Makeover Monday's

For those of you hopping over from Makeover Monday’s, welcome! Today, I can’t help but copy a devotional I wrote earlier because it fits the theme of makeovers.

Do you ever feel unnoticed? Maybe you feel unattractive or just plain Jane? You’ve tried shopping for clothes and sporting a new hair style; however, they only content you for a while. If you are looking for a permanent change, you must learn to see yourself as God sees you. He sees you as "a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels." Isa. 61:10b

God sees you as a radiant bride. He sees a smile on your face and oodles of love in your heart. You must look to God to change the way you see yourself. Transformation happens when your eyes are on Him and not yourself.

The challenge is keeping your eyes on Him daily to find the radiance of the bride deep within your soul. If you have helpful ideas, let's hear them. You can use a helpful tip every now and then to help you stay fixed on the Lord, right?

Remember always, you are beautiful!

Reflections

WOW what a wonderful day! It was a day of church, family, rest, and supper with friends. It was refreshing. However, I’m left with this one nagging question – is there someone who I hold a grudge against and have not forgiven? The message this morning was from Matthew 6:15, “If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will NOT forgive your sins.”

That’s pretty serious business. I need all the forgiveness available from my Heavenly Father. There are those that have truly wronged me or someone in my family and they have never made it right, apologized, or asked for forgiveness. But in reference to this scripture that doesn’t matter. It is up to me to forgive them. Today, I feel as if I’ve forgiven the horrendous acts. However, I’m spending time in prayer asking God to reveal any unconfessed sin, anger, or bitterness I might be hanging on to. I don’t want to be cut off from God, His grace and mercy.

What an awesome God – He forgives! Hallelujah!

Permission to Rest

I called a friend Monday morning. I told her I was tired, toast, dry, parched and numb. You get the picture? I asked her if she could just tell me the next thing to do. I was too tired to think on my own.

She had no problem telling me what to do. She said you need three days rest! WOW – three days, I’m not even sick. I decided to heed her advice. I’ve rested for three days. Not the kind of rest where I'd camp out on the couch, but the kind where I lingered in my prayer time, read more of God’s word, and lazily finished up some articles I needed to submit. I haven’t been hurried or rushed. I’ve enjoyed each moment.

I’m so thankful my friend knew exactly what this girl needed. Three days rest. Today is the third day and I feel rested. Oh my, I feel like a new woman. I’m no longer a dry, parched soul. I’m refreshed, renewed and reenergized.

Why should I be surprised? Why didn’t I recognize that I just needed rest? I worship the Lord of the Sabbath – the Lord of Rest. Doesn’t He say, “Come to me all who are weary and I will give you REST?”

You have permission to rest, my friend. Take three days if needed, but REST.

Captured Moments

Photography tops the list as my one and only hobby. From the time I was 9 years old I’ve had a camera. For my 16th birthday my parents got me a Minolta 35mm camera and I was addicted. I’m known as the family photographer, which suits me well. I’d rather take the pictures than be in the pictures. You know what I mean?

Easter Sunday I had a ball. After a rather busy couple of weeks, it was great to just have fun with my nieces and nephews. Some of them are quite the hams (the girls) and the rest (boys) could careless about being photographed. Here’s the clan. I was able to sneak one good shot in while they cooperated for a brief moment.

The boys couldn’t stand it. They had to have a little fun.

Looks like everyone wanted in on the fun!

Happy Easter! Don't you love the colored chicks? Compliments of Nanny!

Not only was it Easter – it was my Daddy’s 80th birthday. We were all there for the day, which made it even more special. Since it is hard for my Dad to visit with people in a large crowd these days we held a Birthday Card Barrage. We contacted people to write cards. They came through. My Dad opened over 80 birthday cards from friends and family. Many people recounted special stories and times they had had with my dad. What an awesome day!

Precious moments – captured!

Tomorrow my son and I head out after school to capture more precious moments. We will be taking his senior pictures. I certainly hope he cooperates more than he did on Easter. ha

The moments pass too quickly. Make sure to capture them whether with camera or in writing. Days pass and memories fade, but a captured moment is frozen in time.

Jesus in Real Life

Don’t you love those moments when you plan, plan, and plan for something and then you finally have the opportunity to see the finished product? You stand there amazed as the end piece is more than you could have asked or imaged.

I had such an experience last night. We were rehearsing for our Easter service, Jesus in Real Life. I was fortunate enough to be on the planning team and we had spent many hours planning, praying and visualizing. God came through BIG time. Actors, actresses, band, stage hands, directors and sound guys were all on.

After the service someone came up and said how awesome it was to see “real life” on stage. They loved that we were addressing what we face in the world today. I took that as a blessed confirmation that the meaning and purpose of the service came across. Jesus in real life. Yes!

Shouldn’t that be what we are about every time our church doors open? Shouldn’t we address and talk about what we face day in and day out? Can't we talk about the struggles of living in this world, not just the struggles of reading our Bibles everyday? Shouldn’t we get real and be authentic every Sunday? Actually, every day of our life for that matter? Shouldn't we show that the church is real and alive?

Being real is being approachable. If a stranger walks in our church doors or meets me on the street I want to be real. I want them to know I struggle with the same things they do. How can I not? I live in the same world as they do.

Lord, help me become real and authentic. Bring those that need to see this service this weekend. Thank you for touching my heart last night. Thank you for services like this where we can get real, get honest, and get Jesus! Amen.

If you are in Corpus Christi come join us at Christ Point Church. You will be touched!

Easter Blessings,

America's Prom Queen

I have to admit when my daughter asked if I’d watch America’s Prom Queen (APQ) with her, I didn’t want to. I’m tired of all the reality and elimination shows. However, I wanted time with Little One so we watched.

Did you? I was surprised. It was nice to see The Princess Project partner with APQ. The Princess Project provides dresses for girls in need, which promotes self-respect and a positive body image. The 10 APQ contestants were partnered with 10 girls from an area high school and they had to help them get ready for the prom.

OK – before you gag, there were some great lessons in this program.

- Each girl was given a tiara – we wear a heavenly tiara daily because we are daughters of the King.
- Each girl was judged on her personality and spirit – shouldn’t we watch our personalities and spirits daily as women who wear heavenly tiaras.
- The judges looked at the approachableness of each contestant – those too “fake” weren’t applauded, neither were those who were self-centered.
- The judges looked for those who helped their partner look good and confident – we should all lend a helping hand and not leave our friends behind.
- One girl had to be eliminated – we will never be eliminated, nor have our tiara taken away.
- The girl was dismissed because she wasn’t sold out – we should walk daily with our heads held high, smile on our face, totally sold out to this life in Christ because He has given us an eternal crown.

Tune in next week, who knows what we can learn.

One things for certain – our eternal crowns will never tarnish!

Pep Rallies

What do you think of when you think of pep rallies? I think of great times, not only from when I cheered but also from years of my daughter cheering. Pep rallies. How can you not be charged up after a pep rally? They are designed to spur on enthusiasm and zeal in whatever arena the rally is held; football, work, political events, etc. My children even have a big pep rally before a big test at school. It gets them motivated to go and do their very best.

I consider Sunday’s a spiritual pep rally. Sunday should be a day of celebration where you come together to motivate one another and to encourage the lost soul walking through the doors of a church for their first time. A spiritual pep rally, wouldn’t that just be awesome if every Sunday was just that? Ah, come on – you know you’d love it.

However, after a pep rally something happens. You don’t just have a pep rally for the sake of having a rally. No, it is to get you fired up about getting in the game and giving it your all.

If Sunday was a spiritual pep rally then you would be motivated and enthused about spending the rest of your week giving life all you had. Getting in the game of life and getting serious about winning. Day in and day out disciplines are what win the game.

So many times though, it is easier to live from spiritual pep rally to spiritual pep rally and never attempt to get in the game. Never attempt to train daily. Never attempt to walk daily with the Lord. You just wait for another pep rally.

Nothing is ever really learned just living pep rally to pep rally. Shoot! Because I could so do that. I could live from one enthusiastic moment to the next enthusiastic moment. However, that is not the life God called me to live. It is not a real life, nor would it relate to others.

I love pep rallies, but it’s time to train daily and give life my all.
Time to tackle all those daily disciplines that will help me be all God called me to be.

How about you – could you use a pep rally?


Ready? OK!

Rah Rah Ree – Be All that God called You to Be!

May I Have the Envelope Please

It is hard to believe our party week is over. Tear, tear. Boo hoo. Whaaa! I hope many of you will continue to pop in and say hello.

All the comments from 3-7 to 3-14 were submitted for a random drawing for the free gift of two copies of Dirty Laundry Secrets – A Journey to Meet the Launderer. May I have the envelope please . . . and the winner is MomOf3 who said... It is nice to meet you! This is a nice blog. Have a fun Blog Party Week! March 9, 2008 8:49 AM

MomOf3 give me a shout at alene@alenesnodgrass.com so we can make arrangements for delivery of your gifts.

Interested in more give-aways – come on over to Makeover Monday’s. Next week we will have a guest, Dawn Ward, and she has a great give-away. Visit Dawn at In His Image. Great site.

Friends, I enjoyed having you all over. I’ve met some incredible people this week. I’ve laughed as I’ve read some of your blogs, I’ve cried, and I’ve been deeply touched by many of you, your comments, and emails. Thanks for being part of my life this week. May the Lord continue to bless you, your families and your days.

Until next year – live like each day is your last!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

18 year olds say the darndest things, too! We were trying to locate my son last night. He had been at youth group and it was running a little late. But of course, he never called. Finally, we texted him to see if church had ended. He replied back he was on his way home. I quickly began to wonder if he was texting while driving.

When he walks in the door he tells me that he gave a friend a ride home and that he had him text me back. So, being the good mommy that I am, I gave him the don’t text and drive lecture. AGAIN!

His response – priceless! “Mom, let’s have a code word. That way if I’m driving and you text me I can just text back one word and you’ll know I’m driving. I’ll type a word like . . . GOOSE! Yea, goose will be our code word.” What?

I assured him we didn’t need a code word in text for “I’m driving, can’t reply”. He never thought of just hitting the green button and actually calling me.

Goose? What in the world was he thinking?

OK - It is kind of cute!

All Those Spokes

Thank you for your comments to 10 Small Changes. You’ve really got me thinking.

The small changes I listed were things that I could implement as I went through my day to help me achieve the health goals I had set.

I enjoyed your comments because they made me mindful that when I’m out of balance, something suffers. Just like the bicycle I use to have, when the spokes got lose or warped it was not a smooth ride. When I am out of balance what suffers can be my spiritual walk, my physical health or even my family relations.

I view my time with God the hub of all my spokes. That has become the easiest priority for me to keep, only because I battled with it for so long. Self-discipline, ooooh that is tough.

Right now, I feel pretty balanced especially after adding my ten small changes. However, I know it is probably just a matter of time until I’m off center again. In my life, balance seems to come in seasons; I’ll do pretty good, then I waiver, and then crash because my spokes are out of round. Hallelujah, I learned years ago to make God the center hub. It's because of Him I don't totally wipe out.

Daily maintaining the spokes regarding my spiritual, physical, emotional and relational goals is a challenge. It does seem that some days I am out of balance. Thanks for the reminder – I’ll start looking for those loose spokes now. Anybody have a wrench?

How about you, adjusted any spokes lately?



Keep the comments coming – drawing at the end of the week, see Blog Party 2008. Also, you can hop over to Makeover Monday’s for another drawing taking place. Too much fun!

Ten Small Changes

No sloppy living. Claiming those three words for my 2008 motto has been a challenge. My spiritual, emotional and relational life balance has been good; however, my discipline for a healthy lifestyle has been poor. Urgh! Really poor, as in today was the first day I’ve been to the gym.

But I went, yea me! While I was there I listened to a lady talk about small changes. She said instead of making huge drastic changes, just change little things. She challenged us to make a list of ten things we could change right now that would make a difference.

My List of Ten Small Things:

_____Take my vitamins
_____Eat a healthy breakfast
_____Limit my coffee intake
_____No salt, fried foods, sugar, breads, or desserts
_____Eat at least three servings of green, leafy vegetables and two of fruit
_____Do not eat after 6:00 p.m.
_____Schedule tomorrows exercise into my calendar
_____Plan a healthy weekly menu
_____Exercise for at least 30 minutes
_____Drink eight bottles of water

I had to put my list in check-off form. You know how I love those check marks.

Do you have suggestions for small changes that will make positive life-long differences?

Here’s to another healthy day tomorrow.

Blog Parties and Tattoos

I am so thankful to be partying with all of you today. Feel free to browse around the site and come back to visit. I’m just your ordinary gal seeking to connect with Jesus in my everyday life as I learn to be who He created me to be. Original Party Post is here.

Reminder: Any comments you leave between March 7-14th will enter you into a random drawing for two Bible study workbooks, Dirty Laundry Secrets, written by me. Hop on over to Makeover Monday’s for another free gift drawing.

Seriously, thank you for being here today. It was a tough one in my mommy world. My 18 year old, Blake, has planned for a long time to get a tattoo. Today was the day he would be branded for life. I had to get snapshots of this flawless, unmarked arm before he left for the tattoo parlor. (He thought I had flipped, maybe I had. I just kept picturing that sweet, soft baby arm. Where did that arm go?)

What makes this tattoo special to me is that Blake designed it. Each symbol and color has an awesome meaning. I had him write me a paragraph about his tattoo and what it meant to him. He thought I was nuts! OK – I am. That’s a mommy’s privilege, right?

The tattoo has very significant meanings to Blake. He wanted to be permanently marked with Christ, just as Christ was marked for him. The cross is outlined and shaded in blue, which stands for loyalty. The Hebrew word in the middle means servant. WOW!

Thanks for popping in and out today and lifting my spirits as I’m dealing with my son growing up. I think he is well on his way to being a man; a Christian man, a Christian leader, and a man after God’s own heart.

I’m just a sappy, sentimental mom facing the facts today. Sad to realize my son is growing into a man, but thank you Jesus for the man he is becoming.

Party on, my friend, party on!

Blog Party 2008

Welcome to the party! I’m Alene Snodgrass your everyday wife, mom, speaker and author trying to connect with Jesus in my ordinary life. Please feel free to look around the site. Make sure you explore Makeover Monday’s and have some fun with us there. Leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for a free prize.

Speaking of having fun, my 18 year old son, Blake went and saw Lincoln Brewster in concert. He got to meet and get a picture with him. (Thanks Leslie for passing on the pic.) Blake was in awe! Fun, fun, fun . . .

Let’s have fun this week, but before you leave, I want to mention that this blog is giving away two Bible study workbooks to help you connect with Jesus in your everyday, busy life. That’s one for you and one for you to give to a friend. You can check out the Bible study, Dirty Laundry Secrets ~ a Journey to Meet the Launderer here.

I love having fun. Check back throughout the week and get a glimpse into this moms life as I aim to have fun daily raising three teenagers.

Get Your Blog Party On!

Measuring Up

It was TAKS day! TAKS – Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. In other words – it was testing day all across Texas. Boy, there is so much pressure on kids these days. It's sad, but if you don’t pass the TAKS - you don’t pass in school. I'm thankful the TAKS program wasn’t around when I was growing up. I’m sure my parents are very thankful too!

Today, I had opportunities to visit with moms in two different Bible studies. TAKS was the hot topic and on everyone’s mind. After a couple of conversations, I realized it is no wonder we spend our whole life trying to measure up.

When we’re born we try to measure up to family members or friends. As we start school we try to measure up to those who are more outgoing, prettier or knowledgeable. Then when third grade rolls around we are measured by a TAKS test.

If you are blessed with children who test well, today was less stressful than what other moms experienced. But for those of use who have children who do not like school or tests, rest assured it will be OK. Tomorrow is a new day. We can all breathe again.

Spend time in prayer. Encourage your children – they are precious.

Yes – they are precious, unique and incredibly made – no matter what that test reveals. Each child is gifted in their own individual way.

We all want to measure up to someone or something. Today, I’m reminded that the only standards we need to measure up to are Christ’s.

Hallelujah, Christ is the only measuring stick that counts!

My God Purpose

One of the books I am working through right now is Chazown by Craig Groeschel. It is an incredible book. Seriously, you need to get it!

I stalled out in the beginning by the intimidation of writing my epitaph. But, I did it. Yea me! To be that purposeful in my life takes such focus. I'm talking focus!

There's a plaque hanging in my office that says, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” However, I don’t want to live my purpose, because I'm good at coming up with all kinds of things I’d like to do. Can anyone relate? Today, I want to live my Chazown, my God purpose.

Chazown is the Hebrew word for dream, revelation, or vision.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

God calls me to live His purpose, the one He gave me when He created me. I’m trying, I’m practicing and I’m learning to live purposefully with His vision.

It’s an amazing journey.

How about you? Do you wonder what your purpose is or do you know your Chazown? Was it an amazing journey for you to find your purpose?

I’d love to hear about it!

An Awesome Day

Learning to just be me is tough! Goodness sakes, even when I know what works for me, I always want to change things.

This is not good. If you are familiar with the personalities, you will certainly recognize me as the sanguine I am. It’s a frustrating personality!

See, I love gifts from others. I treasure them. For Christmas friends got me journals because they knew I loved to journal. These are special journals and they are inscribed with the friends name, date, etc. But “special” journals just don’t work for me. Friends, I promise I really tried to make them work.

What works for me is wide-ruled brightly colored spirals. I know, so elementary-ish, but it works!

Also, as 2008 rolled around I figured there must be a better way for me to keep track of my calendaring. So, I invented a new system – one large calendar laying flat on my desk. Don’t ask me what I was thinking that day, but after two months – this does not work.

Today, I realized I needed to go back to the fool-proof methods I’d been using for years. I went to Office Depot and first rushed to the calendar department. Oh my – I was so excited to pick out my new refill page for my Franklin Covey planner. My leather planner is beaten-up, but I love getting new refill pages. A breath of fresh air swooped through my being as I picked out a pattern of bright colors.

Then as if that wasn’t enough, I went to the notebook and spiral section where I gazed at all the colorful spirals. I can’t even describe the feeling. Seriously, I had chills. I was in heaven! Picking out new spirals is such a special thing. Please don't go buying me a case of all black spirals as my husband did a couple of years ago. (he had found a really good deal) My journey for a new spiral is something so precious. OK - it's just plain weird, but oh well. . . it's me!

Tomorrow is a new day. I can’t wait! My planner is organized and I get to set down with my Bible studies, devotionals, planner and a NEW SPIRAL! Somebody pinch me. I absolutely can’t wait.

I love the journal gifts, but I can’t wait to crack open that new yellow and pink flowery wide-ruled spiral and begin pouring out my heart in prayer.

It surely was an awesome day!

You can’t beat brightly colored spirals and Franklin planners!