Valentine's Day Reflections

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you are experiencing a day of love and kindness. If you are currently without a sweetheart, be sure to love yourself. Remember that God loves you and so do I.

This is our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife. Mr. G had been asking what I wanted for a little while. Admittedly, I was not much help. The truth is I never know what I want. Gifts aren't my main love language. I don't want you to spend a lot of money on me. I don't want a big public gift that looks like I'm showing off or that makes others feel bad about their situation. I don't want to feel like you struggled or were inconvenienced. I want something that shows you love me and our life together. I realize what I want can be impossible. What can I say? I'm a complicated simple girl.

Well, bless his heart,  Mr. G found the perfect gifts for me!

He found me Texas Rangers flip flops (We are only 49 days from opening day!!). We love baseball and enjoy sharing this common interest. As we were pulling away from our wedding reception, we realized that we could make it to the 7pm game five hours away. So we did. Yes, you read that correctly, we went to a Rangers game on our wedding night!

Showing off our wedding rings in front of the Ballpark on our wedding day!

He also got us matching Texas Rangers cups. I have been really focusing on drinking water and tea and staying away from sodas (or cokes as we say in Texas. That's little "c" as in what kind of coke do you want, 7-Up or Dr Pepper??), I love them dearly, but they are not only high in calories, they are also a huge trigger for me to eat very, very poorly. I have only had one Dr Pepper in 2017!

(Pause for Applause)

Mr. G has been super supportive of my goals even when I was a special kind of grouchy wanting the food and drink that I crave. I was noticing the other night that we didn't really have glasses that were suitable for drinking tea. Now we do.

Finally, he got me the perfect card. It says exactly what I know but still need to hear about our relationship. "I love that You're My Wife" is written on the front. The inside lists things that we love about each other. Not too sappy, but perfectly worded. He added the sweetest heartfelt words in his neat, left-handed script and I know how loved and blessed I really am. So proud to be Mrs. Griffith!!

(Insert Hallmark movie theme music here)

I also wanted to share a memory from my childhood. I remember baking heart cakes with my Mom. I recall being so fascinated that combining a round and a square cake could make a heart (see example from Pinterest below). I'm fairly certain that the cake was a mix and frosting was store bought. That's not what's important. The time we spent together baking, assembling,  and decorating was what made it special. That and my Dad who would go on and on about our beautiful and tasty creations. What wonderful memories of love!

You’ve Got Mail

 

 

In the middle of a crisis an email quickly went.

To all the usual warriors, the prayer request was sent.
 

 Except, I didn’t get it. In fact, I didn’t even know,

That urgent prayer was needed, for people hurting so.

 

Due to a simple mix-up, not caught before clicking send

The email meant for me went to a contact, not a friend.

 

Which as you probably realize in these current times we live

Could result in legal action if someone’s not sensitive.

 

Luckily, the lady who received the errant note

Quickly joined the rest in prayer and in response she wrote:

“Thank you for including me. Please know that I did pray.

It’s in the hands of God now, and it will be okay.

 

“Oh my,” replied my friend, “you weren’t the one I meant,

Thank you for the prayers and for seeing my good intent.”

 

“No problem,” came the quick reply. “In fact, you made my day.

I never question prayer requests, I just simply pray.”

 

“I may not have life figured out, but here’s one thing I’ve learned

There really are no accidents where our God’s concerned.”

 

Now if you are still doubting and further proof you seek

Would have been a wasted email sent to me, since I was out that week.

 

Yes, you heard it right; you see, my God never fails

He’s with us in the big things and in the small details.

Carrie 11/21/10

 

Affirmations

I looked up the definition of an affirmation, and found that it is "the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed." Eye Roll. I hate when they use the word to define the word. Really? That's as frustrating as when you ask the teacher how to spell a word and they tell you to look it up in the dictionary...Wait...Is that even a thing anymore? Hmm...I'm not sure...well, better be safe...

Okay, boys and girls, a long time ago in a land before cell phones and computers, we had these things called dictionaries. It was a book that held THE list of words, their definitions and pronunciations. Teachers would refer you to the Dictionary any time they didn't know the answer.

Back to affirmations...luckily the second definition was more helpful. Affirmations are "emotional support or encouragement," and they are very important to good mental health and spiritual warfare. There's a lot of science to back up that statement and you can look that up online. All that science and the thing that I want to share came from my Momma. She told me, "the devil can't read your mind so he doesn't know your worries, insecurities, etc. unless you speak them out loud. Speak positive things and pray about the negative."

Some women I know struggle with thinking positive things about themselves. The reasons may vary. Maybe they have a past that carries guilt or shame, low self-esteem or poor body image. The common factor is that they have fallen for one of the enemy's traps. The Comparison trap, where you compare your weaknesses to other women's strengths. The "I am not Enough" trap, where you doubt your worth.  The Jealousy trap, where you can never appreciate what you have. We all do it to ourselves and we do it to each other and every time the enemy wins. He wants us to forget our value and worth, to be jealous and negative, and to feel that we are inferior and unlovable, and in a bad mood and take it out on our famlies. If he can get his grip on our hearts, he can wage war on our husbands and children. As Christians we know our God is bigger and he empowers us to be Proverbs 31 Women. His word is true. He cannot lie. When you can't think of any good truth to speak you can remember these bible truths:

 

January Book: One Month to Live

In January, I accepted an invitation to join my friend, Jennifer Strickland, in a Facebook group that was planning to read the book, One Month to Live by Kerry & Chris Shook.

Interesting side story (aka, Squirrel!!): Even though Jennifer and I went to the same high school and know many of the same people I cannot remember ever meeting her face – to – face. Honestly, the fact that Jennifer and I are FB friends is totally a God-Thing. One night, I was creeping (what are you looking at? Like you’ve never stalked anyone…) the page of a mutual friend and accidently sent her a friend request. Jennifer is a life coach for Shakeology and she posts a lot of healthy recipes and work-out videos. That is not usually my thing, but she is inspiring and not a weirdo (it takes one to know one, so you know that last part is legit!). She is perfectly imperfect and she owns it. She treats herself to ice cream after her yearly mammogram, has a blind dog that has seizures, and was very close to her grandmother who she called Gran (aww, me too!). I heart her and I am thankful that my nosiness and inept Facebook skills linked us together.

I am glad I joined the group, the discussions with my new friends were meaningful and the book was very inspiring and a great way to start the new year! The 30 chapters help you focus daily on living life in a “no-regrets” manner. The chapters are divided into 4 sections:

“LIVE PASSIONATELY, living each day as if it were your last.

 LOVE COMPLETELY, showing others love that transcends and transforms.

 LEARN HUMBLY, growing through your problems and pain.

 LEAVE BOLDLY, creating a legacy that will impact generations.” – One Month to Live, back cover

From the start, I made up my mind to really pour myself into the book and be honest with my feelings. There were times when the soul searching actually made me tired. I was surprised by how some of the chapters that I didn’t think would apply to me really hit home. I also feel like I could wait a couple of months and re-read other parts and they would affect me differently. I seem to be living more on purpose and feel more motivated to get healthy and focus on things that are eternal and bring me joy.

The example from the book that spoke to me (read: shouted at me!) was about a woman who took a vacation and spent her whole time redecorating the hotel to suit her and missed the fun of the trip. I really don’t want to get so caught up in trivial things that I forget to live my life.  I was also reminded that stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something different (for example, a fluffy, anti-sweat girl joining a group of fit, energetic chicks) can be good for your body, mind and soul.

G is for Griffith

Welcome to the new Blog!!
I have blogged in the past, but I wanted a fresh start. I have "come a long way, baby," as they say. I began to brainstorm names for this blog. I feel like the secret to a good brainstorming session is to let your mind go and freely explore ideas. So,I let myself be silly, be weird, be serious, etc. It was important to me for the blog name to be a little clever and include my new last name if at all possible. This is apparently what happens when I set my mind free:

Griffith Girl - sounds like I work for temp agency

Griffith Gazette - Who am I, Barbara Walters?

Carrie G - Boring

Mrs. G - Boring and a little too "Happy Days"

Glamorous Griff - just weird and a little false advertising

Geeeee!!!

Gee, Your hair smells Terrific!! -Nope, but that does remind me, I need shampoo. Probably toothpaste and scotch tape and GOODNESS I better start a grocery list.

Goodness - hmm... maybe Goodness Griffith - or maybe not

The G Spot - I honestly considered this one. Then it dawned on me why this might be a bad idea. For one thing a some of the male readers might have trouble finding it.


Then it finally came to me!! Many of the things I want to write about start with the letter G:
God's Grace, Good Reads and Great Grub, Goal Setting and Gardening...I was really on a roll now...Giggles, Glamor, Gratitude, Guns and GIG 'EM!

G is for all those things. I am for all those things. G is for Griffith!