stop trying to work things out

Stop trying to work things out before their times have come. Accept the limitations of living one day at a time. When something comes to your attention, ask Me whether or not it is part of today's agenda. If it isn't, release it into My care and go on about today's duties. When you follow this practice, there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life; a time for everything, and everything in its time.

A life lived close to Me is not complicated or cluttered. When your focus is on My Presence, many things that once troubled you lose their power over you. Though the world around you is messy and confusing, remember that I have overcome the world. I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have Peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, John 16:33

Jesus Calling, March 29

it is indeed a miracle

i haven't told you guys yet from my last post, God came through with my huge miracle!!

guess what? He does care about every single detail in our lives. He will fight for us, we need only to be still.

just wanted you to know that God still performs miracles =)

dinner with Jenni

Last night I had the privilege of having dinner with Jenni Catron , executive director of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. Going into dinner I already had a few questions I was dying to ask her. I'm sure she doesn't know that, but it's true =)

My main thing lately has been trying to figure out how to better manage my schedule. I'm SUCH a schedule oriented person, that if I'm not on a schedule, I feel out of place. I feel unproductive, unsatisfied, and just flat out frustrated. It's not a good place to be in.

Because of my job, I really have to be intentional with my time. I want to make sure I'm getting adequate time to work, to be with friends, to be with Jesus, and to READ. This is my thing: I want to read more. I shared with you before how most top entrepreneurs and leaders READ. And they read a lot.

So I wanted to know from Jenni when she reads, because I look up to her as a leader, and I know she does it a lot. Let's just say, she definitely reads a lot more than I do. hah! But, I also know my schedule is very different than her. So she had the brilliant idea to suggest to me to get audio books. Bam! That's what I'm going to do. I'm in the car so stinking much that it would be a perfect time for me to get some reading done.

So cheers to you Jenni! Thank you for encouraging me and supporting me. And I will let you know how successful this audio book idea turns out to be for me.

a huge miracle

I'm believing God for a huge miracle today. I'll spare you the details, but I'm going to claim this over my life today:

I am a God of both intricate detail and overflowing abundance. When you entrust the dtails of your life to Me, you are surprised by how thoroughly I answer your petitions. I take pleasure in hearing your prayers, so feel free to bring Me all your requests. The more you pray, the more answers you can receive. Best of all, your faith is strengthened as you see how precisely I respond to your specific prayers.

Because I am infinite in all My ways, you need not fear that I will run out of resources. Abundance is at the very heart of who I am. Come to me in joyful expectation of receiving all you need - and sometimes much more! I delight in showering blessings on My beloved children. Come to Me with open hands and heart, ready to receive all I have for you.

Psalm 36:7-9; Psalm 132:15; John 6:12-13

(Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, March 23)

I'm excited about being able to share with you tomorrow that God answered my prayers!! Until then.........

a call to persevere

Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

"He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved!

I haven't read anything more life giving than this. God frees us of our guilty conscience and makes our bodies clean! Why do I carry around a guilty conscience? Do you know what I'm talking about? That thing you think about as you enter into God's presence, or even when you pray, and it creates a barrier between you and God because you feel unworthy and that He's not even there or listening? That thing that you've carried around for like 10 years and you always think about as your "deepest sin issue".

Get rid of "it" today. Put it to death once and for all. Claim these scriptures over your life. Walk in freedom and "do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with Him."

just a little dreaming

Last night our Life Group decided to go out into the neighborhood that our church is in and go around and pray for people and just see how we could be a blessing to our community. We split up into pairs and went out.......

Frightening? A little bit, yea. I think a better word would be awkward. We sometimes feel awkward, don't we? As if loving people is a weird and uncommon thing? Unfortunately, for me and my stubborn self, yes. But gosh, it's amazing what can happen when you just obey God and let Him lead you!

My friend Hunter and I headed into this one apartment complex and I can't even tell you how awesome it was. The main things that happened last night:

1. The people are so nice and welcoming. They wanted us to pray for them, they invited us into their homes, and they WANTED to hear about God. There was definitely a language barrier as a lot of them didn't speak English, but God provided us ways to communicate.

2. The more you share Christ, the easier it gets. That's another given as well, but until you actually do it, then you start to have revelations of God's heart for people.

3. Loving people and putting others needs before your own might be one of the best feelings in the world.

I'm already dreaming this morning of having a big play day in this apartment complex in the courtyard, having games for the kids, food for everyone, and then just sharing the gospel, seeing lives transformed, and then discipling them so they can know and experience Jesus in a radical way and then tell all their other friends about Jesus! That would be amazing wouldn't it?

Just dreaming......

what's on my mind today

1. It's Luci's Birthday!! Happy 30th to my sweet sissy!

2. I need a to-do list manager for my computer. Any recommendations?! My life is managed by my to-do every day that I write down. My brother makes fun of me, and says I need to do it all on my computer. So have at it.. what's good that will work with Macs?

3. David Gray concert was a-amazing! Pics to come later.

4. Last night I tried CHICKEN AND WAFFLES. Did you hear me? There is such thing as fried chicken, on top of a waffle, with grave, and then you pour syrup over it... and it's all done in a fancy sort of way. So interesting. Apparently this started in California, but I don't believe that for one second.. I think it started right here in Texas! I tried it... wasn't my favorite. But at least I tried.

5. My mom and I need a place to stay in Seaside. HELP!

Dave Ramsey

On Thursday I had the privilege of going to Dave Ramsey's one day EntreLeadership event here in Dallas with my brother. Not only that, yesterday I went to the Total Money Makeover Live! taping in Dallas. For two days I got flooded with leadership, money, and life lessons/practicals. I loved every minute of it.

Who doesn't like learning from some of the most successful people, anyway?

I'm still trying to process a lot of it in my mind, and the action steps I will actually implement into my life (there are several by the way; if you don't listen to Dave, you need to). But here are just a few

1. Actually use my budgeting system. Clever, huh? But seriously, Mvelopes.com. Check it out (Dave doesn't necessarily enforce this specific system, but it's great. Thanks Brino)

2. Read, read, read, read, read. The most successful and wealthy people read a book a month. You need to be reading a lot of non-fiction by the way. This is good news for me b/c it is rare that I pick up a fiction book and actually get through it.

3. Set goals! This one is really hard for me. I don't do it. I'm not a visionary.. at least not right now. Set goals financially, spiritually, socially, physically, for family... am I missing one?!

4. Go through the "Baby Steps". If you want to know more, just ask.

There are a lot of things I'm going to implement in my job as well. So basically, I'm so glad I spent two days in a room listening to Dave. Super pumped about how God will use it in my life. Download Dave's podcasts, or listen to him on the radio. Promise it will put you in a better position not only financially but spiritually as well.

allergies

This is what I feel like today. Apparently I have allergies. Woke up yesterday morning, couldn't stop sneezing, nose running CONSTANTLY, and it hasn't stopped ever since. Someone told me that in order to get out allergies, you can just go exercise outside to sweat it out of your system. Thats a myth. Not true. I went running yesterday afternoon because it was 74 degrees and sunny and perfect outside. However, it was not beneficial for me. Today.. still can't breath, eyes itch, throat hurts, and I can't drink enough liquid.

Oh well, such in life in Dallas. Hope you are feeling better than I am.

Happy Birthday Martha

Today is Martha's 24th Birthday and I wanted to celebrate her life today. Martha and I are both from Memphis but actually didn't meet until college and we were in the same sorority. I love this girl for many reasons. She and her hubby now live in Memphis with the cutest house and little pup. Martha is extremely gifted and crafty and I love using the desktop backgrounds she creates for my computer.

Martha, I'm thankful for your friendship and all the memories we have together. Running, yogurt, walks around Oxford, LSU road trip.. just to name a few. You are a blessing to my life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

my weekend

mom flies in tonight…..

so we can drive to Waco to see my brother…

and my favorite sister-in-law

so that we can celebrate little Ana's birthday!

i cannot wait to hang out with my family!

well hey there

I think these past two weeks were the busiest weeks I have had since I moved to Dallas. They were incredible, life changing, difficult, challenging, but so worth every second of it. It's really rather incredible all the things I was able to accomplish in two weeks. Seriously, I learned what this means:

He will keep him in total peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee

All that to say, and not really going in to too much detail, God is good! Duh, right? Well, He is. He is good and faithful. And I needed Him to show me that.. again. And He did.

Here are some pics to show you what I've been up to:

(Going Beyond Event in McLean,VA - sold out to 2,400 women - one of my favorite things about this particular event is all the praying we get to do! )

(celebrated Ana's birthday with dinner at Mi Cocina and then had a concert - yes, we had our own concert. it was amazing)

(getting Priscilla's mic on and ready to speak at our first event of the year, Going Beyond in Forth Worth - sold out with 2,000 women = awesome!)