30 Day Challenge

I love this photo because it just screams America to me, we have the big well fed cow, the bright blue skies and grass fields as far as the eye can see. This photo was taken during a recent trip to Flagstaff in which we did not find the chocolate falls, sadly, but we were able to get really close to this guy, and that made it a little bit worth it. Today I am reminded how blessed I am to live in this country where freedom is evident and dreams are within reach. Most of all though, I am blessed to live in a country where I can worship my God in what ever way I please, and not take punishment or physical abuse. We have it really good in this country, and yet sometimes we use that as an excuse to not tell others. We assume that others have heard or we simply get to comfortable living our daily routines to even think about breaking out of our box. What would it look like to tell one person a day? You don't have to bring them through the entire conversion process, and it will be uncomfortable at times for sure, but are we putting ourselves out there enough to even have the possibility of having a meaningful conversation with someone about Christ? I was thinking the other day, do the people I interact with know I'm a Christian? If they do, how long did it take them before they knew that about me, if they don't, why don't they? How could we make Christ evident in our lives within the first 5 minutes of conversation?

Continuing on this thought, I am starting a 30 day challenge, for myself. This is not exactly like the squat challenge or ab challenge, but my goal is to meet 30 new people in 30 days. Since moving to Phoenix I rarely make an effort to go out and meet others and build relationships outside of the friendships that I already have. If you want to do this with me, comment or just do it! I think it will be a great opportunity to meet new people and hopefully get myself into some of those situations to encourage meaningful conversation.

Ready, set, go!

watermelon watermelon watermelon

Every time I think of the word watermelon, I remember a time back in the day, maybe like close to 15 years ago, when the amazing truth came out that if you said the word "watermelon" instead of the actual words to a song people would not be able to tell. Mind blown. In true Miranda fashion I had to try it, so during one of those wonderful elementary school programs I pretended to not know the words, just to see if the whole watermelon thing worked, I think it did.

Well this post really has nothing to do with singing, but it has everything to do with watermelon.

I first saw a recipe for a watermelon salad on pinterest and honestly thought it sounded a little gross. Let me tell you, I was wrong. The combination of watermelon, lemon, feta cheese, and balsamic vinegar was absolutely wonderful. I would probably add some green onion and maybe some mint next time, it would add a little more dimension. The yellow that looks like scrambled egg is lemon zest and I through a few lemon slices into a glass of white wine. Combined with grilled chicken or on its own, so good.

I have finally made it to my weekend, it has been a long couple of days, but also very rewarding. I have loved the influence that I get to have on my employees and there are people that have so much heart, they are such a good reminder of what happens when you have a good attitude no matter what is going on. When you really try to live to the glory of God, your whole mind set changes. There's a greater purpose than making money or becoming famous. My life has changed in the last couple of weeks. I have been trying to embrace time with the Lord and improve my prayer life, really focusing on praying for things consistently. My heart has changed, I have a longing for God that I have been missing for a while. I can live my day being content in the person that God made me to be, and not in the person that I feel I am expected to be or that the world tells me I should be. It is a daily choice that I have to make. It is easier to live in a dream of what you see on TV or read in a book or blog, and some days I struggle a lot, but it's not a sin to struggle, it is okay to not be perfect. I always felt that I needed to look a certain way and act a certain way to be a "good" Christian. I didn't think that I could pursue my passions or be successful. I am trying to figure out what my gifts are and how I can use them now and how God intended me to use them in the future. It's a journey, I don't know how it ends, where it ends, or who is in it, but that is okay. I don't have to have everything figured out right now.

I have been working through this online devotional called "She Reads the Truth" it has a lot of different programs you can use, and combined with an online journal, it really is a great fit for me. It is not incredibly in-depth or hard to understand, but I look forward to reading the devotional every day and then expanding upon it in my own quite time. I like that it is online because I don't get intimidated looking at a large book, feeling like it will take me forever to get through it. I am also into all of those online things right now, so it's very relate-able for me. It is not going to be right for everyone, but it is a great fit for where I find myself right now.

I have also been obsessed with a worship CD by, Will Reagan and United Pursuit, called, "Live at the Banks House," which is unfortunately not the home of someone named Banks. Listen to the whole thing beginning to end and love it. Today I found out that Will Reagan's wide Andrea Marie also sings in a few of the songs, and has some great music of her own. Listen and enjoy.

So maybe spend some extra time in prayer and whether that is over a nice cup of coffee or fifteen minutes on your way to work, remember that is enough. You are enough, the change happened with the death on the cross and the empty tomb.

Happy (Almost) Wednesday.

and sometimes you make cherry pie

 

 Sometimes you don't work at night and actually get to have a social life.. on such occasions you make fresh cherry pie and have friends over. It seems like it has been forever since I have baked and made something that was just really really good. I totally have had the time too, but I have just been a little lost in other things. The other night when I set my mind to making something, it felt good, I felt like myself.

Sometimes I don't feel like blogging because I wonder if I am living my life on the internet too much and not in real life. I enjoy sharing what is going on in my life, not for others, but so that I can look back and see all of the many ways God has blessed me.

Life lately is simple, I am still figuring things out with my new job and trying to get into a new routine. It seems weird to be done with college and be a real Adult, which I do not feel like, ever. What do real adults do that makes them an adult? If you find out, let me know. There has probably been way too much One Tree Hill watching and some old school Dance Dance Revolution. Also, a lot of decorating and "creativity" has been had, which who knew I could do? Cray..