Day 6: Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge: Stories

Day 6 of the Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge is STORIES.  Everybody's life is an open chapter book waiting to be filled since the day we were conceived.  Some of the stories we write ourselves others are written by the people around us.  One thing that my husband and I enjoy doing in our free time is to read.  We read several Fiction and Non-Fiction books.  We read a variety of genres from Westerns, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Religious, Young Adult, Biographies, Autobiographies, Realistic-Fiction, Historical-Fiction, and Mystery to name a few.  A few years back I set a goal for myself to read a compilation of 100 books to read before you die. So I got online and did a little research and found a list that had a majority of the books I found on several different sights.  I set out to find a copy of all the books and slowly work my way through the list.  In terms of my faith one of the books on the list of books to ready before you die is the Bible.  So I started slowly working my way first determined to start at Genesis and work my way through to Revelations.  I soon found this frustrating and decided to start in the New Testament with Matthew. So far I have made my way from Genesis to Numbers, Ruth, First 14 verses of Proverbs and are on verse 8 of Deuteronomy.  In the New Testament have read Matthew, Luke, Philippians, and Philemon.  The stories that I like most in the Bible are the parables that Jesus tells.  He could just tell his disciples his message, however making it a parable makes one think deeper about the message and relate more to it.  Some of my favorite parables are Luke 8: 4-15 and Luke 13: 6-9.  I love the story of the Creation of the Earth and Noah's Ark.  It is through stories that we continue to grow.  It is also sometimes through stories that we get lost or misled.  We has human beings tend to fall into gossip and believe a lot of things that are in fact completely untrue.  We are too quick to pass judgement on others through these stories when in fact we don't know the whole story or really know the person in the story.  Remember it is not our jobs to pass judgement on others that job is the sole responsibility of one person much greater then ourselves.  Write your own story and don't make fiction up about others life stories.

Day 5: Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge: Margins

Day 5 of the Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge is MARGINS.  Margins has several definitions: 1. The space around the printed or written matter of a page 2. The amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary 3. A limit in condition 4. A border or edge.  I have three different versions of the Bible that I like to explore and compare versus.  I have the New International Version (NIV), New Living Translation (NLT) and Joyce Meyers Everyday Bible Amplified Version (AMP).   Although I have come across several passages that I like I cannot get myself to mark in my Bibles.  So I decided to buy an inexpensive bible and highlight and illustrate passages I like in it.  Although thinking deeper about margins got me thinking about how God gave us "Free Choice."  To me margins is the amount allowed beyond the guidelines of something in this case the Words of the Bible and I see this as the Free Choice that God gives us. God allows us to make our own choices and is always patiently waiting for us to return to him.  So essentially God has given us open margins in our lives.

Day 4:Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge: Soaking

Day 4 of the Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge is: SOAKING. I have struggled with this one all day.  I settled on the following picture after trying to take one of my feet in the bathtub, but couldn't stand the sight of my swollen feet, LOL!! I am 26 weeks and 4 days along in my pregnancy and starting last week my hands and feet have started swelling, just one of the many joys of pregnancy.  To help relieve the swelling in my feet I either elevate them or soak them.  The other day to relieve back pain I soaked in the tub for a half hour.  To cool off in this summer heat I have enjoyed soaking in my pool.  Spiritually I am soaking in the miracle God has given me to experience the joy of being pregnant both for the miracle that is growing inside of me and the side effects like fatigue and swollen feet, ankles, and hands.  I am amazed by every movement my baby makes even if it is discomforting at times.  It is truly special to be able to see my stomach grow as my baby does and love my baby so much without even being able to see it in person yet and be reminded that God's love is just as strong even though I am not able to physically see him.  I know he is there though the prayers he answers, the beauty in nature all around me on earth, and from the Words of his scriptures I study in the Bible.  Everyday I take time for God I am soaking up his love and knowledge to live a better life.  

Day 3: Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge: JOURNEY

The term JOURNEY is defined as: Traveling from one place to another or passage or progress from one stage to another. Right now I feel that I am taking two journeys in faith in my everyday life. The first being my relationship with my husband. (This represented in a photo of the back of my wedding dress with our rings tucked in the lacing). My husband and I met three and a half years ago on a blind date. I had just about given up on finding anyone.  I lived in a small town with limited options for dating guys around my age among other things to say the least.  A friend and coworker said she had someone she knew and was willing to set us up on a blind date.  I had been on several blind dates in college and hadn't had much success so I was skeptical to go on another.  But the saying is true when you least expect it and give up on love it will happen. So I gave the blind date a chance and everything worked out and to this day we thank our friend for setting us up.  Almost a year ago my husband and I went from the journey of dating to getting married and in three months we start another journey of starting a family.  Beyond our relationship another journey my husband and I took was buying our first house and a new car together.  The second picture is a journey that I have been taking for almost two years now.  I have always believed in God growing up, I just never really devoted much time beyond an occasional prayer.  I decided to try to become closer with God through Attending church, Studying the Bible, Participating in Spirit Studies at my church, Assisting with Youth Group, Teaching Sunday School, Crocheting Prayer Shawls, and trying to live a more Christian life.  I have learned a lot about myself and my relationship with God through my studies, but know that the journey is ongoing and will grow as long as I don't falter or lose faith in the Lord.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take." (Proverbs 3:5-6)  

Day 2: Devozine 31 Day Challenge: Wilderness

Day 2 is Wilderness.  This one was a little easier for me to relate to.  I have always felt at peace among the woods.  I love standing and just listening to the wind rustle the leaves and the smells that you can only smell hidden among the trees, just a few of the wondrous things God created.  Growing up I preferred to walk and bike along the paths of Mantle Lake Park versus along the street or bike path of the city. With the house my husband and I just bought we have a wooded area full of a variety of trees and a stream that flows through the trees.  I almost forgot when in a Spirit Study during lent we studied the book The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus by Adam Hamilton.  In chapter 3 it states that "Mountains provide the setting for many of the most dramatic and memorable stories in the Old and New Testaments." (Page 70).  Just as Jesus would go to the mountain to pray and be closer to God. I decided today to take a stroll and explore in the woods on my property and take time away to think and pray.  Another example were the wilderness reminded my of God's gifts and creations was this past weekend my husband and I were down in Portland area.  On our drive to a friends house we drove through areas of just trees and for a moment we were away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and felt more at home passing the spray of trees then among the clutter of cars, buildings and people hurrying around.

Day 1 of the Devozine 31 Day Instagram Challenge: Questions

In the Devozine magazine we use for Youth group it gives a 31 Day Instagram challenge. I'm not one to use Instagram, but want to try the challenge, so I am going to post my challenges on Facebook and my blog. The directions say to: Take a photo a day challenge and share how your faith is reflected in your everyday life! Day 1 of the Devozine 31 day Instagram challenge is QUESTIONS. I struggled with this one and how I could capture questions in a photo and as I sat and thought I remembered my readings from Chapter 4 of "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" when God asked a man to do him a favor and carry three stones to the top of the hill. Along the way the man picked up others stones till his load was too much of a burden for him. I see the term burden as questions or concerns I carry. In our discussion of the chapter we were given a rock and asked to write one word that described a burden we had. The more I reflected on it to me my questions I carry I see written on each stone some bigger then others, some smaller, but still scattered among each other weighing a burden on my thoughts and heart. In this I have learned that I don't have all the answers for the questions written on the stones, however God does and will only give me a load I can handle. "Nothing is harder to bear than a burden we're not called to carry. While God does ask us to bear one another's burdens, he has not asked us to step in and do what people are not willing to do for themselves. And while there are many needs, God has not asked us to meet everyone. (Joanna Weaver, Page 51, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World").

 Give your questions to the Lord and let them go.