tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41119706647685711722024-03-14T01:21:44.493-04:00It Just Takes Onelearning to stand up in a fallen worldAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.comBlogger473125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-19969441066189561752014-08-07T22:04:00.001-04:002014-08-08T16:14:37.386-04:00Fill {Five Minute Friday}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tcy7NVm2s4s/U-Qv_j0vfaI/AAAAAAAADOM/I1eyP9hmgQ0/s1600/When+we+come+empty.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tcy7NVm2s4s/U-Qv_j0vfaI/AAAAAAAADOM/I1eyP9hmgQ0/s1600/When+we+come+empty.png" height="392" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
They say we're all like sponges, like that square of yellow that soaks up.<br />
<br />
It scrapes and cleans up messes but without water it just collects the dirt. I think it's true, that we're all a bit like a sponge. We can clean or we can collect and it depends on one word:<br />
<br />
<i>water.</i><br />
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There are seasons we're living with the ocean breeze, soaking in the warm sunshine and soaking up the water. There are seasons in the desert, wind whipping across our face, mouth parched and dry.<br />
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<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/spiritual-warfare-and-when-everything.html" target="_blank">Spiritual warfare</a> or not, if we don't fill up we'll have nothing to pour out.<br />
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A day holds enough in its hands to completely fill you up. Chores, laundry, words, making food, errands, homework, relationships, writing, projects. You could fill your plate so high and write a list so long that by 10:00am you're already empty.<br />
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But what if you tried it another way? <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/release-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">A releasing of all the things</a> and a filling up of water. Not just any water, but Living Water. <b>Because the thing about being a sponge is that you're going to be squeezed.</b><br />
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The question is,<i> what will come out?</i><br />
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When life is tough or a friend asks you for advice, will you speak an encouraging word or will you share the Word? Even when the days are dark, when you're filled with Hope you know the light will come.<br />
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<b>When we come empty, He comes to fill. Soak up the Good Stuff. Sit under the running Living Water until you're so filled you could burst.</b><br />
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Pour out love and hope and faith, encouragement, trust and freedom. Free people <i>free people</i> and I have to wonder - do filled people <i>fill people?</i> Ultimately, only the Living Water will satisfy. May we be so full of Him that He is all that comes out.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We gather. Fast and in five minutes, with sisters and lots of delicious. Every Friday the prompt goes up and #fmfparty slows down. We write. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-41038200144601296492014-08-06T05:30:00.000-04:002014-08-06T05:30:01.668-04:0025 Dorm Room Must-Haves (A Gift-Giving Guide for College and High School)Shopping for college can be challenging. Sure, you want everything in sight but what will you actually use? Do you need that shower caddy? What about the TV? After three years of college I am about to pack up my car for the final year and have realized how many things I was 100% sure I would absolutely need and use every single day - but in all reality those items found their way to the dumpster or the back of my closet.<br />
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<b>College freshman? This list is for you.</b> It is what you will actually use on a weekly - if not daily - basis.<br />
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Friends and family? <b>If you're looking to give a gift that will be appreciated and well-worth your money, this list is for you too.</b> Besides the laptop, everything below ranges from $3.55 to $99.99.<br />
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Although I'm sure there are things missing from this list, it is a great start to making your dorm room feel like home! You've only got so much room in that little space, so use it wisely!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xjii9iALUtc/U-GfIh0zb1I/AAAAAAAADNw/amdp5U_9HaA/s1600/25CollegeDormRoomMustHaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xjii9iALUtc/U-GfIh0zb1I/AAAAAAAADNw/amdp5U_9HaA/s1600/25CollegeDormRoomMustHaves.jpg" height="640" width="513" /></a></div>
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1. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NEG15E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002NEG15E&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=6ZH7X4BXVJCBPXTU" target="_blank">Memory foam mattress topper</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002NEG15E" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Believe me, this is a must-have and if you're going to splurge on anything - pick this! Those beds might as well be a piece of cardboard and you will forever love the day you spent $50 on a bunch of fluff.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-7kwqAurqs/U-Gajg0Q3jI/AAAAAAAADNQ/quNtoUg79Lc/s1600/51dbnp5ObqL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-7kwqAurqs/U-Gajg0Q3jI/AAAAAAAADNQ/quNtoUg79Lc/s1600/51dbnp5ObqL.jpg" height="193" width="200" /></a></div>
2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GXPZEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001GXPZEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=OFYX6MYWZG6MLOT4" target="_blank">Tool kit</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001GXPZEQ" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. You will be everyone's favorite on the hall - and you'll be amazed how many times you'll actually need this. Guys might prefer <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E20HWA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000E20HWA&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=5PBFBARNMOIOEBXH" target="_blank">this one</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000E20HWA" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049U49PY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0049U49PY&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=YRVNUAKU62BYI4HX" target="_blank">Shower caddy</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0049U49PY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZO9APM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AZO9APM&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=TI3EI3MSKMML4PLT" target="_blank">bath wrap</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00AZO9APM" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
towel. If you're going to be using a community bathroom, both of these are must-haves.<br />
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4. Tupperware and chip clips.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MMRwkbzDAxA/U-GaPlFNb1I/AAAAAAAADNI/GmQdOOeroNc/s1600/41399XqZgeL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MMRwkbzDAxA/U-GaPlFNb1I/AAAAAAAADNI/GmQdOOeroNc/s1600/41399XqZgeL.jpg" height="200" width="138" /></a></div>
5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811870197/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0811870197&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=YD4EAC3IJPSM35Y5" target="_blank">One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0811870197" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. There is also a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307719774/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307719774&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=N4EPOEB5BLHTKTDJ" target="_blank">Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0307719774" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, which is more like a time capsule book.<br />
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6. Sound machine. It drowns out all the noise that comes with living in a dorm.<br />
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7. An extra set of earbuds. Keep one set in your backpack and one in your dorm room.<br />
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8. <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/7-inch-power-bed-riser-set-of-4/1040151694" target="_blank">Bed risers</a>. They provide tons of extra space and these are my favorite. Outlets are a rare commodity, and often are too hard to get to behind beds and desks. These bed risers have built in outlets.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RqhSI66gvb0/U-Ga7IvMPLI/AAAAAAAADNY/SlyrEc962yk/s1600/21912140151694p.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RqhSI66gvb0/U-Ga7IvMPLI/AAAAAAAADNY/SlyrEc962yk/s1600/21912140151694p.jpeg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
9. USB flash drive.<br />
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10. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00404YKZI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00404YKZI&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=E62ZROMOAJAXDN7L" target="_blank">Command strips</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00404YKZI" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. These are game-changers. Avoid all the fines that come with peeling paint off dorm room walls by using these hooks. Buy an extra set to hang your keys by the door.<br />
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11. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HOMG4W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005HOMG4W&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=Y3Z4SMLQH77AIEFK" target="_blank">Large duffel bag</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005HOMG4W" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Next to a mattress pad, this is the best college dorm purchase I've made.<br />
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12. Dry erase board and markers. Hang it in your room or on your dorm room door for friends to leave messages.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S5gw1o2s5yo/U-GbTRMl-hI/AAAAAAAADNg/Sxc3Y5i7RqQ/s1600/51JeRJg9CIL._SL1200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S5gw1o2s5yo/U-GbTRMl-hI/AAAAAAAADNg/Sxc3Y5i7RqQ/s1600/51JeRJg9CIL._SL1200_.jpg" height="200" width="70" /></a><br />
13. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZT8UMU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006ZT8UMU&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=UIFAXCYBGTMQH6JT">Camelbak water bottle</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006ZT8UMU" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and/or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043M5LRS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0043M5LRS&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=E52DZ6V6OM3NROO2">travel mug</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0043M5LRS" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Somehow I waited three years to invest in these. Big mistake. I promise you'll use them both.<br />
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14. White christmas lights. It's no secret that dorm room lighting is sub-par at best. Although guys would rather just have a lamp, white christmas lights add a cozy touch while providing additional much-needed lighting.<br />
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15. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F51ADU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001F51ADU&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=EFWFV4N4VXNWIR2U">Hanging closet organizer</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001F51ADU" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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16. Portable GPS.<br />
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17. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AP7NV/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000AP7NV&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=JD2LVEQPFP6OZQQU">Brita slim water filter pitcher</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000AP7NV" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
or tap filter.<br />
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18. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040QDVHE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0040QDVHE&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=UPXVJOD2JVPZR5MO">Chair cushion</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0040QDVHE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Simple? Yes. But you're going to want it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UxXiTkkJQzY/U-GcBHOP3vI/AAAAAAAADNo/Ya8VX1hFz0U/s1600/eno-hammock-packed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UxXiTkkJQzY/U-GcBHOP3vI/AAAAAAAADNo/Ya8VX1hFz0U/s1600/eno-hammock-packed.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><br />
19. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OBS86U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003OBS86U&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=QKVMRHRGUID3AKZF">Mini refrigerator</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003OBS86U" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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20. Hammock. Almost everyone I know at school owns an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042QYO9G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0042QYO9G&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=B5OPQABAE7L2YLT4">Eagles Nest Outfitter DoubleNest hammock</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0042QYO9G" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />(an eno). If it's sunny outside, you'll find hundreds of students studying or hanging out in their enos.<br />
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21. A planner. I would be lost without mine. Invest in a good one with lots of pockets and/or tabs.<br />
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22. A sleeping bag.<br />
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23. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KR5T0ZE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KR5T0ZE&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=J2VM3YP6HLTHDXEY">Waterproof outdoor blanket</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00KR5T0ZE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. You'll be surprised how many times you use this.<br />
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24. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FNPD1VW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FNPD1VW&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=6SZVTWSCGGGSUAM6">Laptop</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00FNPD1VW" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. You absolutely can. not. rely on the computers in the library. It sounds nice in theory, but you need to be able to work any time, not only during library hours.<br />
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25. Giftcards. I would suggest <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AR51Y5I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AR51Y5I&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=KD4CACBWTYGKDD7A">Starbucks</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00AR51Y5I" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, Dunkin' Donuts, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LHH4LM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LHH4LM8&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=EGF37EYR6ADWVAKC">iTunes</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00LHH4LM8" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, Walmart, Target, gas stations and local restaurants.<br />
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You can't go wrong with any of these gifts! Please feel free to share in the comments anything you feel is a must-have that didn't make the list!<br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">Affiliate links included.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-10869452036451125782014-08-05T05:30:00.000-04:002014-08-05T05:30:01.680-04:00A Little Bit of Roof Hopping, A Lot of Great Deals<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>This is a sponsored post by <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2F" target="_blank">Cents of Style</a> and all opinions are my own. Cents of Style offers hundreds of accessories at incredibly affordable prices. Wanna look great on a budget? Keep on reading!</i></div>
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When you're twenty-one, how else would you celebrate the end of summer class and the blessed beginning of your summer as July comes to a close?<br />
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Roof hopping, duh.<br />
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I've lived in this town for my entire life, gone to this church since I was born, and never made it up to the roof.<br />
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Not for lack of trying, mind you.<br />
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So after nine weeks of working away in an office, we knew the only way to truly celebrate my last day would be to find a way to the top and I was absolutely beside myself.<br />
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<i>Clearly.</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6htLJKhQbMs/U91fRf1c9ZI/AAAAAAAADL0/Ft1faFjCdLQ/s1600/IMG_7693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6htLJKhQbMs/U91fRf1c9ZI/AAAAAAAADL0/Ft1faFjCdLQ/s1600/IMG_7693.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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95% of our time on the roof consisted of me looking exactly like this:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHi214D-al0/U91fknJ1-yI/AAAAAAAADL8/O75rTR9c1EU/s1600/IMG_7694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHi214D-al0/U91fknJ1-yI/AAAAAAAADL8/O75rTR9c1EU/s1600/IMG_7694.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Barely contain myself? Me? Nah.<br />
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It was amazing and I remembered one more time that although I've fallen in love with the Magic City, the sunshine state will always be home.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faP21k1TwJA/U91gqT1-0RI/AAAAAAAADMI/bQROjIpJHPY/s1600/IMG_7729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faP21k1TwJA/U91gqT1-0RI/AAAAAAAADMI/bQROjIpJHPY/s1600/IMG_7729.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>And now I would like to provide you with an awkward transition.</i><br />
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See that beautiful necklace in the first picture? It's one of my new favorite things.<br />
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(Awkwardness accomplished. Carry on.)<br />
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(Oh wait. Maybe a little bit more is necessary.)<br />
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It looks like this, minus my confused face. Focus on the necklace, people. Focus on the necklace.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PK7ObDWUbcM/U91ms65U5oI/AAAAAAAADM4/ignqBBgg1LM/s1600/CentsofStyleCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PK7ObDWUbcM/U91ms65U5oI/AAAAAAAADM4/ignqBBgg1LM/s1600/CentsofStyleCollage.jpg" height="400" width="307" /></a></div>
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My photo taking skills are obviously amazing, made even more so by the fact that the center of each flower is actually coral in real life. I don't even know, people. But I do know I love this necklace and the matching earrings it comes with. I've purchased so many accessories through <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2F" target="_blank">Cents of Style</a> in the past few years and have always been impressed by the quality of the items.<br />
<br />
They've figured out how to create a beautiful product while keeping costs extremely low. I've loved their scarves, shoes, necklaces, and their tees (softest. ever.).<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_dO-BkF-0I/U91mluzc5EI/AAAAAAAADMw/bVU0qpUvsMo/s1600/CentsOfStyleCollage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_dO-BkF-0I/U91mluzc5EI/AAAAAAAADMw/bVU0qpUvsMo/s1600/CentsOfStyleCollage2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Flotus%2Dbr%2Dtwo%2Dtone%2Dsandal%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dcolors" target="_blank">Lotus two-tone sandal</a> // <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Fscarves%2Fproducts%2Fwhimsical%2Dscarf%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dcolors" target="_blank">Whimsical scarf</a> // <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Fearrings%2Fproducts%2Fsanta%2Dfe%2Dbr%2Dpatina%2Dearrings" target="_blank">Santa Fe patina earrings</a> // <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fcolored%2Dwatch%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dcolors%2Dbr" target="_blank">Colored watch</a></div>
<br />
So if you plan to look like a fool on a rooftop any time soon - or maybe you just want to feel great while staying on a budget - you're gonna wanna click over and <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2F" target="_blank">visit Cents of Style</a>.<br />
<br />
Did I mention they offer FREE shipping on every single purchase - no matter how much you spend? Yeah. It's the bomb. If you order anything within the next week, make sure to use <b>coupon code 50SALE</b> for an additional 50% everything!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">I received the <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fflower%2Dbr%2Dstone%2Dflower%2Dstatement%2Dnecklace%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dcolors" target="_blank">Daisy Flower statement necklace</a> pictured above as compensation, but again all opinions are completely my own. I really do love this company!</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">Affiliate links may be used in this post.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-56258417610095350732014-08-04T06:30:00.000-04:002014-08-04T09:39:40.323-04:00Let's All Be Brave<div style="text-align: center;">
I know I know, I'm no superwoman</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But impossible is possible with You</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So no, no, no more running, no more hiding</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Strike the fire so I'll be fearless too</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Brave</i>, Moriah Peters<br />
<br /></div>
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<br />
There's a lot wrapped up in that word.<br />
<br />
Just five letters can strike fear or courage in our hearts.<br />
<br />
<b>Brave.</b><br />
<br />
In the days between <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/my-health-story.html" target="_blank">a brain tumor diagnosis and surgery</a>, I heard that word a lot.<br />
<br />
"You're so brave. I can't imagine going through this."<br />
<br />
"Have you heard any updates? When did you find out, anyway? You must feel so brave!"<br />
<br />
"You're so composed and well, normal. I don't think I could be this brave."<br />
<br />
But I wasn't brave. I was a seventeen-year-old facing a surgery that had the potential to go very very wrong.<br />
<br />
<b>There was nothing about me that felt brave, I simply felt at peace.</b> With every comment I would bite my tongue and then quietly say back, "I'm really not that brave. I just know He's got it under control."<br />
<br />
Which, oddly enough, would result in a response telling me I was so brave to trust God through this.<br />
<br />
No. I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it one more: I was not brave. I just trust the Author writing my story and was given a peace that passes all understanding.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/four-sets-of-365-days-on-living-after.html" target="_blank">I've lived four sets of 365 days</a> since they shaved that line of hair off, and here's the truth:<br />
<br />
I'm still not brave. Not always.<br />
<br />
<b>But when God is near there is no room left for fear.</b> And He is ever-present. So yeah, I'm kicking scared to the curb.<br />
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<br />
<b>Sometimes strength doesn't reside in having never been broken, but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places.</b><br />
<br />
Sometimes the bravest step is to simply stand.<br />
<br />
And sometimes the bravest thing to do is to let go.<br />
<br />
I'm entering my senior year of college in just a few days and I'm basically the equivalent of a blubbering mess. I cry without warning because I know what's coming. I have one more year with my people and I already miss them.<br />
<br />
It's absolutely ridiculous but it's the truth of my now. I don't have to let go just yet but that moment is coming.<br />
<br />
"Letting go has always been hard for me. Yet I have seen, over and over again, that to simply let go is a powerful catalyst God will use to move me toward the next best thing." Annie Downs, <i><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=543489376" target="_blank">Let's All Be Brave</a></i><br />
<br />
<b>In the letting go He has more space to move - and I believe He will.</b> So instead of crying buckets over what is inevitable, I'm choosing to believe what <a href="http://aholyexperience.com/" target="_blank">Ann</a> so simply reminds:<br />
<br />
<i>"Why be afraid of anything when He is using everything?"</i><br />
<br />
In the mean time, I'm going to hold on and embrace that God-given courage He has already placed inside me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0o1fPasVos/U9lRutghbwI/AAAAAAAADLQ/nQ-LdGai2R4/s1600/516-iMf6Z8L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0o1fPasVos/U9lRutghbwI/AAAAAAAADLQ/nQ-LdGai2R4/s1600/516-iMf6Z8L.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031033795X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=031033795X&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=FUKCMASYHLGGHPDK">Let's All Be Brave: Living Life with Everything You Have</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=031033795X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, the newly released book by <a href="http://anniefdowns.com/" target="_blank">Annie Downs</a>, is helping me be brave in the now. Annie's words are inspiring, encouraging, and challenging. She is honest with her story, with her hurt, and with her love.<br />
<br />
Bravery can manifest itself in tens of different ways. <b>Sometimes the bravest thing to do is to sit down and wait, and other times we need to stand and speak up.</b> As I enter a season of letting go and releasing things I hold so dear, Annie reminds me that choosing to let go and lift open hands to God allows Him space to move. It's about taking the next step - no matter how small - towards where He is leading. <b>Whether that means holding on or letting go, saying a brave yes or a firm no, the courage needed to be brave is already inside you.</b><br />
<br />
I am so proud of my friend Annie Downs on the release of her new book and I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself!<br />
<br />
Let's All Be Brave is available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031033795X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=031033795X&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=FUKCMASYHLGGHPDK">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=031033795X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=543489376" target="_blank">DaySpring</a>.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #444444;">I was provided a free copy of Let's All Be Brave in exchange for my honest review. Affiliate links are used in this post.</span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-66015950609021957382014-07-31T21:47:00.003-04:002014-07-31T22:09:56.613-04:00Begin {Five Minute Friday}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qtb6EThAePg/U9rxoioGDYI/AAAAAAAADLk/QJakmFAPwGE/s1600/allthingsnew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qtb6EThAePg/U9rxoioGDYI/AAAAAAAADLk/QJakmFAPwGE/s1600/allthingsnew.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The clock will not stop its ticking as the hand of time winds around.<br />
<br />
The timeline of my life - your life- includes milestones and important date, victories and losses, joys and pains.<br />
<br />
We will look back on the times of mourning and sadness - but only briefly. <b>It is time to begin again.</b><br />
<br />
This is what we will remember. This is what we will look back on and smile. <b>There is a holy rumbling and I feel it shaking many - He is doing a new thing.</b><br />
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Do you see it? If you squint your eyes and look past the black text or the laundry pile, do you see the sun coming?<br />
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<br />
Light will always win. It just takes one pinprick of light to illuminate the darkness, and we know that when we <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/finish-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">fix our eyes on Jesus</a>, the <i>Author</i> and perfecter of our faith, He will be faithful.<br />
<br />
He is doing a new thing and we rejoice.<br />
<br />
<b>It is out of the broken that we know what it is to be whole. We can appreciate the torn because He has mended.</b><br />
<br />
In three too-short weeks I will pack my car and load my life into cardboard boxes. In twenty-one days this twenty-one-year-old will drive through the gates of her university for one more year.<br />
<br />
It's a year of lasts and time feels more like a ticking time bomb than a gift. I begin again in August and already my mind is at the End. I am actually a mess, in the messiest sense of the word. This beginning feels a whole lot more like an ending.<br />
<br />
But today - just one day at a time - can we choose to look at the present and declare it a present, a gift straight from Him? Because there are beautiful things to be found in the right now.<br />
<br />
In the messy.<br />
<br />
In the hard.<br />
<br />
In the lonely.<br />
<br />
In the ordinary and mundane.<br />
<br />
<b>In the "I'm not ready for this."</b><br />
<br />
I'd rather focus on the beginning. He makes all things new and sometimes He gives us our <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">wildest miracle dreams.</a><br />
<br />
But most days? Most days we choose to simply begin again, to breathe in deep and breathe out grace.<br />
<br />
My #fmfparty friends, you have wooed me back into the arms of community. We have written on the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/06/five-minute-friday-in-between.html" target="_blank">in between</a>, the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/04/five-minute-friday-after.html" target="_blank">after</a>, and the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/08/five-minute-friday-last.html" target="_blank">lasts</a>*, but tonight we will begin - together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We gather. Fast and in five minutes, with sisters and lots of delicious. Every Friday the prompt goes up at <a href="http://lisajobaker.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lisa-Jo Baker's</a> and #fmfparty slows down. We write. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open. But tonight we gather to encourage and remember, to offer a warm plate of brownies and a giant hug to LJ for leading us well. Change is in store for FMF, but He is always full of new and beautiful beginnings.</i><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Ironically enough, the #fmfparty post on LASTS was the week before school began last Fall. He just amazes me.</span></i><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/choose-brave-meet-aliza.html" target="_blank">Photos 2 and 3 of the beautiful Aliza's art.</a></span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-54541381425229713302014-07-29T21:02:00.002-04:002014-07-29T21:02:45.562-04:00Live Your Story - Not HersI forgot how to ride a bike.<br />
<br />
Which really isn't a problem, except <i>I didn't know I had forgotten until I was on the bike and going straight towards a tree, unable to stop.</i><br />
<br />
It wouldn't sound so bad if I were five or seven or even twelve but no - I was nineteen.<br />
<br />
Picture it, that college freshman version of me on a green bike. It was a sunny afternoon and after begging friends to ride on the trail across from campus, my roommate finally gave into my pleading and we set off for an adventure.<br />
<br />
We didn't know where we would go or how long we would ride - <i>we just went.</i><br />
<br />
I guarantee she looks back on that decision with much laughter and a huge smile because boy did I provide some great entertainment.<br />
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It started out well, naturally. Across the street and over the bridge and then a sharp left turn to go down the incline and begin riding the trail.<br />
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<b>There was just one little problem . . . the brakes on my bike didn't work.</b> We didn't know that either until it was, you guessed it, too late.<br />
<br />
With the wind in my hair I heard my own voice shrieking "I can't stop! It won't slow down! What do I do?!" Within 1.73 seconds my mind exhausted all possible options:<br />
<br />
<i>Jump off!</i> No, that would obviously hurt.<br />
<br />
<i>Round the next bend and pray for dear life you don't tip!</i> Tempting, but I have no balance and will surely fall off.<br />
<br />
<i>Run into that tree!</i> Dude no way - there's an entire baseball team on the other side of the fence and they'll see me!<br />
<br />
I didn't see my life flash before my eyes; I saw a series of unappealing choices. But I had to decide and as my roommate turned to watch, yelling for me to slow down and use the brakes, I flew into the tree yelling "there aren't any brakes!"<br />
<br />
<i>It's okay, you can go ahead and laugh.</i><br />
<br />
<b>As I pulled myself out of the tree and assessed the damage, the only thing that really hurt was my pride.</b> My roommate was doubled over laughing and the entire baseball team had turned to stare at the college student that ran straight into a tree.<br />
<br />
It was mortifying and I wanted to give a piece of my mind to the girl who had rented me the bike but the only option was to get back on and keep going.<br />
<br />
Climbing back on, we rode miles and miles all the way to Greensprings and back laughing and remember when-ing what had just happened. <b>There was no chance of playing it off or salvaging any bit of dignity, so I gave into the laughter.</b><br />
<br />
I'm the girl who ran into the tree on a bike because she forgot that spinning backwards will slow down a bike. Oops?<br />
<br />
But I'm also the girl who got back on and kept riding.<br />
<br />
And I'd bet money on the fact that you've been both versions, too. You've run into roadblocks and challenges and had to make impossible choices knowing that all outcomes will be painful. You've lost pieces of your dignity and had to face the crowd feeling vulnerable and uncovered.<br />
<br />
But you're also the one that kept on going. You brushed yourself off and made the choice to laugh and find the joy in the ridiculousness of it all. You've faced the crowd with your head held high and lived to tell the tale.<br />
<br />
<b>It really has nothing to do with a bike or a tree, it's about <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/finish-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">running your own race</a> and the choice to keep. on. going. when it would be easier to turn around and go home.</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">
Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on <i>Jesus</i>, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God. Hebrews 12:1-2, The Message</span></div>
<br />
It would be a shame to give up and we all know it. But it would also be a shame to make the choice to press on only to live in the memory of the tree and the stares or to wish you had someone else's bike.<br />
<br />
<b>We don't need another person denying her story in favor of living another's.</b><br />
<br />
We don't need another story to go untold because of doubts or swirling thoughts that someone else's is bigger, better, funnier, more interesting, or sure to make a greater impact.<br />
<br />
Sound familiar? I've got to believe I'm not the only one that hears those lies inside.<br />
<br />
I'm gonna have to stop us both right there, though, because I've heard enough of the Not Enoughs and I'm dusting the dirt off, climbing on the bike, and <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/03/for-when-youre-believing-lies.html" target="_blank">focusing on the Alreadys.</a><br />
<br />
<b>The story of your life is yours alone and if you don't live it, no one else will.</b><br />
<br />
Every day you choose to <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/04/five-minute-friday-after.html" target="_blank">leave an after of love</a> or open up your mouth to tell the truth of what's going on, you share a chapter with us.<br />
<br />
<b>Your one wild and beautiful life is the story of your days and we need it something fierce.</b><br />
<br />
But we need you to fiercely love it, too.<br />
<br />
Turn your eyes from the stares or the stats of others and choose to pick yourself back up and ride.<br />
<br />
You've got a story to live.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">I'm joining this week with several women I admire, offering encouragement and telling His Story through the words<i> live your story. </i>Feel free to join the link-ups at <a href="http://holleygerth.com/" target="_blank">Holley's</a>, <a href="http://jenniferdukeslee.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer's</a>, <a href="http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth's</a>, and <a href="http://hollybarrett.org/" target="_blank">Holly's</a> each Wednesday morning.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-13564856736890725722014-07-28T06:00:00.000-04:002014-07-28T12:18:50.461-04:00The Written Word [Link-Up and a Giveaway!]From as long as I can remember, I have dearly loved and believed in the written word.<br />
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I can ramble for hours on end and spend more than my quota of words each day through texting, typing, or speaking.<br />
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But there's something special about the written word, the looping l's and how each person signs their name. The written word requires time and intentionality and is often personal.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppi_FdmCUec/U9P1m-H1TUI/AAAAAAAADKg/vCPYnaX34pE/s1600/IMG_7747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppi_FdmCUec/U9P1m-H1TUI/AAAAAAAADKg/vCPYnaX34pE/s1600/IMG_7747.JPG" height="640" width="382" /></a></div>
<b>You can change the world for one person in five minutes with a piece of paper and a pen.</b><br />
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One week after coming home the summer after my first year of college, I was carrying <i>stacks</i> of envelopes to the green mailbox outside my home. It had been a whole week and oh my word was I missing people!<br />
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I should have seen it coming then but I was completely oblivious: it would only get worse.<br />
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<b>I write letters like I breathe</b>, and they often come out that way - full steam ahead, train of thought, rambling words. It's who I am on a sheet of thinly pressed tree, and I've written myself on a thousand pages.<br />
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I write the words and lick the envelopes because it matters. It matters that I send them, yes, but it matters because I know what it can mean to be on the receiving end. <b>Words can be a salve to a weary soul. </b>We must wield them carefully.<br />
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For the past year and a half, I have gathered on Monday nights at school with <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/04/inrl-daily-community-and-messy-ordinary.html" target="_blank">these three.</a> There have been seasons with more or less warm bodies and a semester of Wednesdays, but we have stuck it out and figured out what it looks like to do community together. We had all heard "do life together" but not a single one of us knew what it meant. We have most certainly made mistakes, but we've learned how to rock this thing called community.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBR1LeNwopU/U13WwqKFd5I/AAAAAAAAC0M/-opdAS7Tns4/s1600/IMG_6717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBR1LeNwopU/U13WwqKFd5I/AAAAAAAAC0M/-opdAS7Tns4/s1600/IMG_6717.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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But then summer comes and we're in four separate states and suddenly doing life together becomes a whole lot harder. I'm about to enter my senior year of college and if you could see inside my head you would beg to leave the madness that is inside, full of a million different thoughts concerning this "final" year.<br />
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I tear up every time I think the words "senior year." Lord forbid I say them out loud. But every time I worry about being far or even being five miles away but in two separate worlds, I land on this: <i>make it count.</i><br />
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Make the moments count. Laugh hard and take five hundred thousand pictures. <b>Make sure to grab a few candid shots, because that's real life and it's the reason you love each other so much.</b> Share your hurts and your joys and keep counting the gifts every day, even when it's hard to find them. Talk about Jesus and sing too loud in the car. Take road trips and have dance parties. <b>Wring the joy out of every last drop of this final year.</b><br />
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Because change is inevitable and it is coming, whether we want it to or not.<br />
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Being the planner and fixer that I like to think I am, I was certain there had to be a solution, at least for the summer, until we gather together again to love out this thing called life.<br />
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So I bought a notebook and I wrote out my joys and prayer requests, added a few encouraging quotes, personal letters and updates on my life, and then I mailed it along. It's the sisterhood of the traveling notebook and it showed up in my mailbox this past Friday.<br />
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And listen, I flat out squealed and clapped my hands when I opened the brown paper package to a bulging notebook full of updates and highlights and hurts and a letter for me written by each of the three.<br />
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I dare you to tell me that the written word does not make a difference. <b>The time it takes to sit down and write with ink is worth every drop of time.</b> You can carry those words in your heart and in your hands.<br />
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<b>Link-Up:</b> Whether you are part of <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail</a> or not, please feel free to link-up any posts that follow the topic of <i>the written word </i>- and then make sure to scroll down and enter the giveaway!<br />
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<h3>
So, how about a fun giveaway?!</h3>
<br />
Three sweet friends have gifted some really fun prizes! <b>Music, a new book, and Starbucks coffee - it sounds like the making of a perfect afternoon to me!</b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6JmI1ZYDZ5I/U9Gp5FaPMKI/AAAAAAAADI4/QJ2NBBvrGng/s1600/giveaway2KBE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6JmI1ZYDZ5I/U9Gp5FaPMKI/AAAAAAAADI4/QJ2NBBvrGng/s1600/giveaway2KBE.jpg" height="342" width="400" /></a></div>
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My friend <a href="http://www.echoesofmyheart.com/" target="_blank">Katie Reid</a> recorded a CD called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J49U5EE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00J49U5EE&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=TXR2S5OGA5PICAWN" target="_blank">Echoes of My Heart</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00J49U5EE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and I'd love for you to check it out. You can listen to samples of each song on the album <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/katiereid" target="_blank">here</a> and just in case you don't win, you can purchase her CD on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J49U5EE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00J49U5EE&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=2YTVUF4PF6VIFGJN" target="_blank">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00J49U5EE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, iTunes, and right <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/katiereid" target="_blank">here</a> as well.<br />
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The lovely <a href="http://myfreshlybrewedlife.com/" target="_blank">Barbie Swihart</a> has written a book that I just know you'll love to have a copy of! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494216884/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1494216884&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=OXV3FHUE7SH6C5IB" target="_blank">Coffee Talk With Jesus: Intimate Chats with the Savior</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1494216884" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
is a 31-day devotional and each day includes a devotional, reflection, a prayer, and a space for you to write down what God is showing you. Bonus? The book includes 15 coffee-infused recipes!<br />
<br />
And since you'll certainly be wanting to sip coffee while reading, the always encouraging <a href="http://www.erinsalmonwrites.com/" target="_blank">Erin Salmon</a> will send you a little Starbucks gift card, perfect for an iced coffee with vanilla (my go-to), a frappucino, or a hot tea if you would prefer!<br />
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A big thank you to each of these lovely women for offering to gift these items to one lucky <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail</a> friend! I am so thankful to know so many generous people, both in real life and online.<br />
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<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/woCo2/a-perfect-afternoon-gift-bundle" rel="nofollow">A Perfect Afternoon: Gift Bundle</a>
<script async="true" src="https://js.gleam.io/e.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Please note: This giveaway is open to Round Three participants. Thank you for your understanding. I will contact the winner via the email they used to sign up for Round Three. Affiliate links are used with the CD and book. If you</span><span style="color: #444444;"> click through my link to purchase anything from Amazon, I will be given a small compensation that goes towards maintaining this blog.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-75496042541760541912014-07-24T22:05:00.002-04:002014-07-25T00:50:30.984-04:00Finish {Five Minute Friday}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yucaWXyJEAk/U9G-Zse95TI/AAAAAAAADJI/LDKdlt_IrOg/s1600/FixYourEyes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yucaWXyJEAk/U9G-Zse95TI/AAAAAAAADJI/LDKdlt_IrOg/s1600/FixYourEyes.png" height="320" width="400" /></a></div>
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So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18<br />
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I'm not a runner - by any stretch of the imagination. The only place you'll see me running is to the closest Starbucks, and only if by "run" you really mean "drive."<br />
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<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/your-invitation-to-stay.html" target="_blank">But I've run from community many times.</a> Over and over I've hidden deep inside instead of putting myself out there, thinking if I use myself as a shield I won't get hurt.<br />
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<b>But the fastest way to be hurt by community is to keep your heart hidden inside. That's a game where no one wins.</b><br />
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I make lists and to-do's and there is typically more on my plate than I should allow. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/release-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">I pick up so many of the wrong things</a> and my eyes drift from my own path to the journeys of others. How are they handling it all? Are they enjoying life or simply surviving? How are they balancing community, being real and vulnerable and open, with all the mundane things of the every day?<br />
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Just like that - I've moved from my own race to another's and I'm starting to see it:<br />
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<b>When I run from community I typically run to all. the. things. that I can put a check mark next to. But those will never fill me up.</b><br />
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<h3>
A checked off to-do list will still leave you wanting more at the end of the day.</h3>
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To me and to you, I am writing a reminder, a letter to keep our eyes on our own path.<br />
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<i>May you run after it - whatever "it" is - will full abandon. But may you chase the dandelions instead of the chores left waiting to be done. May you remember each night as your head touches the pillow that the moments that mattered the most were the ones spent in community.</i><br />
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<i>Fix your eyes and clear your mind. Know that so much of each day seems ordinary and uneventful, but not a single day is wasted. Every breath matters as much as the last and the next.</i><br />
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<i>You've got a story to tell and you're already living it. So fix your eyes and finish strong. Run the race. Run YOUR race. Today, may your eyes stare straight heavenward.</i><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e;">A big thank you to the many who read last weeks FMF post on <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/bloom-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">"bloom"</a> and left such encouraging words. In Him is no darkness at all and so we know that even when we don't have the answers, we know the Answer. I have written a follow up of sorts titled <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/spiritual-warfare-and-when-everything.html" target="_blank">Spiritual Warfare and When Everything Is Fine But You Aren't.</a> I would love to continue our discussion over there!</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We gather. Fast and in five minutes, with sisters and lots of delicious. Every Friday the prompt goes up at <a href="http://www.lisajobaker.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lisa-Jo Baker's</a> and #fmfparty slows down. We write. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-49232168434084709682014-07-22T23:55:00.005-04:002014-07-23T01:05:52.845-04:00Spiritual Warfare and When Everything Is Fine But You Aren'tYou can stand with hands raised in worship one day and kneel with hands over your face in frustration hours later.<br />
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It is entirely possible to sing and smile on Sunday only to lay awake Sunday night with tears trickling into your ears, eyes staring straight upward, asking God once again to be near.<br />
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<b>I don't care if you've gone to church every Sunday since you were still in your mother's womb - darkness is real and it spares no one.</b><br />
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Even Jesus? <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A1-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">Yes - even Him.</a><br />
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<b>Everything can be fine on the outside and you can be completely un-fine on the inside.</b><br />
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It's pretty hard to explain that one to the people around you. "What's wrong? What's going on?"<br />
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"I don't know" is the only response you can manage and I just want you to know, friend, that it's okay.<br />
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<b>It's okay to not know where the heaviness has come from as long as you know Who can carry it.</b><br />
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It's okay to be frustrated when you can't find the answers if you can <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/bloom-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">hold tight to the only Answer.</a><br />
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<b>It's okay to wrestle and fight if you lay there each night knowing He is fighting for you.</b><br />
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It's okay to not be fine when everything around you is fine as long as you remember the Truth.<br />
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<b>It's okay to not know how to answer the people around you if you know the only way to answer back to the darkness is to say one name: Jesus.</b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TPdOOlxvjGQ/U88xFu77GGI/AAAAAAAADIo/ikAc-agiV2E/s1600/JustSayJesus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TPdOOlxvjGQ/U88xFu77GGI/AAAAAAAADIo/ikAc-agiV2E/s1600/JustSayJesus.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Whisper it when you're scared, when you're tired, and when you've got nothing left but Him.<br />
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Shout it when you're angry, when you're passionate, and when you've got everything to fight for.<br />
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Sing it when you're still, when you're in the battle, and when you've gotten through another day.<br />
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There isn't always a reason for the sadness or the heaviness. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/bloom-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">Sometimes walls go up and there's simply no explanation.</a><br />
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Don't fight alone. Take the risk and let someone behind those walls. Allow them to help you tear them down and choose to fight together. Ask the ones you trust to bring your name before the throne daily until you're no longer drowning. But if that's too hard and you simply don't know how to manage any of it, not even one more thing, then this is what you've got to know:<br />
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<i>Just say Jesus.</i><br />
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<b>Repeat what you believe not because you've stopped believing but because there is power in the name.</b> He is light and darkness must flee. Whisper how much you love the Father, offer praise to His Son who was crucified and then raised to life, and gratefully ask the Holy Spirit to intercede when you have nothing left to give.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f5eUQCRV7Do/U88u5XF6DMI/AAAAAAAADIc/NUE4MkVM3Ls/s1600/TheDarkness.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f5eUQCRV7Do/U88u5XF6DMI/AAAAAAAADIc/NUE4MkVM3Ls/s1600/TheDarkness.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Go ahead - talk to the darkness. Tell it what you believe and feel free to mention how the battle has already been won. Jesus comes out victorious, so keep on whispering that name, friend.</b><br />
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And it's okay if you wake up tomorrow and the burden hasn't lifted. It's alright if you find yourself weeping an hour from now, completely unsure what has upset you so much.<br />
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Sometimes Goliath looks more like getting out of bed in the morning than a giant looming. Sometimes Goliath looks less like an enemy and more like letting someone into your lane without waving your arms. Sometimes Goliath looks more like a waiting blog post than a battle waiting to be waged.<br />
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<b>Today we will simply stand.</b> We will choose for today to pick up the Sword and to be prepared.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UpsVUinLZKQ/U88rZo0jF_I/AAAAAAAADIQ/EZdPzSdz4bU/s1600/ephesians613.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UpsVUinLZKQ/U88rZo0jF_I/AAAAAAAADIQ/EZdPzSdz4bU/s1600/ephesians613.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A10-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.</a><br />
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It's funny, all this armor of God that is listed out for us to wear. The one thing that will pierce, the one weapon we are to wield, is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And I can't help but wonder why God would ask us to put on armor when we already feel so weighed down.<br />
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The tip of Goliath's spear weighed close to 15 pounds and his armor was likely 125 pounds. David, completely armor-less and fighting with a sling and five stones, killed the giant with <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+17" target="_blank">one shot.</a><br />
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<b>Could it be that the armor of God carries the weight for us, lifting it off and placing it in His hands?</b> Is it possible that David was wearing the armor of God and that as we open His Word each day we are sharpening the tip of an invisible sword?<br />
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You don't have to win the fight - <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16:33" target="_blank">that's already been taken care of.</a><br />
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<b>All you've got to do is stand.</b><br />
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Some days that feels too hard to manage, but it is possible. He brings beauty from ashes, light from dark, and life from death. Put on the only armor that will be a relief instead of a burden.<br />
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This is why we can stand with hands raised in worship. It is why you can whisper His name until sleep comes and the darkness must take a step back. And it is why it's okay to not be fine even when you keep on fighting.<br />
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Today, we're simply going to stand.<br />
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<span style="color: #45818e;">I'm joining this week with several women I admire, offering encouragement and telling His Story through the words<i> just say Jesus. </i>Feel free to join the link-ups at <a href="http://holleygerth.com/" target="_blank">Holley's</a>, <a href="http://jenniferdukeslee.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer's</a>, <a href="http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth's</a>, and <a href="http://hollybarrett.org/" target="_blank">Holly's</a> each Wednesday morning, and by all means happily pin and share these images!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-62846564531785790162014-07-17T22:00:00.002-04:002014-07-17T22:03:06.971-04:00Bloom {Five Minute Friday}<h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Let your roots grow into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7</div>
</h3>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Even when the rain falls</i><br />
<i>Even when the flood starts rising</i><br />
<i>Even when the storm comes</i><br />
<i>I am washed by the water</i><br />
<i>[NEEDTOBREATHE]</i><br />
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I can't draw a full breath.<br />
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I'm living on stale oxygen, sucking in air before I go under again.<br />
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I've been drowning. Rain has fallen so hard and for so long that I'm flat worn out from dog-paddling. I've swallowed salt water from my own tears and have cried out for mercy, for a lifeline, for someone to hear the desperate pleas.<br />
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They've been muffled by the sound of the waves and I sink further, lower, deeper.<br />
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<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/07/belong-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">I write about belonging</a> and the truth is, I didn't write it for anyone but myself.<br />
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Because I feel like I don't. And so I write what I would want to hear, what I need to hear, and I tell myself that if the lies are gonna pour down <i>then the Truth is gonna have to rain down, too.</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZfYd615gmQ/U8h_UbfNfMI/AAAAAAAADH8/3VklpQKKlfA/s1600/Col2_7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZfYd615gmQ/U8h_UbfNfMI/AAAAAAAADH8/3VklpQKKlfA/s1600/Col2_7.png" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">All images are created for you, friends. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/words-free-graphics.html" target="_blank">Feel free to save or share.</a></span></div>
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Darkness has come and attacked. The winds are mighty and strong. I long for quiet and rest but they push me down and under and I am tossing, turning, churning.<br />
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He knows it because I've told Him so - If life is a flower bed then the truth is I love the gardner but I don't always love the garden.<br />
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I'm bent over with petals flat on the ground as the gardening hose drenches day after day and I am a sopping wet mess.<br />
<br />
But the roots are growing deeper. The darkness hasn't disappeared and the water is still pouring but I see the sun peaking out.<br />
<br />
I will bloom where I am planted and the rain will strengthen the roots.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Sometimes you hit publish when the words don't make any sense at all. This is one of those times, and truly all I can ask for is grace. Grace for the messy, grace for the true, and grace for the fact that although everything is fine - I am not. I'm learning daily - sometimes hourly - how to combat the darkness and I although I don't have the answers, I do know the Answer. So I dig in and of this I am sure: His Word is a life preserver.</span><br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We gather. Fast and in five minutes, with sisters and lots of delicious. Every Friday the prompt goes up at <a href="http://www.lisajobaker.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lisa-Jo Baker's</a> and #fmfparty slows down. We write. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-73430673463942100862014-07-16T00:36:00.001-04:002014-07-16T22:13:22.698-04:00Women: We Can't Shrink Back<i>This is a follow up to the recent post <a href="http://bit.ly/1sDjVp8" target="_blank">For The Girls With Thighs That Touch.</a> We will not - can not - shrink back or shrink down just to please another.</i><br />
<br />
Sun streams in mid-morning and I stumble down the stairs after completing my morning work routine.<br />
<br />
There are days things go long or go wrong and I rush from one thing to another out the door, but on the slower mornings I make my way to the kitchen.<br />
<br />
Grab bowl, pour water from the tap, heat it up and open the package of instant oatmeal. Stir until the water soaks in, the grain soaking up, and then eat before rinsing and placing everything back as it was.<br />
<br />
<b>The house is still quiet, the boys asleep from a late night of goofing off, and I am a ship moving in the night - except it's 11:03am.</b> Unless they dig through the trash, <i>and since they are teenage boys, I am most certain they will not,</i> they'll have no idea that on a Tuesday morning I found my way to the kitchen counter and swallowed the bites of oatmeal I don't even like, all with their words in my head.<br />
<br />
<i>"Bud, she just downed that whole piece before you."</i><br />
<br />
And I smile. The oatmeal is sticking to my throat and it tastes like a bowl of nothing, but I eat it anyway because today the battle is won.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>My brothers will not know me as the girl who shrinks back or shrinks down just to please another.</b><br />
<br />
Oh, they aren't disillusioned. If there are any three people who have seen the worst of me, it is these three. Fights and words that never should have been spoken, rude looks, hours of silence, I've done it all.<br />
<br />
<b>They have seen me at my weakest and my worst but I am determined to show them the other side of the same girl.</b><br />
<br />
They can blame me for the awkward moments of walking the row of feminine items at the grocery but they're also gonna have to blame me for the knowledge that women come in all shapes and sizes and they are all beautiful.<br />
<br />
They don't live with a magazine cover model. I wear make-up on my birthday and to Christmas Eve service. Unless I am headed into work, you'll find flip-flops on my feet.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>They can't blame me for living with a girly-girl but they can sure as heck blame me for showing them that being a girl means more than carrying a purse and wearing heels.</b><br />
<br />
There was a brief season when I would walk into the kitchen and right back out. My clothes were tighter than I wanted and I cared more about how I looked than how I lived. <i>I picked at myself and picked at my food and no one seemed to notice but the mirror.</i><br />
<br />
I swallowed words and swallowed food and it all tasted like nothing. You can chew and swallow and still be empty inside.<br />
<br />
This wasn't an eating disorder, it was a terrible mind trap. I simply cared about the wrong things. Maybe I thought in order to be considered a winner you had to be slimmer, smaller, thinner. Maybe I listened to the lies and covered my ears to the truth.<br />
<br />
One day I just reached out and picked something - anything - and I ate it anyways. I wasn't hungry in the least, but I acted in defiance. The mirror lost, the pantry won, and whatever food I swallowed was a victory.<br />
<br />
My brothers will not know a size 0 sister, but each day they see a girl look herself in the mirror and walk out the door with her head held high.<br />
<br />
We sat in a food court on a Tuesday night and I laughed because I was the first to demolish a piece of pizza.<br />
<br />
I thought nothing of it - but they noticed.<br />
<br />
And I don't feel any shame in that. Because this is real. This is me. I like pizza, <i>so what, right?</i><br />
<br />
Except it matters, that's what.<br />
<br />
It matters more than a $2.98 slice.<br />
<br />
Because they're watching. The food going in and <a href="http://bit.ly/1sDjVp8" target="_blank">the thighs that touch</a> and the smiling going out the door.<br />
<br />
<b>They're watching and I will not be responsible for showing them a fake, photoshopped, carrot stick version of their own sister.</b><br />
<br />
They get <i>me, </i>all of me. The one who makes weird faces and made-up words, the girl who sings off-key and changes into pajamas within five minutes of returning home from work.<br />
<br />
A piece of pizza showed me that I'm showing them what a woman is. That's scary and weighty . . . but I won't shrink back from that either.<br />
<br />
<i>I'm joining this week with several women I admire to go first in being vulnerable, in talking about <a href="http://bit.ly/1sDjVp8" target="_blank">hip size and touching thighs</a> and choosing not to shrink back. Feel free to join the link-ups at <a href="http://holleygerth.com/" target="_blank">Holley's</a>, <a href="http://jenniferdukeslee.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer's</a>, <a href="http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth's</a> and <a href="http://hollybarrett.org/" target="_blank">Holly's</a> each Wednesday morning, and feel free to eat that slice of pizza.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200199145910784668/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">{Photo source}</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-15759407800590367042014-07-14T06:30:00.000-04:002014-07-14T06:30:01.581-04:00Passion [Book Review]There are people who doubt my generation. They say we live on our phones, are selfish, and don't care for anyone other than "me, myself, and I."<br />
<br />
And there are days I believe that, too.<br />
<br />
But then I meet others who believe differently and are doing something to show that our generation may be known one way but we are not all the same.<br />
<br />
<b>There are those standing up to say it only takes one to make a difference and so why not be that one?</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/choose-brave-meet-aliza.html" target="_blank">Aliza and I are taking a stab at it</a>, and there are countless others, too. I'm going to keep saying it until I go hoarse: <b>this generation can flip this world upside down with the love of Jesus.</b><br />
<br />
I believe it in my core, and I smile big when people choose to support, encourage, and push this generation.<br />
<br />
There are those who choose to champion us instead of chasten us.<br />
<br />
Recently, a few of those people wrote a book together for everyone - not just generation Y.<br />
<br />
<i>I think you need to read it. Every word of it.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-po0wfWi7Uss/U8Lg8BOv6rI/AAAAAAAADHI/bp9Uuj7cAsc/s1600/BookReviewPassion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-po0wfWi7Uss/U8Lg8BOv6rI/AAAAAAAADHI/bp9Uuj7cAsc/s1600/BookReviewPassion.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0529110113/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0529110113&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=4RKRD674BFO2EO3V">PASSION: The Bright Light of Glory</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0529110113" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
is a compilation of stories and messages (many, if not all of them, from the Passion Conference) written by Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, John Piper, Judah Smith, and Christine Caine. Each message is a direct transcription from the conference, so if you were unable to attend Passion 2013, this will be a little bit like you're there.<br />
<br />
The heartbeat is Jesus and the book is centered around one point: we each only get one brief shot at this thing called life, so we've got to make it count. How can we be the ones that burn brightly <i>for His renown?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Each chapter beautifully weaves Scripture into storytelling and truth into what seems ordinary. Stories that I've heard told over and over again came to life with these words.</b><br />
<br />
Let's be honest - there were a few moments reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0529110113/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0529110113&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=4RKRD674BFO2EO3V">this book</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0529110113" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
that I physically felt my eyes glaze over. I had to read and re-read paragraphs until I felt like I had at least a loose grasp of what was being said. But then other chapters shook me up so much inside that the book would sit on my nightstand for days, my mind tossing and turning.<br />
<br />
It will make you think. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0529110113/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0529110113&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=4RKRD674BFO2EO3V">This book</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0529110113" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
will challenge you to examine what you really believe and what that means for your life.</b><br />
<br />
Each of the authors and speakers taught me multiple things and I re-heard truths that I'm afraid I forget a little too often. To give you a little glimpse at the words inside, allow me to share a quote or two from each contributor:<br />
<br />
<b>God didn't take away the holes in His hands and His side; the scars remained. But they were transformed from a mark of pain to a mark of victory. The same thing happens to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We bear those marks of what once was so that we can show what now is. -Louie Giglio</b><br />
<br />
What is the one passion of your life that makes everything else look like rubbish in comparison? Oh, that God would help me waken in you a single passion for a single great reality that would unleash you, and set you free from small dreams, and send you, for the glory of Christ, into all the spheres of secular life and to all the peoples of the earth. -John Piper<br />
<br />
<b>God's Word was not meant to build up our theology. It was meant to change our reality. -Beth Moore</b><br />
<br />
You operate with a massive advantage: you are working from acceptance and not <i>for</i> it. You strive to be the best, not so that you can be applauded by someone else, but <i>because</i> you are already dearly loved by God. -Louie Giglio<br />
<br />
<b>We might be tempted to equate compassion with getting sad watching a movie or hearing a story. That's not compassion; that's sentiment. Compassion isn't compassion until you are actually interrupted. It's not real until it inspired action. -Christine Caine</b><br />
<br />
"I finally asked one of the leaders, "Don't you have people in your churches who just call themselves Christians but don't really live it out?" He just looked at me and said, "That wouldn't make any sense. If you call yourself a Christian, you automatically lose everything. Why would someone volunteer for that if they weren't serious?" -Francis Chan<br />
<br />
<b>Don't let past mistakes delay today's obedience. -Beth Moore</b><br />
<br />
Let's be careful, students, that we're not busy adhering to a code or concepts or principles and we miss the person. It's all about Jesus. -Judah Smith<br />
<br />
Personally, I refuse to pretend being a 20-something in todays world is easy. <i>It's plain hard.</i> But with every truth poured back in, it's a little bit easier to remember who I am because of Whose I am.<br />
<br />
I highly recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0529110113/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0529110113&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=4RKRD674BFO2EO3V">PASSION: The Bright Light of Glory</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0529110113" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
to you, not because it's encouraging or written by some amazing people, but because it is packed full of Truth. If you truly read and let it sink in, you will not walk away unchanged.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #444444;">Writer's Note: I was provided a copy of this book from BookLook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post.</span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-10570936458663679022014-07-10T21:47:00.000-04:002014-07-10T21:47:24.211-04:00Belong {Five Minute Friday}I see you in the corner, picking at your fingernails and ducking your head.<br />
<br />
You're fighting back the lies and pushing against the walls you've built inside but you're stuck.<br />
<br />
Every time someone attempts to help, to love on you, to whisper kind things, you burrow further inside. With everything you are, you're crying to be loved - maybe just simply appreciated.<br />
<br />
But with every advance of community the walls climb higher and higher.<br />
<br />
I see you.<br />
<br />
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Behind the fence and the barricade, past the walls and the broken spaces.<br />
<br />
<b>I see you. And I will fight for you as I fight with you until these walls come tumbling down.</b><br />
<br />
You belong here. The corner was not made for you - it is never meant to be a home. There is a safe place and it is in the arms of community.<br />
<br />
And oh sweet one, I promise there will be times of hurt and community will disappoint but <b>we will say it loud until the walls crack and you're unchained: you could never un-belong.</b><br />
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You are seen. You are dearly loved. You are valued.<br />
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The work you do is important even when it is not recognized. The words you write are moving even when the comment box is empty.<br />
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There is nothing you could do, nothing you could say, that could ever make you un-belong.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We gather. Fast and in five minutes, with sisters and lots of delicious. Every Friday the prompt goes up at <a href="http://www.lisajobaker.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lisa-Jo Baker's</a> and #fmfparty slows down. We write. We breathe out our hearts, sharing the hurts and the joys and splitting hearts and words wide open. {Tonight we are visiting Crystal Stine to join the link up, as Lisa-Jo is out of town.}</i><br />
<i style="font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Related: Last July we wrote on BELONG, and you can read that post <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/07/five-minute-friday-belong.html" target="_blank">here.</a></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-78398657102226150502014-07-08T16:03:00.000-04:002014-07-08T16:03:14.020-04:00Giveaway: Rebekah's Favorite Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
From 39 to 49 to 120 women, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html">#fmfpartysnailmail</a> has grown more than I ever expected or imagined.<br />
<br />
<b>Twice now many of us have gathered online, slowed to hand write love, and then found community waiting for us in our mailbox.</b><br />
<br />
As of Monday, the form for Round Three closed and already the Facebook page is a spring of encouragement. Letters will begin going out next week and I am thrilled to see <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/community-in-your-mailbox.html">what God has already done</a> and looking forward to what He will do.<br />
<br />
He's pretty big on surprises, ya know.<br />
<br />
Today I'm welcoming one of my sweetest online friendships to share this blog space with me.<br />
<br />
Sometimes she calls me ladybug, but always I call her friend.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://threebeesinabluebonnet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rebekah</a> has one of the most generous hearts and immediately offered to give away some of her favorite things as a gift to one of you!<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
This super awesome bundle includes:</h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>A dark chocolate and sea salt almond chocolate bar (oh y'all... YUM)</li>
<li>Earl Grey tea</li>
<li>2 colored G2 pens</li>
<li>2 sets of stickers (ladybug and cupcakes)</li>
<li>4-piece handmade magnet set</li>
<li>8 cards/postcards (exactly enough for Round Three!)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=505704563" target="_blank">3-pack notebooks from DaySpring</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>So basically, if you win this bundle of Rebekah's favorite things, you are 100% set for Round Three!</b><br />
<br />
Also, can I just slip in here real quick and say that the <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=505704563" target="_blank">notebooks from DaySpring</a> are one of my very favorite things in the entire store? I've purchased so many, given tons away as little happies, and love keeping one handy in every bag.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=505704563" target="_blank"><img alt="Grace, Trust, Hope - Mini Notebooks - Set of 3" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/87831_01.jpg" /></a> </div>
<br />
Not gonna lie, I'm totally jealous of the winner. I think I've already won though - Rebekah's friendship is a dear gift.<br />
<br />
You really ought to get to know her. Seriously. Connect with Rebekah on her <a href="http://threebeesinabluebonnet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/3BeesBlueBonnet" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThreeBeesInABlueBonnet" target="_blank">Facebook.</a> And then of course come back to enter to win these lovely gifts!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--CY_kSB2gjQ/U7t7Kmi7XPI/AAAAAAAADGU/7g1CkdoAVq0/s1600/FMFSM+Giveaway+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--CY_kSB2gjQ/U7t7Kmi7XPI/AAAAAAAADGU/7g1CkdoAVq0/s1600/FMFSM+Giveaway+3.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>This giveaway is for one winner, but there will be several giveaways over the course of #fmfpartysnailmail Round Three.</b><br />
<br />
To my Round Three ladies, if you have not done so already, make sure to <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/community-in-your-mailbox.html" target="_blank">j</a>oin our Facebook group! If you have not received the link, please email me.<br />
<br />
<i>Thank you so very much, Rebekah, for always being among the first to lend a helping hand and to offer what you have. You lead with your life.</i><br />
<br />
<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/BgVdE/rebekahs-favorite-things-gift-bundle" rel="nofollow">Rebekah's Favorite Things: Gift Bundle</a>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444;">Please note: This giveaway is open to Round Three participants. Thank you for your understanding. I will contact the winner via the email they used to sign up for Round Three. Affiliate links are used with the DaySpring notebooks. If you purchase anything on <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=213520&m=25848&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Edayspring%2Ecom" target="_blank">DaySpring.com</a> and click through my link, DaySpring will give me a small compensation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><i>Photo #1 by the lovely <a href="http://meredithbernard.com/my-lens/" target="_blank">Meredith Bernard.</a></i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-13079607732609161632014-07-06T07:30:00.000-04:002014-07-07T01:08:44.925-04:00Four Sets of 365 Days: On Living After A Brain Tumor DiagnosisMy story is one that no one ever wants as their own, yet many would give their right arm for.<br />
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There isn't a soul who wants to be diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of seventeen, but there are plenty of people who are praying and pleading for a miracle and the news that their body - or the body of their spouse, child, parent, or friend - is free of cancer.<br />
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<b>Both of those lines are a piece of my story, and if I'm being really honest I don't always know how to reconcile the two.</b><br />
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I never wanted a brain tumor, of course. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/my-health-story.html" target="_blank">But I'm thankful I had one.</a> Not for the pain or the surgery, the cost or the worried looks on the faces I love. But I am grateful for the lessons He taught me and the way He healed me.<br />
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I'm thankful that a brain tumor was written into the pages of my story.<br />
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I'm thankful for the song He gave me during that time.<br />
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I'm thankful for the verse that became "mine."<br />
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I'm thankful for July 6, 2010 and the hands of a skilled surgeon.<br />
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I'm thankful for the news that I didn't have cancer.<br />
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More than anything, I want my story to always reflect The Story and the One holding the pen.<b> I want my history to be His legacy, my life shining only one Name.</b><br />
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The truth of the brain tumor is something I live with every day - but it's not a story I tell very often. It has simply become a piece of who I am.<br />
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Almost everyone I know is aware of this chapter in my life, and my closest friends have heard many of the details. This is not something I hide, but it also is not a part of me that I hang on the front door of my heart.<br />
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It is personal to me and <b>I long to carry this story well.</b> I desire so deeply to share His joy and love with the world. He has healed me in more ways than one, and <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/01/when-scars-become-beautiful.html" target="_blank">the scar on the back of my head</a> only tells a piece of the story.<br />
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I can not - will not - apologize for the place my hair no longer grows. The night before leaving for Haiti, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/grateful-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">one of my sweet friends</a> was playing with my hair. I could feel her fingers coming close to the scar. Later that night I texted her and awkwardly said, "PS for all future reference, there's a scar and it's not pretty but I love it. But one of these days you'll probably find it playing with my hair. So like, heads up 7up, whoop there it is."<br />
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<i>"I found it. I love it too."</i><br />
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Seven words.<br />
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I wrote back about how the piece she had been playing with hadn't even been there three years ago, and how God had been so good to give me this story.<br />
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Last month on vacation, I asked <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">this beautiful friend</a> to braid my hair. Knowing she had never seen the scar, I tried to casually warn her that it was there but that I wasn't going to apologize for it, since it tells His story.<br />
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She interrupted me with just one word. "Good."<br />
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Good that I won't apologize for it. <i>Because why would I ever silence the story or quiet my lips or muffle the grace of He Who is faithful?</i><br />
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There have been other scares and more MRI's than I ever wished to have. I've been poked and prodded and put under. There are tests and scans of my brain and they'll all tell the same story: I was broken and I have been healed.<br />
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<b>But that story was already mine long before an early July morning rid me of a brain tumor.</b><br />
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My soul knew the truth: He came because He loved me. He died because He loved me. And He lives to make every promise true.<br />
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He is alive and I am alive in Him - no matter my physical diagnosis.<br />
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My story includes a chapter titled July 6, 2010, but it's actually His Story.<br />
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<i>I just get to tell it.</i><br />
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And although I love it and am grateful to live each day soaking it in - the smell of grass and the sound of a baby's laugh, and all of the countless little things I never want to take for granted again - when I'm real honest there are days that I sit and struggle.<br />
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<i>I wrestle with the fact that I'm alive and countless others with the same diagnosis are not.</i><br />
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With every check-up I walk the hospital halls and purposely look at the faces of the children and parents sitting in the waiting room, praying they would receive the same news that I did four years ago.<br />
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Soon after surgery, I went through a season of pain and wondering over why I was healed. With every piece of me, I was grateful. And with every piece of me, I asked "why me?"<br />
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Why was I healed and not someone else? Why do little children have to experience the deep physical pain that I went through?<br />
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I remember laying in the hospital bed thanking Him over and over that He allowed me to carry a brain tumor instead of a young child. I whispered it to Him again and again, "At least I understand why this hurts. Oh, all these littles that I pass in the halls - how can they understand the throbbing inside? Thank you that it's me. Thank you that it's me. Thank you that it's me."<br />
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I whisper it again every time I return.<br />
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When I was teaching my legs to walk again, I made it around the nurses desk and was doing my best to go all the way down the hall. As I went to turn left, I moved over to avoid walking into a little boy on my right. His entire head was covered in gauze and I could barely keep from throwing up, much less keep the tears from leaking and my feet moving.<br />
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He was so little.<br />
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And so I've carried with me the pain and the healing, the wonderings and the gratefulness, and all of it is mixed together into the story He has given me to share.<br />
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<b>I don't know why He chose to write this into my history, and I surely cannot understand all the "whys" - but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I trust the One who is writing every story.</b><br />
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Even the story of the little boy on the right side of the hallway.<br />
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I will never see him again, but every time I walk those halls I pray for the ones waiting for results and asking for healing. I read the emails and the tweets about another brain tumor diagnosis and my stomach aches.<br />
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All I know to do is pray.<br />
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There is nothing else.<br />
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There is nothing but Jesus and He is Healer.<br />
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So today, on this fourth year of physical healing, I am praising Him for the only healing that could ever set me free. I am nothing without Him and my only boast is found in the One who <i>is</i> freedom.<br />
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I have been healed physically - and because many have asked, yes, my MRI scans came back clean earlier this month - but I praise Him most for the healing that really matters.<br />
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Please, pause for just a minute or two and give thanks to the Author and Healer. And then pray for those who are still in the chapter of asking and hoping.<br />
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Pray for the littles who cannot possibly understand why their head hurts. Pray for the parents who can do nothing but sit by the bedside. Pray that human medicine will be an instrument that leads to true healing.<br />
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And then count the gifts. List them and write each one down, all the small ways He is loving you each day.<br />
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<b>You'll never be able to count them all.</b><br />
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Today I am adding #1246 to my never-ending, ever-growing list of thanks:<br />
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<i>Four pictures, four sets of 365 days that tell the story of His healing. The story is mine but the glory is His.</i><br />
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I am more grateful than words can say for the healing He has given me, and as I type I can only ask for grace over this jumbled string of words. There have been serious times of wondering but they do not stand when held against His absolute truth and faithfulness. <b>I may never understand and likely I will not, but I know that He is good in all things, at all times, in all ways</b> - and so I write today for a fourth year and the only two words that matter are <i>thank you.</i><br />
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Related: <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/my-health-story.html" target="_blank">My Health Story</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-34130469029246825562014-07-02T10:00:00.000-04:002014-07-02T10:00:02.792-04:00A Mid-Week ExhaleThe words, the videos, and the images that have been running through my mind on repeat over the past few weeks.<br />
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Take a moment. Just breathe.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ASo3L4JCeA/U7IMvky2RcI/AAAAAAAADEE/nqcvt08OQJA/s1600/DSC_0728-640x426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ASo3L4JCeA/U7IMvky2RcI/AAAAAAAADEE/nqcvt08OQJA/s1600/DSC_0728-640x426.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lisajobaker.com/2014/06/because-your-story-matters-more-than-your-stats-2/" target="_blank">Because your story matters more than your stats</a> // Lisa-Jo Baker</h2>
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"So you can just let it go - the need for someone else to tell you that your story is important. Because you are already stitched into the only story that matters; the story that starts in the dark, loamy dirt of a garden and ends in the hard won, bright, shining streets of a city on a hill."<br />
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Why can't "run like a girl" also mean "win the race"? // <a href="http://youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs" target="_blank">#LikeAGirl</a></h2>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i4bBpTfM2Qo/U7IO4KwTR2I/AAAAAAAADEY/Bk1ZZmo4rIQ/s1600/UnityFightingFor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i4bBpTfM2Qo/U7IO4KwTR2I/AAAAAAAADEY/Bk1ZZmo4rIQ/s1600/UnityFightingFor.png" height="245" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.incourage.me/2014/06/when-loving-gods-people-hurts.html" target="_blank">When Loving God's People Hurts</a> // Leigh Powers on (in)courage</h2>
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"We are part of this kingdom story, and our hurt should not stop us from loving well. Satan can't stand against a united church. That's why he tries so hard to destroy it."<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--F0d1q_-pDE/U7IP7StJYGI/AAAAAAAADEk/dFowe3bRqtg/s1600/WithHallelujahs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--F0d1q_-pDE/U7IP7StJYGI/AAAAAAAADEk/dFowe3bRqtg/s1600/WithHallelujahs.jpg" height="400" width="245" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200199145910702339/" target="_blank">Favorite pin of the week.</a></h2>
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Here's the story I'll tell my friends when they come to worship, and punctuate it with Hallelujahs: Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel. He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening. Psalm 22:22-31 (MSG)<br />
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<a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2014/06/dear-women-daughters-when-youre-tired-of-media-voices-telling-you-what-beauty-love-is" target="_blank">Dear Women & Daughters: When You're Tired of Media Voices Telling You What Beauty & Love Is</a> // Ann Voskamp</h2>
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"The world has enough women who live a masked insecurity. It needs more women who live a brave vulnerability. We need more women who would rather be beautifully sacrificial than perfectly artificial."<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnJhavWR6IA/U7IRkqyjGSI/AAAAAAAADEs/fIuCUmU8mWA/s1600/20140625_dukeslee_bouquet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnJhavWR6IA/U7IRkqyjGSI/AAAAAAAADEs/fIuCUmU8mWA/s1600/20140625_dukeslee_bouquet1.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.incourage.me/2014/06/what-to-do-when-compliments-scare-you.html" target="_blank">What To Do When Compliments Scare You</a> // Jennifer Dukes Lee for (in)courage</h2>
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"I am learning that true humility doesn't mean we wave off kind words. It doesn't mean we apologize for who we are. Gospel humility doesn't mean that we unleash a litany of our shortcomings in response to a praise. True humility is genuine "thanks," delivered with grace."<br />
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<a href="http://instagram.com/p/p4JT1SzgDw/?modal=true" target="_blank">Instagram of the week from around here.</a></h2>
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Four years ago today the news of a brain tumor rocked my world. God, however, did not move one inch. He gave me the promise of this verse and these lyrics to hold tight to. He is good no matter what because He is our God.<br />
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Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God You are higher than any other. Our God is healer, awesome in power, our God.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiCxxW-5nPo/U6pJdE3y99I/AAAAAAAADCI/KkTIRN39Pd0/s1600/GirlThighsTouchPost-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiCxxW-5nPo/U6pJdE3y99I/AAAAAAAADCI/KkTIRN39Pd0/s1600/GirlThighsTouchPost-2.png" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/for-girls-with-thighs-that-touch.html" target="_blank">For The Girls With Thighs That Touch</a> // Post of the week from around here.</h2>
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"We have got beauty all wrong, all upside down and inside out. And that's the problem. Beauty is inside out and we're looking outside in.<br />
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Every inch of skin is yours and it is lovely. Wear the bathing suit and choose to whisper three different words: This is beautiful."<br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><i>May your day be filled with peace, may you carve out time to sit and still, to breathe and be. And may you pause to remember it is only Wednesday and Hope is worth hanging onto.</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-24832263161303634522014-06-30T09:00:00.000-04:002014-07-07T01:08:26.884-04:00Choose Brave {Meet Aliza!}The paper wasn't in my hands for even three seconds before I was crying.<br />
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I had been opening the mailbox for days, holding my breath in anticipation, and then on an ordinary day it appeared.<br />
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Hand-lettered and written with me in mind.<br />
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The words His, the art hers, and the verse <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">a miracle just for me.</a><br />
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I've been at this thing for what feels like a lifetime.<br />
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The behind-the-scenes of this little blog shows hundreds of posts published and even more hidden in drafts, but the words show my heart.<br />
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Spilled out in black type, sprawled across the computer screen, is my heart and my passion, my dreams and my ache.<br />
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<b>In the journey of this grand adventure I have met the most amazing people and I am privileged to call them my friends.</b> I'm one of those crazy people that have declared it true - <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/04/five-minute-friday-friend.html" target="_blank">blog friends are real life friends</a>, even when we haven't hugged skin or met for coffee.<br />
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You are my people.<br />
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It's absolutely crazy to care so much for people you've never met in the flesh - but I do. <i>Still, though, I have looked and searched and waited for someone in this online world my age, experiencing the stage of life that I'm in.</i><br />
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In April (in)courage announced nine new contributors, one of them named <a href="http://alizanaomi.com/" target="_blank">Aliza Latta.</a><br />
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From <a href="http://www.incourage.me/2014/04/the-day-that-i-saw-jesus.html" target="_blank">her first (in)courage post</a>, I knew I was going to like her so big. She is honest, genuine, and spills encouragement and love.<br />
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She's funny, generous, and beautiful. And y'all - oh my is she talented. Not only can Aliza write, she can draw. And draw doesn't even begin to cover it.<br />
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<a href="http://choosebrave.bigcartel.com/products" target="_blank">Aliza makes art.</a><br />
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This beautiful friend of mine is part of Generation Y. We are Generation Y. <i>And together, we are better; together we are stronger.</i><br />
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I haven't told her so, but finding her words in this big online world have given *me* hope. I read and read and soak it in, soak it up, and always walk away thinking:<br />
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<i>Yes. This. I understand. She is with me. This is my generation. Finally, another to sound the gong and call us to all rise up, speak up, and let our one life and one story change this generation's song.</i><br />
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And to no one's surprise at all, we are beginning to find commonalities between us. Her love for Rwanda and mine for Haiti. A common <strike>love</strike> obsession with Wicked. Even a passion for the girls of our generation and the end of the thigh gap problem.<br />
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Yeah - we both went there. She's sounding the call that <a href="http://hashtaghope.ca/beta/the-we-are-enough-movement-come-join-in/" target="_blank">we are sick and tired of being the thigh gap generation</a>, and I am clanging those cymbals saying yeah, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/for-girls-with-thighs-that-touch.html" target="_blank">we've got beauty all wrong</a> and no label or tag size or touching thighs can label who we are or determine our worth.<br />
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Generation Y. The #WeAreEnough generation.<br />
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So we're choosing brave together in our words, in the stories that God has given us. We're telling them in the hope that others will see His faithfulness - even when the words are jumbled and the stories messy.<br />
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Last week I opened my mailbox to a hand-lettered print from this beautiful friend of mine and I worked hard to wipe the tears before they hit the paper.<br />
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And today I am happy-dancing as I share that she has opened a shop - <a href="http://choosebrave.bigcartel.com/products" target="_blank">the Choose Brave shop</a> - where she is now offering her lovely prints.<br />
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Your walls need her art.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dW2-Fiveh8w/U68ULCE-GpI/AAAAAAAADC0/DEvXmXA6GEE/s1600/AlizaChooseBrave2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dW2-Fiveh8w/U68ULCE-GpI/AAAAAAAADC0/DEvXmXA6GEE/s1600/AlizaChooseBrave2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIDjibI1M-Q/U68UOt2UiCI/AAAAAAAADC8/8rWoRIgFmWY/s1600/AlizaChooseBrave4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIDjibI1M-Q/U68UOt2UiCI/AAAAAAAADC8/8rWoRIgFmWY/s1600/AlizaChooseBrave4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>From now until Friday at midnight, Aliza is so kindly offering a special discount to all It Just Takes One readers!</b><br />
<br />
Use code <i>everystorymatters25</i> to receive 25% off <i>your entire order</i>, marking many of her prints down to $7.50! I can't even explain what a great deal this is!<br />
<br />
Would you so kindly offer a welcome to Aliza in the comments and then scurry off to <a href="http://choosebrave.bigcartel.com/products" target="_blank">shop and support</a> her artwork?<br />
<br />
Happy shopping, friends!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-76091314222756943012014-06-26T22:05:00.000-04:002014-06-26T22:44:29.906-04:00Lost {Five Minute Friday}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
There are one million voices. A hundred thousands songs playing over and over with every keystroke.</div>
<br />
The melody sweeps over me and I roll in the current, swept up in the peaceful tunes and the sweet words. They wash over me and I am drenched, dripping encouragement and grace.<br />
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I am covered.<br />
<br />
And I cower.<br />
<br />
There are days when the writers open up the browser tabs and click around Facebook, skim the tweets, and read the posts, soaking in the goodness and the soul-strength.<br />
<br />
<b>Those very courage strengthening words can build me up in one breath and knock me down as I exhale.</b><br />
<br />
The current sweeps and I am lost. In a sea of a million hundred thousand never ending strings of words, the blank page haunts, sitting empty until my computer timer says I haven't touched it for too long and the screen goes dark.<br />
<br />
<b>I can find myself so overwhelmed by the enormity of amazing posts that the blank screen is a haunting instead of a welcoming</b> and I am swirling, tossing, turning, while the words are churning in the deep.<br />
<br />
So we tap. We tap away in the dark of night and we scratch words on napkins or slivers of torn off notebook pages. We peck at the phone and send ourselves notes.<br />
<br />
One at a time. One word following another, one note building upon another, until there is a melody and a chorus and suddenly - a song.<br />
<br />
It is but one, but it is mighty.<br />
<br />
<b>You are but one, but you are mighty.</b><br />
<br />
And the song - it rises. <b>There are a million songs to be sung and a million songs we could sing but we must choose to sing our own.</b><br />
<br />
I am free to be lost so that I may then be found.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">I'm joining the #fmfparty tribe over at <a href="http://www.lisajobaker.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;">Lisa-Jo's</a> tonight, but I would love to extend a personal invitation to you to join the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail</a> girls. It's the offline community of #fmfparty. In your mailbox, to be specific. With community, there is always room for another - and we'd love to have you! Also, #fmfpartysnailmail + DaySpring = all the happy! <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/fmfpartysnailmail-dayspring-giveaway.html" target="_blank">The giveaway</a> closes tomorrow!</i><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Writer's Note: I wrote this week about my size 8 hips and admitted yeah, my thighs touch. So many of you have met <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/for-girls-with-thighs-that-touch.html" target="_blank">my nervous words</a> with such grace - and I pray that <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/for-girls-with-thighs-that-touch.html" target="_blank">the post</a> continues to encourage women of *all* sizes - no clothing label can label you or define your worth. No matter what size the tag says, you are beautiful.</i><br />
<span id="buffer-extension-hover-button" style="background-image: url(https://d389zggrogs7qo.cloudfront.net/images/extensions/img/buffer-hover-icon@1x.png); background-size: 100px 25px; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 25px; opacity: 0.9; position: absolute; width: 100px; z-index: 8675309;"></span><span id="buffer-extension-hover-button" style="background-image: url(https://d389zggrogs7qo.cloudfront.net/images/extensions/img/buffer-hover-icon@1x.png); background-size: 100px 25px; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 25px; opacity: 0.9; position: absolute; width: 100px; z-index: 8675309;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-42324587022956196702014-06-25T00:06:00.000-04:002014-07-07T01:15:03.824-04:00For The Girls With Thighs That TouchIt's splashed right across her face.<br />
<br />
The waves gently touch the shore as she stands half-hidden behind a palm tree, busying herself with sunscreen and sunglasses and one more do-I-have-everything?<br />
<br />
<b>She's wasting time. She's gathering courage.</b><br />
<br />
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<br />
She's surrounded by strangers who will never see her again but she looks at their faces and tries to imagine what they'll think of her.<br />
<br />
<b>At twenty-one years old, no one has ever seen her in a two-piece bathing suit.</b><br />
<br />
There's a hole-in-the-wall surf shack playing music and the kayaks are waiting. Quickly - as if no one will notice the change or hear her heavy breathing - she slips off the pair of shorts and the tank top, folding them neatly and placing them to the side.<br />
<br />
<b>It's just her and her size eight hips in a coral bathing suit.</b><br />
<br />
You can see it in her eyes - the wondering. Her eyes dart left but no, the surf shack guy isn't staring at her love handles. She glances down and sees a little pudge that none of the girls in the magazines have.<br />
<br />
<i>But then she looks up.</i><br />
<br />
The water is blue and the memories are waiting. <b>She can stand behind the tree self-examining every inch of skin and bone or she can let the water splash across her face instead.</b><br />
<br />
Soon the water is lapping and she's flipping around, mesmerized by the way the sun hits each patch of water and how each patch is really one big entity stretching further than eye can see.<br />
<br />
Laughter pierces and she is alive.<br />
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If you've watched her this long then surely you'll see that she walks with her head held high toward the waiting towel, hot on the sand. The oceans drips off of her. She sits and waits quiet for the wind to do its drying magic but hidden behind those dark sunglasses the battle is waging again.<br />
<br />
<b>Her thighs touch.</b><br />
<br />
The afternoon has been magical, memories have been made, a turtle was spotted and laughter spilled freely but as she sits and dries the tears sting her eyes as she remembers: her thighs touch.<br />
<br />
The coral bottoms touch skin all around and somehow the world got off saying that non-touching thighs is more than the norm - it's the expectation.<br />
<br />
The urge to cover the inches has never been so strong but look behind the glare of the sun hitting her sunglasses and you'll discover she's found the resolve to fight.<br />
<br />
<b>To sit uncovered instead of cowering in shame.</b><br />
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To ignore the messages splashed across the magazine covers.<br />
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To whisper a new message: <i><b>this is beautiful.</b></i><br />
<br />
Maybe you know a she whose thighs touch. Maybe that she is you.<br />
<br />
That girl is me, size eight hips and all.<br />
<br />
You're beautiful just as you are. I mean it. I really do. But you have to believe it, too.<br />
<br />
It's time to run into the water. No more hiding behind the trees, looking into the eyes of another to confirm or deny our worth, as if it can be decided on some imaginary scale.<br />
<br />
It's time we speak out and say that our thighs touching? It's actually okay.<br />
<br />
When I realized I was sitting on the white sand of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and instead of admiring the view I was distracted by my own skin touching - I was appalled.<br />
<br />
<b>We have got beauty all wrong, all upside down and inside out.</b><br />
<br />
<b>And that's the problem. Beauty is inside out and we're looking outside in.</b><br />
<br />
Don't be the she that can't see the view past her thighs.<br />
<br />
You're more than that. Every inch of skin is yours and it is lovely. Wear the bathing suit and choose to whisper three different words:<br />
<br />
This is beautiful.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://holleygerth.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Holley Gerth</a>, <a href="http://jenniferdukeslee.com/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jennifer Dukes Lee</a>, and <a href="http://www.hollybarrett.org/" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Holly Barrett</a> for some mid-week encouragement!</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://flic.kr/p/8sS3tP" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo #1</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-38396011001162905182014-06-24T08:30:00.000-04:002014-06-28T16:05:57.802-04:00Love Does [Book Review]<i>Love does.</i><br />
<br />
Two words that have shaken thousands of lives upside down.<br />
<br />
What if this ordinary world holds the greatest secrets, surprises, and mysteries?<br />
<br />
And if it does - <i>what would unlock them?</i><br />
<br />
Love.<br />
<br />
That simple, that complicated.<br />
<br />
I recently read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400203759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400203759&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=6P4QX43F4UPML2UT"><i>Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World</i></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1400203759" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Bob Goff. When it first came out I wanted so badly to get my hands on it, but I knew I would never find the time to read it during school.<br />
<br />
Scratch that. It would either sit on my desk untouched, frustrating me every night as I responsibly chose to do homework instead, or I would ignore my responsibilities and read it straight through.<br />
<br />
Both options seemed equally wonderful and like the wrong choice all at once, so I decided I would simply wait until a break from school came. In the mean time, I followed <a href="https://twitter.com/bobgoff" target="_blank">Bob on Twitter</a>, as well as the <a href="https://twitter.com/lovedoes" target="_blank">Love Does Twitter handle</a>.<br />
<br />
Pause. Let me insert this quick fact: the tweets made me love the book before I read a single page.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUaQhdYbEyQ/U6c_Zf9iV1I/AAAAAAAADA4/TOWCzaV5vKg/s1600/41+IoEK9zsL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUaQhdYbEyQ/U6c_Zf9iV1I/AAAAAAAADA4/TOWCzaV5vKg/s1600/41+IoEK9zsL.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a></div>
If you don't want to read the book by now, then quite frankly I don't know what to tell you.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400203759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400203759&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=6P4QX43F4UPML2UT">Love Does</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1400203759" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
is more of a collection of short stories than it is a book, but each short story has its own message. At the beginning of every short story, Bob writes a short sentence as an intro. Many times that intro stayed with me and impacted me more than the actual story.<br />
<br />
"I used to want to fix people, but now I just want to be with them."<br />
<br />
"I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter.<br />
<br />
"I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes."<br />
<br />
To be honest, I wasn't totally sure what to expect with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400203759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400203759&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=6P4QX43F4UPML2UT">Love Does</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1400203759" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
It was different than I thought it would be, but with each story a different piece of the puzzle is laid down and at the end of it all there is this truth: <b>God uses every-day, ordinary people living their every-day, ordinary lives to completely uproot the idea that life is not whimsical and lessons aren't hiding around every corner.</b><br />
<br />
This book reminded me that love does not just sit quiet on the sidelines. Love moves. Love gives. <i>Love does.</i><br />
<br />
More than anything, I want to be remembered for loving much and loving well solely because of who Christ is and what He has done in me. When I leave a conversation, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/04/five-minute-friday-after.html" target="_blank">I want to leave an after-taste of love.</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I want to leak from having been hit by Jesus. From having something crazy happen to me, something that flipped my life upside down. I've met people like that, people who leak Jesus. Whenever you're around them, Jesus keeps coming up with words and with actions. I don't suppose everybody gets hit by Jesus, <i>but those of us who have talk about Him differently.</i>"[Emphasis mine]</blockquote>
<br />
Sometimes we leak love and sometimes we get hurt in the process and it can feel easier to hang up the real and put on the fake everything-is-okay. And maybe that's okay, but it's not the best because it's not the real.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"He asks us to hang that version of ourselves for everyone to see. Despite our inherent beauty, each of us is tempted to hide the original so we won't get damaged. I understand why, I really do. And the fake version of us, it's not worthless. It's just <i>worth less</i> because it's only a copy of the real us, a version we don't care about as much."</blockquote>
<br />
It's a choice, a question hung in the air with every new day: What will you leak? Jesus - or yourself? <b>When we're leaking Jesus, we don't have to worry about which version of ourselves we are, the real or the masked, because it's Jesus that will shine.</b><br />
<br />
We can put the copy to the side. <b>When love does, Jesus shines.</b><br />
<br />
I have found that when I pile too many things on my plate, the result is all me. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/release-five-minute-friday.html" target="_blank">And that is all bad.</a> <b>If I'm not filling up with Him then I'm just pouring out me.</b> I may keep the plate balanced and the to-do list checked off, but when I'm what is poured out then it is not the best.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/07/for-when-you-have-nothing-left-to-give.html" target="_blank">I want to spend more time with Jesus than balancing the spinning plates.</a> I want to focus less on a career after college and more on living a life of worship.</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Rather than having us apply for a position, He says our lives are the position. And He says to ordinary people like me and you that instead of closing our eyes and bowing our heads, sometimes God wants us to keep our eyes open for people in need, do something about it, and bow our whole lives to Him instead."</blockquote>
<br />
What changes the world?<br />
<br />
Love does.<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">Writer's note: All opinions are solely my own. Affiliate links used.</span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-8761089126571283802014-06-23T07:00:00.000-04:002014-06-28T16:06:21.000-04:00#fmfpartysnailmail DaySpring Giveaway<b>We put limits on God way too often.</b><br />
<br />
Maybe we don't speak it out loud, but on the inside we just aren't sure how far He will go or how much He will do.<br />
<br />
After receiving <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">my long prayed for miracle</a>, I could nearly shout it from the rooftops how nothing is impossible for God.<br />
<br />
But it's not just in the big things... He is in the small things, too. Things as small as a handwritten note showing up weekly in your mailbox.<br />
<br />
And maybe - just maybe - those aren't really small, anyway.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/community-in-your-mailbox.html" target="_blank">I have found community in my mailbox week after week</a> - and the thing is, you can find it, too.</b><br />
<br />
One week ago <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">the form for #fmfpartysnailmail Round Three</a> opened and already 70 women have signed up. WOW. The thing is, though, that <b>in community there is always room for another.</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">The form</a> will remain open until July 7 - but in the mean time I thought we would celebrate how God has moved through the past two rounds of #fmfpartysnailmail and what He is doing now!<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Enter: the awesomeness of DaySpring.</h3>
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=213520&m=25848&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Edayspring%2Ecom" target="_blank">DaySpring</a> would love to gift one participant of #fmfpartysnailmail Round Three with a $30 credit to their store.</b> You could stock up on cards, buy a gift for a loved one, or maybe something special for yourself! At the bottom of this post you will be able to enter this giveaway, but first would you allow me to share with you a few FANTASTIC deals I've found?! If you win, these may be the very things you choose to purchase.<br />
<br />
<i>A few things you definitely want to keep in mind:</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=204816&m=25848&u=835521" target="_blank">The summer stock up card sale</a> is HUGE. $30 packs of cards have been marked down to $5 and tons of packs are just $1.99!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=204821&m=25848&u=835521" target="_blank">EVERYTHING at DaySpring.com is 25% off with coupon code THANKS25</a> - including clearance! This never happens, so take advantage of the sale and the coupon before they are gone!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=506138101" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/56476_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=506138101" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=506138101" target="_blank">Holley Gerth - All Occasions - 10 Premium Card Assortment</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504820032" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/37479_jpg_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504820032" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504820032" target="_blank">Holley Gerth - Encouragement - Heart to Heart - 12 Boxed Cards</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=541150077" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/079834.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=541150077" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=541150077" target="_blank">Redeemed All Occasions - 10 Premium Card Assortment</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Hope and Encouragement - 6 Premium Cards" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/75680.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=525713237" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=525713237" target="_blank">Hope and Encouragement - 6 Premium Cards</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504606593" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/74777_alt1_jpg.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504606593" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=504606593" target="_blank">All Occasion 2013 - 10 Premium Card Assortment</a></div>
<br />
The five cards packs shown above are currently marked down to $2.99-$5.99, but there are <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=204816&m=25848&u=835521" target="_blank">tons of other cards</a> available as well! Add to that a 25% off coupon and wow - what a deal!<br />
<br />
Looking for a way to enjoy your #fmfpartysnailmail cards after the round is over? What about displaying them on this <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=529534847" target="_blank">bird cage card holder</a>? I have this hanging in my dorm room and love it!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=529534847" target="_blank"><img alt="This Is the Day - Bird Cage Card Holder" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/77376.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This simpler <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=495455351" target="_blank">bird cage card holder</a> would also be a great place to hang your cards!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=495455351" target="_blank"><img alt="Redeemed - Truly Blessed - Bird Cage Photo Holder" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/73341.jpg" /></a></div>
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If you'd rather display the cards on your fridge, maybe these <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=533716116" target="_blank">Karen Kingsbury magnets</a> would work well for you? I think they're lovely - and she's one of my very favorite authors of all time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=533716116" target="_blank"><img alt="Karen Kingsbury - Possibilities - Inspirational Magnets, Set of 6" border="0" src="http://www.dayspring.com/assets/item/large/82026.jpg" /></a></div>
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And because I simply couldn't write this without including some of my very favorite DaySpring items, here are a few I own for myself and have also given away. I absolutely love them!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-aJB_Qpdr4/U6XmIYsy2XI/AAAAAAAADAo/75HG-oVY6L0/s1600/snailmaildayspringcollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-aJB_Qpdr4/U6XmIYsy2XI/AAAAAAAADAo/75HG-oVY6L0/s1600/snailmaildayspringcollage.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=532909265" target="_blank">Faith, Hope and Love Pocket Notebooks - Set of 3</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=500198013" target="_blank">Redeemed Rayon Scarf</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=534939651" target="_blank">Your Story Matters Necklace</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=518168761" target="_blank">Faith, Hope and Love Gold Bracelet Set</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=534374829" target="_blank">Your Story Matters 4x6 Postcards - set of 18</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=25848&userID=835521&productID=506981122" target="_blank">Redeemed Beloved Plaque</a></div>
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<b>Although this giveaway is for one winner, there will be several giveaways over the course of #fmfpartysnailmail Round Three.</b> In fact, <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=213520&m=25848&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Edayspring%2Ecom" target="_blank">DaySpring</a> will be giving away another credit later on in this round!<br />
<br />
To my Round Three ladies, if you have not done so already, make sure to <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/community-in-your-mailbox.html" target="_blank">link up any #fmfpartysnailmail posts you have written!</a> Please also make sure to email me if you have not been receiving my emails or have not been added to our new Facebook group.<br />
<br />
<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/hGXZt/fmfpartysnailmail-dayspring-giveaway" rel="nofollow">#fmfpartysnailmail DaySpring giveaway</a>
<script async="true" src="https://js.gleam.io/e.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Please note: This giveaway is open to Round Three participants. Thank you for your understanding. I will contact the winner via the email they used to sign up for Round Three. <b>Also, this giveaway is open to women in the U.S. *and* those not in the U.S.</b> The code will not include free shipping, so whoever wins will receive a code to use towards any purchase but will still be responsible for the shipping cost.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Writer's Note: Affiliate links used in this post. <b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">If you decide to purchase any of these items - or any others from <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=213520&m=25848&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Edayspring%2Ecom" target="_blank">DaySpring</a> - I would <i>greatly</i> appreciate if you'd click through any of the links in this post and then do your shopping.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'century gothic'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> If you do so, a small percentage of what you spend will go to me. It does not cost you any more, but it helps me as I begin migrating this blog to a new space (!!!).</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-69709601646948073562014-06-19T21:59:00.001-04:002014-06-19T22:07:35.234-04:00Release {Five Minute Friday}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBR1LeNwopU/U13WwqKFd5I/AAAAAAAAC0M/-opdAS7Tns4/s1600/IMG_6717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBR1LeNwopU/U13WwqKFd5I/AAAAAAAAC0M/-opdAS7Tns4/s1600/IMG_6717.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><br /></i>
<i>Layin' down our stones, open hands are free to hold.</i><br />
<i>-Christa Wells, "We Can Do Something EXTRAordinary"</i><br />
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<b>There are a lot of things we pick up in the day-to-day.</b><br />
<br />
Expectations.<br />
<br />
Responsibilities.<br />
<br />
Laundry.<br />
<br />
Truths.<br />
<br />
Promises.<br />
<br />
Lies.<br />
<br />
Social media.<br />
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Sorrow.<br />
<br />
Joy.<br />
<br />
Worries.<br />
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<i>My plate is as full as my hands and at any moment it's going to slip and all come crashing down.</i> But another tiring day passes and I fall asleep thinking "What did I even do today? Whatever it was, apparently I made it and can handle it again tomorrow."<br />
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My schedule is penciled in - yeah, even in the summer. <b>If we're being real honest, sometimes it can be easier to pile up a bunch of things to distract from a bunch of dreams.</b><br />
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Over a year ago, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/04/inrl-daily-community-and-messy-ordinary.html">my bible study</a> began counting one thousand gifts. Based off of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310321913/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0310321913&linkCode=as2&tag=itjutaon-20&linkId=C3RIF43BSJODCCSW">Ann's book</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=itjutaon-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0310321913" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, we realized <b>we were each so bogged down with all.the.things. and so we decided to count all.the.gifts.</b><br />
<br />
Every Monday night we would gather and share what we had counted, giving thanks all over again ourselves and praising God through hearing the gifts of another.<br />
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<b>I didn't know it then, but the counting was a releasing, a taking in of all the gifts and a releasing of all the things - the stuff, the worries, the lists.</b><br />
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Each day as my purple journal fills up, counts up, I can stand up a little straighter, a little bit less worn down by all the things of this world.<br />
<br />
I don't want to be about those things, anyway.<br />
<br />
<i>So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: <b>Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life - and place it before God as an offering.</b> Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. <b>Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.</b> Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2, The Message</i><br />
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I want to release the things I daily pick up so that my hands are empty, ready to hold the hands of another and walk through life together.<br />
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That's community. The counting of gifts and releasing of worries, the walking together every day.<br />
<br />
<i>I'm joining the #fmfparty tribe over at <a href="http://www.lisajobaker.com/">Lisa-Jo's</a> tonight, but I would love to extend a personal invitation to you to join the #fmfpartysnailmail girls. It's the offline community of #fmfparty. In your mailbox, to be specific. <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html">Find out all about it here</a> and come back Monday for a DAYSPRING GIVEAWAY! Yes ma'am. You better believe I am pumped about that! #fmfpartysnailmail + DaySpring = all the happy!</i><br />
<br />
P.S. If you have written about #fmfpartysnailmail at any time, don't forget to <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/community-in-your-mailbox.html">link up over here</a>. I'll be sharing your posts this week!<br />
<br />
P.P.S. If you love amazing deals and America, <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/06/american-pride-and-some-great-deals.html">this post is right up your alley.</a> 50% off, free shipping, and yeah - I'm buying myself some July 4th fun!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-80869458691355357392014-06-19T20:17:00.000-04:002014-06-28T16:06:41.909-04:00American Pride [And Some Great Deals!]Although I absolutely love traveling and it's 100% true that other places in the world hold pieces of my heart, <b>I'm extremely grateful to call America home.</b><br />
<br />
It is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and with July 4th right around the corner, I've been feeling a little extra patriotic lately.<br />
<br />
Cents Of Style, a company that I love, recently came out with a few <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=207403&m=31374&u=835521" target="_blank">July 4th pieces</a> that are <i>seriously</i> perfect. <b>They're cute and stylish and really inexpensive, but they're not too ALL OUT red, white & blue.</b><br />
<br />
And listen - if that's your thing, girl you go for it. But it's not mine. I'd prefer a white tee, jean shorts, a bandana or a light scarf and my cowboy boots.<br />
<br />
Which kind of works out perfectly because these items? They are going to be shipped to me and worn on my person as I watch the fireworks this year. Since I found such a great deal, I thought I would share it with you!<br />
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As soon as I saw <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fland%2Dthat%2Di%2Dlove%2Dbr%2Dgraphic%2Dt%2Dshirt%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dsizes" target="_blank">this tee</a>, I knew I was going to need to place an order.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=616433&u=835521&m=31374&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img alt="IMAGE: Fashion Friday, 6/20/14- Americana Accessories- 50% off & FREE SHIPPING with Code FREEDOM" border="0" src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/31374/land-love-tee-cents-of-style-3.jpg.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=616434&u=835521&m=31374&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img alt="IMAGE: Fashion Friday- 6/20/14- Americana Accessories 50% off & FREE SHIPPING with Code FREEDOM" border="0" src="http://www.shareasale.com/image/31374/land-love-tee-cents-of-style.jpg.jpg" /></a> </div>
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For today only, <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fland%2Dthat%2Di%2Dlove%2Dbr%2Dgraphic%2Dt%2Dshirt%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dsizes" target="_blank"><b>they are $14.95 with FREE shipping!</b></a> Don't forget to use code: FREEDOM at checkout. If that code does not work, use code LIBERTY for the same deal on all of these items!<br />
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I'm also mildly obsessed with their <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fflag%2Dbr%2Dflag%2Dinfinity%2Dscarf" target="_blank">patriotic scarf</a>. And yeah, there's this rumor that I have two drawers full of scarves but I will neither confirm nor deny. I'm just saying, this needs to be added to my collection.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hUg7sXeObSo/U6N5UtDgxRI/AAAAAAAADAA/VefZTQVJ2qk/s1600/centsofstylescarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hUg7sXeObSo/U6N5UtDgxRI/AAAAAAAADAA/VefZTQVJ2qk/s1600/centsofstylescarf.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Fflag%2Dbr%2Dflag%2Dinfinity%2Dscarf" target="_blank">The infinity scarf is $14.95 with FREE shipping today only!</a></b> And don't forget the code!<br />
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Cents of Style also has head wraps (pictured with the shirt above), high heels, necklace and earring sets, American combat boots (!!!), ballet flats, sunglasses, and a ton more for $6-$15 dollars (again, free shipping!). To see all of these deals, <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=207403&m=31374&u=835521" target="_blank">simply click here.</a><br />
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I'm not sure why, but this <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Feagle%2Dcuff%2Dbracelet" target="_blank">eagle cuff bracelet</a> is kinda just really cool. Today only, <b>it's $7.50 with FREE shipping!</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-73j8JK8CJ6E/U6N7IfHoXII/AAAAAAAADAM/aIhLVVVr6X8/s1600/eagle-cuff-bracelet-cents-of-style.jpg_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-73j8JK8CJ6E/U6N7IfHoXII/AAAAAAAADAM/aIhLVVVr6X8/s1600/eagle-cuff-bracelet-cents-of-style.jpg_large.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also have to point out these <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Ffashion%2Dfriday%2Fproducts%2Foval%2Dsummer%2Dstuds%2Dbr%2Dmore%2Dcolors" target="_blank">oval summer studs.</a> There are five colors to choose from and <b>at $5.00 with free shipping, they're a steal.</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9GrwC3O1zs/U6N8Bop5L8I/AAAAAAAADAY/ARMAo7aUkBY/s1600/oval-studs-all-cents-of-style.jpg_grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9GrwC3O1zs/U6N8Bop5L8I/AAAAAAAADAY/ARMAo7aUkBY/s1600/oval-studs-all-cents-of-style.jpg_grande.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
While you're looking around, make sure to check out their <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=835521&b=286192&m=31374&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emycentsofstyle%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Fclearance" target="_blank">clearance section</a>. They have chandelier earrings for $6, statement necklaces for $7, boots for $20 and a ton more. I've purchased multiple times from Cents Of Style and every item has been just as pictured and described.<br />
<br />
<b>If you decide to purchase any of these items - or any others from Cents Of Style - I would <i>greatly</i> appreciate if you'd click through any of the links in this post and then do your shopping.</b> If you do so, a small percentage of what you spend will go to me instead of Cents Of Style. It does not cost you any more, but it helps me as I begin migrating this blog to a new space (!!!).<br />
<br />
Happy shopping, happy great deals, and happy early July 4th!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666;">Writer's note: affiliate links used in this post.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-40684796935974001902014-06-18T01:15:00.003-04:002014-06-18T11:35:31.095-04:00The Story of the Hope-less and the Hope-fullTo the one who has heard the word <i>wait </i>more times than she can count.<br />
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<b>To the one who has soaked her pillow with tears.</b><br />
<br />
To the one who takes a different route just to avoid buildings, landmarks, or anything that would be a reminder.<br />
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<b>To the one who has prayed the same prayer for weeks, months, years even - and seen nothing change.</b><br />
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To the one who feels alone, breaking on the inside as the world keeps walking on by.<br />
<br />
<b>To the one who can barely breathe when the calendar flips over to a specific day.</b><br />
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To the one who sucks in air and raises hands as <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">a particular song</a> plays on the radio, wanting it to shut off and play forever all at the same time.<br />
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<b>To the one who begs God for hope because it's all but run out.</b><br />
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To the one who has been run out on.<br />
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<b>To the one who doesn't know how to believe any more.</b><br />
<br />
To the one who wonders <i>how much longer?</i><br />
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<b>To the one who reads these words and thinks, "This is my story."</b><br />
<br />
Yes. This is your story and <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank">this is my story</a> and this right here, it is the story of the hope-less and the hope-full and the weary ones clinging to hope for one day more.<br />
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<i>Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10:23 NLT</i><br />
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That first year I thought surely, any day now, things will change. The second year came and life had moved on but I hadn't. <b>By year three the only thing that hadn't changed was my broken heart.</b> No matter how many times I prayed, nothing happened.<br />
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As year four rolled around I was in a much better place emotionally, but hopefully? Soul-hope? <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2013/05/four-years-letter.html" target="_blank">It was dissipating quickly.</a><br />
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<b>At some point in the journey of prayer, when the same words are whispered, muttered, believed whole-heartedly, yelled even, but nothing on this side of heaven appears to change, there is a moment of prayer to simply hang onto hope.</b><br />
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Year four, month two was my moment.<br />
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I learned what it means to hope for hope, to hope that it can come again and fill you like wind in the sails as you cross the ocean.<br />
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There were waves and I thought I would capsize more than a time or two, but I wailed and wept and begged for another day of hope - even when it all felt pointless.<br />
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Because it did. Sometimes it just felt pointless - like the only thing changing was me - and that's not what I was asking for.<br />
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But that's what He was wanting. An inner working on my heart, days after day, for over four years.<br />
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<a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-god-does-impossible.html" target="_blank"><b>Year four, month five was my miracle.</b></a><br />
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To the one who is hoping for just one more day of hope, don't give up. Keep praying. Keep believing. <b>I like to think Heaven has it's own countdown, a knowing ticking of the clock.</b><br />
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On day one He knew I just had to make it to day 1,609. When I prayed on day 482, He knew I only had 1,127 days remaining.<br />
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<b>What if there is a giant countdown for what you're hoping for? </b>What if all of Heaven is counting down the days? What if they're all saying <i>just hold on, don't give up, it's coming.</i><br />
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We say the clock is ticking and time is running out. Dear one, the clock is ticking... but it's counting down.<br />
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Just hold on.<br />
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<i>I'm linking up with <a href="http://holleygerth.com/" target="_blank">Holley Gerth</a>, <a href="http://jenniferdukeslee.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer Dukes Lee</a>, and <a href="http://www.hollybarrett.org/" target="_blank">Holly Barrett</a> this week and am happy to find myself back here again!</i><br />
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<i>Writer's Note: I realize that not everyone receives their miracle this side of Heaven and I surely do not want to promise that you will. I do, however, hope that these words show two things: You are not alone and nothing is too hard, too late, or too far gone for Him. Keep holding on, friends. Hold tight to hope for He who promised is faithful.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4111970664768571172.post-16700355278213780952014-06-16T07:00:00.000-04:002014-06-16T07:00:00.720-04:00Community In Your Mailbox - #fmfpartysnailmail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gaoki3Ek1to/U50lDbSNdNI/AAAAAAAAC-g/4qC9F7fNyJ4/s1600/FMFParty+Snail+Mail.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gaoki3Ek1to/U50lDbSNdNI/AAAAAAAAC-g/4qC9F7fNyJ4/s1600/FMFParty+Snail+Mail.png" height="392" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Maybe you've seen the hashtag and wondered what in the world everybody was talking about?</b><br />
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Maybe all those Instagram pictures of cards have made you stop and wonder and then wish someone wrote you happy mail?<br />
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<i>Yeah, we got sick of all the junk mail, too.</i><br />
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Allow me to introduce you to something that began in a Twitter party and is gearing up for Round Three:<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Five Minute Friday Snail Mail also known as #fmfpartysnailmail.</span></h3>
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This is the place where we write one lady a kind, encouraging note each week. And we receive one each week, too!<br />
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<i>This is the place where we use our words for good.</i><br />
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This is the place where something happy shows up in our mailbox.<br />
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<i>This is the place where community is built and we take relationships from the computer to the real life mailbox.</i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to sign up for Round Three!</span></i></h2>
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So, how does it work?</i></span></h2>
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All the details can be found on my spiffy new <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail page</a>, right up there at the top of my blog.<br />
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Interested in the short version? Well here ya go, friend:<br />
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<b>Each round lasts for about 7-8 weeks, depending on how many women sign up.</b> Dates for Round Three can be found <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">here.</a> 49 women signed up and participated in Round Two and we are expecting about the same number this time. After completing the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">short form</a>, I will place you on a list.<br />
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The lists are not random! <b>In order to best promote meeting new friends, I look at previous lists and mix them up.</b> The goal is that each list has 3-4 women who have participated before and 3-4 new friends!<br />
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You'll receive a list and then each week will write a short note to one woman on your list. Once you're signed up, <b>you will receive information on how to know who to write each week.</b> It's easy-peasy, I promise!<br />
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<b>Each week you'll write one card and receive one card. </b>The final step is to keep checking your mailbox for the goodness that will arrive each week!<br />
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Here's the thing: We all use our words in conversations and blog posts and tweets every day. We're already spending them somewhere, but there are times we each need a pick-me-up. We can use our words - our written words - for good.<br />
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It takes no more than five minutes to write a card. I typically pray over the card, include a word of encouragement, and select a verse to include inside. <b>It's a small way of building community, but these small steps have done big things.</b><br />
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But don't take my word for it - below you'll find comments from other woman who have participated in #fmfpartysnailmail (and more comments can be found on the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail page</a>).<br />
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Knowing someone thought of me to send just a quick note in the mail makes all the difference! <a href="http://redemptiondiary.com/" target="_blank">-Sarah Knepper</a></blockquote>
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I loved getting cards with Bible verses on them! I posted them in my kitchen as a way to memorize more of God's Word. <a href="http://onerebelheart.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">-Kim Adam</a></blockquote>
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There's something holy about hand-writing words of encouragement that, even though it may be what you'd toe in a comment box or something online, creates a certain type of bond with that person. Even though that person may or may not ever interact with you online, there's that one moment of connection in the reading and writing of those hand-crafted notes. <a href="http://myincredibleblessedlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">-Amy Krance-Wendt</a></blockquote>
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I loved getting to know the women a little better through the letters. I loved the increased personal connection I felt. I felt even more connections to the community by doing this. <a href="http://threebeesinabluebonnet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">-Rebekah Ellis</a></blockquote>
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The love and encouragement that arrived weekly in my mail box, a lot of times those letters were God-timed with words that I really needed to hear! <a href="http://stonetoheart.com/" target="_blank">-Tonya Salmons</a></blockquote>
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Are you ready to sign up? Girl, just go ahead and <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">click over here.</a> We're ready with open arms and blank notecards ready to be filled.</i></span></h2>
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I can't promise there will be a Round Four, but as long as you lovelies want to continue this I will keep on making spreadsheets and documents and sending out emails of lists.<br />
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This began in a tweet and look at what God has done! He has been all over this and has moved through it. I'll be the very first to stand up and say that I never saw the dream of community coming to my mail box, but I'm so glad it did - and that it does every week.<br />
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<b>The letters always show up right on time. I have no explanation for it but God.</b> There are countless tweets of women apologizing for letters going out a day or two late and always - every single time - the woman receiving the letter responds that it arrived exactly when she needed it.<br />
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<b>God can use something as small as a hand-written note.</b><br />
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He can and He does.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TYpEKm08H9Q/U50m0KQ_keI/AAAAAAAAC-s/hWBMXMGpE6I/s1600/fmfpartysnailmailcollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TYpEKm08H9Q/U50m0KQ_keI/AAAAAAAAC-s/hWBMXMGpE6I/s1600/fmfpartysnailmailcollage.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">#fmfpartysnailmail Instagram pictures</span></div>
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<i>*There are multiple new and super exciting things coming to #fmfpartysnailmail with Round Three. Think link-ups, devotions, and a big surprise for a special someone we all love. More information can be found on the <a href="http://onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com/p/fmfpartysnailmail.html" target="_blank">#fmfpartysnailmail page</a>. I can't wait to see how God continues to grow this community!*</i><br />
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If you have written a post about #fmfpartysnailmail, feel free to link up below!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Collage pictures used with permission from </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.anestfullofsquishers.com/" target="_blank">Andi Gould</a>, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://threebeesinabluebonnet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rebekah Ellis</a>, <a href="http://www.abidingloveaboundinggrace.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Karrilee Aggett</a>, and <a href="http://amypboydspeaks.com/about/" target="_blank">Amy Boyd</a>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851719810947941530noreply@blogger.com0