September 2018 Early Wrap-Up Post

Hi everyone! Fall is officially upon us, and so far, it has been super rainy. Thus, making it super muddy (especially in the horse pastures!) Today's post is a wrap-up post, and yes, I know, September is not over yet, but this is the last Wednesday in September, so.... that is why I called it a early wrap-up post!

Want to hear something crazy?? There is exactly 96 days left of 2018! Like.... What?!? How can that be possible! So, let me ask you this: What are you going to do in 96 days? Challenge yourself to stick to something, whether it be doing a devotion every morning, or working out twice a week, you name it! Kind of like a end-of-the-year-resolution instead of a new year resolution. Tell me in the comments below, and I will cheer you on! :)

(This quote was taken off of Pinterest... all other photos are mine)

Now lets start wrapping up September! *hopes this post is not to random for you guys*

➳➳➳Late nights➳Going to the hospital because my grandma broke her wrist➳Youth church service➳Made goats milk soap➳Started selling my goats milk soap➳Trying new "Fall" scents in soap➳Shopping at thrift store➳Buying two books at thrift store➳Had a karaoke/concert with my family :) ➳Went to the fair➳Ate a LOT at said fair➳Movies➳Hot and humid weather➳Woke up at 4:30 AM to take my Grandma to get surgery (It went well, btw)➳Eating cafeteria food *makes face*➳Entering prompt contests➳Late night ice cream venture➳Packaging soap with wax seals <-- Quite the process➳Feeling tired➳Thinking about starting a Goodreads account➳Shopping at Costco➳Walking horses to the barn because of weather➳Watching a LIVE studio C➳Watching more studio C videos➳Finding out that I can write flash fiction...who knew!➳ FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE DRINKS!!!!!!! 'nuff said!!!➳Got hair cut, six inches taken off➳I drove into "big town!"➳Goofing off with Lil' Sis➳Picking buckeyes➳Went to a convention➳Took marketing classes➳Ate veggie burger *yum*➳Mini photo shoot with Big Sis➳Being exhausted➳I. Need. Sleep. *glares at my dog for waking me up 2x a night*➳Went on a mini weekend trip➳Did a TOUGH MUDDER! (Want to read a post on how it went?? Comment if you do!)➳"blasted" our favorite songs in the car! XD ➳Being a part of the best team ever... my family rocks!➳Eating at Schlotzsky's aka the best sandwich place ever!➳Participated in a READATHON! *throws confetti one last time* (If you don't know what I'm talking about, just know that I went a little crazy with the confetti while participating in the readathon)➳Didn't quite meet my goal, but I got pretty close, and it was SO MUCH FUN!➳First day of Fall!➳Having "game night" at out barn for our church➳Eating 6 cookies in one setting➳Playing pit, spoons, and uno➳Early morning, 2 mile jog...IN THE RAIN!➳Trying to get ready for Nano➳Taking our pool down➳Working with dad aka power washing stuff!➳Test driving a jeep with dad➳Watching a field being planted by a helicopter! It was pretty cool!➳Making more soap➳Mismatched socks➳PB&J smoothies!➳Volleyball➳Four wheeler riding➳Living

➳Laughing➳Loving➳And learning➳➳➳

➳➳➳With Lil' Sis➳At cousin (6 hours in the car and consuming lots of sweet tea can do some crazy things to a person!)➳At Studio C videos➳Laughing so hard at our old "movies" us five girls made when we were younger!➳At the crazy socks you see these days

 (does anyone know what I'm talking about?)(also, I just realized that I wrote about socks twice in this post! *headdesk*) ➳At myself for no reason➳And just because➳➳➳

➳➳➳My amazing family!➳All our furry friends➳Time together

➳Fall vibes (Is that a thing?)➳Taking pictures on the Winds of Faith➳And sunsets➳➳➳

➳➳➳That God is trying to teach me, even when I can be so stubborn at times➳That paying attention to where you park, is very important! (Yes, that means stop taking selfies and know were you park in a parking garage! Just trust me!)➳That trials are refining us

➳That this world is not our home➳That the Bible is 783,137 words long!➳That I can read and listen to music/singing at the SAME TIME! Now that is talent!➳To take a deep breath➳That it's ok to not know my next step, because God's plan and He timing is perfect➳And to embrace where I'm at➳➳➳

Here's a mini photo dump from September...! 

Isaiah 48:17 

"Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go."

How was your September? Can you believe that there is under 100 days left in 2018?How are you going to challenge yourself? What is one of the things that you learned this month? How has God been working in your life? How did you like reading this wrap-up post? Lets talk about it! =)

On The Other Side Of Pain

On The Other Side Of Pain

Written by Brooklyne

On the other side of pain 

You grow stronger

On the other side of pain 

You grow tougher 

On the other side of pain

You grow closer

On the other side of pain

You grow wiser 

~~~

Whether emotional or physical

On the other side of pain 
Pressures will refine you

On the other side of pain

Whether long or short lived 

On the other side of pain

You will withstand the test 

On the other side of pain

~~~

Throughout the pain you endure

You make a choice 

To suffer and suffer

Or to suffer and grow

Throughout the hardships you face

You make a choice

To give up hope 

Or to fight through the pain

~~~

The pain will not last forever, and if it lasts

You have not healed 

Wounds will fester  

And you grow weaker

But if you heal, if you let God heal you

You have made the choice

To learn from pain 

And you grow stronger

~~~

Against all odds

Despite all opinions 

Facing all fears 

Enduring all pain 

When you get on the other side 

When its all over and gone 

When the pain is in the past

When you are free from the burdens 

~~~

You will grow stronger

You will grow tougher

You will grow closer to Him 

You will grow wiser  

You can conquer 

You can succeed 

You can learn 

You can listen 

~~~

Choose to fight through the pain

Let God heal you

Grow through your trials 

Because on the other side of pain 

You will be stronger 

Give your burdens to Him

Make the right choice 

Grow through your suffering 

Because on the other side of pain 

You will be stronger 

~~~

If you are hurting. 

If you are dealing with pain 

Whether a broken bone or a broken heart,

Give it to God 

Because the ultimate Physician 

Will lift your burdens and heal your pain 

Keep fighting, and once you are on the other side of pain 

You will realize that you have grown stronger! 

Because pain and sin have entered the world, we have to suffer. But we have the ability, with God's help, to turn our suffering into growth. This morning was very sad for me and my family, last night something got our bunnies. Death of even the smallest creatures is so hard. I can't imagine losing a loved one. I wrote this poem the other day, and now I know how real it is. Everyone is going through something, whether it be physical pain or emotional pain. And although pain hurts and is hard, God WILL comfort us if we let Him. He has the ability to heal us, and we CAN grow from our pain. 

Have you ever grown stronger on the other side of pain? How can we let God heal our pain so that we can become stronger? How do we move past our pain and learn from it instead of dwelling on it? What did you think of this poem? 

How is your September going? Are you looking forward to cooler days? 

Lets take a vote on whether or not I should write a post of our latest fun in the mud?! Y'all want to hear about our tough mudder experience? P.S. This is my 30th post!!!
Lets talk in the comments! 

Warning Signs

Just as we put our jet skis into the clear water, it started to rain. 

Not just any rain but rather, big fat droplets falling in a rapid down pour. I was freezing, circling my jet ski, waiting for my sister who was having troubles starting the one that she was on. My little sister held on tightly to my life jacket, all the while, we all were wondering who in the world thought that this was a fun idea. Finally my older sister was able to start her jet ski, and we took off, with hopes that the rain and storm would blow over soon. 

We were trying out a new lake that had really pretty scenery, that is, if we were able to see it through the pelting rain. I squinted through the hail-like water droplets, goosebumps on my arms and legs. We were trying to find the beach where we could wait out the storm, but we didn’t know where exactly where it was located. We had a ways to go. 

We stopped out in the middle of the lake. We were all not having fun. That’s when my sister noticed my hair, and I saw her hair. Even though our hair was in braids, both of our wispy’s and loose strands were standing strait up! Like if you were to have rubbed a ballon on our heads, and the static makes the hair stand strait up. We all knew what that meant. We were out in the middle of water, in a storm. We didn’t see any visible lightning, but knew we were in serious danger of getting struck by it. 

So, what do we do now?!? 

First of all, we didn’t have many options. We had to get to the beach and get off the water! We could barely see what we thought was the beach, so we headed for it as fast as we could. The rain stung, but the urgency to get off the water was the only thing that mattered. I prayed, and I prayed hard. 

We made it to the beach, and pulled our jet skis up far enough onto the sand so that they wouldn’t float away. We safely made it to the RV where we told our scary adventure to our parents. It was one of those moments when we knew our angels were with us and watching out for us!

You know, I can’t help but think what would have happened if we hadn’t payed close attention to the warning signs we were given. If we would have stayed out on the water and waited for the storm to pass.

There are warning labels and caution signs everywhere. Whether it be driving on the road, or on a child’s play toy. And we must take these signs seriously for our own good. 

Do you think God has given us warning signs? How about when He told or more like warned, Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:16,17 

“And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Every warning sign comes with a consequence. If we wouldn’t have listened to our warning sign of our hair standing strait up, our consequence could have been getting struck by lightning. For a driver who didn’t heed the speed limit sign around a tight curve, that consequences might result in rolling the car. For a parent who did not heed the sticker on a small toy, the consequence might be for their child to choke on it. For Adam and Eve, since they did not heed the warning of God, their consequence resulted in death. 

Don’t be fooled by the looks of things. We didn't see the lighting, but that doesn't mean it wasn’t there. A driver might think that the turn wasn’t very sharp, but he wouldn’t have known until he was right upon it. A parent might read the warning label as a silly suggestion, but that doesn’t mean their child will not want to stick it in their mouth. Adam and Eve saw that the fruit looked good, and were tricked by Satan to not listen to God’s warning. 

There are lots of warnings in the bible that we should NOT ignore. One big one for me is, to get ready for Jesus to come again. He is coming quickly! And we need to be ready when he comes. We don’t want to fall asleep (Matthew 25:1-13). 

We need to share this good news, because we have been chosen to be his hands and feet. Even if we are a very small part, even if we are his fingers and toes, if we are doing all that we know how, if we are striving to be His light, then we have done our part. 

And aren’t fingers and toes very important?! We might feel like we are so small and feel as if we don’t make an impact, but as long as we are following God’s direction, we ARE making a impact. Even the smallest of sparks, can still light a forest fire! 

So, summing up. Listen to the warnings around you. And most of all, take heed to God’s instructions and warnings in the Bible. 

Jesus is coming again! Lets do our part and shine our light! 

We were able to go back out on the water when the storm blew over. It turned out to be a very fun day! Here are some pictures I took...!

Have you ever been in a scary situation that you knew your angels helped you out of? Do you think warning labels are important? Have you ever gone jet skiing? What is one thing that you are thankful for today, right this second? 

Lets talk about it in the comments below! ;D

I Survived... Again!

Instead of posing a poem or devotional like I normally would, I thought I would share with ya'll something that was TOTALLY FUN we did on Monday... *Shoots off fireworks* *Throws confetti* *And mud in this case, or whatever else you throw when your excited*... We did a mud gauntlet! 

If you are thinking to yourself that this introduction sounded very familiar, your right! This post is going to be very similar to my triathlon post... if you are new around Showers of Blessings, then feel free to go check out my first "I Survived" post HERE!!!

So, I survived... again! Well, it was more EPIC fun than a survival, but I can still say that I have successfully completed a mud gauntlet! 

What is a mud gauntlet? It's a super fun obstacle course in the MUD! It was as long as a 5k with over 35 obstacles to work together as a team.

On September 3rd (funny how the triathlon was on June 3rd too) my family and I woke up super duper duper early (5am) and after our animal chores were done, we drove out. It took us a VERY long time to get there but we listened to music and ate/drank our breakfast, which was FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE DRINKS! (<-- I had no idea I liked them so much, but I think by now, the whole blogosphere knows how much I like them!)

And guess what, my stomach hurt! Advil was only making me dizzy, but you know, the moment we started, I felt completely fine! God made it possible for me to do this mud gauntlet, and I am so glad He did, because I made some great memories with my family! 

Before pictures...

When we arrived, we waited for awhile and collected our packets. During this time, my cousin drew on us with a sharpie maker our team name "Dirty Dozen." 

Fireworks burst in the air as we crossed the starting line. The first obstacle was to climb over a "mountain" of stacked canoes. Very fun, but slippery. We jumped round bales and and 4' walls. We slipped and slid into mud pits, and crawled through tunnels. We jogged part of it, but mostly just had fun with it. There was a hiking stretch that was mostly up hill with rope to climb up the steeper hills. Our team was very encouraging throughout! Lots of "Dirty! Dozen!" shouting, "Dig! Deeper!" calling, and counting to 12. We helped each other over walls and the rope swing (only a few people actually made it over, I was one of the ones to land in the muddy water below...) 

We crossed the creek twice, and then there was more obstacles!

We all agreed that our favorite obstacle was the water/mud slide in the woods. Two black culverts cut in half to make the "Slide" and a water/mud pit at the end! Super fun! (Although the muddy water did not taste very good... just take my word for it!)

Towards the end, we got tired, but kept going. Mud was EVERYWHERE! Well, I guess we did kind of help each other get just a little bit more muddy! ;P

After we crossed the finish line, they had hoses to wash off and food (food was just ok, since I couldn't eat most of it because it was meat) and music. 

10 things we all can learn from a mud gauntlet:

1. Its ok to get messy, that's the point!

2. Have fun with it! 

3. HELP EACH OTHER! Work as a team!

4. Bring shoes to change into. (Unfortunately we learned this the hard way...)

5. Be encouraging. People need encouragement.

6. Stay hydrated!

7. Keep moving forward!

8. Try the obstacles even if they are intimidating...

9. It's OK to need help with it.

10. God will bring you through!

Here's some more pictures...!

After Picture! You might not be able to tell, but we are covered in mud!

My Dad and I!

My Mom and I!

Yum! 

 The weather was perfect!

Little Petey is not so little anymore! 

Poor baby was scared of the fireworks!

Feeling accomplished on the way home and ready for a nap! 

Actually, later that day we were driving and saw a rainbow. Rainbows are so comforting to me because it's like a refresher on God's promises. And I'm just now realizing that the day of the triathlon we saw a rainbow too! Isn't God amazing how He places His sign for us to see at just the right times?? 

Has anyone ever done a mud gauntlet before? Do you like getting muddy? Did you like hearing about how it went? Ya'll, It's September! What are you up to this month? Have you started school? How's your WIP's going? Any thing exciting happening this September? Lets talk about it! 

➳✩➳✩➳✩