Do I stink?

This was part of a blog that I actually wrote to "my girls" when I was in fulltime Student Ministry in Rome. I ran across it tonight and thought I'd share. I needed this reminder today to let my life be a little more smelly! :) Maybe you can use the reminder too!

Do you ever wonder sometimes if you smell bad and maybe you ask a really, really close friend, "hey, do I stink?" Crazy is the friend who actually gets close enough to smell! (but a good friend in deed!) We've all been there and done that, and thankfully, we have those friends that are willing to use the power of their noses on our behalf.The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:15 that as Christians we produce an aroma. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." Let me explain this verse a little better for you. When we choose to share the news of Jesus, it's good news to some and bad or "stinky" news to others. To other Christians, the smell is sweet. To non-believers, we probably stink.

I've decided that in a spiritual sense, if I stink to non-believers, then I'm probably doing my job as a Christian as far as sharing Christ with others goes. This is not a "stink" like "I need to take a shower" stink. What Paul is saying here, is that if we are sharing our faith like God calls us to, non-believers are going to eventually being smelling the smell of death. And in this particular scripture, death means hell, or life without God. So the stink that non-believers smell is their own death. Non-believers have to recognize their need for Jesus before they will accept Him. You and I as Christians will be the ones to show them this need by telling them with our words and with our actions. We may smell really bad to them for a while - but that's the point! When something smells repulsive, you are going to try your best to get rid of the smell! Once non-believers realize that this smell can only become sweet is by having Jesus in their lives, our "stink" to them was all worth it! Maybe some of you are in that place where you have got to take care of that stinch, and now you know the only way to do that is by having Jesus in your life. If that's the case, please find out how you can do that! Contact me and I would LOVE to walk you though that. For those of you that are believers, do you stink? 'Cause you should to some people!

Have a good day!
Mere

Weekend Fun!

I'm so thankful for weekends! This one was much needed seeing that work is insanely busy right now at the good 'ole Allergy and Asthma Clinic (tis the season!). My family hosted a baby shower for my sweet cousin Stacey yesterday afternoon. We had a great turn out and she was showered with much love and lots of sweet gifts for baby girl to be! (they're keeping the name a secret!) Continue to pray for Stacey and Baby Girl. They had a little scare at the beginning of Stacey's pregnancy, fearing that the baby was going to come WAY too soon. With surgery and total bedrest, Stacey is still pregnant and due in June. God is so good and I was so thankful to hear yesterday that the doctors think the baby weighs approximately 4.5 pounds now! I have been so reminded of Psalm 139 this weekend - being reminded of my Creator, of His sovereignty and of His tender care in forming each one of us.

I had a fun night last night with my friends Chad and Heidi, their two crazy-fun children Alex and Olivia, and my new friend Jonathan. Heidi is working her "matchmaking skills". She's definitely got "skill"...there's no question about that. :) Time will tell if "matchmaking" is a calling for her! (Thanks Chic!) I got some much needed rest today, spent some sweet time with the Lord, and just had some time to think over a lot of what's going on in life right now! I needed that! I finally feel ready for a new week. Hope you all have a good one!

Sweetness...

We had a baby shower yesterday afternoon for my cousin Stacey and I just couldn't help but share these pictures of the sweetest little baby boy in the world...my nephew, of course! I'm amazed at how quickly Luke is growing and how he continues to capture my heart more and more each time I'm with him. He has such a sweet spirit about him and truly is such a joy to be around. I can't get enough of him! I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for this precious little boy. He's still working on saying "Aunt Meredith"...but it's coming...I just know it!
Is that not the cutest little "toothy smile" ever?!?

Gotta Get It!

I'm a big music fan and once again, I've found a CD that has yet to make it out of my car's CD player since the day I purchased it about oh...a month ago! You know that's some good music when you can tolerate the songs over and over again for that long. Steve Fee...Burn For You
I like it....a lot!

Much needed reminder today...

...God can be trusted. (with ALL things!)

Meredith's Get Fit Journey - Take 3...Wimpy Weights!

I cannot tell a lie! This has certainly been one of the tougher weeks I've had in my "get fit journey". It's not necessarily been a bad week, just a tough one. We always find reasons to celebrate at work...birthdays, work anniversaries, you name it - we'll bring in a cake! So, needless to say, this was a week of many celebrations and lots of really bad food. I didn't go over my daily points, but I still ate lots of things that just made me feel "gross" yet somehow tasted so yummO at the time. I have had some really good workouts the past few days though and am back on track! I've been using my weights more often and am really beginning to notice a difference. I usually only use them in a workout video that I do at times if I can't get outside, but I've been taking them with me when I go on my walks/jogs, and enjoy it. I call them my "wimpy weights" because as you can see, they're only 2 pounders. But hey, something's better than nothing, right? I did a little reading on the benefits of lifting weights and here's the top ten reasons from one website I ran across: 1)Weight lifting helps lose fat. 2)You feel strong and fit. 3)You have more energy. 4)You'll finally see the results. 5)You won't get bored. 6)You have a stonger back. 7)You can train at home. 8)You can get rid of pain. 9)You have everyday, functional strength. 10)You build stronger bones. So, there ya have it! Oh, and an update from my last GFJ post...jumping rope is INSANE! When I was a kid, I could've jumped until the cows came home. As an adult, those cows ain't never gonna make it home! :) My advice for this GFJ post...set small, realistic goals that don't sound or look completely overwhelming. For instance, my first weight loss goal was 15 pounds, then 30, then 50, etc. Sure, I have an end goal in mind, but making smaller goals along the way has been so helpful for me personally. And not to mention that I get to reward myself each time I reach one of these smaller goals! My reward for my next goal of 75 pounds...pedicure with the girls! Hang in there and have a super week!

"I Can't Breathe..."

I can't tell you how many times over the past few weeks I've heard that statement..."I can't breathe...". Being that I work in an Allergy and Asthma Clinic, it's a statement that doesn't catch me off gaurd...especially this time of year when the pollen is so bad and the weather is so unpredictable. Our poor asthmatic patients have it pretty rough this time of year. I was tending to a sweet ederly man yesterday morning - a man who truly should have probably been at the hospital instead of our office because he was struggling so. It was one of those situations where I could literally feel myself start to have a harder time breathing just from watching him try so hard to get a good deep breath of air. As I was preparing his second breathing treatment with the hopes of seeing some reversibility, the Lord spoke to me. You see, I often have a hard time remembering what it was like to not have Christ in my life. I accepted him at the age of 7, so He's been hanging out in my heart for quite some time. I find myself at times asking the Lord to remind me of what my life was like before I knew Him...even that He would just allow me to imagine what my life might feel like now, were I to not know Him. I ask Him to show me these things so that I can keep ever before me the urgency of sharing Him with others. He did just that yesterday. I imagine that people without Jesus in their lives surely at times feel like they just "can't breathe". They don't have a Sustainer, a refuge, no One to take all the "gunk" out of their lives so that they can live in freedom and breathe easy, knowing that they have a Savior. Instead, they live in defeat and with a feeling that they'll never quite be able to "get to where they need to be." Does that make sense? I was reminded of this song yesterday by Mercy Me. It's called "Coming Up to Breathe".

"I'm in way too deep. I've forgotten how to swim. I can't tell which way is up or down. Save me before I drown down here. I just need some air. I'm coming up to breathe. Oh, I'm coming up to breathe. I've held my breath for all my life. But I am breaking free tonight. And I'm coming up to breathe. I just need to break these chains. I just need to leave this place. Before now this was all I knew. But with just one glimpse of You I see You're the air I need. I've done everything I can to get myself up on dry land. Lord, here I am again. Reaching for Your hand."

At times, even having Christ in my life, I can still feel this way. That the world just drains me and I need to get out from underneath it. But I've realized that I can't get out from underneath it on my own, but only with His power. Not only do I desire to help people physically breathe better, but I want to help those whose hearts are falling apart all because they haven't realized that He is the air they need.

"Thank you, Jesus, for sending that sweet man my way yesterday so that You could remind me that people need You because You truly are our Sustainer and our Life Giver. Help me show people that "can't breathe", how to."

Incredible Night of Worship!

Some of my very best friends, Jeremy and Christen, were in town for the weekend for the Passion '08 Conference. They are Student Pastors in Jasper, AL and they brought several of there college students to ATL for the conference. I was fortunate enough to join them for the last session of the conference last night...and wow! Wow! I haven't experienced worship like that in a LONG time and I've missed it. I treasure my personal time and worship with the Lord that I get to have each day, but I truly love corporate worship and God was Mighty in our worship to Him last night! He was very personable to me in a way last night that I needed. He encouraged me, humbled me, showed me very specifically things that I need to be doing in His Name that I'm not, loved me, and assured me that He's not done working in my life. I love those times of refreshment and sweet reminders from Him! Thanks, Jeremy and Christen, for inviting me to join you guys last night. It's ALWAYS so good to see you and spend time with you. Lots of love! Christen, Jeremy (Jemimah), and Me

Meredith's Get Fit Journey - Take 2...Jumping Rope!

Finally! As of today, I'm officially down 70 pounds! Last weigh-in I was at 69.2 and at today's weigh-in I had a loss of 1.2 more pounds, bringing my total to 70.4. Pretty exciting. I rewarded myself by indulging on my fav...a Tall Java Chip Frapp from Starbucks...YUMMO! (with whip cream) It was the best! I've been looking for ways to "spice up" my exercise routine. I love to walk and am learning to like jogging, but sometimes you just wanna do something different. Why not try jumping rope? It's actually a pretty inexpensive way to jazz things up. The one seen below only cost me $1.98 at Target today. I haven't tried it out just yet, so I'm not certain of the quality of it...I'll get back to you on that! I'm interested to see how this goes for me...I'm not the most coordinated creature to ever walk the planet so be praying for my safety. :) I'm only 4.6 more pounds away from my next big goal of 75 pounds...wow! God is SO SO SO good! His strength is perfect in so many ways. My advice for this entry of my GFJ is this...find out what works best for YOU and stick with it! There are so many great tactics out there for losing weight, but not all of them are going to work for the same person. Weight Watchers works for me, teaching me how to balance eating healthier along with exercise. Don't be afraid to try out several different "tactics" (healthy ones, of course) and once you find the one that works for you, keep at it! Stay tuned for the next GFJ post...

"Shout to the Lord!"

Ok, so I will readily admit that I'm an "American Idol" fan. This truly is the only television that I watch, so I don't feel so bad about it. Something that just made my day was that they ended tonight's show, which was the "American Idol Gives Back" show, by singing "Shout to the Lord". I have to say that this was a surprise to me as I'm sure it was for many of you who saw the show. I loved it!...but was nonetheless surprised by it. I would love to have heard the conversations that took place as the finalists prepared this song. From the looks of it, I think some of them already knew the song before tonight. But what if some of them didn't?!? How cool is that? I love that I serve that God that they sang about tonight!!

Great Start to a New Week!

Hey Sweet Friends!
Hope you've all had a good Monday! My week has started out nice and at a much slower pace than last week did. The county is out on Spring Break this week so my guess is that many families are traveling to much more fun and exciting places other than the Allergy and Asthma Clinic! I had a good week - lots of fun at the Baby shower for Jim and Amanda on Saturday and a good day yesterday. The Lord taught me a lot through the story of Jonah yesterday that I will share in a future post.

I've decided that I need to make some "new connections" with people around me and that I need to be intentional about this. I used to do a really good job at this and have been a little slack lately. Everytime I go to walk/jog at the college, there is this very young, very pregnant girl that walks alot as well. I want to meet her. I want to learn about her. I want to hear her story. Pray for me as I work up the courage to do these things.

My little "Doodle Bug"...or Luke, is out of town this week on his first little beach vacation. That's right people...I'm going to have to go a whole stinkin' week without him. Be prepared to console me as I go through those painful withdrawals. I hate those!

Hope you all have an incredible week! Will post more later!

Wow...what a week!

Life always seems to be busy (for all of us I know), but this week has seemed extra busy in my world. My body actually aches right now from the craziness of it all...kinda like a 2 year old girl's little ragdoll would feel if she had feelings, I think. Just worn out and the fact that I'm a little under the weather with the beginnings of a cold and low grade fever don't help the situation too much. Spring has officially begun and with it have come droves of people to the Allergy and Asthma Clinic. We saw SO many patients this week...definitely the busiest week since I started working there 9 months ago. I experienced my first patient passing out on me this week and I must say that this is something I desire to NEVER happen again. I was doing a blood draw on her and, bless her heart, the poor girl was already worn out when she came to see us because she had been in the hospital all weekend. Not a super fun situation for either one of us. But long story short, I managed, with the amazing help of the Lord, to remain calm during the whole ordeal and the girl ended up coming back to pretty quickly. I definitely prefer calm over emergent patient care. That whole situation, though it truly couldn't have gone more smoothly than it did, kind of unnerved my whole week I think! Can you imagine the things the Lord has reminded me through it though...i.e, that as humans we really have control over nothing! :) What a week! On the more pleasant side, I lost another 3 pounds this week...this was a two week weigh in total because I missed weighing in last week. Whoohoo!

I'm helping to give another baby shower tomorrow for some of my best friends Amanda and Jim. It will be a long, yet fun day and I truly am looking forward to it. After a little sleep....

Hope you've all had a good week!