HELLO 26!

I can’t believe it has been a year today since I launched my blog. Year 25 went by so fast but I feel so grateful reflecting back over the past year. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for year 26!

Today, I am sharing a book review for a book that I read this summer called, The List by Marian Jordan.

Girls let’s admit it!

We have all had our own “lists.” Lists of things that we want to accomplish by a certain age. This can include but not limited to: school, career, travel, marriage, children, whatever!

This book is about a girl who made her own list and now that she is approaching the age of 30, she is dreading her birthday because there are many things on her list that are still un-checked.

It turns out there is a much better list to live by. It’s a God centered list that teaches us that every season of life is beautiful- however long it may last.

The author of the book has aligned the book with 5 checkpoints- shine, hope, pursue beauty, seek first, and dance. I will go through each checkpoint and summarize the book. I won’t tell you everything because I think the book is so good that everyone should read it! 🙂

Shine– Our world has it so backwards. We live in a culture that screams at us to be in the spotlight, to crave attention, and fight for the limelight. But is this right? Did God create us so we could fight for our share in the spotlight?

God makes it very clear why we were created.

Notice at the end of that verse, it says we were created for HIS glory, not our own. Pursuing our own fame and glory turns the purpose of life upside down and it leaves us feeling empty.

“Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, we, too, are designed to reflect Jesus, the light of the world.”

We must realize that life is not about us or living for the world. That way of life will always leave us empty. We must always shine for God!

 Hope- The books says, “To make your season beautiful, become a girl who flat out believes God.”

This chapter of the book talks about hope and how the world lives off of hope. Think about it, we scramble to find that credit card number to buy the latest product out there because we have “hope” that it will perform a miracle like the advertisement said.

This chapter also talks about BLD’s in life (Big Let Downs). We have all been there. We get our hopes up to get that job promotion or to meet Mr. Right or something else on our list, only for it to not happen.

These let downs happen because we place our hope in the wrong things- false hope. We need to place our hope in something greater, something true, and lasting- Biblical hope!

Pursue Beauty- “To make your season beautiful, become a girl who reflects the beautiful one.”

Alright girls, we all pursue outward beauty. I know I am a girly girl all day long. We all want the perfect hair, those 5 minute abs, and the perfect shade of pink lipstick.

This book teaches us to not miss the key ingredient of beauty- a beautiful heart. We have to reflect the beautiful one- his name is, Jesus.

When we are walking with Jesus daily, we will reflect Him. When we truly die to self in order to live for Him, he consumes every part of us. We will reflect Jesus in the way we speak, the way we treat others, in the decisions we make, etc!

Seek First– “To make your season beautiful, become a girl who passionately pursues the kingdom of God.”

The book says, “Women love a schedule, a plan, or a program. The problem arises when our plans do not pan out.”

When our time tables do not work out the way we want, God will show us the next thing on His list for our lives- seek first.

God says, we are to place him and his agenda as the priority of our lives- trusting him to take care of the rest.

I know some of us have heard this a thousand times, but have you actually tried placing everything in God’s hands? His plans are so much greater than ours and when we try to do things our own ways, we usually end up on a dead end road. God’s plans are perfect and way better than we could ever imagine!

Dance- “To make your season beautiful, become a girl who dances with God.”

Rule number 1: When two people dance, only one person can lead.

We must surrender to our dance partner or as Carrie Underwood would say, “Jesus take the wheel.”

We decide every day and every moment if we will follow the lead of Jesus.

When I became a Christian I had to decide if I was going to let Jesus take the lead or would I continue to determine the future?

Let go, and let Jesus!

Do you know what we get when we trade in our lists? We get LIFE!

Be a girl who shines, hopes, pursues beauty, seeks first, and dances with God.

Trade in your list for God’s list!

Again, I only summarized the book because I think everyone should read it. It is a great book to do in a small group also.

I launched my blog a year ago today and I have loved every minute of it. If you stop by often or if this is your first time, thank you so much! I hope you have felt inspired in some sort of way by reading my blog. I am always open to suggestions and feedback! If there is anything you want to hear about, let me know. 🙂

Thanks again!

I am off to celebrate year 26!! 🙂