Faithful to follow - Stepping into what God has called you to

It's funny how, when you step into the calling Jesus places over your life, the easier it is to do it. Sure there's spiritual attack for it, because the enemy DOES NOT want you to really know and be who you are called to be. (Fitting for Halloween yeah? But this isn't going to be a post about dressing up or not)




I wrote all the time as a kid. You name it, I probably did it: Diary entries, blogs, stories, poems, short stories. Then when I found Jesus, I wrote my prayers, hashed out bible studies (as in like responded to them, not created my own). Then when I had that falling away period, I never really got back into writing.




Just recently, as you may or may not know, I've partnered with Lindsay of The Faith Feast. Our first phone call together was Sunday September 23rd. And she prayed over me before we hung up the phone (Classy ladies we are :) ). She prayed over my writing. And since then, I've been itching to write, to blog again, to talk about what God is teaching me, what I've learned, to continue to share my story in hopes I can help other women who may be struggling.




So if you've been following along, there have been 4 weeks of consistent blogging. Week one was I'm back and how to work for the wonder, not drudge through for the weekend. Week two was being free and not a slave to my Fitbit. Last week was a retreat summary and today, is this one.


Wednesday I felt was a good day to put out content. It's the midweek hump between the rough Mondays and the quick Fridays. It's a little 'speed boost' to refresh you and keep you going through the rest of the week. It may change in the future, as I know Lindsay sends out her newsletters Wednesdays, and I think I'd rather my followers follow us both and get two shots of energy and revival throughout the week on different days, rather than two on the same day.


Anyway, I'm saying all this to say, God gave me creativity, a desire to write (type). My heart craves a novel, but my steps dictate a blog. Maybe in the future I'll summarize the blogs or elaborate and turn it into a book. It's all in God's hands.


My heart and hands also crave paint. I'm a believer in: if you're creative, your outlets and avenues are endless. I'm also a painter, which I guess is a different form of writing.


A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers approached me about being a vendor at an event she is coordinating/facilitating. She originally asked about my doTerra stuff, which I turned down as it wasn't something I'm actively pursuing (I've got quite a bit on my plate), but after a moment of thought, I suggested my art instead. So, I'll be branching out from just posting on Instagram and word of mouthing my business, and having my own table, and being in person out there with my work. What is it you ask? I paint journals and Bibles, even a canvas if you request. I'm in the workings of working with a designer to get a logo made, so stay tuned for that; then business cards made after. The opportunity was given and I believe it's God's will and timing to step forward and use Anchored Aesthetic for his glory.


Being able to translate a compilation of favorites to visual documentation on an item used daily, or as regularly as possible, is something my heart lives for. When it's God centered, I let Him dictate what I'm to paint. Even though I may have a great idea for an elaborate plant, He tells me to paint an ombre of color and the recipient gets chills when she gets. That's my jam, doing His work and making Him and His will visual.


So we'll see what the future holds and what is coming. But that's a little back story for why I'm back and what I'm up to. I'm just thankful that I've been given the gifts I have. I love them and am looking forward to growing them for His Kingdom.


Amen and Amen

Fit to a Bit: The day I took my Fitbit off

May of this year, I decided to really grasp onto my health. I decided I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of aching. So I charged up my Fitbit HR and put it on my wrist and away I went. I re-downloaded MyFitnessPal and started logging my foods.

Each day I tried to reach my goal of 9,000 steps.
Each day I tried to make sure I was taking at least 250 steps per hour from 7:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m.
I participated in Workweek Hustles.
I participated in Weekend Warriors.

It was hard.

I work a 9-5 desk job (ok more like 730-5) and then go home and relax from that work day with my dogs who just want loves and snuggles.
There were a slew of days I slept in on weekends.
There were numerous days where I got knocked down (endo, migraine, sick).
There were days where I just didn't feel like moving.

I didn't always hit my 9000 steps per day.
I didn't always hit my 250 steps per hour.

I felt like a failure.

I counted steps like some count calories. I would push myself to sneak in as many steps on a bathroom trip by stepping in place trying to get the last of the 250 steps before the time changed to the next hour. I was a slave to technology.

So, on Saturday October 13, my Fitbit was low on battery, I took it off like normal to charge it. And haven't put it back on since.

I went dancing that night and didn't worry if I got more steps in than my friend dancing next to me. I slept in Sunday morning and didn't worry about the first 3 hours not having enough steps. Monday, I didn't worry if I made my 250 steps per hour of my desk job. I just worked and did my day. Tuesday was the same.

I didn't know how freeing that was, until I didn't choose to wear it.

I know I average 5000 steps per day with this job. I know abs are made in the kitchen. and I know without that Fitbit, it's been the most freeing time since I decided to take it off. Now I know that some people really need the help of the Fitbit to get them moving and to lose weight. But I am not one of them.  I'm going to keep it, in case I decide to wear it again (I wonder how many steps I'd get at Disneyland or Disney World...) but I think for the most part, I'm not going to need it.

How many other things in my life am I a "slave" to without realizing it? My phone, I realize that. Food? Perhaps. Friends? Perhaps. I'm interested now to pursue breaking chains and being freed of unconscious slavery.

What are you a slave to? What do you need to be freed of? Comment down below and let me pray for you.


Amen and Amen.

Working for the Weekend or Working for the Wonder

Are you just getting through the hum drum of the day? Or are you working for your maker?

Are you counting down the minutes until you're free from the workday? Or are you cherishing the moments to minister where you are?

I've had a number of jobs prior to the current career I'm in.

1. First job I had was babysitting, which I think is a job we all have. I babysat mostly prior to finding Jesus, so I can't use that as an example.
2. My first real job, with all the W-2 paperwork goodness was working for Hallmark (no, they did not invent Valentines day). I worked there for 3 months in Las Vegas, then when I went back to college I was able to transfer to a store in Reno.  I had Jesus in my life back then, but didn't fully know the extent of what He could do, or what I could do as a believer. I was still very self focused at the time. I ended up  leaving that job because I think I couldn't get time off to go see my family in Las Vegas for Christmas.
3. My second real job was working as a Resident Assistant in the dorms. Oh how many lives I could have impacted if I prayed for all my residents. There were a few I'd pray for here and there, but over the 2.5 years I was an RA, that could have been 30+ students who had another stepping stone. (We could also talk about all the kids in my classes too, but that's for another time)
4. The third job, after I said goodbye to ResLife was a brief summer job in Vegas working at a photography studio (school pictures). It was a small downstairs staff of 5ish people. Again, how self centered was I to just think about me and my circumstance, rather than those around me I could have been praying for! This summer though, I was starting to fall away from Jesus and do my own thing. This was the start of my not so great few years walking independently of Jesus.
5. Following that was working at Ann Taylor (Job 4). It was there I met a friend who later calls me out on my lifestyle choices. There, I really got to see humanity. There I developed an appreciation for leaving clothes better (or as best I could) than I found them. There, God began to work on me. There, he provided a temp job which turned full time. There he provided me the foot in the door to where I am now.
6. After a year in retail, and the last couple months working that part time and the new full time job, I said goodbye to that and fully embraced the full time career where I've been for 5 years now.
7. Once summer hit however, I itched somewhere to work retail again, so for about a month I worked at a Coach outlet store.
8. A short time later, while still working the fifth job, my seventh job was working as a Daisy Duke line dancer, which I did for 2 years and quit this past June.

All that to say, look how many lives I've interacted with,  whether one time customers or repeat ones, talking Jesus (when I could), acting like Jesus...


Romans 12:2 states, "Do not be confirmed to this world". We are called to be different. Let us stand out from being the complainers and the gripers, from posting about how much Monday sucks and how the weekend is gone too soon. We are where we are for how long we are became God put us there. Let him use you.


Do not worry...there are many verses that address this, so pick your fave, but do not worry about your job/your career (also preaching to myself here). You're where you're at to serve a purpose.


I'm learning to embrace where I am and show Jesus when I can. I'm not in a place where I can necessarily talk about Jesus all day everyday to anyone I come in contact with, but I can read my Bible on my breaks or Lunch in the break room. I've left my bible on my desk between those times.


Work for the Wonder, don't necessarily work for the weekend. There have been so many times at my current job where I've hated every minute of every day. I've wallowed in the slowness, felt frantic and crazy in the busy times, gossiped, talked behind people's back. And after the first couple years, I wanted out. I also did not like nor get along with my supervisor for 2ish of those years. I looked for other jobs, somewhere I could be more free, wear jeans rather than business casual. But something kept me there.

God. 

There never was another job posting I saw that I liked. I never got interested enough to set up a job interview. I just stuck it out here, wallowing to myself "At least the pay and benefits are worth it." Man, what kind of life and perspective was that?

I have a purpose here, and in the past 2 years, I've worked real hard to change the way I talk to and about my coworkers. I've really tried to bring Jesus with me into the work environment. I'm still not great at counting down the minutes to the end of the day. I'm still not great at taking upsets and frustrations and looking for the good. But I've been more conscientious of thinking, "If someone didn't know, would they figure out I'm a Christian, would they figure out by my actions I love Jesus?" In a customer service field where most of your interactions are "scripted" so to speak, it's hard to talk about the day to day, especially when my time with the public is more limited these days, as I don't interact with the public like I use to.

As of today, I'm switching my mindset. I'm letting each day be a renewal for my mind to work for the wonder, "Jesus, I can't wait to see what you'll do today". I still get excited for the weekend for other reasons, but at least now it isn't, "I can't wait to leave this cruddy place."

What are you struggling with in the day to day? Comment and let me pray for you <3

God is so good and faithful to answer. Go into the rest of this work week asking God how you can work for the wonder instead of working for the weekend.

What it means to be a friend

What if I disappeared for a while?
What if I hid from the social media sphere
and didn't post
and didn't go to events
and didn't have pictures to share.
Would you even care?


What if I didn't answer your call,
your text,
your direct message,
Would you even care?


What if we stopped hanging out?
What if we stopped going out and about?
What if you never hear from me?
Do you even care?


What if I never said Happy Birthday
Happy Thanksgiving
Merry Christmas?
Do you even care?


Do you know my favorite color?
Do you know my worse fear?
Do you know how I feel
when the wind is all I hear?


Do you know my husband's basic story?
Do you know about my pups?
Do you know how I feel
about misplaced lingering cups?


Do you know what holidays I love
and which I like the least?
Do you know how I really feel
about a Thanksgiving family feast?


Do you know what songs I love
to sing in my car aloud?
Do you know what I did
that has made me most proud?


Do you know what I do
when there's nothing to do?
Do you know
that I want to know you too?


Do you know what I keep track of
and what I let fall to the side
Do you know about my writings
my gratitudes, my thoughts inside?


Do you know what I know,
that you're sometimes fake when you speak?
Do you know that I care for you
very much, as high as a mountain peak?


Do you know that when we make plans
and then you don't follow through,
that not only am I said
but my heart breaks for you?


Do you know that when you don't share
those awesome exciting moments in your life
I celebrate for you anyway
whether its the excitement of a baby, or becoming a husband or wife?


Do you know that when you post a picture
but don't send a text
I'll "like" it, but sincerely
unlike some of the rest?


Do you know that when I bring a grievance,
that when I confront you on something you're doing
It's not because I hate you or want to tear you down,
I want to build you up, friendship isn't a state of being.


Do you know, that poetry is a heart's cry?
Do you know I wrote this for you
whether you're a new friend, an old friend,
someone fake or someone true?


Do you know that in a crowd,
I often feel alone?
Do you know that recently,
I no longer have a heart of stone?


Do you know that at work, I often bust my butt,
and often do a lot?
I try to talk and befriend my coworkers
but to do the same to me? They'd rather not.


Do you know that sometimes
I want to talk behind your back?
"Have you heard what (your name here) has done?
Wasn't that awesome and good!" It's not about what you lack.


Don't you know I value you
and the time you give to me?
Don't you know it's love I have,
that I want the world to see?


I wish I could be a talking mirror
so you could see your worth.
I'd crack a few jokes
we'd enjoy healthy mirth.


I'll admit a truth
I've been a cruddy friend.
But I vow to get better
until the very end.


I will fail
but I will keep trying.
Trust me I'll still be there for you
it ain't my bridge you're frying.


So if you wanna try again with me
Let's see where we go.
I'll do my best to be honest and fair
and tell you everything that's true.


And even if you don't,
If you decide to walk away from me.
Know that you're still gold,
Someday that's what I hope you'll see.

I’m a yelper and I’ll review if I want to

Firstly, puns, oh how great. "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to..." "I'm a yelper and I'll review if I want to..." No? Ok. Moving on. 

Yelp. A great website/app that allows you to review businesses based on your personal experience. If you’re in my neighborhood and want to know if that Taco place is too hot to trot, or causes you to spend the night near a toilet/trash can, then yelp is a great resource!

So what’s the backstory? I made a yelp account I don’t even know when, but back in May 2014, my friend Justine invited me to a yelp event. I remember thinking “Yelp has events? Say what?” It was at Dorinda’s Chocolate by the River. And it was an Elite event. “What’s an elite?” I thought. We got to go behind the scenes in Dorinda’s chocolate making kitchen and get the lowdown and know how on some of the techniques behind their confection affection. I had a blast. I then furiously and meticulously took pictures of things I received at places, paid closer attention to customer service treatment I received and placed all of that information on the app. I started RSVPing to the local events that I was interested in, and then the end of 2014 rolled around. It was Elite nomination time. I nominated myself and explained why I would make a good Elite yelper.

2015 rolled around. The golden email came. I was selected to be on the Elite squad! Oh joy! What an honor to have been entrusted with a rank of truthful reviews (Some lengthier than others), to know other yelpers and general populous alike would be looking to my reviews about a location.

I’m now 3 solid years into the yelp game, 2 years into being Elite and I’m having so much fun. I now look to other yelpers reviews of places, I check the ratio of overall star review (4 of 5 stars, 2 of 5 stars etc) to the number of reviews posted. Then, I make my decision whether or not to give the business my money.

Yelp is also great because it can help you find local places, little mom and pop shops that are trying to make it, despite the big wig chain places (Dorindas vs. Sees’, Hub vs Starbucks).

Ok, we’ve heard your spiel on the awesomeness of yelp. That’s cool. How does that relate to your life as a Godfearing woman?

Wouldn’t you wanna have a resource to access truth and history and “reviews” of places you’ll go in life? Wouldn’t you want to hear the consequences of ordering from that place? The Israelites ordered up a whole bunch of false idols and selfish pride. The consequences? Disease, plague, defeat in war. We have the timeless Bible to reference as review of our history. As a testimony of trial and error, trial and success. We can go read and sympathize, “Yep, I did that too”. While we can’t add to the Bible by review or picture, we can share about, much like we share about great restaurants, poor service at a dry cleaner, or a great nail tech who absolutely kills it every time.

 

Be intentional. Be truthful. Be genuine.

 

Amen and Amen

 

This review of yelp.com is not sponsored; I was not asked to write this. I was not paid to write this. Opinions are solidly my own.

Scheduled and Stranded

From twice a week for sure, to maybe once a week, I’m changing how I’m blogging.

 

When I first resumed this blog, I was ecstatic to be inspired to pop out 2 times/week information and how God is working in my life. Then, for a week or two, I was silent, and now this past Wednesday I was able to put together another blog after I was inspired the Thursday prior. I don’t want to put pressure on myself to crank out 2 posts a week and work to queue them up so I don’t fall behind. We all know how well that worked a few years ago when I tried working 2 part time jobs and posting every day (inspiration, food, fashion etc)…it didn’t.

 

I desire quality over quantity. I don’t want to put half hearted efforts out. I want whole hearted worthwhile posts. I want to be inspired by others to inspire everyone else. I want whatever following is out there to be satisfied by my postings and not get one post every 6 months, or 18 at once and nothing for periods after.

 

I hope to have something up at least once a week, but it might be once every two weeks. Maybe there’ll be a bonus of 2 in one week. I don’t know.

 

Which is flat out scary to me. I am Type A, Organized, OCD. To not have a schedule? To not have consistency? I am laying my trust in Jesus that he will provide inspiration when it needs to be published. So until then, I’m just WOTLing around. (Wait On The Lord)

 

Amen and Amen.

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.