Tuesday's Top Ten Plus Ten [Movie Quotes]

I really had to think about this one and watch some of my favorite movies to remember these awesome quotes. It was a fun one to put together.

1. One of the best scenes ever is made that much better with an awesome quote, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." - in Dirty Dancing

2. Princess Bride has some pretty phenomenally hilarious quotes, but this scene is one of my favorites: 
Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can fuss. 
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss… I think he like to scream at us. 
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no harm. 
Fezzik: He’s really very short on charm. 
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme. 
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time. 
Vizzini: Enough of that. 
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead? 
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead. 
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it. 
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?

3. Dumb and Dumber is pretty dumb, with some of the dumbest quotes in existence. Which may be why I find it so funny, especially the following quote, "Just when I think you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!"  

4. From a lovely romance movie comes this wisdom from Grandpa, "What we think they feel. Women are creatures of the heart." - in A Walk in the Clouds

5. "These mashed potatoes are so creamy!" is a quote my family knows well all because of this hilarious scene from While You Were Sleeping. 

6. "Yay! I'm a llama again! ... wait... "  from the movie Emperor's New Groove. It's a pretty hilarious scene.

7. Sully's realization in Monsters, Inc. that "... laughter is ten times more powerful than screaming." This is my daughters favorite movie right now so I hear it often.

8. The Proposal is one of my favorite movies. How could you not love it with quotes like Andrew's proposal, "Three days ago, I loathed you. I used to dream about you getting hit by a cab. Then we had our little adventure up in Alaska and things started to change. Things changed when we kissed. And when you told me about your tattoo. Even when you checked me out when we were naked. But I didn't realize any of this, until I was standing alone. In a barn. Wifeless. Now, you could imagine my disappointment when it suddenly dawned on me that the woman I love is about to be kicked out of the country. So Margaret, marry me, because I'd like to date you." 

9. Captain Jack Sparrow has so many great quotes like, "BUT why is the rum gone?" and his reply to Will Turner's statement, "This is either madness or brilliance." "It's remarkable how often those coincide." and "Now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something!" and "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate." and "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem."

After that I technically gave you more than 10 quotes so I guess we'll stop there! Don't forget about Melany!

Postpartum Depression, the Bible, & Discipleship [Mandy's Testimony]

Many weeks ago I posted my experience with postpartum depression promising to share another testimony. There were events these last few weeks that kept publishing from happening, but better late than never, right?

Today I'm sharing my sister's testimony, who experienced an extreme case of depression (that included suicidal thoughts) and how God used it to transform her life for Him. I'm so excited to share this with you not only because of the fire God set in her heart for Him because of it, but also because God used me to point her back to Him. After reading her words, read her story from my point of view...

I recently read an article about the “darkness” after your new baby is born, I was shocked how many people responded to it, women who I was friends with on Facebook, and I had no idea their struggles. Women are such emotional creatures, after time we learn that we need to suppress these hormonal changes or be labeled “crazy”. By the time our motherhood comes into play we have mastered this skill and think after our baby is born its just hormonal changes we need to get through and it will be fine in a few weeks (for some women this is possible). When I was hit with postpartum depression I thought, I will be fine in a few weeks, I am just sleep deprived and my body just pushed a baby out, I don’t need anyone to know because then that “crazy” label might come out. 

As time went on I began to get scared of myself and the thoughts that were consuming me. Yes, consuming, ever moment of everyday. But somehow I smiled when people were around and went on convinced it would end. When it didn’t, I realized it was unsafe for me to be home alone with my daughter. I was endangering myself but most importantly her. I remember the day I called David at work, spilling it all out; poor guy was equally as terrified to find out that I had thoughts of hurting our new beautiful daughter and myself. Even now, when I write this tears pool in my eyes thinking of it. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of the women who go through these thoughts that don’t rely on Christ to pull them out of it. If you have never been through this I know you are thinking, “what kind of mother would ever think that?” But, if you have been here you are hopefully finding peace in knowing you’re not alone and God is sovereign even through this. 

I don’t know about you but anti-depressants terrify me, equally, if not as much as the thoughts themselves. So until we decided what to do I didn’t let myself be alone. It kind of felt silly, like I was being babysat. But it was best for my daughter, I never got close to doing anything to her, and looking back I know I wouldn’t have. But it made David and myself more comfortable knowing I had support on hand when thoughts overwhelmed me, and got immediate prayer. We tossed around the thought of anti-depressants but something told me I didn’t need them, then we decided to put me on birth control to see if maybe regulating my hormones would help (there is no scientific support for this, just something we were comfortable with trying). 

At the time I was running our business, keeping the house spotless, spending time with our friends, and taking care of a child with reflux and lip-tie! Needless to say too much. We decided to end the business. I started to let the house go (which was a big deal for me) and slowly began to fill the roll of mother instead of fitting motherhood in where I could. Embracing God’s position for my life helped, but I still wasn’t finding rest. The thoughts got less scary, but turned into sky-high anxiety. There was no peace in my life; that was exhausting in it self.  

In February of 2014 Becky came to visit. This was when we began to see the plan God had through this depression! One night the depression hit a new level, it was anxiety and scary thoughts all at once. I felt like I was out of control! All I could think to do was get Becky. So I woke her and said, “Bring your Bible.” I don’t remember everything said, but I remember I couldn’t stop shaking, it was totally uncontrollable, we listened to music, focused on the gospel, prayed endlessly, and by the end I had peace. My mind was quiet, the shaking had stopped, it was a feeling I didn’t think was ever possible. I stopped the birth control the next day knowing Jesus was bigger than this depression and I didn’t need any medication. My whole life I had been a “Christian” but that night I put my trust in Him fully. I was a lukewarm Christian (and proud of it) until that night. Becky and I started doing a weekly discipleship via Face time; we also started videoing in on Tuesday night Bible study and the occasional Sunday morning. Throughout all these things the depression left, I’ve never been hit with thoughts of hurting Abi or myself since. All because of Christ and the power He has.  There have been times of anxiety, but I quickly shut it down and find peace with prayer. I am beyond thankful for this depression, I am thankful God kept his hand on me from beginning to end keeping my family safe, and bringing us closer to Him. This depression caused an endless domino affect in changing us from lukewarm Christians to being on fire daily! It has caused us to move countries to get closer to Him and built a closer relationship to my sister. He changed my heart to embrace every moment with my daughter. 

Sometimes I don’t fully understand the thoughts I had. I can’t imagine why I ever wanted to affect her in a negative way, then I realize those things were one of the biggest steps in my sanctification and without it she may have never know God and how amazing He is, because I sure didn’t. We often wrongly assume God is on the sidelines cheering us on in hopes we do the right thing and maybe, just maybe, we have the strength to push through and find Him on the other side. This is not the God of the Bible, He is 100% in charge of our lives. He is the God of calamity (Isaiah 45:7), salvation, and peace; we exist to bring glory to Himself alone. So yes, He can and does use depression to glorify Himself. 

I know mothers who have been so scared by their previous depression they are terrified to have another child, I challenge them to give this fear to God. He is bigger. He is better. He is stronger. I am not scared of when God blesses us with another child, even if I get depression again (which I doubt because I know Christ now). I know that everything in my life is to set me apart, and become closer to Him.  So if that means something as huge as another round of depression, cancer, loosing family members, or something as small as not being able to pay a bill. I know God is in total control of it; I rest in knowing my life exists to glorify Him and nothing more.

--------------------

It continually amazes me how God times things. At the peak of Mandy's depression, we traveled to the Bahamas to visit her. It was an amazing trip, not just because of beach and boat time, wonderful food, incredible company, and great memories; but because God used me to point my sister to Himself. I feel so honored and grateful to be witness to such an event, much less be used for His glory.

I had no idea how badly she was struggling until the night she woke me up asking for help. I honestly do not remember her telling me to bring my Bible. The only thing I knew to do was to focus her mind and thoughts on an almighty, faithful, and sovereign God. So I shared the gospel, prayed, pointed her to Scripture showing God's amazing attributes in Job 38-41 (where God answers Job after all he lost) and listened to Sovereign Over Us  by Aaron Keyes.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was the Holy Spirit guiding my words as I silently prayed to make my words His Words and that He open Mandy's eyes to His truth. (Thank you Lord for answering that prayer!) I also have no doubt in my mind that the reason my pastor asked me to do a witches hat diagram for the book of Job weeks before leaving for this trip was so I knew that in the midst of trials and tribulation what GOD wants us to do: stop and consider the wondrous works of God (Job 37:14)

That is the main reason why I'm sharing this: to point women to the truth found in Scripture for encouragement and hope. The final post on Postpartum Depression is giving tools to help change your negative thoughts to the wondrous works of God. Focusing on God's amazing attributes leaves no room for anything else.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday's Top Ten Plus Ten [My Idea of a Good Time!]

AaaaaND we're back! What makes that even better is our fun topic: "My Idea of a Good Time!"

1. Cuddling my baby girls. There is nothing like it in the world. Chubby hands wrapped around me, head snuggled in on my shoulder, contented sighs... I could do it all day long.
2. Front porch sittin' (we also have a lovely covered back porch, but I like the way that sounded). A cool drink in hand, friends, family, long talks, belly laughs, good food... there's nothing like the relaxation of porch sitting.
3. Hiking. There's something about the exercise and the beautiful sight seeing. I love thinking of all the pictures worth taking as well. 
4. Thrift store shopping. I've found some pretty fantastic "treasures" through the years.
5. Decorating. It's so much fun to see a room come together just as I have it pictured in my head.
6. Time studying God's Word. Since learning how to do it properly I see it come alive in ways I never, ever thought was possible. I once thought it was boring, but now I could do it all.the.time. if it wasn't for God's calling me to be a wife and mother as well. 
7. Reading a good book with a good drink. I don't care if that drink is coffee, chai tea, A&W Root Beer, beer, gin and tonic, Earl Grey tea, a mojito... (I have lots of favorites!) whatever the drink it's 10 times better with a good book.
8. Theme/Dress Up Party. One of the best parts about these kinds of parties is the time spent preparing the costume and the time spent seeing (and laughing or aw-ing or wow-ing) over everyone else's.
9. Pinterest. I've been inspired, motivated, educated, (and and and) so I don't consider it time wasted.
10. Date night with my amazing hubby. Any time spent with him is time well spent.

I could put more on this list (like crafting, and traveling, and writing) but we'll leave it at that. Enough of me! Check out Melany!