Decorating From the Inside Out

This is THE GIRL TREE! Seriously, the picture does not do it justice! It's totally precious! :)

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

This past weekend I decided to decorate my home for Christmas. Yes, thank you, I am very aware that it is mid November. I can’t help it…I have the holiday itch. However, after having this great epiphany, I began to wonder what my neighbors would think if they knew that I was already decorating my home for Christmas. I mean, seriously, who wants to be known as the crazy Christmas tree lady. I walked outside and took a good look at all of the houses adorned with pumpkins, beautiful scarecrows, and hay bales. It was at this moment that I decided to simply focus on the inside until after Thanksgiving; after all, it is the inside that counts, right? If you think about it, the most important people in my life see the inside for what it is, Christmas Trees and all! I have been obsessed about wanting my home to be perfect before my family gets here for Thanksgiving. All the bulbs on every tree must be just right, the ornaments must be evenly separated so that no two are too close together, and all garland must be hung on the chimney with care. I am happy with the progress so far, but still have a lot to do.

As I was putting up the “girly tree” (see picture), I began to wonder how my “inside” would look if I cared for it as much as I do the inside of my home. What if I designed my heart to be as beautifully decorated as my Christmas trees, and my thoughts to be as straight as my garland? What if I worried more about what my family thought of my inside as much as I worry about what they think of my outside? As we go through this holiday season, please remember that it is the inside that counts. Of course we want to care for the outside, but if the inside is beautiful, the outside will always follow suit.

The storms of This Life

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Is it really November? I honestly can’t believe that my last post was in August. I can feel the daggers. I have had so many of you calling, e-mailing, and questioning why I stopped blogging. The truth, I think I lost my blogging mojo. Do you ever feel that when the storms of life come crashing in on you, that it is so much easier to throw up the brick walls, board up the windows, and hide, pretending that it will all be over soon? As I sit here and write my first blog in over three months, I am in the midst of that tropical storm (it has now been downgraded from a hurricane) and let me tell you that those brick walls are high enough to reach the heavens. Without going into all of the drama, I will spare you the horrific details; my family has had to deal with a spiritual battle that is larger than anything we have ever seen. I am not going to say that I was unprepared for this battle/storm, but it hit us with such shocking and tremendous force, that I found myself running instead of protecting my family and home. As God began to deal with my heart through this storm, He began to show me that even though I have to push through the storms of this life, He is never going to leave me nor forsake me. Sometimes, we have to remember to put on that shield and fight the battles ahead. Most of the time, our storms are small and simply require an umbrella. At other times, the storms are larger than we are prepared for and we need a total shelter. If you are going through a storm right now, I would suggest that you memorize Isaiah 41. Use this scripture to tear down those walls and to allow yourself to let God be your shelter. We will have battles ahead, but if we allow Jesus to carry us through them, there will always be sunshine on the other side.

Heavenly Father, thank you for protecting me as I walk through the storms in my life. Help me to always remember that You are my umbrella and my shelter. I trust You with all of my heart.

Amen