Meet Me Behind the Dinosaur

"It's right behind the dinosaur." 

That might sound like an odd phrase to you but if I say that to someone in Woodward I bet you a dollar they will know what I am talking about. When I moved to Woodward I thought it was the oddest thing that there was a large dinosaur right off on one of the main roads. I'm talking actual dinosaur size you guys. What is right behind the dinosaur? Well, Good to Go Books & Coffee Shop is and that is where I work.

Why the dinosaur? Well, the owner of the dinosaur created a life-like dinosaur with an exhibit area to show that dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth together. There are also 2 big stone tablets with verses written on them. It's a way to share about creation as well as a Biblical perspectives about the earth. 

One day my friend Kinzie and I went to try out this coffee shop and it was great! Woodward had it's first official coffee shop. Well, long story short but the girl who helped organized the start up of the coffee shop hired me on. Wahoo! I make coffee now! #HappyDance #DreamComeTrue

Here is how this awesome place works. There are two families in our church that had the vision and startup for all of this. Good to Go isn't just a coffee shop but they have a lot of Christian audio books and devotionals that people can either check out or have all for free! It's a really neat ministry. If someone is traveling through and they want a book we even provide an envelope with shipping on it so they can send back the materials when they are done. 

The coffee is great and fun to make but my favorite part of working at Good to Go is getting to know people. I've gotten to meet people who attend my church that I have never met at church. I have gotten to talk with so many people and learn more about them. I've even eavesdropped in on a conversation where a guy who was asking his girlfriend's parents if he could marry her - aka awesome! ;) It is also really nice when someone comes in and asks if we have a devotional related to a particular topic and I am able to give them Biblical resources to help. 

 We also have a big bin of dinosaurs for kids to play with! Kids love them!

More than anything I'm just amazed at God's goodness. I've always thought working at a coffee shop would be a really great way to interact with people and a fun opportunity to make coffee and I'm humbled and grateful that God gave me this opportunity right here in Woodward. The Lord knew I needed to be here and I'm so thankful He is faithful and always provides exactly what I need.  

What has been your favorite job?

Has anyone else been a barista? If so, how was your experience? 

Photography Friday Week 8 - A Pretty Place

Welcome to week 8 of Photography Friday. Photography Friday is a 20 week challenge to help improve our photography skills. There is a weekly prompt / theme for each week that you can be as creative with it as you'd like. This week's theme is a pretty place and next week's theme is from a low angle. For further information please click here. 

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A Pretty Place

After you see my pictures you might be wondering why in the heck I picked pictures of fields as a 'pretty place' - you aren't alone. Let me do a little explaining. From the age of 9 until my mid 20's people I lived in Kansas. People who moved to Kansas would always say "It isn't very pretty here". I thought that was the lamest thing I had ever heard of. I know - Kansas doesn't have mountains or beaches, but there is still something breathtaking about the prairies, the wheat fields, the sunsets and the wide open skies.  

If those people thought Wichita was bad they better double count their blessings that they didn't move to Western Oklahoma where I am. Western Oklahoma is dry. There aren't rolling green hills, there aren't beaches, and a lot of other things. However, there are plenty of pretty places here in Oklahoma - you just have to choose to see it. I've learned to appreciate the 'dry' landscape and the beauty that is in it. I also know if I live somewhere like this I better choose to like something about it because well, I live there, and I don't want to be miserable.  

The first picture I took is a field located a 1/2 mile from my apartment. For some reason it's simplicity is what struck me as beautiful. I always drive by this field on my way home from Walmart. I pulled my car over on the side of the road to snap some pictures and I had an old man in a truck stop wondering if everything was ok. He had the weirdest look when I told him I was there taking pictures. 

 ISO 100   f/5.6   SS1/800

The next pictures are from the walking trails near my apartment. What I love are the contrasting colors. I love the blue sky and the brown trees. Sometimes when the sun is setting it has a magical glow. I think that's what photographers call the 'golden hour'. 

ISO 800 f/18 SS160

ISO 100    f/5.6    SS1/200

Where is a pretty place you love to go? 

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Photography Friday - Week 5 // Something or Someone you Love

Welcome to week 5 of Photography Friday. Photography Friday is a 20 week challenge to help improve our photography skills. There is a weekly prompt / theme for each week that you can be as creative with it as you'd like. This week theme is something or someone you love and next week's theme is anything Valentine's Day related. For further information please click here. 

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I don't know where you live but currently in NW Oklahoma we are snowed in. I took the theme of 'something or someone you love' and am going with the something I love as snow days. I don't really love the cold or the snow that much but what I do love is that my husband doesn't have to work as much. He got Tuesday off and we spend the day doing nothing important - all day. It was grand. I also love that snow days inspire baking, soups, crafting, movie watching, etc.  

All of these pictures are taken with my iPhone. I know, it's lazy, but hey - I'm not about to take my tripod out and fancy pancy camera in 8 degree weather. No thanks! Dave and I had breakfast (around 1pm). I pulled out my Korean coffee mugs and we had cafe viennas. We then decided our fat cat needed to go out in the snow and burn some calories. We took him out and buried him. It was funny and he actually didn't hate it as much as I thought he would. Dave and I then went for a walk and although it was cold it was nice to get outside for a little bit. 

What's the weather like where you are at? Feel free to leave me some feedback and of course you are welcome to link up your pictures as well. 

Overcoming the Lie of Strongholds

Great Salt Plains in Oklahoma

Hi there friend! Sometime in December, Ashley, from Overcome the Lie contacted me and asked if I would write about a lie God has helped me over come. It honestly couldn't have been better timing because I had been praying that God would connect me to other women bloggers who would encourage my faith and vise versa. Today I'm going to talk about overcoming Strongholds in our lives.
Before I share some things I wanted to talk a bit about the organization 'Overcome the Lie'. If you haven't heard of them it's an organization that encourages women to 'overcome the lie because Jesus overcome the grave'. How powerful is that?! They have a twitter party at 9pm EST on Wednesdays, have connect groups, will pray for you and lots of other awesome things. I'd encourage you to head over to their website (links on bottom of this post) and get connected.

Although I have been asked to write, I'm not writing just a 'guest post'. I'm writing because I believe there is a message that needs to be delivered. I've seen God bring me out of strongholds and I know He desires the same for you. Honestly, I can't imagine being delivered and not sharing the lessons and faithfulness of God I have seen. I'm also not here to lay out all the details about my past. I'm here to share about what the Lord has done and how through Him we have victory.

Overcoming Strong Holds

What is a Strong Hold?

The word 'strong hold' is found in II Corinthians 10:4. In the Greek it means the following: a castle, stronghold, fortress, fastness, anything on which one relies (BLB). Basically a strong hold is anything in your life, other than Jesus, that you are relying on or that has a hold on you. It can be anything from an ungodly relationship, apathy, not spending enough time in prayer, over eating, and on and on. If someone or something has more influence over you than Jesus - it's a strong hold.

To be honest, my strong hold lasted a whole whopping long and difficult 5+ years and I believed a lot of lies. If you think about it, a lie starts with someone giving you information. Although it's false information it does start in your head. To counteract lies we have to start with our mind - fill it with the truth of God's Word. I'm going to share with you some of the lies I believed and what verses God gave me to help me overcome them.

The Lies

Lie #1 – I’ll never be fully free from “whatever your stronghold is”

When you are entangled in a lie it is so easy for your emotions to tell you won't be free from it. When you feel that way I hope you will remember these words, spoken by Jesus himself: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES..." (Luke 4:18). I know we 'know' this but I'm here to say it again, Jesus didn't just tell people to be free, he went to a cross and died a brutal death to do that for us. He means it when he promises to set us free.

Lie #2 – I've tried and messed up too many times to try again. 
I hate to break it to you but when you are over coming strong holds sometimes it isn't an instant victory but rather a process. Yes, you will often fall flat on your face, again, and feel ashamed. The enemy will be right there, telling you to just stay down. Here is what God has to say though: "For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again (Proverbs 24:16a). Seven times! That's a lot and you know what? I think it's beyond seven times. Jesus said to forgive 70 x 7 and if He expects that of us He will offer it to. If you fall down, get back up and start again!

Lie #3 - I can do it!
Wrong! YOU can't do it. So many times we think victory over sin comes from just trying hard enough. No one can just 'try hard enough'. The power of victory comes through Jesus Christ. Victory comes through reading the Bible and renewing your mind, prayer, attending church and having Godly people to encourage and hold you accountable. We just weren't meant to fight battles alone. I know when I went through my hard times I would often listen to sermons and I had several friends that I knew I could call any time for encouragement or help.

Lie #4 - I'm not loved
This lie can come from our own emotions or from someone telling us that. However, Jesus has loved us with an everlasting love! I can't tell you how many times I was struggling and I'd finally sit down with my Bible expecting to read some verse on God's coming judgment. However, when I opened the Word, time and time again I came across the word lovingkindness. My favorite verse on this is Jeremiah 31:3 "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindess have I drawn thee". Friend, you are loved!

Lie #5 - I'm too damaged and won't be fully restored
I believed this for the longest time. However, I went to a women's retreat and the speaker keyed in on Joel 3:25-27 "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten ... and ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you ... and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed". Let me do a bit of explaining ... the locust came and ate the Israelites fields. Fields, in Bible days, meant food, it meant survival. Locusts ate the present seed and future seed and could damage a crop for 250 years! I view the locusts as 'sin' and 'strongholds'. They take years from your life. However, God promised to restore it. Isn't that odd? How can God restore a year that has passed? Honestly, I don't know how He does that but he does! I wrote those verses out, claimed that promise, and God did it. He restored to me much much more than I lost. I'm still amazed at how that all happened but I'm glad He did it.

If you are battling something today I encourage you to get in God's Word and write out some verses. When those lies creep in fight them with The Truth you have. God is here to give you an abundant life and He loves you very much! If you are his child the power of the resurrection that raised Jesus from the dead is within you wanting to free you from sin.

Also, if you have questions, need encouragement or want prayer I'm available. You can e-mail me at sunshine2thesquareinch@gmail.com any time.

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