Leah Stirewalt

Hi Blog Friends…

As promised in a previous blog, I’m preparing for another 40 day stretch of consecutive blogging! Woohoo! The thought of it exhilarates me and nauseates me at the same time. It exhilarates me, because the only other time I’ve done this (the last 40 days of 2009) resulted in some of the most amazing blogging experiences I’ve had to date. It resulted in new followers that became new friends. It resulted in writing discipline for me. Most importantly, it resulted in sweeter fellowship with my Savior.

On the other hand, it was nauseating. It nauseated me for fear of letting you, my readers and bloggy friends, down. It nauseated me to think that I might run out of blog posts to write. It nauseated me to think you might just get plumb blored with reading my posts. Simply put, the pressure of the challenge I put upon myself was too much at times.

That said, I’m doing it again. Crazy as it sounds…the good far outweighed the bad in my last consecutive 40 day blog challenge. So, if you dare…hop along on this journey with me. The 40 days officially begin on Saturday, January 1! I would still commit to this journey even if I were the only one reading my posts, but it’s oh so much more fun having you along to chat with. To make it more of a community, I invite you to plug in via any or all of the following ways:

1) Become a follower! Click the little follower tab to the right and follow the instructions.
2) Leave a comment on a post (see comments link at the bottom of each post).
3) Follow me on Facebook! Click on my Facebook badge to the right or search for me by name: Leah Slack Gillen.
4) Follow me on Twitter: @LeahSGillen
5) Email me! [email protected]

Now, there’s no excuse not to find me somewhere! Ha! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE connecting with you!

To give you a little heads up about something I’m personally participating in and incorporating into my blog this year, check out Beth Moore’s post HERE. This will be my first post of the 40 day blog challenge. I participated on the Siesta Scripture Memory Team in 2009 and was not only challenged but extraordinarily blessed! Friends, with everything in me, I challenge you do this with me this year. You don’t have to officially participate via Beth Moore’s site if you don’t want to, but I’ll be offering the same comment accountability via my site. It’s not only important to hide God’s Word in our hearts through the discipline of memorization…it’s vital! If we want to live vibrant, effective, joy-filled, strengthened, authentic lives of faith, then we must know God’s Word. To know God’s Word means we need to read it, hear it, meditate on it, memorize it, and live it! Will you join me for this challenge? Again, check out the “instructions” via Beth’s post HERE. Get ready, get set, and we’ll GO on January 1!

Be blessed!

The pants were made of a soft velvet-like burgundy shade. The shirt was pin-striped white and burgundy (to match the pants, of course). And…if that wasn’t enough, burgundy socks and penny loafers completed the outfit. Get the theme yet? Burgundy. Regardless, I thought it looked great on me. I even resembled the older high school girls that I looked up to. It was a happy occasion. Then…I woke up. I was thirteen years old and had literally just woken up from a dream of the “perfect” outfit. No…not a daydream. A real…slept all night…dream. I couldn’t wait to share with my mom.

Excitedly, I announced to my mother, “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”

“Got what?” mom asked.

“I know exactly what I want for Christmas,” I boldly proclaimed.

I proceeded to tell my mother all about the dream and the burgundy outfit that I now wanted for Christmas, which was only about a month away.

She looked at me a little perplexed and simply said, “We’ll see.” (By the way, that’s short for more-than-likely in my mom’s “Mom-ese”.)

Since dreaming of my perfect outfit, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It consumed me. I was super sensitive with my appearance anyway, and I knew this outfit would be nothing short of flattering for my middle-school girl figure. If only Christmas would come quickly…

The big day finally arrived! I opened a few gifts in search of THE one. I knew it had to be there, and you can only imagine the glee that surfaced on my face when I finally unwrapped the thing of beauty…my burgundy outift…in all its glory! Here it was – the very thing that consumed my dream that night and my thoughts for days thereafter. The very thing that would turn my boring life into one of excitement. I held it in my hands. It was EXACTLY what I asked for, but…it somehow didn’t look as spectacular in the box as it did in my dream. Even worse…it looked even less spectacular on me as I tried it on. I looked frumpy, blah, and simply “not me”. What was I thinking?!?! I banked all emotion on this gift, and it was NOTHING like I expected.

My burgundy outfit resurfaced again last week. No – not the actual manifestation of it, but the emotional draw to it. God actually brought it back to my mind in the least expected way. In my quiet time, I was crying out to Him (okay, maybe whining a little and begging a bit too) over some things I desired of Him. I dreamed of these things. I had a perfect picture of the way it was supposed to be, if He would only grant my deepest desires.

In the stillness of my spirit, He whispered, “You want the burgundy outfit again?”

I paused.

A little louder this time, “Sweet daughter, do you want me to give you another burgundy outfit of your own making or do you trust the garments I have planned for you?”

I was quickened.

Scripture teaches that God’s plans are so much higher than our plans. His ways are P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Sure, sometimes He’ll give us exactly what we ask for, but sometimes what we ask for isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Then again, sometimes he says “no”, because he knows the “outfit” won’t flatter us, and we’re asked to wait as He creates the perfect garment to adorn us with in His perfect timing.

In these days of sheer disappointment and utter frustration over hopes and dreams not yet realized, I have to trust Him. Not MY plans, not MY things, and not even MY dreams. I know that I know that I know that His love for me is complete, and because of that I know that regardless of disappointing dreams, unrealized expectations, or less-than-ideal results, I want only His plans for me. That’s a tough, but true, statement to make. How about you?