Saved by faith

This week was youth Sunday and the youth minister preached about salvation and authenticity. I love messages about authenticity because many Christians forget what they once were. Who they were before Christ entered their lives or where they have ended up if Christ hadn't changed their path. Do all Christians forget? Of course not but many times those that do don't realize the potential impact that has on unsaved people. When we walk around 'holier than thou' some people get the misimpression that to be saved you have to be perfect and since they aren't perfect (and truth be told neither are we) they can't be saved. They mistakenly feel that they must somehow clean themselves up before they can come to Christ. The irony of the situation is that we don't clean up anything. If we could save ourselves Christ wouldn't have had to die for our sins. Christ cleans us up and turns us around. As Christians when we share our transformations and credit God for those changes we empower others because they can envision those changes in their lives and they will pursue Christ and invite Him into their lives to make those changes. So lets own up to our pasts, after all the old man has passed away.
Now on to the fashions!
Youth Sunday's are casual for me. Navy cargos and a navy safari shirt. A wedge bootie and orange belt for a pop of color. I love skinny fit cargos but finding a pair which works with my slightly athletic build was a challenge because my legs are muscular. These fit the bill though so if you find a style you like don't be afraid to try several different versions, by different designers and in different sizes too. Sometimes we have to ignore numbers in an effort to get a good fit!

What are you thankful for?

Going in to the thanksgiving season we stop to reflect on all the things we're grateful for. We list food, shelter, clothing, family, friends and loved ones, but we often our lists stop at those things we can see, feel, experience, numerate. This year I'm grateful for all that God has done but I'm also grateful for all that He hasn't done. The harm that He hasn't allowed to befall me, the prayers that he said no to because He had something better in store. The times that He made me leave my house 5 minutes later and while I may have been upsurge at the time those times may have been to protect me from an accident or some unforeseen outcome. I'm grateful for the times that I had an inner hissy fit because God changed my plans only to have to sulk back with my tail between my legs and admit "Uh, the change of plans you made, God, good looking out. Great idea I never would of thought of." Every once in awhile take a moment to think upon how things could be different if God allowed our situations and circumstances to play out differently...I bet you'll have something new to add to your list of things you're thankful for.
Now on to the fashion:
Channeling my inner Aladdin call me princess jasmine from now on ; ) hot pink trapeze blouse mixed with a black and white print modified-harem style pant. I love harem pants but I think this inseam on this is hanging low enough with a pattern this would of been too busy.

Mustard seed faith in a have mercy moment

My pastor talked about 'have mercy' situations today. Well what's a 'have mercy' situation you ask? Well lemmie share: basically it's an unforeseen life changing circumstance or situation that forces you to reevaluate everything, and changes all your plans for your future. It could be an illness, unemployment, death, relocation anything. The joke about these situations is we can never prepare for them, try as we may, we can only respond to them. While the flesh part of us may go into panic mode the spirit man needs to trust that God has a plan and 'this' is a part of it. Obviously this is probably a lot easier said than done when everything is upside down and uncertain our flesh can get loud and agitated. HOWEVER, here's a little secret we don't need tons of faith to help change our situation. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed. We don't need to know the how's, the where's, the when's or the why's because more often than not all of that becomes clear by the end of the situation. All we need is a modicum of faith that believes in God's ability to resolve whatever it is we are going though and He'll take care of the rest. Check out Luke 17:5-6, you don't have to take my word for it : ) and since you've got your bible nearby look up Romans 8:28...which is God's biblical assurance that everything WILL work out.
Now on to the fashion:
A simple shift dress which combined my two favorite colors white and cream. This would also make a good packing dress for out of town travel it's polyester (don't judge me) and folds up really small. The shoes are a cream snakeskin print which played off the colors of the dress.

Desire the Lord of the house!

This message came from 7:30 service. The pastor spoke about motives and rationales for attending church. Our church attendance should be more than a ritual. Church should be more than a physical building that we go to Sundays and maybe a couple of days during the week (remember our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit anyways). It's good for us to go to church seeking a word from the Lord but guess what? We need to go to church seeking the Lord as well. When we pursue a relationship with the Lord that relationship will sustain us. We may forget the message when we walk out the door, our focus might be drawn back to whatever problems we had when we walked into that building. But if we are seeking to build a stronger relationship with God, that won't fade. That relationship will carry us through those problems and sustain us through our difficult times. The best part of building a relationship with God is that it's not limited to Sunday mornings. Yes, it may start there but it continues at home during our devotional time, in car rides when we may have to 'get something off our chest' and have a little talk with Jesus, when we pray because we don't know what else to do, when we tell God because we don't know who else to tell. The relationship is what I'm seeking!
Now on to the fashion! I'm a lady y'all! High waisted hot pink and black pencil skirt and black blouse. Clearly not complicated fashion styling at work here but its a clean look and the fit allows it to remain youthful enough. Here's a secret: the skirt is sized down because I have a small waist and it's the only way I can keep my high waisted pieces up

Conflict resolution #101

Conflict is a natural part of life, and as much as we'd like to deny it conflict can also arise and exist in the church. The truth of the matter is that conflict is not always a bad thing...if we use it to come to resolutions that advance the kingdom of God. The problem with conflict is how we act upon these differing opinions, are we combative, volatile, aggressive and hateful? Or are we able to sit down, talk through our differences and come to a happy medium or a level of understanding respectfully? The bible reminds us that when we do experience conflict with other Christians we are to Matthew 18: 15-17 and go to our neighbor in love to talk it out, if necessary we may need a mediator...and that's okay too. But the thing we need to remember Is a spirit of love AND forgiveness, yes forgiveness. We might have been the been the victim in the situation and justifiably might feel that we are owed an apology and restitution but the reality is that Christ wants us to forgive and love one another. We're called to love one another as Christ loved us Christ even as he hung dying on the cross asked God to forgive the very people who put him there. Forgiveness isn't always easy but when we go through life harboring bitterness and anger towards others in our hearts ultimately we are the ones who end up hurt the most. Lets search our hearts and if we find any anger towards another ask God to remove it, help us forgive and most importantly love.
On to the fashion!!!
All black everything! More first Sunday fashion. At one time I got "in trouble" because I was wearing colorful shoes with my all black so I had to switch to black or white...but not anymore, yay! This was a cotton wrap dress, I paired it with black and brown leopard pumps ( I love the bow on the back : ) I also accented the look with an amber brown broach to help tie the color pallet together better.