Craving. Calvinism. Christmas. Huh?

Great title, right?! Don't worry. Those three do not combine.

Christmas in July?...:

All right, dear friends. I have a confession. Please remember not to judge or chastise me for my personal preferences. I have always been a HUGE fan of Christina Aguilera! I do not know her as a person, but I don't think we would be friends in the "real world". I think our extra curricular activities may differ, and maybe the only thing we have in common is that we're both females...? Maybe? I dunno. Anyway, I LOVE her as a musician and I think God has given her an unbelievable talent!! I was in a 'Tina mood while on my walk yesterday, so I flipped on over to my artists page on my ipod and scrolled down to Miss Aguilera. Throughout my fabulous walk, jammin' to her powerful voice, a Christmas song came on! "This Year" (listen to it now) came on, and I just love that song, so I continued listening to it. A few minutes later, another Christmas song came on. Before I knew it, I pulled my ipod off my arm and scrolled back til I found the whole Christina Christmas Album (which is really good, by the way) and I listened to that the rest of my walk. I felt jolly and cheery and full of Christmas spirit! Needless to say, I was in a holly jolly mood :) Sometime today, whip out your Christmas tunes. Some of you absolutely refuse to even think about Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. I typically start playing that joyful music November 1st, but this year I suppose I'll spread it out and start listening in July :) You know you want to join me.

This was the cleanest picture I could find of her...come on, Christina. Keep yo clothes on!

Filthy/Greasy/Delish/Tempting Craving: Oh my goodness, you guys, I think I am now a little bit stronger of a person than I was about an hour ago. I was running errands a this morning and my last errand was to FedEx. I happened to be there a little before lunch time and my tummy was yelling at me and I was a starvin' Marvin! Guess what was right next to FedEx? None other than one of my new favorite fast food joints: Danvers. I was craving a fatty, cheesy, bacony, greasy, thigh-enlarging burger! Walking back to my car, all I could think about was a burger. I could smell them. I could practically hear the grease crackling on the fryer! I could taste the salty, fatty, French fries! Did I give into my craving? .....no :( .... Did I want to give into my craving with everything within me?! Hecks yes!!! I had to quickly jump into my car and get the blazes outta there before I made a 1,500 calorie mistake!! Jamie and I are trying our darnedest to lose the newlywed poundage, so I just said no. So, I came home and had a spinach salad and a piece of coffee cake. Lame. But, I am a stronger person for having resisted the devil, I mean a cheeseburger. What do you crave?

I wanted one of these more than I wanted a free pass to Disney! (almost)

Calvinism:

Last Sunday at church, Brother Steve did a sermon on Calvinism. Let me tell you somethin'. I was lost the whole 55 minutes that he spoke. I had heard of Calvinism before, but I had never learned about it. I'm not joking. I sat there beginning to end of his sermon with a big fat question mark lurking over my head (similar to the Arby's symbol when people are thinking "Arby's" I was thinking, "huh?") I was stressed and frustrated that I wasn't understanding what he was talking about. So yesterday, I called my oh-so-wise dad and asked him about it, and we had about a 40 minute conversation about the sovereignty of God, free will, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, and so forth. I would go into detail, however, I do not feel confident in my new knowledge of the topic. Feel free to listen to Brother Steve's sermon here. Ya know, I am so unbelievably grateful that I have a dad that I can call anytime to ask about spiritual questions and theology and what not. In my mind, I think that everyone has a dad like mine. Surely everyone has a lovely daddy that they can call anytime to talk about God and our faith, right? Not the case. I am beyond blessed to have that kind of dad. Thank you, Dooda for being the greatest dad in the world! I'm so glad that I can call you whenever I have spiritual questions regarding scripture or God or anything :) You're the best!

Me and my Dooda (This is not my everyday attire. I was in Varsity Revue--a show at OSU)

Quiet Time:

Day #2 of the Devotional in the back of my book, "Unshaken".

Scripture: Ruth 1:19-22 (read it here)

-When Ruth and Naomi arrive in Bethlehem, how are they received?

-What is Naomi's attitude? Whom does she blame for her misfortunes?

Scripture: Ruth 2:1-3 (read it here)

-Describe Ruth's plan to take care of her mother-in-law.

-Who owned the field where she worked? Who was he?

Scripture: Ruth 2:8-13 (Read it here)

-What did the landowner offer her and why?

-What is Ruth's response?

*Find God's Ways For You:

-When you are faced with life's misfortunes or even the everyday "calamities," how do you respond?

-Whom do you blame? Why?

-Do you identify with either Ruth or Naomi? Why?

Scripture: Ephesians 6:7 (read it here)

-Ruth accepted the circumstances that had placed her in a humbling, subservient position. What does Ephesians 6:7 say about serving?

*Stop and Ponder:

-Read Ephesians 6:7 again. What kind of servant are you?

-What did I learn? I learned that sometimes when I am in a position that I wish not to be in, and I'm called to serve, I tend to get this high and mighty attitude that causes me to grumble and moan. I get very selfish at times, when in reality, I need to serve enthusiastically and wholeheartedly just as Ruth did. Not for man, but serve for the Lord. I could really learn a lot from Ruth.

Have a stellar day, you guys!

PS--I forgot to post this yesterday, so be expecting another post later in the day :) Love you!