On a Scale of 1 to 10

If I compared my life to one of those 1 to 10 scales...I often think of what I would start as 1 and what I would have as 10. 

I would probably need to decide what 5 was too. 

You know, right there in the middle. 

10 is supposed to be perfect. So what would my perfect life look like? 

And 1...the worst...what would that look like too? 

5...mediocre. 

What does my mediocre life look like? 

I don't know about you, but this is pretty deep thinking for me.

And to be honest, I don't know if I quite have this all hashed out myself. 

But, it has me thinking. 

Thinking about what I would want my life to look like...and also about what I would not want it to look like. 

And I don't want to live a boring life. 

Lee and I have already been challenged to live a story worth telling...to live a life that others would talk about...would be inspired by...would be challenged by. 

A life that would make someone say, If they can do it, I can do it!

So, I'm actually going to take some time to think about it before I share. 

While I'm thinking, would you share with me what you have as one of the things that would make your life a 10? 

Not What I Expected

It has almost been 6 months since we moved from Louisiana.

I can say that things have not gone like I thought they would - good or bad...

I didn't think that we would get a house 4 doors down from Shawn & Amy (our pastors and friends who invited us to move up here to be a part of this adventure at Connection Church!) And we love love love our house. We are still renting - even though it is for sale by owner - and we are planning to buy it as soon as we can. 

I wasn't really sure where we would be living...but I'm thrilled we are where we are. We live in a fabulous neighborhood with the most wonderful neighbors!! We love it!

I didn't think it would take Lee over 6 months to get a job. He applied for the Apple store back in April before we moved, and he talked to them as soon as we moved here in June. And then he went through 4 interviews. 4. And the last one was back at the end of September or October. His first day was December 1st. 

I still believe God's timing is perfect. And the Apple store is the perfect part-time job for Lee. The hours are flexible...and he will be able to still focus on the work he does for the church as well as be with our family. He has loved the training he has been a part of...and I know he's going to excel working there. And Bella will be excited if we ever go to see him on a lunch break - the mall is her favorite place to go. Such a girl!!!

I didn't expect God's provision to come to us through such extreme measures. Diapers on our doorstep, a huge box of meat and meals delivered in the mail, checks in the mail, and meals provided by people we have met within the past few months...It's overwhelming to think of His goodness...and how good His people have been to us. We are blessed!!

The holidays seem so much harder to be away from family and friends back in Louisiana (and Lee's family in Texas). We know that God has called us here...but that doesn't always make it easier. And we have great friends now here...and actually, our love for Louisiana draws us closer to each other. There really is no other place like it. Just today on our way to drop off Bella at school, we passed up a pond...and Bella said, "Look Mom, that's my swamp...the alligators live there." And I wasn't able to convince her that alligators don't live there...she will have to see them next summer when she goes back to visit Louisiana. 

I didn't think I would be doing this well after having a baby. I wasn't extremely negative...I was trying to be realistic. I knew my hormones would be crazy...but besides the few baby blues days I've had...I've been really happy...I've enjoyed taking care of all 3 kids (and Lee too...and he's been wonderful at taking care of me.) But my weight loss is going good...I feel great...my biggest frustration is finding a pair of jeans that fit!!! 

I've said this before, I don't think I knew what to expect when we moved. This is so different from everything we've known and done for all of our lives. 

But it is an exciting adventure that we are on...and God has been (and will continue to be) with us every step of the way. I'm so glad that His ways are higher than ours...and with Him, we are trying our best to live a story that is worth telling. 

Taking a risk for God is totally worth it. 

This Is Who I Am

I can get so easily overwhelmed with my blog.

I want it to be something that I enjoy...an outlet to express what I'm passionate about...what I'm interested in...

But I know that there is a lot of potential in blogs.

For instance, I could make money off of my blog. And there are so many ways to do it!

Google Ads (which I have on the side but am not really making anything from yet)...
Sponsoring posts (which I haven't really done yet)...
Letting people advertise on my blog (which hasn't happened yet either)...

There are so many more ways to go about it too! And I would get paid to do something that I love...writing...expressing myself...and staying at home with my kids.

I know that there are a lot of professional bloggers out there. People who are making a lot of money - huge incomes - through this field of blogging.

And I'm not there yet. At all...

And there is so much that I don't understand about graphic design and layout...and I get sooooo frustrated with...

And I don't know if it's worth it to try to learn...to try to understand. I mean I know it is...I just know that it will take me more time than a lot of other things that come so easily to me...and I don't exactly have a lot of free time with 2 little ones and one coming any time now.

I have made the decision that I don't want to change my blog just to make money. I don't want to start talking about fashion and style...that's just not me. I mean, if I come up with a cute outfit and want to share, fine...but I'm not going to go out of my way to talk about it. And I am NOT a crafts kind of person...so I won't even pretend to go there...

My blog is personal...it's about me...my life...my relationship with Christ...my relationship with my husband...how I feel about being a wife, a mom, a daughter of God.

This is who I am. If I happen to make money off of this blog, great. If I don't, I will still keep writing. It's a way for me to share my life...what God is doing in me and through me...with hopes of inspiring someone else in their journey of life...

Dreaming Big Enough

I've been saying this for years...and I really believe it in my heart.

I want my dreams to be huge...because I know that God will exceed my expectations.

In the Bible it says in Isaiah 55:8-9:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than your ways,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

His thoughts and ways are higher than mine...and if I dream big...He will still exceed my expectations.

So I feel good (most of the time) in believing for the impossible. Of course there are times when my faith is not strong...when I don't have the optimistic outlook...BUT

I try my best to believe that God is going to go above and beyond what I think He can do.

This takes my eyes off of myself and what I can accomplish and watch God with such a high expectancy...which creates an excitement in me that I cannot explain.

Now, I don't believe that I can just sit back and wait for God to do everything...I have to do my part. I have to respond when He asks me to do something...I have to listen, believe, and work.

But when I do my part, I know that He is going to do His! And His ways are perfect!

There are times when I am guilty of not dreaming big enough. When I don't believe things can be accomplished...or just set low expectations for myself.

But I want those times to be rare in my life. I want to live a life of huge, extravagant faith!! And I would love that to be a legacy that I pass down to my own children.

I love this quote...

If my dreams scare me because they are so big...that means that it's only God who can make them become a reality! That's the kind of life I want to live!!

I don't want to be scared to dream...I want to be scared that my dreams are too big for me alone!