I need Jesus more than a Diet.

I need Jesus more than a diet, a pinterest project, a new outfit, or a shopping cart at target full of things I don't need. In a society that craves all things new; I need to crave "the one who makes all things new!" I need to learn to count graces more than calories. Drink from the cup of living water, more than a gallon of earthy water.. I need to invest in people more than facebook friends. I need to count hours spent in His presences, then infront of the Tv... I need Jesus..

I think we've lost our focus... If you recall of elementary school "the thing that gets rewarded gets done." It's pure and simple. We need to stop asking what we "NEED" to do, or "NEED" to create, or "Need" to fix.

My friend.. YOU NEED JESUS... you don't need to count calories, you need to count graces. Whoa! I'm not saying all those things are bad, I'm saying we spend WAAAY to much time doing them.. If we spent that much time in HIS PRESENCE we would have creative juices flowing, we would have more energy, more joy, more LIFE... but instead we zap our energy focusing on everything else..

OH! "In the Morning when I RISE - GIVE ME JESUS!"



"And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, forthese words are faithful and true.” ⁶ Then He said to me, “^[a]It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. ⁷ He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." Revelation 21:5-7

Grace...

Y'all, sometimes I just have to laugh at my self. Midway through last October I started a campaign of how to be consistent, why it's important, and how it matters in our walk with the lord.... and just at the right time, satan showed up. I suddenly became super busy, lacked inspiration and motivation to write...

Whoever said that it just takes 21 days to form a habit is a LIAR!

But isn't that how life goes. We set our alarms for 5AM, clothes set out to workout, or bible laid out and that's the night you end up staying up all night. Isn't it the weeks you went to the grocery store, planned your meals and you end up working late, kids have programs all night and for what ever reason you just can't make it to the kitchen to actually cook..

Grace.. Thank the Lord for grace!

If grace were a person she would be Early. and always stay late. Grace would be in the back of the room - waiting and watching. She would be quick to volunteer for anything and would never leave a project unfinished. Thank God for grace - while she doesn't always have the right answer - She puts us back on track to the one who does. She's steady! She's Strong! She laughs quietly in the face of stress for it would have no hold on her. Grace is the friend whom you just turned on. She's the team mate that was picked last but plays her heart out. Grace Loves to LOVE. Grace is the hidden secret. She's the Dynamite! She's sometimes the last resort and yet, she knows the answer that always works out. She's the friend you wish you knew better, but she's most like you and you can't stand her for it. Deeply though,you just want to have coffee with her. O grace..... if only you knew how thankful I am for you!

I think we don't give GRACE enough correct.. I think we all need more grace, and yet we sometimes laugh in the face of GRACE.... Y'all.... I debated starting a new blog -- because honestly, who could walk back into a room they just left high and dry and try to have ANY credibility.. seriously... but, I think that's where a lot of us are... We have left friendships hanging by a thread, work unfinished, stories untold, neighbors left lonely and yet we just can't find our way back. We don't know if we can, if we should, how it would work out... all we know is something in us is restless. something isn't quite right. If only we could, or had, or were.....

Grace, my friend.... "His grace is sufficient, His power is made PERFECT in our weakness." Run to Him - kneel in His presence.. Come home my friend... and allow Him to work through you to complete a GREAT and mighty work!

Consistency in Parenting

She's a wife, and a mother... but not just any wife or any mother... but the best wife, friend and helpmate to my dad and MY mom! and today, she's a guest writer on my blog.. I figured she could hold a little more weight when talking about consistency in parenting... So without delay -

Consistency in Parenting

It’s more difficult that it sounds, but it’s worth the effort.
Children need to know without a shadow of a doubt that you mean what you say.  Consistency helps us feel secure.  Children become confused when rules are enforced one day and not the next.  It’s important that we explain the reason for rules that we establish for our family.  Children also need to know that their parents stand united regarding parenting issues ect. . .   I remember when misty was in elementary school she asked if she could take piano lessons.  We sat down with her and discussed the pros and cons of her taking the lessons.  Once we decided that the lessons would be helpful for her we agreed on a few rules pertaining to attendance, practice times ect. . . We also discussed the consequences for not obeying those rules as well. One afternoon she came home from school with her mind made-up that she was not going to piano lessons. I would not give in to the begging and pleading so she politely asked if she could call her dad to discuss it with him.  I agreed to the call as well as to the decision they would make.  She dialed her dad’s number and began to plead her case. After a few minutes of listening to her dad on the other end of the line she said “OK” and hung up the phone.  I asked her what the decision was and she said “Well Dad reminded me that I had agreed to the rules concerning my piano lessons, so I must GO.” She dried her tears and went straight to the piano to begin practicing.  I paused for a moment to thank the Lord that Tony and I were unified.  I knew that I could count on him to be consistent because we had promised to stand together and to always support one another  . . . even in the midst of the begging and pleading from our children. :)  Misty learned a valuable lesson that day in that we mean what we say!  
Be consistent!   Do not make promises you cannot keep….. TRUST is on the line and trust is hard to regain once it is lost. 

 Love you Bigger than Big!

3 lessons learned the hard way - Consistency

"Your family starts to believe what you are telling them, and sooner than later - they will catch on that you aren't serious." I won't forget when I heard this.. It had always been a goal of mine to be in Mary Kay and to make a career out of it, but I had never worked my business consistently and therefore never really grew it. It wasn't till after I heard the above quote that I was found red handed and guilty of that exact thing.. I was found guilty of inconsistency, turned lies... I had told my family for years I would be a free car driving sales director, and months and years later - I still wasn't but was still talking about it as though I would be...

REALITY CHECK...

"Just because you say you are a Tree doesn't make you one." You have to put your foot forward and everyday.  I learned quickly that the only way to make my friends and family believe me, wasn't to "talk" about it anymore but to show them I was serious and I would be consistent and faithful to see it come to be.. So, I put one foot in front of the other and started walking....

What I really learned from this lesson about consistency is this...

1st lesson - Consistency establishes trust.. My family and friends could begin to really trust me again (even if not mentioned) because my "walk" said more than my "talk" did.

2nd lesson - Consistency establishes accountability -  from within and with others.. Not only could I be accountable with myself, but because I was moving forward I was therefore accountable with my friends and family. Just like when I was a child, when mom said she was calling dad - SHE WAS CALLING DAD... and I knew what that meant... no if's, and's, or but's....cept my butt :)

3rd lesson - Consistency establishes something that is measureable. Without consistency you will ever know if the routine you have for your kids really work, if your work is really something to talk about, if your diet is actually a diet and one you will lose weight off of. By being consistent you now have a running tab of things that work and don't work.


Consistency - it matters.

Love you Bigger than Big.

Consistent Routines

 I won't lie, consistency is a hard topic not only to grasp but to write about. It's like the person that creates the show behind the screen. Never seen but the show would crumble without that person.. While our lives may not fall apart without consistency, I can promise you that it would run a lot smoother and stress free if we would add a dab of consistency here and there and be committed enough to stay consistent.

I'll talk about consistent routines.. What if for a moment, in a fairytale world, every Sunday we cleaned out our fridges and made a shopping list for the week, we stuck to our budget, and made a menu. Our menu would consist of things that would benefit us, fuel us, and not screw up our diet. Come monday morning we would set out what we are having for dinner. Monday evening, when the kids have homework, the house exploded after school and the dogs are dirtier than the ground we walk on; you grilled chicken. Tasty grilled chicken, fresh veggies, and sun tea. While you may not do the dishes the moment dinner is done, you are faithful to clean the dishes before your head hits the sack. You are also consistent to lay out lunches, and figure out what's for breakfast. Tuesday Morning, set out tuesdays dinner. Tuesday evening, you planned to be gone to home groups, you accounted for it, but when home and before your head hits the hay you make sure the sink is clean, lunch is set out, and breakfast is thought of..

I'm just guessing, but to me, that schedule doesn't seem crazy.. While it may not always look the same, there are things we can be consistent to do every single day that would make our lives so much easier.. The neat thing, our families start catching on and help us.

Find the little wins that you can be consistent to do rain, snow, sleet or shine.. For me, I personally love Fly Lady .  She has easy steps for the home that help keep chaos away. They may not be for you, but perhaps you can get an idea of little things you can do daily, and consistently that will help your house become a home and your family free of stress.

Our lives are only as "Busy" and "Crazy" as we let them be.


Love you Bigger than Big!

Never Say Never

I still recall moments growing up and even now that I would proclaim that I would Never" do this or that... only to hear my mother repeating back to me, "never say never!" However, this morning in church while Singing "Your Love never fails" I smiled as I had utmost confidence that I can say The Lord NEVER gives up on me..His love NEVER runs out, and that it NEVER fails!!! in the midst of proclaiming and offering thanks to The Lord I couldn't help but to think of this series on consistency. . As I stated in the very first post, my anchor is in The Lord.. I look towards Him to understand consistency and find value in why I too should have consistency in my life..I encourage you to listen to the song below and allow The Lord to reveal himself to you, maybe in a whole new light.. That He is consistent, his love never fails, never gives up and never runs out.. that we can understand consistency for he always was and always will be.. and that will NEVER change... 

ps. my mamma never said I couldn't say Never with The Lord :) Just recalling moments she was right in the fact  I shouldn't have said never... To think about how inconsistent we as humans are and how consistent HE is, it's mind blowing. 

Love you Bigger than Big!

Grace in Consistency

Consistency is hard...

often times we don't have time, plans change, things happen and whatever the heck we are trying to be consistent with just doesn't happen....

and that's okay.... 

there is grace....soak it in... don't fret about it...

wake up... and do you best to be consistent..

we live in a world were perfectionsm is highly vauled but super overrated.. So please don't take my post about consistency as another form to have to measure up to .... that's not what they are meant for.. but rather the are meant to bring light to the fact consistency does matter..

we get so wrapped up on losing weight, that when we don't we just blow off the whole diet. when in realtiy if we would be consistent - the weight really would come off. the waist line would shrink..We get so wrapped up in wanting to have the coolest and latest idea that we don't follow through long enough to see whether or not what we were doing would work..

We need consistency, in health, in life, in business, in realtionships. it's important.. but know there is grace for the days it's just not coming together..

Love you bigger than Big!