30 Days of Gratefulness (Day 4)

Lift up your hands to the holy place and givethanks to the Lord.
-Psalm 134:2

Wow. It has been a long week. So tired! But I am
grateful that I have been so busy working that I am
tired. I can already tell this 30 days of gratefulness
is helping me get some perspective.

Today I am thankful for:

1) a sane mind
2) perseverance
3) Friday evenings!

God bless!

30 Days of Gratefulness (Day 3)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

I think one of the most unappealing quality a 
person can possess is ingratitude.  I must admit
I haven't always been the most grateful person
so that's why I am working on it!

God is so good and I want to thank Him on 
the daily.

Today I am thankful for:

1) new beginnings. Lots of changes in my life.
Change is good.

2) God's love. He's all I need.

3) change of seasons. I am looking forward to fall :-)

30 Days of Gratefulness (Day 2)

They have made me happy. They would have made you happy also. Show them you are thankful for their help. - 1 Corinthians 16:18

I am a blessed woman. I don't EVER want to forget that!
I am so thankful for the people in my life.  It's amazing
how a simple thank you means. Show the supportive
people in your life you appreciate them.

Today I am thankful for:

1) my supportive family. I know they are proud of me.

2) encouraging words.

3) every opportunity thrown my way.

30 Days of Gratefulness (Day 1)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NJKV

I'm trying to inculcate a more grateful heart and spirit.  I have spoken
before on my blog about dealing with depression. I firmly believe that
learning to be thankful will lift one's spirits up. When you are down
all you focus on is the negative but everyone has something to be
thankful for. Maybe listing those positive things will make life seem
not so bad after all!  So I am challenging myself to update my blog
for 30 days and each day I will blog about three things I am thankful for.
I hope others will join me in this endeavor!


Day 1

I'm thankful for.....

1) my health. I went to the gym and worked out. I am
thankful I am in good health and have energy.

2) that I have people that care for me. I am loved.

3) my uniqueness. I am different. There is nobody like me.

Things I've Learned from Being a Christian Single

I've been single for a long time and I thought I would share a few things I've
learned about being single and a Christian.

1.) Patience. It is hard to wait but you experience growth through your waiting.

2.) There is no such thing as "the One." God cares more if you are in a
relationship that honors Him than if you are with "the One." He wants
each one of us to further His kingdom. There is not going to be a big flashing
sign "HE IS THE ONE!"

3.) Just because a guy is a church-goer doesn't mean they really
care about dating in God-honoring fashion. Be careful. 

4.) Church folk can put pressure on you when it comes to your 
relationship status. Just keep your eyes on serving Him.

5.) There is nothing wrong with you. Just because you are single doesn't
mean there is something wrong with you.

6.) Know what you want. I know what I want and I'm not settling. To
the world my standards might be too high. I rather be single than settle for
something I don't want and that doesn't glorify God.

7.) Never put a relationship before God. You will be greatly disappointed.

8.) Never use God to justify your desires. OMG! He's goes to the same
church and we keep running into each other......it must be from God! Uh, no.
Don't over-spiritual stuff.

9.) If something ain't working.....STOP IT! Why keep returning to your
vomit? (Proverbs 26:11)

I thought I would leave you all with a romantic song :-)

My Favorite Foundations for Dry Skin

I wanted to share some of the foundations I use for my dry

skin. As people with dry skin know certain foundations can

accentuate the dryness and not sit well on your skin. When

it comes to dry skin you want to turn that dull, dry skin into

luminous, glowy skin! Before I get started with my picks....

I prefer lightweight to medium formulas because I've noticed

the heavier the formula, the more those dry patches are going

to stand out. So if you are a full coverage type of gal these 

might not be for you. (Although I will have one recommendation

for you at the end of this blog....so keep reading!)

1). My favorite foundation at the moment is Smashbox's 

Liquid Halo.

It is a lighweight to medium coverage foundation. It is so light on

the skin you can barely feel that it is there.  Definitely luminous!

The color match to my skin was great.

2) Stila's Illuminating liquid foundation

You will glow in this foundation! This is another lightweight formula

but it will even out your skin.

3) Lancome Renergie Lift Makeup

Well to be honest.......I don't think people with dry skin can go 

wrong with any Lancome foundation but this is the current Lancome

foundation I own. It is not illuminating as the previous ones I

mentioned but it still sits beautifully on the skin. I would say this

is more medium coverage.

4) Mary Kay's Luminous Wear Liquid Foundation

This is a satin finish foundation. Mary Kay has a pretty good shade selection.

You will find a color that fits you. This is more medium coverage. I have

a friend that sells Mary Kay so feel free to check out her webpage.

5) L'Oreal's True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup

Sorry this is my only drug store pick but it is a good one! This is

another satin finish foundation. It is also medium coverage so

not as lightweight on the skin as some of the others on the list. 

L'Oreal has a wonderful color selection.

Ok.....so now to the full coverage foundation I was gonna recommend.

Although I just sampled this foundation and it wasn't for me......I think

someone who prefers a full coverage foundation might enjoy this foundation:

Nars Sheer Glow has a satin finish. I don't know if it is labeled a full
coverage foundation but when I tried it was full coverage for me. Also
it is has some shimmer to it but I wouldn't call it a dewy formula. 

I also want to mention two products that I also use to add light

and moisture before adding foundation:

This is the first illuminator I've tried but I'm enjoying

Revlon Photoready Skinlights

Primers can be matte but this one is hydrating, Smashbox Photo

Finish Hydrating

Who are the Control Freaks in the Abortion Debate?

"In that moment, feminism came to one of its logical if less-than-inspiring
moments of fruition: I chose to sidestep biology; I acted - and was free
to act - as if I were in control of my destiny, the way men more often
than women have let themselves act," wrote abortion rights supporter
Naomi Wolf in a popular 1995 essay on abortion titled "Our Bodies, Our Souls."

Forty-one years ago abortion became legal in the United States via the
Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade. The anniversary had me
thinking about how much of the abortion debate surrounds control.
Pro-choicers often argue that pro-lifers want to "control" women's bodies
by making abortion illegal. I also thought about how much my relationship
with God has to do with control.

Having a relationship with God means recognizing I have a divine entity that
is bigger than you and me and He is ultimately in control of the universe.
But as our society becomes less religious we have become more controlling.
We believe we can control our circumstances but we can't.  Though out my
life I've attempted to gain control over situations and certain circumstances
and each time I am humbled by God when I realize it is out of my hands.

This brings me back to the abortion debate. Obviously, someone must be
in a really tough situation to even consider abortion. I am no way denying
that. I don't have the money to raise a child. Or I won't be able to go to
college and have a successful career if I have a child at a young age.
It's about having control of when parenthood happens. But life is messy
sometimes. Rarely do things come wrapped in a pretty bow. The
reproduction process that creates human life doesn't stop because it
is not the most opportune time to have a child. (I'm sure any parent can
tell you there is NEVER an opportune time to have a child.)

So it brings me to this question: Who truly wants "control" in the abortion
debate? The pro-choicer who sees abortion as a way to give women control
over their lives or the pro-lifer who believes that God is the maker of life and
we do not get to decide when life is expendable or not?

Miley Cyrus and Secret Freaks

Anyone who has been following entertainment and music lately

knows that Miley Cyrus is a freak. A drug using, twerking freak.

She's open about her drug use and sex. Her Hannah Montana days

are in the past.

I watched an interview with her today with a British host.  While I

don't agree with her glamorizing drug use and sexual promiscuity,

I must confess her honesty about her current lifestyle is appealing.

That's the thing about sin it has it's appeal. She kept talking about

being authentic and dropping the good girl image. She said in the

interview, "You can tell who is real. People who are too nice and

too proper, you know they are secretly a psycho."

When she said this it made me think of the image people have of 

Christians. How often are Christians called hypocrites? I think

when they call us hypocrites, what they are really saying is that

we aren't honest about our own sin. We are secretly freaks. 

We put on a facade of being nice and proper, as Ms. Cyrus

put it, but we do messed up things like everyone else. 

One thing Miley Cyrus knows about is fake images. She had to

maintain a facade for years to keep her contract with Disney.

She needed a wholesome image to continue to work with Disney.

But why do Christians put up a facade?

While I don't think Christians should ever condone sin, I think

we need to be honest about our own sin. The world needs 

authenticity, not a wholesome facade. Authenticity is appealing.

And I want my faith to be appealing to others.

GOP's Hispanic and Youth Outreach Should Coincide

There has been much talk about how the Republican Party can
better outreach to Hispanics since President Obama
trounced Mitt Romney with Hispanics in the last presidential
election. However, I think the GOP's Hispanic outreach
problems are related to another major issue it has: youth
outreach.

The Hispanic population is young. If the GOP can manage
to make improvements with the youth vote, I believe we
will see gains with Hispanics. The last two Republican
presidential campaigns were lackluster when it came to
youth outreach. Republicans are still running campaigns
like it is 1980. Most of the youth of today don't even
remember 1980's. Enough of the Reagan talk in GOP
debates, please? It dates us. While President Obama was
talking about moving forward and change, the GOP candidates
were talking about going back to Reagan's policies.

There are going to be issues where it will be difficult to
communicate with young voters, for example, social issues.
Young voters are socially liberal and I really don't want
to see the Republican Party become socially liberal. But
Republicans can be more tactful in the way they talk about
these issues. And there is one socially liberal issue were young
voters aren't so enthusiastic: abortion.

But there is one issue that Republicans need to be pounding
the Dems with in regards to the youth vote: jobs. The youth
unemployment rate is horrific. And policies like Obamacare
aren't helping. There is a message to young voters there but
I haven't seen Republicans effectively make it.

I do like that all the buzzed about prospective 2016 candidates
are young and fresh. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Chris
Christie are all under 55, which will be quite a contrast to
Hillary Clinton if she runs. Mitt Romney and John McCain
were both over 65. It will refreshing to having a presidential
candidate who actually knows a few rap songs and isn't
talking about ABBA.

I will be realistic here. I don't think the GOP will make
huge gains with young or Hispanic voters but small inroads
can make all the difference.

My Overflow

It seems I can't avoid it. At church my pastor is going through

a series on happiness based on Ecclesiastes, which is about finding

fulfillment in God and not the things of this world. Last Saturday

I go to see the movie The Great Gatsby. A movie about about

a rich man who has tries to find fulfillment in a relationship which

in the end turns out futile and meaningless, as the writer of Ecclesiastes

would say. Three days ago a friend sends me a devotion based

Ecclesiastes. The devotion ends with this: You will never find fulfillment

in life without God. Then today I go to the book store to take 

a look through some devotions. As I scan two books I happen

to stop at where it talks about discontentment. I can't avoid it

any longer.  It is clear to me that God wants me content and 

fulfilled through Him only.

I will be honest I have spend so much of my life being discontent and

unfulfilled. Always telling myself  "I will be happy when (fill in the blank)."

I will be happy when I finish school. I will be happy when I get a good

job. I will be happy when family issues go away. I will be happy when

I not single. 

Now that I look back at all my discontentment I can't help but

think, "Wow. What a waste." All the moments and people I

wasn't fully soaking in because I was just waiting for circumstances

to be perfect. Honestly, I feel robbed of time and energy. But

no one robbed it from me....I robbed those moments from myself.

It also occurs to me that I have lived a pretty good life so far.

There was nothing to be discontent about! 

Life is never going to be perfect. People are not perfect. I am

always going to be a flawed being. So I am can't wait for 

happiness. I have to be happy TODAY no matter the 

circumstances. I have Christ to fulfill me. He makes my cup

my overflow.