"Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart." ~Ecclesiates 5:19-20
I know I am the optimist, but if I'm honest, my heart has been feeling a little heavy-laden lately, which can be a challenging way to feel in a season where the “festive-holly-jolly-joyful spirit” almost seems to be a standard, what is to be expected from all, like one is weird if feeling anything less than that. So maybe I am weird... but I have been experiencing a legitimate sadness due to 1.) being personally scathed by the dysfunctions of this world, but also as an empath due to 2.) taking on the load and sharing the burdens of others scathed by the dysfunctions of this world. Yet, when I look around, it is as if the heaviness intensifies at the sight of the many others around me beaming with Christmas joy and holiday cheer. I am not a grinch or against those people. Often times I am one of those people, but then there are other days the burdens I'm carrying make it much more difficult for me to join in. I am left feeling as if "I am on the outside looking in", as if something were wrong with me? as if I were alone? Am I? When I go through spells of sadness like this, I sure do feel like it.
In actuality, I know I’m not alone. It is just that the weary and heavy-laden tend to isolate and/or stuff their feelings, as opposed to unloading and talking about things with people. Well, not all, but I am definitely no exception to that. It can definitely be hard for me to be transparent about my hardships and the negative emotions that come with them them, especially during the month of December, not wanting to put a damper on anyone's spirit or "rain on their parade" so to speak… but maybe I should. Maybe we all need to welcome it and feel welcomed to be dumpers when it's our turn for a hard day. I don’t mean for the purpose of throwing pity parties or ruminating too deeply on dark themes for too long, but just to acknowledge to one another what we’re actually going through, sparing us from slipping into isolation, and allowing for opportunities to find comfort and support in one another. That sounds God-glorifying enough!
I am reading the book of Proverbs right now and this is what it says about good friendship (and other verses about staying in fellowship with one another and not isolating):
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - Proverbs 17:17
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:24-25
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. - Proverbs 15:22
# Goals .
we were made to support one another in this way! Okay, pep-talk to myself, over. 😝
I know Jesus is a perfect friend, and He and His word are there for me when I feel no one else can be, but in today's blog post I want to share with you my next greatest source of comfort that I turn to in hard times, MUSIC! In fact, as the title of this blog post alludes, today I'm going to share with you more specifically, the top 10 favorite song of mine that I have been turning to lately when the "going gets tough". I swear I have been listening to these songs on repeat for the past couple months now! I hope you enjoy them and can find them to be as edifying and encouraging as I found them to be. I praise God for the creative singers, songwriters, and composers, He destined to write such beautiful hopeful, and life-giving songs. They revive my soul.
I am sorry to say, I am so old-school though. I know most people use Spotify these days as their main music listening source. I do not. Just below, I will include youtube links to all the songs. If you discover any you like then you can go ahead and add them to YOUR spotify playlist! (I'm afraid I am finding it to be true, the older I get- you can't teach an old dog new tricks! 😆) I know they are not Christmas songs but I still hope you can find refreshment through them and are blessed!
LCDancewear is excited to announce that for the month of August, 50% of all dancewear proceeds will be going to Cordell & Savannah Huyard and their YWAM (Youth With a Mission) mission endeavors.
Called to giving their all connecting people to Jesus both locally and throughout the world, this amazing couple is currently attending a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Tyler, Texas with the intention of joining the soon-to-be established YWAM Lancaster as full-time volunteer staff.
Support LCDancewear and the Huyards today! The following ready-to-ship ballet skirts are ten dollars off! It's a win-win for everyone! Shop below, and www.shoplillyscreations.com for a greater selection. Click below to get shopping! 😉
Since our nation's lockdown began, has anyone else gotten really good at making food last? I mean, I think I've mastered the art of grocery shopping once, no more than twice, a month! I will admit, I actually have years of experience when it comes to this practice, but let me explain!
During my former years in Mississippi as a trainee with Ballet Magnificat, I didn't own a car. Not being a car owner was no problem in the days I lived on Miami Beach where everything was walking distance, but let me tell you, in the city suburbs of Jackson Mississippi, that was not the case. But of course, ya girl had to get groceries and eat, so thanks to my servant-hearted housemates I often was able to hitch rides to the store with them. It is within my nature to hate being an inconvenience to others and often times I felt like begging people for rides was a nuisance so I did my best to limit my "begging" to once or twice a month trying to catch my housemates in an instance when they already were planning on making a grocery trip for themselves anyway. I had to do this for two years and got pretty good at it! To pull it off, I first made sure to stock up on a good number of non-perishable food items. Pasta and rice, saltine crackers, canned fruit and vegetables, frozen meats, peanut butter, cereal, and poptarts were among some of my regular purchases. My housemates could testify to it! My blog post, Grocery Haul- Quarantine Edition, features other nonperishable items that are easy to stretch and tend to be staples in my diet. But fresh foods have always been a must too which is what I will be covering in this blog post. I would like to share with you the tips and tricks I have on how to make produce last a long time. I wouldn't have been about to get through the quarantine without them!
#1 Make strawberries last longer by:
After washing your strawberries, increase their shelf life by two times longer by placing them in an egg carton to keep them from touching each other! I first saw this online and was skeptical about it. Then I saw a friend on Facebook vouching for this method so I had to try it for myself and now I'm a believer. I never used to buy strawberries because living alone and single, it had always been a struggle to eat my produce fast enough before spoiling, especially strawberries, but now this new hack changes everything! You have to try it for yourself!
#2 Prevent bananas from turning brown:
Bananas emit chemicals into the air turning themselves brown and often accelerating the ripening process in other fruits too. One hack I learned to mitigate the emission of these chemicals is to wrap the stem of your bananas in cling wrap!
#3 Prevent apples from turning brown:
Squeezing some lemon juice onto your cut apple slices will help them not to brown. Hardly affecting the taste of your apple, the thing I noticed most was the delicious freshness.
#4 How to keep celery crisp:
Upon cutting up your stalk of celery into smaller pieces, keep them stored in a Tupperware or other container submerged in water to aid with keeping them crisp. This practice is often done with carrots too! Fact: It is said that glass containers are better for storing food but don't worry! I have yet to make the upgrade to glass myself (It's on my wish list!) I want to reassure you that if you don't have any Pyrex or Anchor Hocking glassware, fear not, plastic will do just fine.
#5 What to do to keep spinach fresh longer:
To help make your spinach and other greens for that matter last longer, include a couple paper towel squares in their storage containers to soak up extra moisture. keep the paper towel squares fresh and replace when necessary.
My paper towel is pretty ratchet looking. Must be time to replace, but with pandemic ya know...
BONUS!
#6 Avocados not ripe yet? Do this to speed up the ripening process:
Did you know if you store avocados in a brown paper bag and leave them on the counter for a couple days they will ripen faster! Try it!
#7 Prevent water from boiling over:
I discovered this magic trick from one of my housemates years ago and it has revolutionized the way I make pasta! Put a wooden spoon across the pot you are cooking pasta in to prevent it from overflowing, then sit back and relax!
#8 How to open a difficult jar lid:
I learned this trick at the ice cream shop I worked at in my early 20's. It was always so hard to open up that big air-tight sealed jar of cherries. My fingers could barely grasp around the circumference of the metal lid. My boss taught me if you bang the edge of the jar's lid against the edge of a counter and ding it just right then enough air would be released out the side of the jar allowing the lid to pop right off! Truth! Another way to release air from the jar is to simply stab a hole into the lid using a knife (kids don't try this at home 😋) but only if you plan on using all the contents of the jar, otherwise the lid will no longer be effective in keeping the contents fresh.
You learn new things everyday!
Do you know of any other kitchen tricks of the trade?
Complete this blog post by sharing them with us in the comment section below!
Slowly but surely we are starting to see light at the end of this dark tunnel, the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. Mandates are lifting and businesses are slowly opening back up here in the United States. Some people think too soon. Only God knows. And as people are yearning to return to "business as usual," we all know that in these unprecedented times it is going to take time for things to get entirely back to our old normal, if at all even possible. Hopefully our nation will come out of this stronger and more knowledgable.
One thing I do know is that unfortunately, it is still going to be quite some time before gyms, schools, and fitness centers will be opening back up, at least here in Pennsylvania. I know dancers are getting frustrated with their slippery, unsprung floors, low ceilings and ceiling fans, zoom sessions with poor reception and crackly music, but hang in there! Dance is such a means of escape and expression for all of us so keep dancing!!! Keep praising!
Today I wanted to treat you all to a ballet class, on the house, in the house. 😂 I hope you enjoy this 45min. Intermediate/Advanced ballet class including combinations at barre and a little of center.
"Those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
- Challenge Day Five . 3 Meals a Day . Scavenger Hunting . -
Hi everyone! If you're stuck at home looking for something entertaining to do, let me tell you about this fun photo scavenger hunt activity I participated in this weekend over Facebook. My friend Marissa hosted and put this activity together for our young adult church group, Sola of Crossway Church of Millersville, and I had an ABSOLUTE blast participating in it! It took me nearly all day to complete the photo scavenger hunt, which believe me, in this case, was a good thing! It cultivated some nice social interaction for us which during this quarantine was refreshing for me, and stirred up some fun healthy competition in us too.
If you are looking for a fun way to pass the time, a photo scavenger hunt like this would be easy to replicate whether hosted online or just done live in-person with your family or a group of friends! If you go the online route, the most important rule is "No using images from google (or any other websites) for your submissions" because that is cheating! So get a bunch of light-hearted, enthusiastic, competitive people together to participate and I nearly guarantee you a good time. It was so fun coming up with creative ideas for my own submissions, and then to see the diverse entries submitted by others. You can make your scavenger hunt prompts as creative, elaborate, and silly as you would like. Look down below to get an idea of what we did, and to see my crazy creative entries!
2. "Something from the 1970's" -The song, not the iPod!
The picture I am most proud of and hopefully, Julie Andrews would be too!
3. "Recreate a scene from the Sound of Music movie"
4. "A fish" -This fish was from my door tag my first summer camp away to the Miami City Ballet School in 2008!
It's sentimental!
5. "Find the word ocean"
6. "Something floating"
7. "A bell"
8. "An animal with four legs"
9. "Picture of breakfast, lunch, or dinner"
10. "A bug" I felt like a genius with this one. With my apartment being spotless due to having much time on my hands to clean it because of quarantine I thought, "How ever am I going to find a bug in here," until I came up with the idea to open my window and use the light to attract some! I just didn't expect the bug to be so BIG!
11. "A flower that is not yellow"
12. "The book you're currently reading"
13. "A quarantine hobby you have picked up or are improving upon"
14. "Your favorite mug or cup"
15. "Recreate a work of art" -I had this one in the bag...
16. "A street sign that starts with a vowel"
17. "Write 'Hi!' using objects found in or near your house"
18. "Build a tower out of any objects. How tall can you make it?"
19. "A mushroom" - I don't like mushrooms so this is the best I could do.
I'm actually pretty proud of this one.
20. "The strangest item in your house" - My old box tv from Highschool.
It is covered in gum wrappers and fruit stickers
21. "Something related to Christmas"
22. "A spiderweb"
23. "Draw Micky Mouse"
24. "A yellow shirt"
25. "The oldest coin you can find" - A 1928 US Indian Nickel!
Now it's your turn !
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30- Day Challenge
My Daily Challenge: Eat three meals a day.
My Daily Prayer: "The verse from 1 Corinthians 6:19 comes to mind which says our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and motivates me to want to take better care of myself. Lord God I acknowledge that my life and my body are gifts and I want you to be glorified through them. Ultimately my health is in your hands, but I pray you will help me to make wise and responsible decisions regarding how I take care of my body, and more specifically right now, with what I eat. Help me not to neglect eating, but to nourish this vessel because I know it honors you."
The Approach: Already somewhat enforced by the meal planning I've done earlier this week, so just sticking with that.
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