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When Faith Seems to be Just a ‘Word’

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 January, 2014 No comment

When Faith Seems to be Just a ‘Word’

Sometimes I realize my prayers can start to sound the same. Words flowing from my mouth wondering if Jesus is interceding on my behalf. Sometimes I wonder “if I simply prayed differently, used more powerful words, spoke the right things, than maybe, just maybe my prayers would be answered sooner than they are.”

Waiting can be devastating if you allow it to be. Waiting is the place where God transforms lives. Waiting brings character and perseverance.

As I woke last night startled from a dream and hearing my little man tossing and turning, I hurried to check on him. I placed his blankets over him to help bring the warmth back in. As I laid my head back on my pillow I tossed and turned for quite some time. I rested my hand on my husband as I often do when I awake in the middle of the night and began to pray out loud. As my quite words softly came from my lips, I began to question whether Christ was going to answer my prayers. I have been praying the same prayers for over a year now waiting anxiously for this miracle to take place. Here we are entering 2014 and I’m still pleading and wrestling with the Lord for some relief to set in.

When I woke up this morning I began to replay the concerns I had pondered at 4 in the morning. I began to realize first and foremost, the middle of the night is never a good time to let your thoughts wander. Taking them captive as the enemy knows our weaknesses and is quick to let lies seep in is my goal for this reoccurring late night prayer session. The second thing I realized was Christ was and is for His children. I am his child and he promised to protect me and deliver me. How that looks, may be completely different than I could ever dream up; in fact it is 9 times out of 10. The third thing I realized was waiting patiently is a continual battle of exercising my hearts beliefs. When things come easy I quickly push Christ to the side of every activity in my day. The truth of the morning was “Christ hears ME! He will answer! Wait in expectation!”

Praying doesn’t have to have the proper words, depth of knowledge and scripture to make your prayers be answered more quickly. Though we like to think if we changed something that maybe then God would respond. These are lies we have to wrestle with as we speak truth that Christ only wants a humble heart, relaying our deepest fears and desires allowing Him to than transform us. He simply wants us to pray and read His Word. There is no magical formula!

This afternoon I was headed to Costco with my little son playing and laughing in the backseat. The song “Blessings” came on the radio by Laura Story. It can always bring immense power to my heart as I begin to feel that “okay maybe God really is listening” giving me an ounce of hope knowing we will still struggle. If you haven’t listened to the song, please do so now.

A true test of my patience was a phone conversation with my husband this afternoon that started off great. It quickly transpired into an accusing conversation rather than a selfless conversation. My anger quickly started to boil as I felt misjudged. I quickly hung up the phone and replayed this song as it was currently up on my computer screen…it really couldn’t have been more perfect timing. “What if my greatest disappoints or the aching of this life, is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy. What if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights are Your mercies in disguise.” These words convicted me to my soul. This life isn’t about me nor about my husband. We will mistreat one another, we will justify our actions, we will defend ourselves to the deepest part of our core, but why? We want vindication. We want to be right. It’s simply all about SELF. I’m realizing more and more how marriage has really put a tight reign on my tongue. There are many things I used to say when I first started with my husband, now-a-days, my tongue has a leash and I’m only grateful for this. I have to realize if I fight for vindication or to demean my husband, there is a HUGE problem and my pride needs to be laid down before the feet of Jesus and before my husband. My anger and disappointments need to be held in the hands of Jesus as well. He feels the pain and humiliation we go through. He understands our heart.

Today, I want to remind you all that sometimes we are in a period of silence. We believe God is ignoring us, forgot about us or doesn’t care. This deep lie is a test of our faith. None of us deserve the gift Christ has given us, we are all the prodigal child needing constant reminding that we always walk, run and flee from Christ now and again yet he is there waiting to grow our hearts desire for him. Sometimes our perspective is off. God not answering my prayer when and how I think he should is probably the exact reason I am still in the trial. He is more concerned with my heart rather than the issue. He wants to teach me things about myself I would have never learned having not gone through this trial.

Moment of Truth: Change your perspective from what you think God is doing or not doing, to what we know he is doing. And that is healing our hearts to be more Christ filled rather than self filled.

I heard it once said, that we as believers of Christ are either going into a trial, in the middle of a trial, or coming out of a trial. Oh how this is so very true. Embrace the cycle of life knowing one day this world God has already conquered will soon be justified.

As Seen In:

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 January, 2014 No comment

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Scentsy Wax to Homemade Candles

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 2 January, 2014 No comment

My Motivation Began Here…

So, I made candles one Christmas with my girlfriend but after buying all the stuff I realized it was not worth the effort and money put into it. We went to Michaels Craft store and spent roughly $40 each and I believe we only had two candles come out of this project. This project required so much wax for one candle and the price simply wasn’t worth it. The best part was spending time with my girlfriend who I love dearly.

The glass bowl we used to melt the wax was literally impossible to clean. It dries on and leaves a terrible film. Every time I tried to wash the bowl the water would separate from the wax similar to oil and water but almost worse. Halfway through the process of making our own scented candles that were supposed to be AMAZING, I wanted to quit and actually did. The frustration set in and it became more frustrating to me than enjoyable that I gave up quite quickly and we proceeded to watch our Christmas movie and started in on our second craft for the evening. This one was way more enjoyable.

This experience itself should have been a fun joyful holiday moment but turned out to be the biggest pain in the neck. I just wanted my glass bowl clean darn-it-all. :)

I absolutely love Yankee Candles I am a huge fan of them and have them scattered throughout my house. They smell amazing and actually stay true to the smell while burning; they are the one candle that I’ve found that will actually smell the entire room of the sweet aroma.

I buy Yankee Candles for $10 for a large candle and $6 for a small one. I will not pay full price for them as $24.99-29.99 is outrageous in my eyes. Honestly $10 for a large is quite the steal in my book.

I’ve been on a hunt to find a comparable but for a Warmer…

The hunt…

This past summer, my sister had a Scentsy warmer in her bathroom that smelled so fresh, it was amazing. I had heard of Scentsy before but wasn’t sure they would compare to Yankee. With that said, they did measure up and I was utterly surprised. While I had tried other warmers and Bed Bath & Beyond’s scents they truly did not work. They made no effort to smell a room let alone my house. So at that point I was convinced to try Scentsy. I figured something out there had to compete with Yankee candles.

While in Seattle with my Aunt and Uncle two summers ago, they had a cute little fair going on with a lot of booths set up. Our little man was only a matter of weeks old. We took him in the stroller and walked around aimlessly enjoying the summers heat. While exploring we found a vendor selling Scentsy and decided I would take the plunge. Now, my warmer is from Bed Bath & Beyond, but it was more the scents I was worried about. So I bought several different scents and off we went. Here we are just over a year later and I still have one box left. I actually love them so much I haven’t bought a Yankee candle since.

Months Later…

A few months before our move I ran into quite the problem. Now I didn’t realize this at the time, but as of today I finally realized something was wrong. I have been using this warmer from Bed Bath & Beyond and the last two months every time I shut it off my light burnt out. I have gone to Home Depot three times and had a run for my money; they are not cheap ($6.49 for 1 bulb). I was really frustrated when I got the correct light but the watts were definitely way to strong (50Watts). We had a showing and came home and my husband mentioned it smelt of wax. I walked into the house and immediately smelt the wax and walked to the warmer and it reeked. (The goal was to smell the house of beauty not wax) My frustration with this warmer at that point began to grow immensely. I went back and returned the bulbs and bought the correct one, while I had bought this probably a week ago, I went to change the scent today and here we are again, the light doesn’t work. I am finally convinced that something is wrong with my warmer. Three lights in a row should not burn out within a couple weeks. I make a point to turn the light off so I don’t waste the scent at night, but having doing that, my light burns out.

Okay so the saga continues… I purchased a warmer from the store soon after (6 months ago to be exact) and it was Better Homes and Garden. It works, light has never been changed and we are 6 months with this warmer. I decided I would save the wax as I was previously dumping it in the garbage can. Having doing this there still is some scent left but I also realized what an easy way to reuse wax and for super cheap make my own candles.

The Simple Way…

I simply save the containers of the square wax and pour the wax back in. When I am ready to make my candles, I place the wax in the burner and let it melt (saving the mess of using a glass bowl in the microwave) and dump the melted wax into the mason jar after placing the wick in the bottom of the jar first. NOTE: if you want to keep the wick centered in the jar, tape it to an old pencil and lay the pencil over the jar till it hardens again and leaves you with a nice centered wick.

By doing this, you are only paying for a wick if you have the mason jars already. If you don’t have any mason jars you can always make a trip to the dollar store and many times they have cute little jars with or without lids that would work perfect for candle making.

Turning the Negative into Positives…

In the midst of my frustration with my warmer, it was nice to actually be able to make something positive out of this disastrous wax warmer.

Thanks to quitthewick for the pic

Thought of the Day

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 1 January, 2014 No comment

When worldly values and worldly fear drives us, we tend to make bad decisions. Our choices define the depths of who we are; are we driven by material matters or spiritual matters? Are our choices driven by fear or faith?

The tongue speaks the hearts desires, but the heart lives out the truth… most the times these two are not aligned properly.

Clean Microwaves

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 31 December, 2013 No comment

To all of you “old” folk who don’t go out anymore on New Years Eve let alone stay up till midnight, we have now become dear friends. I am on the same page as you and enjoy my sleep and a happy baby in the morning for going to bed on time. :) So happy new years eve and I hope you all have a safe holiday!

Now with that said:

We were welcomed home last night to our clean, cold house after being gone for 10 days. There is always a sweet comfort returning home even when you have had the best of times away. Your own bed, pillow, shower, and kitchen can be a place of sweet release.

Upon entering home, our house was a chilly 62 degrees. While the heat was rapidly rising to a balmy 71 degrees we began to settle in and find some snacks within our empty fridge. Cooper raced around the house in glorious bliss as he found all of his little toys scattered around yet left in the same spot he had placed them prior to leaving.

It was a bitter sweet moment coming home while we had enjoyed our 10 days at my parents house in Central Washington. It is always an escape from reality yet a busy time as well. I must say this Christmas was by far the best Christmas I believe we’ve had. Something about coming back to the meaning of what Christmas is all about, serving the homeless and poverty stricken Christmas dinner and spending time with family was exactly what made our Christmas in 2013 the best yet. This was the first year we took time our of our Christmas day to serve dinner at my parents church to those in need. It was the most humbling experience. The 135 plus families we served dinner to and donated gift, clothing and blankets to was exactly what created the best Christmas to date.

Anyway, after returning home last night, I think I forgot to mention that my husband had been sick all day with a nasty stomach bug. The unfortunate thing was we exposed the entire family to this nasty bug, had a 5 hour drive ahead of us with a sick man and a busy little baby with things to do and toys to play with. The rambunctious little man along with the sleepy giant in the passenger seat made the drive quiet long. Luckily we didn’t have to return by a particular time frame; we took our time and stopped now and again along the way.

This morning was our day of relaxation and hoping to gain as much sleep as possible to prevent any more sickies in the house. (IE my son and myself) I believe we helped accomplish this task when all three of us didn’t awake until 9:15 this morning…..New Years Eve. It was glorious. No alarm clock or baby waking us up. It was sweet bliss.

I headed to the kitchen feeling completely refreshed, coffee brewed and baby diaper changed. My husband allowed for my morning to be literally AMAZING! These little things blessed my day immensely; I was grateful. I scoured the fridge tossing out plenty of containers filled with food growing something unappetizing on it. There was quite the stench filling my kitchen sink disposal with this wretched aroma. I began deep cleaning my kitchen and fridge and was feeling so accomplished by this one room. I knew the remainder of the house needed a good wash down as well but it had to wait; one room at a time. I cleaned the cupboard faces, oven, stovetop and scrapped the edges to get any grim and grit away. I proceeded to clean cupboards and countertops until I felt completely satisfied. I ended my kitchen duties with cleaning the microwave. The microwave can be a daunting task as food debris cakes on allowing for deep finger scrubbing which no one enjoys. While I am always amazed at the task at hand, I always seem to put it off as long as possible. This one little tip I will share with you will change microwave cleaning for decades to come….. :)

Tip of the day: Spotless Microwave

In a shallow glass container add 1/2 cups water and 3-4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Heat in the microwave for 1:30 allowing the container to completely cool before removing.

Wipe away the grim and gunk with a washcloth.

The vinegar loosens up the food entirely allowing for a swift wipe away. It is incredible how well it works and how immaculate this appliance becomes.

No more scrubbing and ruined nails and finger tips. :)

New years eve drink of choice: Lemon Ginger Yogi tea

Happy New Years Eve!!!

Moment of Truth

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 December, 2013 No comment

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
– Helen Keller

Thought to Ponder

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 December, 2013 No comment

“Being happy isn’t looking for perfection but looking past imperfection”

I heard this today and it really struck me how we can easily let the little things be “big” things. Habits, routine and self talk can tend to lead you down the path of destruction if you aren’t willing to reevaluate your current state.

Christmas can be a blessing or a curse for everyone. Within our own family both the brothers have an extremely difficult time remembering family and tragedy that has occurred through the years.

The day after christmas can be a massive let down for many reasons. I ask that you look within yourself and motivate yourself to pursue truth today and not look for perfection in those around you but to love them right where they are.

Jamberry Party!!!

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 December, 2013 No comment

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It All Began In A Manger….

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 24 December, 2013 No comment

Christmas Eve began this morning with all the children jumping for joy. “The presents are coming, the presents are coming,” shout the three little children with the wee little toddler scrambling behind. The excitement filled their little tiny minds while they couldn’t wait to see what was to be had below the tree. Could it be, the little gifts I had longed for would fill me with such glee, expresses the confident 8 year old. The four little boys toddled around waiting anxiously for the unwrapped gifts below the tree. As the long day passed, they waited with immense patience checking off their list:

1. Christmas Eve dinner @ 4pm

2. Christmas Eve service at church @ 6:30pm

3. Rush home and pass out gifts, eat snacks and unwrap @ 8pm

The tearing of the Christmas paper began to fill the house with four little boys hovering over each pile of gifts.

This year we decided to not put such an emphasis on gifts for us adults as we want to remember the real meaning of Christmas. “Gifts and stockings are okay, but Jesus is the real reason we have Christmas Day.” As a family we decided we would do more meaningful, thought felt gifts and that is exactly what we did.

We have gifts on Christmas Eve and Santa of course brings the stockings on Christmas morning. Teaching the young, inquiring minds that gifts and stockings are okay is not always an easy distinction for the almost teenager, 8 year old dreamer, and the 5 and 18 month old wigglers. Their priorities are tagged with telling all their friends when they return to school about all the technelogically savy gifts they received. But to their grandparents, it’s more imporant that they pass down a legacy of faith seperating the joy of giving with Christ’s birth. The important disctinction they long to pass from generation to generation has been well established.

My father has always read the Christmas story before we opened gifts to remind us why we have been blessed to give and receive. This Christmas my dad read a snippet of by Max Lucado and this is what is wrote:

It Began in a Manger (Christmas)

by Max Lucado • March 22

Curious, this royal throne room. No tapestries covering the windows. No velvet garments on the courtesans. And, instead of a golden scepter, the king holds a crudely whittled olive-wood rattle.

Curious, the sounds in the court. Cows munching, hooves crunching, a mother humming, a babe nursing.

It could have begun anywhere, the story of the king. But, curiously, it began in a manger. Step into the doorway, peek through the window.

He is here!

The Arrival

The noise and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village. As night gave way to dawn, people were already on the streets. Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of the most heavily traveled avenues. Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops. Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys pulling carts.

The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town. After all, the inn was full, all the beds taken. Every available mat or blanket had been put to use. Soon all the customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do.

One’s imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air? Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken. Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?

No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple’s arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day’s bread had to be made. The morning’s chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor, perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event still puzzles him. But he hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes, he remembers the name the angel told him to use . . . Jesus. “We will call him Jesus.”

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel,
“His kingdom will never end.”

He looks anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

While my dad finished this story I was sipping my tea in awe of what it would possibly be like in Mary’s shoes. What would it feel like to have a King as your son? Teaching the Creator of the world right from wrong as a young toddler. Holding his hands, knowing they created you yet giving birth to the Son of Man. These questions struck me to the core. The entirety of the story of Christ baffles my mind. “Why? For me? How come?” The unanswered questions reinstate in my ignorant mind that Christ did come as a babe in a lowly manger, suffered persecutation for claiming to be the Risen Son of Man, and dying a painful death suffering ALL the sins of the world upon his lifeless body. Yet he conquored death, saved humanity and gave the free gift of salvation for those who want it…….

What a powerful God we have!

Enjoy your gifts this Christmas and remind yourself this Eve before christmas morning, the journey of Mary and Joseph took on a donkey to bear a child in a stable. The questions and uncertainity they held must have been a story worth hearing….

Merry Christmas!!!

Chaos of Christmas

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 22 December, 2013 No comment

Life has been overly challenging these past few weeks leading up to Christmas. For some reason every little thing on my “to do” list has been taking away from my son and husband. The craziness of life has a way of utter distraction, taking our focus off what’s important while trying to prepare for the ‘important.’

I’ve realized today how my perspective has been completely wrong. The point of the holidays are to spend with family and remembering what Christ has done for me. Yet through all the preparations I forget to sit at the feet of Jesus. I’ve become my own Martha; preparing meals and decorating our household. Mary on the otherhand realized what truly mattered most and that she wouldn’t always have the opportunity to spend at the feet of Jesus. Christ came to serve, not to be served. Jesus wanted Martha to set aside ‘preparing’ the meal so that she could sit at the feet of Christ and reflect on what mattered most at the present time.

Moment of truth: Take time away from the chaos of ‘preparing’ to spend time with your family. Taking time to be truly present and not just physically present. Engage and have that special time with your kids and spouse. Reflect on what the birth of Christ means to you. How can you better honor Christ in all His glory this Christmas?

Luke 10:38-42