Keep Waiting!

I promise my blog series is coming! I'm working on "If It's Stopping You From Getting Closer to God, It Needs To Go" but I am also a busy girl!

For instance, enrollment for spring semester was today at 5 AM. I waited for 40 minutes for one page to load. It didn't. I finally was able to enroll at 8 AM. So there's a little snippet of what's been going on in my life recently! :)

Anyway keep your eyes out for Part 1 to HOPEFULLY show up within the next week!


Xoxo,
n.

Short But Sweet :)

The title basically describes me...haha no but really, this post will be very brief, but informative-ish!

So I just wanted to post a little posty post here and let you all know what's coming soon! I'm going to do a blog on "If it's stopping you from getting closer to God, it needs to go." Anything that hinders your relationship with Christ is a no-no!

And I know this because I had to cut a lot out of my life once I rededicated my life to Christ back in January. It was rough, but necessary, and definitely has paid off! Believe me, once you get rid of the bad and fully focus your life on Christ, you will be amazed at the results. His love is so magnificent!

Sooo anyway, stay tuned! I'd like to post within the next few days about this topic, but since my life has decided to go and get all busy recently, it may be closer to a week-ish. Sowwy. It will happen though! :)

Xoxo,
n.

Rainy Day

So today: 1) I'm not feeling super awesome, thanks to my back being out and chest pains - but it's not life threatening so no need to worry! 2) Due to #1, I had to miss my teaching field experience and my technology class today (both my cooperating teacher and my tech teacher were understanding, so it's okay). 3) I just got an estimate on my car. I was in a fender bender Sunday on my way to church - I got hit instead of doing the hitting and everyone is fine so I mean, that's a plus...sort of. 4) It's just a rainy day!

Don't get me wrong, rain is a good thing. But typically I only like rainy days if I can go outside and splash in puddles in my rain boots, or if it's sunny-ish and warm-ish. (Yes, I make up my own words.) That being said, it's still a good day and I'm still going to try to be productive, after I rest on the couch for a while.
So, since I'm bored, I thought I'd just share a few things with you guys to try to keep us all a little sane on this rainy Tuesday afternoon.

Here's a little Kid President to get your day started. Because who doesn't love Kid President? And if you haven't ever heard of him, go watch some of his YouTube videos here. He is adorable and I guarantee you'll love this kid.

Photo taken from megancrosbie.com

Since it is rainy, I thought it'd be a good idea to share my ultimate comfort food with you (thanks to Land O'Lakes for the best recipe ever!). It's called Ham, Mac & Cheese Soup. If you think it sounds weird, wait until you see the recipe. You will quickly change your mind and decide that yes, I was right, and it does sound and taste delicious. You can get the recipe here. And here's a little pic for you, just so you know ahead of time what kind of awesome deliciousness you're getting yourself into.

Photo taken from landolakes.com

I KNOW RIGHT? Doesn't it look awesome? It tastes even better. And it really doesn't take very long to make. Also, I will go ahead and admit that I didn't use Land O'Lakes brand of everything for the recipe as they suggest. I'm not a stickler about that. Half and half is half and half, regardless of the brand. Anyway, I promise, you will LOVE this recipe! I actually love it so much that I may suck it up and go to the store and get the ingredients to make it, even though I don't feel super peachy. It's just that good!

Anyway, that's all I've got for you for now. Check back later for more awesomeness.
Have a great rainy Tuesday! Now watch some Kid Pres and get to cooking!

Xoxo,
n.

"Let not your heart be troubled..."

Boy, I sure did need this right about now. I love how God speaks to me.

October 10th? Oh My...

October 10th was the last time I posted! Are you kidding? No, no I am not.

Did I just talk to myself via blog post? Okay, so maybe I am a little crazy, but at least I keep things interesting.

I've been reading all these people's blogs recently, like Paul Angone's "All Groan Up", Allison Vesterfelt's "Learning to Live with Less", Stephanie Munden's "The First Years" (LOVE HER, she is an absolute sweetheart!), and even a few like Anthony Moore's "Stuff Grads Like" and Brazen Careerist. And what has reading all of their blogs done for me? Well, for one, brightened my already bright day! If you ever need a pick-me-up, any of these will do, though I recommend the first 3 the most. The last 2 are moreso just little interesting ones to "thumb through" when you're bored.
But what their blogs have also done for me is made me want to start blogging consistently!

I know, I know. I've said this before. And does it happen? Well, for a little bit it does. But not nearly as much as I'd like it to. So you know what I'm gonna do? Judge me for this, but...I'm gonna set a daily repeating reminder in my iPhone to BLOG.

Yep. That's right. I'm obsessed with the Reminders section of my phone and I don't understand how I survived life without it before now. I mean, I love my planner and I definitely still use it, but I would be utterly lost without Reminders on my phone.

So now that you all know that I'm taking blogging seriously this time (for reals!), you can go ahead and get excited! Do some jumping jacks or run around your house (physically, outside), or just do something to get your blood pumping so then after you stop doing it and stop looking like an idiot, you can stand there and remember why you just looked so silly -- because Nicole is blogging now! :)

Have a happy rest of your Monday, guys. It's really truly worth it to be happy on a Monday.

Xoxo,
n.

P.S. AND LOOK FOR MORE POSTS TO COME! :)

A Joyce Meyer devotional - "Love Out Loud"

"Break Free from Criticism and Judgment"
Joyce Meyer's "Love Out Loud" devotional
October 10

"But [as for me personally] it matters very little to me that I should be put on trial by you...I do not even put myself on trial and judge myself...I feel blameless; but I am not vindicated and acquitted before God on that account. It is the Lord [Himself] Who examines and judges me." 1 Corinthians 4:3, 4

Criticism and judgment are rampant in today's society. It is unfortunate that people choose to degrade others instead of offering encouragement and affirmation. For most people, being criticized and judged by others is difficult to bear. It's hard on us mentally, and it can be very painful emotionally. But the more we learn to love ourselves in a godly way, the less susceptible we are to the wounds criticism and judgment can inflict.

Certainly, being critical and judgmental toward others is a sin; God's Word instructs us repeatedly not to treat people this way. But, it is equally sinful to allow the adverse opinions of others to affect us negatively or influence the decisions we make.

Most of the time, people who criticize and judge others are extremely insecure. Because they are not comfortable with themselves, they struggle to be at ease with others or to accept what others choose to do. We need to be secure enough in God to be who we are and do what He has called us to do, whether people around us approve or not.

Understand that criticism and judgment are the devil's tools. He will try to use them to keep you from fulfilling your destiny, to limit your liberty, and to steal your creativity. The way to resist them is to be secure in the fact that God loves you and to love yourself appropriately.

Love Yourself Today: "Lord, I pray that I will continue to grow to love and accept myself in godly ways so the criticism and judgment of others will not hurt me or affect me negatively."

A Joyce Meyer devotional - "Trusting God Day By Day"

"Leave the Choice to God"
Joyce Meyer's "Trusting God Day By Day" devotional
October 10

"But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!" Matthew 14:27

God will do one of two things if you have a problem: He will either remove the problem (which is always our first choice!) or He will give you the strength, the grace, the ability to go through the problem. I know we don't like the going through part, but if that is what God chooses, we need to trust Him.

If God lets us go through something, then He's got a purpose in mind; there's something we are going to get out of it that we need. If we don't trust God, we're going to be miserable. The only choices we have are trust and be happy, or don't trust and be miserable!

Trusting God is very peaceful. It is so wonderful to be able to say, "I don't understand this, but I believe God's going to work it out." When you are in a difficult situation, believe God is with you and that He will give you direction at the right time. Believe you are growing spiritually even though you might be hurting right now.

I went through many years when I tried to have enough faith to prevent myself from having problems, or when I did have problems, I wanted enough faith to resist the devil and believe God would make my problem go away. To be honest, I was under so much pressure and stress that it began to adversely affect my health. Finally I decided, "Oh! I'm supposed to trust God! And if God doesn't get rid of my problem, then I trust God to take me through it." By believing in God, I entered His rest!

We trust God's timing, we trust His wisdom, we trust His ways, and by doing that, we can enjoy every single day of the journey. We don't have to just be happy when we have no problems; we can also enough life while we are "going through."

Trust in Him: If you can say, "God, I know you'll do one of two things: You'll either remove this or You're going to give me the grace to deal with it," and trust God enough to leave that choice up to Him, you'll reap the reward.