We went to the park today as it was a beautiful day to be had. Cooper got to see the ducks as we fed them old hot dog buns. He literally had no fear of them and if I had let him, he would have hugged and loved on them as if they were a stuffed animal. The ducks themselves were all too friendly as they see many people who continue to feed them on a regular basis. It was a bit frightening as the big geese started to hiss and dominate their territory but we still had fun with slight chasing involved.
We missed a nap today as Cooper drank some of my coffee while we were visiting my sister at her work; Black Rock Coffee. The caffeine kept him up playing in his crib for over an hour, I was so baffled as I couldn’t place why he was still awake until it was far too late. As we were at the park he literally ran around everywhere falling in the mud while his tiny little eyes were beyond tired allowing plenty of opportunities to lose his little feet beneath him. He absolutely loved it. We had no tears and he was very fond of the duckies. :)
He refuses to take pictures anymore as he knows that mommy is CONSTANTLY trying to snap photos of my happy baby while every portrait lately displays a complete uninterested baby boy. A lady passing by thought he was adorable and he waved to her and gave her a large smile. I quickly asked for him to wave again and he took off running and giving a quick wave on the go. He’s a little stinker and all too smart. :)
On the go….
Pausing for a brief minute.
One of the many beautiful views of the river.
Walking back to the car….you can’t see it, but this was a very large incline and he managed the entire way.
We had such a good afternoon with the amazing weather holding together quite well. Coming home my husband spent a large amount of time on the remodel of our bathroom and I made a quick, healthy pork roast with fresh vegetables for dinner. (Click here for the recipe) The day is finished and Cooper is currently sound asleep as we speak. Sweet baby!
The old saying “everything comes in three’s” seems to ring true right now. Although I am not superstitious what-so-ever but currently I am in stage three hoping the 4th isn’t lurking right around the corner. My eyes have been unveiled to a lot of pain and reality the last 7 days. I do not have the right to share some of the tragedy as they are not regarding me to the fullest but the reality is tragedy has hit and hit hard affecting me and those around.
I turned on the TV this afternoon while Cooper was napping and I had to immediately turn it off. Talk shows are feeding our selfish desires and how to act on them. “We deserve” better. This lie is so prevalent within our society and is the essence of self absorption and pride wrapping itself around our brains forcing us to think we deserve revenge.
What has happened to society is we are easily allowing ourselves to be influenced by what we see and hear rather than what we know to be true. My heart is broken! This is the basis of where I am lately.
This song “While I’m Waiting” has been my song of the month and continually reminds me to wait on the Lord as each day these past 7 days has brought three major events of life to light. I currently have the choice to respond with humility asking the Lord to give me strength and wisdom when circumstances as these tend to arise. It’s easy to walk away, sweep our problems under the rug, cope in ways that are dangerous and unhealthy and simply shut down. My deepest desire is to engrain these words from this song on my heart and take my own advice that I share on a continual basis with you all about trusting the Lord. I can tell you tell I get blue in the face to trust the Lord but the outflow of my life needs to reflect this exact thing. While I am human and will forever make many mistakes while I am here on this earth, my deepest desire is to live a life worthy of His calling. To influence those who are in the midst of tragedy themselves. Simply meeting you right where you are; where we all are, if we are honest.
Thanks to “Got Prayer?”
Having a discussion with my husband two nights ago, I was realizing the depth of our sin is beyond powerful and self consuming, even to the point of death at times. When death arises we tend to ask ourselves “why could they never figure it out?” Why do we wait until death knocks at our door to simply attempt to put our lives back together again. Why do we wait? Why do we tend to look at other people constantly hoping and praying they “figure it out” when reality is why can’t we figure it out ourselves. Sometimes death knocks and sometimes the door is open for healing and redemption while other times we turn to coping mechanisms that are even more destructive than where we were before our door was knocked upon. How come we can’t humbly lay our life down and beg for understanding and healing? We tend to resort to the habits of our mind, believing this is who we are rather than accepting our habits are unhealthy and need to firmly be addressed. We can change the patterns of our mind if we truly sought to change them!
We cry for help without accepting the hand reaching down to pull us up from the muck and the mire. We turn a back looking for that “quick fix” in the way we see fit, not the way that’s going to bring about change and healing.
We have a long list of excuses, ways we justify our decisions and thinking we know what’s best. These are lies that need to be unveiled to each and every one of us. What lies are you believing about yourself? Earlier this week in Bible study the discussion was “resolve to resolve.” Set out to resolve our own heartache rather than mask our problems that will only worsen and deepen over time. The enemy tries to come and divide families and friendship and drown out the light. But why succumb to this, Christ already defeated evil on the cross. So with the power of Christ you can defeat any and all of these masks we wear depending on which masquerade party we are currently attending. We wear a different mask with different people around but reality is we need to tear off the mask to allow the ugliness to shine through only to bring about true healing. The more we cover up the deeper our sin goes.
John 11:40 states “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” I don’t really know how else to say to this rather than try it. Test and see that the word of the Lord is true, active and alive. I know you will see His glory.
We pray for blessings, healing, peace, redemption, prosperity and the list goes on. We simply want our suffering to end. I’m not suggesting that trusting the Lord will take away our heartache. Blessings come in many different forms. Trials of this life tend to be God’s mercies in disguise. We hate to admit this as heartache usually tends to bring good from our circumstances. What Satan meant for evil, God turned to good. Again we have freewill and our circumstances will never be delightful but we can choose to seek the good apart from accepting the evil. Sometimes God allows us to be in the ‘pit’ until we have nothing left of ourselves but to seek God. That unfortunately can inflict pain on those around us simply by our choices that seem so small at the time, that actually are dragging us further into the pit. Before we know it our lives are public to those we walk with and eventually you have a choice; let redemption in or run away to the masquerade party wearing yet another ‘different’ mask.
Moment of Truth: Don’t attend the masquerade party, let your light shine. I struggle to find good in these past few days, but I have to trust and have complete faith that something good will eventually shine through. I believe God is trying to heal our relationships in one aspect or another and unfortunately it’s taking a lot of heartache and pain to accomplish this task. I believe when we look back maybe even years from now, there will be an epic journey we will have traveled having not gone through this. I believe it will be turned to good just as Christ says it will.
Now-a-days we got get coffee where little Cooper can play and run around. There is a cute little toy store near us called Frog Pong Toys. They have a great play area and yummy Portland coffee. We went for a walk on a cold morning and ended up quickly inside at this toy store so conveniently placed for Cooper. :)
We ordered our coffee and tea and a cupful of goldfish for Cooper.
He loves anything and everything cars, trucks, tractor and train related. We have a new found love for Thomas the Train and are highly considering purchasing the table with all the gadgets included. This little set is roughly $149 but pretty amazing. We haven’t made the plunge as we are going through a lot of changes right now and it simply isn’t the right time. As much as I would love to get Cooper anything and everything his little heart desires, I know this isn’t always in his best interest. ;)
Little man will one day own his own Thomas the Train set but when it comes to leaving this toy store it begins a fight. He refuses to leave 99% of the time without me picking him up and then the cry begins. Poor guy but I know the toy store doesn’t want a permanent residence with the Cook’s either.
Sometimes it’s not the easiest to put on a smiley face, happy attitude, and show those around us that life is delightful. Sometimes I simply want to give up, walk away from life all together and say “whatever happens, happens.”
Although this isn’t the proper response, I have felt in the pits the last few days wondering why life literally falls apart for those we love and walk with. I wish I could take away their pain and heartache knowing I have my own junk currently following me through the days. I would rather tie it all up on a wheelbarrow and carry the burden myself than see those I love struggle to push their ginormous wheelbarrow as well.
Even though I wish to alleviate pain of those I love, I still have wanted to just walk away from all my problems the last few days, pretend they don’t exist, pretend they make me happy and so on an so forth. I’m realizing life was never promised to be easy or happy. It simply isn’t. We will continue to have trials and there is no guarantee that we will have breaks from heartache either. We all face trials and tribulation right where we are. We can’t judge the depth of anyone else’s pain as we never know what truly is going on behind the scenes and the pain each person around us is experiencing. Some heartaches are more public, strung out for everyone to view while others are closet problems only being worn around those that walk that close path of life with them. Unfortunately we become the outcast or backlash of those around us and most the times it’s due to our wheelbarrow of junk that’s been un-dealt with.
Ultimately what I am trying to say is life is ugly and until we enter into heaven with Christ we will never know what each day holds. I’ve found out a lot of ugly news this past 6 days that my mind can’t fully wrap itself around the reality that’s entered into our family. The reality is not only are we experiencing pain within our own immediate family; our brothers, sisters, in-laws, parents, and friends all experience their own book of “life” yet our decisions outflow to those around us even if we try our hardest to prevent this. Death knocks on doorsteps when we least expect it, marriages crumble and bonds between family members become severed, friendships fall apart, jobs fall through, finances fail and much, much more.
Where is our perspective today? Are we focusing on things that don’t matter or are we focusing on this short life we have been blessed with to live in the best way we can? Are we healing broken relationships, letting go of bitterness, betrayal and forgiving our enemies we call family and friends? Don’t carry your wheelbarrow alone, let God bring healing to all the pieces that pile up weighing it down, keeping us from looking beyond the trash we’ve accumulated. Let history remain! Let the present and future build new memories without regret.
Special thanks to fayettewoman.com for the picture
Don’t paint your wheelbarrow or grow flowers in the midst of the ugly soil. The rust will still shine through and the flowers will not survive in bad soil. Remember to empty out the ugly bitter, broken soil of baggage and refill it with God’s grace and allow healing to turn your rusty wheelbarrow into a beautiful, shiny red treasure.
“I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Romans 7:18-19
How do we take hold of this formidable force of self-control to not live a life dominated by failure? Titus 2 explains a list of temptations to flee that result in gaining self-control. If we gain self-control, we can conquer life’s formidable choices that we believe takes away everything we enjoy in life. If we exercise self-control we begin to believe the essence of life has slipped through our fingers. We no longer have ‘control’ over our life.
This is actually the exact opposite, self-control is the beginning of life. If we can walk in a blameless dignity, we are enabling ourselves to meet our goals, declining the sinful temptations to unfold the depths of our soul to bring pure happiness. Without self-control we will all succumb to life’s evil rulings; sex, drugs, alcohol, greed and much more. We are built to feel wanted, accepted and good enough. We all are on a search to find the answers, whether that is faith, money, sex, drugs, food or gambling we are hunting and will devour our prey as soon as we can wrap our hands around it. We will seek and find but it’s what we find that will determine our destiny to be glorious or painful.
We are to flee temptations, not simply turn away or walk away but RUN away and flee from temptation. We are weak, feeble beings that end up conquered by our greatest fears if we are not continually, daily, moment by moment seeking the face of Christ to not succumb to our selfishness.
All of our choices drastically affect our family, friends, and people we encounter on a daily basis. What seems to be small sins for us end up ruining our life and have much larger consequences than what we had thought to be. We believe our selfishness is solely selfish, when reality is, it changes the lives of those we love and walk with. Did you hear that? Our selfishness dramatically effects the lives of those we love and walk with. That’s a powerful statement. Our selfishness is our own desires that will spread throughout the lives of our children, spouse, family, friends, co-workers, and even acquaintances. We impact history on some level or another.
For example remember a year and a half ago when the shooting took place in Aurora, Colorado and 12 people were shot at the Movie Theatre while watching “The Dark Night Rises?” 70 people were seriously injured, within those 82 people (which is a lot) all of them had families, friends and co-workers that were highly influenced on some level or another. History changed that night while that man decided to act on temptation; misery overtook him. History was forever changed in hundreds of lives.
Flee temptation and run rapidly to Christ! Ask and plead with the Lord to not succumb to the misery we create on ourselves and those we love.
This morning on Good Morning America there was a clip about Alyssa Milano and her weight gain of 55 pounds during her pregnancy. She was bashed by comedian Jay Mohr expressing that she “just doesn’t care.” He used some profanity while sharing his “feelings?” He did apologize later when Alyssa addressed him about it and said he went too far. But whose to judge and why do people do it? We are out to make ourselves “feel better” and more empowered.
This drives me to the brink of insanity especially coming from a man. No man could handle a pregnancy; gaining weight, mood changes, exhaustion, back pain, and nausea. Oh and a little thing called labor which requires a women to push a baby into the arms of their doctor. There are many times I do wish men could experience what we go through as they will never gain a full understanding on what it takes to create a little baby; a life is created.
There is a massive disconnect when it comes to pregnancy, unfortunately men simply can’t understand what takes place. Even though men can’t full gain knowledge over this circumstance, they still can support and watch the transition through 9 months of what the human body experiences. My husband was great! He couldn’t feel my pain, my nausea or my utter exhaustion but he was able to support me and take care of me while I journeyed through the unknown path called pregnancy.
All this to say, some people gain an immense amount of weight while others only gain baby weight. What does it matter? In the big scheme of things the most important factor should be caring for your unborn child by being healthy. It’s really hard work to grow a baby and to stop cravings. They say the exhaustion that occurs is equivalent to running a marathon. Being healthy is the most important part to growing a baby but there is also that fine line of gaining too little or not enough. How dare a man judge a women when they haven’t lost all their baby weight the day after delivery. They say it takes the same amount of time to lose the weight as it took to gain the weight. I really feel for the women in the media who are particularly judged because they are supposed to be anorexic and how dare they have a baby and not bounce back immediately.
Jessica Simpson was also in the spotlight for her weight gain. She has the best attitude and knows she has curves. She had curves when she was tiny in Dukes of Hazard and still has curves as a mama. I honestly believe women who don’t bounce back immediately like Kim Kardashian are real and show the world they are no different than us. We all have struggles and it’s entirely unfair for us to post judgment on a celebrity because they are famous.
Until a man can experience pregnancy and child labor they have no right to place judgment on women for their job at creating life and the transition our body goes through to create this miracle. It’s completely unjust for these women to be in the spotlight for weight gain. These women are real women who have feelings and are not exempt from struggles of life because they are celebrities.
There’s my rant of the day! :) I really struggle with media and that’s why I don’t read about it through magazines or watch much television. I can’t handle the gossip.
What does it mean to wait on the Lord? The first resolution should be to be obedient to Christ no matter the cost. This is the decision of being driven by fear or faith. The outcome will take place whether we choose our own direction or let Christ lead. The outcome will be the same, it’s the path in which changes; we can make the path longer and more painful or trust in faith that God will come through.
Gods design isn’t to make us happy but to make us holy. When we are made holy is the moment in which sincere happiness can occur. When we trust on the Lord, we will wait on him in anticipation to fulfill His promises.
We need to be thankful for what God has done and what we have. When doing so our attitude will become that of a thankful heart rather than a vindictive bitter heart. Are we seeking revenge on others or a thankful peaceful heart desiring self growth?
I’ve noticed how quickly it is that one bad thought can lead down a spiraling path of anger, revenge and much more. Allowing these thoughts to even enter in, requires self-focus with a prideful attitude believing we are deserving of something better than whom we seek revenge. I’ve noticed in the work force while talking with a few people who feel betrayed in their positions, how quickly these negative thoughts seek vengeance and bad “Karma” to those who are incredibly difficult to work with. For some reason there is an entitlement within ourselves that these people are below us and we are so much more ‘put-together.’ This attitude comes within our self from a prideful insecure mentality that we ‘deserve’ better. Stop! Think for a second! These people are in the same shoes as us; trying to make it through their day, struggling with lifes circumstances on so many levels. Everyone ultimately wants respect and appreciation. If we treated those around us who we don’t believe ‘deserves’ respect, how would that change their day? How would that change their perspective of you? How can you help change their outlook for that particular day, all by being nice and respectful to those who don’t deserve it.
Yet who are we to judge who deserves what? Our pride seeks happiness, yet again, God didn’t create us to be happy, but to become holy. Our goal should be to understand we are all wandering through life looking for something greater.
Take time today to treat those you encounter with high respect, love and appreciation. Whether that comes in the form of a smile to a stranger you pass, opening the door for a customer walking into Starbucks; paying for their drink as a nice gesture. Or in the work environment, remind yourself of the top three people who make the hair on your neck stand up and ask them how their day is, put a smile on your face and treat them with utter respect even if they toss disrespectful comments your way. Your integrity will shine for who you are when you don’t ‘fight’ back. Your actions do speak louder than words.
Ultimately, does it really matter? We never feel better about ourselves after the revenge takes place. Ultimately we just stooped to the same level as them, lowering our integrity and respect to those who are watching. It is never worth it. A silent heart speaks truth while our mouths seek ourselves. Wait on the Lord, ask Him what he wants from us. Ask Him for a heart like His, and ask for patience and love. RENEW YOUR MIND ALL DAY LONG.
Choose Faith not Fear and watch your life be transformed.
The question we need to ask every day is: Am I driven by faith or fear?
Until we realize the deep need for Christ we cannot understand why our focus needs to remain on Christ. Our society is quick to distract our focus yet He is the one who created us.
When we let our focus be self focused rather than Christ focused our pride will be crumbled by what Christ is trying to do: take the focus off of ourselves to allow for hope and healing. Our ‘self’ will always fail us no matter how driven you are to disprove this statement.
Hi Y’all! My name is Tiffany Cook, also known as Delightfully Doable. I am a small town girl currently living in the city. I’m a housewife and a mother trying to make my way through life. Welcome to Delightfully Doable; I hope you find many delightfully doable options through my site as well as honesty and truth knowing we are all on this path we call “life” together; delighting in doable circumstances.
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