What I Wore {and Thought} Wednesday

Hello Beautiful! (or handsome if you're my husband reading this)

This outfit embodies two of my favorite fashion choices:

Maxi Skirts and Comfort!

And I absolutely LOVE this shirt even though it feels a tiny bit long.

As I was reading yesterday's #SheReadsTruth devotional, I got curious. We were reading in Lamentations, a book written by "the weeping prophet", Jeremiah.

I wondered, what comes before Lamentations 3:22?

The chapter begins with Jeremiah crying out prophetically for the nation of Israel.

"I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath;"

Lamentations 3:1

From this verse through verse 20, the prophet is crying out to the Lord. He feels abandoned, rejected, and punished. He admits his sin and cries out that he has no peace.

He is in utter anguish.

But then verse 21...

It reminds me of the Psalms, where time-after-time David cries out to God in the utmost anguish. Yet without fail, his cries of hurt, despair and confusion to statements of trust, faith and hope in God Almighty.

Listent to his statements of faith...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases:

His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul,

therefore I will hope in Him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord."

Lamentations 3:22-26

How beautiful is this cry from Jeremiah's lips? And how much more beautiful that it comes from a heart that feels utter bitterness and pain. It comes from a soul who feels that weight of his sin and the separation that creates between him and God.

Yet...

His feet remained planted on the rock of truth. He knew God's Word and God's character. So he was able to have hope in the Lord.

Sisters, we can hope in the Lord as well! But the challenge for me, and you, today is...

Do we know God's character well enough to hope in Him even when we can't see Him at work?

Do we have the faith to say with Jeremiah, "But this I call to mind"? 

Do I know the Word of God well enough that I can call it to mind in times of need?

But more importantly...will I?

Dear sisters, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and allowed Him to forgive your sins and save you, then 

                 you have hope.

I have hope!

Will we choose today to look to Jesus and find our hope in Him? Will we, with Jeremiah, list the goodness of the Lord and choose to live in light of His goodness?

My prayer is that God will give me the grace and the faith to hope in Him daily, and I'm praying the same for you.

Be blessed.

<3

Linking Up:

 

Snips and Snaps of Life

Do you every pray for something, and then it happens immediately?

And you are blown away and in awe of God?

{Even though you know He's totally big enough to do that and more.}

And then you're a bit overwhelmed?

And then you wonder if you were really ready for the answer?

Tutoring Business Cards

That was me. Last Monday, I prayed with my women's bible study for 8-10 hours worth of tutoring jobs a week. And BAM!

Now I have 10+ hours of tutoring a week! God is so good!

But now I'm having to figure out all over again how to balance...

grocery shopping

cleaning

blogging {!!!}

spending time with my hubby

church

bible study {#shereadstruth}

cooking

and...life

In some of those areas, I feel like this past week was an epic fail. =( 

But God is good, He give grace and He love me no matter what. I am so glad that I serve such a gracious and loving Father!

And even though some of those areas might have felt like total failures, others were great! Like spending time with my hubby. Now, I'm recharged and ready to tackle life with even more vigor than before! Are you ready? I am!

Diptic collage I made for my lock screen

I am ready...

to live
to love
to serve
to give
to be still
to exercise
to work
to be in the presence of my Maker
to be filled
to pour out
to give all the glory to Jesus {He alone is worthy}

So here are just a few random snippets of my life, snapped with my iPhone {seriously...I am so blessed}.  Enjoy!

She booked her ticket!!!

More babysitting.

His shoes are the cutest!

Look at that face! Haha! <3

"The Band" playing a show at spOt Coffee

AJ being weird

My Love! <3 He plays and sings so well!

Just me in a favorite outfit. Why did I not put the bag down for the picture?

And a favorite pair of shoes!

So this is my life. I hope that in some random way, it blesses you.
Keep in contact dear friends!

Be blessed
<3

P.S. Follow me on Instagram! Username - alesha_blessed


Linking Up:

What's Been Going on: Instagram

So for those of you who don't have instagram (or for some strange reason are not following me), I thought I'd give you a peep into my life!

I started running again this week!

Relaxing in bed after a run

I am SO BLESSED that I get to run to the beach every morning!

Speaking of running, my sister Anna, a sophomore (10th grade), ran at State for Cross Country last weekend.

And she took 5th!!!!

Sorry, just a bit excited and proud here.

Her team took the State Championship title for the 7th year in a row, which is a record in Washington State!

Anna with the team trophy

Me being ridiculously excited after watching her run over FaceTime! In the words of her coach, "It was the race of a lifetime for her."

Anna and Abigail (another sister) after the race -Anna is wearing her medal for 5th place!

Last Sunday night, I got to see Phil Wickham lead worship for a Sunday night church service in Miami!

Phil Wickham

Pastor Pedro preached a powerful message on the character of Jesus

Starbucks have started their holiday drinks and cups, and I have started really pushing myself to get back into God's Word regularly.

Read my thoughts on this passage

Starbucks and journaling God's Word <3

Seriously, aren't they pretty?

Another thing that makes me happy? Getting stuff in the mail!

Care package from a dear family in Washington

I have been trying some new stuff this week.

T-shirt yarn!!!

No, Settlers of Catan is not new, but fried yams are new to me. Sooooo yummy!

Today, Travis and I got library cards! Yay! I think we might watch it tonight.

My parents' tried something new this week too, and I got to FaceTime in for the whole thing! You know, for moral support, because my dad required it as a stipulation of him taking on this task. =)

My dad colored my mom's hair!

Aren't they adorable?

This morning, I got to babysit this cuteness for 2 hours!

Opening the door for me

Look at that hair! Aren't you jealous?

She is a crazy one!

Isn't her sense of style hilarious! She rode her tricycle to the park across the street.

Just because: This is what I wore one day, although I pretty much wore jeans and boots almost every day.

Lace and Boots

Well, this is (a bit) of my life for the week. What about you? What have you been up to?

Be blessed
<3

Insta-Date

Dear Readers,

Allow me to share my heart with you today.

Since we've arrived here in Florida, I have not shared much of what we have been doing. So that is going to change.

Praise the Lord, my husband got a job at a Starbuck literally ONE BLOCK from our new apartment!
{Yes, our beautiful, little, second-story apartment! I love it!}
I took this photo walking home from his work...in the sun...in late October!

We are finally settling in, searching thrift stores for more furniture, and starting to develop some good normalcy in life, for which I am so thankful!

And I finally got a chance to recreate a piece of furniture.

{Post coming soon!}

I'm loving this piece in our bedroom right now.

Our apartment is blessing from God. Honestly, it was the only one we looked at. An upstairs apartment 1 block from downtown and about 8 blocks from the beach...seriously? And the number one selling point? The price. God is so good!

The only downside to our dreamy little place...is the teensy, tiny kitchen. And I LOVE to cook. It took me about a week to get over my fear of baking in such a tiny space. But I finally pulled out my Kitchen Aid mixer and have been in cooking heaven.

And yes, it has to sit on a bar stool. Haha!

The results have been scrumptious!

My work...well, no luck yet in terms of finding a "real" job. But God has provided for me to start tutoring. So far I have 2 students! =) I really, really love working with my students and helping them to learn, grow, and succeed. God is good.

Additionally I am working on launching my Etsy Shop on November 1st!
{I'm down to less than a week...yikes!}
So in my long hours at home, I have been crocheting and designing like crazy. Stay tuned to see more!

However, as life forms some version of a "new normal", the loneliness and homesickness has started to set in.

Today, I video chatted with my sister so that I could watch my other sister's districts cross country race! I am constantly amazed at how modern technology allows me to be present for important moments like this from literally the other side of the country!



She ran so hard and so well. I was so proud! My little sophomore sister took 4th! She came back from a bad sprain just 3 months ago, and is looking to be a strong contender at State again this year!

And yet when it was all over, I could only cry. I was so proud of her, and yet all I wanted was to be there to hug her and tell her how much I love her. But right now she is over 3,000 miles away...
However, everytime I get very homesick, I look at this...

Another one of my sisters is visiting me over her Christmas break! I think my heart starts pumping faster every time I think about it. I truly am SO excited!

We are going to soak in as much of this...

And this...

As we possibly can! And we're taking a heavily discounted cruise to the Bahamas! =) I couldn't be more excited!

To be totally honest with you all - places can replace people, but every time I go down to the beach, it makes me a bit less homesick.

Some days this past week, I've almost been able to trick myself into thinking I'm back in Washington. Hurricane Sandy brought us two days of of gray skies, rain, and wind, all very familiar to me in the realm of weather. However, we're back to sun and blue skies, minus the humidity and plus a bunch of wind. The effects of Hurricane Sandy, although very minimal, are still seen everywhere here. The main effects are the wind, lack of humidity, mild flooding, and crazy waves at the beach.

I am definitely praying for everyone who is going to have to evacuate or already has. My heart goes out to them all!

Yet in spite of all the loneliness and homesickness, God is good. I am thoroughly enjoying every moment I have with my husband down here...and there are many of them. He is so supportive and loving. When I first started dating him, I knew that if it continued on to marriage, my life would never be the same. And it's not! =)

My husband has been playing music every Wednesday night at a local coffee shop that has an open mic. He's been doing so well and I love hearing him practice so much.

And the church? Thursday nights are a wonderful and encouraging time to serve and to be refreshed in God's Word. Although it is small, I believe that faithfulness in these moments is so important. So we are praying, praying, praying for our city, and trying our best to build relationships and to be faithful with what God has given us for now.

So it's been a lengthy and up and down update. In the end, all I have to say is...

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

yet in my flesh I shall see God,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

Job 19:25-26

God is good. My purpose here in Delray Beach is to bring glory to Him, but then again, that is my mission in life no matter where I live.
God is good.

Be blessed
<3