Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
Hi guys! Before I get into the details of what's been going on, I wanted to let you know a few things: - There may or may not be a newsletter for March until I can balance everything that's going on. - This week, there will be no devotionals; I was unable to get anything together due to time constrains. With that being said, read on! So a few weeks ago, I was hired with a team of people for a group called Dakota And Friends. We travel the United States doing children's events such as parties, festivals, ball games, etc... The founder of the group, Ed Bounds, was gracious enough to let me a part of the team and I rode with him and his wife down to my very first event: the Charleston Oyster Festival. We had an area set up for the children to play with the dinosaurs. This included things like riding a triceratops and a brachiosaurus, watching three eggs hatch, letting Ed walk around in his dino and dragon suits, and carrying the puppets to scare people while they weren't looking. It was an absolutely incredible experience. I'd never been to Charleston so being a history buff, that was one of my dreams. In addition to the dinosaur jobs, I had the opportunity to have an outside tour of the Boone Hall Plantation. Now, let's have fun with this for a moment; do you have a kid that loves dinosaurs? Is there a local festival that could use a dancing dino or a playful dragon? Whatever your needs are, I'm sure we could work with something! Let me know if you'd like to book an event with Dakota And Friends.
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Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
Welcome back! So I have a few announcements that I'd like to share. If you are already a follower of my social media pages, you are probably aware of changes taking place. Most of my pages now have my blog name as my URL, and they will more than likely have a brand new logo. The only changes I have not yet made is the logo for the blog itself and for YouTube. I'm still working with the sizing so that may take a while before you see that. Speaking of YouTube, they have made some apparent changes as well. Due to that, I will not posting much there until I can figure out a way to market myself a little better. Since I have less than 4,000 followers there, my account will be demonetized, meaning I will not be able to make money until/unless I reach that. YouTube, I hope, will be a part-time job in the future. Please be patient with me as I attempt to figure this out. Within the coming months, you may see a little less content on the blog. I took on a new job that would involve travelling and I would be away from the computer. Devotionals are my top priority; anything lifestyle or beauty-related will not be up as often, unless I am home to complete the posts. As always, I appreciate all of my readers. Thank you for supporting this blog and what it stands for! - Yours in Christ. Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
Every now and then, I will give some of my friends and connections an opportunity to share their faith and their journey to and with Christ. Today's testimony is written by whom I will call Mama P. I met her daughter on social media during a rough season in my life and both she and Mama P were encouraging and they've helped me grow in my faith. Thank you Mama P for sharing your testimony with SGAB. NOTE: Before you read, I want to give my readers a chance to consider the content of this post. There is mention of abuse, alcohol, and rape. Please be careful because I do not want my readers to get hurt. But this is a very real story of how a very real God intervened, and changed an ordinary life. Momma P’s story There’s no way, really, to make a long story short for me; however, I’ll make it shorter than it really is. See, this history is over four decades in the making. In the interest of space, though, I’m just going to tell y’all why Jesus is the center of my life, and what He has done for me and mine. I wasn’t a churched child – my sister and I began attending church regularly without our folks when I was 11. Through our youth leader, I came to Christ and was baptized when I was 12. The problem with this was that, while I knew Jesus had come to save me from sin so I could spend eternity in Heaven, I didn’t really understand how it worked (I’ve learned so much since then!). I just thought that if I chose Jesus, He would make the abuse stop – abuse by a family member from as far back as I could remember until I was nearly 17. My mother refused to believe it when I tried to tell her what was happening; Dad was gone so often that I refused to cloud our time together with unpleasantness. I’m not sure he would have believed me, either, but at least he would have listened. A couple years after my baptism, my family moved (Dad was in the military), which reduced the abuse since we were several states away from my abuser. But then I was raped. I never knew the identity of that person – he never said a word and stayed where I couldn’t see his face. And the truth is, it happened so fast that I’m not sure I would have recognized him if it had been someone I knew. When I told my mother, she said I was just trying to get attention. Fast forward a couple more years to my first marriage; I married a man who was nine years older, and he turned out to be an abusive alcoholic who occasionally mixed other drugs with the booze, causing blackout episodes. Those were the times I got hurt. Dad had taken an unaccompanied assignment to Europe, so he was out of the country; I didn’t even bother trying to tell anyone. I just left, after 8 months of marriage. I began to seriously question where God was in all this ugliness that my life was becoming. If He loved me so much, why did all this awful stuff keep happening to me? We’re going to skip a bunch of years – years of additional husbands, kids, health problems – you know, life. There was only one great tragedy in these intervening years, and that was the death of my dad. Dad, the one person on earth I trusted completely, was gone. I cried out to God. I begged Him to take it back, to send my Dad back here, I demanded He do what I wanted Him to do. In the end, I cursed Him and told Him I’d never worship or praise Him again. He wasn’t worth it. He had allowed all the mess to happen, He hadn’t intervened, and now He had taken the only person I could count on. I was done. That was 1997. 2 ½ years later, I married my current (and last!) husband. We spent the first 9 years of our marriage not really knowing how to be married, not understanding what it really means. We fought often (and loudly); there was infidelity, secrets, dishonesty. We were on the verge of divorce – what would have been my fourth divorce. Then our two youngest kids dragged me – almost kicking and screaming – into this little church. They begged me to come check it out, please, for them. They were finding their faith (I had sporadically taken them to church when they were little, and they went with my sister whenever we visited), and wanted me to see how different this place was. I went, but had no expectations. The message was so simple – straight from Scripture and not interpreted to fit an agenda. The people in this little church just loved on me – no questions, no prying, no ulterior motives. After my second visit, I talked to my husband, and begged him to come with us. What could it hurt? That was mid-2008. Almost ten years later, we are still married, and stronger than ever, and still with this church. God healed our family through this little, nondenominational church at the edge of a tiny little burg in eastern North Carolina. My husband and I were baptized together, and so were the kids. We renewed our vows in 2009, on our 10th anniversary, and dedicated our marriage to Christ. Now we are marriage coaches, ministering to military, veterans and their families to make transitions with a strong foundation – the marriage. Our grandchildren are growing up knowing Jesus. All the ick? I have some theories and some things I know because of what I do know of God. First, I was living a sinful life while claiming Christ. Yes, I’m still a sinner – we all are – but it’s different. My heart yearns for Jesus first. I’d rather not be a sinner, so I ask forgiveness daily. I try to have an active prayer life, although I need to work on that a bit harder. I try to live as God wants me to. Second, I believe I had to endure all these trials so that I could be where I am now – working on a counseling license for people with trauma-related disorders like PTSD. I couldn’t do it without some experience. God has been faithful through it all. He has carried me through it, has always loved me, and has showed me where I’m supposed to serve. He has never left my side, even when I cursed Him and said I was done. He can – and wants to – do the same for you. Even when you think you don’t want Him, He is there, loving you and holding you through all the trials of this life. He will heal you, your family, your nation, if you seek Him. One of my favorite Scriptures comes from 2 Chronicles, and it speaks to this very thing: ”if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay. Today I'm going to share with you a brief overview of different skin types and their skincare needs. Bear in mind that each person is different, but this is a basic rundown for those of you who are getting started in a skincare routine or want to simplify what they already have. Because I want you to refer to this information as much as you'd like, I am going to include a separate file. It will be a powerpoint so you can easily find what you need. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me! Please note that I will be doing a video presentation on my YouTube shortly. Keep an eye out for that if you are more of a video person! Below is your PowerPoint download for future reference.
"...Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
This is going to be quite a challenging message; but who doesn't love a challenge? Today we are going to push ourselves to be more like the biblical worshiper. Is your worship dead? Has your song grown cold? Scripture Reference - Psalm 95 Verse one makes a very clear and blunt invitation; come! Worship! But...so many times our churches stray from what the Bible says about worship. I heard a message from a favorite teacher a while back that the word worship comes from another term "worthy-ship". We come before God because He is worthy. He is the ONLY one worthy of our praise. The Bible says to "...come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise..." Why then do we sit around and mope? Why are we singing funeral dirges every time we gather? You say, "Well, I don't go to those loud, shouting churches." Who says you have to? King David praised God with everything he had. The worshipers in Acts knew how to do it. I have visited a church whose denomination is well-known for its "sit down and hush" rule, but they threw my expectations out of the door when the cantor shouted "Hallelujah!" So what's our excuse? Verse six invites us to "bow down". Humility is a strong word in churches today. Too many are prideful and puffed up, no longer seeing the need to just simply "bow". This doesn't mean to fall prostrate in front of the altar. It just means to be humble...to be reverent. If the Spirit says to shout, so do, but make sure it doesn't take away from someone else's worship. Make sure it's not just a show. Then it goes on to say "...Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart..." If you want to hear from God in your personal and corporate worship, be open. Does it not say to avoid quenching the Spirit? Let's not allow what man's doctrine says influence your worship. Don't let it dampen your faith. If you see your worship dwindling, take a look inside and line yourself back up with the Word of God. What is your favorite form of worship? Is it the music? Does prayer draw you closer to God? Or maybe it's the sermon from the preacher. Tell me your thoughts. Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
Today you are going to take a sneak-peek at some of my favorite essential oils and their benefits. As an esthetician, I highly recommend that spa professionals use oils in their treatments. It works wonders. Side note: I was a very bad blogger this week. I didn't take the time to research deeply so I could do my own blog posts, so I will give you links so you can do some light reading. Here are my top three favorites and their benefits. Disclaimer: doTerra does not know who I am, therefore I am not making money off of this whatsoever. Eucalyptus Peppermint Lavender What are some of your favorite oils? How do you use them? Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
Advocates against the whole idea of Christianity argue that God no longer communicates with "lowly humans". But that is certainly not the case. As believers, we know that there are three ways that our Lord speaks to us; it might not be a loud audible voice, but the Bible says it's always going to be a still small voice. Are you listening? The first, and most obvious way, is through His Word. It is vital that we spend time in the Bible because that is how we're going to know and understand the ways of God. That is how we are going to learn His will in every situation. The Word of God has a profound impact if we are quiet and pay attention to what God is trying to tell us. (1 Samuel 3:21) One of my favorite ways that God reveals Himself to us is through creation. Nature itself is proof that there is a God; look at the intricate designs of a rose...consider how perfectly the earth is placed at just the right distance from the sun...observe how complex the human body is. Study Psalm 8 and Psalm 19:1-6 to get a better picture of how God uses creation as His mouthpiece. The third way is through His people. This is where we have to watch how we act and what we say. The book of James tells us that if we want to be true Christians, we have to tame our tongues. Speak love. Speak life. Even to ourselves. God wants us to spread His Gospel but we can't do that if we aren't speaking right. He wants us to shine His light to a lost and dying world. (Matthew 5:13-16) Take some time this week and research laminin. This is a perfect way to see that God uses creation. Look at what laminin looks like through a microscopic lense and thank Him that He is the one that holds us together. Tell me in the comments or on the Facebook page how you feel or what came to your mind when you saw laminin. Until next time, I love you and I look forward to seeing you next time. - Patricia Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay. Hi guys! Welcome back to my blog. I am super excited for this post because I get to share with you what I got for Christmas that falls into the beauty category. Below is a simple list of six products I received. - Philosophy State Of Grace set - Amazing Grace body wash/bubble bath/shampoo - IT Cosmetics Vitality Blush in the shade Pretty In Peonies (which by the way would look amazing on medium to tan skintones!) - Perfect Scents fragrance in Angel - #BFFBEAUTY bath kit (shower gel, body lotion, two bath bombs, and a loofah...the scent is almost a dupe for the Sweet Pea collection from BBW) - InfinitiPro Conair 2 in 1 Spin Air Brush If you're a beauty junkie, tell me below what you got for Christmas! Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay. Any products mentioned were bought with my own money.
If you're anything like myself, you probably enjoy a clean slate. A new year means a new slate right? I'm going to give you a few ideas on things you might need to get 2018 off to a good start. One thing that I really searched for religiously in 2017 was a good planner. I threw myself into the blogging and YouTube world, and then I got a job as a freelance writer, so I really needed to get a planner to keep my tasks and projects organized. Keeping a planner is a life-saver; it will make a huge difference in your stress level when it comes time to actually getting things done. The planner that I use is monthly and weekly; it is by the brand Brit & Co. You can find my exact planner here. Another way to stay put together is rounding up some organization tools. Sure, you could go out and break the bank with expensive pencil holders and file cabinets, but sometimes things that are laying around the house will work just fine. For example, I use Keurig boxes to store my lipsticks and I also cut up a cereal box to look like a filing space. It's not the most attractive aesthetic but it gets the job done. Oh and get this, I'm using plastic party cups and soup cans (label off) to hold makeup brushes. If you want to stay budget-friendly, any dollar store will have all of the organization tools you need to keep your work space tidy. Believe it or not, the kind of music you listen to affects your mood and your productivity. So pull out your Itunes, Pandora, Spotify...whatever you have...and create a positive, uplifting playlist. I personally enjoy listening to any of the recent Hillsong recordings from the past two years. Last but certainly not least, you need a positive outlook. 2017 was not a pleasant year, I get it. But that doesn't mean 2018 can't be! Chin up, and lift your eyes up to the Savior, and ask Him to be the ruler of your life this year. Ask Him to help keep you positive and motivated. It works wonders! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and I pray that 2018 is a blessing! Tell me in the comments below what you hope to accomplish this year. Image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay. Okay, let's get real. 2017 was a roller-coaster ride for a lot of us. But hey! Last night at midnight, God gave us a brand new slate to draw on. Let's make the best of it. Scripture Reference - 2 Corinthians 5:17 I'm going to be the first to admit, I didn't give much thought about the Lord as I was enjoying my snacks and discussing plans to fire my dad's shotgun to ring in the New Year with the neighborhood. You may be thinking, why would I want to think about God when I'm having so much fun? Why focus on the spiritual things when the world is calling out to me to join the millions partying and dancing? Because God wants us to focus on Him. He wants us to use our time wisely because we are one step closer to His return. One of my resolutions is to spend more time in God's Book instead of Facebook. I need to focus more on what God says about me than what the world does, or even what the church does. I need to rely on God; not man. Our Scripture says that "...if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..." I want 2018 to show that I am new in Christ. The "new year new me" can apply to anyone, even a Christian. So I challenge you to spend more time in God's Word this year. I challenge you to strive for what God has in store for you. Trust and obey Him. Paul gives us encouragement. "...old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." What are your resolutions this year? Comment below or come visit me on Facebook! Happy New Year and may God give you His richest blessings. |
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