A girl about 7 or 8 years old was on the train this morning badgering her distressed father on whether it was called Manhattan or Madhattan. I don't know where she got this from, but it's a commentary on our lack of cheer nonetheless.
Sure you can find nice people in NYC, most of whom were raised in the south and moved up here at one point or another.
There's something about the long commute by crowded, smelly, trains with the occasional crazy bum that puts people in a bad mood. Is it that we just aren't forgiving people? Are we unhappy in other areas of our lives and take out our frustrations on the MTA?
I know if one too many people beg me for money, and turn down the food I offer them, that'll quickly put me in a discouraged, verging on angry mood.
So, maybe we should try to ease our stresses some and enjoy life more. Maybe then we can be a part of the greatest city in the world again, Manhattan, not Madhattan.
Xoxo
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Adele Before and After
If you weren't a believer in the magic of hair and makeup, now you will be. I was watching the music video for Chasing Pavements, Adele's first single, and realized just how amazing she looks now. Thanks to a professional team of hair, makeup, stylists, and more! Of course, there's always photoshop as well, but great makeup can go a long way to making someone look and feel ten times better. Check out the before and after I put together. Let me know your thoughts. Do you think she looks better before all natural, or after all the works? I don't mean to come across as shallow, but girl looks amazing now. Since you all know I'm a makeup artist, it should be no surprise that I am in full support of slapping some cake on your face if you get results like this:
xoxo
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Deadly Sin #4: Greed
I began writing this blog entry Saturday but had a little case of writers block, saved what little I had, and put it away. Sunday, I went to church and guess what the pastor's sermon was on? Yup, you probably guessed, Greed. He practically wrote this entry for me. You can watch the sermon on UStream at this link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/21051443
Press pause, let it load for a while and fast forward to the beginning of the sermon at 14 min 30 sec.
God refers to us as rivers several times in the Bible. We should act like rivers in our lives to avoid being greedy. What flows in, should flow out. If we are dammed up, and we keep all that we get, then we are subject to damnation. See the correlation? If not, let me elaborate.
We have made religion about collecting enough God to fill up our dam and then we stop searching for Him, we stop praying, we stop going to church, until our dam is empty and then we go back for more. We have completely perverted the idea of religion. We need to seek Him every day. He is a God of daily bread, not annual bread. If you seek Him once in awhile, your faith, and your fruits, will go stale. God is a renewer. If you use the talents and gifts He's given you, He will multiply them and give you more fruits.
Don't reserve your energy, your gifts, your God, for your use alone. Give them away, use them. God is the source to the river that flows through us. If we forgive, we can receive forgiveness. We loves because God loves. If we do not do these things, we are being greedy. We are attempting to keep the blessings to ourselves. We create damns in our lives of both material things, and spiritual gifts and blessings.
Matthew 6:19-21
The rules of the Earth say that things decay, rust, break with time. Why would we invest in these things?
Greed is most often assimilated to the excessive desire for money. What about hoarding? Hoarding has been going on for years but is only most recently coming into the public eye as a problem due to television. It creates anxiety and complexity, absorbs time, and causes you to have too many choices, and slows your decision making. We can live simpler lives by de-cluttering them.
How many pairs of shoes do you own? Teeshirts? Handbags? We should give them away as soon as we don't use them anymore. Don't keep them for 10 years until nobody can use them. That is selfish, that is greed.
I am going to go through all of my things here in NYC and donate whatever I don't need or wear anymore to the Salvation Army or another charity that accepts clothing. Then, I am also going to take a few days to go back to CT and go through all of my old things stored at my parents house and give away most of that as well. I'm sure it'll feel like a weight has been lifted, like I accomplished something, that I have less worry and more space!
Matthew 6:24
We need to actively change our hearts to only desire God, because your heart gets what it wants. If you focus on material things, you'll get them, but you won't fully receive all of the blessings God has in store for you. If you focus on bad relationships, you'll get them, focused on gossip, you'll get more.
We've discussed giving away material things, what about giving away money? The devil tells you to wait until you have more, to give more. The devil lies. If you believe him, you will only come to realize, that the more you have, the harder it becomes. Mo Money, Mo Problems. Ha.
Back on track, God is the source to our river. The more we give, the more blessings He will bestow upon us. He is a renewer. Don't give more than you have, but give what you can.
Seek the kingdom of God and He will give you all that you need. Thank God and He will give you peace. Peace will help you to make the best decisions of your life. How easy are peaceful decisions? Have you ever made a peaceful decision or do you always doubt your choices, over analyze them, contemplate them even after you've made them? Did you truly seek God before you made these choices?
Don't make decisions based on short-term happiness, but think about long-term. Don't keep something because you want it, even if you don't need it, or if it's not good for you, because in the long-run, it will end up wasted. Don't hold onto relationships that you know aren't healthy and in line with what God wants for your life. Isn't that being greedy as well, if we hold onto someone that we know we should just give away?
Be a river, not a dam. God is the source of our river and He will always provide us with what we need. God tests, the devil tempts. Make peaceful decisions by letting go, and letting God take control. Seek Him for all of your needs. Seek Him daily, and He will give you your daily breads, and fruits, and blessings, and gifts, and talents, and relationships, and forgiveness and love. The more you give, the more you will get, but don't forget that you have to then give again.
xoxo
Press pause, let it load for a while and fast forward to the beginning of the sermon at 14 min 30 sec.
God refers to us as rivers several times in the Bible. We should act like rivers in our lives to avoid being greedy. What flows in, should flow out. If we are dammed up, and we keep all that we get, then we are subject to damnation. See the correlation? If not, let me elaborate.
We have made religion about collecting enough God to fill up our dam and then we stop searching for Him, we stop praying, we stop going to church, until our dam is empty and then we go back for more. We have completely perverted the idea of religion. We need to seek Him every day. He is a God of daily bread, not annual bread. If you seek Him once in awhile, your faith, and your fruits, will go stale. God is a renewer. If you use the talents and gifts He's given you, He will multiply them and give you more fruits.
Don't reserve your energy, your gifts, your God, for your use alone. Give them away, use them. God is the source to the river that flows through us. If we forgive, we can receive forgiveness. We loves because God loves. If we do not do these things, we are being greedy. We are attempting to keep the blessings to ourselves. We create damns in our lives of both material things, and spiritual gifts and blessings.
Matthew 6:19-21
| |||||||||||
The rules of the Earth say that things decay, rust, break with time. Why would we invest in these things?
Greed is most often assimilated to the excessive desire for money. What about hoarding? Hoarding has been going on for years but is only most recently coming into the public eye as a problem due to television. It creates anxiety and complexity, absorbs time, and causes you to have too many choices, and slows your decision making. We can live simpler lives by de-cluttering them.
How many pairs of shoes do you own? Teeshirts? Handbags? We should give them away as soon as we don't use them anymore. Don't keep them for 10 years until nobody can use them. That is selfish, that is greed.
I am going to go through all of my things here in NYC and donate whatever I don't need or wear anymore to the Salvation Army or another charity that accepts clothing. Then, I am also going to take a few days to go back to CT and go through all of my old things stored at my parents house and give away most of that as well. I'm sure it'll feel like a weight has been lifted, like I accomplished something, that I have less worry and more space!
Matthew 6:24
| |||
We need to actively change our hearts to only desire God, because your heart gets what it wants. If you focus on material things, you'll get them, but you won't fully receive all of the blessings God has in store for you. If you focus on bad relationships, you'll get them, focused on gossip, you'll get more.
We've discussed giving away material things, what about giving away money? The devil tells you to wait until you have more, to give more. The devil lies. If you believe him, you will only come to realize, that the more you have, the harder it becomes. Mo Money, Mo Problems. Ha.
Back on track, God is the source to our river. The more we give, the more blessings He will bestow upon us. He is a renewer. Don't give more than you have, but give what you can.
Seek the kingdom of God and He will give you all that you need. Thank God and He will give you peace. Peace will help you to make the best decisions of your life. How easy are peaceful decisions? Have you ever made a peaceful decision or do you always doubt your choices, over analyze them, contemplate them even after you've made them? Did you truly seek God before you made these choices?
Don't make decisions based on short-term happiness, but think about long-term. Don't keep something because you want it, even if you don't need it, or if it's not good for you, because in the long-run, it will end up wasted. Don't hold onto relationships that you know aren't healthy and in line with what God wants for your life. Isn't that being greedy as well, if we hold onto someone that we know we should just give away?
Be a river, not a dam. God is the source of our river and He will always provide us with what we need. God tests, the devil tempts. Make peaceful decisions by letting go, and letting God take control. Seek Him for all of your needs. Seek Him daily, and He will give you your daily breads, and fruits, and blessings, and gifts, and talents, and relationships, and forgiveness and love. The more you give, the more you will get, but don't forget that you have to then give again.
xoxo
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Deadly Sin #3 Gluttony
When you first think of gluttony, you assume it only refers to over eating, and becoming over weight. However, if you've read any of my other entries on the seven deadly sins, you know already that I'm not going to focus on the obvious. What is the point of reading something you already know about? Why not explore something new and make yourself think?
Could gluttony really just refer to the general idea of not taking care of one's own body? Since the Bible refers to one's body as a temple; that Jesus lives in your heart and soul, you should take care of your temple and do what it takes to keep it in shape. There are many things that you can do to commit gluttony. Abusing alcohol, drugs, or other known dangers is one thing that comes to mind. Over indulging in anything that is not good for your body is a bad decision. It's not only about what you're putting in, but what you're getting out of it. What benefit do these things have to your spirit? Don't they only satisfy your flesh?
I know I've said before, that many of the seven deadly sins are related and intertwined. For instance, if we've discovered that it is gluttonous, to over indulge yourself in a heavy meal, and a long nap, and your favorite TV sitcoms for hours without exercise, is that not also sloth? What about once we know something is wrong with our health, yet we stubbornly do nothing to attempt to heal it? Is refusing to see a doctor, a sin? It could very well be. God tells us to take every measure to preserve life. If we don't, we are disobeying him. If we stubbornly think we will be fine on our own, is that not also prideful and boastful? There can be many sins at work at the same time, in one action, in one thought.
It is best to try to avoid all of these sins, to take care of yourself, to know your temple's needs and to work to meet those needs. Do not over indulge in your cravings, whatever they may be. By nature, we crave things that are not good for us. We need to implore more self-control.
xoxo
Could gluttony really just refer to the general idea of not taking care of one's own body? Since the Bible refers to one's body as a temple; that Jesus lives in your heart and soul, you should take care of your temple and do what it takes to keep it in shape. There are many things that you can do to commit gluttony. Abusing alcohol, drugs, or other known dangers is one thing that comes to mind. Over indulging in anything that is not good for your body is a bad decision. It's not only about what you're putting in, but what you're getting out of it. What benefit do these things have to your spirit? Don't they only satisfy your flesh?
I know I've said before, that many of the seven deadly sins are related and intertwined. For instance, if we've discovered that it is gluttonous, to over indulge yourself in a heavy meal, and a long nap, and your favorite TV sitcoms for hours without exercise, is that not also sloth? What about once we know something is wrong with our health, yet we stubbornly do nothing to attempt to heal it? Is refusing to see a doctor, a sin? It could very well be. God tells us to take every measure to preserve life. If we don't, we are disobeying him. If we stubbornly think we will be fine on our own, is that not also prideful and boastful? There can be many sins at work at the same time, in one action, in one thought.
It is best to try to avoid all of these sins, to take care of yourself, to know your temple's needs and to work to meet those needs. Do not over indulge in your cravings, whatever they may be. By nature, we crave things that are not good for us. We need to implore more self-control.
xoxo
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