Move-Me Monday Pt. IV

This week's "Move-Me Monday" is a summary of the last "At the Movies" sermon that took place yesterday. I am so sad that this wrapped up the series because I REALLY enjoyed it. I got so much out of each and every sermon. I can't wait for next year!

Out of all of the sermons, I can definitely say that this one was one of the most touching because it is the one that I feel like the most people probably deal with. The movie was "Saving Mr. Banks". Here is the preview:

This movie is based on the true story about a woman named Helen Goff, who wrote under the pen name "Pamela Travers". She wrote the book Mary Poppins. Walt Disney tried for twenty years to meet with Mrs. Travers in order to discuss the potential of him buying the rights to make her book a movie. He also wanted to fulfill a promise that he made to his children because he didn't want to let them down. She finally agreed to meet with him. To say that she was hesitant to sell it to him is an understatement. You see, Pamela's past RELENTLESSLY impacted her present- especially when it came to dealing with her father. Does your past have a hold on your present and your future? Pastor Chris says, "Your past should never limit who you become!"

Pamela went though a lot of hurt with her father. She watched him struggle as an alcoholic and eventually die. She felt like it was her fault. She felt the burdens of his mistakes. So when she wrote her books she worked details from her life and her family members intricately into her stories. Her main hang up was with the fact that they were trying to change her characters. They were personal. But Walt Disney didn't know that!

Maybe you have been through a tragedy no one knows about? Are you desperately hanging onto the good memories from the past that you do have because you have so many more that are bad? Or maybe someone has betrayed you and you have a hard time trusting anyone now? We all have memories that haunt us. We have all been through hurt, disappointment, pain, and betrayal at some point in our life. Some of us much more than others.

Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us to forget the past because God has made us NEW!

So many people feel like because of their past they can never have a normal relationship again. A relationship with God, a marriage, a parenting relationship, etc. That is SO WRONG! God tells us in that scripture that we need to forget the past. We can't change it. We can't change what we have done, what has happened to us, what has happened to our family, etc. What we can change is how we move forward from it and what we do with it. God can take what has hurt us in the past and not only just help you move forward from it- sometimes he can even USE YOU to help others. Boy do I believe that.

Pamela had a small moment in the movie where she did "forget the past" like Paul also tells us to do in Philippians 3:13-14. I thought that she was going to agree after they made a few changes to a part of the movie adaptation, but it quickly faded and the doubts and fears came rushing back. Walt came to her home one last time to make his case and he actually ended up opening up about his past. He talked about his controlling father who made him work in harsh conditions from dawn to dusk in the rain, snow, etc. But he says a line that really stuck out to me. He said, "I am tired of remembering it that way. Don't you want to live a life that's not dictated by the past?" This struck a chord with Pamela about as much as it did me.

So I ask you. What is it that you need to let go of? Who do you need to forgive? Is it someone who betrayed you? Maybe it is even yourself that you need to forgive. What do you need to DO so that your life is no longer being dictated by your past?

My favorite line that Pastor Chris said was this, "You are NOT what someone did to you. You are what God says you are!"

And God says that your past has been wiped clean. God says you are made in the image of Christ. God says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God says that you are His child. God says you are totally and completely forgiven. God says you are greatly loved. God says YOU are a whole new person with a whole new life. Now you just have to trust Him.

A Sunday well spent...

Here are some cool links I rounded up over the weekend:

I have been searching for the perfect fur vest for months and they are ALWAYS sold out. I now have two heading my way! This one from Forever 21 and then this cute one I saw on a blog and ordered from Chic Wish! 
Cloverton singing their version of Hallelujah. They redid the words and made it a Christmas song and it's beautiful!
Cinque Terre on a budget? Uhhh, YES! Good read in preparation for our Italy trip this summer. 
Us the Duo performs all of the musical hits of 2014 in 2.5 minutes. 
Um, this girl has got MOVES. She is 11. Did I mention that? 
I finally bit the bullet. My first box comes in January and I can't wait!
We can all learn a little something from Disney movies! 
Thinking about writing a book at some point? Here are five reasons why you should go for it!
A recap through photos of what happened in Pearl Harbor 73 years ago today!  
Anyone gotten their hands on this yet? I can't wait to get it! 
Hope you had a great weekend!

Move-Me Monday Pt. III

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to church yesterday so I won't be able to do a recap of the sermon. I'm just gonna be real with you guys- I had a pretty rough weekend. Without boring you all with too many details, I will just say that I was in a lot of pain. It started Thursday night with what we think was my SI joint coming completely out of place. When I say a lot of pain, I mean probably the most extreme amount of physical pain I have ever been in at one time. That is saying a lot considering I have been through two major shoulder surgeries and two straight years of rehab and recovery among many other injuries. I was sobbing crying, almost screaming honestly. I couldn't walk or even stand up. My poor mom and husband were just frantically trying to help me and comfort me and bring me any type of relief they could. I can honestly say that I would not have made it through the last couple of years without those two. They have been my rocks. 
The crying was all from pain but after I could relax a little bit the frustration and anger started to set it. Whyyyy?! NOT AGAIN GOD! Why was I laid upstairs in the bed on ice packs on Thanksgiving when my whole family was in town and having a good time together? Why was I not able to go shopping with my sister in law on Good Friday like we do as our tradition every year? Why am I 27 years old and currently seeing 3 different specialists for 3 different problems? Why can't I work out anymore without pain? Why can't I go through a single DAY without physical pain? If it isn't one thing it's another. I know to some of you it probably sounds like I am complaining but you have to understand- my life has been completely turned upside down and WRECKED for the last couple of years due to physical pain. It has messed with my job, my coaching, my fitness, my relationships with others, my relationship with the Lord, and much more. Chronic pain is the devil. I don't mean that jokingly- I literally think that this is Satan's way of trying to break me down. I WILL NOT BREAK. I WILL CONTINUE TO TRUST IN AND RELY ON MY GOD. 
Please pray for me if you don't mind. I would really appreciate it. I got a call from my doctor today saying he wants me to start back to physical therapy. The last few months have been my first months NOT in therapy in years. And here we go again. It's exhausting. It's draining. It's painful. It's expensive. Please pray that we see results that steer me completely away from the dreaded "S" word (surgery if you didn't get that). 
Not only was I plagued with physical pain this past weekend but I was also plagued with "heart" pain. I fought back tears all weekend in this regard. I am not going to go into any kind of specifics but my heart just hurts for a lot of people around me. Some days I honestly just can't wait for Jesus to come back. I hate constantly being disappointed by people that I love. I hate watching people that I love suffer. I hate watching people that I love make terrible choices over and over again and I especially hate watching them painfully suffer the consequences. I hate looking at the news and seeing all of the evil and violence in the world. I hate watching people that are so enticed by the things of this world that they abandon their families and their God. I hate that our nation is so divided and that there is so much hatred. I hate what is happening in Ferguson. I despise the things of this world!!! 

Sorry for this depressing post! I will leave you with something that really did "move me" and make me smile today! 
Read this article if you need a quick reminder that even with all the evil and violence and hate and sin in this world- there are still some really darn awesome people. 
http://www.boston.com/community/stories_to_inspire/gallery/15_inspiring_people/

Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffer Edition

I am linking back up with the girls today for...

Here are my suggestions for stocking stuffers for her AND for him!

Stocking Stuffers For Her by haleyryan87 

Stocking Stuffers For Him by haleyryan87 

Move-Me Monday Pt. II

Once again, this week's "Move-Me Monday" is about the sermon I heard yesterday. It was too good not to share!

Like I said last week, my church is doing a series right now called "At the Movies".

Pastor Chris takes movies with redemptive qualities and preaches a sermon around the movie clips. He calls them "modern day parables". It is so, so, so awesome! If you live anywhere near a Church of the Highlands campus you really should try and go. There are two more weeks in the series =)

Yesterday's sermon was based around the movie, "Captain Phillips". I had never seen the movie but I definitely want to watch the whole thing now! Here is the trailer:



"Captain Phillips" is based on a true story about a man named Richard Phillips. It takes place in April of 2009 and begins with him about to embark on a trip that was just business, as usual. What he thought was just another normal day and another normal trip ended up being a fight for his life. Shortly after he set sail on the Maersk Alabama and was in route from Oman to Kenya the ship was hijacked by Somali pirates. The movie shows him standing up to the enemy and fighting for his life using a variety of tactics that eventually led to his rescue by a team of Navy SEALS.

The underlying theme of the message was fighting the enemy. As a believer, it is made clear to me in Ephesians 6:12 that the main struggles that I will experience in this life will not be against things of this earth but against the rulers and the powers of the dark world- basically, we are going to fight a spiritual battle against the devil. His number one goal is to steal, kill, and destroy as it says in John 10:10. That is a sobering thought. There is someone out there whose MAIN goal is to destroy my life?! 1 Peter 5:8  calls him a roaring lion, walking about, seeking who he may devour. Yikes. So even when we think things are "business, as usual", we still have an enemy plotting our attack. According to Pastor Chris, Satan's gameplan is simple and the same as it was since the Garden of Eden.

1. He lies to us. John 8:44 calls him the "father of lies". Those thoughts in your head telling you that you aren't good enough? That's him. The ones telling you that there is no way that with the past you have you are worthy of ever being loved? That's him. Be aware that these are LIES!
2. He tempts us. He knows and will exploit your weaknesses. Do you have a hard time resisting lust or sexual temptation? You better believe that Satan is going to throw them in your face constantly then! Whatever your weakness is, you can surely bet that those are the ways Satan is going to try and tempt you. Be prepared to resist!
3. He blinds the minds of unbelievers. Satan tries to do whatever he can so that unbelievers will not see "the light of the gospel, or the glory of Christ.." He promotes false philosophies and religions. Be aware of this!
4. He steals. He wants to steal your healing. He wants to steal your joy. He wants to steal your deliverance, your provision, your prosperity. He wouldn't be trying to steal from you if there was nothing to steal! That means we already have what he is coming for! Right?! Guard it!

We must put on the full armor of Christ and STAND FIRM!!! The spiritual battle we are fighting is intense! Pastor Chris said, "Christianity is not a playground, it is a BATTLEGROUND!" Here are the 3 things Peter tells us to do to fight off the enemy- because it says in James 4:7 that if we resist him, HE WILL FLEE.

1. Stay alert. It is so easy to become comfortable and complacent. Captain Phillips stayed alert and prepared because he knew that piracy was always a potential situation in the area through which he would be traveling. We have to be prepared for the devil's schemes since we know he is always trying to destroy us. He doesn't want us in a relationship with Christ and will do whatever he can to stop it! We must stay alert to this fact!

2. Stand firm. Keep resisting and fighting the enemy! Captain Phillips tried various tactics to fight the pirates- he negotiated, he played mind games, he fought them off physically, he jumped off the boat, etc. etc. We have to keep fighting even if our first try doesn't work. Find another way to fight! One of my favorite things that Pastor Chris said was this, "We aren't fighting FOR victory, we are fighting FROM victory." OUR GOD HAS ALREADY WON THE BATTLE!

3. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. The Bible tells us many times not to be afraid because God is with us. The hardest part is actually applying this in a scary situation. In my life, when I have been in scary situations I have had to just say prayers for peace and courage and strength over and over. I have had to remind myself that God is with me and I have no reason to be scared. Often an overwhelming sense of peace takes over when that realization is made. Captain Phillips was courageous in his attempts to fight off the pirates. He did not back down to them or let them know that he was afraid of them.

To wrap things up- we are in a battle, guys. Whether you are in an earthly storm like the ones we talked about last week (financial, health related, loss of a loved one, divorce, etc.) or not, we should always be prepared for a spiritual battle against the devil. If we take note of the ways that he tries to destroy us and then apply the action steps given to us by Peter we can make him flee! The main thing we have to remember is that even when we feel like their is no escape from the battle we are fighting- Jesus has already won! We are fighting from a place of victory! And that is SO comforting.

What can you do now if you know you are fighting a spiritual battle? Pastor Chris suggests getting a team together to help you. Come up with your plan on how you can stay alert, stand firm, and be strong. Keep in constant contact with the group and talk about progress or how to tweak your plan. Pray for everyone in your group to FILL their minds with the Word, pray without ceasing, and keep fighting. DO NOT give up!

AMA recap

Best and worst of the AMA's: Best- 1. Selena Gomez whispering "Thank you Jesus" with her eyes closed, fighting back tears during her performance. Really cool, beautiful moment. I don't know anything about her spiritual life. I do know she has been in/the song is about her tumultuous relationship with Justin Bieber but I felt like that moment was very genuine and real.

2. Sam Smith/A$AP Rocky combo. I love Sam. I love A$AP. Love them together.  

3. Khloe Kardashian's hair! Looks amazing! Jeezzzz serious hair envy going on over here right now. 

3. Taylor Swift winning the Dick Clark Award for Excellence. I don't care who you are- you can't say Taylor Swift isn't a BRILLIANT artist. She has her fans in the palm of her hand. Rightfully so! She goes above and beyond to get to know them and for them to get to know her. She offered private concerts of her new album IN HER HOMES for select groups of her fans (people she didn't know!). She cooked them dinner, hung out with them, and then performed her entire new album for them before it released. Pretty cool! 

4. One Direction winning Artist of the Year. I watch my students obsess over this group and it just cracks me up. I never really thought anything of them or their music until recently! I have loved their last 3 or 4 singles. I think as they have grown up their musical style has evolved and they have some serious talent! 

Worst- 1. Pitbull. Mr. 305. Mr. World Wide. Don't really even have anything else to say besides "How is this guy famous?" He is an embarrassment to society. 

2. Magic/Wyclef performance. I love Wyclef but I am doubting my love for him if he even agreed to ENTERTAIN the idea of performing with Magic. He is one of the goofiest dudes I have ever seen and the fact that he is trying to pull off reggae while obnoxiously getting his dumb song stuck in your head at the same time is SO. ANNOYING. 

3. The guy who was standing by Meghan Trainor that they kept showing dancing in the audience HAHAHA. I cannot find a picture of this guy and it's killing me! Please tell me someone saw him! (Update: found him. Who is this guy?!)

4. Lil Wayne's choice of attire. It made me laugh that while everyone was decked out in beautiful gowns- Lil Wayne was wearing capri sweat pants, a hoody, and nikes. I guess I could mention Christina Millian's loin cloth while I'm at it...

5. J LO (who if you know me I think she is one of THE most beautiful women in the world!) trying wayyyy too hard to be sexy in her performance with Iggy Azalea at the end of the show. This woman who has a body like a rockstar and is FORTY-FIVE years old, just made me sad =( She doesn't NEED to try and be sexy. She doesn't have to shake her "Booty" as the song refers to it, to be beautiful. It makes me sad seeing beautiful women like her degrading themselves like that in front of the entire world when she is already just so naturally beautiful. Hopefully one day she will see that she doesn't have to do silly stuff like that to be considered sexy. 

Friday Five!

1. This cool new fashion accessory I get to wear, an SI belt. Head to your local medical equipment provider and pick one up for youself! They are Cuuuute!

You won't think it's so cute when you see the awkward bulge/love handles it creates in my clothing! HAHAHA!

    

     Thankfully it is worn over pants yet under shirt so hopefully I can disguise it pretty well? Does this qualify to let me break my no-spend and buy some more loose fitting tops since I have to wear this baby for the next month at all times? Haha. Kidding! Kinda... Then I have to wear it for another month after that but just at night. 

     Here's the deal- for about the last 7 or 8 months I have been dealing with a LOT of pain on the right side of my lower back/butt. I so eloquently named it my "butt nerve". It has stayed flared up pretty consistently and recently has just continued to get even worse. There have been points over the last several months where I cannot even sit down because of the pain. I even get to ride on a donut in the car. It's cute too. Anyway, I was still in recovery from my second major shoulder surgery when this all started and it about put me back over the edge. I was like there is nooo way something else is going to go wrong. I saw the doctor about it a couple of times and kind of just managed it but recently he said it was time for me to get to a back orthopedist. They got me in really quickly with a great group in Birmingham and my appointment was yesterday. Basically, there is good news and bad. Good news is there is nothing STRUCTURALLY wrong with my back (no major disc issues, or early fusion, or nerve encroachment, etc.). They diagnosed it as serious inflammation of the SI joint (the sacroiliac joint). Bad news is that its muscular-skeletal again which makes the fifth different joint that I have had serious problems or inflammation in within the last two years meaning there is probably something else going on and back to the rheumatologist I go. It was a God thing I ended up with this doctor yesterday though because she is a resident for the spine orthopedist but already a certified DO (doctor of osteopathy) who uses a combination of natural methods (yoga, meditation, essential oils, and realignment) with modern medicine- which is right up my alley. Her opinions and advice combined with the sports spine orthopedist's opinions and advice were exactly what I needed. The treatment today consisted of some light therapy and manipulation to get the joint back in place (they said it is rolling out of place constantly and causing serious inflammation and fluid build up). Then they did an ultrasound and injected the joint with a steroid shot to hopefully calm down the inflammation. Unfortunately, I suffer pretty bad from "steroid flare" which means I am going to be in horrendous pain in that joint for the next 48-72 hours =( They put me on a mild anti-inflammatory and then gave me a perscription to get fitted for this cute little belt/brace that holds the joint in place and keeps it from rolling. I will start therapy again pretty soon. Yay. Back to the room that I basically lived in for the last two years =/ I am definitely going to be trying Dr. Quinn's suggestions as well though. Which leads me to #2! 2. My "Silver in 6" Aroma Complete came!!!! 

 AHHHH!!!! I don't even know where to start =)

     Last year when I was having such a horrible time with my shoulder, neck, and upper back, I decided it wast time to try something else. This was before I knew I was going to have to have a second major surgery and I was FED UP. I was crying in pain every day and nobody could figure out what was wrong! I was sent to a million different doctors/specialists, they put me on a million different meds, and I was still in pain all day every day. Thank goodness for Dr. Cain at the Andrews Institute for figuring out my rare and crazy problem! Last year was a very, VERY hard year for me because chronic pain can do a lot to do your emotional and mental health as well. I was told about essential oils- one particular oil actually that could help with muscular pain and issues. I ordered it because why the heck not? It HELPED! I was hooked. Over the next couple months I studied and used oils and became an avid believer (in Young Living oils specifically). I started sharing the news and spreading the love because I loved them and what they were doing for me so much. I ended up moving up in ranking so fast that I hit a very special ranking in a specific timeline called "Silver in Six". The reward for hitting that rank is an Aroma Complete. It is over $2,000 worth of essential oils... for FREE! I hit in June and after what feels like AGES of waiting- it came in the mail today!!! I am so excited to continue using and sharing essential oils and using the "medication" that God provided of us through his plants that he gave medicinal and therapeutic values to- he intended for us to use them that way. Yay God!

3. Thanksgiving food. Is anyone else as excited as I am about indulging in delicious Thanksgiving affairs over the next week? Ahhhh! Here is the recipe I am planning to make for my mom's house:

Ruths Chris Sweet Potato Casserole =) 

4. Rend Collective. I cannot stop listening to their album. Check them out on iTunes- their newest album is called "The Art of Celebration" and I love itttt! They are a Christian band from Ireland that  has a very Mumford & Sons sound. Here is the video of one of my favorites.

5. These two makeup products are what I use on my eyes for shadow when I am having a lazy day and am going for more of a "no makeup" makeup look. Yes there is such thing as no makeup makeup and I did it twice this week!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Champagne:

Urban Decay Naked2 Basics:

That wraps up my Friday Five! I am gonna rest a little bit then head to the basketball game. I am so excited because my little brother and his sweet girlfriend are coming into town for the weekend and then I have a WEEK OFF OF WORK!! Wooohoooo!!! This girl is about to get fat(ter)!