Prayer Works

My aunt had emergency surgery a week ago, on Monday. She had a staph infection in her hip, and the doctor had to go in and remove her hip replacement in order to remove the infection.

The doctor who performed the surgery is actually a member of our church. He is a great Christian man who is known to be extremely meticulous in his work. My aunt went into surgery, and she had been in there for a few hours when my mom got a call from our youth pastor.

He was just calling to check in with my mom about an upcoming ski trip, and he was shocked to hear she was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. He immediately jumped up and drove up to the hospital to wait with her in the waiting room. When he got there, it was my mom, my great-aunt, and my grandma.

They chatted for a few minutes, and then Gezer, my youth pastor, asked if he could pray for the surgery. He said he felt led to pray, and he was hoping the others would join him. They of course said yes, and he prayed.

Now, my great-aunt and my grandma are not religious people. My grandma goes to church every so often, but my great-aunt rarely goes. They bowed their heads to pray with him out of respect, and they thanked him when he was done.

Just an hour or so later, the doctor finally came back with news of the surgery. He said that because her hip replacement had been done 14 years ago, the technology had greatly changed. He really struggled to get the hip ball replacement to come out. He said he used all his tools, and he thought he was going to have to stitch her back up and try again the next day with different tools.

He then looked up and asked "did you all pray for me while I was in there?" My great-aunt and grandma sort of looked up in surprise, and Gezer said "Yeah, we did pray for you."

The doctor then looks at all of them and said "I knew you did. I could feel it." You see he was just about to give up, when he felt God leading him to try one more time. He attempted to remove the hip ball one more time, and at that point, it just popped out; no problem.

I don't care where you are in your walk with God or what your views on prayer are. I know it works. I know that prayer is powerful. It's our one direct line to the God of the whole universe. I know I don't utilize it the way I should, but after this powerful reminder, I know that I will never take my prayers for granted.

The Monday Blues

Do you ever get the Monday Blues? Or is that just me?!?! I often feel like the weekend just flies by, and come Monday I am never quite ready to go back to work. I have compiled a list of things I do to make my Mondays better and more enjoyable.


1) Take some time on Sunday to prepare for the upcoming week. For me, this means meal planning and prepping, putting everything into my planner for the week, getting any laundry done, and doing a quick sweep-clean of my house.

Doing those few things on Sunday make Monday go so much smoother. I feel like I can wake up Monday morning, and I don't stress about all the little things because they are already taken care of.

I also try and take the last few minutes on Friday afternoon to make sure I have everything wrapped up for Monday. Believe me, there is nothing worse than heading into the office knowing you have a project looming over your head. Your weekend and your Monday will go much better if you just get it done on Friday.

2) Spend a few minutes in the morning doing something for you. For many, enjoying a cup of coffee is the best way to start Monday. However, I am not a coffee drinker. I like to take a few minutes in the morning to watch a fun youtube video (makeup and hair tutorials are my favorites) or spend a few minutes playing with my dogs.

I think that spending a little quality time on yourself makes Mondays more bearable.

3) Listen to positive, uplifting music in the morning. I don't typically listen to music while I am getting ready, but I do listen to it on the commute to work. My favorite station is K-Love Christian Radio. I always feel more refreshed, clam, and relaxed when I start my morning with positive music versus listening to the local hits station. Find a radio station or Pandora station that works best for you!

4) Get a workout in!! Exercise is the best antidepressant there is. Take some time on Monday to get a good sweat session in. I love doing the Beachbody workouts, but find what works best for you. Maybe you enjoy a hot yoga session, or perhaps you love a good spin cycle. Whatever it is, do it! Never miss a Monday.

5) Treat yourself. You made it through a Monday. Give yourself some credit because sometimes Mondays are just plain hard.

Tell me Ladies,

What are some of your tips to make it through Mondays?

What kind of workouts do you enjoy best?

30 Day Challenge

I feel like I have been a broken record over the last few weeks, but I just can't help it! I have been listening to Christian Radio exclusively since the beginning of the year, and I can't even begin to tell you the impact it has had on my life.

I have found some amazing Christian songs, and I get overjoyed every time I hear a new song. I swear that they only play songs that relate to my life and what is going on that day. It is amazing how God uses something like music to have such an impact.

Like I have said in past posts, I listen to K-Love Radio. It has contemporary music plus a mix of news, verses, and even short little sermons. They have a challenge where they encourage you to listen to only Christian radio for 30 days, and then look back to see if had a positive impact on your life.

Well I can attest to this challenge being worth it! I know it sounds so silly, but it really has changed me. Here are my top five reasons for listening to Christian music:

1) It starts your day with encouragement, positivity, and peace.

I am a firm believer that music impacts your mood. If you constantly listen to sad, depressing or angry music, you will start to have those same feelings. The same goes for if you listen to positive, encouraging music. It just helps to lighten your mood and start your day on the right track.

2) It is filled with words of wisdom and Biblical truths that relate to your everyday life.

I have found so many songs that seem to speak directly to me. I constantly find myself writing down phrases or lyrics that I find to impact my heart. Not only do they relate to me, but they give me peace and often times a new perspective on situations in my own life.

3) Christian music gives you the chance to worship God.

As you sing along to these songs, or even just listen to them, you are worshipping God. We are to spend our days on earth praising God and sharing His truth. I think of the fifteen minutes it takes me to get work as a fifteen minute praise and prayer session. By listening to Christian music, I am able to spend a few minutes praising God for who He is and what He has done for me.

"Sing unto Him, sing psalms to Him, talk of all his wondrous works." I Chronicles 16:9

4) God requires us to keep our minds and spirits pure.

In 2 Corinthians 7:1 it says, " Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

God demands us to stay away from anything that will contaminate our body and spirit. I think that applies to music as well. God doesn't want us to pour anything into our minds and lives that don't bring us closer to Him. I hate to say it, but there are not many secular songs that wouldn't be considered contamination to us.

5) It sets us a part from the rest of the world.

"Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." - Romans 12:2
I was thinking about this topic today. In a random conversation, I was saying how typically Mormons' are known as being good people who are trustworthy, kind, and full of love. I think it is their religion that plays such a huge role. However, I don't think that most Christians have this reputation, which breaks my heart.

God calls us to be a light in this world, and in order to do so, we have to stand out from the crowd. I am starting to see my role in the world as someone who's every move points back to Jesus and His truth. In doing so, I am living out my life for His will rather than my own.

That being said, I think I have to listen to Christian music as a sort of testimony of my faith.


Tell me below…

Do you listen to Christian music?

What are some of your favorite songs?

Linking up with Amanda

Oh How Pin-teresting!

I am a lover of Pinterest! I have been using the website for a year or so now, and I love being able to find recipes, ideas, and inspiration so quickly. I have found myself utilizing it more and more over the last few months…possibly because of the move!

I thought I would share with you a few of my pins from the last week or so. You will notice a trend. I pin a lot of food and a lot of decorating items.

Are you like me and pin a million things but then never actually utilize them?!?! I have made it a goal to make at least one recipe a month from Pinterest. Might as well get some use out of the website considering how many hours I waste looking through it each night!!

So here are a few of my favorite pins!

Don't these green beans look to die for? I think that green beans might be my favorite veggie of all time and when you add in garlic and bread crumbs, it is a 10 in my book



Yum! I can't wait to try this one. I think it sounds so refreshing and good for you!



I have been looking for some snacks that are healthy and tasty to take to work. I find that at about 10am and 3pm I start to get a little sluggish. I need a little pick-me-up, and I think these energy bites will do the trick.



I love crockpot meals. Throw all the ingredients in and by the time you get off work you have a meal!




I have taken a break from teacher mode the last year as I have worked up at the district admin office. I am planning on applying for teaching jobs for the 2016-17 school year, and this scavenger hunt looks just like something I would use in my classroom!



I mentioned yesterday that I would like to start bullet journalling. I think it is a great way to stay organized and keep everything in one place. I love that pinterest helps me find websites and blogs to try out new things!





Tell me below…
What are some of your favorite types of pins?
Do you have any pins that have turned out to be huge successes?

Linking up with Jessie.

Tuesday Talks #2

- - I was so excited for Grease Live on Fox the other night! I missed it Sunday because of a church commitment, but I was able to watch it Monday after work. I absolutely loved Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, and I think Julianne Hough did an amazing job as well. My only critique was them adding the new song that Frenchy sang. I just didn't think it worked.



Vanessa Hudgens absolutely killed it in this song. You have to watch it!!


- - I can't wait to head to the Caribbean in less than a week. We are going on a cruise with my some of my family, including my 89 and 86 year old grandpa and grandma!! My grandpa told me he wants to go zip-lining! How great is that? I hope I have that much energy and spunk when I am his age.

- - The best part about blogging is getting to read and meet new people. I have found some fun new blogs that I now read on a daily basis like Glisten Fit, East Coast Chic, and Small Things Blog.

- - Have you ever heard of Bullet Journaling? My cousin introduced me to it, and I think I might give it a shot. I love how it allows you to have one journal where you keep everything.

- - I need a new daily devotional to get me back on track. I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I highly recommend anything he has written. Anyone have any suggestions for a new one?

- - Since moving into my new house, I have just been using Apple TV rather than getting cable. I was kind of worried that I wouldn't like it as much because as much as I hate to admit it, I love watching tv. However, there are so many apps and so many shows I can watch with my Apple TV that I don't think I will ever get bored.

- - My sister is having her baby shower in a few weeks. She has the cutest light pink, grey, and white theme for the baby's room. She has added a few elephant accents, and it came together amazingly! I just can't decide what to get her for her shower. My sisters and I were thinking of going in together to get her a newborn baby photo shoot.

- - I keep reading about all the snow days that people had last week after the huge storm on the East Coast. I am so jealous! I was thinking back to all my years in school, and we never once had a snow day in Montana. Sometimes recess had to be held indoors if it was below 0 (which happens a few days every winter).


Ok this post has turned into a bunch of ramblings, but hey that is what Tuesday Talks is all about, right?!?

Weekend Shenanigans

I hate to say it, but I don't typically do exciting enough things over the weekend to report back to you all on Mondays. However, this weekend was a little bit out of the ordinary and full of excitement!

Friday Night…

I started out by participating in our local Big Brothers Big Sisters "Bowl for Kids' Sake" bowling night! If you haven't heard of Big Brothers Big Sisters, this is a non-profit program that pairs community members with children who could use a positive mentor. They then meet with their "little" once or twice during the week to do fun activities. It is an amazing program that gives students in need a positive role model.

So a team of friends and I put on our bowling shoes to play a few games! The fundraiser use to be set up where people would pledge to pay X amount of money per pin knocked over. Over time, this way of fundraising kind of went out the window, and now people just ask for donations. I always said that people would love to sponsor me the old way because they would only end up donating a few dollars!!

I am proud to admit that I bowled one game over 100…it was 114 to be exact! Regardless of our scores, it was a lot of fun with some great friends. I loved being able to support such a worthy cause.

Saturday…

I spent Saturday dinking around the house. I really made some headway on getting boxes unpacked. I think I only have three left! I also spent some time with my sister and her roommate who were in town for the weekend. We shopped a little bit, ate way to much, and just enjoyed our time together. 

One of the stops we made was to Hobby Lobby which just opened in my town about six months ago! It is my new favorite store, and I can't wait to head back there to get a few more things for my house. I will have to do a haul of everything I get there when I'm done.

Saturday Night…

My aunt was in town from Seattle so we decided to head over to the local Bingo parlor for a real night out on the town! :) We have gone to the Bingo parlor a few times, and it is always a blast. You end up playing about ten different games throughout the night. My younger sisters and I just crack up every time we are there….I could tell you a few funny stories about the events that take place there!

There are about ten ladies who are regular customers. I wish I would have had the guts to take a picture of their tables because they are quite hilarious. The ladies bring all sorts of good luck charms including trolls, pictures of their grandkids, and a plethora of dobbers!! 

When we decided we were going to go play, my mom thought it would be funny to find a few trolls to put out on our table as a joke. She went to a few thrift stores in town, but she wasn't able to find them. After a few games and no one at our table winning, she decided to get out her own good luck charms. 

She proceeded to pull out about ten lipsticks from her purse and line them up. We were laughing pretty hard at how many she had in there!

My grandma decided she could one up my mom. Look at what she pulled out of her purse!!

Needless to say, we were laughing pretty hard at that one. In fact, I was laughing so hard at my grandma that I played the whole next game with only one card when I had two! I didn't even realize I was missing a card!

Sunday Night…

I spend every Sunday night with some amazing young girls at our church's Awana program. I love working with the 3rd - 6th grade girls! We always seem to have a fun time.

This week we had the girls review some of the verses they had learned over the course of the year. I really want to encourage the girls to learn these verses for life not just for the week. So for every review verse they could say to their leader, they were able to put their name in a bucket for a chance to play "Pie in the Face"!

The girls were so excited, and a few of them were able to say nine or ten verses! Four lucky girls got the chance to play Pie in the Face. I wish I would have been able to get more pictures, but we were having to much fun!

I think this is a game we will have to bring out again soon!

Have a great Monday!

Linking up with Biana, Erin, and Katie.