Fruitful Friday

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22
 
Fruits of the Spirit are evidences of God's Spirit in you. If someone were to look at our lives today, would we mirror these fruits evident of Christ in our lives?
 
Do we love the way Christ loves?
 
Do we have joy, no matter our circumstances (my battle today would be getting caught in the rain and a fender-bender)...can I continue to be joyful that everyone is unharmed and not focus on a bumped up fender?
 
Do we show people our patience when we've run out? Our kindness and self-control with our tongues?
 
Are we faithful to Christ even among the obstacles put in our path?
 
Are we gentle, and filled with goodness to people when relationships conflict?
 
Just some "Fruit for thought" on this fabulous Friday!

Ok so a carrot is not a fruit, but you can't tell me this picture is not adorable!

Clammy Hands....

We have exciting news--we have a new addition to our family! Ok so don't get too excited--we have a new clam for our fish tank (; I'm pretty sure we will call him Clammy. This is what he looked like when we went to put him in the tank: 

I couldn't help but think how much we as humans on this earth are much like this little teeny clam placed in a (currently) perfectly balanced ecosystem. We have hard outer shells, battered and bruised by the dangers of the world that want to harm us, emotionally and physically. We have something beautiful inside that needs to burst out, but we are covered in darkness and shadows that cause us to close up and keep to ourselves. 

Then we are placed on a rock--a solid rock where we can stand firm, and the light is shown upon us and something beautiful and supernatural happens....we let down our walls. We open up to people, we let our true beauty shine:

In Clammy's life, it needs artificial light and a stable rocks to survive and thrive. In our lives, we too need The Solid Rock to put our faith in and the Light of the World to allow our brilliance to show and give others a glimpse of the majesty of our Creator. 

He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Now, you didn't know such a pretty little blue clam could be full of such profound meaning, did you ( ;

But the Greatest of these is Love....

I love you, O LORD, my strength. - Psalm 18:1

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:13

That has to be my favorite part of the 1st Corinthians verse that you have heard time and time again. After the traditional " Love is patient, love is kind" portion, God has big words for us..."the GREATEST of these is Love."  Of course there is faith and hope, but without love, we would be lost. We would not have the endurance for faith, we would not have the strength for hope, without love.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

So whether you are single today, or dating a new crush, or falling in love. Or whether you are married today, and daily falling in love with your spouse, remember that we are loved eternally. This type of love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. You will never be alone with this type of love!

HAPPY LOVE DAY!

All you who are weary and burdened...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I just wanted to post a verse of encouragement, because I know there are a few people out there who need it today.  God allows there to be crises, stress, hurt, and stumbling blocks in each of our lives to teach us lessons-- and to teach us to come to Him and fall into His arms when we are weary and burdened.  May those who need it today find solace in His arms...

I also wanted to let you know about a new feature on my blog.

Look to the RIGHT and you will see a space that says “SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MCWONDERFUL LIFE BY EMAIL” then enter your email and the secret code, and every time I post a new blog post, it will go straight to your email! Pretty fantastic, huh?

Wonderful Wednesday...In Moderation

 “Everything is permissible’---but not everything is beneficial” 1 Corinthians 10:23

So I am “eating up” (pun intended) Lysa Terkeurst’s book Made to Crave , and the awesome challenges she has within to really focus on what we are Craving in our lives.

Why do we crave things? Well I know when I see something I crave, it fills me with warmth and happiness, much like this picture my friend sent me today from her honeymoon:

Granted I know this mystical magical Caribbean feeling I get is not from the Lord, but more similar to the beautiful lies of the serpent in the garden. But if you could just imagine yourself in this place, right now, you would know how I feel when I see a gorgeous pair of shoes, or something fabulous on the shelves at Target, or an entire bowl of Rotel dip in my house. Now, these things are not bad—and as the 1 Corinthians verse points out they are all permissible, but not always beneficial.

So—I am working on moderation. Instead of eating an entire bowl of Rotel, I will recite this verse in my head and have a few bites. Instead of going shopping every week, I will limit myself to once or twice a month..ok maybe 3 times (: I want to crave Him, the only one who can satisfy forever, instead of the fleeting joy provided by momentary Caribbean feelings.

So, this might seem counter intuitive, but as I said I am working on moderation. I will rejoice over my moderate shopping scores!! My shopping indulgence this month has been from my ever favorite Shoedazzle.com (thank you Kim Kardashian for your equal obsession of shoes and disinterest in paying high prices.)

This fabulous red pump also supports the American Heart Association’s American Heart Month for the low, low price of $39.99.

So I will rejoice over my fabulous new shoes-but Lord, I DO promise not to crave them more than you!

Tasty Tuesday

Don't you just love that it's not just plain ol' Tuesday? Yes, I think every weekday should have a special name, especially one featuring alliteration.

So I recently ordered Lysa Terkeurst's new book Made to Crave, that all of the rage has been about, and I opened the book today to begin reading.

And I have to say it's page TWO and I already love her sense of humor!! Here is my first favorite excerpt about why she doesn't love dieting...

"I am not bouncy perky about giving up two of the greatest delights of my taste buds-Cheeze-Its and box-mix brownies. In fact, I've even asked God if it would be such a terrible difficult thing to swap the molecular structure of Cheese-Its for carrot sticks. They're both already orange. And, really, how hard could that be for someone who's turned water into wine?"

Then, she goes on to explain the passion behind her book:
"God made us capable of craving so we'd have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone."

LOVE it already. Stay tuned for more fabulous excerpts (: