The 35 Day Challenge: Day 11 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 11 of 35

I read something that I thought was particularly interesting today....

'Opportunities of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.'

Let's not let BUT..... stand in the way of the lifetime of our opportunities.

Night,

Andrea

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 10 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 10 of 35

The Weight of OUR Responsibility

The thing about eliminating these BUTs out of our statements of faith is that when we remove the doubt from our own mind.....no matter what the situation.....we have more room to empower and encourage those that are in our world. Who is watching you everyday? What kind of person do they see? What if we ladies rise up and OWN our responsibility to pour into and empower a younger generation to have even fewer BUTs.

I love my students so very much. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of their lives. Everyday I see more of their beauty. More of their ability. More of their future. Today, I was reminded again....of one of the young girls that is watching my life. Listening to my statements. Who does she see? Here is a clip from her email...

There is such a weight in our actions. Our BUTs are evident in our lives....visually and audibly. After reading my students sweet and thoughtful email, I felt a reminder of that weight. If she sees me.....I want her to see HIM. How are my BUTs distorting that image? When we know more of HIM, we know more about who we are through HIM. Enjoy this song and may it encourage you tonight, where-ever you are.

Rest well and lets eliminate the BUTs in our faith.....to know HIM more......to be the women we want [her] to see.

Lots of Love,

Andi

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 9 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 9 of 35

You never know what surprise you might find in your mailbox.

Many times we call the rain before it begins......

Today, I received the most thoughtful surprise. A couple of my students had contacted one of my favorite artists, secretly, and invited him out to come to a birthday party they were planning on hosting for me. Although, my birthday is not until next month.....they contacted him back in November! Today, I went to my mailbox and found a handwritten note from CLAES OLDENBURG, apologizing and explaining that sadly he would not be able to make it. If you know anything about art, you know how mind-blowing this is! He included a photograph of one of his sculptures along with his signature. I was so touched I couldn't hold the tears back. How did a 12 year old figure out how to contact one of the world's leading artists and what 12 year old plans a surprise birthday party for their teacher months in advance? And I could not believe that Claes Oldenburg not only received their invitation, but wrote a letter himself.

The point of this story is that.....you just never know what you might find in your mailbox. Don't allow BUTs in your faith statements to detract from the beauty that is yet to come.....you just never know when you might be totally surprised. The best is yet to come and He will not only give you the desires of your heart, but more than you can ever ask or think.

Lots of Love & Good Night....

It's been a LONG day.

Andi

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 8 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 8 of 35

Are labels fueling our BUTs in regards to relationships with the opposite sex?

I'm currently reading a book called 'Love and Respect'. This book is actually written for married couples and I often give it as a gift to friends when I hear they are getting married. Although, I have heard the author and his wife speak, both live and on the radio. I have never read the book cover to cover. Occasionally, I'd pick it up in the book store and read a few pages here and there....but a couple weeks ago I bought it and decided to start reading! You see, I am a single woman....not in a relationship.....who has certainly had some interesting experiences to say the least. [I'm sure any woman reading this will laugh as at some point, even now perhaps....you can relate.] I see my current reading venture as research....preparation perhaps.....along with this blog, my fasting of coffee....which I so miss right now....and my determination to get rid of these BUTs in my statements of faith in regards to my love life. I figure, the more I work at improving areas in me, the more equipped I will be when the time comes.

Okay, so lets just get this out there in the open....MEN AND WOMEN ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VERY DIFFERENT! DUH! I'm sure you've gathered this already.....but one thing I find with my gender....OUR gender, is that typically we stereotype men into cliches based upon negative experiences we have had with them....or more commonly......due to misunderstandings we have with them. Believe me, there have been times where I have wanted to make some stereotypes myself. I swear sometimes I shake my head and think.....'Really, haven't I heard all the stupid things already?' Ie. 'I really like you, I just don't want to be in a relationship with you.' 'Your shoes are too American for me' 'You're like a porcelain doll on this high shelf, and I am not good enough for you' 'I find you so attractive, you just don't have any spark!' Please.....DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR ME.....JOIN ME IN THE LAUGHTER..... Cause you know what, laughing about it, is so much better than crying! Okay, naturally we might want to say things like....'Men are stupid' 'They just don't think' 'All guys only think about themselves' etc etc etc.... BUT LADIES.....STOP! NOT ALL GUYS ARE JERKS..... check out this video below.....then I'll continue on for a bit.

You see, no matter what experiences I have had nor what experiences you have had in relationships now or in the past.....NOT ALL MEN ARE STUPID! YES, THEY DO THINK......JUST NOT THE SAME WAY YOU AND I DO. I have felt this way for quite some time....but only now find myself in a season for practical implementation. Men do have feelings and they do get hurt and they do seek respect....like we women seek love. I was running last night with my uncle, whom I haven't seen in about 10 years. As we ran we chatted about life.....surface conversation mostly.....but men don't typically look for deep and meaning-fulls during the middle of a 3-4 mile run. My uncle briefly made a comment about a relationship he had once and for whatever reason it clicked! You see earlier in the day I have made a comment to someone that I was interested in that was little assuming. LADIES......we DO NOT THINK LIKE THEY THINK! SO.....we should assume nothing! Yes, women tend to be intuitive, but really sometimes.....things are better left for time to unfold. My comment earlier in the day was not rude or inappropriate....just not well placed or necessary. I shouldn't have even been thinking about it. As I ran with my uncle I thought about how much the 'good guys' do actually think. You see, most men.....don't want to make the wrong decision, just as much as us ladies do not want to make the wrong decision.....they just go about it and process it in a TOTALLY different way.....WAYS beyond stereotypes. I ended up apologizing for my comment I had made earlier in the day....because I realized it negated the very respect I am trying to show the male gender in my life.....this is good practice for my independent spirit....besides....I believe that we have a responsibility to build each other up.....and women and men get built up in different ways....so our communication HAS to change.

Now, how does all this relate to our BUTs in our statements of faith? You see when we generalize anything.......whether that be a gender or a situation......we tend to do it in our own defense, without respect or understanding. We feel that our feelings need validation, so we stick up for them ourselves with our words. Yet, it is doing nothing to further our faith. It actually adds to our BUTs! It weakens our faith. 

The moment we think we understand someone fully....we should realize we've never experienced their life through their own filter at all. Boxes in this realm are definitely not 'one size fits all'

Good Night my friend.....good bye BUTs!
Andi

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 7 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 7 of 35
Perspective....

Today, I am in Buckeye, AZ. I had the opportunity to spend part of my evening running with my Uncle....I'm absolutely exhausted from a day of travel, running, and future work planning......the only thing I can think about now as I lay here watching TV is keep things in perspective.

Good Night.

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 6 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 6 of 35

How badly do you want it? 

Whew! What a Saturday! Definitely a little busier than most. I love how God is teaching me things through this 35 Day Commitment.....I think my eyes are even more open than normal. I could write on so many things.....but I think I'll just touch on two tonight.....one I saw in a 11 year old girl.....the other I was reminded of while on my drive home from an evening tea. 

Tonight, I called in an extra practice for my 6th grade girls' basketball team. Not manditory, but on a long weekend....and a Saturday night....I had 8 girls show up to practice from 5pm - 6.30pm. These 11 year olds are blowing me away!!! It is currently my goal in life to be the world's greatest coach for them :). Tonight, we were locked out of our gym....but that certainly wasn't about to mess up our practice! So, I told the girls, well....you know what's always open...THE TRACK! We ran the better part of a mile!!! Remember they are about 4 ft tall. My girls pushed through and didn't stop once nor did they complain. I can't believe I have the opportunity to coach them! After our run, we did some dribbling and passing drills. At one point, I had the girls dribble down an outdoor courtyard at our school. I told them that they were only allowed to dribble with their weak hand and that if they took their eyes off of me and looked down for one second they would be running a lap. One of my shining stars volunteered to go first. As much as my heart did not want to make her run, she looked down, so I had to follow through. The second girl dribbled down and about halfway through lost the ball but ran straight to me and into a hug. I could not stop laughing. I said to her [amidst the hug and laughter] 'You forgot the ball!' She replied, 'I just didn't want to run, so I decided no matter what I was not going to look down!' The whole team was almost on the ground with laughter. 

You know what separated this young lady. Her faith and determination. Even if she lost the ball. She KNEW what she did NOT want and no matter what, she was NOT going to have that!!!... Even if, she got to the end and was without her ball. This spoke volumes to me about her character. 

How does this tie into getting rid of our BUTs in our faith statements???

Well, what if we become so determined and so full of faith to reach our goal, knowing what we don't want and refuse to let anything take our eyes off of our coach? Even, if we loose the ball??? 

We'll still make it to the end. And you know what? She didn't have to run. She obeyed exactly what I asked of her. She did not question. Her determination was IMMOVABLE!

Tonight, after having tea with a friend, I drove home and had a few things on my mind. I had been fasting today and thought about what fasting actually does. I thought about how it strengthens our faith and if we are determined enough, it can actually add more substance to what we are praying for....you know the things that just need a little more??? Sometimes, I think it is that ENOUGH part....just enough that is hardest at times. Not in our strength, but in His. I thought about this as I was driving. In absence of my own control and waiting on Him and believing Him for what I desire and am praying for.....HE receives the total glory. The complete credit. Why? Because I have done nothing, but wait on Him! How much greater is that. We cannot do all things by ourselves, but through Him. 

Believe for what you want so passionately that you will loose the ball just so you can keep your eyes on Him. Doing it completely through Him, allowing not only more substance to be added to your faith, but also....giving HIM the opportunity to receive all the credit, without your personal accolades. 

Good night my dear friend. Road trip tomorrow, believing God for what I desire and praying for you too.

Lots of Love,
Andi

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 5 of 35

The 35 Day Challenge: Day 5 of 35

'Pillars carved to adore a palace' | 'Sculpted in a palace style' Ps. 144 v.12

Good Morning! I've been thinking about so many things since yesterday and last night I awoke about every two hours, praying about which ones to write about. This morning when I finally did get out of bed just after 5am, I felt I had nothing to write at all. So I prayed and literally was just in my office doing some printing and a rush of things fell on my heart. 

What if you knew you would not fail? Would you attempt all the things your heart does not believe? What if you took a moment to realize that you are a 'pillar carved to adorn a palace'. As David requests in Psalms. May our daughters BE.....there is not BUT in his sentence. He does NOT say may they be pillars, but NOT beautiful. He doesn't say may they be sculpted in palace style but never used. He simply says, 'PILLARS CARVED TO ADORN A PALACE'....AND IN ANOTHER TRANSLATION 'SCULPTED IN A PALACE STYLE'. I am an art teacher and recently started a new sculpture program at my school. The thing about sculpture is that it is done with INTENT!!! An artist never begins a sculpture with the idea of failure in mind. Carving is a process. It is not complete in one day and it is purposeful. Every motion is planned. 

As women, we are pillars....sculpted and carved with purpose and intent with the pure design to uphold structures, to adorn and make beautiful that which cannot stand on its own. Let's think about this for a minute. If we truly knew our purpose and truly understood the intent and creativity that is going on in our process of development, would we dare to say....'God I believe in this area of my life, BUT.....'

The answer my friend....is NO. We would not. Today, remember that you are being carved, sculpted to adorn a PALACE! You will be used for support and strength in ways you cannot yet see. The moment you begin to think, BUT.....STOP! Just stop your sentence and say.....AND, GOD YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. Then, as King George VI would say....'Keep Calm and Carry On'. We'll do it together.

Until tomorrow. 

Lots of Love,

Andi 

xoxox