Contains strawberry flavored pieces...

Wowowowowow, I serve a brilliant Jesus.

My mom and I have been emailing back and forth and she shared with me such a brilliant passage from her devotions. These words are a balm to a people pleaser's heart who is

misguided and held hostage in their own heart by the opinions of other people (and usually not the people the Lord has placed in your life to build you up).

"Self-disgust is lifeless and loveless." So often I get swallowed up by the dread and dissatisfaction in myself that I begin to dissect and nitpick at myself. I bring it all to God, so teary eyed and broken, feeling useless and forgettable. And then I realize when I talk to him

about it, I am his creation, he created me in his image, he carved me by hand. My sister often makes things for me, pottery, jewelry, clothing, and each time she does I marvel at not only her talent but that she made if for me. Would I ever hold it up in front of her and say, 'Yeah I guess it's nice. I'll take it. But I don't like the color or how this side doesn't match the other.' Never!

And not just out of politeness. I always prize it and put it out on display. God gave me a body that works flawlessly. A body that runs for miles everyday, that creates stories and dreams, that can breathe and get up out of bed all on it's own. He has blessed me with a vibrant life.

In giving up negative thoughts for Lent, I want to try and break the stronghold that it has over my life. I have failed many times already but so often, when I do catch myself, it sets a certain calm to choose to believe the best, or choose to see the best in myself. Instead of saying, 'I could have done better on this' or 'why didn't I do better', to say 'I did this really well' or

'I am absolutely capable of that', it begins to unravel something in me. It breaks down a cage around me, so I can see out a bit more. I have taken my own voice away, a voice that the Lord

so desperately wants to hear and hear confidence.

And it has my favorite verse in it! 'Keep your heart with all diligence..." Keep it, and not to just hide it away.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you." Keep is to treasure and to nurture. Above all else, guard you heart for from it flow the springs of life." Amen!

I am sitting staring at a cereal box that 'contains strawberries and strawberry flavored pieces'. I'm not sure how I feel about that. 'Contains' makes me think of a warning label and the 'flavored pieces' isn't much

of a selling point for me. But it's still in my cupboard so it worked well enough.

And I totally want to make this! It's an ottoman, and who doesn't love an ottoman, especially when it's crocheted. Really popular in Norway, go figure! There's a crocheted version too but I think the knitted one would be easiest. The image comes from Apartment Therapy which I am absolutely addicted to. I pretty much add it into conversations even when it's not appropriate. "'Your total comes to $4.14. Have you ever checked out Apartment Therapy?". Our Alice chair in our living room needs a crazy footstool to go with it. Can't you just see it?!