Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
Philippians 2:12 NLT
One of the passages that stuck with me most from the Chronicles of Narnia is when Mr. Beaver responds to Lucy, saying of Aslan: “Safe?… Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Lucy was like me, thinking that if she was to appear before this King that was also a Lion, surely he must be safe- right? How could people go before him if he wasn’t safe? As seen above Mr. Beaver set her straight, one doesn’t need to be safe in order to be good.
There is some discussion as to whether Mr. Lewis meant this as a metaphor for Jesus or whether he was just writing a scene for a children’s book without a deep metaphorical undertone. Regardless of whether it was intended or not I think it makes a great metaphor for God.
As people we tend to like categories, they make life easier! We make categorization systems for people, plants, food, books, countries- you name it! Usually we want it to fall into a system that looks like this; either it’s right or wrong, either good or bad, etc.. We like bilateral systems. We don’t tend to like gray areas of great complexity- isn’t that why subjects like politics get so controversial? What important, deep subjects in life can be easily reduced to black and white?
We do the Same thing with God. We want to categorize Him, so we say, there’s the judgemental God of the Old Testament, and then there’s the loving God of the New Testament- as if the most complex Being in the whole world could be simplified down into those 2 simple categories. Preposterous! He is loving, He is good, He is also the ultimate Judge.
In Church we tend to do a before and after; the Old Testament God is a righteous and judgemental God, the New Testament God is a kind and loving God. But God didn’t change His personality- He doesn’t change! He is a righteous and judgmental God, He is also so kind and loving that He sent his only Son to die so that we can be saved! Let us not mistake that kind of amazing love for safeness though. We must choose to love Him first and foremost in our lives or else we waste the precious gift of His son to us, and if we do that there will be eternal consequences.
No, He isn’t a safe God, but He is a good God. Therefore let us come before Him with the right attitude of awe and humility befitting His majesty, and let us worship Him.
We are nearing the end of January and that is usually when all these big dreams that we had a few weeks ago stop feeling exciting and instead just feel hard. We want them but sometimes the path there just seems so long and hard. If this is you and you are needing a little boost to keep plodding along towards your goals for this year then check out the book, Find Your Extraordinary by Jessica Herrin.
Ms Herrin is the CEO and founder of the Stella and Dot Family Brands. Before building that company she built Della and James which you may know by its current name, WeddigngCahnnel.com. So she knows a thing or 2 about knowing what you want and going for it- and achieving your dreams in the process!
One of the things that I appreciated about this book is that Ms Herrin clarifies from the beginning that success equals happiness. Not money. Not fame- happiness. She then takes you through her story, guiding you in what steps to take if you would like to find your own extraordinary life.
She talks about how to start believing in yourself beyond what you have reason too- you can’t think that you aren’t someone who can do the hard thing simply because you haven’t done it yet! You have to believe that you really can. Be afraid, then get over it. Be ok with going after your dreams alone, others may not get it, but if you know that is what you really want- go for it!
Then Ms Herrin discusses what she calls, “The Six P’s of the Entrepreneurial Spirit. First you have to find your passion. That’s fun but then you have to choose the Path of least regret and you may have to sacrifice things you enjoy but remember you’ll be doing the things that awakes the passion within you. Third, she talks about the power of a positive mind. This isn’t just about believing it will be ok but instead about how to work through difficult thoughts and doubts that are real and could happen. 4th, she talks about the people in your life, are you surrounding yourself with people who help you to grow? What about the people who are holding you back? She then talks about perseverance, she shares times in her life when the going got tough and she had to stick with it. The last P is Productivity and she discusses how to prioritize. There are always going to be tons of things to do- but what absolutely, positively has to get done, and what would just be nice if it was accomplished? She closes talking about the power of gratitude and finding the people who will come around and support you.
Even if your dreams are not of the entrepreneurial type, there is still a lot you could glean from this book. This isn’t a book about building a business, but rather about building a life. And not just any old life, but one in which you find true success through happiness- a life in which you find your extraordinary.
Disclosure Quick reminder that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you- it’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
Christmas seems like ages ago, and long gone is the Christmas tree and hustle and bustle of the season. I always feel a bit bereft after taking down the Christmas tree and so many of my Christmas decorations, so I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t take it all down! Here in Pennsylvania it is cold and except for the sporadic snowfall, it is quite bare outside as well. I don’t want the inside of my house to feel bare as well! I want it to feel cozy- extra cozy! I want to decorate for winter, after all winter is a season too!
What should you take down and what should you leave up?
Since I just can’t quite cope with taking away all of my Christmas and winter decor at once I tend to leave up greenery,(I use faux so I have the ability to do this), my little trees that look wintery, and instead only take down the things that are expressly Christmas related. Now there is some discussion over whether to leave up any decor if it is very glittery and my feeling is this- if you like it leave it, and if you’re tired of it take it down! I would say by conservative standards you should take down anything glittery but since I like glitter to brighten up winter’s darkness I leave it.
I don’t typically use any red in my decor throughout the year. I’ll add in a touch or two of red in the Autumn and I use red at Christmas. So I take down most touches of red except if I have berries in with my greenery.
My rule is if it’s true in nature it can be true in my decor!
For this reason I also keep up certain glittery accents as well; trees, frosted every green accent balls, etc.. I love the look of white, glitter dusted branches, I love it outside my house when the branches glisten with snow and frost and I love it inside as well- faux snow and frost that is!
But you don’t want everything to be bare?!
I call this decorating for winter. In our excitement over the holidays we forget that winter too is a season. Maybe you decided to take down the glittery accents and trees but still you want something to make your come special through winter! Think cozy! Throws, pillows, and candles can really warm up and transform a space you want your decor to appeal to all the senses, and in winter I love to appeal to the eyes, and the sense of touch. It has been said that we feel texture with our eyes as well as our hands so bring in lots of different textures! Replace pristine books with worn, warmer looking ones, faux fur pillows too look soft and warm, woven baskets to chase away the sterile feel of a Christmas ridden home.
Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter decorating items:
Branches- bare branches in a big vase can be a show stopper! Pinecones Every green and Frosted evergreen branches Candles, candles, and more candles! Faux Fur pillows and throws Deer sheds, (antlers) Twinkle lights Logs in the fireplace- even if it’s not a working fireplace! Faux Sheepskin Throw
Want Other Touches of Winter?
Just because the Nativity Scenes and Santa’s have been put away doesn’t mean that the snowmen have to leave yet- where I live we still have another 2 or 3 months of snowman making weather! In addition you can leave up decorative little trees, silver deer figurines, and wintery accent balls like I did below!
Remember What You Like
I know myself and I want glitter and branches and basically want my home to transform from a Christmas wonderland, to a winter wonderland for the next few months. But what do you like? I think winter is also a great time to add more white to your decor than usual. Also maybe you keep a pretty traditional style home but would like to incorporate more vintage elements into your home then why not try it now?!
Maybe you are tired of some of the colors and decor that you have been using as staples in your home, take this season as a little breather and an excuse to play and have fun with your decor! I think the number one reason we get bored with anything is because we stop having fun with it. So have fun! And check out my post on Creating a Cohesive Color Pallet as a springboard for ideas if you have the urge to switch up some of your decor!
Quick reminder that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you- it’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
A fresh new year has begun! I love the newness that comes with the changing of the calendar. A new year is a chance for a clean slate and to switch up things, to evaluate what is or isn’t working well and to make plans to do differently in the upcoming year. As I look back over my list of books I read in 2020 there are several that stand out as good companions that will help you on your way when you get the urge to change things up! These books will help motivate you to change, help you to put practices into place to build new habits, help you dig to the root of what you should be doing with your life and why, and ultimately help you to build the life you want! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!
Essentialism- by Greg McKeown
This book is all about getting to the core of what is most important to you, what are the things you were put on earth to do? What helps to further your goals and what distracts your from them? It may seem like a harmless meeting to have, it is a good cause to lead, but what is it really costing you? Is that project that you’re head of a good thing but not nearly as important as spending time with your kids? Is that side line of work a good revenue maker but ultimately detracting from your major life mission? It’s time to dig deep and get strategic!
Better than Before, by Gretchen Reuben
Ms Reuben really breaks down all the things habit related; why habit matters, how habits are formed, and how to most easily and effectively implement new habits into your life. Habits are what we do without thinking about it. They take away the need to make decisions and free up mental space to allow for us to concentrate our efforts on what matters most to us. If you have had trouble developing new habits in the past give this book a try!
The Compound Effect- by Darren Hardy
This book is great because it stresses the fact that it’s not necessarily the big things in life that make the biggest change in our lives but rather the small things. The little minute changes that you make day after day, that compound on top of each other and add up a big difference over a year or more. A lot of books on creating new habits can be overwhelming, but since this book stresses the importance of small wins you can come away feeling encouraged by a small change that you made!
Off the Clock- by Laura Vanderkam
Feel like there’s never enough time? Want to get more enjoyment out of the things in life that you do have time for? Ms Vanderkam discusses how its not always about the amount of time that we do have but rather is about how we approach it. As a time management expert, Ms Vanderkam also discusses how to prioritize to ensure that you are making time for what matters most to you, so you can spend time on that- and not things that don’t matter to you. I do a pretty good job of squeezing every precious minute out of my day and still there were tips in here that I hadn’t thought of!
The Next Right Thing- by Emily P Freeman
Do you suffer from decision fatigue? Do you ever feel paralyzed by the consequences on decisions could bring? You are not the only one! Whether it’s the dollar menu or a major life change sometimes it’s nearly impossible to decide… and what if we choose the wrong option? Ms Freeman talks about how it’s not always important to know what the next 5 steps will be, a lot of the time it’s just about the next right step. We wear ourselves out making every decision feel like the end all be all but it rarely is.
See other discussion about Books here on Essentially EmmaMarie
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. Genesis 11:4-5 NIV
There we were, just over a year ago, like racehorses at the gate ready to bust through and give 2020 all we had. We were going to do more, make more, and be more than we had ever had! Just watch and see! We had crazy high goals and we WERE going to hit them all. Then in the beginning of March we were totally blindsided with a pandemic. We were confident that it would only be a couple weeks and we would get our life back on track, but week stretched into week and here we are nearly a year later, little having changed.
What about all of our plans? What about all the things we were going to do? Big things, important things, good things that would bring honor and glory to God? For most of us 2020 did not turn out like we wanted it to and we were left asking God why? Why did He allow a pandemic to ruin our plans? Why did He allow all this craziness to happen? Didn’t He want all the good things we were going to do to come to fruition?
In Genesis we hear the story about the Tower of Babel. All the people of the world were speaking one language at this point and they decided they wanted to build a huge tower reaching to the heavens, because what couldn’t they do if they all came together to work on this? God saw what they were doing and that their intent wasn’t good and He confused their speech by giving them different languages so they could no longer understand each other. Just like that their plans were destroyed and people slowly dispersed to different parts of the earth. I wonder if in 2020 we were a little like these people from Genesis, hurriedly working on building our own Tower of Babel.
Perhaps our problem was not what we intended to do but rather how we intended to do these things. Were we leaning on God to show us HIs will and desires for us in 2020? Or were we hoping He was on board and we raced ahead shouting to Him over our shoulders about all the things we were off to do? Maybe He allowed this very bad thing to happen in order to give us a reminder that we couldn’t miss that we can’t do anything alone. Maybe He wants us to remember how fleeting life really is and that when it comes right down to it the only thing that matters at all is our relationship with Him. Not our todo lists. Not our big plans. Not even if we live or die- but rather where we will go when we die. We have work on this earth to do, but if we aren’t doing the right work none of it will matter. It’s not about the Tower of Babel we had in mind to work on this year, it is about the work He would have us do.
This year rather than racing ahead with our plans like we did last year I invite you to pause, and pray over all your dreams and goals and really seek His will for you in this coming year. I pray we spend this year chasing His dreams for our lives and not just our own.
