by Altimese Nichole | Nov 17, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Within the Word of God, Proverbs 23: 7 says, “As a [wo]man thinketh, so is [s]he.” Everything in our lives begin with our thoughts. No matter how great (or devastating) our circumstances can be, we have the power to shape and shift perspective through the thoughts we focus on. The more we think about things, people, or circumstances (no matter good or bad), the more they can have an impact on our lives long after past moments occurred.
To increase blessings and gratitude in our lives, we must meditate on the things that are good and positive in our lives. Many people allow external circumstances to dictate the internal state of being. However, we’re designed to produce, manifest, and have dominion over external things (not to merely be subjects reacting to external situations). The more we set our mind to things that are pleasing, the more we manifest good things into our reality.
Want more to be thankful for? Start thinking of the things that spark a heart of gratitude!
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie
by Kiersten Homalon | Nov 8, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Running has always been a way for me to have clarity of mind, and often peace of spirit. Even before becoming a mother, I would through on my jacket and running pants and head out to desolate Colorado hiking trails and run until I literally could not run anymore. This is my weapon for times when I feel like those voices in my head are getting the best of me. It is my way to triumph over them with sweat dripping down my back and my heart thumping so loud it drowns out the chatter of my mind. Becoming a mother has made my running a little more, how should I say this, strategic. My daughter is as strong willed as they come, and I know, because I pray passionately for it, that it will make her a mighty warrior of a woman one day. But for now, it makes trying to get her into a running stroller a little difficult at times, ok lets be honest, every time! But those sweet times of victory when I manage to get her buckled in, we whisk off to bask in the sweet Hawaiian Sun, there is nothing better!
The same running bliss happened just a few weeks back. I always take a path that sandwiches this large hill in my run. I love running this hill because at the top I can see this mailbox that sticks out, visible from the very bottom of the incline. I set my eye on it and I jam! I run with all I have, and push that stroller full of toddler up that hill. My daughter loves this part of the run a little more than I do! But as soon as I hit the incline I feel that burn, and with the burn I start my prayer, or how I like to refer to it (maybe a little dramatically) my “Warrior Call”. Its almost natural for me to reach out to God in that moment (Partially to not have a heart attack) but also because this hill is so symbolic of life, of walking with Christ, and setting our eyes steadfast on Him above all else. I merge this outward expression with my prayer to run towards God with all I am. This is my fight, my battle, and this run was a moment that turned out to mean much more than I ever thought it might.
Previous to this run, life had unraveled. My husband and I had decided to get out of the Army, and return to his home here on the Island of Oahu. I have always loved Hawaii after living on the Big Island, and occasionally traveling to Oahu so I had no qualms about this decision. On top of that, my parents were planning on retiring in Hawaii, the same time we were getting out of the Army! It set up perfectly! We all decided to buy a home together and renovate it to be the perfect blend of families, something that is very common in Hawaii. However, I knew the moment we arrived in Hawaii, that a storm was coming. I even had my best friend warn me that she too felt that we were going into “The trenches”. I felt such joy at finally moving home to the place we longed for, for so long while in the Military. Now that it was here, however, my spirit sensed what was coming. That very night after getting to Hawaii my daughter woke in the middle of the night and was struck with a sickness more intense than she had ever experienced before, considering that up to that point she had only had minor teething sniffles and low grade fevers. She had it all, literally for two months, my vibrant little girl was a fussy, miserable, exhausted little being, and I, with her was, emotionally drained. This I knew was hard but was not the storm. My spirit sensed that the storm was soon. Then shortly after my sweet girl recovered, and was her goofy two year old self again, it happened. The blow of the tip of the storm, it was upon us. My parents had decided to divorce. This was a decision that I NEVER thought would happen, and honestly stirs up a battle with in myself that stems from my high school and early college years! (That is a story for another time) We had to put the house we planned to spend our lives in on the market and I had to again say good by to both my parents as they split ways and left for the Main land. My husband was still looking for work, and my business was still in the foundational period. So here we were, beyond broke, in an empty house that we had to pry our heart strings off of, and our only hope was to cling to God to salvage the life we still hoped to establish here in Hawaii.
So in that moment of running, I felt like I was gripping to life. I was running off the anger, and deep sadness I felt. At last I reached the mailbox, however, this time I noticed the address marked on the mailbox. 40. In my head I heard “40 days”. I thought it was myself thinking that, but for the remainder of my run “40 days” repeated in my head, so just to see, I marked it on my calendar. And I forgot about it and carried on with life! Since then my husband was blessed with an awesome job and we couldn’t be more thankful! However, the attempt to financially recover from all that had happened and multiple offers on our home falling through started weighing on us. We knew we needed out of this house, but financially we couldn’t leave a home that we still owned with my parents. On top of that we were too broke to put down a deposit for any rentals we saw. Many know that Hawaii is really competitive for rentals, and though we didn’t intend to rent long, we just needed to get our footing, before faithfully attempting to be home owners again.
This led us to Monday the 16th of November. My daughter and I usually walk everywhere (We are a one car family) and excitedly she pointed at all of the Christmas decorations going up all around! We LOVE Christmas! We talked about how exciting Jesus’ Birthday is and all it meant! She gets over joyed every time we talk about it! Then we started making our way home, praying out loud together that God would bless us with a home we could live in before Christmas so we can decorate and enjoy the first Christmas that my daughter is old enough to really participate in! We rounded our last turn up our hill and our sweet neighbor next door drives up to us and tells us that they will be letting us rent the back house for well below our budget, if we wanted it. I couldn’t believe it! All our searching, and God gave us the house next door, in the neighbor hood we loved! Our neighbors, asked the owners to bless us and claimed us as their own family, and that decided it for the owner to choose us to rent it! I couldn’t find words to thank her kindness enough. Irie and I sung praises to God as we walked the rest of the way to the house! Later that afternoon, before I put my daughter down for her afternoon nap, my sweet friend popped in, committed her life to Christ in our living room and left our house with a bright hope of a future ahead of her. As a mother her had recently lost her 2 month old child, had a history of homosexulaity, and the recent high risk birth of her daughter, who is now as healthy as can be! She was ready to heal, and to be made new. I couldn’t believe it. What a wonderful day! As I put my daughter down for her nap, I started heading to my office to squeeze in work as my daughter slept, and then I got a phone call. There was an offer on our house, by passing all of the inspections and going right into the ending processes of escrow. Wow! I couldn’t believe all that had just happened…. in one day. Later that night a friend invited us to go bowling next week, so I pulled up my calendar on my phone and in big letters and that very day, Novemebr 16th, marked 40 days. I was over come with uncontrollable laughter and my husband couldn’t believe that it was 40 days, as he remembered my run that day and, like me, forgot about the time! As that night finished, feeling abundantly blessed, still with struggles on the Horizon, but the intimacy we felt in our lives with the Holy Spirit, with God, we knew we had all we ever would need.
I often fear that God doesn’t talk to me, or than maybe I am not listening, but a dear friend reminded me that that is nothing but a lie from the enemy. God talks to us all in different ways, even through mailboxes. Lets stop doubting that God is an intimate God, and embrace the profoundness of His relationship with each one of us.
Ephesians 1:16-22 “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom[a] and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.”
Have Grit Mighty Ones,
Kiersten Homalon
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 Torrie Oglesby | Oct 25, 2015 | Learn + Grow
It’s 2015 and women are anything but one dimensional. We have stay-at-home moms that homeschool and stay-at-home moms who don’t. We have moms running multi-million dollar companies and moms going back to school to get the degree they’ve always wanted. We have women who are getting their masters and running a startup and women who breaking norms in film and television and the arts as a whole. We have women who make money off of YouTube. Women are so amazing to me. What we do, how much we do, how we do what we do and our ability to just do it, truly astonishes me. We live in the age of #GIRLBOSSES and its inspiring and overwhelming all at once. I’m personally, a mother of two, a writer and editor for STRONG and I run my own blog. I’m constantly taking off a hat and swapping it in for the next one. In a world that seems like we can have it all, can we actually really have it all?
My answer is yes, however, it’s not an easy yes.
You see, I wouldn’t want to be a woman in any other time period in history other than right now. At the same time, sometimes I wonder how easy it must of have been when women didn’t have the options to work, go to school or build companies. They didn’t have to balance it all, but they are the reason I take balancing it all so seriously. I think of all the women who had dreams like mine, visions like mine, and goals like mine yet weren’t able to perform those goals or see their visions come to pass because the times didn’t allow them to. That’s why we must fight hard and stubbornly, to have it all. We must give every aspect of our lives attention and nurture our business, children, husbands, and whatever else we have going on exactly with care. We must give everything in our lives time and when it is time to turn off business mode and enter into mommy mode we must do it, unapologetically.
Yes, YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL, but it’s not an easy yes. It’s a yes that we have to fight for. A yes that requires attention and nurture. Balance. I believe in you! Don’t stop working on your dream, don’t stop being the best mother you can be, don’t stop making date nights with your husband, and don’t stop kicking butt in school or at work! Do it all with spunk, humility, happiness and boldness. Continue to fight for it all and have it all for the women who came before us and the girls who are looking to us. We can do it.
With love and smiles,
Torrie.
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.
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