Sunday, May 31, 2015

My 7 Project Announcment- Inspired by Jen Hatmaker

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all have had a blessed weekend and are ready for a quick announcement tonight. I really have no idea how to explain this other than the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker changed my life. Jen embarked on a seven month journey/ an experimental mutiny against excess. For seven months she did hard things including things like eating only seven foods for a whole month, wearing seven articles of clothing for a month, getting rid of a certain amount of things in her house one month, etc... For seven months she did something hard. This book made me much more aware of the consumerism in many Americans including myself. Contentment has been such a struggle for me my entire life. I have always been so well taken care of yet always wanted more. This book changed my whole point of view and I want to try this out myself.
 
 
For seven months I am going to get rid of all the excess in my life in an effort to grow closer to the Lord and be more thankful. I also hope that through these next seven months that God helps me develop a deeper passion for those with so little. I am so excited and so terrified at the same time.
 
For a few of the months I will be copying Jen Hatmakers ideas. However for several of the months later on, I have created my own ideas, altered to areas I specifically need to improve upon.
 
Starting tomorrow, June 1st, I will be eating only 7 foods the whole month. The list of foods are as follows:
Lactose Free Milk
Peanut Butter
Strawberries
Kind Bar
Cheese Stick
Plain Chicken
Canned Collard Greens
 
After discussing with my family what foods I should do, these were the seven we felt equaled a balanced diet that pertained to my allergies as well. There isn't going to be any schedule as far as posts updating you on this journey. There will be a few each month however updating you on the madness. All other posts will continue as usual. This is not going to be easy... pray for me.
 
 
Friday, May 29, 2015

White Dress Fashion + A Little Life Lately

 
 
 
 
 
Happy Fashion Friday everyone!! It has been a hot minute since I popped up here to share some fashion with y'all. I am so happy that it is officially summer and my favorite summer bag is back on my arm and I will be taking it with me everywhere! You may remember from my fashion posts a year ago that I LOVED this purse. Thankfully it is still in tip top shape for this season of WHITE! This is definitely one of my favorite colors to wear during the summer because it makes me look so tan. White is just so pretty in the summer I think and I loved it paired with my army green jacket. Can't say I will pair them together ever again this summer considering it was 90 degrees outside and I was sweating through it but regardless... it looked cute :)
 
 
Wednesday was the LAST DAY OF MY SOPHOMORE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL! I can not even believe it. I am halfway there folks. To celebrate, my friends and I went out to California Pizza Kitchen.
 
 
I know I have shared this before, but just in case my fellow gluten free foodies didn't hear, they have excellent gluten free pizzas there. My friends and I have made CPK almost a semester tradition. We met here before Christmas break and before summer break. I am so thankful for such a great group of friends and am thankful for all the memories I have shared with them this school year!
 
Speaking of the end of the year, my baby sister is going to be in high school.... WHAT?!?!?! A couple weeks ago she had her 8th grade dance to celebrate the end of middle school and she looked stunning. (I do have to take credit for the hair, makeup, and nails :P ) She looked absolutely gorgeous and had a blast!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yesterday was both me and my sisters first day of summer and guess who got braces: Mereditha! She still looks gorgeous... even though I am sure she would have wished to spend her first day of summer any other way ;)
 
 
I am not sure if any of you are going to be in Orlando FL any time soon but if you are then pop over to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. As you may remember, I went to the one in Washington DC last summer, so last week my family went with my aunt to the one here in Orlando. I love random things like this! These wax figures seriously look like the real famous people!
 
 
 
 

As for the rest of the summer, I will be laying out by the pool, working, and going insane over my little 7 re-creation project/ experiment (more on that on Sunday). What are you up to this summer? What are your plans? Comment below or email me with any thoughts or questions! Talk to you soon!
 
 
Monday, May 25, 2015

Events of the Bible: Hagar and Ishmael- Weekly Devotion

Happy Monday everyone and thanks for reading the devotion for today. I hope you enjoy it :)
 
http://www.julianagraceblogspace.blogspot.com/search/label/devotion
 
What we Learned This Week:
As we recall from last week, God promised to give Abraham a lot of children to rule over the lands. Well as Sarah, Abrahams wife, was getting old she still had not bore any children. So Sarah told Abraham to take her maid, Hagar for his wife so they could have children together. Abraham did so and Hagar became pregnant. Before she had the baby, Sarah acted harshly toward Hagar and Hagar then fled. God told Hagar however to return and that her and her son whom she was to name Ishmael would be safe and prosperous.
At the age of ninety, Sarah did eventually become pregnant and had a son named Isaac. Out of pure jealousy at a celebratory feast Sarah had Abraham cast Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness. Hagar was afraid of death and called upon God. God protected them, and made them a great nation.
 
Relating it to Your Life:
Oh Abraham. What a perfect example of doubting God and his promises. We read last week about all that God had planned and promised to Abraham and his family. Yet he still doubted God and took matters into his own hands. This is so often how we take promises from God. He might say over a hundred times in the Bible that He promises to be with us and that we shall not fear, yet we so often take situations into our own hands to make them less scary rather than trusting God. So sad. If Abraham would have just trusted God imagine all the drama that could have been avoided. If we trust God with every little and large situation in our life, imagine how much drama and pointless struggles we might avoid also.
 
What we are Reading This Week: Genesis 18-19
 
What did you think of that devotion? Comment below or email me with any thoughts or questions.
 
 
 
P.S- I also just want to say since it is Memorial Day a special thank you to all the brave men who have served for my country. I am truly thankful and pray daily for you and your families who wait or have waited patiently at home for your arrival. God bless y'all.
 

Monday, May 18, 2015

Events of the Bible: God's Covenant with Abraham- Weekly Devotion

Happy Monday everyone!! And what a happy Monday it truly is. I am beyond thrilled to be back in the swing of things after a hectic short weeks. I have been finishing up school and taking exams and I am currently in the home stretch to summer (hallelujah!). Also, I thought I would let y'all know that I was blessed with a job this past week! I cant wait to start working soon and saving up for that car :)
Today is a great event we are learning about so read and learn with me about Abraham.
 
Weekly Devotion
 
What we Learned Last Week:
The Lord promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation. When God made this promise Abraham was an old man and had no children and no land. God however, made a promise to Abraham saying that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky and they would rule over a huge area of land.
Abraham and God held an elaborate ceremony to officiate this promise. Abraham brought animals to be killed as a sacrifice to God. Abraham had to wait a long time for God's promise to come true.
 
Relating This to Your Life:
This devotion could not have been any more perfect for my current circumstances. An obvious theme of this lesson is that Gods promises will always come true. An underlying theme however is patience. Patience is personally a HUGE struggle with me and my personality. I like to know the plan, prepare for it, achieve it, and be done. Waiting doesn't resonate with me very well. I tend to have trust in God until we reach that time limit. I have learned heavily in these past two months of looking for jobs and getting my hopes up that sometimes God doesn't answer with "yes" or "no", but sometimes he answers with "wait". Thank goodness I waited on his timing. This doesn't mean I wasn't ever frustrated or doubtful, which I highly regret now, it means that God had such better plans for me then I could EVER imagine. "Not now" doesn't always mean "never". I am not sure if everyone would have read that story in Genesis and gotten that whole spill out of it but that is what I got out of it. As a Christian, God has such a great plan for my life, and so from this point on, regardless of the timing, I say "so be it", because God knows what he is doing. He will always fulfill his promises.
 
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, pans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
 
Psalms 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
 
Proverbs 16:19 "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."
 
(More verses on God's plan for you: Romans 8:28, Isaiah 58:11, Isaiah 40:31, Proverbs 19:21)
 
 
What we are Reading This Week: Genesis 16, 21
 
What a quick devotion ;) I hope you enjoyed this weeks devotion and are continuing to enjoy working through the events of the bible with me. So much still to learn and I am so excited. If you have any questions please feel free to email me any time. I love seeing emails from you and would love to chat about anything. Comment below with any thoughts on this lesson. Have a blessed week and I will see you in a post very soon!
 
 
 
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Nailed It! April Monthly Manis

 
Guess what todays post is?? Today we are recapping what my fingers and toes have been rockin' this past month. This month I didn't switch it up as much as I did last month but I LOVE the wraps I have been wearing.
 
Not only do I ADORE this Betsy Johnson watch but I love these Country Club nails. These are a more simple design by Jamberry but I love them. These go with a ton and can mix and match with nail polishes easily also.
 
 
These have been my toe nails the whole month. Jamberry nail wraps stay on the toes for an entire month so this month I just left them on there with a pink polish. Not to mention I love my Tommy Hilfiger Sandals :)
 
 
Agh it is me in a nail wrap! I LOVE these so much and they are so me. Navy and nautical styles are so my style so I love these a ton! The Nautical wraps are perfect for me and matched a lot of my outfits.
 
Nailed It!
 
I know this isn't many for a whole month but that is what I love about Jamberry. If you want to change them out you can but if you don't they stay on fine! You can read my original review here. I hope you enjoyed. What have your nails been wearing this past month? Comment below or email me with any thoughts or questions. Talk to y'all soon!
 
 
 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Gluten Free Croque-Monsieur

Happy Tasty Tuesday everyone! For todays quick and simple dinner recipe we are going to take a fancy French twist on a deli sandwich. My oh my was this delicious. You might want to double the recipe of the béchamel sauce because everyone in my family was ready to eat it with a spoon. It was that tasty. I made this gluten free by using gluten free bread and gluten free flour in the béchamel. If you are not gluten intolerant than go ahead and make this with some good quality bread and enjoy your tasty French meal. You can alter this recipe to however many people you are making it for.


 
Recipe Makes: 4
 
Ingredients:
8 slices of good quality bread
8 slices deli ham
8 slices of Gruyere cheese (sliced gouda cheese is a good back up also)
Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (I use Lactaid milk and it turned out just fine)
salt and pepper
chopped parsley or parsley seasoning
 
Directions:
Preheat your skillet over medium heat. Lightly spray down the pan with cooking or butter spray.
Assemble your sandwiches with the bread, two slices of ham, two slices of cheese and Dijon mustard. Once they are prepared place them on your skillet and lightly press down on them for about 2-4 minutes. Flip it over to brown the other side. Make sure the cheese is nice and melted.
 
Meanwhile in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt your butter. Whisk in the flour and stir for about a minute. Whisk in your milk and continue stirring for several minutes until sauce becomes thick like gravy. Be patient. Once it has thickened, reduce heat to low and add in quite a big pinch of salt and pepper with a big pinch of chopped parsley seasoning.
 
Once your sandwiches are all done, cute them diagonally across in half and drizzle béchamel down on top or place as a dip on the side of your plate. You can garnish with a little extra parsley if you would like.
 
Tasty Tuesday

How easy is that? Super tasty take on a classic sandwich but filling enough to be your weeknight dinner. If you try it out let me know how it goes! Comment below or email me with any thoughts or questions. Talk to you soon!
 
Monday, May 4, 2015

Events of the Bible: Call of Abram- Weekly Devotion

We survived Monday everyone! How many more weeks do y'all have until schools out?? I only have three weeks so I am in the home stretch to summer at the moment and couldn't be more ready. Sorry I didn't post the devotion last Monday. It was a crazy week last week but I am back on the schedule and I am bringing you another great devotion as we work through every event of the Bible together.
 
 
What we are Learning This Week:
In spite of the fact that Abram was childless and 75 years old, God told him to leave his home in Ur, Mesopotamia and that God would bless him and make him a great nation. Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his nephew, left with him, not knowing where they would end up or what would happen. They ended up in Canaan. God told him that He would give this land to Abram's descendants.
 
How This Relates to Your Life:
In next weeks devotion and the devotions to come we will learn a lot more about Abram and all he amounted to. He was a great man and the Lord blessed his devotion to him and his willingness to pack up leave. Abram could have easily said "Nah God I am pretty cushy and fine where I am at. I think I will stay right here," but he didn't. When God called him to do something crazy, he did it without hesitation, and we will soon discover that God blessed him for that. Do we often become to comfortable in our situation that when God calls us to do something crazy we say, "No thanks, I am doing pretty good where I am at. But I still love you,"?? I think we all say that pretty often.
Luke 11:28 says He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
When you hear God telling you to do something or go somewhere it is for the best, he knows what he is doing.
Romans 2:6-8 says God "will repay each person according to what they have done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immorality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
One way that the devil will often times win us over is when he makes us comfortable. This week lets all try to do something uncomfortable and follow God regardless of how hard that might be.
 
This Weeks Reading: Genesis 15-17
 
 
Comment below or email me with any thoughts or questions!
 
 
 
Friday, May 1, 2015

'Merica

 
 
 
 
 
Happy Friday everyone! I felt very patriotic in this outfit and I love these colors together not only because I am an American :) Shout out to my awesome grandma who sent me this huge bracelet because it is AWESOME!
 
Fashion Friday
 
What are y'all up to this weekend? Comment below or email me any thoughts or questions! Talk to you soon!