Chosen

photo credit

I mentioned the other day that I went to a conference called Your Secret Name. I know, it sounds questionable.... a secret name? But let me explain. The idea behind this conference originated from a book called Your Secret Name: Discovering Who God Created You to Be by Kary Oberbrunner. 

Throughout our lives we can get many labels attached to us. Some we put on ourselves and others are given to us. The purpose of the book/conference is to work through some exercises to help you discover (if you don't already know) what labels have been attached to you. Then, through prayer and more exercises, you pray those labels off of you and allow God to place HIS identity (your new name) on you. 

Through one particular exercise, I discovered that some of my behaviors stemmed from my fear of abandonment. So I was walking around with a label of "Abandoned". It became so engrained in me that I didn't even realize it was a part of me. Through prayer, I ripped that label off and put it on the cross (for God to deal with) and took up the new name God gave me = Chosen. Let me tell you, it was SO freeing. To really think about the fact that I have been chosen by God, flaws and all, changed my heart. I no longer felt like the little girl who was wondering if her parents were going to stay or go. 

I know that I am (and YOU are):

Accepted: 

John 1:12 - I am God's child.

John 15:15 - I am Christ's friend.

Romans 5:1 - I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 - I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:20 - I have been bought with a price.  I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 - I am a member of Christ's body.

Ephesians 1:1 - I am a saint.

Ephesians 1:5 - I have been adopted as God's child.

Ephesians 2:18 - I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:14 - I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:10 - I am complete in Christ. 

Secure: 

Romans 8:1 & 2 - I am free from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 - I am assured that all things work together for good.

Romans 8:31-31 - I am free from any condemning charges against me. 

Romans 8:35-39 - I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Philippians 1:6 - I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected.

Philippians 3:20 - I am a citizen of heaven.

Colossians 3:3 - I am hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 1:7 - I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 

Hebrews 4:16 - I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

1 john 5:18 - I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. 

Significant: 

Matthew 5:13 & 14 - I am the salt and light of the earth. 

John 15:1, 5 - I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life. 

John 15:16 - I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. 

Acts 1:8 - I am a personal witness of Christ. 

1 Corinthians 3:16 - I am God's temple.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 

Ephesians 2:6 - I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. 

Ephesians 2:10 - I am God's workmanship.

Ephesians 3:12 - I may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength.

Now I know this is a lot of scripture and you probably glazed over it (I would have), but I want to encourage you to take time to read through these in your quiet time. This is our identity in Christ!  Imagine if we all walked around in our every day lives in the power of this knowledge.  What kind of world would it be?!  Amazing.

The truth is that God has a plan for each of us.  You may think your life is insignificant or that what you do really isn't important.  It is.  And if you don't know what your "calling" is yet, ask God.  He will show you.  He doesn't want us to waste a moment of this precious time He's given us.    

Are you walking in all that God has for you?  If not, what are you waiting for?  

If you would like prayer or have further questions about anything I wrote about today, please email me.  I'd be happy to chat and/or prayer for you. 

Blessings!

Heather 

Here's another cute pic I found: 

Photo Credit

  

my weekend...

I'm going to a conference this weekend.  

I'll let you know how it goes.  If you want to learn more about this, visit www.yoursecretname.com.  (Bloggers linking is not working again... anyone know why I can't add links?  It seems like it's added and when I preview, it's not linked...)  

I'm leaving that conference and heading straight to a party to see this: 

My friend joined this blog for couponing and deals.  Every once in a while she finds a deal (like this one with Keurig) where they send you free merchandise (like a NEW Keurig coffee brewer!) to keep.  All you have to do is have a party to show off the new product.  They send you the coffee and everything!  She gets great FREE stuff this way.  I'm about to sign up myself!  The website is www.hip2save.com.    

SO, I'll be learning more about my identity in Christ and drinking coffee after 7pm.  

What are you big plans for the weekend?  

On a Mission

Greetings!  Notice anything different?  Yes, I've changed my blog design... again. I can't help myself.  I like change.  Change makes me think of newness, opportunity... it kind of resets my brain and refreshes my mind.  Sometimes it's like a do-over. Does this make sense or am I just totally nuts?  Rhetorical question.

Anyway, I've been going through some things that have caused me to slow down and really look at my life.  Nothing too serious.  I've just hit a phase where I am re-evaluating and making changes.  It has been a great season.

One thing I'm trying to do is simplify.

I am a planner.  I am a doer.  I jump into things full force with guns blazing.  I go strong for a while and then I slowly start to fade.  I'm an all or nothing woman.  That is a gift but it is also a curse.  Because of my tendency to go full speed ahead I often take too much on resulting in quantity and not quality.

Through scripture and prayer God showed me that I do not have to do all of the time.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Ephesians 2:8-10

Growing up I had a lot of responsibility.  More than any child should.  Because of that, I learned to be ten steps ahead in all situations.  I have carried that with me into adulthood.  But God says that He saved me by grace.  Not because of my ability to be prepared.  Not because I'm always on top of things.  Simply because of His grace. And it is by faith that I walk that salvation out.  Everything I have is from God and for God.  I don't want to squander what He's given me.  But if I don't slow down enough to look around it will pass me by and I will not have fully lived out God's plan for my life.

So I've decided that I need to be intentional.

One way to do that is to create a personal mission statement.  When I first heard of the idea of creating a personal mission statement, I thought it was over the top - something that Super Christians or crazy organized people did.  But the more I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me.  So I went on a quiet retreat and spent some time in prayer to develop my mission statement.  I did that last summer and unfortunately have only glanced at it twice since.  I pulled it out today and am planning to sit down (with coffee, of course) and read over it.  I'm going to be intentional about my time, my family, my children, my health, and my walk.  Right now, this is how I feel:

"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." Romans 7:15 (NASB)

I know that if I did what I should be doing, I would have freedom - freedom from guilt, freedom with my time, and freedom in my thinking.  You know what it's like to procrastinate or not do something you know you should be doing.  It hangs over your head.  It sticks in your mind and you walk around feeling crappy.  If we would just do what we should be doing, we'd be free from that crappy feeling.  But "just doing" is easier said than done.  That's where the mission statement comes in.  It is like a target on the wall - something to focus on so you can be intentional and not waste time on things that don't matter.

There is a process to creating a personal mission statement.  I used the Passionate Homemaking blog to work through the process and come up with my finished product.  (see links below.  Unfortunately, Blogger linking is not working... again.)  I actually really liked Lindsay's and used hers almost verbatim.  

But simply having a mission statement isn't enough.  Take the next steps to develop how you will walk it out.  Then study it, pray over it, and make it workable for your life.  And remember that it is by grace you have been saved!  Don't put too much pressure on the doing. Ask God to show you what He wants for your life, day by day, minute by minute.  He created you with a purpose. He will direct your steps.  

I saw this on Pinterest and it really spoke to me:

So true!

What works in your life to keep you on target?  Or, do you feel like you need something to help you get that target in focus?  If so, I pray a blessing over your endeavor.  

Thanks for stopping by,
Heather

PS – if you’re interested in developing a family mission statement, check out the link below.  (I’ve also done this.) 


Personal Mission Statement: www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/01/developing-a-personal-mission-statement.html

Family Mission Statement: 
www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/07/developing-a-family-mission-statement.html














 

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

I have been BUSY! Hubby is home on Spring Break this week. Normally, we would go to a beach somewhere and party our brains out.  But this year we decided to stay home and get some home improvement projects done... I am not serious! We are the most boring people on the planet. Our idea of a fun night? RENTING A MOVIE, GETTING DINNER IN, AND SNUGGLING ON THE COUCH. Boring, right?  We do love it though. We're homebodies. There's no way around it. I've just come to accept it.  We are old 34-year-olds.   

I was, however, serious about the home improvement projects. Here is what my house looks like right now:

We are in the process of painting and repairing. I didn't show a picture of the bathroom we're also working on. When we decide to do something, we really DO it. Last week, I painted our dining room. It must be the warm weather. Whatever it is, I've got the bug. 

On top of that, I agreed to host Easter dinner at our house. I don't know what I was thinking. Do you think people would mind eating on the front porch? :) Although, it does give us a time line. One of the things we're good at is starting something and finishing it 3 YEARS LATER! Not this year. No, Sir. We are going to have it finished by Sunday. 

I'll keep you posted. 

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Update on Weight Watchers: I'm still going strong! I lost almost 10 pounds and I'm still loving it! Ya-hoo! 

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After all of the painting and repairing, I've got to do some spring cleaning. I am not looking forward to that. I am a little nervous to find out what now resides under my fridge and behind my stove. Yikes. 

I found this list from Martha Stewart that I may try and tackle (it's even got printable lists).  I don't know. Long days of painting + Martha Stewart organization may just throw me over the edge. I'll end up moving our family into a tent in the backyard for the rest of our lives. 

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If you're interested to see what color I'm painting the kitchen, here you go:

The picture doesn't do it justice.  And the color name isn't listed.
It's Valspar Maple Cream #3003-4B.   

We're doing the bathroom this color: 

This is Caribbean Green by Olympic.
The color looks a little darker in the picture.  

As I'm looking at the colors in these pictures, I realize that they don't look so good and you probably think I'm nuts for choosing them.  They are much nicer in person... I hope.  I'll give you my final opinion when the colors are up on the wall.  

In the kitchen, we're going to use this on of the walls: 

It's texturized and paintable wallpaper.  The wall is not in the greatest shape and I've always wanted to use this kind of wallpaper.  I just love the look of it.  Again, I may not feel the same once it's on the wall.  I'll let you know.  

Well, I'd better get back to work.  If I don't return before Easter, have a great holiday!  

What's for dinner?

Picture is courtesy of Skinnytaste.com

On my journey of healthy eating, I've been trying to find recipes that my family will also enjoy.  This proves to be a challenge because 2 of my family members do not like anything healthy.  I have to hide healthy stuff in their food. It makes a little extra work for me, but it's worth it.  Every once in a while I find a gem that is both fun and healthy for us.    

With that being said, here is what I'm making for dinner. I'm going to serve the mozzarella sticks as a side with salad being the main dish.  Well, it will be the main dish for me.  I have a feeling the green stuff will get kind of ignored tonight, but I have to give it a shot, right?  

If you want to make the mozzarella sticks, don't forget to also make the marinara sauce that goes with it.    

So what will be on your table tonight?