faith – SimplyLBPerspective

Sweet Surrender

October 28, 2020October 27, 2020Posted in UncategorizedTagged birth, faith, maternity, pregnancy1 Comment

I thought I’d share a story prior to my pregnancy. Sharing this in hopes it finds someone out there who has lost faith and hope in this time of such chaos and unknowns. Let me first say God is faithful. Remember that and take that with you today and always.

It was February 2020 and a friend of mine invited me to a midweek Church service. The message of the night was looking towards the good and fruitful trees (metaphorically) around us that are full of YES instead of giving into our human nature to look towards the one tree God is saying no to. That is the story of Adam and Eve. They were surrounded by all of these trees that bore delicious and wonderful fruit. They were forbidden to eat from one tree that God said not to eat from but they went for it anyway.

By the end of the message, the Pastor asked us to think about one thing we have been desiring but God seems (to us) to be saying no to whatever that may be. At that time, I was desiring a child. I knew deep down that for Sean and I it wasn’t a part of “our plan” for another year. Despite the strategic, well thought out, logical plan we had – my heart felt so deeply and longed for a child more than anything. So that night, I stretched out my hands as if I were holding a baby and lifted my arms towards the sky. I prayed to God that I surrendered my desire completely to Him because if I held onto it any longer, I’d break. I would break from the insane amount of control I thought I possessed over my life. (Sometimes I forget that, even now).

Listen, Sean and I are both planners and list makers. We plan out our days, our monthly financials, everything is on our family calendar, the whole nine! So you bet I had on that calendar the day we would start trying for a baby. I confided in friends about every time of the month I’d be pissed that my period came. Many times I sat with Sean and shared that I knew we had our well thought out plan but my feelings are overtaking the logic. What do I do with these feelings?

Side note, my personality is to conceal my personal feelings. I lead with logic. I try to rationalize and psychoanalyze why I feel the way I do rather than sitting in my feelings, focusing on them and being driven by them.

Again, what do I do with these feelings? It was consuming every conversation and most of my thoughts. God spoke to me that night as I stretched out my hands and said, “Surrender your desire for a child.” I didn’t hesitate. “Here God. I give this over to You because You are actually in control and the keeper of all my desires. You know my heart and what I long for so I trust You.”

What I realized is that God had not been saying no to this desire. He was saying not yet. Not yet because you are clinching onto timing, finances, family chains, traumas, etc in order to plan out something that only I the Father can set into motion. Not yet because, Lauren you are not in control and I need you and Sean to realize that. Surrender.

Well a month and a half later I found out I was 5 weeks pregnant. Crazy right?

I look at my calendar often and think back to that night of sweet surrender. Do not be mistaken, God is not a genie and He did not grant me my wish. Surrender and obedience was on my part. He also could have picked further down the road for timing. But no. Further down the road for me, for us would have been what we wanted and preferred in that moment. God did this all in His timing. We weren’t trying to have a child. We also were not not trying (ya know whatamean?) That is what makes this testimony so special though. We were shocked! It is a reminder that I am not in control -ever. God is faithful and knows our deepest desires. Obedience to God is a necessity to get through life unscathed by this world. Something I once read, “if you think you have blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this…you are not that powerful.” Lastly, that when you ask wholeheartedly, He answers (even if it is a whisper of “not yet”).

Simply,

ps…no I am not turning my faith and politics blog into a mama blog. Well, no promises 😉

Keep up with my pregnancy on my instagram account: @simplylbperspective

Story I- New Beginnings

December 31, 2018May 23, 2019Posted in UncategorizedTagged beginnings, change, faith, grow, human, lost, love, New, people, stagnate, stuck, test, testimony, thoughts, word4 Comments

Praise God for new beginnings! I thought I would keep it light-hearted my next post since it’s the Holidays. People all around have heavy hearts during this season with missing loved ones. I’m going to share a story that has recently happened in my life that I hope inspires you!

Introduction

Going off of my last post, I told you I got the job I was praying for. Let me tell you how it all went down. In late September I was laid off from my full time job I had been at for almost 2 years. I was working over 50 hours a week and got burnt out. I barely saw my husband, family or friends. It wasn’t the grind I wanted for the rest of my life. The lay off was devasting because it was a shock yet, I was relieved. In this time, I took the first 2 days to feel sorry for myself and then got back to reaching out to people and applying EVERYWHERE. Except, I didn’t want to go backwards or just go anywhere. I worked my butt off to get to where I was but I yearned for something fulfilling. If you are working at a 9-5 for 5 days a week, you spend MOST of your life with the people you work with. Shouldn’t it it be an enjoyable environment with people that care about you inside and out of work? I wanted that. Loved ones said to just get in where I could even if it was part time. I took the advice but deep down I was telling myself, don’t settle. I practiced talking to God constantly. Telling Him what I wanted for my family, my future, and said I trust Him with my finances. He put it on mine and my husband’s heart to get emerged in community. Boy did we need that! Going through something that impacts your life that greatly takes more than 2 sometimes. We joined a church. Took the courses needed to become members. There was a luncheon right after the second service we attended in October.

What Happened at the Luncheon?

My husband and I were introduced to the Assistant Executive Pastor. He found out what we both did for a living. (I began to hate that question as you can imagine.) As I went on to describe what I enjoyed about my last job he said, “You have to meet my sister-in-law!” I walk over to her and introduce myself and we immediately connected. She told me about her work and I saw this light in her that was filled with joy. I thought to myself, I have to check out what she does. The downer was that they don’t hire until spring time. She told me it wouldn’t hurt to just put in an application. So the next day I researched the website of the company and the day after that I applied. (That was mid-October)

It’s Now Start of November

I get a text from new friend who introduced me to the company saying “check your email!” I have my first interview set! I asked her how could this be? I thought they didn’t hire until spring time? Lo and behold, a position opened up and they decided they were going to expand the company by 2-3! Um…what!? So fast forward, I had 3 more interviews and fell in love with the whole team, what they valued and the culture was fitting.

It’s Now beginning of December

My husband has a meeting with 3 gentlemen that he had never met before and they don’t know me either. My husband talked about me and one gentlemen was taking down notes. They began to pack up and put their notepads away. Before they departed, one man asked deeper on what I do. My husband began to share what I enjoyed about my last job. The same man who was taking notes says “Wait a minute! Hold that thought right there.” He begins to pull out his notepad and flips to the page that he wrote “‘Wife? Webconnex” My husband and everyone at the table almost lost their jaws in awe of what just happened. A man who has never met me was going on to recommend a company to me that I already had interviewed for! Again…um what!? Turns out he knows one of the founders and while my husband was talking me up, this man thought of this company. That’s not the end of the story!

Did you get that Job?

I had my last interview the first week in December and a week later I get the final offer! Of course I said yes! A few days later I get this text message from my friend, here’s the real kicker, (the sister-in-law from the beginning of story) whom already works there:

“Lauren! _guy_ just came in and _guy #2_ saw him recently and he gave him the note _guy #2_ jotted down during the meeting with your husband!! So _guy_ shared that with a few of us at work…so cool!!!!! He has the receipt!”

“Lauren! _____ just came in and _______saw him recently and he gave him the note he jotted down during the meeting with (my husband)!! So ____ shared that with a few of us at work…so cool!!!!! He has the reciept!”

Wow! – He Has the Receipt

When I heard that…after the fact I already got the job, I now had confirmation from God that I am meant to be there. So to the man who prophesied over me, through my husband, from God…THANK YOU!

God is good and I hope you can see that. Coincidences or sense of knowing? 🙂 Stay tuned and leave a reply below to let me know how you’re liking my content.

Simply,

Christians Are Arrogant

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged arrogant, Bible, change, christianity, faith, hearts, love, politics, religion, test, wordLeave a comment

Many times I have been made to think I am arrogant. Some of the things I say come off very direct/harsh. For years I have cared so much about how people view me while trying to stay true to my beliefs. The media and some far right Christians have put a bad wrap on what Christianity is supposed to be. I know that’s incredibly strong but…hey, I’m arrogant remember? It is no easy life no matter how big you smile or how easy things look on social media. If you find yourself in the same boat, you may be thinking, “But I do it out of love!” I know, but to others you are arrogant and nobody wants to be around someone who’s telling them what is unhealthy for their life. Even if “the Bible tells me so…”

So What Does the Bible Say About Politics?

2 Things:

First of all, God knew the world needed saving long before any national government was founded. Hence, Jesus. God sent Jesus to walk this earth to demonstrate to the world that redemption could not be accomplished through the power of man alone, his economic strength, his military might, or his politics. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Jesus taught those around him that with God, all things are possible. In other words, God permeates and supersedes all aspects of life. Leaders rise up whether they are good, bad, evil or great. People have free will. Those that abuse their political power, capital gain, etcetera, God is working and will turn it towards His will. He already won.
Secondly, you are taught to obey the laws of the land and take responsibility to be a good citizen. You can only hope our authority is for us as a collective but do not put all your faith in the government or a political leader. You see, all of this is for the bigger picture. Your voice during elections matter and you should exercise your right by voting. Vote for a leader that best demonstrates Christian values and biblical truths. Huge emphasis on demonstrates because talking is not the same as walking and living it out. Your intentions are only as good as your actions.

Betting = Failure

Have you noticed that you are betting on a president to live a godly life? Humans are full of flaws. That’s like betting in this scenrio: You are given a test by a teacher before you learn about a subject. No prior quizzes, homework or lecture was given. You have some hope because you remember you heard about the topic before but this test you find extremely challenging. You fail it. That’s how life works. That’s also how Christians are called to live daily. You have this huge test called life. The Bible is your study guide. Life comes with a teacher and classmates to learn from. It’s your choice how you prepare for the test that’ll also determine your outcome.

You cannot walk this life alone. You will always find yourself turning to others for answers, approval, questions. So why not try turning to God who is bigger than all your problems and has a book with stories and answers that relate to your problems? Don’t knock it before you try it because when I did, I found that every time He was right on. You have to first accept then experience His crazy love in order to really know.

Conclusion

My mission is not in changing the world through political reform. My mission is changing hearts through the Word of God. That is because God permeates and supersedes all facets of life. You should obey the laws set forth by authority because if you can’t practice that, then you won’t practice the Laws set before you, by God. Only through practice, obedience, grace and love for yourself will you truly grasp the teachings of God. Which is your life test on how to truly love others, show them grace, and actively live out in love.

Go ahead and reply below to start a conversation!

Exciting News for LB!

So remember I told you in my last post I had good news? I didn’t know if I would actually have good news but I declared it! Well…your girl got the job she had been praying and waiting for months! I had to work on patience and be obedient to God’s timing. It was not easy. I had many rough days but I persevered. This job will allow me to spend more time with my family and also will challenge me to be a great professional in business. I am very excited! Thank you for your prayers and being dedicated to go on this writing journey with me. You are so appreciated!

San Diego, CA