Blessings by Michaela Noelle Designs

Can you believe it is Friday?! I don’t know about you, but I plan on soaking up this beautiful 70 degree weather! But before I get ahead of myself I want to introduce you to my sweet friend Michaela of Michaela Noelle designs. This girl was blessed with a serious gift for interior design and a passionate heart for people. If you don’t live near her in sunny California, you’re in luck because she even does virtual interior design. Her blog is another must read!

 

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Hi Beyond Blessed readers! I’m Michaela and I’m thrilled to be here sharing some things I’m thankful for today!

 

 

When I think of all the things I’m thankful for, I’m overwhelmed.  The fact that we don’t even deserve life, and yet God’s mercies are new every morning, continues to blow me away.  His grace; undeserved and freely given.  His love; so deep, we will never be able to understand it.  Our talents; only given to us by God to bless others.  My sweet family and friends who I am forever grateful for; God placed each one in my life for a specific reason and at the perfect time.  Here are a few other little blessings:

Cute new boots for Fall.

Creative minds that inspire and challenge continually. 

Baskin Robins ice cream 🙂

The very rare minutes of the day when our puppy is sleeping and calm. 
The promise of Isaiah 41:10

The colorful change Autumn brings to our neighborhood.

 Friends who love Jesus and keep me encouraged.
 My friends and family’s health.
 God’s perfect timing and being reminded of it time and time again.
Freshly baked banana muffins.
A new love of cooking up little things in the kitchen.

Lavender nail polish.

Thanks for having me, Chloe!

xoxo

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Cultivating Thanks by Katie of Hope Engaged

Happy hump day! Ladies and gentlemen, today I get to introduce you to one of the most inspiring women I have met in the past 6 months. There are few individuals in the world who have as beautiful and as pure of a heart as Mrs Katie. The Lord has blessed her with an incredible story, crazy adventures, and out of this world passion. If you haven’t visited her site yet, you must! I can almost guarantee you will become a regular follower! So without further ado, meet my sweet friend Katie of Hope Engaged…

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Hello sweet friends, I’m Katie and I am so thankful to get to guest post on Chloé’s blog today.

A lot has happened this past year for me.

{besides moving to Nepal, and traveling through Europe and SE Asia…}

I was also dealing with the remnants of some anxiety and fear,

unable to count my blessings.

And yet, through my journey this past year,

I realized that a life saturated and soaked and daily bathed

in thanksgiving is what gives us a

fuller,

richer,

more peaceful

life.

And so I began to pray that God would cultivate a movement of thanksgiving

and gratitude in my feeble soul.

That it would be like fire and began to blaze uncontrollably.

It started with believing that God was good all.the.time,

because honestly Satan’s biggest lie is that God is not good.

and through a shift in my thinking,

peace came,

because ingratitude slowly began to fade away.

and I began to literally count my blessings in a pretty notebook.

it has become a love letter to God,

because he delights in our thanksgiving.

and it has been a life saver to me,

because gratitude is how we were made to thrive.

fully ALIVE. 

So I am incredibly thankful

for a life that has been changed

through lifting my hands in praise for my blessings,

instead of clenching my fists in discontentment.

Happy thanksgiving day has truly become every day!

much love,

Katie 

Searching for Adventure

Anyone else enjoying the fall? Confession- I traditionally don’t care for the fall. While the changing leaves are beautiful- the cooler weather always reminds me that winter is around the corner… And winter and I are not best friends. But this fall is a little different. The cool air blowing in this season is also blowing in new possibilities and new adventures. And the Lord is teaching me to embrace it all. This fall has been filled with laughter, dancing, hard work, joy, trials, and abundant blessings. The cool, overcast weather has been surprisingly liberating! My husband and I are rejoicing in His goodness, overwhelmed by His timing, dancing in His grace, and basking in His adventures!

Recently the Lord has been teaching me a lot about adventures. As an individual who is always ready to visit a new city or new country I have always envisioned adventure as being an act of going somewhere. But the Lord is teaching me that each day, right where I am, is an adventure. We are called to live bold, meaningful lives. And the more we embrace the lives He has given us, the more glory is pointed back to Him. Adventure is a state of heart. We must program our hearts and our minds to wait expectantly for where God leads. We must pray big prayers and wait to see how the Lord fulfills them.

So this fall we are being intentional about studying Jesus and what His life looked like. As Christians we are called to turn away from my old fleshly desires and to follow Christ- to emulate Christ (Acts 3:19). That is an adventure. One step at a time, each day as it comes. Every morning starts a new page in your story with new adventures to be experienced. In November I am choosing to look for the adventures in each day.

Has anyone had any adventures recently?

Changes

We are enjoying all of the changes this season. We are soaking up the changing weather and the work needed to prepare for the coming change in the next 6-7 months. {for the record, no, we are not pregnant}. And as a planner, I want to sit down and figure out every detail- maybe even with a holiday drink in hand. But I can’t. Why? Honestly, because we don’t know a lot of the details. This next step isn’t something we can really plan. And this terrifies me. But this month the Lord has blessed me with two specific devotions from the ‘Jesus Calling’ that sang perfectly to my heart. {Anyone else love the devo book ‘Jesus Calling’ by Sarah Young?}. The first devo came on October 6th. It began,

 “Be willing to follow… Though you don’t know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of my richest blessings are just around the bend… to recieve these gifts, you must walk by faith- not by sight.”

“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

The second devo came on October 10th. 

“Trust me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them. Relax, and refresh yourself in the Light of My everlasting Love… When you project yourself into the future, rehearsing what you will do or say, you are seeking to be self-sufficient: to be adequate without My help. This is a subtle sin- so common that it usually slips by unnoticed… rely on Me in every situation. This discipline will enable you to enjoy life more and to face each day confidently.”

“Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this: 
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
 your vindication like the noonday sun.”
Psalm 37:3-6

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19

The Lord holds our futures in His hands. What He has planned far surpasses any earthly plan I could ever imagine. We must relax and just follow. Our God is greater.

Savor September Goals

{globe :: leaves :: ablaze : bible}

Happy September!! Can you believe fall is around the corner?! While I am not sure if I am actually ready to say good-bye to summer and hello to cooler weather, I am excited for #SavorSeptember (inspired by the lovely Lara Casey). If you follow me on instagram then you have probably seen quite a few #IntentionalAugust hashtags. August was all about being intentional and while I do want to continue being intentional, September is all about savoring the moment. Ann Voskamp says “hurry always makes us hurt…hurry empties our souls.” So this month I don’t want to hurry, I want to savor every moment.

Right now the Lord is teaching me to be content where I am at. While my heart & my head think that I am ready for the next step, change, or big move… the Lord clearly thinks knows otherwise. I’m thankful that His timing is always good, perfect, and beautiful. But I would really like a little bit more of a glimpse into the future. I am overwhelmingly thankful for the little steps He has given us {& the incredible excitement we have} and the options we are seeing in the future… but I am also so anxious to see what our next step will officially be. So as I am in this season of waiting & learning I will focus on what I do know and what I can do. Voskamp reminds us that “they say time is money, but that’s not true. Time is life. And if I want the fullest life, I need to find fullest time.” This month I want to live life to the fullest and savor every moment. So here are a few of my goals for September.

1.)    Pray more. Pray for direction. Pray for relationships. Pray for a stronger desire to know/seek Him. Pray to be a better wife. Pray for opportunity. Pray for contentment. Pray for those who will surround us in our next step. You get the gist… I want to pray without ceasing!

2.)    Spend more time with others. By the end of the week I am exhausted. I know, I’m not the only one who works 8-5. But being a newlywed who still wants to spend 100% of my time by my man’s side, who works 8-5, is working towards finishing grad school, and is working on one other bit of work {exciting, but still work none the less- more to come in a few weeks!!}… life is pretty busy. But we are called to be in the world and to be intentional with our relationships. I want to spend more time investing in others. And savor that time.

3.)    Workout more consistently. Not necessarily more, just consistently.

4.)    Savor every moment. I truly believe this will help me as the Lord teaches me to be content. I almost titled this one ‘Find contentment,’ but opted to stick to the ‘savor September’ theme. My current struggle is that I yearn to be by the sea (like literally, living a bike ride from the beach) and serving/traveling/living internationally. I yearn for culture. Why is my heart overseas right now? I’m not 100% sure. The Lord has just put this incredible desire in my heart that I can’t seem to put into words. There is something bigger out there; it just isn’t that time for Him to reveal what that ‘thing’ is. Until then I must savor every moment where I am and be more then content. His timing, not mine.

5.) Be intentional with my time. When I think about time in terms of it being life (rather than in terms of time being money) I realize just how important my minutes are. If time is life, then I want to fill my time (my life) with what matters most. Jesus. Family. Pouring into others. Loving on others. Being Brave. Savoring every second. That is the life I want to live.

How are you going to savor September?