Living Proof Live with Beth Moore

Grace for the Good Girl: A Book Review

I just LOVED the cover of this book by Emily P. Freeman. The bird set free from the cage immediately grabbed my attention...then I opened the book to discover that I am not alone in feeling trapped by "being good" and never "good enough".

Emily is my new best friend...one day I hope to meet her and thank her for writing exactly how I have felt and thought all of these years.


In her book, Grace for the Good Girl, Emily shares how we, too, can let go of the try hard life. Trying to be good, perfect, have the perfect family, perfectly clean home, successful life, etc. All of these are good and noble, but can at the same time rob us of a pure and sincere devotion to Christ.

Emily's writing style is genuine, heartfelt and charming. I thought several times how it seemed we were sharing coffee and conversation and a deep love for the Lord Jesus Christ. I wanted to talk out loud right back to her to say, "yes, I know exactly what you are saying!" and then to share my story with her and know that she would understand all of my complexities of trying to be good enough and..


Emily shares the sense of shame she feels for not having a "testimony" like others...hers is that of truly being a good girl. The only problem with being a good girl is that being good does not come naturally either...it must be worked at, harder and harder to be perfect and to live up to some standard that we set up for ourselves.
In chapter 4, Emily discusses the”I'm Fine" response of the Good Girl. Easily, I could identify with each of the examples given...and the emotional, relational collapse that happens when my fear of disappointing others...or worse, being rejected by them ...if all is not "fine" when asked.

This recovering Good Girl grew up being told what was appropriate to feel and what the right responses should be...My grown up self now realizes that emotions are not wrong or right...they simply are what I feel. How I deal with them should be tempered by love for God...freely giving them to Him first, before I let them go in a response to or toward others.


Whether you are a Recovering Good Girl, or a Girl with a Past....this book is for you. It is time for us to let go of the masks we wear and allow Christ to fill us up with more of Him....


Emily will be your new best friend, too. And you will love her too. I just know you will.

EMPTY SPACES

Needing to be filled...

What?

Lonely. Longing.

Wanting to Love Passionately and Fully once again...

When?

Not here. Not there...

What? Where?

O, God! 

COMPLETE ME

Fingerprints of Christ

This past Friday, Mike and I were on our way out to dinner when we invited the boys to go out with us.  We do not often go out to dinner with all of them...currently, our schedules are varied and in the past, we just didn't have the resources to do this often.  So dinner out as a family was a treat!

As we were squeezing three men in the back seat (that would be Cameron-20, Matthew- 19, and Kyle-17) we were already talking about where to go! O'Charley's it is!  As Matthew said,

"It's the bread rolls, y'all!"

Off we go, conversation flowing, getting caught up on each others lives.  With Cameron at school, Matthew working and Kyle a senior in high school, you can imagine the random things that we talked about.  These guys are so fun and funny to be around. They are my favorite friends in all the world. 

Dinner was good.  The company was great. We did, however, run into a problem with the check...you see, the server came and took Mike's debit card but didn't return...Mike gets up to go and look for her...comes back...didn't see her.  Uh-oh...She seemed really nice and everything...

Just then the manager of the restaurant comes by to tell us that our card has been lost and they are looking frantically in the trash and everywhere for our card.  He apologized profusely and states his embarrassment over the matter and tells us that our dinner is on the house.  Well, that's nice, but what do we do? 

It was Friday night.  The place was busy.  Our server was pleasant and took great care of us during our meal...We told the manager that we would wait a bit to see if it was found.

As we waited, we noticed that other servers were walking by looking...down, under tables, noticing little details...looking for our lost card.  One even stopped by to state that all the other employees were looking too.  Our server, well, she was out in the trash looking...bless her heart.  She didn't want to face us, she was so upset.

Cameron, having been a server at a local restaurant, then told us how difficult that guests can be...over the slightest thing...and the worst patrons?  the church crowd.  Sad.

If we, the Followers of Christ, are to make a mark on our world, let it not be that of

 being difficult to please.

We told the manager to tell her to come out because we were not upset...after all...why should we be?  Why would we want to make someones night -busy and chaotic that a restaurant can be on a Friday night-miserable or cause them the stress of insecurity that mean-spirited words can leave?

In the end, our card was found. We were able to grace the server with words, money for her service. And we left full. Blessed. Thankful. 

Love and Grace are the fingerprints of Christ. 

Awakening: Book Review

I recently read this book by Stovall Weems of Celebration Church in Florida and was motivated and inspired to experience God by seeking a fresh start and intimate encounter with Him.  You can read my review over at Life Under the Oak Tree.

Quinoa

What the heck is Quinoa????  It is a grain, pronounced Keen-wah'. I have tried quinoa pasta before but have never attempted to cook the grain itself...until now!  So excited that I did!

Quinoa is packed with nutrition and has a mild flavor that can adapt to most other flavors you are cooking with.  Tonight I tried Whole Foods' Stuffed Peppers Recipe....only I did my version of it, because I forgot to pull up the recipe and just made this up off the top of my head.  Follow the link for the real recipe if you want, but here is what I did... 

Quinoa---So easy to make!

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

Bring water to a boil, then add the grain...cook for about 10 minutes on low until grain starts to look translucent.

4 yellow, red or orange bell peppers

4 carrots,

1 small onion

1 bunch Kale, stems removed

salt, pepper, thyme

Cut tops of peppers off, scoop out seeds

chop carrots in small pieces

chop onion, coarsely

chop kale

1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil in heavy skillet

Saute' the onions, carrots, then add Kale, season with salt, pepper and thyme to taste.  Saute' until carrots begin to soften and the Kale wilts.  Add the cooked quinoa, stir. (This is really good right here, but go ahead and try this with the peppers!)

Scoop the mixture into the peppers, bake 350 for about 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

I enjoyed this by itself as a "dinner for one" and saved the rest for another meal.  I only used 2 bell peppers since I am the only one who will eat this at my house...saved the rest in the fridge.  I am planning ahead for a healthful meal to take to work.  

I hope you enjoy!

Quinoa is a grain I plan to incorporate into my diet.  It has a higher protein content than regular cereal grains, is packed with antioxidants and all kinds of yummy goodness!

Book Review

For my review of this book please visit my other blog

 Life Under the Oak Tree.