Fashion Friday-Fall 2010

After poring over countless websites and looking through hundreds of pictures of scary models, I have found some Fall Fashions that I think you will all like!! Now, keep in mind that there are some styles that are “in” right now, but I have not included them! :) Some things just weren’t meant to be worn by beautiful, Apostolic, young ladies!!! (by the way, no matter what anyone says, “underwear as outerwear” will NEVER be cute!!!)  

2010 Fall Fashions!!!

Button-up shirts are making a statement this season, but the catch is—you have to button it ALL the way up to the top!  This style is meant to look very sleek and sophisticated, so be sure to tuck the shirt into a skirt, or wear a belt.

  http://www.fashionising.com/pictures/p--All-buttoned-up-fashion-inspiration-6843-102490.html

Atten-HUT!!! Stand up and salute! Military style jackets are making headlines this season! Greens and even navy are the colors to look for….just make sure that NO camouflage sneaks in!

http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Military-fashion-womens-military-clothing-trend-1331.html

Whether you think it’s cute, or not, the school-marm look is in! The idea is to dress slightly frumpy, but always make sure you accessorize with something really cute and funky so that everyone knows that you MEANT to look that way!  I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to try this one, but more power to ya, if you do!!!!

                                                          http://www.stylelist.com

Pretty and feminine, and sleek and sophisticated is the name of the game for Fall 2010! Pull out those long, full skirts that have been hiding in the back of your closet! They are in! Be sure to finish off this look with kitten heels, or something really girly!

http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--60s-dress-1960s-full-skirt-4446.html

Thankfully, we have some cooler weather coming this weekend, so now is the perfect time to pull out the boots!  (I started wearing mine about two weeks ago…I just couldn’t wait any longer!) But, this season try giving those boots a new flair.  Wearing knee socks that show over the tops of your boots is the perfect way to spice up your outfit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/evystree?ga_search_query=evy's+tree&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

Camel is the new gray!! There are so many possibilities with these two neutrals, but you can also put them together.  So cute!!!

 http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Sophisticated-70s-womens-trend-4506.html

Have fun finding new outfits by keeping these tips in mind!!

xo,

Natalie

Walking Daily

Its hard to imagine that God desires to commune with you consistently, to know and be known, to be your confidante and closest friend, but that is exactly the type of relationship He desires to have with us.  Relationships are cultivated through communication.  Prayer is our means of communication with the Lord.  A daily relationship with God is definitely a sacrifice, but the end result far outweighs anything you could possibly give up in order to spend more time with Him.  Proverbs 3:6 says "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."  The root word of "acknowledge" is "know.”  To me that means this scripture could also be read as “In all your ways know Him, and He will direct your path.”  We get to know God by spending time talking with Him (prayer) and studying His word.  

One of the things I enjoy most about God is His daily-ness.  I don’t believe we can truly develop an appreciation for His presence based solely on moments of crisis.  Often, we approach God for instant help when we feel we have no where else to turn, and then don’t speak to Him again until we are in the middle of another crisis.  He gets us through the situation and although we appreciate Him and gush gratitude at the moment, we don’t stay in touch with Him once the crisis is over.  Pure appreciation for God's presence, however, emerges from a daily walk—perhaps through the mundane more than the miraculous, because its through the mundane that we realize He doesn't only show up through fiery pillars in the sky, but He cares about the smallest details of our lives.  Our enjoyment of God will remain lacking if our walk with Him isn't daily.  Beth Moore said it like this, “I remember when a profound change occurred in my daily approach to God. For years I asked God to walk with me. Suddenly, as if someone pulled the string on a lamp, I realized God wanted me to walk with Him. For years I asked God to bless what I did. Talk about the clay trying to spin the Potter! I formerly wanted to take my feet of clay and walk where my heart led and count on the Potter to bless my sweet-if-selfish little heart. My clay feet got scorched walking through some terrible fires sparked by the misguided passion of my own heart. Suddenly I realized God's blessing would come when I did what He said. I have learned the hard way that I can only trust my heart when it is fully surrendered to obey God's truth. On its own, my heart is ‘deceitful above all things’ (Jeremiah 17:9). For our own safety and pure enjoyment of God, we are so wise and blessed to learn to walk with God instead of begging Him to walk with us.” 

Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us God is the One with the good plan: "’For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’" I think seeking Him with all of our hearts, means seeking Him everyday.  We don't have a clue where the paths God chooses will ultimately lead, but when we chose to walk with Him daily, we will see His plan unfold in our lives one step at a time (one day at a time).  God's plan for our lives leads to more than we've seen, heard, or even imagined. Walking with God in pursuit of daily obedience is pretty much a sure means of fulfilling each of His wonderful plans.

Trying to walk daily,

Amberly



Brace-Face

Have you ever been sitting in the dentist’s chair and the sweet dentist or assistant is trying to carry on a conversation with you?  You would love to be able to communicate with them, except their hands are in your mouth and all that comes out is, “Garble, adkeiashk mmmphey.” (Which translated is: “I’m doing fine today. How are you?”)  Now, I know that they really do have the best intentions of trying to build a relationship with you, but truthfully, all they are doing is making their job harder and risking getting bite marks on their fingers!

Well, I had one of those experiences this morning! It was a pretty inspired moment, until I realized that I might as well not even try.  My orthodontist was trying to explain the fact that my overbite, like most adults, was a pretty permanent situation, but that he was going to try to adjust it through a gradual process.  His exact words were, “We’ll just have to see what God has left in you.”  The Lord spoke to me at that moment and said, “I haven’t stopped working in your heart yet, so why should your teeth be any different!” Sadly, I was unable to share this revelation with sweet Dr. Davis, but I have all of you to share with!

Have you ever felt that you were such a hopeless case? Hate to break it to you, but YOU ARE! On our own, we are nothing! Our lives are meaningless, our relationships are empty, and our efforts are pointless…that is, without God in the midst of it.  We live in a world that is constantly promoting self-worth and self-esteem…which actually sounds pretty good to us girls! But we must take a step back and analyze the meaning behind the promotion of all things “SELF.”  Now, you must understand that I definitely don’t mean that you have to live a life where you constantly degrade yourself, your looks, your body or personality, but instead of looking inward to find our identity, we must look upward.  God has a plan for a victorious life, and it doesn’t include “self-esteem.”  Instead, we must get used to the idea that we are nothing, and God is EVERYTHING.  When we have “God-esteem” then our own wants and needs become a little less important.

Going back to my experience at the dentist, I have many days that I loathe the fact that I have to wear braces!  I look at myself in the mirror and see a 12-year-old, silly-looking, pipsqueak, brace-face, little girl looking back.  (Sometimes I’m dramatic…it happens!) But as I was driving home from my appointment this morning the Lord showed me that the same process that I am going through with my teeth, He is using in our lives.  Sometimes we feel like the pain we are going through is not worth it, or that the humiliation of having a burden placed upon our lives is too much for us to bear.  Some days it may even seem like it’s not even doing any good!!! But God is the Great Physician (or the Great Dentist in this case) and He knows the end from the beginning!  He can see His creation becoming more and more like He intended every day. 

So the next time you think that the test or trail you are facing is too much to bear, just remember that God has a plan.  He is shaping and molding you into a stronger woman, one that He can use!  When you wake up every morning, do it with a purpose—a purpose to be more like Him, and less like yourself!

Lots of love,

Natalie

It's Fashion Friday!!!

Beginning next week, we will start having Fashion Friday!  Natalie is working on a fun, informative, fall fashion post for next Friday.  We weren't really prepared for a fashion post today, so I decided to talk about our hearts.  Cause if your heart ain't right, it don't matter what you have on.  At least that's what my mom used to say...beauty is as beauty does.

I grew up in a grace-filled home.  I've seen my parents forgive over and over and over again.  I watched my mom pour adoration on her gay brother - because while God may hate the sin, He always loves the sinner.  Don't even begin to make any racial slurs around my younger brother.  He'll be on you so fast you won't know what happened - because God doesn't see color.  I've watched my older brother take homeless people out to dinner so many times - because what you've done for the least of these, you've done unto Him.  Several years ago, my parents took in a young girl from our church.  She had endured a tough life to say the least.  I watched them love her just like they loved their flesh and blood children.  Today, I proudly call Natalie my sister.  We may not see each other very often, but she's one of the best friends I have ever had.  I'm not really sure how, while growing up in that environment, I still became a perfectionist.  I was the child who never failed class because if I got a B I would be so devastated I couldn't eat for days.  I can actually remember praying "Lord make me perfect by the time I'm 30."  The sad thing is that I meant it from the bottom of my heart.  I truely wanted to be His perfect saint.  My biggest problem was assuming that striving for perfection was somthing I had to do through my own power.  I only ended up making the outside look good, while on the inside, I was filled with an unhealthy self-obsession and self-worth.  My moods depended on whether I felt a huge sense of pride for how well I had done that day, or an overwhelming sense of failure for how awful I had done that day.  Did you know that back in Jesus' day, people would white-wash the outside of the tombs?  They did it so that no one would touch the tomb during the night which would have made them ceremoniously unclean and unable to worship.  The white-washing did nothing to change the contents of the tomb.  It was still filled with a stinking, decaying body.  It just looked better on the outside.  It took me years to realize that self-induced holiness is an exercise in futility.  I can't make myself perfect.  I can't work hard enough, be dedicated enough, disciplined enough, to MAKE myself Christlike.  I have to allow Him to work on me from the inside.  I do have power over my outward appearance and how I treat others, but I have to allow Him to control my heart or nothing else will ever matter.  I hope it doesn't take you as long as it did me to realize that Jesus doesn't want us to be white-washed tombs.  He has a far greater goal in mind.  He wants to raise us from the dead.

XOXO,
Amberly

Check This Out!!!!

Leslie Ludy is one of our FAVORITE authors!!! I'm sure throughout this blog you will see us talking about her often! Check out her online devotionals!  There is a ton of stuff to read and study on her website that will grip your heart and make you think. :)

http://www.setapartgirl.com/Devotional/Devotional.html

Love,
Natalie

Welcome!

Welcome to the  new ALC Lady in Waiting blog!  Natalie, Stephanie and I are excited about this new adventure!!  We hope to give you tips for walking with God daily, fun clothing/hair ideas, and be very real with you about the struggles of being a young Christian lady and how to overcome those struggles and stay true to your convictions.  If there is anything particular you want us to write about, feel free to let us know and we'll see what we can do :)  So, here goes...our first devotion ever!!  So exciting, right?  Well, to me it is LOL

This morning on the way to work I was reading Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver (I can read because someone else drives the bus!)  One of the statements I read was "I'm so glad we have a Savior who loves us just as we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way."  I don't know how you feel, but I am so glad He didn't leave me the way He found me.  I'm so very far from perfect, but I am so much more than I used to be.  Sometimes, I still have a hard time believing He is willing to invest enough in my life to change things about me that are less than desirable.  Driving down I-45 one day, listening to KSBJ, I heard "today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You  leaving me this way" and I started to panic.  You see, I don't want to stay the same.  I want to grow more like Him every day.  When Esther was chosen to be a candidate for queen, she was forced to endure one solid year of beauty treatments.  One of the things required of the women chosen, was to sit every day for six months in a pool of perfume.  The purpose was that the perfume would sink so far into their pores that in every situation, no matter how nasty or sweaty, the queen would still smell lovely.  (This was before deodorant LOL)  My prayer lately has been "Lord, in every situation, no matter how stressful, no  matter how disheartening or depressing...even no  matter how exciting and new, let my life reveal You.  Change me Lord.  Make me more like You."  I no longer feel panic when I hear those words blaring from my car radio.  No matter how I feel on any given day, my God loves me too much to leave me the way I am.  He loves you too much as well. 

XOXO,
Amberly