Today’s Devotional

Joceline's Posts, Uncategorized, {Life}

{Life} Real Life. 

UYM

Written By: Joceline Sweeney

Since January of 2009, I have taken one picture a day, totalling 2,555 photos on record, give or take a few for leap years!  That’s seven years of intentional photographs.  This may not be a lot compared to some, but this is different and you’ll see why.  This isn’t an original idea of mine; when I heard about it, I jumped in with both feet and haven’t stopped since.  I never realized that this would actually be perspective changing and truly something my heart had been missing.

Many families, mine included, have album after album of photos documenting the amazing things we have done so far in our lifetimes.  Wonderful vacations, extravagant parties, plays our kids and families have been in, the list of highlights could go on, but I didn’t even realize until I started these special albums that my heart had been longing for something more… real.  I would often tell my girls about our early days of married life and memories only I could describe with words as, unfortunately, many pictures had not been taken.  There are some shots of events that may have happened in our first home but none focusing on the details that made it our home.  Silly as this may sound, I wished I had gotten a photo of our first set of drinking glasses as they were something I had registered for and loved.  They were the prettiest glasses I had ever seen and it brought me such joy to place them on our little table, in our first home together as Mr. & Mrs.  The details, the ins and outs, are what I wished I had more memory of.

As we now look back through these intentional albums, they are of every season that our family has walked through thus far, since 2009.  Some of them are of joyful, abundant times, and some are so difficult they can still bring us to tears.

From a picture of the news cast that announced the company my husband works for had gone bankrupt…to a picture months later of his lunch box, because he was called back to work.

From a picture of beautiful flowers my husband had given me for a special occasion… to a picture of flowers at my grandmother’s funeral.

From a picture of my daughter Kerrington at her first speaking engagement… to a picture of her so sick yet again in the emergency room with no answers.

From a picture of my husband in his new uniform as a fire captain…to a picture of him wearing that same uniform to bury a “brother” of his.

Ecclesiastes 3:3-8

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;  

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Although we do enjoy the many, many albums of just the highlights, our favourites to look through are the real, sometimes raw, albums of our lives in every season.  These are the ones that remind us of God’s faithfulness day after day, season after season, year after year.

Perhaps you too need to start “taking a picture a day” of the details in your life, just as I did.  Noticing God’s faithfulness in the everyday, in every season and for the many years to come.

Until Next Time,
~Joceline

 

Taylor's Posts, Uncategorized, {Faith}

{Faith} Faith in Uncertainty

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faith-black-white

Written By: Taylor Fast

It is easy to have faith in God when things are going well.  We know God has our back and we are pretty happy with the plan that is put out in front of our lives- faith is easy!  What about having faith in times of uncertainty?  Do you have faith God will be your guide?  Do you remain faithful to God in these times of uncertainty?

I feel like as you enter into the twenty something years of life, there are MANY things that are uncertain.  What school do you want to go to?  What are you going to do for a career?  Who are you going to marrying?  Where are you going to live?  How do you pay for all these things?  (Okay, I’m stressing myself out!)  In my life, graduation from the masters program I am in is right around the corner.  This uncertainty of finally being done school and transitioning into finding a job, and starting my career, is a bit scary!  This is a new role in my life, and change can stress anyone out!

This moment reminds me of walking into a tunnel, it’s dark, you can only see a bit in front of you- but there is someone holding your hand guiding the way.  God is our guide!  Though we may not be able to see much of the pathway, and the pathway can be quite scary at times, our God is always faithful and He will always guide us to safety.

When life gets scary, exciting, or is staying consistent, acknowledge God.  He is with you!  Sometimes it is hard to know if God is listening or cares about what you are going through.  This is when it is time to dig into His Word.  The scriptures show time and time again how God never left His people, and how those words are still true today.

God is always faithful; make sure you continue to be faithful to Him.  The world is sinful and full of uncertainty, but we have a strong God to lean on through all of our problems, one who we can call Father.  Some of our worldly fathers may not be faithful, but our Heavenly Father will never fail you.  Stay strong through your uncertainty today; God is guiding you.

Until Next Time,
~Taylor

 

Amie, Uncategorized, {Beauty}

{Beauty} A Beautiful Ripple. 

UYM

Written By: Amie Comber

  

It was a windy day.  The kind of day that’s sprinkled with sunshine and puffy clouds that look like boats jumping along the horizon line.  I was in line in a busy café waiting for some coffee and delectable, yet overpriced, dessert.  As I looked up, some bubbly lady caught my attention.  Her eyes held mine and we exchanged smiles.  She came right up to me, gave me a small hug and told me that I had the most beautiful smile she had seen, then she left to go onto whatever her day had in front of her.  It was so simple.  It took almost no effort.  Yet that simple interaction has stuck with me since the day it happened over 10 months ago.  I remember my heart feeling so light, and my smile burst forth to a few more people than normal that day because I felt so beautiful and noticed.

Often, I think of beauty as something that I want to achieve.  Beauty is a personal adjective that I strive for outwardly, inwardly, and all around.  Striving to be beautiful through a joyful complexion, gracefulness, kindness, and in my heart are not bad pursuits whatsoever.  Today, sweet girl, I would like you to try something new.  I want you to temporarily set aside your thoughts of personal beauty and focus that energy on how you could make someone around you feel beautiful.  How can you pass along beauty to another sweet soul?  What small gesture or words of affirmation can be hand-picked and lovingly delivered to change someone’s day, just like that lady changed mine.

I think of the phrase, “a beautiful ripple.”  When I cast a stone into a sparkling pond it plops through the surface of the water and gurgles to the sand waiting to catch it at the bottom.  I don’t see how far it sinks down, but I do see the affect of that stone upon the surface.  Let’s say that your efforts to help another young lady feel beautiful represent that stone.  It may sink a foot deep into a pond, or it may travel the depths of the ocean into her heart.  But no matter how deep that act of kindness sinks into someone’s heart, there is always a ripple on the surface.  Whether it’s a small one like a simple smile and a thank you, or if she in turn goes to 5 other ladies to pass along the kindness… you are starting something.  You are starting “a beautiful ripple.”

There were many beautiful ladies in that café that day.  Looking back, I thought the bubbly lady was the most beautiful because she was brave enough to cast her stone.  She didn’t know where it would land, and she didn’t know how I would receive it.  Her stone sank so deep into my heart and I’ve treasured it, and her ripple is still going as this blog post is now rippling it’s way to you.  Your beauty shines the most when you make those around you feel beautiful.

Until next time,

~Amie

P.S. Feel free to comment below a story of how someone took the time to make you feel beautiful, and the ripple that became of it. xoxo

Lanissa's Posts, Uncategorized

{Becoming} Embracing YOU!

UYM

Written By: Lanissa Reale

Hi UYM community!  I am so thrilled to have joined your community as a monthly writer!  My name is Lanissa and I am a 20 something with a ministry, based in sunny Florida, called Becoming Ministries.  It is an online Ministry specifically intended to celebrate and empower the teen-20 something gal to get comfortable in her own skin AND buy into the process that God has in store for her!

During this “young woman” stage of life, we gals go through tons of transitions, a lot of decision making and maybe even a little identity searching- and I want to make sure that teen-20-something girls have a safe place where they can go to learn how to truly Become the woman that God created them to be, THROUGHOUT this young woman stage of life!

Are you ready to begin your journey of Becoming the woman God created you to be as a teen-20-something girl?  How do you even begin a journey like that?!  Well, my dear girl, I want to start my first 3 posts unravelling just that!  Welcome to our first series together: Beginning Our Becoming!

 

Part1EmbracingYou

‘Beginning Your Becoming’ Series: Part 1– Embracing YOU 

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes us, he had His eye on us and had designs on us for glorious living. Ephesians 1:11

I love stories in scripture where God pulls up someone who is down in the trenches because of what they perceive themselves to be or what others tell them they are, and speaks freeing truth over them.  When society condemned her, Christ healed the woman with the issue of blood.  When brothers ignored him, Christ proclaimed purpose over the man who was blind from birth.  And to the people who didn’t fit the status quo- He chose them to be His inherited children!

You see, sweet friend, we’re not the same you and I.  We are all made with uniqueness, something(s) that are woven into our DNA were created just for us.  And especially as young women going through a season of life full of demands, transitions and people’s opinions- we can choose quite easily to not celebrate who we are.  Sometimes on purpose and sometimes not.  Sometimes we compare ourselves, but sometimes we just get so overwhelmed that we forget we were created for such a time as this.  Sometimes we begin to judge others, and sometimes we simply just get sick and tired of not knowing who we truly are.  And as much as we may try to move forward, true growth will never happen until we learn how to celebrate ourselves and embrace who we are.

The first step in beginning this process of Becoming is to learn how to embrace the parts that we like and understand about ourselves, and embrace the parts that we aren’t quite sure why they are there but we know that they are present.  Because the truth is that God has a purpose for each of them, and we won’t begin to experience that purpose until we take ownership of who we are.  You may have a disease, you may have a broken family, you may have low self- confidence.  Or maybe you know who you are but are surrounded by people who don’t agree with your calling or decisions… WHATEVER the case may be for you.. it’s time to stand up for the woman God created you to be.

You are you for a reason.  And all of the beautiful, messy parts that make up who you are… are there for a purpose.  A purpose that is good and far beyond anything we could ever imagine.  And the only person standing in the way of us experiencing that person is us.  It’s time to start embracing, us.

YOU, with all your pain and past misjudgments are created for a purpose.

YOU, are truly beautiful behind all of the new fashion trends and makeup styles. (You are #onfleek)

YOU, are not defined by your circumstances or what others say about you.

YOU, are valuable inside and out because of who made you- The Lord!

YOU, do have a future that fulfills all of your deepest desires in store for you.

AND YOU, are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.

We embrace who we are (messy, beautiful and in process) and allow ourselves to celebrate our uniqueness when we acknowledge what we’ve been given yet at the same time focus our eyes not on ourselves, but on HIM.  Because He knows our inward parts greater than we ever could, He moulded them together.  He knows who we were created to be, and He is determined to lead us there.  HE knew what He was doing when He made us.  And so the only secure confidence that we could ever have is found in Him.

I’m not you.  I’m me.  But the God that created BOTH of us- is the same.  And He is good!   And so I can say with complete confidence, that you were made GREATLY.  I may not understand why, and I may not be confident yet…but I know because I am Him.  I am made well.  🙂

Until next time, ~ Lanissa Reale (lanissareale.wordpress.com)

 

 

 

Guest-Writers

{Marriage Week} Love Your Husband. 

UYM

Written By: Trudi Gummelt

Have you ever looked to your husband to resolve an issue on your behalf?  You overextended your schedule, and now he has no dinner.  Pretty soon, his underwear is all wadded up in the hamper, bringing an odor I imagine would accompany Satan.

Ah yes – well, that makes sense.  There’s the devil himself, bringing all kinds of strife, and frustration.

As for you?  I think we both know your husband is right, and you should have been a more judicious planner of the schedule.

Did I say ‘you’ should have been?  Ahem!  So sorry….I meant me – I should have kept close watch on those infringers of time.

Truth be told, my husband is INCREDIBLE at picking up the slack for me.  I believe wholeheartedly that if I were to do a simple thing like, oh, I don’t know, communicate with him, the frustration level would all but disappear.  I am a reasonable person – reasonably speaking, of course.  If I make a commitment to discuss the unfortunate wrong turns down FRANTIC Lane, I will be painfully aware of how often I must have that conversation, which should have the effect of minimizing the originating problem. I pray this is so, anyway.

But, I want to talk for a moment about more far-reaching consequences to our actions of influencing our husbands.  These men are the ones gifted to us, to lead us like God does – NOT into temptation.

In Genesis 16, Sarai (later this would change to Sarah) complained to Abram (Abraham) about her lack of power to conceive children.  Keep in mind that God promised the two of them that their offspring would be innumerable.  But, dang it, that was years ago.  Good grief, how long is one expected to wait for a promise to come to pass?

“Look, husband. God has prevented me from conceiving. Here. Sleep with my handmaiden.”

It was a common practice in that day.  Let us not jump all over the trippy way she wanted to handle this conundrum.  And Abram most certainly should have stood up to her and refused this breach of trust of the Lord.  How do you suppose you would have treated him if he said no?

“Don’t you even think about looking at me for the next thousand years, mister!  Oh, you want dinner?  Well, there’s the slingshot.  Go out and find your dinner, mister ‘let’s-trust-God’.”

Bless their hearts, and bless our hearts.  We all lack a little in the trust department, especially in certain areas of our lives.  She knew God had prevented her, but she asked Abram to solve the problem.

Ever had a solution actually bring problems….like, PROBLEMS?!

I encourage you to get that Bible out and read the rest of the story of Abram and Sarai, because God blessed them anyway.  They had to deal with intense strife from that moment on, even nations of people were – still are – at odds with each other.

Can you imagine?  You ask your husband to solve a problem for you that only God can; he is tempted.  He cannot watch you be so miserable, so he does that very thing you ask him to do.  What does that look like in your children as they grow up?  And how do they raise their children?

My excursion down this trail came because of my longing to quit my job for many years.  I had a growing desire to pursue dreams and passions.  I did not want to work at a job that required me to put a sock in my mouth, or had too much control over my life.  At times, I actually pouted about not being able to leave there.

My problem was with God.  And I knew it.  He said it wasn’t time.  I wanted it to be time.  Therefore, I was unhappy, and my husband hated that I was unhappy.  He was tempted on more than one occasion to tell me it was okay to quit the job.

What would that have done?  Well, I know what it is doing now, now that I HAVE left that job at the right time.  It is still a huge leap of faith.  But my husband and I have never fought about money (he refuses to), and to rush God’s plan would have brought the stink of the devil in to my marriage.

If you want another story in the Bible of a wife who let her desire cause stumbling in her husband, take a look at Genesis 3, and Adam and Eve.  That’s a sobering thing.

Our men are like our houses.  If we take care of the house, it will shield us well from the rains and winds, and scorching sun.  But, if we are not careful, it would be like we are throwing eggs, and hand grenades, and rocks at the bricks and windows.  Now what are we gonna do when the storms come?  Let us love our husbands so much that we refuse to let our desires interfere with their leading.  God can take up our causes with our men.  Seriously, we are already going to deal with conflict and strife…why in the world should I add more?

About Trudi: 

  

Trudi currently lives in the DFW area, pursuing her dream of writing and speaking on topics to inspire and reignite passion in the hearts of the people. She worked in the dermatology field for eighteen years before starting her own business, which has allowed her the freedom and flexibility to live on mission. She met her husband more than twenty years ago, and he has been a true man of honor and faithfulness. They have a son, Stephen, who lives in Fayetteville Arkansas. Trudi is very involved in We Are Cherished (www.WeAreCherished.com) which is a ministry that reaches out to women in – or out of – the sex industry. She also loves to sing, to read, and to have coffee or tea with friends – not necessarily in that order. http://www.ThoughtsReflectionsAndRevelations.com

Guest-Writers

{Marriage Week} The Dirt on Marriage! 

UYM

Written By: Heather Paton

Now that I have your attention, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!  Let’s be real, marriage is NO joke and is definitely not easy!!  Marriage involves the good, the bad and the ugly.  Seriously, did you think your spouse would look like that in the morning?  All joking aside, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being married.  When we first got married I remember thinking, “Who said marriage was a gift?  A gift!!  Really?!  What kind of sick joke was this?  If this was a gift then I wanted a FULL refund!”  This was NOT what I ordered, and definitely not what I signed up for.  Only to realize this waaaas what I ordered, and this waaaas what I signed up for.

Not only did I sign up for it, but I also made a covenant, not only with this man, but before Almighty God.  I declared to my friends, family and the world that I would love, honour and cherish him.  Do you remember declaring those words too?  The ones you so boldly recited?  I can almost hear them now… I, HEATHER, take you, Jamie, to be my husband.  For better, for worse, rich or poor, in sickness and in health..shallowly focusing on the “better”, the “rich” and the “healthy” portions of my vows and quickly skimming over the thoughts of the worse, the poor and the sick.  After all we were going to live on love and nothing could touch us, right?!

This man, the one I stood and declared my love for, the one I smiled from ear to ear when he asked me to marry him….was the very one I wished would walk out, would walk away.  My life would be better, right?  I could do it better on my own, couldn’t I?  We battled, oh did we battle.  I still remember the day I had spaghetti thrown at me, and the day I was so mad I locked him in the garage…for a long period of time.  I remember him pounding on the interior door and me leaning against it laughing, thinking “I won this round pal!”  Yes, we battled…and battled hard about nothing significant, nothing really worth battling over.  We are the all or nothing type of couple.  Gloves off, let’s see whose will is stronger.

Come on, here’s another scenario you may be familiar with…No you shut the lights off, no you shut the lights off…only to both be in bed with the overhead light blazing your face all hours of the night because neither one of you would humble yourselves and shut the light off.  Hogging the covers?  Oh wow, now you’ve really done it… only to rip them off and throw them over the banister to the level below and shivering all night because you wouldn’t cave and go get them.  Looking back now I see neither one of us won… we both lost big time.  We were both stubborn and to be honest very selfish… after all why should I have to unload the dishwasher…oh the audacity!!  Change the baby??!!  Are you serious?  Can’t you?!  After all you’re just sitting there, I know I’m just sitting here too, but I’ve been with the children all day while you were at work!

Come on, while you’re reading this, it seems so immature… but it happens all the time.  Couples battling over the stupidest things, sacrificing the closeness and intimacies of marriage over childish things.  We witness in marriages all the time.  Watching those who have desired, prayed and cried out for spouses, now cuss and lose complete control over a 60 second diaper change.  Oh God help us…. open our eyes to see the big picture and not focus on our blessings as inconveniences.  Help us to see you’ve blessed us helpmates and not prison mates.

We had so much to learn, and so much to gain…if we would just die to self.  Could we?  Would we?  People ask us all the time for marriage advice and for counsel.  The answer we give them is this… Get closer to Jesus.  Pursue the Lord.  Some stare at us, wanting a magic pill or 3 step program and solution, but honestly that’s what we did.  We never had marriage counselling… even though we were prime candidates for it on many levels.  Literally, the closer and more serious we became about The Lord, the tighter knit we became.  We fell in love with Jesus and it caused us to fall in love with one another in a way we never thought possible.  The more we laid our lives down for one another, the stronger our relationship became.  We soon realized we weren’t enemies, but we were on the same team.  Team Paton, contending for the same things, the promises God spoke over our marriage and family.  We realized there was a major war on marriages, and that if we allowed it … ours would quickly become another statistic instead of a force to be reckoned with.

My marriage advice… Pursue the Lord with ALL your heart, He’s the only one that can and will ever completely fulfill you.  He’s the only one that will never let you down.  He will lead, guide and protect you when you live under His covering.  Love and cherish your spouse, I mean OOZE love…Go out of your way to serve them…they are YOUR helpmate.  Speak reaffirming words over them and watch your marriage radically transform.  Aim for selflessness not selfishness and watch how the resentment turns to joy.  Marriage is one of the oldest covenants between God and man.  Two people becoming one flesh.  The Word says what God has joined together let no man separate.  You’ve got to determine in your heart that giving up isn’t an option.  Marriage is not 50/50, but 100/100.  Don’t wait for your spouse to start…YOU start.  Don’t allow the enemy to get a foothold in your marriage and if he has one… take authority over it, and pray!

NOTHING is impossible with God!!  Believe that He who began a good work in you WILL complete it!  I’m not saying each day will be easy…I”m saying each day and each trial will be worth it when you come out the other side knowing you made it!

I encourage you to …Seek the Lord with all your heart.  Be selfless and learn to serve your spouse.  BE FUN TO LIVE WITH!  Cover your spouses weaknesses… if you won’t love, encourage, help and protect him, who will? Spice things up!

Whistle and wink when he walks in the room.

Plant a big wet kiss on him and gross your children out!

Pray with him and for him.

Go out for dinner… spend some money!!

Write a note and stick it on the bathroom mirror for him to see when he wakes up.

Throw a cup of freezing cold water on him while he’s singing in the shower….(remember be fun to live with).

Ask him what God’s saying to him or showing him.

Leave a gift card for his favourite coffee shop on his steering wheel so he can grab a treat on his way to work.

Throw out those nasty jogs he despises and invest in some fun lounge wear.

Text him mid day and let him know you’re thinking about him.

Text him a verse that came to mind when you were praying for him..( I don’t recommend, “Get thee behind me satan!”.)

Have sex… God created it, and it is GOOD!

Don’t compare your marriage to anyone else’s…our paths and journey’s are all so different.  Find the uniqueness and beauty in yours!

About Heather:

  
Heather Paton is a passionate woman who loves The Lord and desires nothing more than to see His name made famous and for the captives to be set free.  She is married to a one of kind running mate and together they have been blessed with five awesome & diverse children.  Her favourite time of day is dinner time, her family is a loud and funny crew and they make many great memories from being in each other’s company around the table in that short time.  Heather and Her Husband Jamie, pastored for 13 years and planted an inner city church, The Sanctuary in London Ontario 5 years ago.  Heather has a heart for youth, Rwanda, the Arctic.  Her heart passionately beats for the lost and outcasts of society. She loves to teach, preach and disciple women who desire to see God radically change their lives.  Heather is intense yet gentle….. And desires women everywhere to be ALL God has created them to BE!! YOU CAN DO IT!!

Guest-Writers, Marnie's Posts

{Marriage Week} Choose Love.

UYM

Written By: Marnie Pouget

This is truth.

  
When you get past the “falling in love” feeling.  When one of you has morning breath bad enough to knock out your favourite pet.  When fever and vomiting hit hard.  When the bathroom smells like a rodent died in there.  When the sense of humour you thought was hilarious when you dated is just plain old…..and annoying.

When the sarcasm and wit hit too close to home and cut to the core.  When liking each other seems impossible.

Choose to love.

A young woman told me that she only wanted to marry someone with whom she would have those “in love” feelings forever.  If she “fell out of love”, she would leave.

I was saddened by this.  She would not hear my reasoning.  She has set herself up for a lifetime of disappointment and relationships that don’t last.

The reality is that love is a choice.

When he is at his worst, I choose to love my husband.  I choose to be attracted to him.  I choose to keep my desires for him.  I choose to respond with kind words and compassion.  I choose to keep lines of communication open (and since I am a selfish human being – sometimes I don’t and boy, are those times lousy and not worth the lack of investment – time filled with regret that needs to be followed by repentance and renewal).

How thankful I am that my beloved does the same for me.  Believe it or not, there are days that I am not very lovable.  I am critical and unkind.  I am thoughtless and self-centred.  I have lazy days when I fail to shower and I am sure I do not always smell like roses.  I know in those moments that he is not instinctively thinking about how amazingly beautiful I am and how lucky he is to have captured my attention and won my heart.

But he chooses to think these things.

Love isn’t about how you feel.  It is a commitment to put another as a priority in your life, to care for and to prefer.  1 Corinthians 13 gives a wonderful description of perfect love.  We can strive for this and we will never love perfectly.  But we can love.  We can choose love.  We can grow in love.  Deep, lasting, enduring love.

We can also choose to feel love – the fluttery, starry eyed sweetness of new, “young” love.

I have an enduring friendship with my husband.  We have weathered storms and our love is deeper and stronger than it was the day we married.  Even still, I choose to react to him with the same thrill that I had when we began.

He still makes my eyes shine, I feel warm and safe when he holds my hand and my heart still quickens at his kiss.

I choose to love and to “be in love” and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

About Marnie: 

Marnie has had a desire to be a positive influence in the lives young women. Discipleship is an important aspect of the Great Commission that is often overlooked. There were women throughout Marnie’s life that took time to invest in her spiritual growth, teaching and encouraging her. She now follows their example by intentionally investing in the lives of other young women.

Marnie is a mom of five children and has been married to her best friend for almost 20 years. She has a love for reading and photography and is passionate about the ministry of Bair Lake Bible Camp. She blogs irregularly at http://thelittlehilllife.blogspot.ca/.

Kerrington's Posts, {Life}

{Life} Be. 

UYM

Written By: Kerrington Sweeney
For the past 3 years, I have chosen a word of the year.  It has been such an incredible experience to watch each word truly come to life, as I have journeyed through each year.  For 2016, I was struggling in a sense of choosing my word.  As I was wrapping up, what was an emotionally messy year of 2015, I began praying and petitioning God, what my word was to be for 2016.

After much prayer, tears, and a ready heart to move forward, my word was birthed directly unto my very soul.  I felt ready now, to conquer a new year of battles, trials and circumstances with a new strength and greater faith.  My word for 2016 is….

Be. 

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Why in the world would she pick the word ‘Be’?!?” It’s not inspirational, it’s not something that will push her forward with encouragement to press on, it’s not even that nice of a word.  I mean, it’s just a plain old verb.

Well readers, let me share with you…Why it is, that my word is “Be.”  The definition of Be, on the online dictionary is this — to exist. occur or take place.

Psalm 37:7 says…“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently.” 

This verse, reminds us to Be still.  And like this verse in 2016, my desire for the year is to simply stop and be.  Be happy.  Be focused.  Be present.  Be real.  Be ready.  Be.  To be in the moments, where the world says it’s hopeless, my desire is to be hope.  To be in the places, where everyone says she’s just unlovable, my desire is to be love.  To be with the people everyone would classify as ‘misfits’ and ostracize, my desire is to be a friend.

My desire is to….Be.

In conclusion for today, let’s pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank you for the opportunity of seeing words truly come to life in our busy everyday lives.  Thank you, for being the creator of good things in us.  I come to you, with a full, grateful heart…seeing your creativity flow through me and friends is a wonderful sight to see.  I pray that each reader of this post would be reminded that even in this crazy fast-paced culture we abide in, to simply stop and just be.  I pray this all in your precious name, Jesus! Amen!!!

So readers, friends and family…take up the challenge.  Pick a word of the year and see it truly come to life, right before your very eyes.  Bless you!

Until Next Time,

~Kerrington

Guest-Writers

{Marriage Week} Lovely Dreams & Logical Decisions. 

UYM

Written By: Mary-Lyn Vandolder

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in her fairy-tales. She dreamed of her Prince Charming, of sun dappled rides on unicorns past towering towers and through melodious meadows, of evil curses broken with true love’s perfect kiss. As a small child, she would spend hours drawing pictures of her wedding dress while dreaming of a grand ball where her Prince would take one look at her and sweep her off her feet, out of her everyday life as fireworks flashed and angelic choirs sang. As she grew she’d imagine the romantic words of poetry and passion that her true love would endearingly whisper as he poured out his heart; a heart that beat only for her.

Real life was often difficult and scary and the girl would withdraw into her fairy-tales for comfort; clinging to her childhood dreams like a security blanket. As so often happens to childish dreams, reality simply couldn’t measure up. No man could. No real romance. But still this now young woman held out hope for her Prince Charming.

When I met James it wasn’t anything like I’d imagined. He seemed nice but not very exciting. The good friend of a new friend. There weren’t any of the fireworks I’d believed would suddenly shoot into the sky announcing my one true love. No breathless gazing into each other’s eyes knowing in our hearts we were meant for each other, before we even knew each other’s names. Over the next year we developed a good friendship which developed into love. A love that once sparked, grew quickly into a blaze. A woman head over heels in love, I was still dreaming of romance and flowery prose, so one night during our engagement I asked James why he loved me. What I wanted to hear was a litany of praises to my beauty, my goodness, my many virtues. Instead I heard the words, “Because I decided too.” I was so angry! Because he decided too!! What is romantic about that?! Love is supposed to be a euphoric FEELING not a DECISION!

It didn’t take long for me to realize what an incredible gift he had given to me that night. Romance and pretty prose are great for a moment, but they aren’t something you can build a life on. Falling in love is a wonderful feeling, but staying in love takes commitment. In ‘deciding’ to love me, James was making a decision, a commitment, to love me when I wasn’t lovely, when I lost my temper, made dumb decisions with our money, when I no longer looked like the young woman he’d fallen in love with, when I suffered with chronic illness for years, when I didn’t love myself or anyone else. He was deciding to love me and stand by me for the rest of our lives. Feelings may change, but a decision made and honoured stands. Please understand, feelings are definitely a part of it. They start the process if you will. The decision comes in deciding to honour and grow the feeling or let it fade.

Three times in Song of Solomon (2:7, 3:5, 8:4) the Bible says

“I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.”

James understood that he was responsible for what he did with his feelings. Loving me was a decision that followed a feeling.

The fairy-tales never talked about whether Prince Charming rubbed Cinderella’s back when morning sickness kept her bent over their porcelain throne. Or about Prince Erik’s reaction when his Princess wrinkled the new chariot. Or how the king responded when he learned the miller’s daughter not only couldn’t spin straw into gold but that she made some bad decisions that cost gold instead. When the evil stepmother tried to destroy his bride did the King stand by her or cast her out? Fairy-tales are just that, fairy-tales. Loving this amazing man I married has taught me so much. He’s not perfect but none of us are. Through his love and behaviour I have come to a greater understanding of God’s love for us. God made a decision before He had even formed this earth that He would create us and love us no matter what. Regardless of our actions, He loves us. When we grieve His heart, He still loves us because He doesn’t change.

In less than 2 months James and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. I am still in awe that God brought this incredible man into my life and that he made the decision to love me. The decisions that we have made regarding our commitment to each other has meant that although hard times have come, we, and our marriage, have become stronger. We aren’t fairy-tale characters, we are imperfect people living in the real world. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. ❤
About Mary-Lyn:


Mary-Lyn Vandolder is a wife, who, after almost 25 yrs, still goes weak in the knees in her husband’s arms, a proud mother of 3 amazing children, Jenna, Faith and Adam, and mother-in-law of Nathan, and, most importantly, Child of the King. A stay-at-home mom who never quite learned how to stay at home, she and her husband, James, have been active in their church in many capacities, from leadership to church maintenance. Mary-Lyn has a passionate heart to see young women who have had difficult pasts find freedom and healing in Christ. She loves volunteering at the Windsor Life Centre and seeing women set free from addictions, in addition to mentoring young women on a one-on-one basis. With God in her life, her childhood dreams have expanded and, still an avid dreamer, she is excited every time she can help a wounded soul learn to dream again. As a Doula, she also counts it an honour to minister to pregnant women and assist with the miracle of new lives. She has witnessed numerous miracles and much healing in her life and lives to see the same in others!

Kerrington's Posts, {Beauty}, {Faith}, {Life}, {Love}, {Worth}

The Authentic Community 

UYM

Hey UYM Friends!! Lots of fun and sweet fellowship happening over at The Authentic Community Face-book group! We’d love to have you join us! UYM Authentic Community was born to provide a beacon of hope for women who are desiring to live an Authentic Life dedicated to Jesus Christ. A place online where women, world-wide can receive support, prayer and encouragement on a daily basis. Come and stay awhile! 💙

  
See you there –> 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/423542331188838/
Until Next Time, 

~The Authentic Community Leadership Team