Weakness

Reading in Matthew for my She Reads Truth study today and I always get stuck on this verse about Peter. Upon remembering the words of Jesus and realizing he had denied him, he wept bitterly. While my heart aches for Jesus throughout these chapters, at this point my heart always aches deeply for Peter. Because his flesh was weak, just like mine. It opens my eyes to the countless times I give in to sin (in little and big ways) each day. My flesh is weak. But thankfully I know the rest of the story. I know that it is in my weakness, God uses me. I can’t do it on my own. But when I let God work in and through me, His power is made perfect in my weakness. And I am lead to a place of deep gratitude for Jesus & His gift of grace through the cross. 

Stuck

Real talk today.

 Sometimes when life gets chaotic, (or maybe right now it is also has something to do with a long winter) my brain just sort of shuts down or gets stuck. My brain seems to be trying to decide what task to take on first and when it looks around and doesn't know where to start, it just panics. Over the years, I have learned that not enough time in my bible, getting overwhelmed, and not taking care of myself all lead me down this path. Satan totally gets this too. It never fails, as soon as I seem to get into a pattern of consistency, something happens to get me off track again. 

But thankfully, through a lot of prayer and paying attention, I have started to realize these patterns and stop them sooner. I can see when I am starting to get stressed and too busy. And most importantly, I am learning to push myself through my feelings or lack of feelings, to do the things that make me a better person, wife, mama, daughter, sister, & friend.

This girl needs a whole lot of Jesus and His truth. And I am so thankful He is always there and never lets me down. Today the very last thing I wanted to do was work out. But am I ever glad that I did. I am always so surprised and thankful for how great I feel when I consistently take care of myself. And I am definitely learning to take things a day at a time. What am I doing today to keep my focus on God and His will for me? And what am I doing to take care of myself today? 

This is real life. No makeup. Tired eyes. A messy house...

But also a full heart, a mind on Jesus, and a determination to run my race well. 

Intentional

It has been a long time since I have posted here. I haven’t stopped writing. I just needed to take some time to pray and listen. I have had so many thoughts floating around in my mind and topics weighing heavy on my heart. But even heavier was the thought of how easily our words can impact a person. I want to be an encourager. Someone who lifts others up and helps them find joy. I want to share the truth and joy that God brings into my life, with others.
I saw too many people willing to share thoughts and opinions, all without a shred of compassion. All without trying to listen or understand where someone was coming from. And it broke my heart to watch a world becoming more and more divided. I’m willing to bet we all have a lot more in common than we think. But we live in a time where we know everyone’s opinions on pretty much everything. And that isn’t always a good thing. We choose to focus repeatedly on the differences between us and others. But how beautiful would it be if we chose to intentionally seek to find the good in others.
This year I am working on being intentional. Intentional with my time, my words, my relationships. And being an encouragement to others is something I want to be much more intentional with as well.

The Long Winter

I love snow in November and December. The Christmas lights sparkling in it just makes my heart happy. And even though it is cold, it is bearable. Once January rolls around, the cold becomes bitter. And although I can't help but find a calm snowy night beautiful anytime, there seems to be a lot more cloudy days with a lot less sun. And the toll of being stuck inside without much fresh air begins to set in. Sometime around the beginning of February my body usually has enough. I feel like I will never be warm. I ache for sunshine. And it gets harder to find my joy. 

That is when I usually realize I need a perspective shift. And that is when I pull out this book each year. I adore reading anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder. And I especially love that a lot of what happens in her books, happened near where I am right now. I remember the first time I ever read "The Long Winter" in school. I just couldn't put it down. And I have loved anything Little House On The Prairie ever since. 

I find it hard to feel so sorry for myself when I am in my warm house, not waking up to snow piled against my bed. When I know I don't have to wonder if we have enough food to make it through a hard winter. And I love the many reminders of how a simpler life just brings you so much more joy. So if you need a break from the cold and from all the tasks of your day to day life. Or if you just want to find joy in the simple things, take some time to read about the Ingalls family and their long winter. I hope it fills you with all the warmth and joy you need to get through your own long winter. 

Baseball

We LOVE baseball! And our local team, the Sioux Falls Canaries came to visit our library this summer. Liam was so excited to meet the players and was so excited when he got to see Nico at the next game and tell his new buddy hi. It was also Jeremiah's first game. There is nothing like a night of watching ball. Liam even went out on the field to do the YMCA with a bunch of other kids. It was such a fun night! 

More sweet summer days

Summer time was full of countless hours spent outside. I love fresh air, seeing all the beautiful colors of God's creation, pool parties and frog catching with cousins, and time spent in the yard, and visits from dear friends. I am so anxious for spring to bring back all the beautiful colors of nature. 

July Camping

The Masters family loves to camp. We love being outside, eating smores, and swimming. I know the boys will all treasure these memories as they grow older.