A Birthday In Review

So, I had a pretty great birthday. For some reason this year I've just been really really excited about my birthday. Last year I was more excited about Jason coming home from the tour and getting married. The year before that, I was excited about graduating college. So it's been a few years since I've been super hyped up just about my birthday - and man did this birthday deliver.

I'm probably the only 24-year-old who goes to work at a normal time the night before her birthday, sets her alarm for 6:30 the next morning, and then sets a separate alarm for midnight. Since I turned 20, I haven't had anyone else in the room with me when the clock struck midnight to declare my birthday to - but now I do. So come 12:00 a.m. on May 7th, my trusty alarm started buzzing and I heard this groggy, "What is THAT?" from beside me. I was only coherent enough to mumble "It's my birthday now," turn off the alarm, and quickly fall back into my dreamy abyss.

I honestly thought I dreamed this screenshot.

Needless to say, I probably won't set an alarm for midnight next year (sorry 'bout that Jason).

I woke up and got ready for work, complete with my snazzy new clothes.

Can you tell I just woke up? My eyes are still puffy.

I decided to skip breakfast because I knew the day would be full of yummy food, but as I was leaving I began to regret that decision. Thankfully, Tuesday is the day that my department always meets at work and usually someone brings breakfast. Thanks to Jenna, I got a delightfully tasty sprinkle doughnut - all I had to do is navigate us to Dunkin Donuts.

My cube yesterday.

Next came lunchtime. Some of my friends from work took me and other birthday girl, Morgan (her birthday was May 5th), to lunch at Olexa's. As always, the cake melted in my mouth. They even brought our cake out with little candles in it for our birthdays.

Best cake ever.

After work, I headed home knowing that a delicious meal was in my future. I'd requested for Jason to take me to Leonardo's, so I was really disappointed when he called and said that they were closed. I didn't believe him at first, but sure enough, the phone line was disconnected and the place was closed down. I started trying to think of another place to go as I was driving home from work, but I literally only wanted Leonardo's.

When I got home, Jason had me go wait for him to get finished setting up my gifts. When I walked into the living room, he'd set everything out so nice. I was shocked at the sewing machine that he bought me! It literally does more than my iPhone, and coming from me that's saying a lot. It will definitely take some time for me to learn how to use it, but I'm excited and I think it'll be an adventure.

I was also really surprised because I figured I was getting a sewing machine because that's all I'd asked for...but Jason went way over the top. He talked to my friend Chastity, who has had just about as many sewing machines as I have iPhones, and she suggested this one. It looks way nicer than anything I saw at Target and I'm so thankful he bought me something that will last me many years to come.

After a very frustrating conversation over where to go for dinner (frustrating because I was frustrated, not because Jason was frustrating me...I feel like I need to make that very clear after I just bragged on him), I decided on Mafiaoza's in Crestline Village. We completely forgot that it was 2 for 1 pizza night, but it worked out of us in the end. We had a great dinner and decided to go back on another Tuesday night soon for more cheap, but delicious pizza. We even had plenty of food for leftovers. 

Waiting for our table.

We got home around 8:30 and settled in with a Steel City Pop, "The New Girl" (or "It's Jess" as Jason lovingly calls it), and "The Mindy Project". Those are two of my favorite shows, so I was happy for a quiet end to my birthday with just me, my friends Zoe and Mindy, and Jason. Oh, and as an added birthday bonus, yesterday was Winston's birthday too (if you watch It's Jess, you know what I mean) AND Mindy Kaling was on "The Daily Show" (I don't watch that normally, but I saw that she would be interviewed on Instagram so I was able to DVR it)...she's so funny. Jason calls my fascination with her obsession, I call it a healthy interest. Tomato - tomato.

Thank you to everyone who wished my a happy birthday. I'm reminded each year how very blessed I am for the people who surround me. I am so undeserving, but so very appreciative.

Top 5 From the Weekend

Today I decided to do a top 5 from the weekend rather than a Weekend in Review. It was such an eventful weekend, and I don't think I'd be able to cover everything in one post.

#1: Birthday-filled Day Saturday/Time with Loved Ones
Saturday I had a birthday filled day! Jason and I met our friends out at the Red Bar for lunch and then went back to their house to play with their girls, new pets, and eat some yummy pie. Then, when we got back to my parent's house, we had a family birthday party with my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and a few cousins. It was a blast and so great to see everyone. I'm truly blessed.

Blowing out my birthday candles with Reese & Maggie's help

Jason learning to be a zoo owner -
WE BOUGHT A ZOO
jk

Lunch at one of my favorites!

#2: Shopping for Free
As a birthday gift, my parents let me pick out an outfit at LOFT, aka my favorite store ever. Yesterday Jason and I headed over to the Destin Commons, and I was on a mission. Since I'm spending my birthday at work again this year, I decided to find an outfit that was a great work outfit, but that was also summery, fun, and totally me. After about six dresses, three skirts, and too many cardigans to count, I finally found my perfect work-birthday outfit. Shopping is always the best when someone else is buying (thanks Mom and Dad)! Stay tuned for a picture tomorrow.

#3: Walk Along the Beach (road)
Jason and I aren't HUGE beach people. That's probably because we both grew up in beach towns. But we do appreciate the salt water smell and the wind in our hair. So Saturday morning we slept in a little bit and then headed out to the beach road for a nice, long walk. To me, that's the best way to experience the beach without getting all sandy and salty.

The wind in our hair...

#4: Going Through Old Yearbooks
When I was little I used to love going through my parents' old yearbooks. They went to school together 4th grade through marriage, so they have all of the same friends and stuff. Now I've taken to looking through my old yearbooks from elementary school and middle school. I'm not really entertained by my high school yearbooks as much. I can't decide if it's because I was on the yearbook staff and I can see every imperfection, or it's just too soon to relive those years, but either way elementary school and middle school yearbooks are tons of fun. Jason got a kick out of how I always circled myself and wrote "Nice" or "Very Very Nice" over my friends' heads. As I got older, I started abbreviating "N" for nice and "VN" for very nice. Some people have "VVN" - which means they're basically awesome. Under my name one year, I wrote "Cool", which leads me to believe that I was actually the opposite of cool. Good times, friends, good times.

#5: 10 Hours in the Car with My Man
Some couples don't travel well together. I've learned this recently. Jason and I travel together really really well (or RRW if we're doing this yearbook style). We like the same music, same podcasts, and we're really good at talking to each other to stay awake, but also letting the other person nap in the passenger seat. I always enjoy traveling with Jason, whether it's a plane, train, or automobile - we've done it all in our three years together. We've even done boat (honeymoon shout out). I honestly wouldn't trade all of our hours in the car together for the world. They're truly great memories.

We had a beautiful drive both ways until we were about
30 miles outside of Bham on the way home :(

Now, tomorrow is my birthday, so check back on Wednesday for a really super exciting Birthday Recap post. How do I know it'll be super exciting? Well, I don't, but I'm hoping for the best :) Positivity People!

Re-KINDLEd Love: A List of Books

In high school and college I had to read a lot for school. Lots of textbooks. Lots of books. Lots of articles. Just lots and lots of reading. So for the first year out of college, I didn't want to touch a book. I listened to the Hunger Games on audiobook, but that was about the extent of my "reading". Over the last year, so my second year out of college, my love for reading has been rekindled, in part to the Kindle app on my iPad.

There are a few things that I love about reading eBooks.

1. They can fit in my purse.
2. I can get them from the library without having to go to the library.
3. They're cheaper (most of the time).
4. I can highlight in them and then copy the highlights and notes into a document to keep forever and ever.
5. They don't take up space on my bookshelf.

So you see, reading on my iPad has revolutionized my desire to read. As requested, here's a list of books I've read over the last year, I'm reading now, and I'd like to read over the next year. I've linked everything to Amazon because that's just the best place to buy anything.

If you want to recommend something to me, comment below! I have bolded (?) what I recommend to you.

Books I've read in the last year (not in order):

• Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis - If you've never read these, READ THEM NOW! Also, I'm decorating my long-time-in-the-future nursery with a Narnia theme. Just FYI.
• The Magician's Nephew
•  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Horse and His Boy
• Prince Caspian
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Silver Chair
• The Last Battle
• Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers - Great story for single or engaged women to read
• Kisses from Katie, Katie Davis - If you have a heart for adoption
• Quitter, Jon Acuff - Yay Samford JMC!
• Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst - If you battle weight, self-esteem, and/or food, this is for you
• Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow
• Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me?, Mindy Kaling
  
• Calm My Anxious Heart, Linda Dillow - If you read Made to Crave, read this too
• Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas - Just read it
• The Bailey Flanigan Series, Karen Kingsbury
• Leaving - Book 1 
• Learning - Book 2 
• Longing - Book 3 
• Loving - Book 4

What I'm reading now:

• The Meaning of Marriage, Tim and Kathy Keller - Single, engaged, married - READ THIS! J and I have camped out at chapter one and it's already insanely awesome!
• Mark of the Lion, Francine Rivers
• A Voice in the Wind - I'm reading this one now - INCREDIBLE!
• An Echo in the Darkness
• As Sure as the Dawn
• Breaking Free, Beth Moore

What I want to read over the next year (in no particular order):

• Start, Jon Acuff
• Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller
• The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Forgotten God, Francis Chan
• Erasing Hell, Francis Chan
• (re-read) Crazy Love, Francis Chan
• Unglued, Lysa TerKeurst
• Passion & Purity, Elisabeth Elliot
• Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot
• Grace for the Good Girl, Emily P. Freeman
• Graceful, Emily P. Freeman
• Bloodlines, John Piper
• So Long, Insecurity, Beth Moore
• The Explicit Gospel, Matt Chandler
• The Grace Effect, Larry Alex Taunton 
• (re-read) The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald 
• A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Rachel Held Evans
• The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Rosaria Butterfield 
• Follow Me, David Platt
• The Real Win, Colt McCoy
• Bossypants, Tina Fey
• Every Good Endeavor, Tim Keller
• (re-read) To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

On Marriage - Part Two

So how do we deal with this? How do we reconcile with our past? How do we reconcile with our significant other's past? And how to we walk forward in life/marriage/relationships knowing that we're bringing our past with us? What does this look like practically?

First, we have to realize that we all make mistakes, which makes us all in need of receiving forgiveness. To be able to move past our past, we have to accept forgiveness that is offered to us at the cross of Christ. Ephesians 1:6-8 says, "to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight". In other words, we have to forgive ourselves because Christ has forgiven us.

I'm totally not brave enough to do this - but sometimes I wish I had
"Removable Reminder Tats". Maybe that's a new business venture.
Source

Second, we must be honest about our past. I don't mean that we must spill our guts to anyone and everyone you know, but you must be honest with the person you're married to, or will be married to. I've heard of couples who follow the motto of "What's in the past is in the past" and they don't need to know anything about their spouse other than what happened from they day they met forward. That isn't logical. Our baggage does not end when we start something new. If you know that your husband's mom used to make him a specific cake for his birthday every year, would you just ignore that fact on his birthday because that was something from before you knew him? No! You'd call his mom, get the recipe, and whip up a delicious cake (and hopefully share with me)!  James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." I promise you that by knowing without any doubt that you're forgiven for you past by the person you love, you will enjoy so much freedom together through Christ's forgiveness. 

Third, we must love one another, and that includes loving each other's pasts. Let me be clear, this can be tough for many. This can even be hard for most. But it's necessary. You cannot love your husband/wife or future husband/wife the way the bible calls you to without loving them unconditionally - in spite of their past. 

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love,
love one another earnestly from a pure heart," 1 Peter 1:22
Source

Without being too candid, I'll use Jason and I as an example. Jason's family is much different than mine. He's an only child and he was raised by his mom and grandma for that majority of his childhood. When we started dating, I didn't think much about how different our families were. But as we grew closer to marriage, it scared me. I'm from a family where there is literally no divorce on either side. No one is an only child, in fact a lot of families within my family have four or more kids. There are just always tons of people around and I usually don't even notice it. Jason's home was quiet on holidays. He and his mom had their traditions, but they were so drastically different than mine. I've learned over the last year or so that loving Jason, including the family he comes from, helps me to love him well. When he needs a quiet night at home after a really busy day or week, it makes sense to me. When he's more withdrawn around my giant family, I totally get it. 

Now for my past. Obviously I can't speak for Jason, but I am almost 100% sure that he wasn't a fan of my "boy crazy" high school years. In fact, he probably still isn't. But I was honest with him about who I was before I came to have a relationship with Christ really early into our dating relationship. I didn't want to blindside him with that in case things worked out (thankfully, things worked out). Jason didn't really date much before me, so that was something that was hard for him to grasp. But I remember him telling me that he "would be different". Those were his exact words, and I remember him saying them to me as if he'd said them this morning. He made a decision to show me what it was like to be treated well; to be valued as a woman and a daughter of the Most High. He's always loved me in spite of my regrets things I'd do differently, and because of that, he's been able to love me well from the very start. Has that been easy? I doubt it. But by the grace of God, he has been drastically different.

Last, we must recognize that marriage doesn't change us. To me, this is the most important, but that's probably  because it hits so close to home. Since I've wanted to get married since about age six, I had it built up in my mind as this huge, life-altering event. Don't get me wrong - it is; I promise. But, it's not life-altering like I thought it would be. When Jason and I came back from our honeymoon, I was kind of in a state of bewilderment for about two weeks. I had always envisioned that I'd come back home, be carried across the threshold of our apartment, and I would instantly feel different. I thought I'd be wiser, more self-confident, and mature. Nope. I wasn't. I was still just Jessica. My name had changed, my martial status had changed, my living arrangements had changed, but I was still me. It was a bit of a let down. 

Let me pause here and hand out a piece unsolicited of advice - If you're engaged or single, don't make the same mistake I did when I got married. I'm pretty sure that I scared Jason half to death when I looked at him in the car after two weeks of marriage and said, "Do you feel different? Because I don't. I just don't feel the way I always thought I'd feel." Oops. Sorry for that one J.

Marriage doesn't change you. I lived for 8,539 days unmarried. At least 3/4 of those days were spent wishing to be married. What does that mean? It means that it's taken less than 222 days to realize that marriage doesn't change you and I wasted a lot of time wishing to be the "married version" of myself  because I put a lot of hope in the fact that "Married Jessica" would be a better version of Jessica. 

Don't make that mistake. I'm still flawed. I'm still sinful. My past still exists. My husband still has to love me in spite of my past. I still have to ask for forgiveness each day. I still have the same weird quirks. I'm still not confident in myself. I'm still significantly immature. I still make unwise decisions. I'm still just Jessica, saved by grace through faith. 

The only real, and best change is that I have someone who loves me in a way no one else does. A man to share life with. To make memories with. To laugh with. To cry to. To pray with. A man who seeks to love me well each hour of every day. I wouldn't trade it for the world. But, if I got a do-over and had to go back to the years before I knew Jason and was married to him, I'd be more content in my waiting. I'd wait patiently and rely upon God's sovereign plan. 

So there you have it - that's my bit on marriage. Like I always say, God is teaching me new things daily, and it's a joy to be able to write them on this blog and share them with you. My hope and prayer as that the things that He's teaching me can resonate with at least one other person reading this. We're not called to walk through this life alone.  

 

On Marriage - Part One

Hey guys, I'm back. Thanks for being patient with me. Here's Part One of a two part series about some of my experiences and observations about marriage. If you're single, dating, or engaged, keep reading. This is for you too!

-------------

I've wanted to be married since before I understood what marriage was. At first I thought it was just something you called really loving another human being. When I was six, I told both of my sisters I wanted to marry them. Obviously, that's a problem - but as a young child I just knew I wanted to be married, receive an inconceivable amount of love, and pour out love in the same way.

As I got older, I watched movies that ended in a wedding and a "happily ever after". We can blame Disney and fairytale stories, but I things that those things are good for kids. At the core, I wanted my happily ever after and yearned for it like nothing else.

Me. Dressed up like Cinderella. Age 4.

When I was in middle school, I had a "boyfriend" who was really just basically my best friend. We went to movies together and hung out on the weekends and I always had someone to be partners with at school. But to me, having a boy in my life whom I cared about greatly meant marriage in my book (sorry if that person is reading this and feeling totally awkward right now). But again, at 11, 12, and 13-years-old, I just wanted to love and be loved. I wanted my happily ever after.

Moving into high school, I handled the whole dating thing all wrong (again, sorry to anyone who may read this and was a part of that season of life). I always "liked" a boy and was constantly trying to catch their attention. In the second half of high school, I had a steady boyfriend, and I calmed down a bit. But my goal was marriage, just like it always had been. I wanted my happily ever after.

Upon moving to Birmingham and starting college, I still had the same boyfriend. We were long distance for about two years, and then we ended things. It was at this point in my life that I took a good, long, hard look at my life, my priorities, and just the things that I valued. During the breakup of a relationship that spanned two seasons of life and over three years, the hardest thing to let go of was the idea of marriage being my next step.

When I set out on this journey of self-examination, I realized that I was living to be married. Almost 20 years of my life had been spent working toward one thing - marriage. I was ready to see the result of this goal, even if it meant being with the wrong person for way too long. I wanted my happily ever after more than I wanted genuine happiness or true joy.

At some point along the way, I realized that the desire to be married was not a bad thing in and of itself - in fact, I sincerely believe that it was a God-given desire. But like any good thing, my sinful flesh had twisted and manipulated this desire into an idol.

After my breakup, a lot of people told me that as soon as I stopped looking for the right guy, he'd show up. Maybe that was good advice in one regard because I was so intent on meeting my future husband and getting married as I simultaneously walked across the stage to receive my diploma. But in other ways, it was detrimental to my mental health.

I still had a desire to get married. I still "liked" a guy, or multiple guys, always (hey, I'm just being real with you...I'm not proud of this). I still would walk in a room full of college students or recent grads at a church event or party and think to myself, "Maybe I'll meet 'him' tonight."

So you see, it was close to impossible for me to stop "looking" because I did have this desire planted, in fact rooted, deep within my being.

Eventually, I did go to an event at Samford, and I ended up sitting next to this really funny, super cute guy named Jason. We had some mutual friends and we'd met a few times before, but we'd never really had a full conversation.

We're married now (thanks Red Horse). And thankfully by now we've had a full conversation.

There is something that I didn't realize until recently though. I want to share that something with you because I think it's vital for every person to see - male, female, married, single, dating, engaged, whatever.

That thing is this: Our journey to accomplishing our goals, achieving our dreams, and pursuing out hopes writes the story of our life. For many of us, that's a beautiful story of grace, redemption, joy, and restoration. But along with this, we pick up some baggage along the way. And that baggage follows us all the way down the aisle, it stands next to us as we say our vows, and it jumps in our luggage as we leave for our honeymoon.

Marriage doesn't make our past disappear.

So how do we deal with this? How do we reconcile with our past? How do we reconcile with our significant other's past? And how to we walk forward in life/marriage/relationships knowing that we're bringing our past with us? What does this look like practically?

I'm glad you asked...but, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for Part Two.

Hiatus

Hello friends!

I'm going to be taking about a 10 day blog hiatus. I've decided that I need to spend some time just working on me, my marriage, my relationship with Christ, and allow myself to be filled up again.

I am confident that the Lord will be faithful to provide what I need over the next few days.

I never want my blog to become a source of pride, nor do I want to ever be insincere in anything I write on here. I always want to make sure that I'm transparent and truthful with you.

The Pinterest Lotto

Before I get started with today's blog post, let me just offer up a huge THANK YOU to everyone who read this. Yesterday I tweeted that I was just a few views away from 7,000 - and this morning I was at 7,008 views. This is the 130th post in my blog's existence, so that is an average of 54 views per post. That's INSANE considering I just started this blog to get out my thoughts out and maybe have one person who can relate to me know that they're not alone in this journey. I never could have imagined that in just over a year I'd have this many views. You guys have seen me through a lot - and I thank you, sincerely, for your support! 

Verse of the Day: "For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:8-11

Today I want to address the issue of discernment. So buckle up, let's get started. 

One of my favorite bloggers/authors/tweeters is Jon Acuff. I started following him my senior year of college when Jason showed me his "Monday Morning Memo"  insertion. The Monday Morning Memo goes out to all Samford Journalism/Mass Communications (JMC) alumnae (alumni?) and is written by a Samford JMC alum. Jon Acuff writes the Stuff Christians Like blog, which is now also a book. Then he wrote the Quitter book, which is awesome and you should read it. Yesterday he just launched his book Start, which I pre-ordered and I'm really excited to get in the mail. Anyway, I'm a fan, and if you've never read anything of his, you should at least go follow him on Twitter. 

Moving on...

Last October, Jon wrote a blog called "The Pinterest Bible" on Stuff Christians Like. In this post, he called out all those ascetically pretty, inaccurate, quote pictures that are all over Pinterest that reference a bible verse but are not found in the bible anywhere. 

Initially, I laughed at the post, because it's funny, and kind of wrote it off. I thought that I knew the Word enough to not get caught up in mistaking a fluffy, man-made, quotes for God's Word. It simply would never happen. 

And then it did. 

So now, I play a fun little game I like to call the Pinterest Lotto. 

Our generation, and even the generation before and after ours, is totally caught up in the Pinterest world. It really it like an entire world within a world. You can find anything - including what everyone's wedding will look like someday (hey, I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing...my entire wedding was planned out on Pinterest 3 months before Jason proposed...I'm just as guilty as the next girl). 

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Pinterest. Like I just said, I had my entire wedding planned on Pinterest before I was engaged, and it was also a great resource once I was engaged. I have gotten so many DIY ideas from Pinterest that have saved Jason and I lots of money. I have gotten cleaning times, photography tips, and so much more - it really is a great resource! 

But we have to be discerning. 

And that's why I play the Pinterest Lotto. 

This is how the game works: Every time I see something on Pinterest reference a bible verse, I guess if it's real or not real. I've learned that there's about a 65% chance it'll be real, 20% chance it'll be a "sum it up in your own words" type thing, and 15% chance it'll be way off and not even close to what the bible actually says in that book, chapter, and verse. If I'm write, I give myself a point (meaning I pin something new). I don't really know how this is a "lotto" in the traditional meaning of the word "lotto", but it sounds fun so I ran with it.

So let's play.

In the bible? Or not in the bible?

In the bible? Or not in the bible?

In the bible? Or not in the bible?

In the bible? Or not in the bible?

In the bible? Or not in the bible?

Answer key:

1. In the bible.  "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
2. Not in the bible! "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:57 (ESV)
3. In the bible. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." - John 14:18 (ESV)
4. Not in the bible! "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." - Malachi 3:10 (ESV)
5. In the bible. "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

How'd you do? 

Those were pretty simple, but what about finding truth in encouraging statements that don't reference a bible verse? How do we know if it's biblically sound encouragement?

I was looking for something specific on Pinterest the other day and I came across this:

It honestly made me stop in my tracks to think...is this true? Is this biblical? Do I need to obtain endurance and encouragement from this statement?

I was about halfway done writing the post about looking through things in Philippians 4:8 filter when I came across this, so I decided to use that method to discern if this was a true form of encouragement or not.

I came to the conclusion that it's not - and here's why: The bible says that we don't know what will happen tomorrow.

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." - James 4:14-17

Just as an example, think about the horrific events that happened last week in Boston. Think about those who were just so happy to go to bed and wake up on Tuesday after the nightmare they'd lived on Monday. If they put their hope in tomorrow, what happens when Boston shuts down because of shooting on MIT's campus just a few days later? What happens when event after event after event happens in the middle of the night and we all wake up to hear these horrible reports on the news? We cannot put our hope in tomorrow - tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

Our attitude should be "if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:15). 

I say all of this to urge you to be discerning. Be discerning about what you read, its context, its origin, its truth. Be discerning about what you watch, about what you see, and about what you do. Is it glorifying to God? If you question if it is or not, go back and use the Philippians 4:8 filter. 

May we learn to truly rest in God's truth alone, and be a people who is discerning about what the world tries to teach us instead. And when on Pinterest, let's play the Pinterest Lotto :)