in the Eternal Heaven of God.

But I still find it hard to accept that. I still struggle through, who am I really? What does following Jesus really mean? What does His death on the cross really mean?

God’s been leading me through Joshua and Judges. And he’s been teaching me some really great things about my identity in him: Obedience brings victory; God uses the least, the unexpected to bring His glory to light; Among other things, there's just so much.

How cool is it that God uses stories from the Old Testament, from hundreds of years ago to teach us the same lesson He was teaching our forefathers (and mothers). I can't wait to keep reading through the OT and find what other nuggets of His great love He will reveal to me! I'm also trodding through Leviticus and that's been oh so cool to go through too! Who'd have thought right?


When you are in the dark about where you should be, or in the dark about who you are, turn to the Book of Light, the Book of Love, the BIBLE and open it up. There is where I will find who I am. There is where you will find who you are. There I am learning what it means to truly follow God, to have a friend in Jesus, to be reprimanded well, justly, but not cruelly.


I'm so excited to keep walking on and reading daily all that He has to say! Will you join me?


Amen and Amen <3

21 days to make a Habit

Research has shown it takes 21 days to build a habit. If you do the same thing every day for 21 days straight, you’ve now created something you’re going to do every day. And when you don’t do it, you feel lost, “off”, disoriented etc.

I didn’t realize it until Friday morning (February 10^th, 2017) when I was talking to my coworker, but I unintentionally formed a habit. “I haven’t eaten breakfast at home before work ever since I started. I’ve always eaten it at my desk” is what I told her. I’ve been at this same job for 3+ years (4 in June! Woo!). But eating breakfast at home before work is something I need to change. I need to start and really commit to up at the same time every day and in bed at the same time every night. I’m thinking I’ll be more energized and ready to go if I do these things.

Another habit I didn’t realize I started was one I began at the beginning of the year. I remember as a new believer, just learning to get my legs under me, hearing “Read your Bible every day” was something I was not a fan of. I enjoy reading for pleasure, or doing things because I want to. As soon as it becomes a “task” or a “do this or else” I don’t want to do it; I doubt I’m alone in the matter. But at the end of last year, I decided I was going to read through the bible in a year. It didn’t dawn on me that this was a “task” I was establishing for myself.

But I wanted to get to know my God more, I wanted to know my Heavenly Father. So that when I utilize my gifts, I can listen for His input and His direction as I do the things he has blessed me with. So, I found a reading plan online, copied it into my journal, and have been chugging along through it.

And now, I’m addicted. I carry my bible EVERYWHERE with me. If I walk out the door without it, I feel naked. I read it on my work breaks. I read it after work in coffeeshops between tasks. I’m using reading plan Apps with extra information about context to help me get through it…and my mind is BLOWN at the greatness of our God. Holy cow. So I’ll be blogging about what he’s taught me as I feel led.

If you balk at the thought of reading your bible on the daily, really take those feelings to God and address them. Because you’re not going to get better if you stay bitter. This honestly has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for my walk with God is reading the bible daily. Charles Spurgeon said “Why would I look into the face of man in the morning before looking into the face of God?” (Paraphrased and restated, but it’s still the same meaning). And oh how differently I feel when I spend mornings with God, briefly or extended, versus the days I don’t. I resolved to start my Saturday as this new habit, as Friday was already gone. So, God willing, it will become a new habit to really carve out time in my mornings to spend time with Him before I spend time with mankind: my coworkers, my husband above all else, baristas, fast food workers, grocery store employees, and on and on.

Amen & Amen