Bring It On

 The fun things about this outfit:

Dress & Sandals- Target, Belt - Thrifted, Shirt & Bracelets - HandMeDown, Necklace - Free

So I love the rain and all (Yay Oregon), but when that summer-time sunshine shows

it's long lost rays, I'm ready! I love that, in the heat, I can toss a dress on and

somehow look like I put way more effort into my attire than if I wore a jeans/top

kind of combo (which for the record, I'm running out of original combo's there).

So bring on the sun!

Bring on the dresses!

And I guess, bring on blogging on a regular-ish basis again!

The verse I have for you today is important. I'm not the best at memorization.

(Flash back to every high school test I broke a sweat during)

I mean, I've had some really bad lyrical mistakes that I'm still not sure I'll ever live down.

I only know a handful of movie titles or actor/actress names. 

I think I know a total of 6 people's birthdays without the help of good 'ol facebook.

So... when I decided I wanted to memorize some scripture...

let's just say it exactly how it is. 

It Did Not Happen.

So I've enlisted a friend, who jumped at it when I asked if she'd be my

memorizing buddy. And below is where we are starting! Feel free to join!

And now, I guess,

Bring on the Memorization.

1 Corinthians 10: 12-13

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, 

and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation 

he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Fire-In-The-Belly

 The fun things about this outfit:

Scarf - from Basque Country, Sweater - HandMeDown, Pants - Old Navy (gift), Shoes - Target

Have you ever reached one of those moments when you realize something that you used to be passion-as-all-get-out-about somehow lost some steam along the way? Or at least your focus somehow got blurry for a bit? 

I'm not sure about you, but in the seconds when I come to this astonishing shock I generally feel like I'm a failure - like I've let someone down - and like hope is lost to ever have the fire-in-the-belly I used to have about it.

About four and a half years ago I made a commitment to follow named Jesus.

I had a whole new outlook on life. Some strange new view of hope and joy shone a light on everything. I'm not playin people. I had road rage instantly disappear. (I know that's silly, but it was a silly way that He showed me I had hope.) 

But let's be real. Life is busy. Life is hectic. Life is distracting from the fire-in-the-belly.

Recently, as I've been spending time reading the Word and spending time with friends having great conversation, I'm realizing I need to stay focused. The burning love I had for Jesus in response to his burning love for me in 2009 should not fade or be back-burnered because I get busy. It should be the motivation and to my business. It should fuel my interactions with others. And it should be factored into why I put what I put on my calendar. 

Do the activities I choose I'm involved in point others to Jesus? 

I mean... I should ask myself that question every day. Because I might love doing this, or love doing that. I might enjoy this person or that friend. I might pat myself on the back or enjoy having someone else pat me on the back. But did I do it because I love Jesus and want Him to shine?

Jesus is better.

(I love this video. Check it out.)

Philipians 4:19

And my God will supply every need of yours

according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Back to the Blog

The fun things about this outfit:

Pants - Old Navy, Sweater - Thrifted, Shirt - 2ndHand, Boots - Nordstrom, Bracelet - 2ndHand

I'm Baaaaack!

Words cannot gather all the thoughts that are running through my head to summarize my trip to Basque Country. It was wonderful! God is really amazing! I met some great new people, saw some incredible things that I never imagined experiencing, and walked way more in 10 days than my legs and feet thought possible.

All I keep thinking of is that God does things I don't expect all the time. He uses people in ways I don't expect. He puts me in places I don't expect. And He opens doors before I even see that they exist!

Looking forward to sharing a few pictures soon!

Matthew 5:14-16

 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

5 Things {A Few Randoms & A Cruise Worthy Dress}

The fun things about this outfit:

Dress - Target uber Sale, Bracelet - Old Navy ($2), Shoes - Ross

A few randoms to share with you.

1. I know how to spell "Navy"... But every time I type it I have to correct it... 

I always type "Nave"

Lame life of a fast-typing-terrible-speller.

2. This dress makes my dream to one day go on a cruise somehow magnify by 1,000%.

Now I have something cruise-worthy to wear!

3. It saddens me that nothing in this outfit is thrifted.

Who have I become? Summer what have you done to me?

4. YES! I still do Crossfit!

5. This week is flying by much tooooo quickly...

And not quickly enough, all at the same time.

I need more of Jesus today! That is all.

1John 2:1

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

A Sweet Smell

The fun things about this outfit:

Tank - Hand-Me-Down, Shoes - Ross, Pants - Banana Republic (before my thrifty days)

Necklace - Hand Made, Large Bangle - Free

So, I don't think I'm quite back in the swing of things yet, after being gone for a week.

I feel like I'm doing things at weird times, or like I should be doing something else.

It's always weird to jump back into "life as you knew it" pre-vaca.

I will say this for myself though. I cleaned my house from top to bottom yesterday.

Pretty pumped to come home today to this sparkling gem. 

(Ok, it's a basement, but let's be positive here!)

Also, I'm realizing that even if I'd paid over the moon monies for these wedges, it would be worth it.I have worn them pretty much 3x a week since I bought them. So, I'm just sayin...

It makes the $20 price tag look Aw-mazing!

I thought I'd share the below verse with you because for some reason I've come back to it several times over the past week.

You know that thing people do when they walk into a room and it smells so incredibly amazing that they have to pause. They literally tilt their chin up, and take a big nose filled inhale, followed by a gust of wind exhale. 

Can you imagine that being someones reaction when they interact with you? 

They are so taken-aback by the amazing feeling when they're around you.

They want to engage in conversation. They want to become friends!

What a magnificent charge to be called to! To give off the fragrance of God.

I wonder how I do at this each day?

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

He is GOOD!

The fun things about this outfit:

Shirt - High School, Jeans - Buckle, Shoes - Ross

Ok, I'm so grateful for the ladies who took over last week here on Patterned Love! 

The week at camp with 16 amazing teenage girls was just that...Amazing! 

I'm excited to say that a few girls made a decision to start following Jesus.

In their decisions it reminded me every moment of the impact Jesus has made in my life.

There is in fact newness after destruction.

There is fresh air and light where darkness once strangled me.

There is never ending hope where bitterness once grew.

There is love that has replaced hatred.

Jesus truely makes me new each day! And while I know that many would rather keep compartmentalized, I cannot. This is, most days, a daily outfit recording blog. But I cannot seperate my loves and my passions into tiny boxes. They need to be interwoven in my life and always overflowing into each other! And Jesus is the first on both of those lists. My first love! My deepest passion!

His love never gives up.

It never runs out.

Ephesians 4:17-24

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding,alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way youlearned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

See Ya Later

The fun things about this outfit:

Pants - Thrifted & Skinnied, Bracelet - Hand-Me-Down,

Shirt - Hand-Me-Down, Shoes - Target, Earrings - Nordstrom

Ok so this is my last July post. Next week will be filled with the wonderful & the fabulous ladies who have agreed to fill in for me.

Where am I going?

C.A.M.P.

That's right! Myself and one other female leader are taking 17 glorious high school girls to camp today. I leave at 11:30 and will be utterly unreachable! 

It's so crazy to detach from the world as we know it for an entire 7 days. No cell phone... even if we wanted to, no service. No TV. No Movies. Just rocking it semi-resort style at the most legit Younglife camp ev's. We get to do things like racing go carts, high ropes courses, 50ft swings, play in the lake, the pool, and the blob. We get to spend incredible time with each other rock climbing, bike riding, messy-war-ing. And although I'm scared of height, I'm not a huge fan of water, and I'd rather my hair stay clean it all leads up to one thing each night. My favorite of all... we get to talking about Jesus!

So Give my girls some love next week while I'm gone! 

And if you think of it, lift us up in prayer!

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.