A post so random a title wouldn't work...

Soo, I know Easter was last Sunday, but I think I'll post about Easter anyway:)
As I was trying to think about what to blog about, I remembered one of my IPEARS I was doing yesterday. It was John 1:12, the dreaded CYIA verse that is so impossible to explain well. While I was trying and praying for God to show me how to explain it well, it struck me how to me at least it seems the most obvious part of that verse is ignored! (This is from my experience only, don't be offended if this doesn't apply to you:)

John 1:12
"But to as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name."

So maybe I was looking a little too hard, but it was so refreshing to know that God gives the right to become the children of God, nothing you and I could do, however saintly and perfect it was, would earn us a spot on God's lap. All we have to do is believe, or trust that Jesus did die on that cross for us, and that he did rise again! Another CYIA verse that proves this... (can you tell I've been immersing myself in these verses:P)

Romans 10:9-11
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For all who call upon the name of the Lord he shall be saved."

I love how this verse says "for ALL who call upon the name of the Lord..." It means that no one is discriminated! God doesn't care if they are "weird" or have "problems" or anything else us petty humans can think of that would stop His gift of Salvation.

So on a completely different topic, which I was reminded of when I talked about trusting in God up there^^, A couple weeks ago in the Esther Bible study with Beth Moore we learned about something called conditional trust, and I thought I would share it with you:)

This really struck me as something that is really important to understand, because if you got rid of it, it could potentially change your whole relationship with God! It goes along with the fear thing... It basically means that you only trust God when he's keeping your fear from happening. That you only use him as the "keep away" card, but never really stop and think about what could actually happen when your fear is realized. That might have been confusing, I'm sorry, I really don't know how to explain it well...
However, it really is something that I've been trying to pray about and be conscious of! I want my relationship with God to go beyond just asking God for protection, I want Him to show me the majesty of his work in my life, to show me what he can do through sorrow and pain and hurt. Don't get me wrong, I most certainly do NOT want my fears to come true, but some will. (Like being imperfect) Trials will come, hurt will come. I don't want the pain, but when trials come I want to be firm in God, and not waver and fall from his hand!

Whew, this is an abrupt ending, sorry for the turbulence!
Okay, you can unbuckle your seat belt, I'm done:)
~Avery

Worry-The sign of Fear

This weeks topic is worry. Now, I don't know exactly how I'll word this, so be gracious:) I was thinking/praying in the shower, asking God to give me something to blog about, and this popped up!
Soo.. I'm pretty sure as girls we've all worried at least once. Be honest.
So what do we do with it? I think I might have already done a post on this, so you might have heard some of this, but I have learned to some new things recently!
First of all: Identify what you are worried about.
Be it schoolwork, your hair, what you are going to wear, who is thinking about you, what they are thinking, whether or not you'll be able to do something you have been waiting for…. the list goes on and on!! I know I've been worrying a lot about what I will eat lately, so I'll use it as an example.
The past couple days, I have felt just plain anxious, and snippy with everyone. Not until Friday did I realize I've made what I'm eating an idol! I worry about whether I'll like it, whether it will make my stomach hurt, and what is wrong with my stomach in general! But now that I've identified that this is what I am most worried about at this present time, I can start to battle that fear.
Second: Face the fear. 
(I learned this from the Esther bible study, don't give me any credit!)
Once this fear is written, or said, it's power is vanquished. Keeping the fear in your head gives it power!
One thing that REALLY helps, is asking the question, what will happen if this fear comes true?
For example, say I accidentally ate something that had gluten in it, and feel sick for two weeks. (You ask the question: if                   , then                     .) If I feel sick, then I will be grumpy. I might not feel like exercising. Keep asking, then what? I will feel bad for not exercising. Then what? I will be angry I about feeling sick. Then what? I will probably snap and be annoyed with my siblings. Then what? I will be miserable for being so unapproachable. Then what? I will go back to God and ask him to give me strength to choose joy. (Fill in your blank, if                ,then  God    .) Your fear realized will always end with God.
Third: Choose Joy
Sometimes what you are worrying about will happen. maybe you won't get a good grade on something you were worried about, or you will get sick before an event. So what do you do when what you were afraid of comes to pass? This is an easy answer that is super hard to actually do!! Don't you dare think I  remember to do this when I most need to! Choosing joy has two steps: wanting to choose it, and asking God to give you the strength. There is no possible way you will ever be able to do this by yourself! You have to pray, constantly storm God's ears, he WILL answer if you ask!
So every time I begin to feel the familiar flutter of anxiousness, if I follow these three steps I'll be worry free. Right? *sarcasm that no one gets* This isn't going to work if you follow this like a list. As in, "okay step one, identify fear. Hmm, that would be spiders. Step two, Face the fear… wait what?? NO WAY!! That is totally not in my comfort zone, don't you dare tell me to be brave!?" (Okay you probably won't do that, but really, this isn't a fool proof list, it takes God's strength to just think about what you might be afraid of!) Please remember that I do NOT in any way have this mastered! Just because I'm writing this down does not mean I've got it figured out:) I'll leave you with this verse.

Psalms 119: 5-8
"Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don't give up on me!"

Thanks for reading! Jesus will never give up on you, no matter how much you worry and fret.
~Avery

Lessons from Pinterest(or just stuff I found hilarious)

Okay, I had NO IDEA what to blog about this week, so I just collected a bunch of GIFs and funny pictures from Pinterest and compiled them:) 

These lessons of course are mostly in jest, don't take em too seriously!

Lesson 1: Learn how to make the mundane things(like walking down stairs, as unmundane as possible)

For anyone who can read music, find the hidden message in these notes!

                       (Lesson 2: learn to read music so you can find cool messages in music)

Lesson 3: Hours can be wasted on the Internet! (I wasted at least ten minutes just watching this guy!)

This Spiderman dude will dance to whatever beat your music follows. Seriously, he does!

I'm listening to Vivaldi and he's dancing to the beat…

 

Lesson 4: Things don't always go as planned.

He he, I could watch this one for hours!

I can't get over the fact that the guy just stares at the little "ghost" on the ground!!

                                                      Lesson 5: Some people have WAY too much time on their hands!!
I mean really? Who comes up with stuff like this? I can't make sense of how you would figure this out!

Lesson 6: Look at the bright side, or at least at other people looking at the bright side….

This one doesn't really have a lesson… but it was so accurate it was funny! (Anyone else still run up the stairs like an animal?)

 This also has no point except I thought it was funny….

That wasn't too bad right? 

Now I need to talk about something more serious I guess….

ehh… Scratch that Idea, I'll just do a list:)

Random thing I'm proud of that I did this week:

Learned to go fast on Sam's skateboard!

After several attempts that I hope no one was watching, and a big scar on my ankle, I can finally go around the Cul-de-sac without falling!

Random thing I'm happy about:

Hmm… it's warm enough to ride bikes! Deborah has her Honors Concert tonight, and I get to help her get ready!

Random thing that I'm sad about:

I'm missing Scottish Dance Night:(

Random thing I'm dreading:

Meh, nothing!

Random thing I'm excited about:

CYIA!! Just two more months!!

Random thing that is boring(don't bother reading:P):

Our crab apple tree is about to bloom.

Random thing that should be mentioned:

Spring Practices of Volleyball started up again, and everyone is doing so GOOD!

Random thing in general:

You are probably bored of reading this post, if you've even made it to here, so I'll stop!

Congratulations for getting to the end of this torturous post!

(I'm sorry Mrs. Mann, you were obligated too:)

Thanks!

~Avery

Spilling Over

Matthew 15:11, 18

"It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth."

"But the words you speak come from the heart, that's what defiles you."

Today we're on the topic of your heart. What is your heart full of? Kind of like the waterfall up there, whatever is eventually going to spill out. Lately I've noticed that several people have been talking to me about being full of yourself, and what happens when you give the enemy that stronghold.

I have two quotes that really caught me off guard this week:

"Nothing leaves us feeling more hollow than being full of ourselves."

-Beth Moore

"When you're focused on yourself, you're unable to help others."

-Mrs. Salts

When I'm focused on myself, I am unable to fulfill the destiny that God has planned for me. I will miss a chance I could have taken to follow his plan. In Beth Moore's Esther bible study, we just recently finished the chapter about when Esther faces the choice to save her people, and probably die, or to not do anything, and suffer the consequences of her choice. In Esther 4:14 Mordecai says: "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief will arise from some other place[...]" Mordecai knows that God's plan will still be fulfilled, but Esther will miss out on being part of God's plan!

I don't know about you, but I feel like the plan that God has made for me is going to be the best choice:) When I don't choose every morning to die to myself, I give the Devil a bigger stronghold, and when I'm full of myself, that's what spills out. Now this is going to be metaphorical, so please bear with me:) What you're full of, spills out, right? I don't want to be full of my flesh, because that isn't going to help anyone. God is standing by, ready to give me unending joy, and peace, if I would just ask! I want to be full of joy and the love of God, because that is what I want to overflow from me! If I'm unable to even notice what other people are feeling, or struggling with, how can I expect to be a good friend/sibling/daughter? I want to learn how to listen to not just what people tell me, but what they're body language and voice intonation tells me. Because I know that sometimes I won't tell people that I'm feeling a certain way, but I still want them to know, but I'm too afraid to tell them! (Complicated right?:P) I want to ask God to deep clean my heart. Not just a de-clutter. I want a full remodel and scrub! I will never be strong enough to stop being full of myself, but God has, and always will have the strength to give to me!

Behold, He stands at the door and knocks!

~Avery

Mango Power Bars

So, last Saturday Savanna and I, and Chloe got to go and see the new movie Divergent!!

Many of you know that this is based of a novel written by Veronica Roth a couple years ago, if you didn't, now you do! Chloe just recently introduced the books to me, and I've read the first one (Divergent) and I'm waiting to read the next two! 

Okay, now to my topic.

Today you get a recipe! (i'm sorry about the lack of pictures... Mom and I ate it all up before Savanna could get out her camera. They really did look good:) 

Mom and I  have recently been collecting some more grain free recipes, or just higher-in -protein-than-in-starch recipes. In my search, I came across several recipes for power bars. These are either in the form of little balls, or in bars. The recipes all boiled down to just a few key ingredients. (I'll bold them in the recipe) I substituted a few things that we don't have in out kitchen, so it's more likely that you'll have these ingredients too!  

Also: I just wanted to try out blogging about food, so this isn't going to turn out to be a food blog:) 

Okay, so these bars are great for a high-protein snack, and can be super energizing for  an after work-out snack. They don't have any processed sugar, and are obviously Gluten-free and Dairy-free:) 

Mango Power Bars

1 c. Blanched almond flour

1 TBSP. Unsweetened coconut flakes

2 TBSP.  Flaxmeal(If you want to make this thoroughly gluten-free, use gluten-free flaxmeal that was produced in a certified gluten-free facility.)

2 TBSP. Coconut sugar

1/2 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. Mango (you can play around with this one, I would suggest that you use a fruit that it more squishy, and has more moisture:) 

1/2 c. Chocolate chips (If you don't want processed sugar, don't use these:) I don't know exactly how it would taste if you used it, since I didn't, but go ahead and try!)

Preheat oven to 350º

Combine the dry ingredients together. (Except for chocolate chips) Blend together. 

Stir the two eggs together so that the yoke is mixed in with the white, and add to the dry ingredients. Add the honey.

Cut your mango(or other fruit) into small bite sized pieces. Mix the fruit and chocolate chips into the batter, and spread into an oiled 8x8 pan. Let bake about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

 Eat right away, or freeze it for later! 

Thanks again for reading:)

~Avery

Lies of The World

                   This week has been a battle inside my head!! God has really been revealing how many lies I have allowed to rest under the surface. I don't know they are there, but by my reactions to circumstances showed that something was there! I spent some time just listening to God pull up each lie one by one, kinda like carrots:) Here are some of the lies I thought might be applicable to all y'all, and even if they seem really silly, I'd invite you just to evaluate if you really do believe the lie, deep down inside.
             What the World says about you:
               
                   • You'll be happy if you're 'skinny'
                   • You have to look photoshopped to be 'noticed'
                   • To be noticed means to inspire jealousy or awe in others
                   • You are worth as much as your appearance
                   • Flaunting yourself is the only way to get attention
                   • Intelligence only matters if you are beautiful too
                   • Your life is for your pleasure
                   • You can be as mean as you want, as long as you're nice to whoever matters
                   • Your worth comes from other people's affirmation
                   • You have to dress like ( ), and act like ( ) to be 'okay'
                   • Being popular makes you feel content
                   • Patience is overrated, everything needs to be fast or it's worthless

(This could go on and on, but I don't want you to be overwhelmed!)

Have you noticed a theme in these? I didn't, until just now! Here is the lie that sums all of these up:

You need the attention of others. Your goal should be to get attention. 

Whew. I don't know about you, but this sure caught me off guard. I'm pretty sure that you've wanted  attention at least once! But let's try and find the root of this 'attention need'. Why do we thirst for attention so much? We think that attention=value. It doesn't. What does God say about your value?

    What God says about you: (and your value:)  

              • You are not someone to be measured
              • Your worth lies in Me, and I never fail
              • What you look like on the outside matters nothing to Me in comparison to the spiritual beauty inside of you
              • Inspire hope and joy in others, not jealousy
              • Praise Me with your beauty
              • Your life belongs to Me, it is not yours to waste
              • I love to spend time with you
              • Fill your mind with things that are pleasing and perfect
              • Your beauty cannot be measured by someone else's standard

Worship God, your creator!! He loves you more than you could ever hope to imagine!

~Avery


                 

Choosing Joy

Father Daughter Dance, 2012

Savanna turned eighteen this week! I can't help remembering when she turned sixteen, after the last Father Daughter Banquet, I though the world was ending because she was so old! Now she's an adult!

Anyway, on to the subject.

Joy is a decision, joy is a battle. Joy is a conscious choice every morning. Joy takes the strength of God, and you willing to go along! When I wake up in the morning, and my mind unconsciously runs through everything I have to do in the day, where I have to go, and how much time I have to do it all, joy does not bubble out of me. Sometimes, I let the joy go, I don't try and find it. Trust me, I'm sure you all know those are how you make days go badly. Joy is not something that you have to wait for to find. (I'm not speaking literally, that was mostly figural) If I want to embrace joy, I've got to stretch my sleepy self a few feet to reach for my bible, and read. I'll be honest, sometimes I don't find anything groundbreaking.
I don't fall to my knees praying and worshipping. But when I acknowledge the presence of God inside me, I am able to choose to fight off anything that would hinder me, and choose to rejoice in my day.
Sometimes I don't hold on to the joy, and that is when I get grumpy, and my siblings walk a wide circle around me:) But be encouraged! Even if you've gone the whole day ignoring God's gift of life itself, He's always waiting for you to turn around and ask him to guide you!

This subject didn't go on for very long, so I guess you guys get an excerpt from Mermaid's Tears!

This is part of the scene where she is convinced to turn into a mermaid:P

               I close my eyes and remember, all the cold nights, all the hunger, despair. I remember how much the people of the town have hurt me, how much they abused me with their words.  I think of how I’ll never be loved, how I’ll never find anyone who could love me. I want the tears to come, but my eyes are just stinging. I squeeze my eyes, and I feel one tear fall. The mermaid catches the tear and blows on it, causing it to whirl up from her hand, glowing like a pearl. She stares at in in admiration, and holds the oyster shell up to it. The tear solidifies and drops into the shell.. It looks just like a pearl should, dully glowing pink and blue at the same time.  She pushes the oyster into my hand.

                        “Whatever you do, don’t let go. This is your life.”

 She pulls the fish up and slits its neck with her teeth. She spreads the blood on my feet, then puts her hands on my eyes and slides them down to my temples, using the blood to create a pattern. She continues the pattern on the side of my face and my neck. Slick, wet blood itches my neck. She is massaging the pattern into my face with her hard thumbs. It hurts, oh it doesn't, shouldn't feel real. With her shriek, pain tingles and swirls up my face, plowing through my legs. Agony. Why am I alive? Something pulls me into the water.

Maybe some more will come later:) 

~Avery