Spring came to the office!

Yesterday was spring cleaning at the office for me, it was LONG overdue. I couldn't stand the dust anymore around my desk and it was pathetic how much I had let it accumulate.

This definitely came in handy!


TA-DA! Here's to a sqeaky clean area!!


All in a days work! Thumbs up to the great coffee I made!


Now I'll just have the smell of Lysol in my nose for days to come, haha!!

I decided I would start doing this every Friday. I started working on the questions on Chapter 1 in my “Lady in Waiting” book, and I thought it would be great to do them right here on the blog. I’m going to be honest and raw, and most of all I’m doing it because I want that accountability, and also if you have any insight you can add as to the particular chapter for the week, then by all means, please share. This week was on “Reckless Abandonment. So here we go:

From your perspective, what is the difference between “token commitment” and reckless abandonment” to Jesus? Is your relationship with Jesus one of sacrifice or convenience? (2 Sam. 24:24)

I think token commitment can sometimes leave people committed because there’s something in it for them, for their gain. It can leave us wanting to be committed on our terms and by our standards and there’s really nothing to be gained by it. I think reckless abandonment comes when we give God all facets of our life. When we put our complete faith and Trust in him and loving him without conditions, not for what he can do for us, but because of what he’s already done on the cross and because he first loved us. I would like to 100% say without a doubt that my relationship with Jesus has always been one not of sacrifice or convenience. But I think at one time or another that we’ve all been guilty of this, and I still find at times I have to work on this. For me personally, I think when life gets so hectic and crazy, it’s easy to put Jesus on the back burner, and feel inconvenienced by it all, but whenever we get that busy where we start getting that mentality, that’s when it’s time to slow down and get our perspective back in line again. It’s so easy to put him in a box and let him out when we give him the go-ahead, when it’s convenient for us, and when it makes up feel good, but this Christian journey does not always make us feel good, but we have the hope and promise in him.

Have you broken you “alabaster box” at the feet of Jesus? (see Mark 14:3-9 and Luke 7:36-39.) Are you afraid to break your box at His feet? Why?

I think I partially have. There are still those areas and those deepest parts of me that I keep hidden and don’t fully give over to him (like he doesn’t already know all there is to know about me, ha). I’ve come to realize you can’t hide a darn thing from him. He’s the see all-know all. That’s pretty cool to think there’s someone that knows you like no other ever will. I, at times, feel like I can never live up to this expectation he has of us and that I’ve disappointed him in ways he can’t forgive, but he didn’t lay those expectations on us. All he’s asking us to do is live a life for him and that’s pleasing to him, and with abandonment. And I think all this in a lot of ways has hindered me from fully breaking my alabaster box.

Like Ruth, has your relationship with Jesus affected your friends, your surroundings, and your faith? (Mt.19:29).

I would have to say yes, but not in a bad way. I think those relationships that God has placed in my life, even those where one may not have a personal relationship with Jesus, there’s a respect. A respect for where I stand in my relationship with him and how I choose to live my life, whether that be at work, or at school, or anywhere else. And in return, those people know they will get no judgment from me, but that I’m always here if they want to know more and I think a lot of those people feel they can share with me, no matter what it is, because they know they will not be judged. As for my faith, I still struggle in the area of faith. It’s soooo easy to believe something for someone else and pray for someone else, but when it comes to faith for those things in which you’re asking for, it’s so easy to get that mentality, like who am I. All he does is ask us to have faith the size of a mustard seed.

Does your life have public and private evidences of your reckless abandonment to Jesus Christ? Explain.

I’ve always firmly believed that who you are in public is who you should be behind closed doors. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of my words expressing that I have huge faith in a particular situation or circumstance when deep down that situation is breaking me to pieces and you want to portray to everyone that you have it all together, when in reality, I was broken. I pray that he teaches me more and more everyday to just be real with myself, be real with him, and be real with others.

Read Colossians 2:10. What does being complete in Jesus mean to you? In what ways do you feel incomplete? How can that be changed?

I think you can summarize being complete in Jesus just in the realization of knowing who you are in him, that in itself I truly believe allows you to feel complete. Sometimes I feel incomplete in my self-worth and how I view myself. I have my good days, and my bad days. Sometimes I feel incomplete in just the simple fact that we’re supposed to be content with where we’re at, and that’s not always the case for me. And I’m still working on this, but I think once I fully realize that myself worth is not in the things and people of this world, but only in him. And when I fully come to terms with the fact that I’m on his boat, not rowing my own and that he’s the director of my path, and I’m RIGHT where I’m supposed to be, mountains can be moved.

Have you experienced the completeness that comes from the courtship available with your heavenly Fiancé? Consider this dating prerequisite: You must understand you are complete in Jesus before you ever date or marry.

This is a HUGE eye-opener. I’ve never been in a serious relationship and the dates I’ve been on I’ve never heard from again. And I always thought there was something wrong with me. I seriously, now, consider it as God protecting my heart. And I think there’s a lot of rearranging he has to do in my life before allowing that person to come in. And I think this question pertains directly to where I’m at, and he’s allowing me more and more everyday to find that completeness in him, and then I just leave the rest up to him.

What does the following statement mean to you: “Any woman who does not understand that she is complete in Jesus is susceptible to idolatry”? (This idolatry is dependence on a guy to make her complete-thus putting him in God’s place.) Consider this verse: “How happy are those who know their need for God…” (Mt. 5:3 Phillips).

The answer to this is simple, if you’re not finding your completeness in God, then you’re going to be looking for it in other people, and not seeking after that true completeness that God desires for us. There’s complete and then there’s COMPLETE, and the second complete is only found in God. And he’s surely putting that completeness in my life together one piece at time, even at times when I may not always recognize it.

Ha, wow, that was almost theraputic!! Thank you for hanging in with me there. And if you would, please keep my grandpa in your prayers. He has fallen twice and the second time he fractured his hip and now he's back in the hospital. Also, update on my Aunt. She's back home after her procedure and recuperating. Please continue to pray for her recovery. Thank you!!

I'm ecstatic it's the weekend! How about you???? It's supposed to be gorgeous in Florida this weekend with a high of 81. Not to brag or anything :o)