The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres
On Fire For Christ & Sharing Our Journey With The World
Hello Faithful Friends,
Thank you so much for your outpouring of amazing love, support and prayer over this past week. We love you all! Please click on the video below for an update of the latest in our journey for a child.
Swiffering. Is that a verb these days? It’s like sweeping and mopping and dusting – all rolled into one satisfying chore. Or at least that’s what the advertisers would have us consumers believe.
When you have 3 furry creatures roaming around your home, however, swiffering may not be ‘enough’. I learned this the hard way last night. As you can imagine, this past month of moving into our new home, unpacking the boxes and furniture from 42′ of moving truck plus several car loads, deep cleaning hasn’t been our focus as much as unpacking and getting rid of the thousands of boxes that have been invading our home. But having 3 pets kind of trumps your plans for what’s on the ‘to-do’ list and so, when I traveled into town (yes, I have to say that now) to run errands, I knew that Wet Swiffers (the lavender scented ones are my favorite) had to be added to the shopping list. The fur was beyond the limits of my Zyrtec.
So I got home, unpacked the car and began cleaning. First, the toilets (yay! all 3 of them!) had to be scrubbed down – that’s ALWAYS THE FIRST THING THAT GETS CLEANED! Yuck. And then the dishes…(Getting used to well water and not having a disposal is taking some getting used to…) And finally, the swiffering.
But as I began swiffering the kitchen floor, I noticed it was a mere smattering of seconds before my wet moppy pad thing was unusable. It was full of fur and dust and living in the country. So, I switched it out for a new one…Repeat process. Several times.
Eventually, my kitchen floor was clean and smelled wonderful, but it dawned on me…Next time, I need to sweep first and then swiffer.
That might seem obvious to many of you, but understand I am new to 2 things:
Cleaning can’t be done with a quick fix to be done right. Cleaning is a process.
And so it is with allowing Christ to change us from the inside out.
We don’t become perfect people overnight. As a matter of fact, we don’t reach that state of grace until we go to live with Jesus at the end of our earthly lives. On earth, He is constantly molding and shaping us into the Christians – the Christ followers – He has planned for us to be.
I was brought up in a Christian home. I grew up knowing the Lord. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of Him. He was no longer at the forefront of my decision-making. He became like a long-lost friend: I knew Him…but we hadn’t talked in forever and even though He was making the effort to keep in touch, I wasn’t responding to His texts.
I remember rekindling our relationship.
It didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t go from the party-scene to youth ministry in a moment.
First, God grabbed the broom. Then, He showed me the dustpan…and we began. He started with one room and eventually swept the entire house. Next, He dusted. Room by room…And the swiffering has only just begun.
He is the Potter. We don’t become a beautiful piece of art overnight.It is the process of sanctification which molds us into that which He has destined for our lives.
Don’t seek out the ‘quick-fix’. Cherish the process with Him.
I often wondered why such a seemingly unimaginably awful Friday as this is called “Good Friday.” Translation certainly has something to do with this naming, as the word ‘good’ in Old English is better translated to our modern day ‘holy’. And it is certainly a HOLY Friday. Today is the day we commemorate God sacrificing His one and only Son, Jesus, on the cross. Killing Him in a horribly painful way to save us all.
All of us.
So if you are thinking you are too ‘bad’, too old, too tainted, too far gone, not good enough…that this sacrifice was not for you because you don’t need the Blood of Jesus Christ to save you… Well, however, crazily un-PC this may be…
YOU’RE WRONG.
There is one single way to Heaven: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:16
You cannot be good enough. You cannot give enough or go to church enough or meditate enough. The only thing that is enough is Jesus.
On today, Good Friday, God is asking you to do one thing: Acknowledge He gave His only Son a death sentence to save you. Believe that Jesus is the Son of the Living God and that He loves you – beyond ANY type of love you have ever experienced, beyond any type of love you could imagine. Nothing on this earth gets remotely close.
Once you acknowledge this fact, you simply have to believe, thank God for the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE and allow Him to be your Savior, by asking Him to forgive you and turning away from your past.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
This is a reason today is a ‘good day’… without the death of Christ on the cross, there could be no resurrection, no Easter Sunday. He died for YOU and for ME, and in doing so overcame death completely. His resurrection on the third day means that the day I die, I can say with confidence that I will be with Jesus in Heaven.
“One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!” Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.” Luke 23:39-43
With death being the great uncertainty in life, knowing my destination is an amazing comfort that allows me to live for Jesus, able to follow Him no matter what the consequences are – not that any of us are ever 100% successful in this. We all sin, no matter how much we try not to. As much as I strive to listen to God, satan tempts me too.
I do not understand what I do; for I don’t do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. Since what I do is what I don’t want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right. So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me. I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. I don’t do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do.If I do what I don’t want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.” Romans 7:15-20
Craig and I are about to embark on a new adventure for Christ – the details will be ‘spilled’ soon – and so many people have asked, “How can you just follow like that – no questions asked?”
And I have 2 answers:
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3
You may have seen on Facebook or Instagram that someone recently made some pretty rude comments toward Craig and me regarding our infertility. I am trying to believe that they misinterpreted our faith for complacency. Just as I ask the Lord to ‘help my unbelief’ for my Christian faith, I ask Him the same mercy for our lack of children.
‘Though [the Lord] brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.’ Lamentations 3:32
‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.’ Ecclesiastes 3:1
“Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’” Lamentations 3:21-24
He loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for us even though we did nothing to deserve this. If He loves me this much, He will provide for our every single need. How could I possibly doubt that? How can I worry about food, bills, a mortgage, children…when He provided even His only Son for me.
Can you fathom that?
Think of the person on this Earth you love most – your child, your spouse, your parent. Now imagine the entire world is sick. A disease is killing every person on earth and it is spreading like wildfire. The only cure is the blood of your loved one. That’s it. To save the world, you have to hand over your husband, your son, your daughter, your mother, your father, to be killed. And not in some pretty way. And not to a group of people who are grateful. No, you are handing over the one you love most to pain and torture so unbearable you don’t dare imagine it. And to a group of people who hate and despise the one you love most.
Could you do that? Could you sentence the love of your life to death to save people who don’t deserve it, even remotely???
I couldn’t. I don’t possess that much love.
So how in the world can I turn away from the only One who could, and did – Just for you and me?
HAPPY FRIDAY!!! I feel like shouting from the rooftops! This week has been SO long and I have had Friday-itis all day! It’s sunny and beautiful and 63 degrees out right now and I want to be outside enjoying it!!
So with today’s quick post, I’ll give you a peek into the good ol’ outdoors with the most adorable thing I have seen in a long while – A bald eagle girl (at Berry College in Rome, Georgia) and her bald eagle husband just had two babies and this is a 24 live feed next cam!!
Click Here To See Mama & Papa Eagle, and their babies!
Seriously, how cool!?!?
I won’t keep you today…Just wanted to share some of God’s beautiful creation!! Have a BEAUTIFUL weekend – I hope it’s just as gorgeous wherever you are as it is here!!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Wahoooooo!!! It is raining dogs and ponies here in Atlanta, but in my heart it is SUNSHINE and rainbows!! I am so excited for the weekend!! (Can you tell?)
So, as many of you know, one of our favorite things to do is cook together. Affectionately, Craig and I refer to each other as chef and sous-chef in the kitchen and we just love watching The Food Network and any cooking show together – Our favorite is ‘America’s Test Kitchen’.
At this point, my dietary restrictions are no longer merely ‘preferences’. With my insulin resistance/PCOS/etc., I cannot and do not eat sugar – which includes all carbohydrates, including any grains. If you don’t practice this lifestyle, it may seem daunting at first…HOW do you love to cook and not use flour, sugar, rice, etc.???
Actually, once you know the trades for those items, you can pretty much make and eat anything. The possibilities are endless.
One thing that’s important to note is that if a product claims to be ‘low fat’, ‘low sugar’, etc., it’s because it is filled with something else in the place of that fat or sugar. This is pure danger, and it part of the reason America is in the obesity crisis we are!
Let’s take, for example, skim milk.
Did you know that skim milk has about twice the amount of sugar as full fat cream!?!? When the fat is removed to make the milk ‘skim’, sugar is added in its place… For more information about this, see this article… Once you really begin researching nutrition…it’s quite eye-opening…You can change your entire health outlook with just a few switches in your pantry!
So, anyway, I love to create recipes that are similar to foods I enjoyed when I still ate carbs, but you’ll notice, as explained above, that I use several items which are SURPRISINGLY low carb & sugar, such as heavy whipping cream! (Note: At your favorite coffee shop, order your lattes ‘breve’, which means to use cream vs milk. You’ll save a TON of carbs this way!)
For today’s Food For Thought Friday, I thought I would share the recipe I ‘created’ last night for our dinner, Crusted Chicken in Dill Cream. It was delicious and so easy!
Try out our recipe and let us know what you think! Comment below or send us a message here!
Have a beautiful weekend, y’all! We’ll see you on Monday!
Happy Friday, Folks!!
Since we have just crossed the border into 2016 – and I am still writing 2015 at the end of every date…I thought we would do a Flashback Friday…into the past year, and all most some of what has happened with our little family.
What a wonderful year we’ve had!! Farewell 2015! Welcome 2016!! Here’s to our following the Lord wherever He is leading us and standing strong in our faith, no matter what!
Have a beautiful weekend! We’ll see you on Monday!
Because sometimes all you need is a visual reminder of His goodness…
In today’s world, many – in fact MOST – do not set the Lord before them…They do not set ANYONE or ANYTHING before THEMSELVES at all, in actuality. And isn’t that satan’s trick? When we place everything else before God, and nothing in front of our selfish desires, we are only fooling ourselves. True pleasure, pure joy, real love…all those things come only from Our Father Above.
This weekend, do yourself a favor and read ‘The Screwtape Letters’ by C.S. Lewis. It’s a classic, and it will make you think and open your eyes into the world of spiritual warfare.
Don’t let yourself be fooled. Set the Lord always before you, and He will guide you along the path of life.
Happy Friday!
Wanna know something funny?
This Facebook post:
…received 40 likes.
This one: 
…received 35 likes and 5 comments.
But this one, on the other hand:
…received one ‘like’.
And this one…
…only got “one”, as well.
So why am I mentioning this? Do I really care about how many “likes”, comments, shares, or re-blogs we have?
Not in the least.
But I do find it ‘funny’ – and not in an “LOL” way – that we are so quick to “like” a ‘pretty’ picture, “share” bad news, or comment on a post about fashion or friendship…and yet, we stray away from sharing, posting, liking or remarking about our faith on social media.
Craig and I certainly don’t author this blog for the income it provides (read: zero). We don’t share our faith because we desire fame, or tons of “likes” or “followers”. This blog is up and running today not because I have a wealth of time to write it, but because Jesus calls us to stand up for him!
In a world where violence is rampant; evil is portrayed as ‘good’ and normal, and the name of Jesus is a dirty word… We are called by him to shine like a light on a hill:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5: 14-16
How are you interpreting that scripture? Do you think being a LIGHT for all the world to see means fading into society so that no one out there knows your beliefs? Do you think it means hiding your faith? If that is how you’re living, you aren’t truly being a Christ-follower…
Now, listen. I am not here to judge, nor am I judging. But I love you people. I pour my heart and soul out to you weekly, and have (on and off) for almost three years. I write to you because Jesus has called me to do so, and because I love Him and long to follow Him more closely, I must obey.
Trust me. I am not perfect, nor am I claiming to be. I am a sinner. I mess up every single day, but that doesn’t stop me from striving to be the daughter of the Risen King I know I am.
Don’t shy away from sharing your faith – from letting others know what you believe and WHO you follow, and WHY. If you truly love Him, then don’t you want others to know the indescribable joy with which He fills you, in spite of all circumstances?
Be different. Shine like a light in the darkness. Do you know how many people have said to my face, behind my back, or behind the mask of a computer screen that I am a Jesus Freak? That I am “taking things too far”? That we take this “church thing too seriously”?
So. What.
It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, but Him.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23
So, therein lies your ‘food for thought’…Are you shining the light of Christ for all to see? I don’t care if you “like” my posts or share them or comment on them. But I do hope that you will never be ashamed of or afraid to reveal your faith.
Friends, it has been a long week alone! And tonight, although Craig was scheduled to return home, it looks like the airlines had other planes (Ha! A true Freudian slip!) plans for him. Alas, I have an exciting night of cooking ahead of me anyway, and if I can’t be with my husband tonight, I am actually a little thrilled to be getting back into meal planning and preparing meals ahead of time!;-)
So today, I thought I would share with you the recipes I am making tonight for next week, and a freebie: A Meal Plan Printable & Grocery List!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Obviously, I’m a big fan of Danielle at Let’s Dish! For this coming week, every meal came from her food blog, so if you see anything that looks yummy to you – and how could it not?!?! – check it out for yourself!
Now, perhaps you’re wondering how I eat any of this if you know anything about my dietary restrictions, and the truth is, that I won’t be eating the pizza or sandwiches, but the quinoa cakes, salmon and chicken should be DELICIOUS with a few minor modifications. 🙂
What are your thoughts on meal planning and cooking in advance for the week ahead? If you’d like to try it (and experience the lessening of pressure from not having to THINK about what’s for dinner or the last minute rush to the grocery store), check out my free printable:
Let me know what you think, and how this system works for you! And by the way, what’s your favorite recipe? You never know, we may add it to our next meal plan!
Have a great weekend!
Happy Friday Lovies!
Are you as ready for the weekend as we are?!?! I don’t know about y’all, but for me, this has been the longest week ever!
Probably a lot of that has to do with the fact Craig was out of town. I’m not gonna lie – It’s tough being alone so much, and I can’t even begin to describe how much I miss my husband!
But last night, at about midnight, he finally walked through our front door! Yippee!!!
So needless to say, we are excited to be blessed with the weekend together before he heads back to Texas, and…we just might be doing a little bit of celebrating…
Just like we mentioned in our flashback to last year’s post, “Pack!”, on Wednesday, God works in amazing ways – and they look nothing like the expectations of this world! So, almost exactly a year to the day of having a signed contract on our Dallas, Georgia home, yesterday, we sealed the deal on a signed contract for buyers of our Maine home! WOOHOO!
God is good!
And for anyone out there who thinks this is mere coincidence, think again. He tells us in Scripture not to be afraid, for He is with us! He has called us by name, and we belong to Him. (paraphrase Isaiah 43:1)
Can you take a moment to think about that and apply it to the context of your own life?
You are a creation of God, your Heavenly Father, who loves you so much, He never leaves your side. He tells you that wherever He leads you, He will always be right there. How amazing is that? The One who created the universe calls YOU by name, and knows every freckle on your face by heart.
He led us to Maine; He provided for us in what was a very daunting and seemingly impossible situation; We served Him; He opened doors of opportunity for us; We followed His command; He led us back to Georgia; We obeyed Him; He gave Craig a promotion, and He provided for our family, and He continues to provide and lead us step by step.
Trust and Obey. Just like the old, beautiful hymn:
Written By John Sammis, 1887
Lyrics:
That hymn (not to mention that version), especially when I think back over this past year and to our future, gives me goosebumps Jesus-bumps and brings happy tears to my eyes. I hope it blesses you today too!
As a constant reminder of His Faithfulness, we have a little treat for you today – a free printable:
Just right-click the image above and choose “Save Image As” to get yours! When I read those words, I can’t help but feel like nothing can stop me!
After all, we are sons and daughters of the RISEN KING! Hallelujah & Happy Friday!
The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres 
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