I am assuming that most of you have noticed that my blogs have become slightly less frequent lately. This is an indication of how busy my life has gotten over the last few weeks. I am currently producing a documentary for a film festival, planning an Easter production that will include a script and choreography that I am creating myself, getting ready for my daughter's dedication, working full time, and taking care of three children all at the same time!
Needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, so please forgive me if my posts are a little more spread out for a few weeks.
For today, I just want to encourage all you readers out there to check out some information about this film festival that I'm entering. It really is an amazing film festival that allows Christian filmmakers to come together to race against time to produce a short film in 168 hours (1 week). Each filmmaker chooses a scripture on the same night and their team must create a short film inspired by that verse. The teams have 10 days for pre-production, then 168 hours for production and post-production. It is one crazy ride!
After all films have been viewed and judged, they are screened in the festival that is in March. This is truly an amazing experience, even if you didn't have a part in the films themselves. It is great to see what other Christians are producing in the industry. It's also different to be in a room that is filled with industry folks who all have a like mind as far as bringing a good message to the masses.
If you want to learn more, go to www.168project.com. Maybe I'll see you at the festival! OK, gotta go - got things to do! :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
iFly Away!
Have you ever wanted to do something absolutely ludicrous just to experience the feeling, like bungee jumping or sky diving, but didn't want to have the ominous feeling of the small likelihood of severe injury?
Well, I have always wanted to sky dive, but the thought of jumping out of a plane thousands of feet in the air is just a bit too much for me. Thankfully, my thoughtful husband found the folks at ifly in Citywalk who give us a means to experience what flying through the air feels like without the threat of certain death. My hubby took me there as the first in a slew of fun things that he has planned for my birthday weekend.
At ifly they provide an indoor sky diving experience in which you are completely supported by a vertical tunnel of wind while remaining less than 20 feet in the air. At first, you fly with your instructor and they make sure that you are safe and teach you how to hold the proper flying position. Once you become more advanced, you can learn to do tricks and even fly tandem with your loved ones. What I thought was even more amazing was that even children 3 & over can do it as well. We watched a little girl who couldn't have been more than 5 years old flying with her cheeks flapping in the wind and loving every minute of it!
Overall, the experience was awesome and I would completely recommend it to anyone who has a daring spirit and loves to try new things. I, myself, would like to go many more times so that I could learn to do some of the tricks and flips (I was a gymnast, you know). There are just two drawbacks that may keep me from returning unfortunately.
1) Price: If you want to do just one flight, it costs $40 and each additional flight in the same session is $20. I'm sure you're thinking that this doesn't sound too bad and I would say that you're right, but that leads me to my number two reason.
2) Flight Time: Each flight is only 1 minute in length. Now, the reason for this time, I believe, is that an actual free fall when you do sky diving lasts less than a minute, so theoretically, you are free falling for the same amount of time as the real thing. They tell you that it feels longer than a minute, which probably would have been true if I wasn't so in tune with the time because I was thinking so hard about it. But still, $40 for 1 minute is a bit much in my opinion. Of course, you do get a mini-training course and you get to watch the rest of your group do it and the instructor shows his crazy moves at the end too. But you could watch that as a casual passerby too.
Moral of the story: If you have $100 or more to spare, it would be great fun for you and the family to head over to Citywalk and take flight at ifly! As you can see, I quite enjoyed myself!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Another Year...
Well, today I celebrate yet another year of life. All day, I've been hearing everyone wish me a Happy Birthday, but I really haven't stopped long enough to really evaluate what it is that we should all celebrate each year when this occasion arises. It is always great to assess where you are headed during the year that you will experience at this new age, but I think it is also important to see how far we've come and to really celebrate the years that have come before. We are truly blessed in so many ways.
So today, I want to say how much I have been blessed in the last 32 years of life and how much I am thankful for:
My God for fearfully and wonderfully making me in my Mother's womb.
My Mother for birthing me into this world even though I was flipped upside down (destined to be a gymnast, I suppose).
My Father for doing puzzles with me at the kitchen table.
My sister Emily for letting me listen to her record player in her room.
My neighbors for exploring the creek down the street and getting us into trouble (the good kind).
My siblings for playing Sardines in the laundry chute.
My sister Julie for falling through the ceiling and dangling her legs until help arrived (LOL)!
My siblings for sliding down the stairs in our sleeping bags.
My sister Emily for vaulting over the couch using the Jazzercise trampoline.
My babysitter for waiting up with me for my Mom to come home late at night.
My brother John for subjecting me to his Cherry Bomb muffler in his Dodge Dart while he scared me half to death driving.
My Dad and Stepmom for bringing my little sister into the world and letting me help out with her.
My Stepdad for moving us to Germany for 4 years.
My first crush for asking me to slow dance for the first time :)
My sister Julie for being an example so that I would look forward to getting into youth group.
My 9th grade video teacher for instilling a love for film that sparked my life-long dream.
My best friends who stayed up all night with me making silly, but totally awesome videos.
My Mom and Stepdad for taking us all over Europe to explore other cultures.
My coach for pushing me to new levels in my gymnastics career.
My sister Julie for letting me come into her room at night when I was scared.
My Stepdad for teaching me how to drive (a stick).
My Mom for letting me drive on the Autobahn (woo hoo!).
My Youth Group leader for teaching me the power of prayer.
My brother and sister for leading me to have one of the best jobs a teenager could have at the local amusement park!
My Mom for telling me to apply to Penn State when I didn't want to.
My first coaching job that would continue the love affair that I have with the sport.
My first college roommate for throwing pillows at me every morning because I wouldn't wake up.
My best friend Lish for showing me the ropes at school and making me laugh for 4 years!
My roommate Taj for laughing for weeks about Hair.
My friends Mike and Dominic for letting me crash their radio show every week in the wee hours of the morning.
My sister Emily for driving with me across country with no sleep and letting me crash on her couch for a year.
My first supervisor for showing me how a good working relationship should be.
My co-worker Helen for demonstrating true selflessness and renewing my faith in the good nature of people.
My co-worker Hanh for forcing me to hold back tears of laughter in meetings on a daily basis.
My God for using my friend Rimo to tell me about a church that would end up being the place where I got saved.
My Pastor for teaching me the real deal about the Bible and why God sent Jesus to die and be risen again.
My friend for asking me to be part of the dance ministry which would spark something in me that would blossom into years of service.
My church for being such a big part of my life that helped me to stay focused on the right things.
My Father for accepting my boyfriend (now husband) Michael as part of my life and eventually part of the family.
My husband Michael for being my best friend, asking me to marry him and for bringing my step-children and our newest angel Kylah into my life.
My daughter Kylah for making me smile every day all day.
Wow! When you start to write all of the things that have blessed you over the years, you can truly see how amazing your life is! Many times, what we remember about our past are all of the negative experiences we have had. But if you take the time to single out all of the blessings that your past holds, you may be surprised at all of the memories that come rushing back! I think I'll make it a tradition to do this every year! You should try it!
So today, I want to say how much I have been blessed in the last 32 years of life and how much I am thankful for:
My God for fearfully and wonderfully making me in my Mother's womb.
My Mother for birthing me into this world even though I was flipped upside down (destined to be a gymnast, I suppose).
My Father for doing puzzles with me at the kitchen table.
My sister Emily for letting me listen to her record player in her room.
My neighbors for exploring the creek down the street and getting us into trouble (the good kind).
My siblings for playing Sardines in the laundry chute.
My sister Julie for falling through the ceiling and dangling her legs until help arrived (LOL)!
My siblings for sliding down the stairs in our sleeping bags.
My sister Emily for vaulting over the couch using the Jazzercise trampoline.
My babysitter for waiting up with me for my Mom to come home late at night.
My brother John for subjecting me to his Cherry Bomb muffler in his Dodge Dart while he scared me half to death driving.
My Dad and Stepmom for bringing my little sister into the world and letting me help out with her.
My Stepdad for moving us to Germany for 4 years.
My first crush for asking me to slow dance for the first time :)
My sister Julie for being an example so that I would look forward to getting into youth group.
My 9th grade video teacher for instilling a love for film that sparked my life-long dream.
My best friends who stayed up all night with me making silly, but totally awesome videos.
My Mom and Stepdad for taking us all over Europe to explore other cultures.
My coach for pushing me to new levels in my gymnastics career.
My sister Julie for letting me come into her room at night when I was scared.
My Stepdad for teaching me how to drive (a stick).
My Mom for letting me drive on the Autobahn (woo hoo!).
My Youth Group leader for teaching me the power of prayer.
My brother and sister for leading me to have one of the best jobs a teenager could have at the local amusement park!
My Mom for telling me to apply to Penn State when I didn't want to.
My first coaching job that would continue the love affair that I have with the sport.
My first college roommate for throwing pillows at me every morning because I wouldn't wake up.
My best friend Lish for showing me the ropes at school and making me laugh for 4 years!
My roommate Taj for laughing for weeks about Hair.
My friends Mike and Dominic for letting me crash their radio show every week in the wee hours of the morning.
My sister Emily for driving with me across country with no sleep and letting me crash on her couch for a year.
My first supervisor for showing me how a good working relationship should be.
My co-worker Helen for demonstrating true selflessness and renewing my faith in the good nature of people.
My co-worker Hanh for forcing me to hold back tears of laughter in meetings on a daily basis.
My God for using my friend Rimo to tell me about a church that would end up being the place where I got saved.
My Pastor for teaching me the real deal about the Bible and why God sent Jesus to die and be risen again.
My friend for asking me to be part of the dance ministry which would spark something in me that would blossom into years of service.
My church for being such a big part of my life that helped me to stay focused on the right things.
My Father for accepting my boyfriend (now husband) Michael as part of my life and eventually part of the family.
My husband Michael for being my best friend, asking me to marry him and for bringing my step-children and our newest angel Kylah into my life.
My daughter Kylah for making me smile every day all day.
Wow! When you start to write all of the things that have blessed you over the years, you can truly see how amazing your life is! Many times, what we remember about our past are all of the negative experiences we have had. But if you take the time to single out all of the blessings that your past holds, you may be surprised at all of the memories that come rushing back! I think I'll make it a tradition to do this every year! You should try it!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Dedicating to Christen at the Baptism
Ok, so in the past year I have witnessed several baby dedications, attended a couple of christenings, and also flew to Ohio for my nephew's baptism. It seems that when we have a baby, we want to make sure they grow up to be strong children of God, but we all do it differently. I know it's confusing to me - dedications vs. christenings vs baptisms - so I thought I would do some research and share what I found with you.
A little clarification:
Dedication
Definition: A ceremony that welcomes the baby into the church and dedicates her to God as well as the parents dedicating themselves to raising the child in the things of God. This is not done using water, as churches who do dedications typically reserve water baptisms for those who are old enough to make the choice to be baptized.
Parental Responsibility: On About.com, I read this that I liked:
"Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise the child in a godly way, prayerfully until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God. Parents who make this vow of commitment are instructed to raise the child in the ways of God, and not according to their own ways. Some of the responsibilities include teaching and training the child in God's Word, demonstrating an example of godliness, disciplining according to God's ways, and praying earnestly for the child. "
Also, typically Godparents are chosen to serve as additional examples for the child, teaching them about scripture and showing them what it means to be Christians.
Baptism
Definition: A process of purification and restoration by being washed with water. Almost all Christians believe in baptism at some stage in life. In the Catholic Church and some Protestant religions, this is done at the infant stage. This is because these religions believe that baptism removes the guilt and punishment of original sin. They believe that if the parents wait until the baby gets older, they may be risking the child's salvation.
Parental Responsibility: The responsibility of the parents is very similar to that of a baby dedication.
Christening
Definition: I have found information concerning the use of the word Christening to be conflicting. I have seen several cases where "Christening" is interchangeable with baby dedications, as well as it being interchangeable with baptisms. Also, I have found several sources that say a Christening is the naming of a child in the church, which I confirmed with the official definition of the word. I also know that part of the baptism ceremony is to name the baby, so in that case, Christening is a part of baptism.
So, I think I have a clear idea of the difference between baby dedications and baptisms, but if someone asks me to come to their baby's Christening, I think I may need to ask more to find out exactly which one they mean. The moral of the story is that we all want our children to grow up knowing and loving God and it is our responsibility as parents and Godparents to teach the child about the Word of God and to be a strong example of how to become a person of Godly integrity, faith and love.
A little clarification:
Dedication
Definition: A ceremony that welcomes the baby into the church and dedicates her to God as well as the parents dedicating themselves to raising the child in the things of God. This is not done using water, as churches who do dedications typically reserve water baptisms for those who are old enough to make the choice to be baptized.
Parental Responsibility: On About.com, I read this that I liked:
"Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise the child in a godly way, prayerfully until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God. Parents who make this vow of commitment are instructed to raise the child in the ways of God, and not according to their own ways. Some of the responsibilities include teaching and training the child in God's Word, demonstrating an example of godliness, disciplining according to God's ways, and praying earnestly for the child. "
Also, typically Godparents are chosen to serve as additional examples for the child, teaching them about scripture and showing them what it means to be Christians.
Baptism
Definition: A process of purification and restoration by being washed with water. Almost all Christians believe in baptism at some stage in life. In the Catholic Church and some Protestant religions, this is done at the infant stage. This is because these religions believe that baptism removes the guilt and punishment of original sin. They believe that if the parents wait until the baby gets older, they may be risking the child's salvation.
Parental Responsibility: The responsibility of the parents is very similar to that of a baby dedication.
Christening
Definition: I have found information concerning the use of the word Christening to be conflicting. I have seen several cases where "Christening" is interchangeable with baby dedications, as well as it being interchangeable with baptisms. Also, I have found several sources that say a Christening is the naming of a child in the church, which I confirmed with the official definition of the word. I also know that part of the baptism ceremony is to name the baby, so in that case, Christening is a part of baptism.
So, I think I have a clear idea of the difference between baby dedications and baptisms, but if someone asks me to come to their baby's Christening, I think I may need to ask more to find out exactly which one they mean. The moral of the story is that we all want our children to grow up knowing and loving God and it is our responsibility as parents and Godparents to teach the child about the Word of God and to be a strong example of how to become a person of Godly integrity, faith and love.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Day 20: Breaking Bread
Today was the fast-breaking day for the 21 day fast. I know in my head, this was day 20, but I think I was counting the first day that we started as day 0....lol. It reminds me of "Office Space" when Michael says "I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail". Except this was just a few meals, rather than $300,000.
So today we broke our fast at 6PM, and we decided to take the day to spend time with the kids before we broke it. They were fasting from sweets and I must say that they have done an exceptional job at keeping it up. They were even asking at school if some of the lunch food was made with sugar! I find this amazing, but then again, more and more I realize that kids really do emulate what they see at home. I mean, I hear the kids use quotes that I say all the time! It makes you really think about what you say and do around them. Regardless, I believe that the reason why they did so well with the fast is because they saw us sticking to it and making it top of mind everyday.
It was a great family experience to celebrate and appreciate the fast together today. We went to the movies and then went out to eat to break the fast as a family unit. At dinner, we asked the children what they leaned from the fast. I think it is so important to ask them questions like this because they realize that the fast wasn't just to give something up, but rather to learn more from God and get closer to Him.
Our 6-year-old didn't really know how to elaborate on her experiences, but our son who's 8 said that it taught him that he was able to do something that he thought was too hard to do. When we started the fast, he wanted to change his mind about what to give up, but we explained to him that it may not be easy, but that it's a sacrifice that we do to honor God for the sacrifice he gave us. He understood that concept and with his answer tonight, I believe he has an even deeper understanding of sacrifice and the power of free will.
For me, I have gained so many new revelations and new ways to approach situations in my life. I am truly excited about what God is doing in my life and I can't wait to continue exploring these areas so that I can continue to grow.
I now have a better perspective on how to discipline the children, while keeping an open relationship with them in which they feel comfortable talking to me about things that concern them.
I also have a much more holistic view on our finances that will allow me to keep a bird's eye view of our goals and fiscal responsibilities rather than being deep in the trenches of the bills themselves and each little expense.
In my marriage, I am becoming more understanding of who my spouse is and how I should communicate with him so that we can grow together as one unit rather than as individuals whose lives begin to separate.
At work, I have made immeasurable strides towards changing my entire experience with the work itself as well as my co-workers. I have renewed my motivation to work at 125% and have begun to hold tight to a more positive outlook to each new challenge. I am back to the employee that I have always been, and that feels great!
Lastly, as it relates to my faith, I have realized that I absolutely need to make the time in my schedule to honor God in whatever ways I can. More importantly, I have been reinforced in that me and my husband must take the time to read and pray together no matter how we feel. This is key for both of our spiritual walks and for us as a couple as well.
Wow- God has truly done a work in our lives! These 21 days have been challenging, energizing, enlightening, refreshing, and fulfilling. It's so awesome to really see how great God is in our every day life!
So today we broke our fast at 6PM, and we decided to take the day to spend time with the kids before we broke it. They were fasting from sweets and I must say that they have done an exceptional job at keeping it up. They were even asking at school if some of the lunch food was made with sugar! I find this amazing, but then again, more and more I realize that kids really do emulate what they see at home. I mean, I hear the kids use quotes that I say all the time! It makes you really think about what you say and do around them. Regardless, I believe that the reason why they did so well with the fast is because they saw us sticking to it and making it top of mind everyday.
It was a great family experience to celebrate and appreciate the fast together today. We went to the movies and then went out to eat to break the fast as a family unit. At dinner, we asked the children what they leaned from the fast. I think it is so important to ask them questions like this because they realize that the fast wasn't just to give something up, but rather to learn more from God and get closer to Him.
Our 6-year-old didn't really know how to elaborate on her experiences, but our son who's 8 said that it taught him that he was able to do something that he thought was too hard to do. When we started the fast, he wanted to change his mind about what to give up, but we explained to him that it may not be easy, but that it's a sacrifice that we do to honor God for the sacrifice he gave us. He understood that concept and with his answer tonight, I believe he has an even deeper understanding of sacrifice and the power of free will.
For me, I have gained so many new revelations and new ways to approach situations in my life. I am truly excited about what God is doing in my life and I can't wait to continue exploring these areas so that I can continue to grow.
I now have a better perspective on how to discipline the children, while keeping an open relationship with them in which they feel comfortable talking to me about things that concern them.
I also have a much more holistic view on our finances that will allow me to keep a bird's eye view of our goals and fiscal responsibilities rather than being deep in the trenches of the bills themselves and each little expense.
In my marriage, I am becoming more understanding of who my spouse is and how I should communicate with him so that we can grow together as one unit rather than as individuals whose lives begin to separate.
At work, I have made immeasurable strides towards changing my entire experience with the work itself as well as my co-workers. I have renewed my motivation to work at 125% and have begun to hold tight to a more positive outlook to each new challenge. I am back to the employee that I have always been, and that feels great!
Lastly, as it relates to my faith, I have realized that I absolutely need to make the time in my schedule to honor God in whatever ways I can. More importantly, I have been reinforced in that me and my husband must take the time to read and pray together no matter how we feel. This is key for both of our spiritual walks and for us as a couple as well.
Wow- God has truly done a work in our lives! These 21 days have been challenging, energizing, enlightening, refreshing, and fulfilling. It's so awesome to really see how great God is in our every day life!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 19: Minty Fresh
One more day and I am rounding the last corner of the fast. Today, my focus was finances one last time, but this time I wanted to summarize all of the things I've learned over this time into one final task. And today, I stumbled upon my task while helping out a friend.
I was asked by one of my friends to give her the budgeting template I talked about a few posts ago. I created this spreadsheet in Excel that itemizes all of your income and expenses and calculates what you should have left after you have paid all of those bills, bought groceries, etc. It's somewhat like balancing your checkbook, but you can plan ahead as well so that you can see exactly where your money is going and when you may need to adjust in some areas before you hit a tough patch.
While I was formatting the spreadsheet for my friend, I had a great idea. I was thinking, what if I could add some functionality to the spreadsheet that would send you a reminder email when a bill is due, or help you calculate how to pay off debt in a certain time frame like I planned earlier in the fast? Then I began thinking that maybe I could create a website that would do this for its users in addition to many other financial planning tools. I was so excited because I may just have the NEXT BIG IDEA!
Of course, I had to go online and do my research to make sure there wasn't anyone else in that marketplace....and low and behold....www.mint.com was the very first website that popped up! This website does everything I was thinking of - it was astounding how anyone could possibly have thought of my brilliant idea before me! I was seriously cracking up. Of course someone has already thought of this!
Regardless, since this amazing website already exists, I made my task for today to sign up at mint.com so that we have our own personal financial advisor online! In the tool, you upload all of your bank accounts, credit card bills, loans, and investments (with the highest security). If you have online access to these accounts, all you have to do is login and they bring in all of the information for you. Then you can create your budget, which was actually uploaded from my bank when I logged in because I had created one on the bank's website a couple of weeks ago. That was impressive!
You can set up all kinds of alerts so that you are notified when an event happens which you can set. For example, you can have an alert for when your balance hits a certain amount, or when your bills are due, or even when you've gone over your budget in any category. I think this will be very helpful to us as we try to maintain our budget more consistently. You can also set up financial goals and the tool tracks how you are progressing towards those goals. They also have tools that will estimate your tax refund quickly which, for me, allowed me to see which would be better: if me and my husband file together or separately.
Overall, I think this website can be one of the best things that has happened to our budget. I haven't learned all of the functionality yet, but I am excited to explore the site as I am steadily improving our finances! You should check it out too! If you are concerned with the safety of placing all of your information in a central website location, which is totally understandable, check out this link that details the security measures taken by the site to ensure that your information is safe.
Happy Budgeting!
I was asked by one of my friends to give her the budgeting template I talked about a few posts ago. I created this spreadsheet in Excel that itemizes all of your income and expenses and calculates what you should have left after you have paid all of those bills, bought groceries, etc. It's somewhat like balancing your checkbook, but you can plan ahead as well so that you can see exactly where your money is going and when you may need to adjust in some areas before you hit a tough patch.
While I was formatting the spreadsheet for my friend, I had a great idea. I was thinking, what if I could add some functionality to the spreadsheet that would send you a reminder email when a bill is due, or help you calculate how to pay off debt in a certain time frame like I planned earlier in the fast? Then I began thinking that maybe I could create a website that would do this for its users in addition to many other financial planning tools. I was so excited because I may just have the NEXT BIG IDEA!
Of course, I had to go online and do my research to make sure there wasn't anyone else in that marketplace....and low and behold....www.mint.com was the very first website that popped up! This website does everything I was thinking of - it was astounding how anyone could possibly have thought of my brilliant idea before me! I was seriously cracking up. Of course someone has already thought of this!
Regardless, since this amazing website already exists, I made my task for today to sign up at mint.com so that we have our own personal financial advisor online! In the tool, you upload all of your bank accounts, credit card bills, loans, and investments (with the highest security). If you have online access to these accounts, all you have to do is login and they bring in all of the information for you. Then you can create your budget, which was actually uploaded from my bank when I logged in because I had created one on the bank's website a couple of weeks ago. That was impressive!
You can set up all kinds of alerts so that you are notified when an event happens which you can set. For example, you can have an alert for when your balance hits a certain amount, or when your bills are due, or even when you've gone over your budget in any category. I think this will be very helpful to us as we try to maintain our budget more consistently. You can also set up financial goals and the tool tracks how you are progressing towards those goals. They also have tools that will estimate your tax refund quickly which, for me, allowed me to see which would be better: if me and my husband file together or separately.
Overall, I think this website can be one of the best things that has happened to our budget. I haven't learned all of the functionality yet, but I am excited to explore the site as I am steadily improving our finances! You should check it out too! If you are concerned with the safety of placing all of your information in a central website location, which is totally understandable, check out this link that details the security measures taken by the site to ensure that your information is safe.
Happy Budgeting!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 17/18: Seeing the Finish line...
...But realizing that the race will never end. Life is absolutely in line with the cliche: This life is a marathon, not a sprint. So, as the fast nears the end, I can see many of the things that I have learned throughout this process, but I know they are merely tools for me to use as I continue to grow and change for the better.
In these last couple of days, I want to reflect on the invaluable insights I have gained from this time and to make a list of each learning as it relates to the original categories I listed in my first day's post. I want this fast to be applicable to my life and to go beyond the 21 days. If I allow the things I have learned to get trapped in these 21 days alone, the fast would have been all for not.
Today, my task is to read with my husband. Simple, right? There are so many times that our days get so stressful that either we are too tired or too busy to read. Sometimes, we may read on our own, but I believe that it is so important to share that time together to get closer to each other and to God. God can tell us things while we are alone in prayer time, but I think there is a whole new level of revelation that can happen when you read with your spouse. And of course, the Word says in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them". Some of the most amazing answers to prayer, in my experience, have happened when I have prayed about it in a group.
So, as I retire to our room to get into the Word, I leave with you this thought: What race have you been running as if it's a sprint, when you should be pacing yourself for the marathon ahead?
In these last couple of days, I want to reflect on the invaluable insights I have gained from this time and to make a list of each learning as it relates to the original categories I listed in my first day's post. I want this fast to be applicable to my life and to go beyond the 21 days. If I allow the things I have learned to get trapped in these 21 days alone, the fast would have been all for not.
Today, my task is to read with my husband. Simple, right? There are so many times that our days get so stressful that either we are too tired or too busy to read. Sometimes, we may read on our own, but I believe that it is so important to share that time together to get closer to each other and to God. God can tell us things while we are alone in prayer time, but I think there is a whole new level of revelation that can happen when you read with your spouse. And of course, the Word says in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them". Some of the most amazing answers to prayer, in my experience, have happened when I have prayed about it in a group.
So, as I retire to our room to get into the Word, I leave with you this thought: What race have you been running as if it's a sprint, when you should be pacing yourself for the marathon ahead?
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