Enough is enough

I can't sleep.

I woke up about 2 hours ago thinking that my alarm was going to go off any minute.  So I laid in bed trying to soak up those last few minutes of sleep.  Finally I succumbed to my alertness and dragged myself out of bed only to find that it was a little bit after midnight.  Sigh - evidently my body thinks that 2 hours of sleep is enough (it is wrong).

But really it is my mind that leaves me in this state of insomnia.  It won't turn off.  I really wish that it would, but my thoughts have been doing overtime - and it's not super fun.

My last few moments of alertness before drifting off to my 2 hour sleep were spent asking God to turn my thoughts off.  To take away all the ugly things going on my head.

My mind has been a battle ground lately.  I have been confronted with an arsenal of lies.  They are not new lies.  It's the same ol' battle shooting arrows at my self worth.  And though I have faced these thoughts before, I find myself struggling to embrace truth.

God spoke three words to me tonight that serve as a shield to ward of the lies:

"You are enough"

I am enough!!

I am beautiful enough because He made me.

I am kind and compassionate enough because He sees the genuineness in my heart to love others.

I am likable enough because He likes me.

I am strong enough because His strength is mine.

I am wise enough because He gives me wisdom.

Even in my greatest downfalls and weakness, I am enough because He is enough and He gives me everything that He is to cover my faults.

So, I am not perfect - but I am enough.

Fighting off lies is a continual war for me, but realizing them for the toxins that they are wins one battle at a time.  I just need to surround myself with truth.  For me, this means listening to worship music, spending time reading the Bible, and writing myself words of encouragement.  My favorite place to write encouraging words is on my mirror with a dry erase marker (for me, that is where the greatest fight against lies is fought - standing in front of the mirror):

So, if you find yourself waging war against the thoughts in your head, just know that you are enough.

And for another great blogpost, check out what the amazing Jessica has to say HERE.  Seriously - she is awesome.  Go read it :-)

Cheers to summer!

Hello Summer!!!!

Summer has officially arrived.  Yesterday, I celebrated by making a batch of lemonade.

I found a recipe on Pinterest.

When you need a recipe - search Pinterest.
When you need inspiration - search Pinterest.
When you want to know the natural method to do anything - search Pinterest.
When you want to know how to style your new top - search Pinterest.
When you need ideas for how to decorate a room - search Pinterest.

Pinterest - it's the new Google.  (More on Pinterest HERE)

Lemonade recipe pin:

Source: foodnetwork.com via Melany on Pinterest

I cut the recipe in half so that it would fit in my boring 2 quart pitcher:

Boo - boring pitcher.  It makes me want a pretty, round, glass pitcher.  Maybe something clear with a little splash of color.  Hmmm, maybe something like this:

Source: crateandbarrel.com via Melany on Pinterest

Well, at least I got to drink out of a cute glass:

And some cute straws would just make it perfection:

Source: etsy.com via Melany on Pinterest

Cheers to a wonderful summer!!!

Wrap it up - fabric style

A few weeks ago, I had a gift to give to a friend.

I had no wrapping paper - boo.

But here's the thing about being a super creative crafty person ...

... in the boxes and boxes of supplies that you have there is always something that makes pretty packaging.

Grab some fabric and wrap it around the present.

Then grab another strip of fabric and make a bow.

Cutesy cute :-)

Happy Birthday Sista

Today is my sister's birthday.  She's 21.  This is the "Happy Birthday Demi" blogpost.

I remember when she was oh so little:

I remember the day when my mom went to the hospital to give birth to this special lady.  I was left with my grandparents.  We got BBQ from Corky's (mmmmm - BBQ) and I remember eating ice cream.  I also remember me and my 13 year old self being sick with worry and begging my grandparents to go to the hospital.  They would tell me that we would either sit and wait at the hospital or sit and wait at the house - we might as well sit at the house (it was only 5 minutes away from the hospital).  But I wore them down :-)  I think that I just got annoying and dramatic enough that they caved so we went (and waited) at the hospital.

I remember the days when this little girl adored me and would drop everything to hang out with me.  I also remember the day that she chose to go to a friend's house to play instead of going to the mall with me - it was heartbreaking.

We have had many wonderful memories together.  My most treasured memory with my sister is when she was in the 2nd grade and I checked her out of school to go see a movie (it was Finding Nemo).  I hope I never forget the look on her face as she rounded that corner in the halls of Ross Elementary School. The look of excitement at seeing me there waiting for her was absolutely priceless.  I then explained to her that I was checking her out of school to go see a movie.  She was shocked and excited and we were on our way.  We were the only ones in the movie theater when we arrived and my sister celebrated by going down to the front and dancing around - she still does this when we are alone in a movie theater :-)

I love my little sister.

I love that she always greets me by singing "Sister, Sister" from the theme song from the show:



I love that she gets embarrassed by how loud I laugh in movies, but that's ok because she really does not know how to whisper during a movie :-)

I love that she takes our favorite picture and turns it into a painting for me.

I love that the only thing that we have ever really fight about is what music to listen to in the car.

I love how she practically knocks me to the ground when she runs through the airport to greet me.

I love our road trips.

I love that she puts up with me running into her room on Christmas morning, jumping up and down on her bed, and telling her that "Santa Came!!  Santa Came!!" - except for the one time that she told me that it was too early and to go back to bed - she is supposed to be on my side, not acting like mom and dad :-)

I love how completely different we are.  (check out this post for more on that)

I love our tradition of going to IHOP for breakfast every time I leave town.

She is my special sister and I am glad that she was born on this day 21 years ago.

Happy Birthday Demi!!

Parking woes

Not everyone will entirely get this post.  But if you live or work in a big city, you will probably find yourself laughing along with me.

Today I sat in a coffee shop before work and giggled at the scene I saw taking place across the street.  There was a man who was looking very intently at a parking meter.  He then crossed and studied the other side of the parking meter.  Then he went and looked at the parking sign.  Then he went back and studied the meter again.  I really wish I had video.  It was really funny.  The whole scene was probably about 3 - 4 minutes of this guy looking at the parking meter and struggling with if he should actually park or not.  At one point, he got that pensive "Should I park here or will I get a ticket?" look on his face.  Then he got in his car and drove away - I guess he decided against it :-)

Parking in DC - reason number 215 why I don't drive to work.  I like the Metro :-)

Well, at least we don't have meters like the ones in the following video :-)

Arguments with God

Today I escaped to Great Falls to spend some time with God.

Life is pretty crazy right now and my discouragement hit the ceiling last night. I felt the need for a getaway today and drove out to Great Falls, VA.

I hiked out to find a sunny spot on a rock, sat down, pulled out my journal, and said "Ok God, let's talk."

I love that I can be completely honest with God because He knows all the thoughts in my head anyway.  I really just needed my moment of recognizing how I was feeling and being honest about it.

God revealed to me areas of my life that are - hmmm, how to put it - in need of improvement :-)  I found myself saying, "But God I..."and my excuses always come up short.

I realized that there were many areas where I was not turning to God and completely trusting Him.  I felt Him ask me, "Melany, when have I ever not provided for you?"  I tried to come up with a good example and had some things come to mind, but every time I came up with something, I was reminded of His hand in the situation.  It always worked out in the end - EVERY - SINGLE - TIME.

God has never ever left me hanging.  He has always provided for me.  Even as I reflected on my current circumstances, I was able to see that He is here with me working things out.

When I look past God's Presence in the present, is when things start getting stressful.  I just need to continue to rest in His peace because, as He reminded me today - He has always come through for me ... and He is not going to stop coming through now.

So, I learned today that there is no use trying to argue with God - He is always right and He is always good.

We will run

Today I had a pretty good run and wanted to share a revelation that I had.  There has been a lot going on in my life lately.  Basically, times are just tough.  Right when I think that life is going to start moving ahead and I feel like I am closer to getting my head above water - BAM!  Something comes along to knock me back a step.  

I recently had a "bam" moment - a really big one and to be completely honest, I really just don't know how things are going to work out.  It's one of those things, where I feel like I should be really stressed out and crying all the time - but I'm not.  I am straight up in the middle of a hardship, but really and honestly, I am grateful for it.  I think that if we allow ourselves to enjoy the treasure of hard times, we will find the peace of God which passes understanding and we will find Him so very near and dear in the midst of difficulty.  And that closeness to the Lord of the universe is a priceless gift.

The past few days I have been fighting against discouragement.  As much as I really do believe I am leaning in and trusting God, sometimes the reality of life, becomes a little bit toooo ... well ... real.  Today   I was running and listening to the worship set for this Sunday at DC Metro Church on my Ipod while I ran.  It's a good mix :-)  

There I was runnin', and listening to my music, and thinking, when all of a sudden something happened.  It's like I felt the presence of someone coming up beside me and I had this revelation of Jesus joining in and running alongside me.  I felt the Lord say, "I am here running alongside you."  I thought about the current events in my life and I told God, "I'll do it.  I'll keep running."

It was a great run and I went further than I have gone in a long time (I'll be ready for my 5k before I know it).  As I neared the end of my run, I was reminded of that poem "Footprints in the Sand" and how sometimes there are footprints in the sand because those are the moments when Jesus carries us.  But then there are also the sneaker prints in the dirt - the moments when He runs right along with us, sweat pouring from his forehead.  That seems to be where I am right now.  

I really wish that there were adequate words to express my relationship with Jesus.  I wish that I could truly invite you in to my moments with Him.  I absolutely love how He is with me each and every moment.  Today I was even thinking about how I don't have much, but because of Jesus I have everything that I need.  He is my everything.  You can even say that he is my running buddy :-)

I just felt like sharing that today.  You can read more workout revelations by clicking HERE.  I also have a battery powered faith post coming soon.

And on the subject of running, I am officially signed up for the Color Run 5k in DC on October 21st.  Exciting times.  Check out the video:

I am beyond excited :-)