Image Map

Monday, June 9, 2014

Test of Character + Francesca's $230 Giveaway!

Happy Monday!
Hope you all had a beautiful weekend and enjoyed the first weekend of June! I am so happy that the summer is finally here and although I have been super busy, I am grateful for each beautiful day I have been given :)

Have you ever been tested in your character?
I mean, truly, put into a situation where you had to choose whether to wallow in self pity or to hold your head high and take the bull by the horns?
This morning, I was at my wits end.
'A' called me to tell me he was having car trouble and we are going to be down to one vehicle until it gets fixed. My daughter turned from being so playful to completely fussy as soon as it was time to get ready for work. Between crying, trying to get all of my things together, and getting out of the house on time - I failed miserably. I even knocked over my favorite vase and it crushed into pieces.
 Luckily, my little sis helped to calm the baby so I could put on my shoes in silence.
As I got into my car, now running late, I realized I needed gas.
Finally getting on the road to work, texting my boss that I was running late, again, I realized that I had left my work laptop at the house. I turned all the way around and arrived at home to discover it not there. Suddenly, I remembered I had left it in the trunk of 'A''s vehicle, which was at his job a couple cities over.

In my moment of weakness, and feeling overwhelmed - I looked in the mirror, dug down deep, and I said,
"No, I am not going to let this situation steal my joy."
It was one of the hardest things for me to not become overwhelmed and get emotional this morning. But I remembered that every time I had let myself get down about my situation, it never solved the issues. My situation was still the same and although it didn't look pretty, crying surely wouldn't help. 

Have you ever been here?
Life's matters and situations trying to beat you and tear you down. In these moments, I have found it sobering to truly know Christ. To understand, that He does not call us to be strong in these moments. He wants us to lean on Him for strength. "I can do all things, through you Jesus," I whispered to myself as I pulled up to work. I have held on to a few scriptures this morning that are literally holding my head up. Keeping my focus on God, my father, who gives me true joy.  



Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
-Romans 5:3-5

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
-Romans 8:28

I hope that this brings encouragement to those of you who are feeling under all that is being thrown your way. You can make it out with Christ on your side! Joy comes in the morning!

And to celebrate a life of Joy - I am teaming up with 19 other bloggers to offer you a pretty cool giveaway for Francesca's Collection to get some new digs! I know that whenever I have on something new it automatically puts a big smile on my face!

$230 Francesca's Collection Giveaway!
The Giveaway goes live on Monday, June 9 at 12:00 am PST and ends Sunday, June 15 at 12:00 pm PST. Winner will be announced Monday, June 16



Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. I love this post! Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure I would have had the strength or balance to stay calm. This is an inspiring post! Hopefully next time things are rough, I can remember your advice!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is exactly how my morning started out and I had to really take a moment to reevaluate and refocus.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the encouragement and reminder that I always have a choice and I need to chose JOY

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow sorry you had such a stressful morning!! That is awesome though that you were able to stop and not let it overwhelm you.

    ReplyDelete

Please share your thoughts and comments with me!