by Torrie Oglesby | Nov 7, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
As we are now in the 11th month of the year (WHERE DID IT GO?!?) A lot of us are looking back at 2015 and reflecting. Just like the natural seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall our lives tend to have a seasonal rhythm. Some seasons are filled with life and everything seems to be blooming and prospering and other seasons are filled with change and transitioning and often the hardest seasons are filled with nothing—silence, emptiness and death. Though the seasons change, the Sun doesn’t. As a Christian, though the seasons of life change, the SON doesn’t. How do we maintain a spirit of thankfulness even in the hard and dry seasons?
Paul said he had learned the secret of being content in ANY and EVERY situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12) and that secret was the simplest truth of “I can do all this through him who gives me strength†(Philippians 4:13). This scripture is not new to you and actually it’s used a lot. However sometimes it’s used in the cheesy way of “ALL MY DREAMS CAN COME TRUE BECAUSE I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.†But this scripture is so much deeper than that. Paul can be content in everything because he knows WHO GOD IS.
Paul is telling us that life is going to change. One day you may be on top and the next day you might be on the bottom but the secret to remaining content and THANKFUL in everything is knowing that through HIM we can bare it all because he strengthens us. As I look back on my 2015 there’s moments where I’m like “How did I survive that?†“How did that not break me?†and the answer is not my own strength, the answer is Jesus’s strength and Gods ever present hand! There were nights when I cried out in prayer and somehow my spirit still had a “THANK YOU JESUS†inside to let out. I truly believe that when we say thank you and give thanks even when it’s hard, those “thank you’s†carry us through the dead seasons. No matter what may come and no matter what lies behind, give thanks, in and through it all.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.â€
That scripture is a roadmap for thankfulness. Rejoice! Rejoice in your worship, in your words and in the way you live throughout the day, even if it’s a hard season because who God is demands our rejoicing. This doesn’t always mean to smile and be glad, sometimes it means to just turn worship music on and rejoice in WHO GOD IS. It then tells us to pray without ceasing! Prayers are incense to God! Tell him how thankful you are! Tell him your needs and concerns! Talk to your Father and the final outcome with be a heart of thankfulness. When we remember WHO OUR GOD IS, the only response is thankfulness.
xo,
torrie
by Nadya Logan | Nov 3, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Dear Inner Feminist,
The movement for women’s rights hasn’t stopped, but you have. Where have you gone? Did I do something wrong?
Maybe you were never truly awoken in the first place…
Hopefully this playlist filled with popular summer anthems and throwbacks will lift your spirits?
- “***Flawless”— Beyoncé
- “Confident”— Demi Lovato
- “Girl On Fire—Inferno Version”— Alicia Keys (feat. Nicki Minaj)
- “No Scrubs”— TLC
- “BO$$”— Fifth Harmony
- “BBHMM”— Rihanna
- “Electric Lady”— Janelle Monáe (feat. Solange)
- “All About That Bass”— Meghan Trainor
- “Survivor”— Destiny’s Child
- “Feeling Myself”— Nicki Minaj (feat. Beyoncé)
- “Like A Boy”— Ciara
- “Love Myself”— Hailee Steinfeld
- “Miss Independent”— Ne-Yo
- “Video”— India.Arie
- “Q.U.E.E.N.”— Janelle Monáe (feat. Erykah Badu)
- “Salute”— Little Mix
- “Unbreakable Smile”— Tori Kelly
- “Unpretty”— TLC
- “Who You Are”— Jessie J
- “Run the World (Girls)”— Beyoncé
XOXO,
Nadya
by Torrie Oglesby | Oct 25, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
I’m going to be transparent and admit that I don’t always put time with God at the top of my to-do list. I usually wake up to hungry children who want food and want it immediately. I routinely hit the ground running, preparing breakfast, serving breakfast, getting my coffee, making the beds, getting the kids dressed, and the list goes on and on and on. I often don’t stop until after I lay down which is at 10:30 or 11:00 at night. Throughout the day, I may whisper a “thank you Jesus” but these days I hardly ever, besides on Sunday, get to feed my spirit and saturate it with God and His promises.
This is half my fault and half just the rhythm of the season I’m in right now. But in every season, we need to make time for God. The Bible tells us to be instant in and out of season and to always be prepared and ready with the word of God as our weapon. How can we as mama’s be prepared if we aren’t constantly living off of fresh bread every day and not old bread from last season? So what’s the solution? There has to be some way for a busy mama like myself and you ladies, to capitalize on the small moments that we can have with God.
Our culture has made it hard to rest and hard to be still. However both things are talked about in the Bible as important things to do. As a multitasking mother and entrepreneur it feels impossible to stop and pause and be still in His presence. It’s absolutely vital that every day we are surrounding ourselves with His words, promises, and presence. We can’t let our busy schedules or to-do list come between spiritual disciplines such as worship and prayer. I’ve made a list of at least 3 times throughout the day that we can commit ourselves to so that we can fill up at least 3 times a day! These thing require very little from you (except the last one) yet have the power to transform your day.
- Play worship music throughout the day, start first thing in the morning. Allow it to play in the background while you go about doing your daily tasks.
- Listen to a sermon via Podcast or YouTube video during naptime. You can play this in the background while you clean up, answer emails, or you can just listen to it and take notes. Depending on what your time lets you do, do it. This will be getting The Word into you for the day!
- Write in your prayer journal, nightly, as soon as the kids lay down for the evening. This will give you a moment to reflect over the day, cultivate thankfulness, ask God for help in areas you’re struggling in and surrender the things that you need to lay down at His feet.
With love and big smiles,
Torrie.
by Nadya Logan | Oct 20, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
If you ask the average citizen to define the word “wellness”, they may associate it with a person’s physical or nutritional well-being, and although they aren’t completely wrong, they do not have a understanding of what the word wellness means to in its entirety.
According to the American Heritage Medical Dictionary, Wellness is “the condition of good physical, mental and emotional health, especially when maintained by an appropriate diet, exercise, and other lifestyle modifications.”
Despite being serious in nature, mental health is generally overshadowed in society. Many people will write off symptoms as the victim being “overdramatic” or “a hypochondriac”, and many more don’t even recognize mental health as a real issue.
But according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “nearly 44 million adults experience mental illnesses in a given year”.
The first week of October (Oct.4-10) is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and in honor of the week I want to introduce you to a powerful campaign that is at the heart of this week.
#IAmStigmaFree is an initiative coined by the National Alliance on Mental Illness that promotes mental health education, “seeing the person not the illness”, and taking action against mental illness.
But it doesn’t stop there.
By pledging to be stigmafree, you will be a member of a movement to turn stigma into hope.
You will begin to challenge social stereotypes, become educated on what it means to be mentally ill, and encourage others to become aware that mental illness is equally important to other illnesses.
If you interested in Mental Illness Awareness Week or the #IAmStigmaFree campaign, visit: https://www.nami.org/miaw
XOXO,
Nadya
by Nadya Logan | Sep 21, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Every impactful movement needs a fight song, and “Rise Up” by Andra Day just may become the fight song for your life.
In the song, Day sings from the perspective of the motivator and through her croons, you may find encouragement to overcome the obstacle standing in your way.
She begins the song, acknowledging the negative thoughts you may have, singing, “You’re broken down and tired of living life on a merry-go-round.”
She recognizes the fighter that permanently resides within you that you think you’ve lost, and pushes you to “walk it out and move mountains”.
Day continues to send support throughout the entirety of the chorus, belting, “I’ll rise up
I’ll rise like the day…I’ll rise unafraid…High like the waves…In spite of the ache…And I’ll do it a thousand times again for you.”
It is natural to have times in where you feel lost and confused, and you may even feel like you are fighting a losing battle, but you aren’t. If you have hope, passion, and motivation then you have all of the elements that you need to overcome—at least mentally. And even if you believe that it’s not there, you aren’t digging deep enough. You have the ability to do whatvever you put your mind to, and that’s what Andra Day wants you to see.
“Rise Up” inspires me to release all of the negative energy I build up and use it to confront my issues head-on.
Listening to this song, you can find support to do the same through the powerful lyrics, or through the power that echoes in Day’s voice.
You have the power to do whatever it is that you want to do; you just have to look within yourself, find it, and allow it to shine.
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XOXO,
Nadya
by Torrie Oglesby | Sep 21, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
We live in a culture that is extremely goal oriented, which is not a bad thing. Goals help us to move forward and to succeed in areas that we want to succeed in. Goals help us get the job we want, the house we want, and maybe even the body that we want. We plan our little hearts out, making sure to not miss a step and almost putting our plans before everything, even Gods will. We think we have it all together so we go on in life pursuing our goals and planning everything out that we rarely stop to ask God, “Lord what would you have me do today? Where would you have me go? What is your will for me?â€
Personally, I didn’t ask that question in my past, because I wasn’t ready to hear the answer. I wasn’t ready to give up my idea of “The American Dreamâ€. I wasn’t ready to face that possibly God would call me to pick up my cross and follow him, even if it isn’t comfortable and perfect. So I went on in my life, planning away and you know what happened? The longer I ran from Gods call on my life, the longer my plans kept falling apart.
Door after door would just shut. My husband and I would plan and then it would fall apart. A lot of people in our lives probably thought we were flaky, had no plan, and were just flying by the seat of our pants, little did they know, it wasn’t US destroying the plans, it was someone GREATER for something GREATER.
Today, if you’re in a season where everything seems to be falling apart and not making a lot of sense I want to encourage you that it could actually be the complete opposite. The Bible tells us that MANY are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lords purpose that prevails. Meditate on that scripture for a moment. In order for His purpose to prevail, our plans have to crumble. It’s actually really encouraging knowing that when things are crumbling in your life, it could be that Gods plan is prevailing. You’re welcome to scream and shout right now!
In the midst of waiting, know that he is setting everything up working all things together for good, for those who are called according to his PURPOSE (Romans 8:28). My favorite example of this in the Bible is in Nehemiah chapter 1 and 2. In short, Nehemiah learns of Jerusalem’s devastation (the city has been destroyed) the first thing he does is mourn for his people for days and then he prays and fast. Then he waits on the Lord, for FOUR months he willingly waits while praying and fasting. Then the moment comes when he is called to willingly act before the King and because he has waited on the Lord, the timing is perfect and the King shows him favor. I’m going to encourage you to read more of Nehemiah in your free time to find out what happens, it’s good and you’ll be blessed.
But the moral of it all, is to wait willingly on the Lord’s purpose to prevail. Do not act before your time and even when it looks like all is lost and everything is falling apart, trust that God is setting it up for His purpose and His glory.
“Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage; WAIT for the LORD.â€
Psalms 27:14
With love and big smiles,
Torrie.
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