My Week In Pictures

Good afternoon and happy Monday! Sadly, it is no longer the weekend and we are entering into a brand new week. Last week had its ups and downs, but overall, I survived! I wanted to share parts of my week with not only words, but also pictures. We all know that many times pictures capture certain emotions that words lack.

Iron Infusion

The week started off a little scary because I had an iron infusion scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. I had recently been told I had exceptionally low iron levels and that I was also anemic. They suggested I get an iron infusion right away. I worked half a day that day trying to pretend like what was to come wasn't a big deal. For those of you who don't know, I am TERRIFIED of needles. Because I have had hypothyroidism for 14 years, I have had my blood drawn triple the amount of times as most of you, yet I still just hate needles. That fear coupled with the fact that I had been informed of all sorts of reactions I could possibly have during the procedure made me very anxious of this whole iron infusion process. I was blown away by the amount of phone calls, texts, messages, prayers, love, and encouragement I got that day. I also had 3 visitors during my 5 hours at the hospital. The nurses told me I was popular :) I was so appreciative of everyone's support and I truly believe the prayers made a difference because the procedure was flawless. Other than the fact that it took a while for it to get started, there were absolutely no complications during the procedure. I had no negative reactions and felt completely normal when I left. I consider myself lucky being that one of the side effects is anaphylactic shock. All that to say, everything went just fine and I'm very thankful! 

 

 (My husband had class all day and a paper to turn in, so I wasn't expecting him to be able to make it to my iron infusion. He surprised me and showed up despite of all his obligations. I was a happy camper when I saw his face!)

 

Relaxing Saturday
Saturday was very relaxing and we actually got to sleep in! Those who have a 9-5 type job know the joy of not setting your alarm clock on Saturday morning. Nothing quite captures the extent of relaxation that was going on in the Gale house like this photo below. We also had lunch with my mom, did our taxes, went to see the movie Noah with our youth group, finished A LOT of laundry and watched Tangled on Saturday. It was a good day. Truth be told, Saturdays just might be my favorite day of the week.

Homeowners
Last week was also filled with the new homeowner joy of getting things organized, spring cleaning if you will.  I was very motivated when we first moved in, but during the busyness of life, I lost track of all the things I needed to get done around the house. Josh and I spent about 2 hours last week just cleaning, hanging things up, putting up our new bird feeders outside, decorating and like I said, just getting things organized. We had music playing throughout the house and it was actually kind of fun. I tackled a ridiculous amount of dirty laundry over the weekend and felt like Superwoman by the time I had washed, folded, and put everything away! The accomplishment will be short lived, but I'll enjoy the "clean" feeling while it lasts. I also bought a really cute Easter wreath from Kroger, of all places. I'm trying to get my house in the Spring (cleaning) and Easter spirit! :)

 

Chef Brittany

Not sure if any of you remember, but my goal for 2014 was to learn to cook. I am proud to report that after 3 months, I have definitely improved! I am continually making new things and actually cooking as opposed to microwaving all my meals. I have one happy husband, that's for sure! This week I made a few different things including Hobo's, gluten-free brownies and crockpot buffalo chicken. They were all a success and I figured I would include the recipe for crockpot buffalo chicken since it turned out so well.

 

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2013/09/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-recipe.html

 

 

I think that about wraps it up for this week! Although life has its challenges, I find that when I review my week the good outweighs the bad (every time). I feel like I'm in a really good place right now in my life and I'm just so thankful for all the awesome support I have around me. Until next time!

 

LETTING GO

It's interesting to me that lessons meant for children or youth, always hit me harder as an adult. The kids may walk away learning nothing, but I find myself touched and intrigued by the simplicity of the message.  This happens often during our youth group. My husband is the youth pastor and the funny thing is that because of our busy lives, we rarely discuss what will be happening at youth group beforehand. I usually don't know what he will be speaking about and I hear it all for the first time with everyone else. Our simple talks with the youth tend to resonate with me more so than any complex teaching I ever receive.

This week we talked about God's promises. Josh taught us about the concept of a covenant or an agreement that God makes with us. Of course, there are times when we don't uphold our end of the bargain, but He remains true in His promises to us always. He never fails to keep His end of the deal. Knowing that, we then looked at the commitments He had made to us throughout scripture. Among the plethora of promises God has made to us, we found one that particularly stuck out because of the New Year. God says to us, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  In these verses, He is showing us that if we just let go of the past, He will do a new thing within us. He desires that for us, not to be stuck in the past but to give us a future full of hope. He wants us to be excited about what is to come! God wants to carve a new path for us, if only we would let Him.

 

I've heard this verse many times, but as someone who struggles with letting things go and moving forward, it convicts me each time I hear it. I had a wonderful 2013, but it wasn't perfect. Like anyone, I made some mistakes and bad choices. I held onto grudges and fears. I struggled to forgive when others had wronged me. I would definitely say 2013 was a pruning year for me, where God showed me areas of my life that needed work and slowly began molding me into the wife, daughter, friend, co-worker, etc. that He has called me to be. He showed me the things I needed to let go of: selfishness, pride, irritability, anger, self-consciousness, not trusting, anxiousness...just to name a few. I had to learn some of these lessons the hard way and anyone who has ever felt the Lord trimming away their problem areas knows it isn't easy. It was a year filled with growth, but I still have a long way to go. Too often we put our focus on the past and on all these things I've listed from my 2013 that I'm not too proud of. There is nothing we can do about the events that have already passed, yet Satan loves to torture us with them. The past can preoccupy our minds, but nothing about it will ever change. It's a pointless battle that we need to retreat from.

I take this verse as a challenge for this year. God is holding His hand out to me, to all of us, asking us to let go of what is currently in our hands occupying our time and energy and put that weight down, so that we can grab ahold of Him and what He has for us in 2014. To symbolize this, our youth group lit sky lanterns and released them to show everyone including ourselves that we are putting the past behind us and embracing everything that we are trusting the Lord to do in the New Year. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done and it was very meaningful for all of us. We didn't let them go individually, but all together. We are in this together. Here's to 2014 and the great things that we know are to come!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Last night I finally conquered the task of cleaning out my closet. It's been a long time coming and it really needed to be done. I have accumulated so many clothes over the years; it was getting a tad out of hand. The majority of my wardrobe is actually quite old, most of it dating back to my teenage years. These clothes aren't nice and new anymore. In fact, most of them are very worn and used. My closet was stuffed full of junk and clutter. So why the struggle to get rid of it?

It's funny how something as simple as going through your closet can make you nostaglic. As I went to put different articles of clothing in the "giving away" pile, my mind was suddenly flooded with memories. I started thinking about when I bought it, where I had worn it and the special moments I had in these different outfits. To most, this probably sounds ridiculous. I realized that I actually had a sentimental attachment to some of my clothes and that is what has made me put off giving them away time and time again.

I felt like this was such a good depiction of what is going on in my life at the moment. I am growing up. I am getting older. It is time to change, but for some reason, I find it hard to let the past go. I am still learning who I am as an adult. I am still coming into my own. Last night, I realized how scary it is to let go of who you used to be and to finally put those memories from long ago in the vault, and walk away. As hard as that is, the most intimidating part of all isn't actually letting go of who you once were but figuring out who you are going to become. Instead of being sad about the things I was getting rid of, I slowly became excited about all of the new things that were soon to fill my closet and represent who I am now and who I am becoming.

This process also revealed to me that I have a tendency to hold on to the junk in my life. Seemingly beautiful or flat out ugly, I squeeze tight to the stuff that bogs me down. Those things clutter my closet and really, they clutter my life. The old stuff weighs me down and doesn't allow me to focus on the new stuff. At first, I was hesitant to put anything in that "get rid of" pile, but once I started, I couldn't stop. Getting rid of the junk allowed me to see what I had so much more clearly. I wasn't distracted by the mess falling from the hangers anymore. I could finally focus on the important things without all the other debris blurring my vision.

What I came to realize throughout the experience of cleaning out my closet is that my closet is a lot like my life. It has been cluttered and full of junk. I needed to get rid of the chaos and disorder and start filling my life with the things that actually matter. It's never easy to rid your life of the rubbish that you have held so tightly to, but it feels so satisfying once you do. It is also tough to let go of the old and scary to see what the new holds. It's a process, this whole growing up and moving forward thing. I am still learning and will continue to day by day. I now see what it's like to have a simple life full of the good things, not being bogged down by pointless junk. It's freeing and weighless. I can finally see where I am headed and it feels good!