July Blogging Challenge Day 2

If you could give a newborn baby one 

piece of advice what would it be?

Hmmm, if I could give a newborn baby one piece of advice it would probably be the same advice I would give myself: 

"Be gentle with yourself & learn to love yourself for who God created you to be, not by the world's standards of who you need to be or what you need to look like."

Embrace Self-Love & Acceptance.  I know I need to, do you?

Here is a link to a great blogpost at one of my favorite sites,

 Positively Present, on Self Love, enjoy and why not give 

yourself a hug :)

July Blogging Challenge DAY 1

Write out your goals for the month

• Continue participating in Mercy Triumphs Bible study weekly

• Complete July Blogging Challenge
• Drink more water
• Follow recommendations of the dietician despite feelings (feelings aren't facts)

• Finish Fifty Shades Freed book

• Challenge myself to a treat & eating out once a week
• Learn how to do more floral arrangements at French Peas (my new job!)

Keeping my goals short, sweet and attainable.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

-Philipians 4:13

July Blogging Challenge

Hey friends!  I thought that it might be fun to do this July Blogging Challenge to get me back to blogging some.  As many of you know I have struggled with an eating disorder for many years and recently I have needed to find some things to do to help keep my mind occupied so I'm not focusing on what I just ate, what I'm going to eat, obsessing about calories and exercising.  I thought of a number of things I could do and blogging was included in that.

Now I am several days behind on the challenge, starting on the 4th rather than the 1st will do that to ya, but I plan to catch up to the current date.  So here it is:

Happy July!

Grateful

Quite a while back I wrote about the importance of gratitude and how keeping a daily gratitude list has been helpful for me.  I fall in and out of the habit of doing it, but always find time and time again the benefits of having a running list of all that I have to be grateful for.

Keeping a gratitude list:

• Keeps me humble
• Puts things into perspective
• Reminds me of God's faithfulness
• Encourages me to look at the small, simple things and not just the big
• A reminder not to take things for granted
• Makes me smile

I keep a daily journal of at least 3-5 gratitudes for each day.  Sometimes I have more, but I challenge myself to have no less and to try not to repeat any so that I am forced to really search for even the smallest thing that I find gratitude it. 

So here are a few gratitudes I have since getting back into the swing of blogging again.

My parents lovingly accepting me back home for a bit while I 

work on Recovery.

Getting to participate in the NEDA Walk in Dallas with good friends & the generous donations from friends and family for Team Eden.

Rootbeer, our dog.  A reminder of God's unconditional love.

My treatment team- the first time I have ear had a team of support in recovery that is all in communication, on the same page and have my best at heart.

My new car that I desperately was in need of and the great deal we got.

Sweet friends that have been such faithful support.

and the little things like:

Time to read

A good color of toe-nail polish

Hugs

Afternoon naps

And sunshine!

So, what are you grateful for?

DOG=GOD

I have to confess one of the best parts of living back home is our dog Rootbeer.  This dog, like many dogs, has been a great reflection of God's unconditional love and grace for me and His relationship with me as my creator. Rootbeer is like God with skin on!

How are relationships with dogs an depiction of what our relationship with God should look like? 

• Protection- like dogs are used as a source of protection, God is our protection, our ULTIMATE protector! 
• Anger- sometimes Rootbeer misbehaves chewing up shoes, having an accident inside or jumping on guests, causing me to get angry. But time and time again I always... ALWAYS love Rootbeer just as I did before the accident happened. This, to me, is a reflection of how I should react to God when I become angry at Him for things I don't understand or don't go my way. I should never runaway and stay angry, but continue to love Him for who he is and what he's done for me trusting his way and timing.
• Listening- Rootbeer doesn't always listen and sometimes it seems like God isn't listening either (when really He is, He just may not respond as we see fit).  Regardless of Rootbeer's response to me I love him still.  God wants me to respond in the same way-- loving Him regardless of His response or lack there of.
• Discipline- sometimes when Rootbeer misbehaves I have to discipline him and I do this because I love him and I want what's best for him.  In the same way God disciplines me for my sins because He wants what is best for me.
• Loyal, man's best friend- just as dogs are man's best friend God longs to be my best friend. God is like Rootbeer... He's always there at your side, never giving up on me. 
• Forgiving of my faults & quirks- the characteristics that dogs display in loving ignorance of my faults are the same Christ displayed on the cross for me. God accepts me despite my faults & hang ups.

Wendy Franisco simply and sweetly delivers the message of the unwavering devotion dogs have for their owners and how it's a reflection of God's essence in God & Dog song and explains in more detail the thoughts behind the lyrics about the similarities between God & dogs here.

I am so grateful for the daily reminder of how God desires to be in relationship with me by reflecting it through my relationship with my dog Rootbeer.  I hope you too have the same reminder in your life whether it be a dog, a cat or some other form because it's easy to forget just how much we are loved by God up above!

Just for fun... a explanation why God made dogs & cats.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes...."

If you haven't already noticed I changed the title of my blog from Allured by Christ Through His Mercy to Eden.  The origin of Eden is of course from the book of Genesis in the Bible.  It is the Hebrew word for 'paradise'.  It also means 'delight.'

Why the change?  Well this word has been heavy on my heart for some time now for lots of different reasons, right now, for me the word represents 'beautiful', 'pure' and 'new beginnings'... 

I feel as though God planted this word in my heart for many reasons, some beyond my dreams!  If you'll recall back about a year ago I created a Vision Board with all kinds of dreams I have for the future.  Well, one of the boards included my BIG dream of having a flower/gift/coffee shop.  While I was in the hospital and working on some therapeutic matters my dream was re-awaken, but this time with a name... EDEN!  With this name came the acronym:

Extending forgiveness

Dispelling guilt & shame

Embracing unconditional love

Navigating truth

The acronym reflects more of what Eden has meant to me in my journey to forgive, love and accept myself as I am just as the Lord does.  This is something I have to do and all the time because I am super hard on myself, in fact, I am my own worse enemy.  This self-hate has caused me time and time again to pick up my lovely eating disorder as a means to feel control over whatever it was that I messed up.  And then the vicious cycle is begins again... I get mad at myself for 'failing' and using my eating disorder yet again to 'feel better' and so rather than forgive myself and move on I practice my eating disorder more and believe the LIE that it is the only thing I am good at.  So now, day by day, sometimes hour by hour, I am working on being more gentle with myself by extending forgiveness, dispelling guilt and shame and loving myself unconditionally just as the Lord does.


My hope is that Eden would be a place where this acronym can be reflected into the lives of others... I see Eden as either a shop I own and run on my own or have it connected to some type of ministry or program that gives individuals who go through their program the opportunity to work and share their talents at Eden.  Either way Eden will  be a place people can count on to have just the right gift or floral arrangement to brighten someone's day, but also a safe haven to come sit and relax at with a cup of coffee and pastry, comforting tunes and friendly faces.
      

Honestly this all seems quite impossible... my dream seems too BIG, too far fetched.  But I am going to hold onto to several of God's promises and do my part to make my dream come true believing that this dream will do more than touch my heart, but to the heart's of many others.

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt.19:26

"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4 

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”  Matt. 17:20

A Public Service Announcement: GET REAL