A Ragamuffin State of Mind

As a writer, sometimes inspiration comes out of unexpected, deep thought. I have a small-sized Five Star notebook in my purse and a pink note-pad in my book bag for head-exploding moments. I admit that there are times that I pretend to take notes in class when I'm really writing out my thoughts. I can't help it. Below are the results of not listening to the summary of 1 & 2 Samuel in my Old Testament class.

I wonder why so many of us feel that we need to present ourselves in a way that gives an aura of perfection. It certainly isn't a true representation of ourselves as we are people who are truly imperfect.

Perfect hair, perfect make-up, perfect closet, perfect grades, perfect influence, perfect love life, perfect belongings, perfect dorm/apartment, perfect car, perfect body, perfect social media image, perfect performances, perfectly balanced schedule....everything has to look put together. Isn't that tiring? And oh, so untrue might I add..

This unnecessary work to be put together is a survival tactic to "get by" in society. A yearning for acceptance will not fill a void in our hearts.

   

I see a lot of Christian girls (including myself) striving to be this particular image of a "good girl". Like the images above, we like to portray ourselves as beautiful, organized, independent, and godly.

But just because we portray ourselves in these ways... does that really mean that we truly have these characteristics?

You may feel like this girl after you attend a Christian conference, purchase a new Beth Moore book, drive to work with your Hillsong CD playing, get up extra early to do your devotions; or perhaps, when you post a photo of a sunset on Instagram and caption it with something about God's beauty amazing you.

Check, check...

But do you feel like this specific woman after you do wrong? When you're convicted of your sin? Face it: This image is a human standard of perfection that we can never fully meet, not a Christian ideal. The reality is that we are not this girl because "she" portrays herself in a sinless manner, and being sinless is impossible for man. Therefore, her portrayal is a lie. Do we really want to live a lie?

It's not wrong to work hard to present ourselves in the best ways that we can. It's not wrong to care about what we wear, work out six days a week, and to never leave the house without make-up on... But is image our priority?

It's not wrong to work hard for good grades or a job promotion or to always give our best at what we do. But is success our priority?

What is your priority? Where does your joy come from?  Is it from what you do and the reputation that comes with it? Is it from who you're with and the way you're built up from others? OR does your joy come from what God does in your life?

I am learning that we should feel MOST complete as Christian women when we are in the midst of God's grace. Not when we are doing things "right", but when GOD is reminding us of His mercy and His ability even through our messy days.

We won't become women of God if we are trying to be women of God. We become women of God by following Christ and allowing Him to shape our hearts and form our character.

"I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing." 

Jeremiah 10:23-24 

It's not important that we have everything together or even that we feel like we have everything together. What really matters is that we are keeping our eyes on the One who saves us. When we focus on Him, we are TRULY beautiful.

My friend Kat and I were having a talk last summer and she said something like this:

"We really need more ragamuffin Christians." 

She's right.

What she doesn't mean is that we need Christians living in sin and having zero integrity. She means that we need Christians who don't make perfection their goal or prance about like they haven't sinned in a while.

I think that when we make our personal image our biggest priority, we fool ourselves and strain ourselves spiritually.

But when we let God change us and begin work in us, we develop an honorable personal image created by Him. Not sloppily faked by us.

What does it mean to have good character and a strong personal representation of self? Let's look to scripture for the answer...

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching" 1 Timothy 4:12-13

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

"And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." Luke 6:31

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love" 2 Peter 1:5-7

BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf: A Recipe Review of Iowa Girl Eats

Friday afternoon as I was sitting through my final class of the day, I suddenly had the urge to cook a nice feast. Being in college, I prefer to do quick and easy meals (and healthy usually). And I honestly don't spend a lot of time cooking. I'll have a smoothie here or there. Bake some chicken and add some teryaki to my stir fry and call it a healthy meal. But hardly ever do I cook real meals for myself. I love doing that at home in Indiana, but here in my apartment I'm not a huge fan of it. My roommates usually like to do that for me anyways (No lie, I really lucked out).

So I browsed through my FAVORITE cooking blog Iowa Girl Eats.

I stumbled on her recipe for  BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf, and the easiness of it sold me.

 Now of course I made a few modifications to the recipe that was personally fitting for me, and I will share it all below!

Ingredients: 

1 LG Sweet Onion

1lb Lean Ground Beef

2oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Tablespoon Butter 

1 Egg, whisked
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce, divided
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
Pinch of Pepper
Pinch of Salt

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes or until no longer pink.

Preheat: 425F

Step 1.  Cut up Sweet Onion into thin slices. Melt butter in a frying pan, and add onion. Cook until 

              golden brown.

Step 2.  Toast two pieces of wheat bread. Break into small crumbs until completely fills a 1/4 cup.   

             Cut up 2 oz of cheese into small cubes. 

Step 3.  Preheat oven to 425F.

Step 4.  Whisk egg into a large bowl.

Step 5.  Add ground beef, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, cheese cubes, fried onions, 2 TBS of 

             BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's), and a dash of pepper to the egg. Mix it all up.

Step 6. Once everything is combined, make the meat into a large block, and then cut up into 4 equal  

             parts.

Step 7. Line baking pan with aluminum foil. Add the meat.

Step 8. Bake the meatloaf for about 40 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle!

I had broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a roll on the side!

Stay Alert: Not Another Balancing Act

This month, I am recognizing patterns in my life that I am officially committed to changing. Here's what I have learned: If I don't take time to slow down my days, I become exhausted mentally and physically. If I don't make solitude a priority, my exhaustion will rub off on me spiritually as well. On the other hand, If I have too much "down time", I return to my habits of laziness and become completely unmotivated. I'm sure you can relate.

Do you ever have one of those days where you are reminded of how blessed you are... and you just shake your head and think, "duh!"? This will come off extremely cheesy, but usually everyday I wake up with joy that I am now living in Virginia and that God has led me to this school. He has blessed me with such an amazing and godly close-knit group of friends and awesome roommates. I walk around campus glowing that I'm finally here.

Well, we had Fall Break two weeks ago. Since everyone besides my friend Thiago went off somewhere... basically we were the only people left in Lynchburg for 4 days. Thiago (TT as I prefer to call him) and I hung out one of those days, but the rest of the break was basically me laying around my apartment, watching Netflix, completing the entire series of "Friends", eating cookie dough straight out of the tub, waxing my eyebrows... you know, all of that glamorous stuff. Well when you get used to laziness, it's definitely hard to get back into the flow of things. ESPECIALLY, when you're slowed down with a cold the first day back from break.

So Monday last week began in a way that literally none of my Mondays have begun in awhile. "UGHHHH" I thought at 7am. I pushed myself through my 8:50am Old Testament class as my nose was running. Got through the day, and when it was over, plopped back on my bed with the urgency to watch Friends episodes. Tuesday was very similar... except I had a test bright and early at 7:40am. So I decided to complete that, and skip the rest of my classes and pass out on my bed for 4 hours. I then proceeded to watch more Friends and eat soup. Now hold up, I completely recognize that when you're sick, rest is highly recommended (And so is lots of soup and water). However, being slowed down physically AND mentally are kind of mood-killing combinations. Negative, negative, negative.

So all last week I had a cold, had no motivation to do any school work, and was tired of responsibilities. Can I just be a kid again? Last Wednesday, I had some sort of "middle of the week inspiration". I instantly felt like my day was different as I was in convocation (our version of chapel). Something just clicked in my head that made me remember where I was in Indiana nearly two months ago and reminded me to be thankful. The guest speaker was Pete Wilson, Jon Acuff's pastor in Nashville. He didn't even talk about anything that was running through my head. He talked about words. Not about my problems of being unmotivated or negative, but words.

"Hurt people hurt people, and free people free people"

"Your words have the ability to heal people, and everyone needs healing"

"Ask yourself two questions: Who has God placed in your life? And what do they need to hear you say?"

Pete Wilson's sermon was extremely refreshing and was a much needed "pick-me-up" last week. I looked at people around me, and I was reminded that God wants to use me to encourage them with my words.

So last week was slow, and this week has been pretty fast pace starting last weekend. Even this week, it's been tempting to procrastinate my work like last; however, I don't have much time to push things aside. Because of my lack of time management, I felt like I was going to snap yesterday. However, God blessed me with an apartment to myself and some quiet time. Because of that time of solitude, today I am energized and positive. It may have been hard to wake up at 6am, but the difference between yesterday and today is that I now have opened my heart to accept God's joy.

In conclusion, the lesson I have learned: Be careful, too much time on your hands will develop habits of laziness and not enough time on your hands will give you distractions.

BUSY? I encourage you, MAKE TIME to enjoy some solitude a few times a week if you live a fast paced lifestyle. Make it a priority to quiet your mind and refresh your soul. You don't want distractions to burn you out and take God's place in your heart. A busy lifestyle isn't going to leave you feeling accomplished without God at the center of the busyness.

"When will you stop running? When will you stop panting after other gods?

 But you say, ‘Save your breath. I’m in love with these foreign gods, 

and I can’t stop loving them now!’" Jeremiah 2:25

UNMOTIVATED? Now, if you  have too much time on your hands, fill your mind with things of truth and remind yourself of what inspires you. Pete Wilson happened to speak about something that I personally love to do: encourage other people. Maybe that's not something that naturally lifts your spirits, but what does? What is something that makes your soul come alive? What reminds you of your personal goals and your purpose?

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom". 

Psalm 90:12

When I was in a state of laziness last week, and as I have been extra busy this week, I have learned that this verse is true for both lifestyles:

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. 

He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." 

1 Peter 5:8

Recipe Review: Baked Peaches

Last weekend I found a unique recipe that's just perfect for peach season! It seemed rather simple, so I gave it a try. 

On the Bright Side...

This morning started off with two cups (oops) of a chilled mock-Pumpkin Spice latte that my sister made. I usually don't drink coffee everyday... or hardly at all. However, any kind of mixed Starbucks drink is perfection.

 I don't know what it is about mornings that make them so refreshing. Perhaps it is the quiet, stillness of their nature that is so divine. A time of uninterrupted reflection.

 Lately my mind has been learning the importance of positive thinking. We're always told to keep positive; however, I don't think we're always told why we should.

I am a very opinionated person, and I usually let my mind roam free to all possibilities. Not only do I do this in order to think of multiple scenarios, but I do this to protect myself in regards to people and their motives. 

I have been convicted lately about this habit because it does not produce goodness. Philippians 4:8 has been on my mind this past week,. 

Be Evident

                                  "Let your gentleness be evident to all."

Philippians 4:5

Sometimes my human nature takes delight in putting people in their place. I don't exactly know why, but when appropriate I am guilty of handing out serious reality checks when others are out of line. When my bluntness is not done out of love and respect, this is not godly character at all.

I just finished an excellent book called “Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions” by Lysa TerKeurst. The title speaks for itself, but Lysa wrote a lot of biblical truths that will forever remain treasures for my soul. 

Last Tuesday

On June 9th, my friend Kat and I ventured off to Chicago to see Justin Bieber perform on his Believe Tour. Since Indianapolis was sold out, the next closest location was Chi-town. Oh, man was it amazing! I was given two tickets as a birthday gift, but before Kat and I left we realized that these two tickets were in completely different sections. We were pretty anxious about the dilemma, but we each knew what we would pay to see the Biebz. We ended up buying floor seat tickets and we made such a great choice. I know that on Justin's next tour I will most definitely make sure I have pit seats. The dancing, video, lights, etc... all the hard work put into his shows is just phenomenal to see. And plus, he's very entertaining and talented.

To read the full story, check out Kat's blog: Believe!