New things...

I'm sad today sitting here at the coffee shop, realizing that my time here is coming to an end. In all the time I have been here I have learned so much and met so many new people and friends, it seems hard to believe it has been almost two years! I am so so thankful for this place and the people in it. Life is so sweet when you're living it with comfortable friends, friend who I would never have known if it weren't for this wonderful place.
As sad as I am I still get excited knowing that God has something huge in store for me. He is taking me out of my comfort zone once again, and I know there is plenty of purpose behind it! Being engaged brings a whole new atmosphere to life, it changes my perception of me, who I am, God and who He is. The decisions I make everyday, wondering how married life will be, the things I will change to better our life. Seth and I. I'm so excited an so humbled. Wedding planning is fun, but I'm more excited to be able to sleep next to my bet friend the rest of my life! As long as I am with him i know I'll be alright, he isn't my all in all, but he fulfills a lot of things in my life! So! On to new things to prepare for our life together, like a new job (which I call a "big girl" job). I'm so nervous that I won't accomplish what I need to while I am there, but I know God is putting me there for a reason and I trust Him!

Days like today...

On days like today I can't stop smiling. Looking at the sun, being in the warm air, greeting people at the coffee shop, everyone in an impeccably great mood. It reminds me that I should treasure everyday as a beautiful day, like today.

I found a solution!

Ok, everybody! Thanks to my awesome iPhone I found a Blogger app! I am currently blogging from my phone! This might help with my frequency of blogging!

The "Once a Month Trend"

     Apparently, I tend to blog once a month, lately.  So I decided I better go ahead and blog for February before it is over!  Hehe...
     I always forget that I love blogging.  I think my biggest problem is thinking of things to write about.  And when I do, I'm not near a computer.  Another reason to start religiously making lists and notes!  I'll get the hang of it... someday!
     On that note, I do have something to talk about today, or maybe just ponder.  I was listening to Matt Chandler the other day, and he was talking about different things in his life that tender his affections to the Lord.  His was a cup of good coffee and old books.  This surprised me because I thought he would say something like seeing someone get baptized or his kids telling him about what they learned in Sunday school.  Which are both wonderful things, but they are things that probably tender everyone's affections for our CreaTOR.
   What tenders your affections to your Heavenly Father?
Not to copy, but honestly a good cup of coffee or tea, and long walks are what makes my heart beat faster thinking of Him, and how beautiful He is...

My Values

     God is good and He is working... My life has been flipping around these past few months and I praise God for all He has been teaching me and revealing to me! Mmmmm... He is good.
      For many years I have been asking God to send me a mentor, someone who will challenge me to be a set apart woman of God, to live FOR Him and Him alone, and to Biblically rebuke me.  I was always seeking this relationship, trying to find it in anyone who would pay any attention to the Bible and was a woman.  It became more a search for a person to hang out with instead of a divine relationship that would bring my closer to Jesus.  So I stopped praying about it, I stopped asking for it, and I stopped thinking about it all together.  I guess God knew I wasn't ready until now.  I LOVE that He knows my heart, and that He made my story different than anyone else, all the glory to Him for that.  In October God brought a mentor into my life literally out of no where! She has been so good to me and we both praise God for bringing us together as sisters in Christ, we both know it is all His doing and are so so thankful.
     Anyway, last week she had me take an assessment (for lack of a better word) to dig deep and find what my core values are.  She gave me a stack of cards (50) that each had a word or phrase on it.  I had to filter through all of these cards quickly, and a few times, to discover what my core values are.  I wish everyone could take this test, it has sincerely changed the way I live day to day.  I had a hard time only choosing five out of 50 but I did it!
So! Here are the core values of Olivia Jane Hurley, the things that I choose to live by everyday:

1. Relationships
2. Compassion
3. Helping/Serving Others
4. Authenticity
5. Prayer

     All of these things have a different meaning to me than they might to you, which makes it even more interesting.  I always knew I had value in things, especially in Christ, but I never knew the importance of seeking they way I am wired.  And living by the way that God wired me.  When we seek what He has done in our lives, pay attention to who we are in Him, then use His creation (our uniqueness) to do what He has called us to do, what could be more fulfilling and glorifying to Him? Honestly! What could be better?
    So think... what do you find value in? Fun? Innovation? Adventure? Honesty? Purity? Knowledge? Quiet time? What is the thing that drives you to Him? What is the value you find in yourself that makes you who you are? And are you living by these values? Because God instilled them into you for a reason... find out what it is.

Oh well...

Hi! Ok, for those of you who have been following (which I think it is cool if even just one person reads what I write, it's mostly for myself anyway) I'm sure you have noticed that I did not keep up with my goal of trying a new thing every day AND posting about it everyday.  I guess life happens and procrastination due to life happening... happens! I did try many new things of which at this point cannot account for all of them.  But here are a few:

-Murderer Mystery Dinner... so fun!

-Highlighted my own hair... it always comes from a box at my house but this time I did it all by myself!

-Became a nonstop cleaner, due to my extra job cleaning the church! I'm a full time working girl now by the way... we will talk about that later.

-Saw the Muppet Movie, hilarious I highly recommend it!

-Started three new classes! 

-Learned I am a Peaceful Phlegmatic and Seth is a Popular Sanguine. 

Just a few things, but new! 

I forget how much I love blogging! It's fun, is it not?

Recap!

     Due to procrastination and faulty time management I have failed to meet my expectations of blogging everyday about my NEWvember! So sorry folks.  Anyway, here is a recap.
Unfortunately I haven't had the time to try something new EVERY day, but I have managed to try many new things! Here we go!
     -My Budget went into works on Tuesday.
     - I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (I'm super sore...)
     - I now wash my face with a cleanser made of........ CARROTS! It is called "YES to Carrots!"
I already see a huge difference in my skin and I LOVE IT!
     -I now take Vitamin D-3, good for the lack of sun in the winter months, also supports breast health!
     -I have begun a project (not telling what it is for) that involves going to Goodwill once a week to buy tea cups... hehe
     -I started a new class for Wedding Planner School! It's fun...
     -I wrote out my own education plan and (ideally) I will have my Bachelor's Degree in General Ministry in a YEAR! The idea of finishing early sounds so good to me. It doesn't have to happen, but it could!
     -I made a venture to Otterbein to visit my lifelong friend at her apartment where I had never been before, God is so good to allow us to stay best friends through all of these years.  We made a commitment to see each other more than once a year... which I think is perfectly achievable!

     These may not be in chronological order, but that isn't what matters I guess!
Happy Veteran's Day!!!! God is so good, thank Him for something today!

Day Three!

     Alright party people! We are on day three! Now, I had trouble finding something new to do today.  Which gave me anxiety because it is only day three and I was already having a brain block.  I had an idea in mind, then decided it was too boring to blog about, then decided to stick with it.  As boring as it is.
    Drum roll please... I started a BUDGET! (See, told you it was boring...)  I recently started cleaning the church, just for some extra cash and to learn some discipline.  We always clean in pairs and last night I was with my friend Kristen. Somehow we got to the subject of finances.  After a long discussion and guidance from Kristen (you go girl) I decided to start a budget of my own.  Even though I am not making car payments, house payments, or insurance payments yet I thought it would be a good idea to teach myself NOW and at least be prepared (maybe not ahead of the game... but at least PREPARED) for what is to come sooner or later in my life.  Kristen told me just a few basic principles she learned through Financial Peace University (shout out to Dave Ramsey).
     Basically, it goes like this: Give a third, Spend and third, and Save a third.  Pretty simple. So, today I bought a tiny composition notebook and wrote out my budget! I am starting with just the thirds for now, then going into more detail later! I prayed about it before I did it.  I want God to teach me how to do this properly and really treasure the gifts He has blessed me with.  I know with His help and with confidence in Him (not myself) we will succeed!
     As boring as it may be, it is certainly something new to me.  Honestly it is a little embarrassing to admit that I have never done this before, BUT better late than never!

     Hope everybody's week has been a fruitful one! Keep going! Only one more day until the weekend!!

Days One and Two combined!

     Hi friends! Okay so, I didn't blog for yesterday because I was still doing my first new thing as I fell asleep last night! BUT! Better late than never! Here goes...
     For the first day of Newvember I learned my first stitch in knitting.  The most basic one of course, seeing as I have never knit before in my life, but I have been pursuing to learn the art for a month or so now.  I learned the knit-stitch.  You knitters out there are probably laughing at me, but for my first time it doesn't look so bad! My goal is to knit a scarf by the end of the week. We will see how this turns out.  Anyway, for the mean time here is a picture of my progress so far!

     Not the best, I know.
Don't you just love that color of green though??

     Ok,  for day number two I tried something not so hard on my fingers.  While on Pintrest last night ( and if you don't know what Pintrest is... well just go to Pintrest.com and your life will be changed forever I promise) I came across a homemade lip exfoliating treatment.  I thought "HEY, I have never exfoliated my lips... Perfect for day two!".
     Therefore tonight, even though I am tired and have to open at Choffey's tomorrow and I didn't want to let myself and or you down, I exfoliated my lips, with all natural ingredients!
The recipe is:

One part EVOO, one part brown sugar and one part honey(or blue agave in my case... no honey in the Hurley household tonight)

BEFORE... wah wahhhhhh

After! Yay!

      TO make it more fun I decided to grace you with a before and after shot... hehe









     My lips do feel a little more soft! Thanks Pintrest! Happy Newvember 2nd everyone! Talk to you tomorrow!

PS
Verse of the Day Hebrews 3:13... good eats...

NEWvember!!!

     Randomly this morning while I started doing laundry (which, due to major procrastination on my part, is still in the works as I type... will I ever get things done ahead of time?? hehe) an idea popped into my head.  I got so excited about it I have to tell y'all! I'm in a Paula Deen mood I guess? Anyway, I have decided that November is going to be the month of trying new things! Hence, NEWvember!
     Here is the challenge, try one new thing every day in November.  This is what I vow, I will try something new everyday this month.  I also vow to blog about it EVERY DAY. So, I count on you guys to keep me on track! Also, if you have any fun ideas for me to do let me know!           To go into more detail I plan on doing anything that does not require money or far travel.  For example, yesterday I made pumpkin bread, I had never made an actual bread before that involved yeast and waiting hours (literally hours) for it to rise.  It inspired me and I want to keep going with it!
     Please join me if you want and let me know what kind of new things you are trying! Maybe just once a week? Twice a week? Or everyday!
     Learning new things and trying new things can be a huge character building block, I believe at least.  OH! I am oh so so excited! This is going to be fun!!!
Happy Newvember!!!!!!!!!

The heart

     I have been praying lately for God to give me a heart like His.  I had no idea what I was asking for honestly.  It has been hard to discern what He wants from me, where He wants my heart to be, but I have been stagnant in my search.  I have not have an active participle faith.  He wants us in the Word.  The Word that is fresh on the page.  It is cool to think about.  God's timing is not based on minutes or days or years or centuries.  God just.... is. To Him, His Word is just as fresh as if I were hanging out with Paul right now while he was writing his letter to the Philippians to encourage them to imitate Christ's humility.
     I can't even comprehend this, not completely anyway.  But it does give a completely different view of The Word.  Let's be in the Word because it is NEW!!! It is FRESH! Read to eat!! Let's learn to love like Him.

Reoccurring Themes...

     In high school I took a few AP classes (only the literary ones, my brain doesn't handle math or science well...).  We would all read a book of historical or artistic significance to literature, most of the time it would be books that were considered "classics".  Yet, without fail, almost every book was ridiculous and no one in their right mind could relate to it let alone understand it.  Anyway, sorry about the small rant, the whole class would discuss the book and, of course, the popular topic was "Reoccurring Themes" in the book.  I haven't thought about those long discussions in a while until lately, when I have come across some reoccurring themes in my own life.  Specifically reoccurring themes God is bringing to my attention.

     I am always asking God to reveal things to me that are a hinderance to my relationship with Him.  Although I am asking Him to "reveal" things, a few obvious things are already in my mind that I had been trying to work on.  I have been asking for this for a while, and it is so cool how hinderances change and the ways I have been trying to push them aside.  The closer I get to Him the more I see things that have been eating me up for a long time, that 6 months ago I would have never recognized as a hinderance.

     For example, lately I have been seeing my "acts of service" as a hinderance.  Sounds weird? Let me explain.  God wants us to have a servants heart, a heart completely enticed in wanting to serve HIM and no other.  So, even when I am pouring a coffee for someone with a smile on my face and words of encouragement, if it isn't for Him, He wants nothing to do with it.  Also, it has become something of a show sometimes.  I, subconsciously, am sweet and humble with the motivation that someone will notice it and think "Oh, she is such a sweet nice girl..." 

.........uh, oh....................

     Scary to think about, but its arrogance. Ouch, right?  This is hard to admit, but it is true.  God wants me to serve HIM.  He wants me to be loving to HIM.  Our society is so concentrated on self-fulfillment, and we will never be completely satisfied in ourselves.  We still crave, we still want, we are still selfish.  God is so good, He understands us, and still loves us! Crazy love...

     So, thank you Ms. Ressler and Mr. Auvdel.  Even though I saw discussing reoccurring themes in goofy books as pointless, it did teach me to be aware of it in my life! I am using what I learned in high school in real life! :) 

   

     Lord, please give me a heart for You. Teach me more everyday, so that I can love You more and therefore love on others more, because You love them just as much as You love me...

My latest installment...

TOMS.

So... I may be joining the movement a little late but better late than never, right?
For those of you not in-the-know, TOMS is a company that makes simple shoes for anyone to buy, they are comfortable and cute, but here is the catch... For every pair of TOMS shoes bought another pair is given to a child in need of shoes!!! Seriously one of the coolest thing I have heard of.  Although I heard about it years and years ago I never got myself to buy a pair. I would see them at a dept. store or in a little outlet in the mall, but it just felt weird to buy them at the mall.  It didn't seem to have the same effect, I don't know why I felt this way, don't ask.  So, last week I went to the official TOMS website and bought a pair for myself and a pair for my Mommy's birthday! ( She has been itching to get a pair as well...) They came today! I was so excited, I have been wearing them around the house all day! I know I will never know who gets the other pair of shoes, but somehow I feel a connection to whoever will receive them.  I hope that they understand it is a gift from God, not some random girl in Delaware, OH.
Anyway...
Here is the link to the TOMS website, if anything just look at it, the mission is cool.

http://www.toms.com/

Our Remedy...

     Okay, I am a huge David Crowder fan.  His songs are so easy to listen to and the lyrics always speak truth.
     My latest song obsession is "Remedy" by the David Crowder Band... I am posting a link so you can listen to it, so you can understand what I mean...

    I was running the other day, it wasn't going so well, I was hurting so bad physically, mentally I couldn't quite get myself going to finish three miles.  Sometimes I get so hard on myself, I beat myself up if I am unable to finish something, especially when it comes to my mentality.  I kept thinking, what did I do wrong today that is making me so tired and sore now?  I should have drank more water, I should have not had three cups of coffee, I didn't have enough protein, maybe running this late was a bad idea,  should have gotten up at five to run, I'm getting "old" my metabolism is getting too low....AHHHH!! Then this song came on ( I listen to my Ipod while I run ) and I had to stop.  Listening to it, I realized I don't only have this thought process while running, I do it all the time.
    Looking for reasons why something is not going the way I plan.  Trying to find the next thing that will DEFINITELY make me happy forever and ever amen.  If I read this book, it will give me a new outlook on life, THEN I will have peace.  I should run a marathon,  THEN I will feel like an accomplished person.  I should be the most encouraging person to others, THEN they will encourage me the same way and it will satisfy me FOR SURE!  I won't bore you... the list goes on and on.

     Can anyone relate? We feel as though if we just do this other thing, try this new diet,  add in another activity, then we will feel a little more healing in our lives, that will satisfy us always.  But it never works! There is always just one more thing...
     Hence, David Crowder speaks truth.  Jesus is THE REMEDY.  Just listen to the song... You will understand :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3UWiJCZAz8&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL8ECDA1BA80F79074

PS
Fun fact of the day...
David Crowder lives in Dr. Pepper's house in Texas!

Isaiah 30:15

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it."

     I decided this will be my memory verse for now, for many reasons. First of all, I am currently finishing the bible study "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore (wonderful teacher) and this verse was the main focus of the lesson today.  Second of all, it describes exactly what is necessary for our salvation in Him.

   What I love about God's Word, His Truth, is that He does not ever say one thing and mean another.  He GIVES us the answers to all of our questions.  Nothing is left for interpretation.  The fact is, if we repent to Him our rebellious ways, turn back to Him so we will never do it again, and "light down" to His word and meditate on it, we have our salvation!  When we shut our mouths, when we listen to His Word, when we TRUST what He says, when we believe it is true, we find our strength!

     Then, the last line in the verse, "but you would have none of it." How dumb it sounds! But, so true. God gives us all of these outs, He reaches down to us in our rebellion and TELLS US THE ANSWER... and we want nothing to do with it, sometimes. Why?  Because I can fix it on... my... own... right?  Absolutely crazy, sometimes it is simply the most silly thing to think about.  God desires for us to know Him, so much, He doesn't send us on scavenger hunts, or give us little hints. He desires us so much that He tells us directly what we need.  How cool...

So glad my God still loves me even when I sometimes may be in broken version of myself!  Being the person He did NOT intend for me to be... a rebellious Child of His.

Okay, I am going to type the verse down again, just for my own memorization...

"The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it."

Isaiah 30:15

Have a relaxing rainy day everyone!  

Journaling

Okay, so I have had the same journal for about two years now. It is adorable and I love writing in it but I am not even half way through completely filling it! I am the WORST when it comes to keeping up with things like this.... Hence, why I hardly post anything on here!! But! I am determined that, starting this week, I will be faithful to all things "journalistic".

On the same subject...
Something I love doing is going back and reading what I wrote on the same day a year ago or two years ago, may I share with you what I wrote a year ago today?

A year ago today Olivia Jane Hurley wrote in her prayer journal:
"I want to say 'no' to things that tie me down and 'yes' to Your (Christ's) Freedom. I am FREE IN CHRIST!!!! Set me free Lord...."

My Pretty RED journal 

So silly but I AMEN-ed myself! It's so true! We are truly free in Christ.  He is our authenticity! This little journal entry gave me so much fulfillment today, I hope it encourages you as much as it did me! Funny how He sends encouragement TO us THROUGH us sometimes...

The Pioneer Woman

Can anyone else please tell me if they love "The Pioneer Woman" as much as I do??
I mean seriously, she is so cool! I love her show, I love her blog, I love HER! She inspires me to live out in the middle of who-knows-where and live on a ranch with a handsome cowboy husband and many many children and make delicious food and take beautiful pictures and just be awesome! How fun! I've decided I am destined to be a "Pioneer Woman" myself, I just don't know where I'll be pioneering yet...

My classroom :)

One of my favorite hymns...

As the deer panted for the water, so my soul longeth after thee
You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship thee
You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship thee

I love this song because it truly gives all the glory to Him.  The longing to only worship His great splendor and majesty, the DESIRE. Not just a want, but a passionate desire...

It's so pretty too :) 

Back in the saddle again...

So! Here I am! I'm back and ready to write! Feels like a long time since I was last on...
For those of you I have not been able to talk to I will give a quick update on my life, it's been a whirlwind to say the least...
A few weeks ago I was enjoying a hot summer afternoon when I got an unexpected call from Cody Clark, he had a random question for me he said, "Would you be able to go to Haiti with me and a few kids from the youth group in ten days?" WHAT?? I was shocked.  After much contemplation and prayer I told him "no" one day and "yes" the next.  It was something that seemed so complicated, yet was so simple at the same time.  I had a strong feeling God wanted me in Haiti, how could I deny his beckoning call? As a result, ten days laster I was traveling on a school bus through the crazy streets of Port au Prince and absolutely feeling right at home.  If you don't know already, I had been to Haiti two years ago almost to the date (before the earthquake).  While I was there my first time I fell completely in love with the Haitian people.  Although some may think this experience to be depressing and some might feel guilty for all they have, I found it to be the most joyous.  The Haitians live in a relaxed culture, and those who believe in the Lord have no choice but to wholly depend on Him.  To be honest I get jealous at times, thinking of how freely they worship, how frequently they have fellowship, and how utterly honest they are even when its uncomfortable.  I learned this time I went that we should never be apologetic about God's word.  His word is true, there are not any fine print or reading between the lines. It means what it says and I rejoice in Him for that!  Sincerely I could write about all of my experiences good and bad for hours on end, but that would probably end up being a boring blog! Ask anyone who knows me well, get me started on the topic and I will never stop!  Praise the Lord!
Immediately following my trip to Haiti, less than 24 hours later I was with my family in Michigan at Fireside Inn.  A Hurley Family Pastime, so relaxing and beautiful.  The perfect way to collect oneself after a crazy journey across the world! Pictures of both trips to follow!

Thanks for reading!  Praise God for all He has blessed you with, thank Him for your life today, it is a precious gift we forget isn't really ours...