We are all like precious stones. We all come in different shapes and sizes. It is when we are cut and polished that we begin to live a more radiant life. The Wild Gems hopes to inspire you to live life to the fullest and to enjoy every moment!
Encouragement is defined as, “the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.”
Encouraging another human being doesn’t cost a thing but it gives them more than anything. It can be life changing for some!
A small act of encouragement pushes people, gives them strength, reassures them, gives them something to hold onto and maybe even fight for…..especially during challenging and sorrowful times.
Even a smile is an act of encouragement.
Don’t fall into the common trap of belittling yourself and your capabilities. You are power.
You can save lives and you DO save lives. You may not know exactly how, but does that really matter? You influence others more than you know. That’s something to think about.
Who knows what doors you have opened for others.
Know in your heart you make a difference. Pass on the love, pass on the encouragement, pass on the hope. The world needs it.
“…for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
Let’s define a few of these words so we can better understand this scripture and message.
The definition of the word humble is having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.
The definition of the word exalt is hold (someone or something) in very high regard; think or speak very highly of.
If you reread the scripture with those definitions you could say it says that whoever thinks very high of themselves will be brought to their knees and a person who lives a humble life will come out on top. Possibly a more fulfilling, peaceful life.
This scripture instructs us to not look down on others. We are instructed to remain humble at all times. And if we fail to do so God will definitely interrupt and remind us of our place. We will be reminded that we know very little to what we think we may know.
Erase the mentality that you are more deserving than another person. Truth be told, we don’t know what others do in secret. One person may share their charity work publicly while another chooses to remain anonymous.
Erase the thoughts of it will never happen to me or assuming you have more time than another. No one is more righteous than another. We are all sinners and we are all broken in search of repairing and rescuing.
Many walk this life living unconsciously. Unaware that the past still has control over their wheel. They are stuck in their conditioning and haven’t gained the courage or knowledge to break the cycle. We are in constant need of God’s grace to revive us.
We must be patient and again humble ourselves. Change can be extremely difficult for many. And we are not judge those. Some do not change their lifestyles because it’s what they know. They are comfortable, and they feel safe even when their environment is questionable to another. They don’t know any different.
When Jesus was on the cross, during his death, he remained humble. He didn’t say anything cruel nor did he exalt himself. He said, “forgive them Father, for they do not know.”
Recognize how fragile life truly is and offer compassion and offer it fully to everyone. There was a time when you didn’t know. Just as children don’t know many things. With time they begin to understand.
But God calls us at different times. And when we are called we are to be examples.
Pray to God to correct you when you are exalting yourself, pray to be humbled and pray to be humbled often.
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Oh my goodness where to begin!
This was an incredible/magical bachelorette! We left on a Thursday morning and arrived back on a Sunday evening. A total of 4 days.
(Some of us have kids so this was a real treat! Can you imagine!)
5 of us girls piled into an SUV driven by the brides amazing parents and we were off! One of us was smart and flew. We met up with her when we arrived in Cali. So, it was a total of six of us including the bride!
Once we arrived to our air bnb that our bride arranged in which we all chipped in we were out as fast as we were in. The maid of honor (the brides sister) and her parents stayed back to create the bachelorette vibe and they new the assignment!
While we anxiously waited for the air bnb to be transformed to bachelorette shenanigans we stopped at a dive bar that smelled like weed and had non stop murder stories on the TV lol, I’m not even kidding! Definitely unforgettable. Beer and a few shots and it was time to get the party started.
Once we received permission to head back to the air bnb we came back to a party waiting for us! There’s pictures below!
The first night we headed to dinner for cocktails, sushi, chow mein, and teriyaki chicken. We ordered so much food lol. We were also so hungry!
After dinner we headed back to the air bnb, got into our matching pj’s and began some games followed by tons of laughter and spontaneous dance moves. It was a blast!
Here was our full itinerary that was created by the party planning maid of honor!
Weekend Events
Thursday:
Once we arrived to a decked out Airbnb we each had a customized welcome bag waiting for us filled with all sorts of goodies! Matching pj’s, a hangover kit, a personalized shot glass, a bridesmaid sash, and champagne to just name a few!
We had a late diner and our server had such a familiar face, you had to be there.
But check us out! A Bunch of beauties!
At The Restaurant in the bathroom lolWe all wore black while our beauty queen wore white!At the air bnb 🙂 right before we left.Our beautiful bride! Xoxo Lemon Drop Martini, personally my fav!
Once we finished dinner we headed back to get into our jammies and play some games! Spoons and kings cup were just a few!
Bride Squad!
Friday:
We enjoyed a nice breakfast where we wore black leggings and a pink ‘bride squad’ shirt with rose gold Mickey ears while our beautiful bride wore black leggings, a white bride shirt and Disney Bride Mickey Mouse ears. Our first day was spent at Disney California Adventures and we had such a great time! How cute do we look! The maid of honor planned our adorable outfits!
We lost count how many times someone told our bride “congratulations!” A lot of people loved this look!Oh, we also had matching heart shaped sunglasses!!
Saturday:
The maid of honor surprised us with Minnie Mimosas and pastries in the morning. After breakfast we got some coffee at coffee bean and headed to the most magical place on earth! Disneyland! The bridesmaids wore ripped jeans, a black top, matching sashes, and red and black Minnie Mouse ears. While our gorgeous bride wore jeans, a white bride shirt and her bride to be Disney ears.
The photographer took some really cute pictures! Another photographer at Disneyland even grabbed her hand and took us to take some magical pictures in front of the castle! Just for us!
Kisses for the bride to be. Mwah!Note to self: if you throw up your ring finger Disney will think it’s your middle finger and blur it!
There you have it! The amazing Disney bachelorette party in a nutshell!
However there was so much more that happened and so many inside jokes that were born lol.
It was an unforgettable trip with the best girl gang! Check out some more pics!
More Pictures From The Bachelorette! Check it out!
A backdrop where we took lots of pictures and dance videos!The brides room with a giant inflatable diamond ring.The maid of honor gifted us each a “Bach Bucket” full of goodies!We also each received a customized bag full of MORE goodies! Matching pajamas, an itinerary, a hangover kit, and more! We were spoiled! Disney cake pops were also waiting for us! They were so yummy!Our surprise breakfast put together by the maid of honor with help from the brides parents. (Coolest parents ever right!)Mimosa ready with customized name tags!The cutest, I know.Would recommend a Polaroid camera! Most definitely!There’s our itinerary that the maid of honor made for us!Definitely wifey of the party! All about those little details!
Pictures To Take At Disney And MUST HAVES For The Bride
Look at that ring! Just stunning! The Disney photographer is who suggested this pose! And we love it!They wouldn’t let her hold the balloons but the pics still came out so cute!Others saw her doing taking these pictures and then they wanted to do the same! So fun right and so beautiful!It’s those little details! Our Bride even had the cutest wedding themed Disney backpack!A princess about to marry her prince. *sigh* who doesn’t love LOVE!
Welp! There you have it!! 🙂 If you’re having a bachelorette in Disneyland or planning one, good luck and have tons of fun! You won’t regret it!
When your child is just learning how to stand or learning how to walk you are either holding them, or standing very close by.
In case your child falls you want to be there to catch them, versus them falling down and hurting themselves.
Nobody wants to see their child hurt or in pain, so we stand very close.
In this walk of life, we are the child and God is our heavenly parent.
But like most children we are very stubborn. We believe we can do things on our own, better yet, WE WANT to do things on our own. Like we need to prove something.
The thing with this mentality is we end up falling many times in life and learn many things the hard way, and it hurts. It hurts really bad. And God is just there waiting, patiently, to help us when we are ready to ask for it.
It’s not that he hasn’t tried to help us, we have pushed Him away saying, “I can do it myself, I don’t need you.” So he watches us fall and thinks to himself, please let me help you.
He knows learning how to walk is challenging and He knows the walk of life can’t be done without the help of Him.
Actually, it’s not that it can’t be done, it can. God just doesn’t want it to be a hard walk of life. He gives us an opportunity to try on our own but he stands by waiting for the permission to help us.
He wants to catch us on those falls because he knows if we keep falling we will be become discouraged and won’t try anymore.
Nobody wants to crawl forever. We want to walk and RUN. When we allow God to catch us we will begin to take more risks, we will be confident, and we won’t be afraid.
When my children were small they would crawl to the edge of the bed only because they knew I would catch them. Imagine if they could talk at that age and say things like, “alright mom, stop, I want to crawl all over the bed myself without you hovering me.” But my children let me be there for them just in case. They felt safe. And they actually enjoyed me catching me.
If you don’t want to let God catch you when you fall that is ultimately your choice, however if you surrender and just let Him help you….your life will change in the most incredible way because you will know that you can do anything.
You can crawl to the edge of the bed with no fear, always.
baking instructions: bake at 500 degrees in a 9×13 glass dish for 10 to 12 mins or until edges are crisp.
What You Need:
1 pack of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon of sugar
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for coating
3 3/4 cups of flour plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Steps:
1. Whisk together 1 1/3 cup of warm water (you don’t want the water hot, it will kill the yeast) and the sugar. Then mix in the yeast and allow to sit for 10 mins until mixture is a little foamy and bubbly. Once the ten minutes are up add the tablespoons of olive oil.
2. In another large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Creat a well in the middle and add the water and yeast mixture. Knead dough for a minimum of 5 minutes adding more flour if necessary until dough is smooth and stretchy.
3. Divide dough in half creating 2 dough balls. Brush each dough ball with olive oil, placing each piece of dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an hour and a half.
4. Once dough is done rising freeze one and prepare the other. Rub olive oil all over a 9 x 13 glass dish. Arrange your dough in the glass dish leaving some space in the corners to spread. Add your sauce, seasonings, and toppings.
5. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until nice and crispy on the edges. Remove pizza from glass dish and place on a charcuterie cutting board and serve while hot.
This pie crust is flaky and delicious! Perfect for all sorts of galette baking!
Servings: Makes 2 pie crusts
What You Need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted cold butter chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of ice cold water
Steps:
1. Add the flour, salt, sugar, and butter into a medium/large bowl and mix until crumbly like texture (I like and prefer to use my hands). The other option is to use a food processor and pulse until butter is broken up and no more large chunks remain.
2, Next add the cold water to batter and combine together until one large dough ball.
3. Divide dough in half. Freeze one half for another time and place other dough ball in the fridge until ready to bake.
4. When ready to bake line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough into a circle but be sure to not make it too thin. Fill galette with filling and then fold the edges. Brush the edges with egg white. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.
Enjoy!
That’s it! Now you can get creative with your fillings!
Apple Or Peach Filling Recommendation:
Slice 4 medium apples or peaches unpeeled or peeled and toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Once mixed well place filling in prepared dough, topping off the apples or peaches with 1 tablespoon of chopped butter.
Start with 2 medium/large bowls and separate with wet ingredients and dry ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup of canned pure pumpkin
1 egg
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Steps:
1. Mix together dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl. The mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients into one bowl.
2. Butter 2 mini muffin pans and scoop a tablespoon into each muffin cup.
3. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Oven time may vary.
4. While baking warm up 1 stick of butter in a small bowl until completely melted and mix together 2/3 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in another bowl.
5. Once the donut bites are done immediately toss in butter then sugar and cinnamon mixture one at a time. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
*** You can also make ahead. Batter can be left in the fridge for up to 3 days! ***
The wife holds his face and kisses him softly She clings to him like a child, afraid to let go Her eyes whisper—be careful
Watching him drive into the unknown her heart begins to sink Drowning in her fears for just a moment she begins to pray Allowing her faith to shield and protect her
The world doesn’t know the weight he carries The world doesn’t know about the sorrow that lingers The world doesn’t know what his eyes have seen or the anchor of pain that can’t be lifted The world doesn’t know about the evil that lurks The world just doesn’t know
He walks through the door and she hides her self, not wanting to be caught just yet Closing her eyes in gratitude, Thanking God, loosening the chains of anxiety
She must be strong
But waves of pain still erupt as she holds her husband close She knows there’s another wife, hanging by a thread, waiting….
Waiting for him to walk through the door Waiting to collapse in those arms Waiting to take a breathe of relief Waiting to hear—I’m almost home
She’s waiting
Tears begin to fill her eyes Her heart begins to choke Gasping for air as in a dream when you can’t scream She buries her head in her hands hanging onto to hope
She knew what she became apart of She knew the sacrifices She knew what doors could open She knew what doors could close She knew
She was a wife, that stood by her Husband who held the weight of the badge
Always supporting, always loving, helping with that weight of the badge as best as she could
The world just didn’t know
💙
THANK YOU to all those that serve, protect, and do what’s right.
A great way to start Fall. Full of flavor and so yummy! Enjoy!
Servings: 10-15 large waffles or 20 to 25 small waffles
What You Need:
Wet Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cup of milk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (the real stuff)
3 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter
1 cup of canned pumpkin NOT THE WHOLE CAN (save the remaining pumpkin for a different treat)
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed of light brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt or “a pinch”
2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice seasoning
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Steps:
1. In one large bowl mix together your dry ingredients. In another medium/large bowl mix together your wet ingredients.
2. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients.
3. Heat up your waffle iron to a high setting and cook as directed to your waffle maker. ***Since these are made with pumpkin they can have a difficult time getting to that crisp texture but I have a tip below!***
serve these with whipped cream and a cinnamon apple recipe!
Waffle Making Tips:
• a good indicator that your waffle is complete is little steam or no more steam is present.
• waffle maker didn’t make them crisp the way you like it? No problem. Once waffles are complete pop them into your oven or toaster oven at 250 and bake them for a bit. Delish! (Toaster worker too if you made them enough)
• would definitely recommend freezing. Store in a freezer safe bag using parchment paper to separate the waffles. If you know you’re going to be freezing while making then definitely don’t aim for waffle perfection. Cook them a little soft so when they are reheated they are perfect! A yummy quick breakfast!
Awhile back now I was researching how some baby birds learn how to fly. The reason I was reading into the process to begin with was because an author of one of my devotional books tied the development of baby birds learning how to fly to personal growth.
I just absolutely loved it and it resonated in such a way. What a great metaphor that many can relate to! Such a different perspective to perceive.
Think of a baby bird for a moment will you, all cozy and comfy in their little nest. The nest is harmless, and it’s very familiar. It’s all the baby bird knows really. Mama feeds and provides for them there, and they feel safe.
Then one day, mama bird just starts throwing her babies out of the nest! What a far drop too! I’m not kidding either, she tosses them out and I imagine her saying, “todays the day!” I found this fascinating! I had no idea!
There comes a time where mama knows it’s time. If she’s not throwing them out she’s gently nudging her precious babies out of the nest. There’s no bargaining with the mama.
The baby bird I’m sure is TERRIFIED, like what is going on!! Is my mom trying to kill me! She must hate me! But the mama bird doesn’t feel that way at all. In fact, she does this because she LOVES her babies. She KNOWS that her baby needs to learn how to fly for survival. Because there will come a time when she knows she will longer be there for her baby and she needs to know that they will be okay.
She knows her babies to need to fly and her bird friends know it. The baby bird is the only one saying, “mama No, later later! I’ll learn later. I’m not ready!”
But guess what….
Push comes to shove and the baby bird FLYS. The baby bird finally believes in itself as the mother always has and chooses to opens its wings. The baby bird trusts in his mom that there’s a reason behind this.
Life is very much like this. It never waits for us to be ready. Because truth be told, we never will be. We are too cozy in our nests.
.
.
.
If you have been thrown out of “the nest”’in someway….if you’ve been taken outside what you know and you’re scared and frightened this may actually be an unprepared flight lesson.
Who’s knows why this is happening, but there may something that you need to learn. The time is now. And this frightening experience will benefit you, as it does the baby birds. Questioning it will not do anything.
You will later realized that you HAD to be thrown out in order to learn how to fly.
Oh I hope this all makes sense. Ponder it a bit.
What I want you to know is that God believes in you, the universe believes in you, many others believe in you……. people believe in you and see your potential (they always have) , it’s time to believe in yourself and to not be afraid of the falls from the nest. You were born to fly, that’s what those wings are for.
Welcome the push and shoves with bravery and perseverance. It’s normal to be afraid but once you push through that fear who knows what you’ll see and capabilities you’ll discover.
Who knows where your wings will take you……
Beautiful places, that I’m sure. No need to be afraid. Trust, always.
The Wild Gems 