It's been one of those weeks, where everything that could possibly go wrong, did go wrong. When I started writing today's post, I thought I could, A: pretend all is peachy keen, talk about what Josh and I are up to, post it, and leave it at that, or B: do this...
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and
praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming
together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what
happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." Philippians 4:6-7 - The Message.
Sometimes you can't control the circumstance, but you can control your reaction. Countless times I've tried to encourage people with that statement but realized I wasn't heeding my own advice. I won't go into detail, but over the past week there have been some small (and huge) bumps in the road. I was letting the circumstance control my reaction. I was quick to label the day as a "bad day" because things weren't panning out as I had hoped or planned. Not that having a bad day is not wrong by any means, for I'm a firm believer in acknowledging your feelings, regardless if they are relevant or not. But instead of letting a circumstance cause us to get angry, impatient, frustrated, annoyed (I may have been guilty of a few all of those this week), we can decide to be positive, loving, and hopeful.
"...I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." Jeremiah 29:11 - The Message.
Whether you believe and have a personal relationship with Jesus or not, I hope this will encourage you in some way. We can control our reactions instead of being controlled by our circumstances. Even when we hit a few bumps in the road, or are truly going through a difficult trial in life, we can choose to approach the circumstance in love, patience, hopefulness and kindness.
Dress, gifted. Shirt & belt, thrifted. Shoes, c/o Blowfish Shoes.
You said it, sister. I have to constantly remind myself of this, especially with the circumstances I find myself in recently. God has a plan, just be patient (thats another one I tell myself all the time). Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteEmily
www.bupster.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing those powerful Bible quotes. I been working to not let my emotions, specifically anger and fear, control my actions, but it's so hard. I know that prayers and speaking with God to let Him handle the situation gives me strength.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder. There are always only certain things we can really control. Hope the rest of your week is much better! Plus, the gorgeous light in these photos should cheer anyone right up. :)
ReplyDeleteAmen! I hope your week gets better, and God gives you the peace to deal with whatever comes your way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement, and for your courage to put your faith on display. It's inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI have been having a similar few days, and often find myself repeating negative thoughts in my head. All encompassing ones like, "why does nothing in my life ever work out?". That's always my natural tendency, to clump together my life by how I feel RIGHT NOW. Finally the other day, I realized it's not my life, it's just a bad day. And I am aloud to have bad days sometimes, so long as I don't let it become the definition of my whole life.
Anyways, this was a wonderful reminder of that. I do believe in Jesus, sometimes it is just easy for forget how big He is compared to a single bad day.
Good message, no matter where it comes from. No matter what your beliefs.
ReplyDeletehttp://theoccasionalindulgence.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing this, Kinsey! All truth. Praying for the rest of your week.
ReplyDeleteWow. This is such a sweet, sensitive post. Amazing and encouraging job, Kinsey :)
ReplyDeletehttp://lifeatruestory4.blogspot.com/
hope your week improves. and you are so right, i really need to rememeber that too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. My week has been similar in respect that anything that can go wrong has. God is an awesome God who is with us always. Thank you for reminding me of that! Have a wonderful blessed week!
ReplyDeleteren-was-here.blogspot.com
This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you. <3
ReplyDeletelove this. thanks for sharing Jesus' truth :)
ReplyDeletehttp://babybakerlove.blogspot.com/2012/09/annnnnnd-cutest-baby-at-splash-pad.html
very encouraging! have been dealing with the same thing lately. Thank you for you openness and honesty.
ReplyDeletei'm in the same situation, except it started last week. okay, maybe a few years ago.
ReplyDeletei am so in love with Jesus, and i really needed this today. you are absolutely wonderful and you're shining your light to everyone who reads! this is just beautiful. <3
Amen sister!
ReplyDeleteThings have been tough in these parts too and something about knowing it's all coming together for His good and His glory makes things a little bit okay. Don't get me wrong, the human part of me wants what I want, but then the part of Him that's within me feels peace in His glory. Oh thank you for sharing. And for honesty. It's so hard to be raw and vulnerable sometimes.
lovely look <3 x
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it just suck. When things are going so smoothly and then it happens, something you didn't see coming, a change that you didn't ever want to happen. Awful, no good things just happen and you are exactly right all was can do is lean on Jesus and pray for the best. You don't have to be happy about it though, so just let the emotions flow.
ReplyDeleteWise words! I can definitely take them to heart at the moment too :0
ReplyDeletexo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
Oh my I am in LOVE with your dress, so so pretty :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an honest post. Funny thing is I was just reminding myself not to worry so much! Praying for you to get through these times.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post - I need to remember this every day.
ReplyDelete& your photos are as lovely as alway!
xxoo
That was beautiful... I liked that quote you picked. It's very inspiring. I really hope things start looking up for you soon! Hang in there~
ReplyDeletexo, Adriana.
Horses of Ares
Beautiful post. I've read your blog here and there for a while, but I didn't know you were Christian. It was refreshing to see a post with one of my favorite verses (from my favorite translation, even!). You are in my thoughts today, and I hope you know you're definitely not along in your struggles. I've been trying to find a bit of perspective in my own life, too, as a lot of tough things are thrown my way. Thank you for your honesty and for inspiring me today. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you decided to be upfront and honest with life at the moment. I love seeing the real side of bloggers, we're all real humans too. "Sometimes you can't control the circumstance, but you can control your reaction." I try to tell myself this statement all of the time, sometimes it tougher to grasp but changing one's attitude can be really beneficial to mental health and sanity. Hang in there, and remember, this too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteM.
That goes along with the verse that says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." -2 Corinthians 10:5
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to remember God's promises about us in those moments when everything seems to go wrong. Fighting against cynicism and anger and frustration with the character of God seems appropriate. His promises never fail, nor do they change, even though our emotions are so fleeting. So good to know He's got it all together when we don't.
-Kimberly
wayfarerrr.blogspot.com
This is great. Thanks. <3
ReplyDeleteamen, sister. i'm in the same kind of sitch right now. i really needed this encouragement. thanks! xo
ReplyDeleteLove the plaid with the white dress.
ReplyDeletewww.eatblogpray.blogspot.com
xo
Wonderful post, thank you so much for sharing this!! You reminded me of this quote:
ReplyDelete"Don't bother too much about your feelings. When they are humble, loving, brave, give thanks for them; when they are conceited, selfish, cowardly, ask to have them altered. In neither case are they you, but only a thing that happens to you. What matters is your intentions and your behavior" - cs lewis
-kelsey
Thank you for sharing your honesty! He is in Control! it's always a process to train our heart, mind, and especially brain to have a complete trust in Him, but in my personal experience it's always the best thing :) Thanks for the sweet reminder.
ReplyDeleteSisie
Stunning photos, I love this gingham shirt layered over the white dress.. perfect :)
ReplyDeleteJo. x
Well, you look beautiful AND you know the One to take your troubles too. Sounds like you have a lot going for you!!
ReplyDeleteSending love!
xoxo, leigh
Your quote, "Sometimes you can't control the circumstance, but you can control your reaction" chimes so true with me! That's something that I try to remember, but it's hard to during tough times. Thank you for your honesty. I'm sorry you're going through a tough time, but things will get better. Your post was highly inspiring.
ReplyDeletexo,
http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com
I love that you decided to post this. Philippians 4:6 and 7 are actually my life verses; since I am super worry wart I need to keep them in mind. Check 'em out in the NIV translation :) Keep strong in Christ because He gave it all for you! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! I needed to hear it and I love the way The Message put it so clearly.
ReplyDelete-Kara
amen!
ReplyDeletethanks for the reminder :)
kirsi
from http://kiiki.sonicsoundfactory.net/
Thanks for such an important (and personal) post. I can totally identify with all of those feelings, this week especially.
ReplyDeleteI hope your week improves :)
these photos are so inspiring <3 i love first one <3
ReplyDeletehttp://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/CoeursDeFoxes
Oh you are indeed a beautiful soul.
ReplyDeleteAnd you've brightened my day with these words and the bible quotes. Thank you so much.
Whatever you're going through I wish you all the best and I want you to know that you've been able to encourage at least me and hopefully several other people and gave them hope.
I was having a few bad days, too. They suck. But then you have good ones, too :) Thank you for your encouraging words... and finally, girl, stop looking down in your outfit photos! You are so stunning and your eyes are just hypnotic. We want to see them more!!!
ReplyDeletenice look *,*
ReplyDeleteI love both your encouraging words and your dress. Prayers really do make a difference, as do beautiful clothes : )
ReplyDeleteAdorable outfit!! And I loved your encouraging words :)
ReplyDelete~Jacy
You go, girl! It is so hard to speak out about God, which is silly, but true. This post is so encouraging, and you have just made me a loyal reader. Keep up the awesome work!
ReplyDeletepretty outfit.
ReplyDeletexthesimplethingsx.blogspot.com
^all of those comments (and this one too) should be a great encouragement to you, girl! I know it was to me. (: Praying that this week is better for you!
ReplyDeleteAmen sweet sister. We're all imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Let's be real so we can lift each other up like the book of Romans tells us to. There's a time for mourning. Even David got frustrated and angry in Psalms.. heck, even JESUS WEPT. Who are we to pretend to be better? This world is both. Hard and sweet. We're all just floating between both.
ReplyDeleteYou're a wise lady.
Proud to know you.
Xx
I needed this. God bless.<3 And I'll be praying for you, whatever bumps you're going through, I know God will take care of anything you face.
ReplyDeleteA beauttiful reminder. Thanks for getting real :)
ReplyDeleteKinsey ... I am so blessed to see what you posted about Jesus in your blog! It's so hard to do sometimes (since you can't always be sure how everyone will react), but, you've done it and I think it's great!
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