Kelly's Korner: SUYL Singles Link-Up (Michelle)

It has been 4 months - FOUR LONG MONTHS - since I posted my last blog entry. And I know that is TOTALLY unacceptable, and I absolutely deserve the award for "World's Worst Blogger", and I have SO much to catch you all up on in relation to life lately and my growing babies, BUT... all of that will have to wait for another day (hopefully... I really, really, REALLY do want to get back into blogging regularly). Today, I am not here to post anything about me. Today, I am here to write about my sweet friend, Michelle.

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is currently hosting her fifth "Show Us Your Life: Singles" link-up, and after much thought/consideration and discussion with Michelle, I couldn't resist sharing a little bit about her. You just never know how God may choose to lead someone to the person He has chosen for them to spend their life with. (And considering the fact that five couples have met and gotten married as a result of Kelly's SUYL link-ups, I'd say it's worth a shot.) So, without further ado, meet Michelle:

The first and most important thing you should know about Michelle is that she is a devout Christian. She was raised in a Christian home and accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at a young age. She seeks daily to follow God's will for her life, and her heart's deepest desire is to find a Godly man to share her life with and raise a family.

Some of Michelle's interests include aviation (she LOVES going to air shows), photography, meteorology, nature, organizing, reading, and traveling. She describes herself as a "country/western girl, but not completely country". She drives a truck and loves camo and boots, but she admits that she has never been fishing, hunting, or mud riding (although she is open to trying all of these activities). She is also an animal lover. She has two dogs, a cat, and a pet rabbit.

Michelle and one of her dogs, Belle

Michelle is praying for God to lead her to a man who seeks daily to exemplify the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22-23). She understands that no one is perfect (and never will be), but she simply desires to find a man who strives to live for Christ and be the spiritual leader of his family.

Michelle is currently living in south Alabama, but would be willing to move if/when a strong relationship is developed and a future is clear. If you or someone you know would be interested in getting to know Michelle better, please leave a comment on this post, and I would be happy to pass the information on to her. God bless!

"Show Us Your Life": Bible Studies/Devotions

I'm linking up over at Kelly's Corner again for another "Show Us Your Life" post. Kelly wants to know what her readers' favorite Bible studies and devotionals are.
To be honest, although I have been a Christian since I was 8 years old, I haven't done much of any Bible studies yet. I've gone through one or two with Sunday school classes in the past, and I've also read through parts of different devotionals here and there, but until just recently, I had a very difficult time staying "committed" to having a daily Bible study time. I'm one of those people who had the same New Year's resolution every year to read my Bible every day, but by the second or third week of the year (if not sooner), that resolution had already gone down the drain. I would just busy myself with other things, telling myself that I would have my time with God later, and when "later" came around at the end of the day when I was crawling into bed, I was always too tired. SO selfish, huh?
That has been my "story" for YEARS now. Thankfully, however, God has really been working on my heart lately. I have been struggling internally for a WHILE now, and about 7 weeks (or so) ago, I couldn't run away any longer. I knew that I was not devoting myself to God at all like I was supposed to or NEEDED to. When I was 8 years old, I said a prayer and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and be my Savior. And I meant it. I know without a doubt that I was saved that day, but since then, I have learned that there is SO much more to the Christian life than just saying a prayer and being baptized. God has lovingly been opening my eyes to the fact that "my" life really IS NOT about ME at all. If I truly want to thrive in my walk with Christ, I have to "die" to myself and live for Him and Him alone. I cannot chase after my own selfish desires and constantly put other people and things in front of God and still expect to be in His will.
Like I said, I had been wrestling with God for a long time with all of this. It's like I could literally hear Him calling out to me, but for whatever reason, I kept running. I don't know why. I'll never understand why. Why on earth would anyone run from such a loving God? But we all do it, don't we? Anyway, like I said, about 7 weeks ago, I finally surrendered. I couldn't remember when the last time was that I had read my Bible or prayed outside of church. I felt so disconnected from God, and it was tearing me up inside. I was desperate to feel Him again. I didn't know what to do, and I knew it would take time to grow and start to feel that "intimacy" with Him again, but I knew I had to start somewhere. So, I went to my bookshelf here at home and found a Bible study I started with a church small group a couple years ago, but never got very far into. It's an 8-week study by Kelly Minter called No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern-Day Idols. I knew right away that it was exactly what I needed. I started it immediately, and I can honestly say that, with God's help, I am now on the 7th week of the study. I have learned so much about myself and so much about God and my need for Him through this study. Kelly is a great writer and has great insight on the passages of scripture for each day. And on that note, that's what I love best about the study - as great as it is on its own, I love the fact that it challenges me to dig into God's Word every day. I needed that. I HAD to get back into reading my Bible. And I have, in a way that I never have before. I now hunger for time in God's Word every day. I truly look forward to my time with God, first in prayer, and then digging into His Word with an open heart, desiring to hear from Him. I am closer in my walk with God now than I have ever been in my life, and it feels SO good. And it only makes me want to grow closer and closer and closer to Him. That's the awesome thing about it... there's always room to grow in Christ.
Starting the Bible study (and getting that hunger to be in God's Word again) also encouraged me to start reading a devotional every night again. My church puts out the Journey devotional magazine every month, and although I always grabbed one with the intent of reading it, I rarely ever read more than a few days out of each month. Now, however, I look forward to ending my day with a little more time in God's Word. I really like the Journey magazine. Each day has a short devotional paired with a passage of scripture, and I can't tell you how often the devotional and/or scripture talks about something I am struggling with specifically on that day. God's good about stuff like that.
One other thing I'm doing right now is studying through the book A Confident Heart by Renee Swope with a women's small group at my church on Sunday nights. We just started the class two weeks ago, so we haven't gotten very far into it yet, but I'm very excited to see how God chooses to reveal Himself to me and show me that I can have a confident heart in Him.
So, those are the Bible studies and devotions I am enjoying right now. I know this post turned into a bit of a rambling session from me (keep in mind the name of this blog), but I've been meaning to share all of this (what God has been doing in my life lately) for a while now, and I figured this post was as good a time as any.
I want to encourage anyone reading this who isn't having a daily "quiet time" with God to PLEASE start one. You will never know just how important daily time with God - through prayer and spending time in His Word - is until you start having it. It has been such an incredible blessing to me, and I know it will be for you, too.

"Show Us Your Life": My Favorite Blogs

I just recently (and by "just recently", I mean like within the past week) started following a very well-known blog called "Kelly's Korner". Several of the blogs I already followed are followers of her blog, so after checking it out and reading up on her a bit, I decided to jump on the bandwagon.
Kelly does a blog series called "Show Us Your Life" which gives her readers a chance to get to know her and her other readers better by discussing different topics and linking up their own blog posts to hers. On Friday, Kelly posted a new "Show Us Your Life" discussion topic, asking her readers to share their favorite blogs, and I decided I'd participate.
So, in this post, I'll be sharing my top four favorite blogs of the blogs I follow. Why four? Well... although I enjoy reading all the blogs I follow, I didn't want to spend all day discussing each one (I don't have time for that), so I figured it'd be best to cut it down to the four I read most often and that inspire me the most (each in their own ways). The first two blogs are more well-known in the public blog world, both with thousands of followers, and both written by women I don't actually know personally. The other two blogs are written by personal friends of mine, and well... I just love them.
So, without further ado, here they are - my favorite blogs:

First up is a blog called "Another Day Stronger" written by a woman named Kellie Staats (I've posted about her/her blog a couple times in the past few days). I first discovered Kellie's blog back in February through a link a friend of mine posted on Facebook asking for prayers for her and her family. When I checked out her story, I ended up sobbing on my couch for probably an hour. Kellie and her husband, James, tragically lost their only child, a precious baby girl named Madison, to SIDS when she was just four months old. As a mommy of a little girl myself (and now with a baby boy on the way), I felt so overwhelmingly heartbroken for Kellie. I absolutely cannot imagine what I would do if I ever lost either one of my babies. Kellie's blog is not one for the faint of heart, but her courage to share her story with the public and face each new day in the midst of her heartache is inspiring on so many levels. I am reminded every day to NEVER take a single second with my babies (or any of my loved ones, for that matter) for granted. I truly believe I am a better mother because of Kellie.

The next blog is called "In This Wonderful Life", written by a sweet-spirited woman named Megan. I've been following Megan's blog for several months as well, and if I'm not mistaken, I actually discovered it through Kellie's blog. Megan has a sad story as well. Megan has PCOS (just like me), and she and her husband, Brent, struggled to conceive a child. However, in June of last year, she gave birth to a precious baby boy named Cohen, who was born with congenital heart defects. Sadly, when he was just twelve days old, he passed away. My heart broke for Megan and her family. Cohen was just over a week older than my Rylee, so once again, I was reminded to cherish every moment with her. Megan's story gets "brighter", though... although she and her husband still miss their Cohen every day (and always will, of course), Megan was blessed to conceive again, and two weeks ago, they welcomed TWINS - a boy named Knox and a girl named Sloane - into the world. Thankfully, Knox and Sloane are both healthy and doing very well (and both absolutely precious!). I look forward to watching them grow through the updates and pictures Megan posts.

My third favorite blog is called "Stones of Remembrance", and it's written by a wonderful Godly woman I'm blessed to know personally. Her name is Lesley, and she is the wife of the associate pastor at my church, and a stay-at-home mommy to two beautiful little girls named Reagan and Gracen. I love reading Lesley's blog, because it always leaves me feeling so encouraged and uplifted (and sometimes even convicted) spiritually. She often shares what she is currently reading in her Bible studies, and she isn't afraid to make herself vulnerable by revealing the areas in her life where she is struggling or feeling convicted. She also often shares her "adventures" - both the highs and lows - of taking care of her girls, which always encourages me as a young stay-at-home mom. Reading her blog reminds me that, even though I may strive every day to be like Christ, I'm still human, and I'm still going to make mistakes sometimes. No one is perfect - not even a minister's wife. And that's okay. Lesley has such a desire and a hunger to constantly draw nearer to God, and I am blessed to have women like her in my life to look up to.

The fourth blog on my "favorites" list (and dare I say it?... my favorite of the favorites) has to be "I am my Beloved's and He is mine." This blog is written by my lovely friend Katrina. Before I go any further, I must say that she actually just started this blog last month. However, before this blog, she had another blog called "Whimsy and Wonder", which she retired last month. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE reading Katrina's blog. And I do mean LOVE. (Just read her final post in "Whimsy and Wonder"... I was one of the people BEGGING her to come back to the blogging world when she went on a blogging hiatus for a while recently. It was a terrible time. I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to survive, but thankfully, she heard my cries and pleas for mercy and finally came back.) One of the biggest things I love about Katrina's blog is that she freely shares her heart. She has such a beautiful, Godly spirit, and her love for Christ just overflows in her words. She is truly in love with her Savior, and it is such an encouragement to me. I desire to have that same love for Him. Katrina also has a Christ-like love for people, especially those who are hurting or in need. She is one of the most compassionate, gentle people I know. If Katrina could have her biggest dream come true, it would be to adopt every single orphan in the entire world. (Okay, let me correct that last statement just a bit... it would be to marry Tim Tebow and THEN adopt every single orphan in the entire world. She wants/needs a good "baby daddy" in the picture.) I don't know many people like that. Another thing I absolutely love about Katrina's blog is that it almost ALWAYS leaves me cracking up laughing. It doesn't matter what she's talking about... she can make just about anything at least a little humorous. She is just hilarious, and I love it. If I'm ever having a rough day and need something to brighten my spirits, I know I can always count on a blog post from Katrina to do the trick.

So, there you have it - my four favorite blogs. I hope you'll check them out!