Category: Faith

Books and Coffee: The Perfect Pair

I was blessed to be able to visit Barnes and Noble this afternoon with my Hubby. It was a nice time! 😀 We browsed through the store and looked at all kinds of interesting books, and then we sat in the cafe and sipped on drinks and nibbled on tasty confections. To be more specific, I had an iced Salted Caramel Mocha and a cinnamon scone, and my Honey had an iced White Mocha and a piece of apple crumble pie.

Some of the books that I perused were the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, the Hush, Hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick, and the Maze Runner series by James Dashner (if you couldn’t tell, I enjoy Young Adult Literature, and I also enjoy series). I’m thinking about using a gift card to buy the Hush, Hush series and diving into a new adventure! Have you ever read any of these books? If so, what did you think of them?

All in all, it was a nice little “date,” and I’m grateful for the time that we shared together. ❤

Living With Doubt…and the Words I Need to Hear

I’ve struggled with doubt for as long as I can remember.

At first I struggled with doubt about my salvation/my relationship with God. I prayed over and over again to ask Jesus to come into my life, but then I questioned if I had prayed “correctly.” Ironically, after this uncertainty, I would worry that I had relied on “works” to save me instead of God (by trying to pray in a “perfect” manner). Needless to say, there were many times when these thoughts induced a frenzy of anxiety and fear – often coupled with headaches and tears.

Thankfully, I don’t struggle with this particular doubt any longer, as I have realized that God isn’t like that. He doesn’t require perfection from me. He wants me to trust Him and rely on Him.

Did that make any sense? Have you ever had thoughts similar to this? (It’s okay to think “no”) 😉

I know that a lot of it is my Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The OCD is what ignites the insatiable desire to perform tasks “perfectly” and to think “correctly.” But I also know that this isn’t what is required of me. I just need a way to switch over from my OCD thoughts to healthy thoughts.

What thoughts does God want me to think on when I’m feeling doubtful and perfectionistic? What are the words that I need to hear and believe?

  1. I am loved (John 3:16).
  2. I am strong in God’s strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
  3. I am forgiven (1 John 1:9).
  4. I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
  5. I am unique (Isaiah 64:8).
  6. I am skilled (1 Peter 4:10).
  7. I have the ability to accomplish everything God has called me to do. (Philippians 4:13).
  8. I am enough (1 Corinthians 3:16).

These are just a few affirmations that I want to remember when I’m struggling with doubt. And I still do struggle with it. I doubt my abilities, I doubt my worth, I doubt the quality of tasks that I complete – to name a few.

But I have to remind myself of the truth – let it wash over my mind. God is speaking the words I long to hear…I just need to listen. ❤

P.S. Thank you for reading…I know that my struggles are a little strange, but I wanted to be open and honest about them in the hopes that I can be of help to someone else.

Thankful Thursday

I’ve been trying to change my perspective and to acquire an attitude that is more grateful. And guess what? God is helping me!

My goal is to record at least three specific things from my day that I am thankful for. Some days may be harder than others, but I know that there are at least three things that I can find to praise God for. Truthfully, even if they’re bad things that happen or difficult situations that I’m struggling with, I should still be able to find something good in them.

So today is Thursday and both “Thankful” and “Thursday” begin with a “Th,” so I just had to pick today to start this journey. 😀 I think what I’m going to try to do is write a post each Thursday filled with all the things I’m grateful for from the previous week. We’ll see how it goes!

Three things from today that I’m thankful for:

  1. God helped me with my first day of scoring essays at my work-from-home job.
  2. I got to take a nice walk in my neighborhood with our dog, Daisy. Also, during the walk I was able to visit with a couple who lives close to us.
  3. I was able to visit my Hubby on his break at work tonight, and we had gift cards to get Starbucks drinks….Yum!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to continue this tradition of Thankful Thursday. Maybe you could even start a similar tradition, yourself! The more grateful we are, the more positive I believe we’ll be. ❤