Beautiful Blessings - 7/29/16

~ watching Zootopia with John and Mom

~ a quiet morning at home to get some computer work done

~ decreasing excitedly on my knitting project

~ an unexpected blessing - dinner unexpectedly provided for me tonight while I was working

~ encouragement to save aside for a rainy day

Weekend Blessings - Beautiful Blessings - 1/11/16

~ Buying a new pair of cute boots! Thanks Dad for buying them and letting me pay you back!! <3

~ Perfectly pulling off a plan to surprise John by joining him on his trip back to college!

~ Going back to dance tonight!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A YEAR!!! (the first photo was taken on our way to dance) AHHHH it was soooooooo nice!!!!

~ Achy sore muscles all over from dancing...strangely wonderful!

~ Being on at the right place at the right time to encourage my friends through God's might <3 Its pretty amazing to see...Im really thankful when I can return the favors they do for me <3 :~)

Bonus Blessing:

~ Gaining a new friend (only had her as one for 11 days) and already being able to call each other sister! <3

The Rock - A Word of Encouragement

Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

When life is crazy, busy, swirling, and chaotic, remember this:

When you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, remember God is your rock, and He will get you through the hard place!

Psalm 94:22 (ESV)

But the Lord has become my stronghold,

    and my God the rock of my refuge.

Hats for the Holidays! Day 19

A fur-trimmed hat with a sparkly broach! Tis a beautiful hat, and perfect for the holidays!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and ironically, I havent been posting my Beautiful Blessings, although I will pick it up again soon. God has been using this month in a special way for me, so I will be sharing it with you withing a few days! And after I do that, I will probably resume my Beautiful Blessings! Though I must say, Im quite thankful for encouraging friends today. Well, encouraging friends, and encouraging friends. It goes both ways! :~)

Mono: Seven Things I Have Learned!

As we near the 9th month since I came down with mono last winter, I was thinking back about all that happened, and all that I learned. How am I doing now? Well, I'm still getting migraines. I'm slowly regaining my stamina and strength. Its taking a while, but as Ive told several people, God will heal me completely in His timing! So now, Id like to discuss seven things Ive learned while having, and recovering from, mono!

1. Mono is very depressing to have. You cant go anywhere. You have no energy. You watch everything you love to do fall by the wayside. I got very depressed during the mono. I remember I would just cry some days in my bed because I didn't feel up to doing anything else. Sometimes even getting dressed made me cry! Praise God for the day He came to me, held my hand, and got me out of the depression! Isaiah 41:13 was an incredible encouragement! As I read through my journal during this time, I wasn't very depressed on the outside...and it wasn't until God pulled me out that I realized just how much I was! God is so very good! 
2. Sleep. Constantly. Tired. Exhaustion. You actually grow to dislike being in your bed because you're in it so much. And the couch for that matter. And sleep....golly when I first had the pneumonia (got that first during all this illness) I remember one day I slept 9 hours, got up for 3 or 4, went to bed for another 5 and was up for another 3 or 4 before I went back to bed for the night. You actually count down hours until you get to take a nap. I also recall a day in which I was thinking about the future and planning naps, 3-5 YEARS in advance! (Not normal for me, in case you want to know. lol!)
3. I said this a little in the first thing, but, you miss out on a lot. I missed dance, and Church! I couldn't do St. Patrick's Day, and ended up not doing my ballet recital either. I went to Irish Step once during all this, and my teacher told me I looked dreadful...which I did! It was very hard for me to give up dance! I missed Church for 7 (or so!) weeks in a row! And when I first started going to Church again, sometimes I had to go home early because I felt so bad. 
4. I missed seeing people during this. I had one friend who would come and visit a couple times a week, and I was so thankful for that! I didn't have a lot of energy, but its always nice to have someone to chat with for a little while. Some friends came from out of time during this, but I couldn't spend much time with them because I just felt so dreadful. I did spend a couple hours with them one afternoon, but when I got home I went to bed for the same amount of time! I was so thankful when my birthday came! I started planning it in early March so I had something to look forward to! I got to dress up and spend the evening out with my friends! I was wiped out the next day but it was worth it!
   
5. God changed me during this! My faith is much stronger than it was when it started! As I read through my journal, preparing for my post, I was amazed to see how much I praised God through it all! God was faithful through every bump and trial! (2 Thessalonians 3:3) He helped me through all the tests I had! I was scared when I had all the various tests scheduled for various things, but God gave me a boldness! Psalm 138:3! As my one friend told me, during this, I went from being a scared chicken to a bold bunny!
6. Prayer! Prayer is so important! It kept me together as it was one of the few things I could do! I was able to pray for others as well! I also (and still am) was so thankful for the people at Church who prayed hard for me while I was sick. Some of them still are praying for me since I'm still battling the migraines. Prayer is powerful. Never doubt the power of prayer! Prayer has gotten me this far through this chapter of my life, and it got me through all the battles. Ephesians 6:12 comes to mind. I am so thankful for prayer!
7. Encouragement kept me going! Notes, birthday cards, get well cards, emails, messages, hugs, small gifts, time to nap from Mom, pictures from the kids, and so much more was such a blessing! God was so good throughout it all! 

God was so good, is so good, and continues to do so much for me! Psalm 116:12 comes to mind. So many things to be thankful for about the mono! I grew spiritually, it happened during my junior year of high school instead of my senior, and just the fact God is always with me...will never leave me or forsake me! So I can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper! (Hebrews 13:5-6 if you want to look up the exact verses!) Through the trials you're going through right now, remember God is with you! Turn to Him and ask Him to help you! As I end this, I shall leave you with 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. It was one of my favorite passages throughout this!

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV)

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Other posts about my mono and pneumonia:

Pneumonia, and Why I'm Thankful For It

A Mono-logue!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/21/15

~ Getting a massage and hugs from T-bug!

~ L-Jo and Mommy going on a buddy date to the YMCA to go swimming!

~ Lil' G feeling better after a good day of rest!

~ T-Tot going on a buddy date with her friend!

~ Being encouraged by the network of prayer warriors!

Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A Mono-logue!

Moriah: I haven't had anything to blog about recently.

Mom: Why not about your mono since you did a post about having pneumonia?

Moriah: Well I could do that....

Mom: You could call it your "Mono-logue"!

Moriah bursts into laughter

That conversation took place the other day, and I decided it's about time I updated y'all on my life. Remember I told you I had pneumonia? Well, I wasn't getting any better. So we went to the doctor's, got an x-ray and did blood work. My x-ray showed nothing which meant I was over my pneumonia, but my blood work came back and I have mono. According to our calculations, I've been sick for about 2 months now. 

Can I just say, it's not fun being sick for 2 months? No energy, constantly napping and feeling achy consists of my days. The hardest part about being sick definitely is the fact I can't go to dance. In fact, we had to find someone to take my place for St. Patrick's day! I will say though that it was a God-thing, when my ballet class was cancelled these past two weeks, as schedules conflicted with the class times. I definitely will be needing a lot of stretching when I return to dance as I'm stiff from head to toe! 

Another hard thing, is singing wears me out as well! I sang 3 songs yesterday and wore myself out! And they weren't even long songs! Oh well....I have learned the art of singing in my head during this time, so that's a plus. Heehee!! It's definitely hard being sick like this, but as a few people have told me, God has a reason for this. He has a reason for this trial and while I may not know why at this time, eventually I may. 

I must admit something to y'all. If you've never been sick for a long time like this, it's really rough. In fact I was getting rather discouraged and depressed. Oh golly, that was hard being so down. Praise God! He pulled me through that just like He is pulling me through this! Psalm 16:7-8 has been a blessing to me!

Psalm 16:7-8 (ESV)

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

So to summarize: I'm sick with mono. I've been sick with mono. I'll be sick for a bit longer. I'm over pneumonia. And I'm pretty much worrying about one day at a time as I can't stretch my brain to think far beyond that. I'm tired and achy all time, and someday, hopefully soon, I'll get better. :~)

And that folks, is my mono-logue!

Pneumonia and why I'm thankful for it!

Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Pneumonia is not fun, in case you want to know. You're exhausted, your lungs ache, and you just feel blah! Today I actually feel like I'm getting better. It's rather nice I must say, and while I could talk about my pneumonia, I'd rather talk about some things I find amazing and I'm so thankful for!

First of all, people who have been praying for me! So many of my friends, my family, my parents' friends and people from Church have been praying for me! To know that people care that much about you is truly amazing. For all of you who have been praying, thank you. It means so much to me!

Secondly, my friends have been a big source of encouragement! From quick "how are you?", to long emails full of alliterations, to listening to my ceaseless chatter, or even coming over for a visit, it's been so encouraging! I'm so thankful for their encouraging words, verses they've shared and just giving me something to laugh about! (Even though laughing really hurt for a while....  ;~)They've been such a blessing to me! Thank you, my dear friends, for everything you've done!

Thirdly, my family, specifically my parents. They've let me get in extra naps when I've needed them. They've given me space to just sit quietly to rest. They've gone out on snowy nasty days to get my medicine, and freezing-cold days take me to the doctor's. They have done so much for me. Thank you Mom and Dad!!

This pneumonia has been a test of my patience. I've wanted to do things, go out to the library/post office, help around the house, etc., but I've been unable to. Instead it's given me a chance to sit, and study my Bible. It's given me a chance to spend time in prayer and pray for others. I've even been able to encourage others which is hard to do when one is busy. I'm very thankful for this time of quietness. God is so good!

(Two little munchkins hopped on my lap while I was resting one day. They were cold from playing outside and ready for some delicious hot chocolate!!)

30 Days of Love: Day 18

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

 

Encourage them today! Remind them how proud you are of them. A few words go a long way. They may be remembered for a long time.

30 Days of Love: Day 4

Proverbs 13:23

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
    and a word in season, how good it is!

Take some time today to encourage and compliment them. Whether it's as simple as giving the a high five, and reminding them how cute they look, your words are precious to them. :~)

30 Days of Love

So I'd like you to sit quietly for a minute.

Think in your head about someone that's close to you.

Do you show them loving-kindness?

How often do you pray for them?

Have you encouraged them recently?

And do you intentionally spend time with them?

Whether you get along or not, you still need to show them love.

Whether or not you love them all the time, you still need to show them love.

Love is hard.

I constantly forget to show love to the people around me.

That's why for the month of April we shall be having a 30 day challenge to love.

A Bible verse and an action will be posted for each day. 

Choose someone in your life to show loving-kindness to. 

If you join me with this challenge and have questions or need encouragement, just leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as possible. :~)

A Journey of Becoming a Young Woman of Faith - #6 Prayer Warrior

Pray without ceasing. 1st Thessalonians 5:17

This is tough. Praying without ceasing. Sounds difficult.....it is in a way but not really. When we see verses like this we tend to over think things. I know I do. And when we over think things we make it harder to do something as simple as praying. Praying is simple: talking to God! A couple years ago I never prayed. I'm growing up in a prayer filled Church yet I couldn't pray. I didn't think I could make a difference. About that time I started a prayer journal. I kept it for about 2 months and then forgot about it. I got discouraged and prayed here and there. I would pray for people after I heard the prayer request but never thought about them again. One day quite recently I got on my knees and prayed. I prayed for what felt like forever, just praying about what ever was on my heart. I had a clarity of thoughts and remembered prayer requests. I'm not saying praying on your knees will make you a super praying hero but it does allow you to focus on God and him alone. Since then I have grown in my prayer walk. I'm telling this you girls to encourage you. I'm not perfect and I don't always pray without ceasing but I'm getting much better at it. To pray without ceasing means to pray for the day. During free time, when wisdom is needed, anything! Most importantly praise God! This can be tough so ask, pray, that God will help you. He will! Keep persevering! 

I challenge you to get on your knees and pray. Pray about anything on your heart, make a habit of this so it will come as a natural, regular thing for you. Keep persevering & pray without ceasing.