on being half dressed

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10 - 17

I pretty sure I leave some of my accessories in the closet most mornings.
Walking into the day half dressed and not at all ready to face the world.
I go into battle unprepared and God has to bail me out....every time.
I fall for these schemes of the devil over and over and over.

doubt
fear
worry

I believe the lies

"you aren't good enough"
"you aren't pretty enough"
"things will not work out"
"He won't take care of you"

And when I know that I failed the most is when I forget that there is even a battle going on and I get caught up in the failing promises of this world. 
All armor is lost and I stand bare and vulnerable, lost in a hopeless place. 

But His grace always, without fail, finds me.

How do you combat the schemes of the devil?  Do you wear your full armor?

called for His purpose

And we know that to them 

that love God

all things work

together for good,

even to them that

are called according to his purpose.

 Romans 8:28

Every day has a purpose......
there is hope at the end of the winter
there is love in the faces around you
there is beauty in the simple moments of life
there is purpose in you, every day

giving up or just giving

this idea of lent was new to me in college
as my college roommate gave up cheese and I thought she was crazy (love you, Martha)
But the more I've learned about Lent, the more I love it
Why wouldn't you want to be closer to God, closer to Jesus
Why wouldn't you want to prepare for Easter
I don't know that I have ever been prepared for Easter
It gets me every time
cold chills and tears
He gave his life for ME! for ME! 
He took those beatings and hung on that cross for me....
I'm never ready for that

I have tried to give up Mountain Dew...like 5 years....and I failed over and over
But this year I have really thought about what to give up and what it means to give up something for more than just Fat Tuesday, for some months actually
and the idea that whatever I gave up needed to be about Him and not me
maybe I should give up Facebook (because I spend way too much time there)
maybe I should give up my Kindle (because I read way too many books)
maybe we should all give up tv.....(is this supposed to be a punishment)
maybe I should give up meat.....(????)
maybe I should give up coffee (that thought doesn't last long....no one would like me then)

what keeps me from God?
what stands in my way of worship?
what stands in my families way?

what if its not about giving up but just giving
giving Him glory
giving Him worship
giving Him conversation
giving Him time

giving others grace
giving others forgiveness
giving others Jesus

so for the next 40 days
i'm just giving.....stuff, love, time, forgiveness, whatever God ask of me
isn't that what He did
He didn't give up anything
He was just giving........

"When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”" Matthew 27:5