never give up

Well, it is officially summer here in the Beaty-girl household.  We are out of school, off work which means I can finally get around to organizing my closets and doing some craft projects!

Being out of school for me means more contemplating this thing called life, and my life is not always easy.  In fact, it is rarely easy - there always seems to be someone or something absolutely bent on keeping me down and defeated.  Then I think of some of the people I find inspiring, and most of the time those people are the ones who fought a daily battle to get to accomplish their goals.  They are the people who didn't take no for an answer - do you know just how difficult that is?  To have someone tell you no, you're not good enough, you are not what we are looking for so many times you start to believe it yourself.  I am learning just how it feels to stand in the face of opposition and say I am not, I will not give up.  Giving up is easy, but it is not where you or I want to be.  I want to look around one day and find that I never gave up of my dreams and that I lived this life to the best of my ability.

There are a few things that encourage me to keep going on this journey, and I was recently reminded of one of those things.  So You Think You Can Dance is a dance competition on Fox, and it is wonderful.  The dancers are paired with a partner and a choreographer and given a genre of dance which may or may not be their area of expertise.  The choreographer teaches them a dance which they will perform for the judges.  Sometimes, these combinations produce such beautiful results even though it is certainly extremely challenging.  It is a beautiful process to watch these dancers grow week after week.  There is something about dance, like music and all art really, that can capture emotions and tell a story much more eloquently than words allow.  Needless to say, I am a little addicted.

I am sharing two videos of a couple of my favorite dances - they are amazing and inspiring and just wonderful.  Please take the time to watch them with an open mind, and you too may find yourself just a little inspired to never give up on your dreams.  The first is below, and the second I will link for you here!



Never give up because what you do matters,

Colie

Audrey and Ralph

There are days when words fail me - or perhaps when I fail words.  Those days when you can't express your heart; for most of these instances it is music that fills those voids.  I love music - all types really because many times it is the poetry of the writer or the tone of the notes that expresses something within me that would otherwise go unvoiced.  Sometimes it is song lyrics that fills this void, but other times it is quotes from people who have done this thing before and leave their words behind to give voices to those who might not be so eloquent.  So I thought I would leave you with a few of my favorite quotes as they are something that I love and that inspires me!  These quotes help me to remember that I am not alone on this journey...

Source: weheartit.com via nicole on Pinterest

I love Audrey Hepburn - so classy and elegant and apparently brilliant!  It helps me look for that which is good in people because the bad is so much easier to find yet so counterproductive.

Source: google.com via nicole on Pinterest

I had to learn this poem in the 8th grade in Mrs. Jeanne Rowland's class, and it has stuck with me.  I want desperately to succeed by this definition especially that one life breathed easier because I existed.

Source: michelleums.tumblr.com via nicole on Pinterest

Oh how I long for "it's time" - the patience to see things or people be made beautiful is quite a virtue that I am working on everyday!

Source: spirituallythinking.blogspot.com via nicole on Pinterest

Finally, I love this quote because throughout my life there have been times when I have had to trust God's character and what I know of Him regardless of my circumstances or what I am seeing.  The added bonus of this being from the Holocaust - someone thought this that has experienced far worse circumstances than I could ever dream of.  The faith of this person is so encouraging and incredible and humbling - if this person can trust Him through the Holocaust, why do I struggle trusting Him through everyday life?

Source: etsy.com via nicole on Pinterest

I had to have just one more - I like the movement this quote implies. Do something.  Go be whatever it is these quotes inspire.  Gandhi said you must be the change you wish to see in the world.  Change starts with you and me!

I hope these quotes inspire you, and I would love to read some of the quotes that inspire you!

Much Love,

Colie

Mom

Okay so this week my love and inspiration post was a tish postponed, but I really wanted to think about something that I love and/or inspires me.  What followed was me really seeing just how blessed I am - 

All of these people inspire me and I love each and every one of them!  I have blessed with such an incredible family!  Oh the top middle pic is of the newest addition to the fam - Miss Daisy Claire Stokley!  

Last but certainly not least I must add The Beaty Girls!!!

and... of course Mamaw and Papaw

Okay, so I hope you look around at your family and as today is Mother's Day glance over particularly to your Mom and see the amazing woman she is!  I have a pretty great mom who had a pretty great mom, and I pray that you do as well!  But if you don't, I will loan mine out, she is more than enough inspiration for me!!!  She loves everyone - she is like Mamaw in that!!!  Most of our friends have said that our home was so homey when we were growing up, and a huge part of that is my mom!  She is just incredible!  

Happy Mother's Day, Mama

Love, 

Colie

bouncy balls and movement

So, life is a bit crazy as all of you who work in the school system know, May is like school and children on speed.  I promise I think my 3 and 4 year olds have turned into bouncy balls - at any point in time, you can almost literally see them bounce from one side of my room to the other!  And for some unknown reason, we decide to cram as many activities and "fun days" into this one month - the final 2 1/2 weeks of school!  Okay, sorry for that little step on the soapbox - I must have you know that I really do love my job, and I really do have the sweetest bunch of bouncy balls ever!  

I am slacking in the inspiration photo self-challenge today so I will have to worry about that tomorrow!  (Wow, I sound just a tish like Scarlett O'Hara!) I do want to share some of the things that are going on in my life right now!

God is doing some awesome things right now - I am a little scared to mention it in the fear that acknowledging that this is something I have truly hoped for will make it go away, but... Here it goes...

My heart beats history - I know if you have read any of the past posts, you know that already, but I have truly learned in the past year that it is for a much bigger purpose.  I always thought I was the weird girl, and now I know that I am the weird girl.  But, I am very much okay with that.  God created me this way - to love history or just any good story really, to love finding - digging, researching, studying to find that story, and then to share it with the world or at least my little part of it!  I never really considered that this gift would be useful for the church, but I was beyond wrong about that.  The same love to find a story has translated into a love for the Scripture and  for studying, pouring over it.  If I could tell you all that He is teaching me, it would take much longer than a few paragraphs in a blog post.  I have been challenged, inspired, loved, chastised, pursued.  I am more than amazed and so very humbled... And I had to move, to act, to do something, to be - well to be available, pliable, useful.

So after talking with our pastor and a sweet friend, I have found two possible areas that this newly found passion may be used.  First, beginning this Wednesday May 9th I will be leading a ladies small group in my home.  I am slightly nervous about this, but I pray that God will use me and that He will meet with us.  Second, I am.. hoping to share this love and gift with a few more people in our community.  I am asking that you will pray that there is a need and open door for this potential development.  More details will be shared at a later date, but just know if that door is open it is completely His moving.  

I just want my story to be used to tell HIS STORY - to bring an accurate estimate or opinion of His Story and His character!!!  Oh, I so pray it does - 

Much Love,

Colie

move

So you are getting two for the price of one with this one!  I am sharing with you something that I love and inspires me and a few things that I have learned during my time in this space!

Photo:  CrossPointe Community Church Facebook Page

So this is a picture of Sunday Am worship at my church - CrossPointe Community Church in Laurel, MS.  It's amazing!  It really is a family, and our pastor brings messages of truth to the context of our lives.  If you are local, and don't have a church please come check us out!  

Now for a few things I have learned while attending CPCC - most of the lessons I have ever learned have come from this place so I will limit it to just this week!

1.  Worldly peace is the absence of conflict.  Godly peace is the quiet control of the soul regardless of circumstances!  Now, stop and reread that!  With God, you do not have to be conflict free because let's face the fact that we rarely are.  Instead the peace He offers is one that exists even in the midst of the worse of our circumstances!  Can we get up and run around about that?  I did!

2.  Move - Get up, GO!  Do whatever it is God is stirring in your heart to do!  Most often I tend to run from these things, but moving is an act of obedience!  So I stopped running, and am moving towards God!

3.  Have confidence in the person God created you to be and the movement He inspires in you!!!  He loves you and has given you the gifts and talents you have - use them confidently for Him!!!  Nobody else can be the person He created you to be!

Okay so that was quick and painless!  I pray you move and that you find peace!  Have a blessed week!

Much Love,

Colie

everyday beauty

Okay friends, it is time for another weekly installment of things that I love and provide inspiration!  And this week's feature is - 

This is our balcony on our apartment - specifically the view from inside the apartment at around 7:15 this morning!  Yes, I, Nicole Beaty, was up and taking pictures with my phone at that time in the morning!  

I must say this self-given assignment has been really good for me - I have been searching for inspiration in everything!  There are times when it just hits me, but sometimes it is nice to look for the beauty in the everyday!  Now why is this balcony inspiring?  Well, it is colorful and cheerful - full of happy colors.  Also, I love being outside, I love having the ability to open a door and be able to comfortably enjoy the outdoors, and I love that it feels like we are bringing the outside in! Being outside especially during the spring and fall are usually very inspiring to me  - I am in awe of God's masterpiece!  I sometimes feel like He paints a canvas just for me each day in the beauty of trees (you know I have this thing about trees!), flowers(hello, my grandmothers were named Daisy and Rose), and the light(sunlight is quickly becoming one of my favorite things)!

So I hope you find beauty in the everyday!

Much Love,

Colie

money and me

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Matthew 6:24 NASB

I can tell you that I have read this verse many times, and I have heard many messages from different pastors involving this passage.  However, like so many other things in my life, I never REALLY understood its meaning until I experienced it.  Everything in this world, tells us hold on to our money with all our might especially now that times are hard, but everything I have come across dealing with authentic Christ-following behavior commands giving - tithing, offering, etc.  Tithing is considered  a part of one's worship of God, and a part that I must admit was a struggle for me.  I have this mentality that I hate to run out of something - we have went through some difficult times where we didn't know if/when/how we would get to replace something if it ran out.  

So I suppose giving away money when I know it will be another month before we get another paycheck is difficult for me, but I have been SO VERY convicted of this lately.  It's part of this entire being-a-better-steward thing that I have been trying to do this year.  I have been praying, studying the Word, keeping a prayer journal all in the goal of aligning my life and my heart with God's heart and Word.  Through this has come this extreme dislike for money and the idea of being tied to money.  The more I  love God and the more I know about Him, the more I dislike money.  I felt like I was almost defining myself by the money I had or letting money dictate my life.  To be quite honest, I hated the idea that I allowed money to have that much power over me.  Malachi 3 was the punch in the gut that confirmed what I knew - I needed to tithe.

8“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORDof hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11“Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. 12“All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts."

So Candace (my sister/best friend/accountability partner) and I just decided that we didn't care what the numbers said or our fears of not having enough money for the month - we stepped out on faith and gave.  And I can't tell you all the blessings we have received in just the short time since we did.  I believe the main thing for me though was feeling like I had let go of something that God had been commanding me to put down - it was a break-through for me.  To know that even though I make mistakes and even though I fail every day, I am moving in the right direction makes all the difference in the world.  It felt wonderful to trust God to be my Jehovah-Jireh - my provider!  

He is true to His Word and is my Provider!  I am in awe of His love and His grace when I think of how He has blessed us.  I pray that you know God and that you trust Him to be your Provider.  I don't know what He may be asking you to trust Him in, but I pray that you do.  I just can't find sufficient words to describe how amazing God is and has been and continues to be to my family.

Much Love,

Colie