Social Media and Lent.

    Every few years, I observe lent, and on most of those years, I gave up social media. This year, I did it again. I wasn't quite sure what my expectations were this year. Sometimes, when I give up social media, it's to give my relationship with God an extra boost outside of my normal growth. In other years, I gave it up to help with my addiction and to grow closer to God. This year it ended up being more about my addiction. Part of me figured my scrolling habit would naturally translate into time in my Bible app as it has in the past. Although I was much more intentional about opening up my Bible app in past years than I was this year. It didn't this year, but probably because my focus wasn't on getting closer to God but getting further away from my addiction. So, instead of moving my screen time from Social Media to my Bible app, I was on my phone less.

    For the first few days, I used my social media time to clean up my email. Gmail had been complaining that my inbox needed cleaning up. So I worked on that. I thought maybe after I cleaned up my email, I would open up my Bible app more. Once again, I was wrong. And that's okay. Because that was the religion in me talking and not my relationship with God talking. Two different things.

    I did, however, notice that I started reading more novels. I wanted to start reading more books this year but wasn't sure what it would look like. I'm not a fast reader, and I don't have a whole lot of extra time in my current schedule to add more reading. However, since giving up social media, I have lots more time on my hands and noticed myself reading a whole lot more. Heck, I have read five books, and we are only at the end of March. For me, that's impressive. Mind you, my sewing projects have taken a hit because I have spent my weekends with my nose in a book instead of sewing/on my phone. But I'm going to take a few day's break from reading and work on a sewing project. I'm working on finding the balance between all the activities I enjoy.

    But the biggest thing I have noticed is that my addiction and desire to be on Facebook and Instagram has significantly reduced. And this year, I have a plan for how and when I will use social media. Every other time I have given it up for lent to help with my addiction, I never have a plan for after my fast is over. Or at least not a detailed one with proper guidelines that can be measured. This year, I have a plan and a good one at that.

    Because social media is not in and of itself bad. It can be helpful when used properly, and I finally have a plan for how I will use it going forward that will be beneficial. Which, I am excited about.

    At the end of the day, my fast from Social Media produced the exact results I was hoping for. Of which I am grateful for and proud of. I wasn't sure what it would look like in the process, but that does not always matter. Yes, sometimes it is about the journey and not the destination, and at other times, like this last season, it is about the destination.

Happy Easter, friend. He has risen.

God Bless

~Hannah

My Hubby

     I don't spend nearly enough time bragging on my hubby. This week God used my hubby to teach me an important message and now I want to share it with you.

    This past Tuesday, hubby pulled a "Joseph" moment. Meaning that he taught me a valuable lesson without saying a word. I once heard a sermon about Joseph. As in Mary and Joseph and that even though Joseph doesn't say anything that is recorded in scripture, his actions speak volumes. I had never noticed it until Dr. David Barker from Heritage College and Seminary. He gave a message about Joseph and how his actions spoke volumes. In Matthew 1:18-25, we read about Joseph learning about Mary being pregnant with Jesus and his thoughts about how to deal with the situation. Verse 19 tells us that he was a kind, loving, God-fearing, righteous man. He didn't want to cause Mary any undue harm or embarrassment. He thought about quietly divorcing her. The Lord came to Joseph in a dream and told him not to worry about Mary and that everything would be fine and he was to go through with their marriage. Joseph listened to and obeyed The Lord and took Mary as his wife. It was an awesome message that refreshed that passage of scripture and gave me a new perspective on Joseph.

    Okay, back to hubby. On Tuesday this past week, my hubby taught me about his afternoon schedule/routine and how much better it works than mine. (my words, not his) I have known his afternoon routine for a long time but never realized how beneficial it is. Hubby comes home from work, relaxes for a bit, then comes and picks me up, relaxes for a bit more and then works on his homework for his English course. He is upgrading his grade 11 and 12 University high school English classes to attend Brock University for Video game design.

    My routine consists of getting home from work, walking Blessing as soon as possible, followed by making supper, then showering and hopefully having enough energy to enjoy an hour to myself at the end before going to bed. The relaxing part doesn't usually work very well. I'm usually too tired to enjoy that little bit of downtime.

    So, after picking me up from work on Tuesday, hubby wanted to talk about an old hobby he wanted to get back into. We ended up talking in his office for a bit about his hobby. By this point in my day, I'm tired from work and questioning if I have the energy to walk Blessing, which makes me feel like a terrible human being. Before he finished talking, I sat down on the floor of his office (not going to sit on any furniture until after I had changed out of work clothing and showered). After he finished talking, I lay down on the floor. Feeling rather low, both figuratively and literally. I started to doze off. A few minutes later, I woke up and decided to get up and take a bath, instead of walking Blessing next. I then thought about hubby's routine and how relaxing after work for a bit before getting other work done was a good idea. He has never spoken a word about his routine being better than mine or compared them in any way. But as I was walking out of his office, Holy Spirit told me that hubby was having a "Joseph" moment and was teaching/speaking with his actions without knowing it.

    He was teaching me to relax after work for a little while before continuing with home life chores, such as walking Blessing or making supper. So I tried it out. I took a nice hot bath, then typed up my last blog post and set a mental timer for when my relaxation time was over to make supper. Supper that night was just a matter of warming up leftovers. So when supper time came around, I warmed it up, and we ate. Then I relaxed again for a bit afterwards. I then decided what time I would walk Blessing and did so accordingly. By bedtime, everything was taken care of, and I felt satisfied.

    It is now Saturday night, and I have worked on practicing this new routine for the last week. I figured on laundry days and grocery days that I would ignore the shower and relax time after work and just power through those activities to get them done. But once I hit those days I realized that I wanted/needed to shower and relax all the more before doing those chores. I have come to enjoy taking a shower again and feel refreshed again. For a long time, I haven't cared so much about getting a shower. Yes, I bathe every day, but I don't race home to get it done. It's simply an item on a to-do list at the end of the day. Now as I get cleaned up I feel relaxed and refreshed and ready for a little bit of downtime before completing the tasks that every other adult on the planet takes care of after work every day. I'm still working out the kinks to make this new routine a reality (mainly mental hiccups). But Rome wasn't built in a day.

    The moral of the story. Is that my hubby is a brilliant man who continues to teach me and helps lead me back to Jesus when I get sidetracked. Every day, I am thankful that God gave me this man as my husband.

    I pray this post blesses, encourages, and maybe even makes you take inventory of your routines and patterns and see if you should make adjustments too.

    I hope you have a chance to enjoy the beautiful sunny day that God has given us today, friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

Hubby and I at a wedding expo the year before we got married.

Modesty

    I recently noticed that on my Pinterest feed, the pictures of woman in skirts that fell just below their knees had the caption "Modest skirt." This bothered me a little because I felt they were saying that skirts above the knee (most of mine) were not modest. I know that's not what they were saying, but that's how it felt.

    I decided to start researching what is modesty. I started googling modesty and quickly realized that Google and the secular world would be no help. I opened my You Version Bible app and started looking for a Bible study. I found one called, "Modesty: The Truth About Clothing." God used it to bless, teach and encourage me. He reminded me that it's less about my hem length and more about focusing my heart on pleasing Jesus and not others.

    These are the summaries/my reflections from each day of the devotional section. I didn't add in all the scripture they provided, mainly because after looking at the verses surrounding some of the ones they picked, they didn't seem to be in the context of the Bible Study.

    Day 1 - The Freedom of Modesty. "It's a lifestyle, not a clothing style." Is my favourite line from the entire study. 

    It's about ensuring that our actions, including clothing choices, are pointing people to Jesus and not to ourselves. It's about showing Jesus to the world around us. About a month ago, I decided that I no longer wanted to bend over, mainly at work. I don't want my butt to be in the air if I can avoid it. Whenever possible, I do squats instead of bending at the waste. I do it in honour/respect of my husband. After I started reading this Bible study it occurred to me that God was directing me to be modest in the way I carry/hold my body. Reminding me that the way I move my body, including twisting, turning, bending, etc is also part of being modest.

    1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV "Your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that if your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gently and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." We shouldn't rely on our outward appearance for our looks.

    Day 2 - What Modesty is not. 

    God didn't create modesty with rules and regulations for us to follow. He never said that modesty is or was based on your hem length or whether your shoulders are covered. Which leaves plenty of room for personal choices, conviction and freedom. He gives us examples of modesty, some of which are culturally based. He doesn't want us to follow rules, but instead to follow Him. Because rule followers are simply religious people. He wants faithful followers whom He has a personal relationship with, not religious people. He may even give you different convictions about your hem length than someone else. He simply wants us to follow Him and not the world around us.

    1 Timothy 2:9-10 "I also want woman to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for woman who profess to worship God." In this culture, braided hair, expensive clothing and jewelry were a sign of wealth and pride. Not characteristics of a woman who professes faith in Christ. Wealth is not bad, but boasting about it is.

    1st Corinthians 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." This passage talks specifically about sexual immorality, but I think it can apply to other areas like clothing and our health in general. It's not respectful to treat our bodies poorly. We are to honour God with our body and I think that includes wearing appropriate clothing in appropriate settings.

    Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the patterns of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

    Day 3 The purpose of Modesty.

    Modesty is not about keeping people from looking at you. It's about you looking towards God. It's about holiness and focusing more on your relationship with God. Meaning that as you pursue a relationship with our Heavenly Father, He will direct your steps toward holiness, which may affect your clothing choices. Depending on how "modest" you are without the Holy Spirit's prompting.

    Holiness is hindered by our self-driven nature. We focus on ourselves and Him. Which is the opposite of why God created us. It is about being set apart for God.

    I'm a big believer in dressing fashionably, yet modestly. As a young woman, I want to show the younger generation of young girls that you can enjoy dressing fashionably all while leaving plenty to the imagination. 

    1 Samuel 16:7, "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

    1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

    Day 4 freedom of modesty

    As in many areas of life, there are people on both sides of the spectrum. Those who say that less skin shows the better and those who want to show as much as they can. I believe that God also convicts us all differently and that too is okay.

    By dressing modestly, we are free to not worry about what others think and say and allows us to focus on Jesus. By being under God's protection and covering we no longer feel the need to seek others' praise or approval. We long to be loved and pursued by God and not man. God loves us and wants to pursue us. If we are dressing in a way to seek the approval of others, we are going after the wrong praises. Modesty is a guide to living with freedom and protection.

    Day 5 Modesty is a choice

    Meaning it's our choice. A choice of obedience to God. God still loves us though even if we don't choose modesty. But there are blessings to be reaped if we do choose to follow God in this area of our life. It's choosing to submit to God and to know that His ways are higher than ours. He is allowing us to take a step of obedience and then submission followed by trust. Start by digging into scripture and seeking other women who have gone before you down this journey.

    I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I have and hopefully learned something new as well. I pray this post blesses and encourages you today, friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology. Featured as the outside of the morgue in Murdoch Mysteries. One of my favourite TV shows.

I Love You More.

    "I love you more" is my line/response to my hubby when he tells me he loves me. Instead of saying, "I love you too." I say, "I love you more."

    On Friday morning, as he dropped me off at work, after I said, "I love you more." He responded with, "Probably." I looked at him with confusion. "You don't think I love you more than you love me, right?" I don't remember the rest of the conversation, in part because I was working on getting out of our car and grabbing my lunch bag. It was at this moment though I realized that we were talking about two different things. I was referring to emotion, and he was referring to action.

    I headed to work and started my work day. I texted him a little while later and said, "So you think I am better at showing you love, and I think you are better at showing me love. I'm no marriage expert, but that sounds like a pretty good place to be." No pride, no competition. Just love.

    Yesterday, I headed to the shop to do laundry. It took a few hours because we had a few loads to wash and dry. I headed home at lunch. Just as I was locking the gate, hubby called. He told me he missed me, wondered when I was coming home and that he was warming up soup for our lunch. The underlying message was that he loved me. It warmed my heart. I told him that I loved him too and that after making a quick stop at the dollar store I would be home.

    I then thought to myself how easy it is to love a man whose love language is acts of service, especially when the "acts" I do every day, of cooking, cleaning and other household chores. I love doing these things for our family. Yes, there are times when I am tired and don't want to do them and times when I wish he did more around our home. But there is grace for the days when I am tired, and my thoughts towards him doing more are more of a battle in my head. I want him to do more, but I also want to do it my way, and weirdly, I like housework. I love the satisfying feeling when I sit down at the end of the day and my home is clean. He does have his chores and every time I see him do them it makes my heart soar.

    I told him about my thoughts when I got home. I told him how I thought he was better at showing love because I don't give him nearly as many massages and pimple-popping sessions as I would like. Sorry if the pimple popping grosses you out. I know many people who find it very satisfying to pop pimples and to have their pimples popped. I also hadn't realized how much he loved it when I took care of our home. I know he appreciates it, but I didn't realize or had forgotten that it makes him feel loved. You see, I don't do my household chores with the idea in mind that I am filling up his love tank the way a hug from him fills up mine. I see it as lovingly taking care of my family. As an act of worship to God. This is why it makes it so easy to love on my hubby because I love doing these activities.

    Yes, I know this is a very sappy, cheesy post. Or like I am bragging about my marriage or my ability to love on my hubby. In some ways, I suppose I am.

    But the big picture I'm looking at is enjoying the fruits and blessings of the work we have been putting into our marriage. There is so much negativity in the world today, and satan is doing everything he can to destroy marriages and families. So I figured we needed some encouragement and a reminder of how good our God is and that He is still on The Throne.

I pray this blesses and encourages you today, friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

One Day At a Time.

     Recently, I've been feeling "stuck" and a little annoyed with my life. I feel like my life consists of going to work and paying bills, and I'm a little tired of it.

    By nature, I am a creature of habit who lives for and loves routine. But recently, my routine has been no longer enjoyable. I'm satisfied with my job and love my family. But recently, I feel the need for a change. I have no idea what that will be. But something to distinguish one day from the next.

    As I was putting the finishing touches on a blog post, The Holy Spirit said to me, "One Day At A Time." I thought you were right. I've been thinking about my days, weeks, months, etc all the same. There is a little bit of variation here and there, but overall it's all the same.

    By taking life one day at a time instead, I might find myself enjoying my life a little more again. I might enjoy and notice the slight differences that each day has the potential to bring.

    In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6, Jesus teaches us about not worrying. Verse 25-35. At the end of this passage, Jesus says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." As always, The Bible and all the wisdom it contains was for them then and for us now. God wants us to enjoy each day and not worry about what is to come. Prepare for it, sure. But not to worry about it.

    I don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about the future. Although I suppose that depends on your definition of worry. Do I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning the future? Yes. I like to have all my ducks in a row as soon as possible for everything. Although I do stress enough.

    It's been a few days since I started being more intentional about living each day as itself and not worrying about tomorrow. So far, so good. On Monday, I discovered a hiccup in our life and my routine. A blessing in disguise. The washers in our apartment building are not playing nice again. This happens every two months. At which time we head to the In-law's mechanic shop, where they have a washer and dryer. With this latest hiccup, we decided that we would do laundry at the shop until further notice. With the In-Law's blessing. The downside is that it requires me to change up my routine ( I usually do laundry at 3:30 am). But that's okay. I'm ironing out the kinks.

    Anyway, the moral of that story is that by taking life one day at a time, I'm not stressing/overwhelming myself with the extra errand to run. I'm simply focusing on today and all that it entails.

    Am I still planning for tomorrow? Yes. I like to get the most out of every day and to do that, I do need to spend a few minutes planning the next day's activities. Mainly taking out meat to thaw for tomorrow's supper. With my laundry schedule changing, I will now use that time in the morning to get supper prepped or, if I'm lucky, made and then all I have to do is warm it up, along with my chore of the day, such as dusting or swiffering.

    Looking back on Sunday, God knew what challenges lay ahead and knew that I needed to practice one day at a time. He is a good God and always knows exactly what we need before we say or ask a thing.

    I'm also done with overtime at work, so I'm back to working 8 hours a day instead of the 9 hours that I've been doing for the last two months. Giving me back more time and more importantly, more energy to enjoy each day. I've slowly been learning that there is more to life than just working. So when I had the chance to return to my normal work hours and get off at my usual time instead of an hour later, I took it. And am trying to practice enjoying my evenings more again.

    Last night I wanted to spend some time in the evening reading a book. Unfortunately, I was too tired so I just watched TV. I reminded myself that it was okay and that tomorrow was a new day and maybe I would have more energy then. And now here I am, with enough energy to type up a blog post. And in half an hour I will climb into bed with my book. All while practicing one day at a time.

    I pray this post finds you well and resting after a full day's work. I pray it blesses and encourages you today and reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles.

God Bless

~Hannah

A picture is worth a thousand words.