Perfectly Patti

As you know, I've been trying to eat healthy and lose weight.

Yeah...that crap's not working.

'Sacrifice' is a word we sometimes would rather avoid. 

We see sacrifice as a negative. 

But I've been thinking about that, and how the people for whom I sacrifice most, I tend to love the most. So, do we sacrifice for God? 

What does that sacrifice look like? 

These are questions we have to ask ourselves, and only we can answer. 

Let's talk about it!

Do you ever feel guilty after church?

You compare yourself to everyone else in your congregation?

They're all perfect and doing everything right.

You're just you; flawed and forgettable.

I've been feeling this way a bit lately, and I don;t think it's helpful.

I wanted to talk about it and see if we can help each other through our guilt at not being as great as we think other people are.

We're all broken.THAT'S NOT A BAD THING!I wanted to share some thoughts today about our perception of being 'broken.'We think that once your broken you're worthless.Nothing is further from the truth!Let's dig in and change how we look at ourselves and the shattered pieces we carry around...

How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? Is it because we went to school and studied a lot? Is it because we know the lineage of everyone back to Adam? Is it because our parents and grandparents told us it was true? I want to talk about this today, and how we can gain a spiritual confirmation of the truth. For me, this is the most important thing in my life. Let's talk about truth, and how God confirms that truth in our hearts. 

I found my teenage journal this week and I started reading through it.If any of you have journals from that age, you need to read them because mine was painfully hilarious!I had no idea how boy-crazy I was!It got me thinking though about how I looked at the world at that age.My own kids are eerily similar to me, and now I've gained a few insights I'd like to share.

 I have a goal to drink more water. Yes, I know that's a lame goal, but it beats drinking soda and helps me lose weight! Anyway, I've found myself...cheating on that goal. How do you cheat drinking water?!? I could write a book at this point! So, how do I not cheat on my water goal? Well, I've learned a few things this week that I think could help all of us with stuff like this. What are they? Let me tell you! 

 Where do we turn for peace?Is it Netflix? The evening news? Facebook?I've been thinking about where I go for peace, and I realized that often times I'm looking in the wrong place.That had me reading in the New Testament and I found something I've heard hundreds of times, but it hit me differently today.Let me share it with you! 

I hate cloudy weather!It really has an affect on me.Just this morning I woke up to more dark stormy weather and it put me in a mood.My husband definitely noticed!It got me thinking about choosing joy.Can we choose to look past the darkness and see something more?Let's talk about it!

This week I was reading in the Old Testament in the Book of Hosea.This is a really interesting book, as it talks about a woman who left her family, and how her husband takes her back.The entire thing is a parable of Christ's love for each of us and his infinite Atonement.It's got me thinking a lot, and I wanted to share with all of you.Let's talk and uplift each other!