I may go through persecution, tribulation
I’m persuaded that nothing ever will be able
To separate me from this love
In all these things, through Him that loved us
We are more than conquerors!
(From “Overcomer” by William McDowell)
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
- John 16:33 NKJV
Filed under Life & Faith, Sunday Song
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve read about the search for one word to give direction in this new year.
I struggled as I contemplated the right verbiage to capture my journey.
Should it be a noun like beauty? Something I can use to anchor the things I see, the things I create, and thing things I know are within me.
Should it be a verb?
I could focus on dreaming big, or refocusing my life.
But then I thought…
“I want my year to about more than beauty”
“I don’t want to spend the entire year dreaming or refocusing. Those things will only be small steps in my journey through 2012.”
“I want to do more than that.”
That’s when it hit me. The word “do” could be my word for the year. It could be my way of making a call for more activity and challenging myself to complete various tasks.
I thought about it. Lived life. Thought about it again. Questioned it. Then I had a real “duh” moment.
I realized that God had given me my word for the year before the new year ever got here. And it was “do.” I heard it in the sermon at church on New Year’s Eve. I wrote about it as I ushered in 2012 right here. The chorus of the Sunday Song that week echoed it over and over. And I even made it my theme song for the year. Of course, I planned for those things to coincide with each other, but I had no idea at the time that my word for the year would come from that and be something so simple.
Sometimes I think I try to be too deep for my own good. I think, in those moments, God has to give me a proverbial smack upside the head to make me look at what’s been right under my nose the whole time.
So “do” is my official word for 2012.
By definition, it’s the perfect word for me this year because I feel like this is a time for me to get moving…no longer procrastinating or just waiting for things to happen.
do – verb \ˈdü\
transitive verb
1. to bring to pass : carry out
2. perform, execute
3. commit
4. bring about, effect
In fact, I can apply it to my entire list of goals.
Get priorities in order. Do it.
Spend more time in the word. Do it.
Get up and exercise. Do it.
Eat right. Do it.
Be on time. Do it.
Dream. Serve. Love.
Read. Write. Encourage. Inspire.
Everything.
I just have to make a plan…and do it. And when I start to forget my word and feel laziness and procrastination creeping up, the magnets on my refrigerator will motivate me to keep doing the things I know I should be doing.
Filed under Life & Faith
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I, I’m desperate for you
And I, I’m…I’m lost without you
(From “This Is The Air I Breathe” as sung by Nicole Binion)
Over the past week, I’ve realized how lost I am without those moments in the word. Those are the times where I find peace, get a bit of clarity, and get inspired like never before. And now, I am desperate for them.
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
- John 6:35 NKJV
Filed under Life & Faith, Sunday Song
I live in a world surrounded by photographers.
My husband is an artist who takes beautiful photos. My sister-in-law is a photographer who runs her own business (Smit’n Photography). Not to mention the friends and bloggers I get to see capture their lives on a daily basis. As for me, I’m a struggling wannabe who takes a good picture every now and then. But their eye for beauty makes me want to be better.
After all, a photographer’s eye is an amazing thing.
They can see beauty on a whole other level. With a pointed lense, they can capture life in what appears to be dead, glimpses of joy in a life filled with hurt, and the pretty inside a girl who feels anything but.
A few weeks ago, I was that girl. After a year of feeling unpretty, I was thrust in front of a camera for a photo shoot with a friend. I wanted to do it to mark one year since I chopped off my hair, went natural and decided to embrace the follicles that grow out of my scalp. And my friend with the amazing eye obliged.
I was completely open to his vision for the session because, after all, I’d been struggling to find my beauty and I wanted beautiful pictures.
The scenario was nothing I could’ve imagined: me dressed in silver pants, black shirt, a silk patterned jacket, futuristic shades and combat boots. Not to mention black theatre makeup on my lips.
Again, NOTHING I would’ve imagined.
Still…I was open.
We ended up driving to an empty lot on the side of the road. It was a place where an old brick foundation sat in the midst of tall weeds and a sparce selection of trees.
He said it was perfect. And I believed him because he was my photographer friend with the amazing eye.
I posed, feeling slightly awkward since my brain was focused on the features I thought made me less than photogenic.
Suck in the stomach.
Make sure the gap doesn’t look so big.
Stand up straight so things don’t droop.
I’m sure that if I didn’t have on the shades I would’ve had frame after frame showing dead eyes with no life behind them. Just focus.
I was able to hide behind them until I felt comfortable.
And with his amazing eye, my friend caught those comfortable moments. The moments where slight changes in expression paired with the right lighting told a story. The story he knew I wanted to tell. The story of a woman who lives in a modern world where altering your true self can be expected…returning to her natural roots.
Courtesy: James Pittman
He found beauty in that, and showed it in a way I didn’t think was possible. And he made me see it as well…as I saw the beauty in myself for the first time in a while.
Courtesy: James Pittman
Filed under Fashion & Beauty, Life & Faith
Lately, my alarm has been going off before sunrise. The jarring beeps cause me to stumble out of bed and press the off button.
I make my way to the shower. And as the water hits me, my eyes widen and I thank God for another day, anxious for the moments to follow where I sit with my breakfast, my Bible, a book of my choice, and my devotional.
I look forward to the quiet, the time to mentally prepare for the day.
It’s time I never made time to experience until the new year.
And now, it’s the best part of my day.
I used to start my day hurriedly after pushing the snooze button about five times. I would take a quick shower, find the clothes I didn’t have to iron, and save my makeup for the car. And forget making the bed, making lunch, or even thinking about putting something in the slow cooker for dinner. Just rushing.
And all that rushing made me feel like I was always one step behind, struggling to catch up.
I would always hear about early risers who read the paper or watch the news while they eat breakfast, go for a morning run, or hit the gym for a quick workout. There’s no way you’d catch me going for a morning run or working out in the a.m. (been there, done that and didn’t want the postcard), but I can appreciate what it does for them.
My devotional time does the same thing for me.
I sit. I read. I write. I think.
I meditate in the still of the morning, and get focused.
Even though there may be kittens scuffling around nearby, it doesn’t bother me. My mind is ready for the day ahead.
For the first time in two and a half years, my hubby was the one snoozing while I got up and at em’ last week. But soon, we could both be enjoying the morning. He says he wants to develop his own a.m. routine. Hopefully, that means in between those still moments alone, we can make time for some morning moments together.
What’s your morning routine?
Filed under Life & Faith
I'm Claresa, and I live an inspired life. I'm constantly inspired by my life, my environment and the people in it, especially my husband. And here...I write about it all.
Read my story.
