Ask, Seek, Knock.

Today was the first day of training for the VYC Internship I am a part of this summer. And it was a pretty paradigm-shifting day. The topic was the Spirit-Filled Life. We talked about the Holy Spirit. How to receive Him (repent and be baptized. Acts 2:38-39), the fruits He nurtures in our lives (love, joy peace, patience, etc. Galatians 5:22-25), and the gifts that He gives us (words of wisdom, teaching, prophecy, encouraging, etc. Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28-31, & Ephesians 4:11-15).

So when I say paradigm-shifting, I mean it really changed the way I think about a lot of things. One of the big themes we really dove into was the idea of asking, seeking, and knocking. Now, I had definitely heard the verses in Luke where Jesus tells the parable of the man knocking on his friend's door at midnight (Luke 11:5-13). It is only because of his persistence that the friend finally gets up, answers the door, and gives his friend what he needs. However, I had never really looked at the context of this parable. In the following verses, Jesus goes on to say that whoever asks, it shall be given to him, whoever seeks will find, and whoever knocks, it will be open to him. But asks for what, exactly? Verse 13 says "how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

So this whole time, I have been using the "ask, seek, knock" concept for everything else in my life, BUT the Holy Spirit! I ask God for money for school. I seek to know God's will for my life. I knock, wanting to know when the next big thing in life is going to happen. These are not bad things. But I am not asking, seeking, and knocking for the Holy Spirit. I am not desperately pounding on the door, asking for my life to produce other-centeredness, patience, and self-control. I am not seeking, as for hidden treasure, what gifts God has for me and how He wants me to use them to bring glory to Him.

Enter 30 days of intentional asking, seeking, and knocking. Thirty days where I am going to be searching out the Holy Spirit and having Him truly flow through me. Thirty days of surrendering to Him, allowing Him to produce fruit in me and use me in whatever capacity and through whatever gifts He chooses to give to me. And hopefully, this thirty days will turn into a lifetime of complete surrender and abandonment to the Holy Spirit in my life.

So as a little reminder of this, I took the chair arm that I got from the old seats in Valleybrook as a souvenir, and made it into a token of remembrance.

Now is RIGHT on Time

So true. It can be so incredibly easy to look back on our journey and say "I wish...." or "If only..." or "What if..." But those things didn't happen. Things hardly ever happen the way we had planned. But then, that's why God's ways are higher than mine and his thoughts higher than my thoughts. That's why He's God, and I am Heather. Because even when things don't turn out the way I had planned, He uses them to draw me closer to Him, to shape me, to change me, to mold me. I just need to be patient, be still, and know that He is God.

So. I may be a Foodie.

Strawberries, hollowed out, cream cheese filling, dipped in graham cracker crumbs.Spaghetti stuck through hot dog slices, boiled.Apples cored and sliced, peanut butter, granola, and chocolate chips between two slices.Bacon placed on griddle, pancake batter poured over.Zucchini, brushed with olive oil and grilled, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni spread on top, grill or broil until done.

YUM. Summer goal... try at least two of these new food creations.

In this home...

This WILL be a wall in my house someday.

5 Things Friday- Things I want to do before I'm 25

Things I want to do before I'm 25

1. Make homemade sushi

2. Get a pixie haircut

3. Play on a worship team (learning guitar better would probably be a good idea for this one)

4. Roadtrip to IHOP

5. Be able to touch my toes from a standing position

Hello, Sugar

This summer I am giving up sugar. I am doing this for multiple reasons, a few of them being...

1. To be more healthy


2. To observe sugar's effect on my mood, energy, and anxiety


3. To lose weight

So, it's more of an experiment than anything. I've cut out all desserts, sweets, and candy, as well as foods with anything more than a couple grams of added sugar. I have been eating fruit, yogurt, milk, and other foods that have natural sugars in them. So far it has been going pretty smoothly. Sure, the cakes, cookies and chocolates I've been offered have been tantalizing. But not as tantalizing as the three above mentioned goals. I did a bit of research before choosing to do this, and seriously, sugar is so bad for you! It can basically be defined as a drug and is just as addictive as other drugs.  And as I walk through the grocery aisles, most of the stuff I have to put back on the shelf because of the high sugar content is stuff that isn't natural and good for my body anyways. But, here is some of the delicious food I have been living off of.

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The hummus is DELICIOUS spread over the pitas. And the celery with the awesome chunky peanut butter is delectable as well. I have been making omelets in the microwave (yeah, I didn't know it was possible either!) with ham and cheese. So needless to say, I have been eating good! And when I have a craving for something sweet, strawberries, oranges, and yogurt take care of that! Hello, sugar... goodbye, sugar!

25 Ways to Tie a Scarf

This is such a fun video! I have so many scarves, but only a couple of ways I know how to wear them... well, not anymore! Watch on to learn 25 ways to tie a scarf... my favorite is the "celebrity." :)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5LYAEz777AU]