And Here's A Post...

I did a little bit of online shopping this weekend (which ended up being super productive, by the way): I indulged and picked up a small army of jewelery from Forever 21's $1.50 sale. A few pieces were for me, but I also picked up a bunch as gifts. I love Forever 21's jewelery. I think you could walk up to their jewelery racks, close your eyes, put out your hands, and whatever you touch, I'd like. They have just that kind of style. :) I also picked up two things off of Amazon - a step aerobics workout video to use with the new workout step mom found me at the thrift store for $8, and a book that I remember reading as a child. I got this book from the library, read it, loved it, returned it, and forgot the name. For years I have yearned to read it again, but I couldn't remember the name. Well, on Sunday I suddenly remembered the name AND was near a computer! AND someone was selling a copy for a cent! I'm so excited. Can't wait to read it. And just in case you were curious about it - it's The Twinkie Squad, by Norman Korman. :) I had to duck into my fav clothing store this week to start the hunt for new skirts, as these last couple of pounds I've lost have killed at least one of my skirts, and possibly more (I haven't worn them recently, so I don't know yet). I am so sad - the length of a skirt I can adjust, I can bring in the sides to make them less full, gather my tops to make them smaller, but the waist of a good skirt is something I just can't seem to figure out how to alter. Time to go pull out my belt again and see if I can make them last at least a few more pounds. In the meantime, I did buy one really nice long skirt that will take the place of the skirt I lost. Speaking of clothes - they had their spring stuff out and I almost went nuts (I didn't, but it was sooo hard...). Beautiful ruffly tanks, cute cotton skirts, little shrug sweaters, and sandals, sandals, sandals - espadrilles, cute flats, heels to die for. I'm so psyched. Bring on spring! I was listening to the radio yesterday (to Tony Evans, I believe? Not positive) and he said something that caught my attention. I'm sure I'm misquoting, but basically he said something along the lines of "If you're not living by God's rules, you're cutting yourself off from the fullness of blessings that God wants to give you." I was instantly convicted. I can think, right off the top of my head, of several areas that I'm not honoring God in. I've been aware of them for awhile, but I've been kind of thinking, "Someday/soon I'll deal with that... just not now..." And I can also think of several things I want/desire, that I've taken steps to achieve or attain, and they're just not happening in my life. I've become kind of frustrated, thinking and asking "If God can make it happen for that person, why not me?" and I really think that this might be the answer. While our behavior and actions don't affect God's love for us, He is our heavenly parent, and just like all parents, he withholds certain things when we are not in step with His will. I have decided to lay aside some time this weekend in prayer, and to really look at these areas and what I need to do to make them right with Him. The encouraging thing to me is that I already feel blessed by God in so many ways, that I often feel just wordless to express my thanks. I can't wait to see how many more blessings God has in store for me along this journey. I hope you're experiencing the fullness of God's blessings for yourself! :)