Apartment Pictures

Well, a lot of people have been asking me what our apartment looks like now that we're pretty much all settled in. So, here are some pictures!

Welcome! This is our living room-

it is off to the left of the front door

To the right is our dining area

To the left of the dining area is our kitchen
I didn't really think it necessary to take a picture
of the fridge, but it's off the right if you're curious ;)

If you walk striaght past the oven, you will walk into our bathroom
(yes, you can see me in the mirror!)

To the left of the dooryway is the rest of our bathroom-
the linen closet is to the left, and the shower to the right.
Straight ahead is the doorway to our bedroom

If you enter our bedroom from the bathroom,
this is the view! Thanks to my brother, we turned our great
thrift-store find into a classic-looking night-table set!

And lastly, this is our "shrine" wall. You can go through the
door on this wall to the living room, where on the other side
is the brown couch.

Well, that completes the picture-tour of our apartment! :)

Reflections of the Heart

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Wow....CONVICTED! I often want to know the latest news or am somewhat...okay, let's be honest, I am offended when something monumental occurs in a friend's life, and I find out about via facebook. I like telling people about my life, my struggles, joys, victories, worries...complaints. But for what purpose? Am I sharing with others out of selfishness or out of motivation to bring God glory?

I'm supposed to make it my goal to live a quiet life- to me that shouts: SIMPLICITY! I do not need to be super-wife or that amazing upperclassman who does everything right on top of finding time to bake bread and train for a marathon. I do not need to volunteer for absolutely everything at church. Quiet living....simplicity.

The next line makes me laugh- MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! How many times did I snidely say that to my siblings growing up? Yet, Paul is giving us strict orders to do just that- don't be nosey! If friends aren't volunteering information, why should I press the matter if in the long run it isn't beneficial?

I am to work with my hands....when we are lazy, the devil has a massive foothold on our lives! Thanks for the practical advice, Paul. Also, when we are working for God's glory, the joy becomes contagious...so watch out! ;)

All of this not only brings glory to God, but here's something else to ponder....my daily life will win the respect of outsiders. Wow...the simplicity of these instructions provides an amazing testimonial tool for my friends who do not have a personal relationship with Christ.

1. live a life filled with simplicity

2. mind my own business

3. work with my hands

I can do this! I can live my daily life for God's glory and be super-wife, super-christian, or super-anything...to think I often trick myself into believing the lie that I have to do EVERYTHING to win the respect of others.

I love this last line...so that you will not be dependent on anybody. If I am living a simple life, I will not be depending on the many schedules and/or demands of other people- I will be able to clearly focus on God, my husband, and school. If I mind my own business, I will not be depending on others to keep our conversations confidential, because I will not have been told or given information that shouldn't have been shared. If I work with my hands, I will not be dependent upon others for monetary relief or worry about having to pay somebody back.

Well, now that I've shared these thoughts with you, it's time for me to live them!

Health and God....

At church today, we attended an information session on health....let's just say that almost everything I thought I was doing right was actually wrong! No wonder so many people have allergies, migraines, stomach issues, cancer, diabetes, autism, you name it...out of 37 researched countries, the USA is 37th on the list for health. Wow...we live in the most advanced nation, with the most nutritional information at our fingertips, yet we are the unhealthiest nation. This. is. wrong.

Organic...too much hype, right? Well, in a lot of ways, yes....not EVERYTHING you eat needs to be organic. However, after a little bit of follow-up research from this morning's session, there are 12 foods you should always buy organic due to the over-laden load of pesticides stuffed into the non-organics.
Peach
Apple
Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberry
Cherry
Kale
Lettuce
Imported Grape
Carrot
Pear

As a nation, we have a disgustingly twisted view on what's okay to put into our bodies. Sugar for one was never designed to be the top ingredient in most foods (high fructose corn syrup=sugar)....there is so much I have to say about this, but instead of boring you, I will just say this...think about how much sugar you are putting into your body and how HORRIBLE that is for your God-given body you have been charged with to honor God.

Fat is not all bad...it's about eating the right fats in moderation. Enough said.

Chemically enhanced foods are not worth the health risk....the more ingredients a label has the worse your foods are for you!

Today during our session, a plate of food from Micky-Ds was passed around.....this plate held food the nutritionist bought over a year ago. The food looked like day-old mcdonalds....so disturbing! People...please, pack a lunch!

Basically, I posted this because God has called us to honor Him with our bodies. It is our earthly dwelling place. If I am sick, I cannot live 100% for God. I'm usually less focused on Him, and more focused about my current state of being. God made all of those food rules for the Israelites for a reason...He knew what was and what wasn't good for them to eat. Pork is sooooo incredibly terrible for us! We should not eat it...a pig is incapable of sweating, thus all the toxins a pig eats have no way of escaping. Those toxins are then transferred to our bodies when we eat pork. Gross. I challenge you with this...if I am to honor God with my body, will eating this honor Him or will it temporarily fulfill my unhealthy desire?

That's the way this nation works...we live on short fixes and short-term gratification with long-term negative consequences. What if we instead had short-term losses for long-term gain? Think of how different this world would be!

New Blog!

Hello All!

I have been debating whether or not to start up a blog again, and to start again won! I hope to use this blog as an overpouring of what God is doing in our lives, as well as a source of encouragement to others, and a reminder to myself of the truth I share with others. First things first....why title this blog "From the Overflow"? Luke 6:45 states, "for out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks". Daily, I am challenged and convicted to purify my heart so that my words of choice are glorifying to Christ and are used to encourage others. Also, I firmly belive our actions and desires are outpourings from our God-given heart.

I hope to keep up with this on a regular basis.....says every blogger who usually ends up doing massive one-year updates. lol