Worship Wednesday

Thank you to anyone who read my last post on prayer and for the positive feedback! My prayer list is getting longer and longer and I hope you have found time to have a quiet moment with God too in this crazy (Cyrus circus) world! I was hesitant to bring up Miley because I know attention was the main goal of thy performance but I want to add her (and all the young ladies watching) to my prayer list too. But honestly what I was more troubled by was Kayne Wests heartbreaking introduction when he performed at the VMA's because it is a direct hit to my faith. Or should I say 'swing and a miss' to my faith because nothing will stand between me and My God! The singer was introduced with an 'Amen and Hallelujah!' And shockingly even 'jesus' (pronounced hey-sues as in the Spanish version) 

This hurt my heart and I immediately turned off the TV in disgust. I know I am naive to some of the things that go on in our culture but why should I be surprised by this even? In the Bible there were plenty of parables of people worshiping Idols such as gold cows and false prophets but I'm not here to write a research paper on the topic. I'm here simply to say I was saddened by that introduction and it brought me to close my eyes in prayer and once again praise The Lord for my Christian upbringing. 

And now... With a proper and pure introduction .. I give the Worship Wednesday song 'He is With Us' by Love & The Outcome 

Remember when your hope is lost and faith is shaken
Remember when you wonder if you're gonna make it
There's a hand stretched out through your deepest doubt
We can't pretend to see the ending or what's coming up ahead
To know the story of tomorrow
But we can stay close to the One who knows

We can trust our God
He knows what He's doing
Though it might hurt now
We won't be ruined
It might seem there's an ocean in between
But He's holding on to you and me
And He's never gonna leave, no
He is with us, He is with us
Always, always
He is with us, He is with us
Always

We believe there is purpose, there is meaning in everything
We surrender to His leading
He wants nothing more than to have us close

#1 Cause of Death in America & {Topic Tuesday Link Up}

I have to share something that has been on my heart a lot lately. Yesterday while at work at AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling I picked up a book that I noticed on one of the desks there. It was called "Unplanned" and tells a story of a women who worked at Planned Parenthood for 8 years before realizing what was happening right before her eyes! Right away I started reading the book because I was curious as to what she had to say about this unique change of heart experience she had. I couldn't put it down and was almost brought to tears by just the first few pages.  I will continue to read it and do a book review in the months to come!
We had a difficult case while I was working yesterday too. A woman came in that was pretty determined that she knew the outcome of her pregnancy would be an abortion. But by the will of God her heart opened up and she was willing to consider being a parent! I see things like this all the time at the center and am so over-joyed to be part of this great organization.

Last night I went for a little jog and did a HIT workout that lasted about 20 minutes. After that Alex and I watched Identity Thief which we both found to be pretty hilarious! I loved all of Melissa McCarthy's little comments like "Stop being a Vagina!" 

Then right before heading to bed I stumbled upon this blog post and found that yet again God was placing these poor women and helpless babies on my heart. H.R.1797 is a House Bill that, if passed, would ban abortions after 20 weeks due to the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. At 20 weeks if a woman is going to have in-utero surgery, the doctor would administer pain medication to the baby, however if an abortion is performed at the same week gestation, the baby would receive NO pain medication! Astonishing isn't it? Thankfully, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry who is the representative of my district and Congressman Steve King who is the representative of my hometown district both co-sponsor this House Bill so I know their stance on the issue! I had to do some research and it was interesting to see that on this site  you can follow the bill as it goes through legislature. I pray that these lawmakers defend these women and babies!

On a MUCH lighter note.... I am linking up again for Topic Tuesday! This week is 6 Favorite Products.

1 // Caribou Coffee - Just the best! Unfortunately the closest Caribou coffee shop is in Sioux City but luckily I can still buy the grounds at Hy-Vee

2 // Advocare Nutrition Bar - best tasting energy bar I have tried and I really do think it fuels me for a workout! (sometimes you wonder if it is just all mental) This is the Double-Chocolate flavor I got from my Mom for my birthday. Each bar has 140 calories and 10 grams of Protein 

3 // Mod Podge - A must have for me with all my DIY projects!

4 // Kindle - Great summer accessory poolside or long roadtrips. Currently reading "Gone Girl" 

5 // Soysationals Inspirations Candle - This was a gift from Alex. One of his co-workers makes these and I have to remember to get more! These candles actually smell continuously whether they are lit or not! They have a strong warm fragrance that fills up my basement bathroom.

6 // Psalm 51:10 Mosaic Decor -  Shameless plug for my Etsy Shop :) This honestly is one of my favorite products in my shop and if you want your very own feel free to contact me or comment below!

Have a great & blessed Tuesday everyone!

This & That {Mid Week Thoughts}

Hi Everyone, after I posted a recipe and tutorial plus weekend events I thought I would just share some random thoughts. First one has to be a funny moment at work. I was helping a co-worker turn a patient and this lady was yelling out "Help me Jesus..Oh Lord!" because she was hurting pretty bad. I think to myself..Oh this women must be a believer and a nice Christian lady. Well I was a little wrong. The next statement out of her mouth was "You know you are going to burn in hell for all the stuff you are putting me through!" Wow Lady! that is a pretty strong statement for 3 in the morning. Of course statements like this aren't rare up on the 9th floor so my co-worker and I just laughed it off. I should report that this lady was pretty confused too! The lady then continued to say that she was going to smack us and my co-worker reminded her that assaulting a health care worker is a felony (One of my favorite laws!)

 

I'm really liking this song right now by Chris August. The song has really grown on me and as a newlywed I like how it tells a story. I get goosebumps every time I listen to it and it has a strong message that couples really do give up to easily on their marriage and need God in the center.

Part of the Lyrics say
He said with this ring I promise, and with I do she said forever
But right now if they're being honest they don't know if they'll stay together
Let's fast forward to the future after struggling on their own
They finally figured out they needed Jesus in the middle
Now I'm watching God rebuild their home

 

And I have a confession also. On this blog I talk a lot about the pregnancy center and some people may not believe with some of the stances I take on issues of abortion and pro-choice. But I can say that I have not always been fully one side or the other. My mother is liberal and just like many teenagers, you develop a lot of your beliefs based on what your parents think. My mom expressed the importance of pro-choice and how it is a women's right to choose what she wants to do with her pregnancy. And for a long time that made sense to me, but now I can strongly say that you don't have to be pro-choice to still be a feminist! Being a feminist can span as far as fighting for the right to live of that unborn baby GIRL!

The first time that I heard about the pregnancy center it was at King of Kings Church. The director at the time was giving a speech on what the pregnancy center does and right away I felt drawn to that place. I still had my reservations about the whole pro-life/pro-choice thing but once the director said a specific part of her speech I was forever convinced. She explained that those babies that are aborted could have been the next President or the person to find a cure cancer. Those lives that God had planned out were lost though and their opportunity to do good in the world was no more!

Quick Post..Please Pray!

Hi Everyone! I just received an email from the Pregnancy center that I work at concerning a call for prayer. Lately the center has been sending out emails to the employees with tid-bits about some of the women's stories and situations. I like getting these emails because I haven't worked there in a couple weeks and it keeps me in touch but this last email was pretty sad, however there is still time to pray for her!
This specific 16 year old girl that is 5 weeks along is very scared to tell her mom. She even has asked for information as far as contacting a judge so that she can bypass telling her parents when she gets an abortion.
A little background information, the state of Nebraska requires girls under the age of 18 to have their parents permission before getting an abortion at any clinic in Nebraska. This is an amazing law that I  believe every state should have however just with any law there are loopholes. If a teenager goes before a judge and justifies that it would be dangerous to her health to tell her parents (meaning she would get beaten or severely punished) the judge can waive her need to notify her parents. I think this would also be in the case where parents are unfit such as into drugs and alcohol but the teen would have to have some substantial evidence to back her up. 
As of now this scared young woman has an abortion scheduled for TOMORROW! So please please pray for her and let her know there are people that are willing to help her and that God has a plan for the precious being inside of her!!

Not So Manic Monday

Hey Everyone! Wanted to share with you a little bit about my day. I am excited to announce that I received my first sale from a stranger for my Etsy Shop! This makes the shop seem very real and she even bought 2 items. She did purchase my favorite item which makes me a little sad that it has to leave my home but I will get over it ;)
 I ended up having to go into work last night because they were getting a lot of admits so I worked from Midnight - 0700 and slept the rest of the day. I got up for a zumba class at 24 hour fitness and then went for a nice little run on Keystone trail which is right next to 24 hour. Then I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up some random things.  Oh how I kick myself every time I go to Wal-Mart in my gym clothes. Today I happened to be wearing my spandex leggings and got a disgusting comment from a man that was following me in the shopping aisle. {Shutter...} I hate that feeling and I really wanted to turn around and say "EXCUSE ME?!!?" with a sassy attitude but I refrained and just quickly turned my shopping cart down another aisle. But anyways, I picked up some supplies for some craft projects since I will probably be staying up most of the night. When I came home Alex and Zach were watching the NBA game and I started looking at random blogs.
I came across a really neat one through Blogs by Christian Women. This woman's name is Cassie and she is from Arizona. She recently wrote about some controversial things in the christian community and this post I thought was AMAZING! She explains her frustration about how the Christian community sometimes (lots of times) shuns homosexuals from the church. I have always been angered by this too because the Church is about spreading the word, gaining members and loving others the way Christ loved us but when it comes to homosexuals they do the opposite. Some churches even have courses you can take to become "un-gay" ...like it is a choice or something?! My opinion is that you are born gay, you don't have a choice in the matter and you fall in love with a person not a gender! But that is just my opinion and I sometimes struggle with explaining that to people because it is such a hot topic. I'm open to others' opinions but I am NOT open to treating others badly because they are different than you!
{stepping off soap box}
That pretty much wraps up my day and I hope your Monday wasn't very Manic ;)