Five Days to Thinking Your Way into A Happier Life Intro

The "Five Days" challenge will officially begin tomorrow, but tonight I wanted to explain what it is.

You've heard the term, "mind over matter." It simply means your thoughts are stronger than circumstance, but it's easy to let circumstance rule our decisions and happiness. When you realize that your mind is the most powerful muscle in your body, it opens up doors of opportunity. Over the next five days, I want to teach you - and challenge you - to change your way of thinking.

An example I want to leave you with tonight is one I'm sure to use several times over the coming days. In Genesis 1, God created the Earth by speaking life into a void of darkness. In the same way that God thought and spoke something into existence, so can we. Our minds are a gift, and when unlock it's true potential, we are left with a world at our fingertips.

God bless, lovelies!

x.
Hope

What Does it Mean to Seek Him?

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 KJV

Throughout the bible, several passages talk about man seeking God and searching for God, but what does that really mean - to "seek" Him? Let's look at the definition of the word from Dictionary.com.

SEEK [seek]
verb (used with object), sought, seek ○ ing.
1. to go in search or quest of:
     to seek the truth.
2. to try to find or discover by searching or questioning:
     to seek the solution to a problem.

Seek means to go on a quest for something, or to discover by questioning. Notice the word "questioning." Many people will read the bible and take it for face value without questioning why something is worded the way it is, or what the context behind the verses are. This is where a lot of Christians will begin to halt their growth and knowledge of God because questioning the bible and God's word had somehow become a taboo. There are many different scenarios I could use to explain this but I'll stick to something simple.

Everyone knows of Mary Magdalene, Martha's sister.

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'

'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worries and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10:38-42

Without the context, one might simply look over these verses and determine that Mary was a lazy girl who left all the work to her sister while she fawned over Jesus, but that is far from the case. Historically, sitting at one's feet was what one did if they were learning. In this case, that is exactly what Mary was doing.

"To sit at someone's feet meant, quite simple, to be their student. And to sit at the feet of a rabbi was what you did if you wanted to be a rabbi yourself. There is no thought here of learning for learning's sake. Mary has quietly taken her place as a would-be teacher and preacher of the kingdom of God." -N. T. Wright, Luke For Everyone

Rereading Luke 10 with the added context in mind gives the story of Martha and Mary a new meaning. (As a side note, if you have not heard of N. T. Wright, I highly recommend looking into his "For Everyone" series. He breaks down the verses in the bible, adds context to them, and helps explain why certain parts were mentioned and how they are important.)

In the famous 1 Corinthians 14:34, Paul says that women should be silent in church. But earlier in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, he says that woman can pray and prophesy in church if dress appropriately. So which is it? Well, it's both.

During the time when these letters to Corinth were written, there was a severe disrupt in the church. Unlike our services now where you come in, sing worship songs, and listen while the pastor preaches, the churches in Corinth had no order and were chaotic. People spoke in tongues, prophesied, and preached over one another. So why was verse 34 included? Verse 35 hints at women being confused and that they should wait until they are home to ask their husbands instead of interrupt church service for it. That helps shed light that some women would become confused and distract their husbands and male peers from the service - chaotic as it was - to understand what was happening. In short, their timing for questioning was terrible.

Overall, the message was for everyone, as noted in verses 26-31 and 39 and 40.

"What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word or instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two - or at the most three - should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged... Therefore, brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy... but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 1 Corinthians 14:26-31

If women were not supposed to speak in a church, or prophesy, why then would Jesus allow Mary Magdalene to sit at His feet?

Bishop Ida B. Robinson

God Himself told us to seek Him and to search for Him. How then could we ever possibly do such a thing without questioning? It is not wrong to question the bible, or question why God has instructed us one way or another on certain things. By questioning what the bible says, we open the door to knowledge. We free ourselves from the chains the enemy has coiled around us to keep us from reaching our full potential, and from truly seeking God which is exactly what the devil wants.

To seek God means to question, to read, to listen, to understand the root of specific words and to look at the bible as, not only a Holy text, but as a book with wealth of knowledge waiting to be deciphered. Jesus spoke in many parables, so why would the bible be written in a way that means exactly what it says?


x.
God bless, lovlies.

Christian Transparency

Being a Christian and being a writer are two very complicated things when put together. My books are Christian based - meaning they are wrote with an underlying Godly theme. Each new project has a verse - a theme - as the motto for the story as most Christian fiction books do.

When I started my writing career in 2014, I started reading a wonderful book - which I've chosen not to share the title - that breaks down everything from the start to finish of Christian writing. The author was very insightful with her suggestions of how to build a strong character and really pull readers in from the first page. She does, however, point out it is imperative to avoid certain real-life situations when writing for the Christian genre.

Let me jump backwards for a minute.

When I was growing up, I went to many different churches. Some were better than others as far as getting a message across, while a few focused too much on what the congregation did, wore, and said. Of the churches I attended, one sticks out in particular. I was a youth, and would have separate service than the adults. On one particular Sunday, the youth pastor preached an hour long sermon on why women shouldn't wear pants. Me being the only female in the group wearing jeans, I naturally felt called out, but I digress.

As I got older, my relationship with God was strained because I had been taught by many outside sources that you have to be a certain way for God to love you, but that wasn't what the bible taught me. I was conflicted. See, what most of those appearance conscious churches forget is that God doesn't care how broken and torn we are. He doesn't care if we have the finest clothes or speak with eloquence. God is after our hearts; our souls. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV) God likes us to bring our trash to Him; He likes it when we willingly bag up our troubles and lay them at His feet and say, "Lord, I'm a mess. My life is a mess. I need you. I can't do it on my own." One of the biggest parts of being a Christian is admitting our own human-ness, our own imperfection. This took a while for me to understand.

Every Christian I have met has a testimony of how they came to God. Most of those testimonies are filled with awful things. Abuse, drug use, prostitution, womanizing, addiction, theft, even murder. And those things are very real to Christians. Jesus said in Matthew 9:12 NIV, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick." When I write, I use real-life issues as the basis for my character's pasts. In Beauty from Ashes, Natalie is a victim of domestic abuse and Cameron caused an accident that killed his girlfriend. In my second book, Thunder, Annie battles alcoholism and Lane harbors survivor's guilt from watching his best friend die in war. All of my characters face very real issues. That's one of the ways it makes them so relatable. As a writer and a Christian, I find it hard to follow the rules that are set in place for Christian writers. They are often very narrow, very one-sided, and in many areas, very unforgiving. Much unlike the God we follow.

The book suggested avoiding violence, profanity, and sexual scenes, and it got me thinking. I agree about not writing in too much detail of violence, drug usage, and other obvious sins, but pretending like these things aren't real is no way to reach people. In my library of 100 plus Christian romance books, few of them are raw and transparent. Most of them are extremely vague in discussing the character's "dark past" and how it effects their walk with Christ, despite being beautifully written books. I love the Christian fiction genre, but sometimes I feel like it lacks depth.

In my walk with Christ and in my calling as a writer, transparency is huge for me. God has seen me at my worst and still loves me. He doesn't care about the front we put on, He wants our dirt, our filth. When I read about someone who has found themselves down a road they aren't sure how they got to, bedding in the slums of sin, to be brought face-to-face with God's redeeming mercy and dragged away from the addiction, away from the lust, away from the chains holding them down so that they could walk in God's glory and be a shining example of what God can do for us makes my spirit sing. I don't want sugar-coated Christianity. I want raw, unfiltered truth because Jesus was raw and unfiltered. He wasn't beaten, speared, bloodied, and nailed to a cross for us to hide our tribulations. Let them be a teaching to others; a story of renewal and grace.

It is my strongest desire for my words to be just that. My books are crafted with the blood, sweat, and tears of Jesus in mind, so that they may be just as raw and unfiltered as His heavenly love is for us. Why should Christianity (or Christian fiction) be any different?

God bless, lovelies.

What Were Sundays Like in the 1950s

Photo Credit: Brethren in Christ Historical Library

Sundays used to be more than just another day of the week. Sunday was the Day of Rest, the day you put on your finest and praised God as a family, and then visited for the rest of the afternoon. Stores and businesses were closed, and almost every pews was filled to the max. Now adays Sundays mark the end of the weekend and the start of a new work week. For most, Sundays are just another day. My favorite retelling of 1950s style Sundays can be found on this Women Living Well Ministries page written by Courtney Joseph. I'll briefly sum it up for you.

Courtney's grandmother would cook double meals on Saturdays - their Saturday dinner and their Sunday dinner that way all she had to do was reheat it after church. Some families would go for a drive, others would spend the rest of the day with relatives. Dressing up was a common practice for almost every occasion in the 1950s, and church was no exception. Everyone, even the children, wore their best.

Courtney also answered a really good question: What can we learn from Sunday's in the 1950s? 

"Worship must be a number one priority. Prepare ourselves for the day of worship. Make Sundays a family day. Dress your best."

Worship
Worship - both praising God and attending church - is a very important part in our walk with God. I don't believe that how we worship will make or break our relationship with Jesus, but I do think it should be done in both respects. For me, I like worshiping in my car or at home listening to Air1 or Spirit 95. Singing God's praises and thanking Him for the life I have, and when I'm at church I'll clap and sway to the music, sometimes singing along.

What I've learned over the years as being a Christian is that no one has to worship the same way. If you want to jump, dance, yell, run around, sit in your seat, pray quietly, pray loudly, speak in tongues, kneel, whatever feels right to you, do it. If you're a new Christian or a seasoned Christian, don't feel pressured to start hooping and hollering because someone else is. Your relationship with God is yours and yours alone, and the way you praise Him should be your way. Think of it as your love language toward God.

Going to church can seem like an inconvenience, but go. On the days you don't want to go the most is usually when you get the biggest blessing.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

Prepare Ourselves
Doing a little extra work on Saturdays is worth it if you get Sunday to rest - just as God intended it to be. Everyone needs a day to rest, even God.

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." Genesis 2:2

I've heard many of my readers say that they're so stretched thin throughout the week and that can be exhausting. Make double meals on Saturdays (or better yet, make it earlier in the week when the kids are all gone and hubby's at work and stick it in the freezer), lay clothes out for Sunday service, make a check list of things that need to be done so that your Sunday is carefree and relaxing.

Family Day 
My great-grandma used to cook big dinners every week at her house and the entire family (thirteen children plus their spouses, and their children) would come over to eat, play cards, and tell stories. I can't recall if she did all this on Sundays or not, but that is exactly what many families did. This tradition of gathering together as a family is one that has begun to fade out in recent years.

My husband and I have talked about having family dinners at our house on Sundays as a way to recapture those forgotten times. We only have so long on this earth, and one day those chairs around the table will be empty for good. However you spend your Sunday afternoon, spend it with family and limit technology.

Dress Your Best
I wear jeans to church (I've only recently gotten into the habit of wearing skirts and dresses), a dressy top, sometimes heels or a nice pair of boots. My hair and make up are always done. What I wear is modest (not Amish modest but everything is covered and nothing is falling out), which is a big issue for me. I've always been a very modest person - ask my Mom, she's in the group.

In the 1950s, families dressed a certain way for church. That's how things were done. People during that decade really knew what class was. Stepping out in your slippers and pajamas was never acceptable, and it shouldn't be acceptable at church (or Walmart) either. Plus, getting up and dressing yourself in something modest and classy is a real confidence booster!

For a 1950s Sunday, follow these simple rules:

1. Make Sunday God's day. Go to church - yes, even if you don't want to.
2. Make Sundays relaxing for the entire family. Make a check list for yourself to follow. If you want to make two meals on Saturday, go ahead, if not, you don't have to. Just remember Sunday is the Day of Rest so don't stress yourself out too much.
3. Sundays are family days, too. Some families have Family Game Night on Friday or Spaghetti Night on Saturday. Well, make Sunday about spending it with family. A whole day with the family, and be creative.
4. This one applies everyday. Dress like a lady (and if you're a man reading this, dress like a man. Girl's like that sort of thing.). Being lady-like doesn't mean you have to wear dresses all the time, but choose your clothing wisely. Especially as a Christian woman.

I'd love to hear about how your family spend their Sundays in the 50s! Leave a comment below or on the group page!

God bless, lovelies!

- - WAIT! Just kidding, you can't leave yet! I'm about to answer some great questions to help you get to know me. - - 

What is your favorite color? It changes and that drives my hubby crazy. Today it's currently red.

How old were you when you got married?
I was 19.

How long have you been married?
We'll celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary this October.

What lead you to choose the 1950's lifestyle?
I've always been very interested in history. Anything pre-1960s and post-1750 (with the exception of Vikings, Ancient Greece, and the Middle Ages but I digress) is my cup of tea. My fasination with the 50s is pretty new, as in it only started a few years ago. The 30s and 40s have always been my favorite but then I "discovered" the 50s on a whim. I can't remember exactly how that all started though... Anyway!

I like the foundation the 50s is based on. Husband working, wife at home, women being ladylike and men being gentlemen. Throughout all of history, the 1950s is one of the most influential and balanced decades in any century. I say balanced because men were really men, and women were really women. Of course this is true for the 30s and 40s as well, but I think it took until the 50s to really stick. Men were back home from the war, women were able to resume their roll as helpmates and mothers, and everything seemed like it had slipped into the biblical idea of how marriage and men and women were supposed to behave. (Now of course I understand that the 50s wasn't a perfect time and there was still a lot of bad going around, but people's standards were higher and everyone expected everyone else to stick to those standards.)

How do you feel you portray it [1950's lifestyle] in your daily life?
I feel I portray the 1950s lifestyle in how I manage my time, what my day consists of, what my priorities are, and how I act as a woman.

What type of church do you attend?
City Church for all Nations. It's a non-denominational church with Pentecostal background. It's a truly amazing church! If you get time, you should check out some of the past sermons or watch it live on Saturday or Sunday!

What is your testimony?
I grew up in and out of church. Learned about God and Jesus at a young age and asked Jesus for salvation when I was probably nine. By the time I got to high school, I had "fallen off the wagon" if you will. I was hanging out with the wrong type of people who weren't encouraging me spiritually, but also wasn't pressuring me to do anything I didn't want to do. I started dated this guy and thought he would be the one I married. After a year of his abuse, manipulation, and cheating habits, I got out of that situation (unwillingly I might add, he was the one that ended it). In the months afterward I slipped into really bad depression. Suicidal depression. At the time I was taking sleeping pills because I have a cyst in my brain that effects my sleeping patterns, and the thought occurred to me on more than one occasion to "take a few extra." I battled with that for a long time, and then on the night I was going to take the extra pills, God spoke to me and I've been different ever since then.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Frost, Shakespeare, Jack London, Louis Carroll, Carla Capshaw, Julia Klassen, Alley Carter. I went through a phase where Nicholas Sparks was my #1, but then I realized someone dies in everyone of his books and that's just too much for me. 

What type of music do you listen to?
My playlist consists of everything from Bing Crosby to Chuck Berry and Classical to Red and Skillet. But not rap. I can't stand rap.

What type of movies do you like?
Comedies and romance.

If you could travel back to any time period, where would you go?
As uncharacteristic as this may seem, I would travel back to Regency England and have tea with Jane Austen and spend a few weeks in Bath. Maybe stay in a cottage on the coast and paint, or visit some of the libraries in London.