a year of worship – 2015 reflections

Intention and Reflection have to be two of my most favorite things in all the world. I literally get giddy and incredibly motivated when they are both present in my life. And so as each year draws to a close, I excitedly sit down with my journal and deliberately soak in all the moments the prior year had to offer…while praying and seeking ways to grow even more in the year to come.

Beginning in 2013, I adopted the tradition of choosing a word or intention for my upcoming year…something that I felt God had impressed upon my heart that needed to be more of an intention within my heart, mind, soul and life.
Three years later, it’s proven to be a worthy tradition, as I can look back and truly see God working (and continuing to work) in those sticky areas of my life.

My first word in 2013, was Joy.
In 2014, I choose Unstuck.
And this last year, probably my most impactful one, was Worship.

While I loved focusing on Joy — an heart attitude despite my circumstances, as well as Unstuck — getting out of unhealthy habits and instead creating new healthier alternatives….what I realized was that, while helpful and important, the focus those two years tended to be more self-focused.

And by 2015, I was tired of my failures, tired of striving, and ultimately kind of tired of myself…and I needed to escape the “me me me” that life had unintentionally become.

And so I felt God prompting me to the focus of Worship, the heart attitude and intentional act of taking the focus off of me, and placing it instead on the One who truly deserves it.

Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness.”
Psalm 29:2

2015 was a year to choose Worship despite whatever may come…in the difficult, in the beautiful, and even in the simplicity of our day to day life.

It was a year to recognize that what I did was not about achieving a particular result, releasing all of that instead to the One who is always sovereign and faithful, and understanding that my part was simply to be obedient in all things. {Which ultimately serves as an act of worship that truly delights the Lord’s heart.}

 

quoteworship

 

Of all the years of words, goals, intentions and reflections, I have to say, this was the year that changed everything for me…as I realized more than ever what truly matters, and what my life’s purpose is ultimately about.

But learning to live well in ordinary time isn’t a call to elevate moments; it’s a call to draw close to Christ. What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves, but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them.”
– Oswald Chambers

And in the end, it came down this, as I recently shared on Instagram

 

tozerquote

 

I believe we often tend to create so many of our own struggles simply because we have the wrong person on the throne of our lives.

And exalting the Lord seems an overwhelming task when we think of it being over OUR WHOLE LIFE as just one big event.

But when we break it down to simply inviting God into the little details and moments of our lives, everything changes.

When we consistently thank Him, notice Him and HIS WAYS over our own selves and ways and expectations of how we think it should be…
and when we practice doing this in all the little things, and in all the little moments and spaces of our lives — a million problems are solved all at once.

I can’t express enough just how much this truth has been a life changer for me, taking the anxieties of my life and heart, and instead has brought such a peace and joy in it’s place…
in all the things, big and small.

And after all we’ve been through this last year, having worship be my intention, aim and focus…I realize more than ever that I am not so awesome…but rather, He is.

 

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major makeup declutter, foster care lessons & beauty box 5 unboxing

On this weeks Saldana Fam Cam: Post Foster Care Thoughts & Where We Go From Here, Beauty Box 5 Unboxing, Major Makeup Declutter, Must Read Book Recommendation, Coronado + more!!!

 

As always thank you so much for watching and hanging out with us on our weekly vlogs!

“But learning to live well in ordinary time isn’t a call to elevate moments, its a call to draw close to Christ. What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves, but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them.” -Oswald Chambers

This is why we vlog, and this why we share. In hopes that by capturing the seemingly insignificant and ordinary moments, we will be prompted to look back and see God working and moving in ways we might possibly have missed otherwise. We believe we aren’t meant to walk this journey alone, and we are incredibly thankful to have this community, and most importantly the love, grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Church Podcasts
I am Barabbas (book)

xo,
Summer

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going down memory lane, my latest workout plan & halloween!

Happy Monday!!!

You guys, I can’t EVEN believe it’s already November! I know people say stuff like that all the time, but seriously, we’ve had the weirdest hottest East Coast weather here in SoCal, that I feel like we are just skipping fall and jumping right into the holidays. That’s just not right, and it’s creating all kinds of confusion over here in my world! That, and going from 4 kids to 2 overnight, really has me wandering around wondering about life… (middle child here if you couldn’t tell…)

And then this weekend Jimmy gave me the budget talk so we could prepare for Christmas, which nearly sent me over the edge… not sure if that was more about budgeting or about it being CHRISTMAS soon… probably both.

Okay, moving on!

So this week on our Saldana Fam Cam…
Going down memory lane, BoxyCharm Unboxing (my FAVE monthly beauty box), Target Haul (the cutest hat & shoes ever!), My New Workout Plan (I was sore EVERY SINGLE DAY last week!), Halloween (Breaking Amish & Joe Dirt?), Church Chat + MORE!

 

 

And, as always thank you so much for watching and hanging out with us on our weekly vlogs!

“But learning to live well in ordinary time isn’t a call to elevate moments, its a call to draw close to Christ. What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves, but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them.” -Oswald Chambers

This is why we vlog, and this why we share.
In hopes that by capturing the seemingly insignificant and ordinary moments, we will be prompted to look back and see God working and moving in ways we might possibly have missed otherwise. We believe we aren’t meant to walk this journey alone, and we are incredibly thankful to have this community, and most importantly the love, grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Church Podcasts
BoxyCharm

xo

(p.s. if you guys ever have ideas on what you want to see more of in these fam cam videos, or if you have ideas for other videos and/or blog posts you’d love for me to do, let me know in the comments below or email me! always love your ideas and suggestions!)

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It means so much that you are here! I know life gets busy though, so if you don't want to miss a thing, I invite you to subscribe to my blog through email!

saldana fam cam: new traditions, simplifying life, clothing haul & the craziest documentarty ever!

Welcome to our Weekly Vlogs!

Every week I include makeup I’m wearing, workouts I’m doing, healthy grocery hauls, all the goodies that come in the mail, what we shop for, church chat, as well as snippits of our every day life as a family! I hope you enjoy, and of course, if there’s anything else you would like to see or have us add in, let me know in the comments below!

This week on the Saldana Fam Cam…
New traditions, making changes to simplifying our life, the craziest documentary you HAVE to watch, church chat, a clothing haul + more!

Websites mentioned:
Fashion Nova (XOSUMMER for 15% off)
Our Church Podcasts

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on finding our hope and purpose

I’ve always loved this quote my pastor often refers back to,
“Seek not to avoid a wounded life, but rather seek to avoid a wasted one.”

howtoavoidawastedlife

And, it’s been present in my thoughts even more so lately as we finish up the first month of this new year, and life attempts to drag us back into old patterns and habits. The newness has started to wear off, and it’s easy to let that fresh hope slip through our fingers. The purposes we may have set out to achieve can easily begin to appear blurry.

There’s a lot of talk, especially around the new year, about finding our purpose…living our purpose, or making it a year of purposeful living. And these purpose driven talks and essays and motivational speeches often come with steps and tips and even programs you can sign up for to learn exactly how to make it all happen for you. I’ve listened and watched and even felt inspired by many, but as I continue to seek the Lord and his heart in all of it, I seem to continually come back to the simplicity of it all.

…To continue reading, please head on over to The Better Mom.

xo

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God won’t give you more than you can handle

morethanwecanhandle

It’s no secret that I’ve had my fair share of struggles throughout my life…

Divorce.
Rape.
Death.
Depression.
Anxiety.
Loss.

I remember each of those moments or times in my past with such a vivid memory, that tears still come to my eyes when I fully allow myself to sit with the pain I had to endure. Because, truly, how does anyone ever forget the times they cried the most honest and heartfelt tears of their life?

And in many of those struggles, I would often hear what I imagine people meant to be comforting words,

God won’t give you more than you can handle…so know that He must really believe that you are incredibly strong!

And while I longed to find the comfort in that, the truth was, I wasn’t strong…I was weak and afraid, angry and broken. And I knew that I was most definitely was not strong enough to get through the pain I was experiencing…

If you’d like to read more, I invite you to finish the rest of this post today over at The Better Mom.

 
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we are his poem, we are his masterpiece: a pastors perspective | #thebeautybalance

I’ve been diving right into this 31 Day Writing Challenge, where each blogger chooses a topic to write about for 31(ish) days. Because it’s right where God has me, I’ve chosen to share on Blending Beauty with Balance.
(#thebeautybalance, if you want to follow along…or better yet, join the conversation using the hashtag!)

It’ll be a fun and encouraging 31(ish) days where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks while digging deeper, finding purpose, and blending beauty with balance — all with a heart of intention. {all 31(ish) Days will be linked here}

Today, Im excited to introduce you to my pastor, Matt Smith from Barabbas Road Church.
I pray you are just as blessed by his teaching, as my family and I have been over the years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The words of Anthony Hoekema, are an excellent way to begin this discussion:

 

The Christian self image is never an end in itself. It is always a means to the end of living for God, for others, and for the preservation and development of God’s creation. It leads us outside ourselves. It delivers us from the preoccupation with ourselves and releases us so that we may happily serve God and others.1

Woman raising her arms at sunrise.

This proper view of ‘self’ however seems to be at odds with the rest of the modern world and most recently the Christian culture at large in America.2

Here is the argument as it relates to beauty: a proper Biblical view of ‘beauty’ will always be in the context of an outside relationship; whether it is with God or fellow man, it should always be viewed in the context of grace to be acted out with others. In other words, self-esteem is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

This is a subtle point so I don’t want to be misunderstood.

In todays culture the oppression of beauty comes at us from every angle. The pressure to be fitter or stronger or more successful, and in every case it comes to us with the provided motive to impress others. To combat this we tend to emphasize that we want to pursue beauty or success or fame etc. for ourselves and then pat ourselves on the back for not being shallow. The problem is that we are seeking a false solution thinking we are avoiding the shallowness trap we see in the earlier desire to impress others.

We still have the wrong focus.

After the Fall there was a two-fold perversion of the self-image. This manifested itself in either an inordinate heightening or lowering of man’s view of himself. This meant that man, at this point on, either viewed himself with hatred, ignoring the image he still imperfectly bore, or he viewed himself with the sinful pride that caused his fall in the first place. In the first case, man’s negative self-image began immediately after the fall when Adam and Eve realized that they were both naked and their eyes were opened (Gen. 3:7).

{1  Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986), 111. 2  www.issuesetc.org/resource/journals/v2n1.htm}

Adam and Eve must have quickly read the self help book entitled, Making Your Own Sin Covering: Using What You Have to Be like God, because they tried to cover up their shame and sin with fig leaves. This is the religion of man and is man’s futile way of self-improvement that is so prevalent today. Man’s positive self view, from that point forward, could only properly be viewed in light of God’s all sufficient grace as pictured in the animal skins He made for them. D.G. Lindsay, in his work, Foundations for Creationism, has this to say regarding this subject:

 

God’s clothing of man with animal skins symbolized His desire to mend the broken relationship between Himself and man. The covering or clothing of our sin has always required a garment paid for with the shedding of blood. By giving Adam and Eve skins for clothing, God gave them a physical symbol of spiritual salvation. This was the first blood sacrifice made as a covering for sin.3

 

This act is one that should cultivate true humility while at the same time freeing one to have a positive self-image within the bounds of God’s grace. Here it is precisely the context of relation to God that is the source for self-esteem. This is fulfilled in the New Testament through the shed blood of Christ where in the redemptive process we see the perverted image of God in man being progressively renewed.

 

God wants us to be beautiful and excellent and successful for His glory.

 

When we pursue these things for this end then the results are not the point. That is to say, we are not more worthy because we are more beautiful, but we are worthy because of Christ and His sacrifice and we are free to seek to be beautiful for an audience of One.

Literally, the journey towards excellence in anything, when given to God, is an end in itself – worship itself.
There is no sacred – secular split.

Real spirituality is to be lived out on the altar of ordinary everyday life. Being a good mother for His glory, being a good friend for His glory and yes being beautiful for His glory is an act of worship.

 [3  Lindsay, D. G. (1998, c1990). Foundations for creationism . Dallas: Christ for the Nations. ]

Pastor Matt Smith
barabbas.com
biblicaljiujitsu.com

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the greatest beauty truths we can ever know | #thebeautybalance

I’ve been diving right into this 31 Day Writing Challenge, where each blogger chooses a topic to write about for 31(ish) days. Because it’s right where God has me, I’ve chosen to share on Blending Beauty with Balance.
(#thebeautybalance, if you want to follow along…or better yet, join the conversation using the hashtag!)

It’ll be a fun and encouraging 31(ish) days where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks while digging deeper, finding purpose, and blending beauty with balance — all with a heart of intention. {all 31(ish) Days will be linked here}

a Mama and her little daughter lie on the grass

I think one of the most meaningful posts I may have ever written, regardless of it’s popularity, is the one I wrote for Chloe called, What We Need to Teach Our Daughters About Beauty.

It was written when in the midst of a hurried night trying to tackle one beauty blog post and video edit after another, I suddenly caught a glimpse of my sweet daughter, Chloe, sitting playfully at my vanity. And while there had been many times I’d seen her do this before, for some reason it was this time that I suddenly felt something catch in my throat.

I set my laptop down for a moment and just watched, taking in every single innocent moment after the next, watching her imitate what she’d seen me do day after day most of her life.

The warm tears slipped from my eyes, as I suddenly realized all that I truly longed to teach her about beauty.

There was so much more than the blushes and lipsticks before her (although, yes, I do plan to teach her a thing or two when it comes to those), that I needed her to know. There was so much more about beauty that I longed for her to understand.

I quickly picked my laptop back up and with a steady stream of tears and an open prayerful heart, I poured out the words I needed her to know, and more importantly, needed to be sure I was living myself as well.

It’s that night, that letter, that changed the way I would ever approach the topic of beauty again both here and on my YouTube channel, and it is the reason I wanted to write even more on the topic over at The Better Mom today.

Whether you’re a mama to a daughter, an auntie to a neice, a mentor to a little girl in your life, or even if you’re simply someone who often longs for more meaning in your search for beauty…I encourage you to head over to The Better Mom and read today’s post on Blending Beauty with Grace: The Greatest Truths We Can Ever Know About Beauty.

xo,

Summer

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saldana fam cam | whole foods haul, kayla itsines workout & funny yoga | #thebeautybalance

I’ve been diving right into this 31 Day Writing Challenge, where each blogger chooses a topic to write about for 31(ish) days. Because it’s right where God has me, I’ve chosen to share on Blending Beauty with Balance.
(#thebeautybalance, if you want to follow along…or better yet, join the conversation using the hashtag!)

It’ll be a fun and encouraging 31(ish) days where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks while digging deeper, finding purpose, and blending beauty with balance — all with a heart of intention. {all 31(ish) Days will be linked here}

 

Welcome to another one of our weekly vlogs from my family!

Every Sunday I include makeup I’m wearing, workouts I’m doing, healthy food hauls, all the goodies that come in the mail, what I shop for, as well as snippits of our every day life as a family.

This week started with some of the most hilarious yoga moves I have ever witnessed Jimmy bust out. I seriously had no ideas the skills this man has. If there’s one reason to watch this week, it’s definitely for his opening act!!!

Also this week…

  • I do a mini review on Kayla Itsines 12 week bikini body challenge, as I just finished up Week 4. It’s INSANE but I totally love it!!!
  • I also share what we bought for our weeks worth of groceries at Whole Foods, as well what we plan on making with it all for meals.
  • Then there’s my newest makeup obsession that caused me clear out my Extrabux account…you guys have to see this lipstick!!!
  • And then of course just the fun family moments that I’m always so thankful I captured. Like this week when Chloe in her best Brittish accent, invited us all to sit and have a lovely “fancy” tea party. The different accents we all attempted were kind of hilarious…although I think Jimmy sounded a bit more like Ozzy than a fancy Brit.

I hope you guys enjoy hanging out with us, and of course, if there’s anything else you would like to see or have us add in, let me know in the comments below!

Remember to subscribe!

While I LOVE beauty, health, and all things related, more than anything my heart and soul belongs to Jesus! This quote expresses exactly what I hope shines more than anything:

“Like Paul and every other believer, my life is no longer my own. The focus must not be on me, but on Christ. When someone hears from me publicly, I want it all to point to Him.”

{quote from John MacArthur}

xoxo, Summer

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It means so much that you are here! I know life gets busy though, so if you don't want to miss a thing, I invite you to subscribe to my blog through email!

the comparison cure | #thebeautybalance

I’ve been diving right into this 31 Day Writing Challenge, where each blogger chooses a topic to write about for 31(ish) days. Because it’s right where God has me, I’ve chosen to share on Blending Beauty with Balance.
(#thebeautybalance, if you want to follow along…or better yet, join the conversation using the hashtag!)

It’ll be a fun and encouraging 31(ish) days where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks while digging deeper, finding purpose, and blending beauty with balance — all with a heart of intention. {all 31(ish) Days will be linked here}

 

 

Hi, my name is Summer and I’m a comparison-aholic.

And it seems that God is not so content to allow me to stay there.
While I’m certain I have an entire blog post to write on this, the fact that it’s all still swirling around in my brain with a few things yet to take root, a mini post will just have to do.

Mini-posts or macro-posts as they’re often called, seem to happen often for me on Instagram. It’s where I share bits and pieces of what I’m learning and what I’m loving when a full on blog post seems a bit too much to take on.
It’s become my place to share without over-sharing.

It started with this picture which I captioned: The Comparison Cure.

Because sometimes quiet time isn’t so quiet.
And to say I had been struggling with comparison before I read that morning may in fact be the biggest understatement of the year.

And so God got to talking… shouting really.

comparisoncure

…and He doesn’t seem to be stopping.

And then when I saw this, and I was like…YES! This is so right!!!

comparison

You guys.
This is as much for me as it may be for you.

We have to stop comparing.
Be inspired, but never compare, because the reality is…so often what we’re comparing ourselves to, isn’t even real.

Keep your focus on being what you were created to be, and living that out with purpose and intention.
The grass may appear greener on the other side, but the truth is, we’re just too far away to see the weeds.

To: Me.
Love, Me.

{I have much more to say on this, and soon will hopefully be able to thoughtfully put together a post with all that I working through in this struggle.}

 

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It means so much that you are here! I know life gets busy though, so if you don't want to miss a thing, I invite you to subscribe to my blog through email!