Faith - Our Alabama Life

Women in the Word, Weeks Two and Three

Posted on June 19, 2015 in Faith, 2 comments

Some mornings, my quiet time looks like the above photo: peaceful, actually quiet, and it’s awesome. Other times, the opposite happens–I have my bible out amidst mess and noise and chaos. In those noisy times, God still speaks, y’all. (He may have to yell a little louder, but he still speaks!) Note to self (and to you!): Don’t let the lack of actual quiet time stop you from spending time with God and in His word.

It’s always amazing to me how two people can react the exact same passage of scripture and get two totally different things out of it. A friend and I were discussing the past few weeks studies and I commented that a certain few of them didn’t really speak to me the way the first weeks’ did. She was surprised, because it was the exact opposite for her. While I found some earth-shattering thoughts in the stories of Eve, Sarah, and Hagar (and most recently Miriam and Rahab); she had similar responses to Shiphrah and Puah and Jochebed. And that’s why it is oh-so-important for us to do these things together–to discuss and dissect and share. Several points she found so great about those stories, hadn’t even occurred to me!

Some things I’ve noted lately:

From Rebekah: God knows all the pieces of my story and He has purposed them for His glory. I loved this part: ‘We are all Rebekah’s, assuming control. We are all Esau’s wondering what we’ve done when ‘not fair’ moments come our way. And we are all Jacob’s, given the Father’s blessing when we’ve done nothing to deserve it.’
From Leah and Rachel: What I see most in these two stories are women desperately trying to find worth in worldly things. The love of a husband. The honor of childbearing. I am reminded that my worth comes from being a child of God. He has inscribed MY name on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). He calls ME by name (Isaiah 43:1). HE has deemed me worthy and nothing of this world can devalue that.
From Miriam: Oh, Miriam, how like you I am. Wanting to be in control, to be the hero. To be recognized for my hard work.
From Rahab: Rahab’s story is one of my favorite in all of the bible. It reminds me nothing we do is so bad that God cannot forgive and redeem. Also? Those labels I give myself (and others…ouch!) are incorrect in light of God’s labeling. And he calls me (and you, too!) redeemed.

Share with me–what has God impressed most on your heart the past two weeks?

Women In the Word, Week One

Posted on June 9, 2015 in Faith, 2 comments

I have participated for months now in She Reads Truth studies–Fruit of the Spirit, Letters to Timothy, The Risen Christ–but none of those have I enjoyed as much as the current Women in the Word study. Women in the Word is a 9-week study that covers the women of the bible–Eve to Esther to Martha and everyone in between.

And in each story, the SRT writers encourage us to look past the woman to God and His plan. The sole purpose of the entire Women in the Word study is for us to become women in the word, learning more about our God by reading His story. My favorite quote from the introduction says “Let’s open the bible not for daily inspiration or a pep talk, but only to pursue Him.” How often do we open our bibles, hoping only to ‘feel good’ after reading?

Today is Day 9, and I thought I’d share some nuggets I’ve picked up along the way.

From the story of Eve: “Satan has a way of making us feel less ashamed of our sin (the thing that separates us from God) and more ashamed of ourselves (the things that links us to Him)!” How true is this? How much more shame and embarrassment do we feel over our appearance–our weight, our wrinkles, our cellulite–than over our sin? God created us in His image and to be free from shame. Anything else is from satan.
From the story of Sarah: Even when I am a ‘restless waiter’ like Sarah, God doesn’t give up on me. Even when I make a mess of things, He will come down and wait with me and sustain me and fulfill all his promises to me. I need to learn to sit back and rely fully on him, but how wonderful it is that even in my restlessness, His mercy abounds.
From the story of Hagar: Honestly, Hagar leaves me confused. I need someone more wise than I to explain some things to me. One interesting thing I found when attempting to research Hagar’s story a bit more is that some biblical scholars believe Hagar to be the daughter of King Pharaoh of Egypt. These scholars believe she left Egypt to travel with Abraham and Sarah after she saw how God saved them from the hand of the Egyptians.

If you aren’t participating in this study, you should! You can download the She Reads Truth app from the app store (free app, the actual study is $1.99 within the app) or simply go to the She Reads Truth site and sign up for their emails.

If you are participating, what did you learn in week one? Can anyone help me out with that Hagar situation?

Illustrated Faith Fun

Posted on June 1, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

Thanks to my adventures in bible journaling, I’ve really wanted to improve my hand lettering skills. My sister, Mallory and I went with Lisa to a class in Huntsville last week taught by the amazing Jacki Gil of Salt + Paperie. It was so much fun. (If you are in our area, Jacki is planning several other classes, including a watercolor one that sounds just great!)

I’ve searched for hand lettering tutorials online and found a few good ones I thought I would share, in case you are interested as well. Kyndall really enjoyed these, too, since she missed learning cursive. (When she was in second grade, cursive was taught in third grade according to the Alabama state standards. The summer after second grade, the standards updated and cursive became a second grade standard. Her class got lost in the switch.) She has loved watching and learning with me, too.

Hand Lettering Step By Step, by MadebyMarzipan.

“Faux” Calligraphy by K Werner Design.

And if you would like some bible journaling inspiration (much better than mine), check out these greats on Instagram:

Melissa AKA Fischtales

Jess Robyn AKA BumbleandBristle

Alli Graham

Stephanie Ackerman (You can also check out Stephanie’s blog for other amazing art inspiration!)

Valerie Wieners

Or just search #IllustratedFaith on Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media’s.

This is a great time to get started with Bible Journaling if you haven’t already, because the ESV Journaling Bibles are about to be re-stocked on Amazon. Better get yours quick though–judging by Instagram comments, they’ll go fast!

School’s Out for SUMMER!

Posted on May 22, 2015 in Faith, 2 comments

Ya’ll!! I can’t believe it has been an entire TWO WEEKS since my last post. I knew going back to work would put a damper on this ol’ blog, but wow. Hopefully, we’ll resume a more regular schedule now that I don’t have work to go to each day! I have some updates scheduled for next week, but first a few random thoughts. Because I haven’t been able to leak my brain in a blog post for a while.

1. Kingdom work isn’t clean or tidy or easy, as is evidenced by this post from Lori Harris.

2. When God convicts you of something, you can bet your bottom dollar the devil is going to do everything he can to make you fail. Case in point: I have been very convicted about my language–using my words for positive. For the past several weeks, I’ve prayed for God to guide my words so that they will be glorifying to Him. Wouldn’t you know, I’ve had more gossip spewed at me in the past few weeks that in the last 29 years of my life? And oh how I wanted to hear it! Sometimes I did well turning it away, sometimes I did not. This sinful stuff is a daily battle, am I right?

3. Sometimes, right in the middle of this battered and broken world, God sends a rainbow. I was trying to leave Target the other night with a crying baby, two overly helpful girl children, and a monsoon outside. A sweet teenage guy came over and asked if he could help me. (He even called me ma’am!) That’s preciousness, right there. And when the rain let up, there was the most gorgeous double rainbow I’ve ever seen.

4. For the first time in my life, I have fallen in absolute love with a pen. A pen, I tell you. These Frixion pens are the best ever, literally. They write smoothly and brightly. They are erasable, thanks to new “thermogenic ink”. They are refillable. And a pack of 7 colors is only $9 on Amazon. (They are more expensive at Hobby Lobby–almost double!)

5. I have some really fun posts coming up–another hiking trip we took, a catch-up post of some things we’ve been up to, a calendar review, and a home improvement project in which I’ve partnered with Home Depot. Check back soon or just subscribe in the right side bar to receive my posts by email.

That Time I Met Jen Hatmaker

Posted on April 13, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

Last weekend, Lisa and I drove down to Birmingham to a women’s conference at Shades Mountain Baptist Church. The theme was For Such A Time As This and the speaker was my favorite, Jen Hatmaker. (Jen is the author of Seven, Interrupted, and the eagerly anticipated For the Love.)

PS: I took Jase, since he is still dependent on mom for food and everything, and he was a trooper. He endured cheek pinches and head rubs and several hours of Jen talking and was an angel.

Jen is all about not just “doing church” but being the church.

A few of my favorite quotes from the sessions:

You do not need full confidence in yourself to say yes to God, you need full confidence in Him. God is capable.
Our relationship with God is not a democracy. When He says go, we say yes.
Ordinary does not sideline us.
How dare we call unworthy what God has already redeemed?
Brave moves fail because we fail to notice God’s hand in our lives. God is always at work, even if we hardly notice Him.
If you are faithful in the small, you better buckle up sister. God is going to do great things with you!

In her book Interrupted, Jen talks about how God repeatedly showed her the word ‘new’ as they were preparing to leave their church and do something different. The new for them was an entirely new kind of church–one that goes to the people and serves others. At the conference, she told a similar story of how Ethiopia continually came up when she and her husband were preparing to adopt.

Well, I kid you not, the word ‘brave’ has come up no less than 7,625 times in my life the past few weeks. Just a few examples:

my bible study. As I’ve been reading through Luke, I’ve written down brave things several times. Mary bravely accepted the task set before her as mother of our Savior. The friends of the paralyzed man were brave when they lowered him through the rooftop.
my newest book. I have had a stack of books for several months now. As I get a new book, I place it at the bottom of the stack and when I’m ready for a new one, I choose the book on the top. Last week, the book on top was Let’s All Be Brave by Annie Downs.
at the women’s conference this weekend, the song that grabbed my heart (and I had somehow never heard before!?) was You Make Me Brave. If you haven’t heard it, you have GOT to hear Sarah Reeves version. Go here.
Jen’s words for us this weekend. Everyone got something different from what she was saying, but what stuck out to me was bravery. Esther’s bravery. The bravery of Caleb and Joshua in Numbers.
Erin Condren’s IG photo today was followed up with this quote: Be brave enough to trust yourself.

Unlike Jen, I haven’t made a habit of looking for God’s fingerprints in my life. I’m afraid I’ve missed several ‘commissioned moments’ because I wasn’t paying attention. Now I’m paying attention and God gives me a word like ‘brave’. Seriously? I’m a little slow God. How about a more specific word? (Ha!)

But what I think is, as a Christian in this generation, God is calling us to be courageous. To be brave. That bravery could come in the form of sharing Christ with family or loving your neighbor or moving to a mission field in Kenya. Being God’s ambassador requires bravery and courage and the willingness to say yes to Him. Let’s all be brave.

Live Small, Love Big

Posted on March 5, 2015 in Faith, 4 comments

“Hey ms west how is baby jase can I see you soon”. That was the text I received earlier this week, complete with punctuation errors and all.

He has food to eat and nice clothes to wear. He also has a dad that’s MIA, no family around, and a mom who works ALL THE TIME to buy the food and the clothes and the things. She’s doing the absolute best that she can.

What he needed from us was time. Attention. During soccer season, we picked him up from school every single day. We took him to soccer practice and soccer games. We cheered just as loud for him as we did for Kyndall.

When soccer was over, he came to the house some afternoons just to hang out. (If he wasn’t with us, he was home alone until 9:00 most nights.) Having him around was easy before Jase came.

But with a newborn, sometimes I looked at him and stressed because I couldn’t fathom taking care of ONE MORE kid, ya’ll. And these past few weeks, I’ve failed him.

Reading that text message, I flashed back to the day he grinned at me and said, “Mrs. West, the best days I have are the days I spend with you.” Stopped me in my tracks.

Is it a little inconvenient? Yes. Does his mother work on a completely different time-table than I do? Yes. I mean, I am the BEDTIME NAZI, ya’ll. 8:00pm and my house shuts down. When he is here, she doesn’t pick him up until close to 10:00. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT.

But really? His best days? I can be a little inconvenienced for that. Because that’s what love does.

This post is part of a link-up on Lori Harris’s blog.

Illustrated Faith AKA: Bible Journaling

Posted on March 4, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

I am not the best at studying my bible. I’m just going to be honest and say that, even when I could squeeze in the time, I didn’t have the desire to actually study. So outside of Sunday School class, church sermons, and the occasional bible study, I haven’t cracked open the Word too much. Even when I attempted devotionals (I love the She Reads Truth ones!), I more often read the devotion itself instead of the actual scripture. I’ve really been convicted about this lack of Bible study, but I didn’t know quite how to change it.

Then, a few weeks ago, I discovered the Illustrated Faith movement, also known as Bible Journaling. I immediately jumped on board, purchasing my ESV Journaling Bible and Micron pens. Honestly, I saw this as a creative outlet more than I saw it as motivation to study my Bible, but that’s exactly what happened. I started reading and studying the Word. I wanted to do it.

I also learned that I’m not good at studying the Bible. Am I the only one that finds that big book confusing sometimes? Actually, don’t answer that. 🙂 I remember a book I had seen by my online bff Jen Hatmaker, A Modern Girls Guide to Bible Study, and I purchased that, too.

In the book, Jen teaches bible study strategies in her classic, humorous style. And even though I’ve been a Christian for going on 22-years, and in church since conception, I’ve learned a lot. Sometimes slow learners like me just need a detailed “here’s-what-to-do” plan.

I’m proud to say that in the past two weeks, my bible study habits have improved greatly. And my new Bible is looking really pretty as a result.

AWANA Grand Prix

Posted on March 2, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

Each year during AWANA, our church has a Grand Prix car race. Each child takes home a car to design and decorate. The cars have to be sanded….

And then painted.

And decorated to their hearts content. This year, Kyndall wanted an Olaf car and Libby wanted a princess car. They were both very specific about how their cars were to look.

Libby even won 2nd place for her car design.

Neither girl won the actual overall race, but they won a few individual races. The best part was watching how excited they got and cheering each other (and their friends) on in the races! There were high fives and hugs and all out cheers from their group of girls as the cars raced down that track.

The AWANA Grand Prix is such a great tradition–the girls loved working on the cars with their Daddy and they really loved the competition during the race. I’m so thankful for a church family that makes this a priority for our kids!

A Heaviness Among the Light

Posted on February 25, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

I woke up the other night from a dream so real I had tears streaming down my face. It took everything in me not to wake Justin and have him go check, or watch the kids while I checked.

I don’t know if I should blame reading Lori Harris’ blog or the text I received earlier in the day or the fact that it was the coldest night of the year. Maybe God is just using my dreams to wake me up. In my dream state I saw a little girl, about 7 with short blonde hair and a dirty face. She was dressed in thin, tattered clothes. And she was sleeping, in the dark, at the entrance of my neighborhood, wrapped in old newspapers.

Even though it was 2am and 98% of me knew it wasn’t real, I had to talk myself down from going to check our neighborhood entrance, just in case. (I can only imagine Justin’s face if I had actually woken him up!)

But the sad fact is, this situation is all too real. Maybe she wasn’t lying at the entrance of my subdivision, but on the floor of a trailer down the street with no heat and no blankets and busted out windows. Maybe she wasn’t just cold, but hungry too.

Poverty has a name. It’s Victor and Tara and Johnny. It’s children that I know. That my girls know.

We are expecting up to 8 inches of snow today and I can’t wait to bundle my girls up and take them out to play. Sledding and building snowmen and throwing snowballs.

But another part of me worries about those kids down the street. Are they warm enough? Do they have enough food to eat?
We can’t ignore poverty. We can’t pretend it doesn’t exist or it doesn’t involve us. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus, today.

Finding My Mission Field

Posted on February 11, 2015 in Faith, 0 comments

Fourteen years ago I stood on the stage at my church and shared my call to be a missionary. I was sixteen years old and had just come back from a very emotional church camp experience. I was on the mountaintop after being immersed in a solid week of missions, worship, bible study, and Christian fellowship.

Mission work seemed so glamorous then. I imagined myself flying back and forth from home to Africa, or Nicaragua, or any other third world country. I had dreams of writing a book, very much like ”Kisses From Katie.” I pictured myself speaking at conferences in front of hundreds of women. God was going to use me BIG, I just knew it.

Over the years I have attempted to go on various mission trips. It just never worked out. More times that I care to admit, I’ve allowed the sneaky voice of the devil to condemn me for this. He convinced me I was a failure. That I wasn’t trying hard enough. That I was disobeying God by not going to Uganda or Honduras or Malaysia, when in truth, it was me who named those places, not God.

Now I know the truth. I’ve had to actually listen to God and find my mission field. And it’s taken me years to do so. (I’m not always the fastest learner–I’m sure God shakes his head at me daily.) I’m not called to serve overseas in a third world country or even in the slums of some big US city. At least, not right now. My mission field is here, right were I am.

It’s the school where I teach.

It’s the neighborhood that I live in.

It’s the church that I attend.

It’s my kids, my family, my friends.

I’m called to be a light for Christ right here where I am.

To be a witness for Him, a backbone for other Christians when they need help standing tall.

To be His hands and feet in the lower income neighborhood down the street.

To be a leader, a comforter, a mentor.

And this was His plan for me all along.

I think we often leave the witnessing and the loving-like-Jesus to those people who are “real” missionaries when, in reality, we are all missionaries. We just serve on a different mission field. And I’ve found mine. Where’s yours?