Happy Valentine's Day loves!
Whether you are in a happy relationship, complicated friendship, strained marriage, single and too broken to mingle or looking for Mr. Right, you can celebrate Valentine's day with gusto! Here are a few ways I thought of for you. Let me know what your plans are today!
1. Make an easy crock pot meal, grab some bubbly and invite your Bff's over. Instead of spending the night alone, invite some of your friends over who may not have plans and spend the evening chatting and laughing together.
2. Do something that your spouse will really appreciate. So many times Valentine's Day is focused on what the man does for the woman. Some women even go around bitter the whole day if their spouse doesn't do anything that is instagram worthy. Instead of waiting for something to be done for you, do something for your significant other!
3. Do something to shake things up in a good way. Go to dance lessons, trivia night, or say yes to a blind date. Do something out of your normal routine that matches your interests. You never know who you could meet on Valentine's day.
4. If you are not feeling the romance with your spouse or if things are strained, consider praying and fasting for your marriage today. Love your spouse today as if the broken things between you have been healed.
5. If you are in a complicated friendship...aka he is not making his intentions clear and you are unsure of what you are to him, do yourself a favor and do #1 or #3 :)
xo,
happy valentine's day
ps. If you have read this far I would love to send you a free pdf download of my newest book CONFESSIONS. Just hit reply and write "Valentine's freebie" in the subject line.
A few times this week I have heard the phrase "You've got to press". The more I hear it, the more I think that there is something that God wants me to glean from that phrase. Generally, most people would agree that pressing on means to not give up. But does it mean more than that?
When I think about my life, I'd like to think that I don't give up on things. There are so many areas of my life where I feel virtually unstoppable. You might feel the same way.
However, if I am REALLY honest, when it comes to my personal ministry (writing, speaking, coaching, blogging,etc) I give up ALL the time. I never permanently give up, I just take breaks when I feel that things are too hard. If things are not going my way, or if no one shows up to my event or books me to speak, or buys a book...I get discouraged.
I start thinking "Maybe it's not God's timing or maybe I heard God wrong." I convince myself that essentially God wants me to give up but then I get annoyed (at myself) when I see people living out their purpose more "successfully" than I am. The one common denominator that I find in all success stories is the press.
I looked up press and it said "move or cause to move into a position of contact with something by exerting continuous physical force.
The word "continuous" hit me like a ton of bricks. When it comes to my personal ministry, I have not been continuous. I experience a season of success and one thing happens that brings me down and I take a break. Sometimes I blame it on God, sometimes I blame it on finances, or even my full time job. I always have an excuse to take a break. Then I receive one bit of encouragement and then I start up again and then fall back down. It's a vicious cycle...can anyone relate?
I dare you to CONTINUOUSLY press forward regardless of your internal and external circumstances. Most people will never know what God has in store for them BEYOND the continual press. Every time you stop, you lose momentum!
When you have a God-given purpose on your life, the enemy will send momentum stoppers so that you are unable to PRESS. Momentum stoppers can be anything from self-doubt to financial struggles.
I know that I am in a season of pressing. I have had so many things happen to slow me down and make me want to give up but I want to press continuously...let's press together!!
Philippians 3:12-16 (MSG)
12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
15-16 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
Have you ever felt stuck in a season of life? Even in the midst of gratitude and seeing all of God's blessings you can still feel stuck and that's OK. Maybe you feel stuck in a certain cycle of relationships, health issues, living situation, etc. The good news is that you are one choice away from your new season.
While many people started their "new" season on January 1st, I started mine months ago. I think it was around July that I made the choice to move towards a new season of life. I felt stuck in a cycle of living in rentals and then having to leave abruptly and I felt stuck in bitterness towards broken relationships. There were times when I genuinely felt that I couldn't escape this and that God must be trying to teach me something through all of it.
Then a wise man, my amazing boss, said something that changed my outlook. I was telling him that I was still in prayer that God would open a door for a home for me. He replied "Why don't you just go ahead and buy a house?". Ok, maybe he didn't say it exactly like that, but he was essentially saying to put action with my prayer.
Sometimes people of faith can be stuck in a situation because they are simply choosing not to take action as a way of praying and waiting on God. Alternatively, it also takes a lot of faith to go ahead and make a choice based on the knowledge God has already given you and then trust him to walk with you through that choice. I am not saying that one way is better than the other, but I do think that it takes faith for both.
I decided to walk out my faith in a different way and started making choices towards the new season that I wanted. Here are a few choices that I made that led me to where I am in this moment:
I made a choice to not give up every time a buyer didn't accept my offer. Previously, if my house offers got rejected I saw it as God saying to stop trying. I changed my perspective and saw every rejection as God getting me closer to my home. I became a first time homeowner in October!!!! The season of rentals and being pushed out is OVER.
I made a choice to sign up for foster parent classes. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to open my home to children in need. I had been waiting to get married first so that the kids in my home would have a fatherly figure. I felt stuck because I was still single and figured that I shouldn't foster. I start my first foster parent class in two weeks and I can't wait to offer a safe space for children. A single parent home is better than no home.
I made a choice to forgive. I still feel wronged and rejected by a few people in my life who will probably never truly apologize. To shield myself from further hurt and being taken advantage of I basically tried to ignore these people which was virtually impossible. It was taking so much energy for me to "protect" myself and I cried almost daily. I prayed daily for God to help me to forgive. The Lord showed me the wrongs I have done against Him and in light of that, I cannot hold anything against anyone. I also trust that if I was truly wronged then God would vindicate me in his time. Today, I am friends with those who hurt me and can actually laugh with them. I feel free.
I made a choice to buy a plane ticket. I have traveled out of the country over a dozen times but haven't traveled for some years. Traveling is a big part of me and I had been feeling stuck because of college loan debt. I would say to people, "I used to travel a lot, now I can't". A dear friend from college had been telling me that she planned to get married in Greece and that I was invited. I had saved for this trip and then had to use the money towards my car engine that died. I was devastated. I reasoned that God must not want me to travel anymore because there was always a more important expense. Last week, I purchased my ticket to Athens!!! On top of that, a good friend of mine decided to come with me and now I am having a girls trip in GREECE....how amazing is that?!
You are ONE choice away from your new season...what choice will you make today?
