Trying to Live Like the Jones’

I know someone who purchased a luxury car because she did not want to drive around in the old clunker she owned because others in her neighborhood drove a nicer car. I know a person who told me they were treated better by people once they purchased new furniture. I have so many stories that I could post about how people felt that the “material” object they purchased led other people to view them differently. Again, why do you care? I don't understand why people get into debt because they are afraid how other people are going to view them or their family.

People fall in this trap all the time. For example, one person in particular told me that her and her husband live in a house in a poor neighborhood. They received a settlement and decided to purchase leather couches and a huge armoire. They had trouble with their brand new A/C unit and had to get it serviced a couple of times. When their A/C repair man came to their house for the 2nd time that month, they strongly believed they were treated better than the first time the man came out because the man saw how their living room changed with the newer goods.

I am shocked that people really believe this. And let’s say it is true, what does it prove? I just don’t understand it. I demand to be treated with respect regardless of what kind of furniture is in my house. The truth is yeah, there are some people out there who treat people a certain way because they have “better’ or “classier” things. Do you really want to associate with people like that? I could care less. I’m not perfect. There are things that bother me about people, but honestly, if someone doesn’t like me because of my fashion style, the kind of car I drive, the house I live in, then I don’t want to be friends with you.

Don’t Be Jealous Either

Another thing about trying to impress people is when people fall in the “jealousy” or “envious” trap. That is dangerous. Yes, everyone wishes they were in a better position financially. One of your friends might have more than you. Maybe they have no debt and you are up to your neck in debt. Maybe they have your dream house and you don’t.

A slight touch of envy is normal probably. However, being jealous and out right envious to the point where you make subtle or even direct comments to that person is unhealthy. That can lead to an unhealthy relationship with your friend, yourself, and your family. Jealousy can eat you up.

Life Isn’t Fair

Believe it or not, most people work for what they have. Not everyone was handed a silver spoon in their mouth. Don’t bash the people that do have something because you are jealous. Don’t rack up your credit card bills trying to compete with them either. Some people work their tails off and don’t ever seem to make it. Unfortunately, that is when we have to make real hard sacrifices. Some people were thrown extraordinary curve balls that landed them in a sad situation. For example, a couple’s child has tons of medical bills they can’t afford that landed them in poverty (yes, even with health insurance, this can happen).

Maybe you are the person that is not getting a head because you are not managing your money right. We are all guilty of that. If someone else is paying some or all of your bills (family, government, etc), then you do not have money for any extracurricular activities. Hate to play hard ball, but if you don’t have the money to pay your light bill, then you don’t need to be eating out, buying toys, etc. Oh, and don’t make an excuse saying, “but I need this”. Believe it or not, you don’t always need it. If it is not shelter, food cooked at home (not junk food), gas, utilities, medical, clothing (not designer jeans here), then you probably don’t need it.

Okay. Enough venting for now. 

Heres to the Weekend Wrap-up and trying something NEW!!

Weekend Wrap-Up...

So Friday we left around 4:30 for Missouri. We headed outta town with Nick (J's older brother), we were going to move Nick's family down here. We got to Missouri at 12:30-12:45. Not bad timing at all. We went straight to sleep. Woke up at 7 and was packing the moving truck up by 8:30 and on the road back to Texas by 11. Got home around 9:30-10:00 last night. Yes we had spent 18 of the 29 hours on the road.. EXHAUSTING. But we did it. Today we are just relaxing and will unload the moving truck tomorrow.

Now onto the trying something new.

I have always want to have a theme night for dinner. So I am starting it NOW.. well actually technically Monday. So here is what our themes are going to be.

Monday- Quick Meals or meals that I can whip up and throw into the oven/crockpot.
Tuesday- Taco Tuesday. Some form of Tacos. Fish, beef, veggie, fajitas, etc.
Wednesday- Wich Wednesday. Some form of sandwiches.
Thursday- Tasty Thursday. This will be my night to try new recipes out.
Friday- Fish friday. Healthy fried shrimp, Tilapia, Salmon, etc.
Saturday and Sunday will probably consist of fridge clean out.

Thats all for now.

Happy Weekend :  )

Meghan

I want to be beautiful… truly beautiful

There are songs about it. It’s what makes cosmetics a multi-million dollar a year business. It’s why we often glance in windows to see if we can catch our reflection.

We all want to be beautiful. And what’s more, we want people to see us as beautiful.

Now, I can really only speak to the ladies here. Guys, I haven’t the slightest idea what your hearts’ deep desires are, though I would assume they have something to do with being gruff, driving big trucks and loving beautiful women (or hopefully one woman). But for you ladies, I KNOW you. Even if you deny it, I believe deep down we all desire to be found beautiful. If not, go ahead and tell me you don’t pick the picture that captures you in the “best light” for your facebook profile pic. Tell me you don’t pick a shirt off the rack at the department store with the hopes that it sets you apart and accentuates your beauty. Tell me you don’t suck your tummy in and stand a bit taller when the camera man says cheese.

Yeah, girl. We all do. We want to be beautiful.

But everyday I’m reminded that our beauty is not “skin deep.” Each time I see the girl staring back at me in the bathroom mirror and think she could sure do more with just a little bit better skin and a little bit poofier hair, I recall what God says about me and how He made me.

He says I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). He says he planned out how I would be- inside and out- before my daddy ever even picked out my name (Psalm 139:15). He says I am made in His image (Genesis 1:27). He says He knows how many hairs are on my head (Matthew 10:30). ….(So, I guess he does a recount every morning after I yank the brush through my tangly shower hair!)

I find that so refreshing. The God of this whole universe– the One who flung the stars in the sky and the One who paints the sunset that I cannot turn my eyes from at 7 p.m.–HE, made me and HE thinks I’m beautiful.

And just like a cheesy infomercial, it just keeps getting better.

He says it’s not what’s on my outside that makes me beautiful.

He says that “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).

But the best part is, even though He sees me as beautiful and created me just how He planned, He’s given us instructions on how to get even more beautiful. It’s like God’s rendition of a glamour magazine’s front cover tease to “Be more stunning in 3 easy steps.”

He says our beauty should not come from outward adornments (jewelry, hairstyles, expensive make-up…), but from “your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (I Peter 3:4).

So is it wrong to fix yourself up? No, I don’t believe it is. And girl, I am ALL about some hairspray and some long wear make-up. when I actually do something with myself. But is it wrong for us to think that’s what gives us beauty– and unfading beauty, at that? I think it is.

A truly beautiful woman is kind and loving and puts other people before herself. (Yep, even boyfriends, husbands and children who are driving her up the WALL. Actually, especially them.) She is graceful in what she says and respectful in what she does. She doesn’t complain all the time (even when her mascara ran and then her panty-hose did too). She isn’t the one putting-up-with and adding-to the gossip in the office. She isn’t cutting people off in traffic – on the interstate OR in the Wal-Mart check out line.

Girls, that is what God says true beauty is. The kind that will attract a man worth keeping. The kind that isn’t going to fade with age but grow and grow and grow. The only kind I want.

Don’t you want to be truly beautiful?

Every story is different. but OURS is my favorite.

 So as of yesterday my husband and I have been married a year. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. The time went by so fast. We went camping out at Cedar Hill State Park at Joe Pool Lake. Some would say that camping is gross or not their thing. If you haven't tried it don't dog on it until you try it. However, it TOTALLY is my husband and I's thing. We love it and our furry little child loves it. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We stay Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Our Saturday we had our family out to the campsite and had a lil get together. Nothing big a fancy just hot dogs, cake and smores.

Hut enjoyed fishing with J.

We had some yummy cake. 

We enjoyed our view from the campsite. 

 This was the sunset our last night.

And my ever so hilarious husband wrote this on the front of my card. I had made a comment to him when "Remind Me" by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood came onto the radio that went a little something like this. "There is only room for one wife at this campsite so you need to change the radio station." : )

I am looking forward to the many years ahead of us and building our lives and future family together. I am so  happy that God has not only placed a man that I love and cherish each moment with but that he placed such a handsome Godly man that loves me and cherishes the same moments that I do.

Until next time.

From Our Heart to Yours,

The Rigdons

finding security in christ, not things

I rummaged through the box labeled "bathroom stuff" for the third time after our move, still unable to find what I was looking for. I was in a new house, in a new city (even though I wasn't very far from my hometown), and I was in desperate need of finding what I needed - my brush.

I sat down on my half-made bed in my half-decorated room staring out into the mess of overflowing and unopened boxes and piles of clothes against the backdrop of empty walls. Suddenly, the 'cool' that I had so tactfully maintained during this whole transitional move began to unravel like a spool of thread rolling down a staircase. I realized right then and there that my frustration wasn't about my silly brush (although I still hoped to find it). It was about learning to cope with the surge of emotions that accompany any major life change: unstable, uncertain, unsettled. You name it, I was feeling it.

As a twenty-something with many life changes, you can probably relate. These, we are told, are some of our best years and yet they are often accompanied by major transitions as we move forward in establishing our place in the world: graduations, new jobs, opportunities, relationships, new apartments or houses and for some, even new roles and responsibilities as wives and moms. Exciting?Absolutely. But it doesn't mean the winds of change don't bring challenges along the way as we take steps to grow into the women God has called us to be.

So what are we to do when we find ourselves overwhelmed with emotions or overtaken by fears — trying to find comfort and security in things like big round brushes? We can take a step back, take in a deep breath and remind ourselves that in Christ, we are secure. There is no other thing or person besides Jesus who can bring the security, safety and stability that our hearts truly long for in this often chaotic world in which we live.

Whatever your surroundings are looking like this moment, know this:in Christ, you are secure. Daily meditating on and memorizing these truths can be the best way to keep the knowledge of this, close:

• I am a child of God (1 John 3:1-3)
• I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
• I am complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)
• I am assured that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)
• I cannot be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39)
• I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected (Philippians 1:6)
• I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
• I have been chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit (John 15:16)
• I can find grace and mercy to help in my time of need (Hebrews 4:16)
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

Let the truth of who you are in Christ dwell in you richly until it renews your mind and penetrates every fiber of your being. You are secure in Christ!

From my heart to yours.

Meghan

Questionable Faith

Have you ever questioned what faith really is?

I have.

A few years ago I was on my way home from church. Something the preacher said left me feeling unsettled, anxious and questionable as to what I really believed. I tried to think things out but the more I thought, the more I realized how under developed my faith was. What did I believe?

For the next few months I began to seek faith with a very questionable spirit.  One night in particular, I found myself in a spiritual pit, trying to figure out who God was.

Do you want to know what my problem really was?

I didn't know God.

I knew the church, I knew what books said and I knew opinions of others but I really didn't know God.

I began digging in the Word for answers to my questions. Over time, I began to see an incredible picture of who God really is: loving, kind, good and filled with so much grace I almost couldn't stand it. Slowly my perception of God began to change. It was no longer this skewed image of a man sitting on a giant throne casting down judgment through strikes of lighting with his scepter.

Today I am at the point where God's given me a sense of belonging even when I'm rejected by the entire world. He's given me a purpose and an understanding that life is so much more than just about today.

I have come to accept that the questions I have may never get answered in this lifetime. But what I know is that God is good {Psalms 116:5}, He is on my side {Romans 8:31}, and He is who He says He is {Exodus 3:14}. And those promises are more than enough reason for this girl who has at times had...questionable faith.

From Our Hearts to Yours.
The Rigdons