A Personal Story

Check me out over at Southeastern's women's blog where today I am sharing about a recent personal journey.

http://sebtswomenslife.blogspot.com/2012/06/personal-story-from-lindsey-amick.html

Reflections from a Birthday Girl

Sunday was my birthday. Anyone who knows me knows I love a celebration. I love presents. I love parties. I LOVE cake. I love the way a celebratory spirit can brighten up a day and make it special. I especially like celebrations that are for me. I know vain right?

So in the midst of celebrating the beginning of my 26^th year, between the shopping and the eating, I took some time to evaluate year 25. This past year has been one of the hardest for me. From personal sickness to death in the family to ministry heartaches to career stress and all the way back to personal sickness again, this rollercoaster year has brought many hardships. However, in the midst of tracking those hardships I was reminded also of the memories of joy and love that were perfectly woven in the midst. From seeing the gospel come to life in lives to falling deeper in love with my husband to the gentle care of friends and family in my darkest hours, the Lord wove moments of compassion and encouragement into a season of trial. Throughout this season of trial, in between moments of joy, have been great lessons learned (some still in the process of being learned). Those lessons are the subject of this post.

So here goes, lessons learned in year 25:

1. Being an adult is hard, may I say sometimes it even sucks.

                As a youth pastor’s wife we tell our students constantly that “choices have consequences” and although I firmly believe this to be true for teenagers this is also a weighty truth for adults. When things are hard, you have to make choices. When you are tired, you have to make choices. When you just want to eat chocolate, you have to make choices. There are no days off. I miss the days of being able to fake sick and skip school to avoid that problem that was hovering there but was gone by the next day. I miss the days of leaning completely on my parents to make financial decisions and provisions for the daily bread. (thanks for that mom and dad). This year I felt the weight of important life decisions my husband and I had to make (and are still making).

2. Even if you stand alone, fight the battle.

                This statement applies to multiple things I faced this past year but I will share just one. Almost exactly a year ago I noticed feelings of fatigue and sickness and a lot of days of not being myself. It took multiple doctors, multiple tests, and multiple strike outs to finally figure out what was wrong with me. There were moments where I felt all alone in this battle against my body and I think there were moments when those around me thought I was crazy and making it all up, I know I thought that some days. But deep down I knew something was wrong and I knew I had to fight to help others see it to. Later in the year this sickness manifested itself in panic attacks and extreme anxiety. Again, I was standing in the midst of a battle fighting for supporters and understanding. Through the power of Christ alone, we have to fight those battles. When no one else will stand but the spirit within you is urging you to fight for what is right, you must.

3. Laughter means so much more in the dark.

                My husband loves to joke in the midst of sad and uncomfortable situations. Most of the time this drives me crazy, however, I learned this year that laughter in the darkness is worth so much more than laughter in the sunshine. That moment of releasing tension and pressure through a hearty laugh is the best medicine for a sorrowful soul.

4. Love grows in friction.

                Speaking of my husband J I thought I loved him when I married him (and of course I did) but O Man do I love him now! The day to day of fighting battles and make grown up choices has the power to knit two hearts together so strong. As hard as my year has been, so has his. In the moments when he would have had every right to shake his fist and give up, he showed grace and compassion. Our trials created friction and that friction produced a stronger intimacy.

5. Life is too short for perfectionism.

                For those of you who have walked with me in this season you know how hugely ironic and powerful that statement is coming from me. This lesson definitely fits into the “still working on it” category. I am a perfectionist to the max but this year the Lord was so gracious through both tender and extremely painful moments to show my imperfections. The revelation of those helped me to lean deeper into Him who is the giver of all good things and the sustainer of all creation. My need for control and perfection in my own attempts was set up on a pedestal I had created in life. This idol all dusted and polished for all to see and admire. All this mindset gave was anxiety and half-truths. There is power and rest in leaning into the One is greater and He is made great in my weakness. So I am hoping in year 26 to boast in that weakness quite often.

6. I need a hobby.

                I thought I would end with one that is a bit more light hearted but completely true nevertheless. I have no hobby. Through multiple conversations this year this truth has been made very apparent to me. All work and no play makes Lindsey a dull, not happy, no fun girl. So I am open to suggestions!  

What lessons are you learning? I would love to know.

Side note: maybe blog posts in year 26 will come with more pictures and less words, but I kind of doubt it      

Swapping Cookies, Drinking Coco

So one of my most favorite things to do is entertain and host parties. I mean I’m not Martha Stewart or anything, let’s face it I live in seminary housing and on a ministry budget,. None the less, I take the small things and make them special. So this week I hosted a Christmas dinner and cookie swap for some sweet friends and I thought I would share.

The décor was easy because our little apartment is all decorated for Christmas (see previous post) but I made sure to use all the red and festive plates and platters I had.

Menu: Winter salad with Pecans and craisins
            Herb encrusted Pork Tenderloin with Parsley chimichurri or marsala mustard sauce
            Loaded mashed potato bake
            Cranberry cobbler

yummy potatoes

our two sauces (yes that's Kraft dressing don't judge me)

Our hot chocolate bar, all the fixings to mix into the HOMEMADE (uh huh) hot chocolate

Winter salad, festive and yummy

Cobbler you want to put your face in

the half eaten cobbler we all indulged in, and all the cookies the friends brought to share!

Hope your holidays are filled with fun, stress free, not so extravagent, probably copied from pintrest, Christmas parties!

Merry Christmas

Christmas has arrived at the Amick's tiny little apartment and it makes me cheery!
 Sorry for the bad photography but here is a peek at the mantel and tree:

What's your favorite Christmas carol?

Thanksgiving has come and gone. It is my most favorite holiday, time with family and wonderful food, the crispness in the air to reminds you God makes all things and He makes all things new. It is also the event that ushers in the listening of Christmas music, which is another favorite of mine.

Christmas music is joy and memories and worship of the birth of our Lord. O Holy Night, Come Let Us Adore Him, Silent Night, and so many more; these songs tell of the birth of our Savior and the response we as His creation should have. It is the wonder and magic of the season. 

In the past few years I have become more aware of how powerful the gospel is in Christmas songs. I guess growing older in age and stronger in my faith has opened my eyes to see the power of these songs. However with this realization has come a question. My question is this: Unbelievers singing Christmas songs, is this blaspheming the name of God or is this an example of something profane being made holy?

The reason I ask this question is as a follower of Christ who has surrendered my heart and sees His grace daily I sing these songs as a worship and overflow of my relationship with Christ. My confusion is, how do I respond when those who have not come to believe in Christ are singing these songs? Do I rejoice and pray that the gospel is going forth through song and ask God for ears and hearts to be opened? Do I feel heavy hearted about the truth of my God’s mercy and grace being sung about empty heartedly and with no regard to the weight of the matter?

I am throwing this question out because I am at a loss of how to respond. I believe that the use of God’s name and the story of a gospel in a flippant way is blasphemous. However I also believe that my God has the power to redeem all things for His good and His glory.

I guess my only conclusion thus far in processing this thought is to challenge all followers of Christ to feel the weight of the Christmas carols you are singing this season. Sing them in a worshipful manner that shows respect to the story you are telling. Let your heart rest in the words of the gospel and pray that as you sing through the season in worship others will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Thoughts?

Breathe Deep

I abandoned my desk for a moment in the fresh air

the breeze took my breath away



the colors reminded me of a creative creator

the crisp air sent chills down my back

 the trees hoovered like a canopy about me

and the moment of soaking in the day  brought life back to my soul

The lies I believe

I am thankful for blogs. Not only because they give me great ideas about how to decorate a one day home and throw a great party but because somehow through words on a page, and nothing else, I feel like I have friendships with these women who share their stories over their blogs. I realize some of that statement sounds a bit sad, my friends are people I have never met, but it is a reality in this season of my life.

I am especially thankful this week for the blogs that I follow because I have seen a common thought being addressed in their pages, a thought that has been prevalent in my life for some time now. That’s the beauty of women I guess, good or bad, we all in some way struggle through the same seasons at some point in life. For me this season recently has been plagued with lies of the enemy and the demon of perfection knocking on my thoughts and heart.

Emily, over at Chatting at the Sky said it perfectly yesterday, check out her post here http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2011/11/07/good-girls-come-full-circle-2/

The lie is that perfection is necessary and that every small or large misstep in life is failure. If I don’t clear all the papers off my desk before 5:00, I have failed at my job. If I don’t cook a full, hot and healthy meal for my husband each night I have failed as a wife. If my laundry isn’t perfectly folded and put away with no traces of dishes in my kitchen (except for the perfectly displayed ones that are part of my décor) then I have failed as a homemaker.

The weight of perfection is stifling. But where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Freedom is fresh and open to those who will embrace it.

It is hard to embrace freedom when your hands are full of expectations.

Praying freedom in my heart, mind, hands and feet will come soon. Only through Christ is this possible.

What lies are you believing today?

side note: i strongly recommend Emily Freeman's new book :Grace for the Good Girl
side note 2: i am a failure at blogging because i never include pictures :) sorry I am a word girl