worship wednesday

it is the middle of Holy Week. i don't know how Jesus felt when he knew his death was just a few days away. the mere thought of having the option of knowing when and how i will die is just way too intense for me to handle. he remained a leader, strong in his relationship with the Father, and even cared for his disciples.

when he was beaten, whipped, punched, slapped, and spit on, he didn't get angry. he remained calm, quiet, and carried OUR cross because he and OUR Father love us so much. i don't know about you, but just remembering that makes me reflect on my actions, thoughts, words, and appreciation for what OUR Savior did for us.

so so so undeserving.

Holy Week
Wednesday
My savior, 
do you invite me to share 
in the glory of the resurrection? 
Please stay with me 
as I struggle to see 
how accepting the crosses of my life 
will free me from the power 
of the one who wants only 
to destroy my love and trust in you. 
Help me to be humble and accepting 
like your son, Jesus. 
I want to turn to you 
with the same trust he had in your love. 
Save me, Lord. Only you can save me.

Thursday
Loving Provider,
you gather me in this upper room with your son, 
to be fed by your love. 
At that supper, Jesus told us to "love one another" 
and I know that is the heart of his gift, 
his sacrifice for me. 
I ask that I might find the source of my own heart, 
the meaning for my own life, 
in that Eucharist. 
Guide me to the fullness of your love and life.

FridayMy Lord,
your son has suffered so much, shed so much blood. 
I was born with so many faults 
and my nature is so full of weakness, 
and yet your son Jesus has died on the cross. 
For me. 
I know your grace has the power 
to cleanse me of my many sins 
and to make me more like your Son. 
Thank you for your goodness and love for me. 
I ask you, Father, to watch over me - always.

My savior, 

morning announcements

Good Morning, friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! We had such beautiful weather. So thankful!

For those of you who are observing Lent and Easter, here is a quick reminder that this is Holy Week. Although, I'm sure you all knew that. My first active participation of Lent has been a great one. I have been fasting from sweets (something physical) and negative words (something sinful). This week will be an intense one filled with a lot of reflection, prayer, and refection. I hope you join me. You can find today's Lenten prayer here.

This is also my last call for my 30 Day Fitness Challenge Group participants! I only have 2 spots left!! Who wants them? Not sure what the 30 Day Challenge is (she says, having an answer ready)?

As part of my group, you'll be one of five likeminded people. We'll track our progress along the way, hold each other accountable, and motivate, inspire, and encourage each other to achieve amazing results. It is time to get serious about your fitness, especially with swimsuit season RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! If you are interested and ready to take charge, comment below with your email address and I will send you all the info to get set up, or you can email me at feedingmytemple@gmail.com. Let's do this! 

Also, have you linked up for the Spring Fling today? You should see the giveaway...wow. 

Worship Wednesday

Some of you enjoyed the prayers for Lent I was posting a few weeks ago, so this Wednesday, I am sharing a week's worth of Lenten prayers. It will get you through next Wednesday! Come back then for some more!

A Lenten Prayer for Wednesday
Loving and merciful God, 
I am so aware of my sins and weaknesses.
But as painfully aware of my faults as I am,
Let me also remember your tender love,
your gentle and limitless forgiveness.
I come before you filled with pain and guilt
but look into your eyes and see the forgiving love
I so long for in my life.
Help me to forgive the same way.
Teach me to love as you love. 


A Lenten Prayer for Thursday
Merciful Father/ Loving Mother, 
I know that the tiny sacrifices I make this Lent 
can never serve as a real penance in my life. 
But help me to make my whole life 
one of following your Son. 
I am filled with your love. 
Let your love shine out from within me 
and guide my life in this sacred journey 
toward the Easter joy you offer me. 


A Lenten Prayer for Friday
Loving God of forgiveness, 
I come before you humbled and sad 
in the face of my own repeated failings. 
I hold out my hands as a petitioner would, 
asking for mercy. 
It is then that I feel you reach out and take my hand 
in your loving grasp. 
Thank you for the love you pour out on me
so lavishly. 
Help me to follow more closely 
in the path you have set for me, 
the path of your Son. 


A Lenten Prayer for Saturday
Lord, 
what you ask of my life seems so right. 
It is how I want to live, 
following your Son, Jesus, so closely. 
And yet I fail so often to stay on that path. 
I cannot do it alone, loving Lord. 
I need your help and guidance. 
I need to remember your love for me 
and I want to remember 
how very much I need you in my life. 


A Lenten Prayer for Sunday
My loving Lord, 
it's so hard to love the world sometimes 
and to love it the way Jesus did seems impossible. 
Help me to be inspired by his love and 
guided by his example. 
Most of all, I want to accept that I can't do it alone, 
and that trying is an arrogance of self-centeredness. 
I need you, dear God, to give me support in this journey. 
Show me how to unlock my heart 
so that I am less selfish. 
Let me be less fearful of the pain and darkness 
that will be transformed by you into Easter joy. 


A Lenten Prayer for Monday
God of love, 
I know that you are the source of all
that is good and graced in my life.
Help me to move from the life of sin
to which I so often cling,
into the new life of grace you offer me.
You know what I need to prepare for your kingdom.
Bless me with those gifts. 


A Lenten Prayer for Tuesday

Loving God, 
You have heard my complaints, my impatience.
Sometimes I become frightened
when I move away from you.
Guide my heart back to you.
Help me to think beyond my own wants
and to desire only to do you will.

Thank you for the many blessings in my life
and for the ways I feel your presence.

Worship Wednesday

The Second Week of Lent

Wednesday

God of Love, 

through this Lenten journey,

purify my desires to serve you.

Free me from any temptations to judge others,

to place myself above others.

Please let me surrender even my impatience

with others,

that with your love and your grace,

I might be less and less absorbed with myself,

and more and more full of the desire

to follow you, in laying down my life

according to your example.

high five for friday

1. If you aren't a crazy blogger like me, you might have not known that as of yesterday Google Friend Connect (GFC) was discontinued for all non-Blogger blogs. See that blue JOIN THIS SITE button over there (scroll down a bit) ---->>>

What does that mean? If you don't use Blogger (Google's Blogging Platform), then Google users (G+ or gmail accounts) can't follow your blog through those accounts. Why did it go away? Well, because Google+ replaced it. This-in my opinion, is just Google trying to shove Google+ down our throats.

To be honest, before I was a blogger and just a blog reader, I had NO idea what GFC was. I always subscribed via email or in Google Reader. Everyone on Blogger obsesses over their GFC numbers, when really its just another button for people to push. When you hit that button, new blog entries go into this black hole of weird Blogger reader space. No one really uses that. Seriously. I am considering getting rid of GFC on my blog. I know many bloggers who have, just to get rid of a useless stat. If you like my blog and want to stay connected., I would suggest subscribing by email or in the reader of your choice.

With that all said, what are your thoughts? Keep in mind, clicking FOLLOW in the top left hand corner of the page does the EXACT same thing as JOIN THIS SITE. So you still have the option of using Blogger's reader.

2. Speaking of stats, I had a record month. Thanks to YOU! My bounce rate has decreased significantly! It is actually right where I want it! I also had 88,000+ page views with an all time record of 10,000+ in ONE day! You are all such a blessing and show me that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing.

3. My aunt text me this week asking me how her friends could subscribe to my blog. That made me very happy. It is really nice to have that kind of support.

 

4. Things only sisters can understand.

5. A Lenten Prayer for Friday

Creator of my Life, 

renew me: bring me to new life in you. 
Touch me and make me feel whole again. 
Help me to see your love 
in the passion, death and resurrection of your son. 
Help me to observe Lent 
in a way that allows me to celebrate that love. 
Prepare me for these weeks of Lent 
as I feel both deep sorrow for my sins 
and your undying love for me.

tuesday things

Hey, friends! How are you? Ok, a few things today! 

1. I realized I never posted about my change in sponsorship status! Whoops! You can find all the details here, but quickly, I am now charging for ad space. I will no longer be accepting swap sponsors. I have some very reasonable rates for monthly ads. You DO NOT have to be a blogger to advertise with me. Own a shop? Scentsy consultant? Want to advertise a service? You can do that here! I am on track to hit 100,000+ pageviews this month and I have some prime real estate for you! 

2. Mad man Tony Horton just about killed me last night....in a good way. He lives in my TV and he makes me workout. It's glorious. 

3. Pinterest inspired nails! Dark plum with a chunky glitter top coat.

And now, continuing with our Lent tradition:

A Lenten Prayer for Tuesday

Father of my soul,

Mother of my heart, 

I know your love for me is limitless beyond imagining. 

You care for me as a loving parent. 

Through my smallest Lenten sacrifices, 

help me to become less selfish 

and more aware of your ways. 

Fan the flame of my desire 

to draw ever closer to you. 

Guide me to seek your love.

A Lenten Prayer for Monday

Hi, friends! If you are participating in Lent, how is it going? As you know, I have given up sweets and negative words. I shared this story on Facebook this weekend.

Loving God,
you call us back to you with all of our hearts.
I feel your call for me deep in my heart
and I know you want me back
as much as I want to return. 

Please, Lord,
give me the wisdom to know how to return.
Make my journey back to you this Lent
one of grace, forgiveness and gentle love.

A Brag on My Husband & A Lenten Prayer for Friday

My  husband was out of town last weekend for a race. While he was gone, he picked me up a little gift! A Mistura watch! He owns one, I have a smaller purple one, and we eve gave our pastor one as a gift for marrying us. 

Mistura Watches are based in Dallas. They are all handmade from South American wood. This one has a beautiful multicolored face. Those flowers? They are REAL.

I'm in love with it! Perfect for the warmer weather (oh wait, we never had a winter)!

A Lenten Prayer for Friday

Lord, 

I know how much you love me. 

It’s hard for me to feel it sometimes, 

but I know your love is always with me.

Help me to use your love as a way 

to persevere in my Lenten intentions. 

I am weak, but I know with your help, 

I can use these small sacrifices in my life to draw closer to you.

A Lenten Prayer for Thursday

A fine prayer from this great Lenten resource at Creighton University

Lord,  
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from you, be inspired by you.

I long to be closer to you.
Help me to remember that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies you in some way.

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
"Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer,"
but now my longing meets your love and I want to do it now. 
Help me to rely on you for help.

The prayer asks you that I reach perfection.
Please, Lord, remind me that "perfection"
isn't the crazy, "successful" way I try to live my life,
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My "perfection" might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking you to help me accept them.

Heal me, Lord, and help me to find you in the darkness of my life. 
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel your hand and love there to guide me

Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.

I will be honest. Before I was actively in the Word or around anyone who was a frequent church goer, I had NO CLUE what Lent was...or (if I'm going to be really honest) what Easter was all about. Embarrassing, I know. At least I'm honest with you all.

And really since I have accepted Christ into my life, I didn't really get Lent either...

This year I decided to do my research, read, pray, and decide what Lent was all about. I did. And I decided to actively participate this year.

Lent is a time when Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

For the next 40 days, until Easter (Sundays don't count) I will be fasting from 2 things. 

• Sweets. This means cookies, candy, cake, pie, ice cream....you get the point. 
• Negative words. I will speak blessings upon my life and those of others. 

These are 2 things I struggle with (sweets since I was pregnant) and through much prayer and discipline I hope to overcome them! 

It probably goes without saying, you will find much of my Lent experience here at Feeding My Temple.

Some dates to take note of: 

• February 22 - Ash Wednesday
• April 1 - Palm Sunday
• April 5 - Maundy (Holy) Thursday
• April 6 - Good Friday
• April 8 - Easter Sunday

Will you be participating in Lent this year? What will you be fasting from? Many of you shared via Facebook and Twitter some interesting choices! 

Fear

Chocolate

My Sweets (favorite)

Television

Soda

OH! In case you were wondering, I'm not Catholic. :)

A Psalm Reading For Ash Wednesday

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgement. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;* therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right* spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and sustain in me a willing* spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt-offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God* is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Worship Wednesday plus Some

HI! How was your Valentine's Day?? Mine was spent with a sick bambino!

 

But not without flowers hand delivered from my husband! 

Love them! He always goes to my favorite florist for them. :) I am blessed. 

With Valentine's Day over, I wanted to thank everyone again for participating in the Find Some Love Fest. It was so much fun and I hope you all found some new blogs and inspiration. I heard some great things from YOU, the participant about how much you enjoyed it!

Our number one viewed link was the Messy Bun Tutorial from Kaleigh Hamilton!! 

Coincidentally, I JUST found out Kaleigh is from Oklahoma!! YAY for Okie bloggers! (Ok, yay for all bloggers.)

 I wanted to ask about your interest in a possible spring time link up? I personally can't wait for Spring and would love to see what you have planned for the warmer weather! If you have any interest in co-hosting or participating, please leave a comment below! 

Aaaaand, lastly...enjoy the Yahweh from Hillsong United! Worship Wednesday, folks!

 He shall reign forever. 

Worship Wednesday

I recently started another YouVersion reading plan: ESV Study Bible. Day 1 was killer. There were three verses to read and the one below was the first one. It really spoke to me and honestly, had a lovely calming effect...or maybe that was the ocean sound sleep app I had playing on the iPad. I am so weird.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2  a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;3  a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;4  a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;5  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;6  a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;7  a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;8  a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Have an outstanding day, friends. 

Worship Wednesday

(source)

give.

I'm sharing, with permission, something that we should all be focused on this Christmas. Christmas has a different meaning than it did when I was a kid. I celebrate Christmas. The birth of Christ. As a follower of Christ, I have been commanded to serve as my Savior did. What better way to celebrate Christ's birthday than to do just that. As soon as I read this, I adopted a boy the same age as my son.


Acts 20:25 NIV "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"

The following was originally posted by Hollie Takes Notes. 

I'd been thinking about helping a family out for Christmas this year and playing Santa since September. Yes, I start thinking about Christmas EARLY! As it got closer to December, I kept thinking how I'd love to participate. Yet, I had a thousand and one reasons that kept me from actually doing something about it. It was on my to-do list. Honestly, if Jamie hadn't written a post on it herself about how EASY it is to give in this day and age I don't know if it would have gotten crossed off my list. Jamie passed on a link to a JC Penny program that lets you pick a child in need in your area, gives you a list of what they need, and what they are asking Santa for. They will also give you FREE shipping straight to the Salvation Army. All you need to do is use the address provided to you with your angel number that links to the kid you chose! They will email this to you after you pick a kid.

Not to mention, almost everything on JC Penny is ALREADY marked down. However, you don't have to use JC Penny. You can also purchase your gift elsewhere.

I've always loved kids. I was a big sister in the Big Brother Big Sister program in San Diego for a year. I would drive an hour away every Wednesday to hang out with my little sister for an hour. Okay, AND to beat kids in handball. Yes, they would line up to play me. Even the kids not in the program. And no, I didn't just let them win. I'm not that good of a person ;) My little sister came from a "disadvantaged" home. She was one of six kids, and her mom worked at Pizza Hut. I can't imagine trying to feed, clothe, and provide for six kids on that income.

My little sister inspired me to want to help more kids. After looking at the MANY kids in my zip code that needed a Christmas, I chose a five year old boy who was asking for a tent. Uh, what kid doesn't deserve a tent?! I was a tenter myself as a kid, so I picked him. I got him this sweet pimped out Disney Cars tent with a tunnel attached, some pj pants, and a fleece pullover for under $50. If you can't afford $50, that's okay. But if you can afford $25 and you're a thrifty shopper, imagine the smile you could put on some kids face. Even something small could be something huge to someone else. A smile that might not have been there on Christmas morning if it wasn't for you.

Even if you can't participate, spreading the word could lead to more kids being "adopted" because of you. That is help in itself! I was really passionate and excited about helping my little friend and somehow got EIGHT other kids adopted through friends and friends of friends. This may have been the greatest contribution back I've done this year. It feels good to know Christmas will be better for eight more kids. Kids don't understand why Santa didn't come if they were good...and hell, Santa came for me even when I was bad.

Think about it. That's all I ask. And maybe tell someone.

Interested in adopting an angel? Click HERE!

Psalm 109:4 {Worship Wednesday}

One of my many reading plans on YouVersion is the Active Word Daily Devotional. I haven't been doing great with my reading plans recently and I really need to work on that. I know my relationship with the Lord is not based on how many days I have missed my reading plan, but more times than not, they provide prayer and thought provoking view like the one below.

I preface this by saying, I am in NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM looking for sympathy when I share this with..well, the world. I have found more and more in my adult years that I really don't "fit in" any kind of group of people. I find myself as the outsider, the joke, or just plain fool. I have shared before, that I desperately want and pray for a good group of girlfriends. Christ minded women and mothers who are walking though life the same way I am. I group to lift each other up, not judge. That's hard to find with women. Really, it is. Women are mean...and dramatic...and catty. One of my consistent prayers with God is one in which I ask for a friend. Really, just one would be enough.

Since diving head first into blogging, I have met some of the most amazing women. I do feel like I "fit in." Women bloggers just want to be themselves. We don't fit in an about me box, we need a whole corner of the internet to express and share our lives. I have met a few women that really do "get it." This gives me hope and quite honestly, something to look forward to.

In the times (past and present), I don't fit in, don't say the right things, or learn I have become a source of hatred, I hope to remember Psalm 109:4.


Psalm 109:4

4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,

but I am a man of prayer.




When you pull back and look at Psalm 109 in its totality, it becomes painfully clear that it's one of David's most heart-breaking compositions. Obviously, he wrote it during a time of unparalleled difficulty and distress, when everything that could possibly go wrong did. Maybe it was when the sting of Ahithophel's betrayal was still fresh, or on the heels of some unrecorded conflict. Whatever the exact circumstances were, they took David to the brink of his breaking point.

And yet, there's a star that shines through all this darkness. Notice that in this state of extreme misery, David gave himself to prayer. All around him there was nothing but heartache, and so he looked up. He looked in that one direction, the only direction in which he could trust there would be a loving heart to receive him.

Sometimes, our lives parallel David's. Our enemies are multiplied and threaten to utterly overwhelm us, and even those we trusted betray us. We're attacked from every angle, except one: from above. The avenue of prayer is still open to us and unlimited resources of God's love, joy, peace, wisdom, and faith are made available to us.

When our lives seem to be racing out of control at breakneck speed, prayer is the brake that saves us. We need to use it. We need to do as David did and give ourselves to prayer when the battle appears hopeless and the floodwaters are at their highest. Don't surrender or roll over in defeat. Don't succumb to the rising tide. Dig deep, call out to God, pray! Take advantage of the one avenue that is and always will be open to you no matter what. 

Hearer of our hearts, may we always and ever pursue the pathway of prayer to You.

When you pull back and look at Psalm 109 in its totality, it becomes painfully clear that it's one of David's most heart-breaking compositions.

How Great is Our God {Worship Wednesday}

I know...its a long video...


In other news....I was featured by these lovely ladies! I really love the blogging community. I have met so many friendly people. :)

Prayer Donor {Worship Wednesday}

I literally just came across something that can and will change the world.

Scott Williams was a campus pastor at a branch of our church that we were a part of for a few years. He has since moved on to other things, but I regularly read many of his posts. Yesterday he shared an organization that's sole purpose is to unite the church and the world through prayer, PrayerDonor.org.

Through their site you can share your own prayers and pray for others all around the world. This is a great reminder of the power of prayer. The power that we most often promise others, but then forget to follow through with that promise.

How many times have you told someone I'll pray for you, only to go right back to your self absorbed life. Me? Too many to count.

I have decided to donate my prayers. Please join me!

Luke 18:1 "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."


Prayer Donor from Matthew Sloop on Vimeo.