Before 30

I've been listening to podcasts A LOT lately.  I started with Serial and quickly moved on to several others.  I listen while getting ready in the morning, while I'm cooking, at the gym....pretty much anytime I can.  If I could get away with it at work I might even be tempted to do that... ;)

Anyway, one of my favorites is The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey.  She interviews some amazing women and I find it fun and inspiring.  I listened to an older one this morning, and during the episode, Jamie and her guest discussed an article from Relevant Magazine, "15 Things to Start Doing Before You're 30".  Since I am turning 30 in 11 short months (ahh!) I figured I'd see how I measure up.

1.  Wake up earlier that you have to

I try so hard to do this.  And I guess for the most part I am successful.  I always get to work earlier than I have to because I like to get settled and check my email and messages before kids start coming in.  I definitely want to make sure in the future that I wake up before my kids vs. being awakened by my kids.  I think it will make me a better mother.

2.  Save Money

I'm getting there with this one but I need to do better.  I put money away for retirement, but need to do better with my budget and adding money to my savings account, especially since I just took out a good chunk for my Italy trip.

3.  Actually care about what you eat

Do I actually care? Yes.  Do I consistently eat in such a way that proves this? No.  Am I better than I was at 25? Yes.

4.  Create a pattern of giving in your finances.

I give myself a B-.  I give regularly, but I've felt convicted lately about the amount.

5.  Becoming friends with people much older than you

YES!  I love my "old lady friends".  They are the best thing about Lexington to me, and I have been so blessed by their kindness and wisdom.

6.  Let go of baggage from past relationships.

Ask me when I'm 30.

7.  Be content with the life you have (while still trying to accomplish your dreams).

I think I've always done well with this.  I'm more or less content with my job and my ordinary, simple life.  However, I've got this dream of being a writer one day and I'm not letting it go just yet.

8.  Read the news every day.

Yep.  And watch the news.  Except recently.  I miss Brian Williams.

9.  Learn to unplug.

Ehhhh.  I do a pretty good job on the weekends. I try to set aside about 5 hours of uninterrupted time each week for me and I put my phone on "do not disturb" during that time.  I am attached to my phone but I am able to set my boundaries with this.

10.  Find organizations or causes to support long-term.

Young Life and World Vision are my big two right now and probably will be for a long time, but I am open to more, especially as I seek God's will for my giving.

11. Make exercise a lifestyle.

I think if a teacher was writing comments on my report card they would read, "Needs improvement, but shows good effort".  Ha.  I'm in the same place I am with my eating habits.

12.  Actively combat spiritual complacency.

Hmmm.  Can we ever say we've accomplished this?  It will be the fight of my whole life.

13.  Be intentional with relationships

Being a single woman in Lexington with a demanding job has made this a necessity.  I find that I am both naturally inclined to this and naturally disabled with this.  I'm an introvert, so I desire deep friendships and don't want to waste time, but I'm also an introvert so I like to go home from work and put on sweats and watch TV with my dog.  It's a blessing and a curse.

14.  Buy things that last

Slowly working on this.  I can only do so much since I live in a partially-furnished house.  I am saving for nice things though. :)

15.  Make margins in your life.

I've improved in this area dramatically since December.


And there you have it.  How is everyone else doing?  Anybody have any advice for me?

Coming Soon

Excited to be part of the Lifeway Launch team for this new Bible Study.

The God of All Comfort

I've been working on a few long(er) posts, but this all I wanted to share today.

Some of you may have seen this before...I know I have...but do me a favor and read it out loud this time.  Then, worship.

Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 1

Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A: That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in lift and in death - to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.  He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.  Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Cue the Doxology.

Infinite Wisdom, Mercy, and Love

2015 did not begin the way I hoped it would.  My boyfriend and I broke up after nearly two years of dating.  I can’t even begin to describe the hurt I felt.  To make it even worse, he began dating someone else within a couple weeks.  Weeks.  After two years.  This same man had told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me.  And he forgot about me within weeks.  Less than four weeks.

My heart aches. 

The past month has been one of the most difficult that I can remember, as I’ve sorted through my feelings (so.many.feelings!) and wrestled with the Lord over my deepest fears and hurts.  However, I’d be remiss if I failed to say that this month has been so sweet and precious.  God is proving to be my Refuge, Strength, and Shield.  I’m beginning to see things differently.  This breakup may really be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

As I’ve drawn near to Him, He’s revealed Himself in new ways. 

Exodus 13:17-18 “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.”

God led the Israelites down a MUCH LONGER road – through the desert in a roundabout way (see the map below).  In some ways it probably looked frustrating and unfair and ridiculous.  The truth, however, is that God had really chosen the easier way for them.  It was the road He knew they could handle, even if they didn’t always handle it well…hence the 40 years in the wilderness. 

I must trust that God has chosen the best way for me – the road that I can handle, but only by His strength; the road that will not cause me to flee from His grasp and run back to captivity; the road that will cause me to draw near to Him and seek His face with every breath.

Maybe he caused my ex to find someone else because He understands how weak I truly am, even better than I understood.  He knew my resolve might not have held and I would have run back to a relationship in which I now realize:

• I was not loved
• I was not tenderly cared for
• Did not satisfy me or bring peace and contentment
• Did not bring me joy
• Was based on fear and the need to perform to prove myself worthy of his love and attention
• Did not cause me to seek the Lord
• Did not encourage me to fall more in love with Jesus

Acts 17:26-27 “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

God is merciful.  In His sovereignty, love, and tenderness, He ordered these circumstances so that I would reach out for Him.  The verse in Acts points to the fact that He plans all our lives to set us up for our best possible chance to know Him.  As Spurgeon writes, “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there…Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.”  So even though sometimes I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to think about this without crying, He is good.  He ordered these things so that I could be rescued from a relationship that, if it had lasted, would have only led to my eternal destruction. 

All is grace.

I will praise Him.

His cross dispels each doubt;

I bury in His tomb

Each thought of unbelief and fear,

Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;

I trust His truth and might;

He calls me His, I call Him mine.

My God, my joy and light.

52 Books in 2015

I've had a lot of time to read lately....more on that in another post.  A lot of time.

I saw that several other bloggers (ones with more than four followers) were trying to read 52 books in 2015, which, for those of you who didn't know, means one per week all year to stay on track.

It's mid-February and I am a little ahead, which is awesome because it seems like my work gets busy in the spring and I don't have as much time.

Below are lists of what I've read so far and what I'm currently reading.  Yes, I have more than one book going at once.

Non-fiction:
Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker
7 by Jen Hatmaker
Breaking Free by Beth Moore
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson
The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger
Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Fiction:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)
Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)

Currently Reading:
Depression: Looking Up From The Stubborn Darkness (Edward T. Welch)
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)
Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty)