Sunday Stylist

Home for the weekend and these are just a few of my favorite stops.  If you are ever heading 41 south be sure to stop in.

Along 41 there is some really good local honey that you can pick up at a road side box.  Choose your size and amount that you would like to pay and drop the money in the box!  Little places like this still have the honor system.

The best homemade peach and strawberry ice cream around can be found at Burton Brooks Orchard.  Open on Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 6pm. Before I met John, I would drive over usually on Saturday afternoons when peaches were in season.  I still don’t know how we did not run into each other sooner because little did I know, he was just down the road.  I am always amazed at how God works and how He works in His own time.  My heart melted as we pulled in on Saturday.

If you are in the area on Sunday mornings you must visit Philadelphia Baptist Church.  It is located on Troupeville Road.  Service starts at 11am.  It is one of my favorite places to be back home.  Today Pastor Clay talked with us about Hope.  His message came from 1 John 5 and Psalm 56.  His message could not have come at a better time.  God always knows what we need exactly when we need it.

If you are up for a road trip any time soon be sure to visit some of my favorite places. All small towns are richly unique and you never know what you will find. Support and share other small businesses in Georgia.

Summer 2018 vacation is in the books as complete with maple bacon donuts, sunrises, a sea turtle siting, a heaping ton of sea sand everywhere, snorkeling, Blue Mountain ice cream, baby black tips, putt-putt, deer, Shakes Frozen Custard, sunburns, quiet time with the Lord, stargazing, snowballs that really taste like mounds almond bars, sunsets, dirt roads and one shrimp shucking, oyster cracking, crab peeling contest. (I am only kidding about the contest, we made it up jokingly when I was peeling shrimp for dinner one night.) But if there were a contest I am sure I could win.

We have squeezed every last ounce of our time together for ALL IT IS WORTH! I mean we cashed in our days together like money burning a hole in our pockets all while wishing time would stand still.  We are so thankful that God gifted us with beautiful weather, emerald waters and an amazing time.

With the recent loss of two grand parents, John traveling more (without family close by this has given me a new appreciation for single moms because you are serious rock stars), with the salon growing and big decisions that need to be made, this time away was so good for all of us.  Now by no means am I complaining, so please don’t misunderstand.  I am just being transparent because life has a crazy way of taking the wheel sometimes.

I am truly thankful and grateful.  I hope you will get to take some time to unplug, slow down, breathe in some fresh air, feel the sunshine on your face, the wind in your hair and the sand between your toes.  That you will sit a little longer, spend a little more time listening and slow down enough to just be still.

Because we live in a fast paced culture that teaches success in an unhealthy way and that family and children are not as important as your career.  (By the way this is a lie)  I have been reminded that time with our loved ones really does fly by and we don’t get it back once it’s gone.  At the end of every season what truly matters most is faith, family and friends.  It is not conditional to how much money we can put in the bank, how many rat races we can run or the time we’ve wasted stuck in comparison or mislead into competing. We only get one shot.  One life.  The memories we make are a gift. Time well spent and a life well lived leaves a legacy.

Faith is to trust and believe.  Faith makes the impossible possible. When you feel like a sunken ship, beat up and bruised and your wounds are as deep as the ocean.  Jesus tells his friends to cast a net and his love reaches into the deepest places.  Jesus picks up all the broken ones and He makes something beautiful because the mess is never wasted. He can’t leave us the way He finds us. He is making all things new so His light shines through. He bends low and draws a line in the sand.  Even the wind and the waves obey His commands.  The ocean current carries us but we are never too far out of His reach.  His peace, mercy and grace come like a crashing wave and we are set free.  Now we have to go and share why Jesus died for all of us because hearts that have been set free can never be quiet.

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4 NIV

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NIV

“They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him, But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” John 8:6 NIV

“He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. ” Mathew 8:26 NIV

“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.” – 2 John 1:3 NIV

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ” Galatians 5:13 NIV

2008 Update Zondervan NIV Study Bible

Within this year  I began a  journey to lose weight.  Not because I care what people think, but because I want to be spiritually, mentally and physically healthy for myself and for my family.   It has been almost a year now and as of today I am down seventeen pounds.

People have been incredibly supportive.   And I have had lots of opportunities to encourage and share with others on their journey.  However,  there have been moments when some one would say something that would stop me in my thoughts. Reminded that words can carry weight and if I was not careful I could easily pick up the weight of my own insecurity.  I would question. Why would they say that to me?  Was I really that overweight?   It was then that I quickly realized that I had a choice.  I could carry the weight of those words and let them feed into my own insecurity or  I could choose to  smile with complete sincerity and love in my heart.  Our identity is not in  the weight of words or in the weight of our own insecurity but our identity is in Christ alone and who He says we are.  Everyday we get to choose.   We can choose love, understanding, grace and kindness.  And then give it ALL away!

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil  but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.”                1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

In May, I took a second trip back to Rwanda, Africa.  This time we carried my daughter with us.   God grew our faith and taught us both a lot while we were there. Including trusting God more.  He used both of us in ways we could have never imagined.  Several months later we are still processing.

One thing that God showed me through the beautiful people of Rwanda is how to love others well through forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a word that leads to an action that if not freely given away can catch us up.  Puts a big snag in our story and can keep us stuck.  It is that little lump in the throat.  It hinders us.

In 1994 a genocide took place in Rwanda.  Family, friends and communities were torn apart and completely destroyed.  Thousands of  people were lost during those three months.  Fast forward to where God intervenes.  The people of Rwanda,  some who had lost everything found the courage to face the ones who had committed these atrocities and extended forgiveness.  Relationships grew and communities began to heal.  Rwanda is now thriving and growing like never before. Rwanda is full of smart beautiful creatives with these incredible untouched and natural God-given resources.  God is still healing and writing their well-favored story.

I am a sexual abuse survivor. Forgiveness has always been hard for me.  God began my healing several years ago. And on the journey to healing He carried me to Rwanda to witness first hand what only God can do.  When I learned of that kind of forgiveness, healing and genuine love for one another.  How could I not forgive.  Forgiveness is a process that is not impossible .  It is not easy but God meets with us and walks us through.  He never leaves us to go through our trials alone.  He sends others to walk alongside us and us with others.  You know, the ones that  say “me too.”  That is beauty of our story.  It is the  good stuff that comes from the hurt.  It is what draws us closer to God. That is the blessing that it produces.  I honestly don’t know what I would do with out the hope He has given me and that hope is for you too. If you are harboring unforgiveness of any kind.  Please lay it down.  Don’t hold on to it another second.  Some things are way to heavy for us to carry alone.  Ask God to help you. He is faithful.  God will never ask us to do what He hasn’t already done for us. Don’t allow the enemy to steal from you any longer.   There is so much healing and freedom that can come from forgiving.

Matthew 6:14 NIV says “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Luke 18:27 NIV Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Jeremiah 33:6 NIV “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

Refrences: Zondervan NIV Study Bible, 2008 Update.