Archives for July 2013

What I Wore Wednesday 07.03.2013

July 3, 2013 by Amy 4 Comments

It’s Wednesday when I share my outfits from the week.

I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.

Email and RSS readers need to click over to the site to see the inspirational photos.

Today I have a few more outfits from vacation.

Last week I talked about how I picked up some colored shorts. Scott picked these pink ones out from The Limited last week. I love them. I saw this navy and pink combination on a WIWW post a few weeks ago so I was excited to try it.

We went out one night to PF Chang’s so I took the opportunity to wear this dress my friend Dani gave me. I felt like maybe I was overdressed but as I told my kids, “I’d rather be overdressed, than underdressed!”

Along with the shorts, I picked up the shirt and belt at The Limited too. Oh, and I love these shoes from the Nine West outlet. They are gold and sparkly and are very uncomfortable on burnt feet. Yeow!

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The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday

Sunday Style at Plane Pretty

What we Wore at Suburbs Mama

Where was Jesus?

July 2, 2013 by Amy 17 Comments

Trigger Warning: sexual abuse.

While we were in Palm Beach, we visited Barnes and Noble. I love the Christian section of the book store because it feels like my blog “friends’” jump out of my phone and onto the shelves.

I scan the authors and see so many familiar names…Jennie Allen, Justin and Trisha Davis, Steven Furtick, Jonathan Martin, Jen Hatmaker, Beth Moore, Angie Smith. I’m not really friends with any of them personally but after reading hundreds of tweets and blog posts from them, it feels like it at times. It makes my heart happy to see voices that I love online are also sitting on shelves for nonbloggers to pick up too.

As I scanned the shelves last week, I felt pulled towards a book by John Eldredge called Beautiful Outlaw. I’d never read any of his books but I knew many men had enjoyed Wild at Heart. The book’s subtitle is “Experiencing the playful, disruptive, extravagant personality of Jesus.”

I had brought Beth Moore’s 90 Days with Jesus study to Palm Beach and figured it would be a good companion read but it was more than that. I knew I was supposed to read that book.

And I did.

Friday evening there was a big storm in Palm Beach. We were inside but had the glass doors open as it poured. The lightning seemed to strike across the parking lot at times and the thunder reverberated loud over the nearby water. Scott was watching TV and I read my new book, trying not to move too much so my fresh sunburn wouldn’t sting.

I had already spent the morning in awe of God. The great expanse of the ocean always evokes such reverence and reading the first part of Beautiful Outlaw reminds you just how much you can experience God anywhere.

The storm seemed to only enforce thoughts of his mighty hand.

I came to a chapter near the end of Beautiful Outlaw called “Letting Jesus Be Himself – Encounters.” It detailed out some very specific encounters people had that were clearly experiences with God.

One in particular talked about a young man named David who had been experiencing depression. I wish I could just copy and paste the entire few pages but what happens is they pinpoint the root of his depression as shame. There had been an encounter with a teacher where he had agreed in his spirit that he was stupid and since then had never felt like he measured up.

John is describing his conversation with David and says he had David revisit the conversation and then talked about whether Jesus was there. David says Jesus was there, between him and the teacher and was facing David, as if shielding him. David was so relieved to know Jesus was there and cared. John asked him to renounce the agreement he was stupid and asked Jesus to take him out of the memory and to give him freedom.

He did and says John says David left his office that day “more hopeful, lighter, with a sense of drawing closer to Jesus than he had experienced for years.”

As I finished reading this, I bolted for the slippery tiled porch where the storm was just inches away and plopped down on a wet towel stretched across a plastic chair and cried.

I had a memory that I needed to return to and see where Jesus was.

I’m battling not sharing the full details but I sense that I need to.

I don’t have personal memories of what I’m going to describe. My mom told me about this when I was about 10 or 11. She said she had prayed that I wouldn’t remember it and I still cannot to this day recall any images from that time.

When I was just about 4 years old, I was with a male neighbor in our apartment complex and he asked me to pull my pants down for him. I apparently said no and bolted to my mom.

Even though technically “nothing happened”, I’d be lying if I said even just the thought of the question hasn’t affected me.

I learned in adoption training that children that are abused as babies may have no recollection of the abuse, but their bodies remember and the effects come out in different ways later on that lead them back to the abuse.

So I asked Jesus to take me back to that memory, or what I have constructed as that memory, and looked to see where he was.

At first, Jesus, was turned towards me and I was overcome with gratitude that he had protected me and given me wisdom and courage to run out of there. But then, Jesus was very clear that he was turning around and facing the man.

Since I don’t have memories, I don’t really know what happened but Jesus was speaking to my spirit that he was taking care of his consequences for me. I didn’t need to worry about whether the law was called or whether he felt bad or whether he ever thought of that time again or anything. Jesus was, and is, taking care of it. Of him. Of me.

I felt such overwhelming relief and peace. As I listened to the storm rage around me as tears flowed through my fingers, I could sense Jesus telling me the same power that was moving the storm could take care of it. Jesus had been there and was still there taking care of me.

Every time I recall that image now, Jesus is standing facing the man, blocking my view of him. He’s not moving, not wavering, not even glancing at me. He’s got it.

Jesus was there and even if in your situation something technically did happen, he was there and he hates it. He hates what happened to you. He’ll take care of you and can heal your heart if you let him.

Friends, this is why I love Jesus. Not because I’m scared of hell or because it’s the right thing to do. I love Jesus because he continually invades my life in a very personal way and fills in the gaps that not one other person can fill.

I write about this love because I’m desperate for others to know this freedom and peace. We do not have to live in our past with hurt and pain and defeat. Jesus came to give us victory. It’s not just about defeating death for salvation. The victories are for the very personal, the very specific, the very hidden hurts in our lives.

I don’t want to suggest that professional counseling may not be necessary. I’m no counselor or expert. Jesus just wants you to know that he revealed himself to me and can do the same for you.

Summer Vacation 2013: Palm Beach, FL

July 1, 2013 by Amy 6 Comments

Before I launch into a bit of a recap of our Summer Vacation, let me please remind any former Google Reader subscribers that 1 – I am crying with you and 2 – I switched to Feedly and highly recommend you do the same (just make sure to put everything in Titles-only mode).

If you’d like to resubscribe, here is my RSS feed. You can subscribe by email. Or, I also post all the posts to the Facebook page if you prefer that route (and I really want you there anyway). Also, if you’ve chosen Bloglovin’ which I hear is a great alternative too, you can Follow me on BlogLovin. Either way, I’m glad you’re here and I just want to help you stay.

So, on to our Summer Vacation recap. You need some personal history first, though.

When I was 7 my parents got a timeshare and we went to Disney. We stayed at a resort and wore Mickey Mouse cover-ups, got ears and rode the tea cups and It’s a Small World.

Since that year, I traveled with my family every summer using my parent’s timeshare. We’re beach people and even though the timeshare was technically in Myrtle Beach, SC, we often found ourselves on some Florida coast.

Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Vero Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Marco Island—so many fond memories.

For our family’s last summer vacation before I went to college, my parents splurged and took us to St. Thomas. It was my favorite vacation we took and I still dream of floating in crystal clear water hearing a man running down the beach yelling Cocktails. We never drank a cocktail but it was the principle, you know?

So, after I got engaged after my freshman year of college, I began taking my summer vacations with Scott and his family.

Due to several unfortunate factors, we didn’t plan a trip with his family this year so my parents planned a last-minute trip using their timeshare to, you guessed it, Florida. This time we ended up in Palm Beach, Florida (Riviera Beach, if you must be technical).

If I have my calculations round about right, it had been 15 years since I’d been on a Summer vacation with my family.

So, as I was walking into the resort, I had a bit of nostalgia of all the resorts we had visited when I was younger but also had a bit of a full-circle moment as I realized my girls are just a few years older than I was when we first started trekking to Florida.

It felt a little bit like home this past week and I realized just how lucky I was as a child and really, how lucky I was this week.

With all the stress of going into summer working and the water leak and just life, it couldn’t have been better timed. I honestly don’t know what kind of crazy person I would have been if I hadn’t driven 10 hours away last week. A time for everything, yes?

All that to say I guess that there’s a lot of rip-offs out there but I’ll be the first to say over 25 years later that my parent’s timeshare was a well-spent investment that I’m more grateful for than ever, especially this year.

I’m certainly not suggesting that a resort is the only way to relax. We have family-friends that super duper love their beach-side campground and we have loved all of our summers at a beach house rental with Scott’s family. I’m just saying timeshares can turn out to be a wise financial decision that gives back for generations, contrary to what some might think.

Every vacation is different and provides unique memories, timeshare or not, and these are a few of mine from Palm Beach.

We started off with one of my favorite memories—a $17 strawberry daiquiri—a splurge by Scott. That was one big honkin’ drink. The kids thought it was the best thing ever—probably because we’re way too cheap to do anything like that on a normal basis. All 7 of us enjoyed it.

I think it’s especially hilarious with the hat and sunglasses Scott bought the girls at Claire’s. It’s like HI, WE’RE ON VACATION.

We stayed pool side a few days where we did our normal routine of flips, handstands and such until one night we went to swim and a toddler had pooped in the pool for the second time that day. Lexi saw the poop in the bottom of the pool and then it just kind of ruined the whole deal for us.

We spent the rest of the time at the ocean. As you can see, it wasn’t terribly rough in the waters and there was almost no one on the beach so the kids were free to romp around on their own. This development, due to both age and environment, was glorious. Dear parents of little ones, the beach CAN be enjoyable!

I spent a lot of time in my happy place. I finished four books during the week and started into a 5th. My Twitterature post for July will be fat and happy.

I also bought this hat and felt super cool wearing it even if I’m not nearly cool enough to pull it off. But no one in Palm Beach knew.

On a whim, Scott decided to rent a paddle board. This is another anomaly as we’re not the renting type people. (Are you noticing all the splurging is on Scott’s part? I’m just sayin’)

But I admit, it was an awesome move on his part.

Emma was all about the board and went out right away. It took my mom a little convincing to get me out there and Lexi was in full-on temper tantrum mode about leaving the beach when he got it until she got a good talking-to by Grandma and I ordered her out there to GO HAVE SOME FUN WITH HER DADDY!

Clearly, we were torturing her.

Mid-week we decided we should you know, DO SOMETHING, so we decided on this amphibious tour called the Diva Duck. It toured Palm Beach and then took you in the water way and showed you a few of the mansions on Palm Beach.

Let me save you the cash and the sweaty leather seats and share my two favorite parts.

This mansion sits on Palm Beach and is owned by Celine Dion’s mother. Celine supposedly bought it for her mother for Mother’s Day. Hi, mom, here’s a card and OH, HERE’S A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE.

This is George Clooney’s yacht named Encore that is docked in Palm Beach.

I desperately wanted it to pull out while we were on the Diva Duck and be like HI, GEORGE CLOONEY, WE’RE PASSING YOU ON THE WATER. We never saw him nor any other celebrity but apparently Palm Beach is full of them.

Except not in June.

We drove through Palm Beach later ourselves and most of the mansions were boarded up and those that weren’t, had sheets on the furniture.

Worth Avenue, which is the Rodeo Drive of Palm Beach, was like a ghost town even though it sports shops like Tiffany’s. We even found our cricket gear there too! It was good thing that we bought them there because our sports surface specialists were just about done with the pitch.

And let me say, I wouldn’t mind a revisit.

It wasn’t perfect—we had our moments, but the rest was good. Very, very good.

Tell me: where and what is your favorite summer vacation memory?