Holly Furtick

Fashion File… Love the Wedge

Thursday May 31, 2012 | Fashion File

I am ecstatic that the wedge is in style this season.  The wedge is in-arguably the most comfortable type of high heel you can wear.  If you are the type of woman who hates high heels, you should try a wedge.  They are easier to walk in and a million times more comfortable.  Wearing heels elongates your leg, makes you look thinner, and makes your posture better.

This summer, the espadrille inspired wedge is hot.  You can wear them with shorts, skirts and jeans of all types and lengths.  I have a few suggestions for you today…

 

This is a classic wedge.  You could wear this shoe basically year round (at least in NC).  I love, love this shoe (I actually have this one) but this is not necessarily the summer shoe I am talking about.

 

 

 

 

This is a rope style wedge.  I love the gold with the neutral bottom.  This shoe would go with any outfit.  And by the way, if you do not have a metallic shoe in your summer wardrobe (high and/or flat) that should be at the top of your list to add to your closet.

 

 

 

This is a classic style wedge by TOMS.  This comes in tons of colors and is a more casual style to consider.  I personally do not think this style is a comfortable to wear as the more strappy type but I love the way it looks.

 

 

 

This is a cork style wedge.  Silver this time.  I am trying to make a statement here about metallics.  It is just a different look than the rope style.  This heel is a little bit shorter too which makes it more casual.  You could totally wear these to a park or a cookout with shorts.

 

 

 

This is a more funky approach to the summer wedge.  I love this shoe (and it is only 39$ on Zappos made by O’Neill).  If you go with this type of shoe, remember, the rest of your outfit should be neutral and toned down.  (Remember, only one statement at at time).

 

 

 And finally, one more tip.  When choosing a wedge, I find the shoes with more support around my foot and ankle are much easier to walk in than those without.  So the brown shoe here would be more comfortable for me than the navy.

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Always Always Always Always

Wednesday May 30, 2012 | Marriage, Reflections

1 Corinthians 13:7
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

My husband and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary this Friday. Wow. I cannot believe it. This week, I came across this verse. It comes from a familiar chapter that I have read many times, the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. But for some reason when this verse was extrapolated out, it really spoke to me. I pray that over the next decade of my marriage I will have an always, always, always, always attitude toward our relationship.

Love always protects. I want to protect my marriage at all costs. When schedules, children, and fatigue put pressure on our relationship, I will push to protect it.

Love always trusts. I will trust that my husband is the spiritual leader of our home even when I don’t fully agree with a decision he makes for our family. I will trust that my husband loves me and has good intentions towards me even when I don’t understand his actions.

Love always hopes. I will always hope the best in our relationship. I will leave my expectations at the feet of Jesus. I will live a life of living, breathing prayer for my husband and his relationship with God.

Love always perseveres. I will push through when times get hard. I will cling to my husband when we are faced with a trial rather than grow apart from him. I will always work at making our relationship better. I will never give up on Steven and Holly Furtick.

Always

Always

Always

Always.

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Life Change Inbox

Friday May 25, 2012 | Life Change Inbox

It’s Friday and time for another Life Change Inbox!  I have been sharing some of the wonderful emails my husband gets, where people share the work God is doing in their lives through Elevation Church.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 that our lives are living letters written so that God might be glorified.

Here is Lori’s story of how her life and marraige have been restored over the last 2 years…

Dear Elevation Church,

I just celebrated my 2 Year Anniversary at Elevation Church- I received Christ during the Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Worship Experience. When I walked through the doors of Elevation Church I was broken and weak and felt completely helpless and betrayed.  A few weeks prior to coming to church I found out my husband had betrayed our marriage in a huge way and I had two small children. Feeling like I had no where else to turn I figured I would finally give this Church thing a shot- I was skeptical because of course – I thought I would be judged and that what I was going through would be written all over my face and everyone would know. 

Well, the complete opposite happened – I was treated with such honor and love and my kids were in a safe environment and being loved on as well. I gave my life to Christ, immediately got connected and began attending the next level eGroup. I met some really incredible people. My Husband even went with me. Eventually I broke down in the group and this is where Elevation Church again blew me away and helped my husband and I get into marriage counseling.

I’ve experienced firsthand the devastation a wife feels when she realizes the most intimate area of her heart has been betrayed. I’ve seen over and over the same pain in others, and only those who have been there truly understand it.

I have learned to speak life in to my marriage now that I am finally able to recognize the work and transformation God is doing in my husband. We decided to stay together and act lovingly toward each other, and eventually our feelings caught up with our actions. We learned that married love is not a feeling, it is a decision — and we decided to love each other and put God in the center of this marriage.

I Thank God that Elevation Church and Pastor Steven don’t sweep real issues under the rug, but address them. Thank You – For pushing me to get connected, it has made all the difference in my life and has transformed our family. I became a Greeter because of the way I was greeted. I thought, “Wow, I want to make someone else feel the way I did”. Now, 2 yrs later I lead a Saturday Night Greeter team.

Lori

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Poise

Thursday May 24, 2012 | Reflections

poise

I recently heard a message by Kevin Gerald about being a poised woman.  The message impacted me greatly.    I am definitely not poised every minute of every day but I am working towards it.  Here are 5 things I am learning about being poised.

1.  When I am poised, my entire family feels secure.  Women, whether you like it or not, you are the life of your home.  If you are scared, your children will be scared (Case in point: My mother is has a phobia of mice, so do I.  My mother loves thunderstorms, she taught me to love them too).  If you are tense, your home will be tense.  I set the temperature of my home.  If I am poised, my family can feel safe, because mom knows what to do.
2.  When I am poised, I am in control of myself.  No matter what the day brings, I control my own response.  I can choose to freak out because one of my children spilled juice all over my floor,  or I can choose to use it as a moment to teach that child how to clean up a spill or I can just clean it up myself because in the grand scheme of things, it is not a big deal.
3.  A man wants a woman with poise.  A woman who can handle the pressure of day to day life with out making him feel the need to rescue her from something every day.
4.  Poise does not mean perfection.  It does not mean I am emotionless.  It means I am balanced.  I am composed.  I am not dramatic.  My mood does not determine my reaction, my head does because I am steady and stable.
5.  A woman who is poised is taken seriously when a real crisis arrives.  Too often I cry wolf with all my drama and then the people closest to me don’t have any energy to help me when I have a true crisis.
Proverbs 31:25-26 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
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Hemmed in

Tuesday May 22, 2012 | Reflections

Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.

1 God knows everything there is to know about me.  Everything

2 He knows every single action I take.  Every single day.

3 He is familiar with me.  He knows my struggles and my strenths.

4 He knows every word I will say before I say it (and that’s a lot).

5 And He goes before me and he follows behind me with His hand upon me.

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Monday Morning Commentary

Monday May 21, 2012 | Monday Morning Commentary

This weekend we began our new series, How to Hug a Vampire, a series about loving the people that suck the life out of you.  I have to say this series is fun and creative but also helpful and challenging.  And as I say every week, my favorite preacher knocked it out of the park (I just don’t know how he does it every week.)

The first point of the sermon hit hard: Loving the people that suck the life out of me starts with realizing that I suck too.  I was convicted to realize that I cannot help anyone else until I see my own faults.  He said, “put down the magnifying glass and pick up the mirror.”

The second point was so helpful: Before I can reach out to anybody else, I must first define my own property line.  He said that love should be given freely but not expressed equally.  Unconditional love does not equal unlimited access.

And the final point was very challenging: I must stay full of God’s presence or I won’t have anything to give everyone else.  He said, Frustration is the gap between what I expect and what I experience and I must let God fill that gap.  This point was my favorite.  If I stay full of God, I am not in need of others’ approval.  This is so easy to say but so hard to live.

I am so excited to hear the rest of this series.  I know that God is using it in the lives of many, not just my own.  You can listen to the message today at the Elevation Network, on our Podcast and in our archive.

Have a great Monday!

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God’s Greatest Guarantee

Thursday May 17, 2012 | Reflections

The Bible promises us that times of trouble will come.  John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Sometimes God delivers you from a trial.  Psalm 54:7 says, “You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.”

But sometimes He chooses to simply walk alongside you in the trial.  Look at this verse from Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear,for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthenyou and help you;
I will uphold youwith my righteous right hand.

Just because you prayed for deliverance and God did not answer you does not mean that He is not walking with you every step of the way.  Sometimes I think God wants me to stop praying for deliverance and start simply acknowledging His presence.  I memorized Proverbs 3:5-6 when I was 9 years old.  It has always stuck with me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Whatever your situation is, know that God is not rejecting you if He does not deliver you from your trial.  It may be that He just wants you to grow closer to Him as you acknowledge Him in your situation. He promises to always be with you.

Matthew 28:20
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

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Recipe: White Chicken Chili

Wednesday May 16, 2012 | Recipes

Last Tuesday at 4 pm, I did not know what I was going to cook for dinner.  I remembered that I had purchased some white cannellini beans a few days before (the simply looked good at the store) and decided I wanted to make white chicken chili.  I did a quick search on my all-recipes app and found the easiest recipe listed.

When I took a first look at the recipe I immediately knew I wanted to cut out the chicken cooking step for time sake (I used a rotisserie chicken instead).  I also added a few ingredients and doubled a few of their portions.  The great thing about soup is they are really hard to mess up.  You just keep adding until you the right flavor combination.

This soup took me less than 20 minutes to make before I let it simmer a few minutes.  I cannot express how easy it was and how yummy it was.  I hope you will try it!

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken (meat pulled and chopped, no skin)
2 cans cannellini beans
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of celery
2 cans of water
1 can of chicken broth
2 tsp cumin
3-4 tsp chili powder
3-4 garlic cloves (pressed)
salt
onion powder

Directions
Combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Serve with brown rice, top with sour cream and chopped green onions.

Enjoy!

 

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You gotta have deep roots

Tuesday May 15, 2012 | Reflections

Jeremiah 17:7-8
“But blessed is the one who trustsin the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

I love this passage of scripture.  It paints such a beautiful picture of a tree who is able to withstand any difficulty.  The passage does not specify the type of tree or where the tree was planted.  The only requirement for always bearing fruit is deep roots.

When you trust in the Lord, you don’t have to worry about what is coming.  You can be confident that the God of the universe is great and He is good and He promises to be with us always.  And while he does not always deliver us from the trial, we can be confident that He will be with us through the trial.

Sometimes I can become overwhelmed when I wonder what trials our family will face in the future.  Will we all be healthy?  Will my kids grow up to love God?  My life would bear so much more fruit if I would focus more energy on digging my roots down deep, and developing my relationship with God rather than trying to tackle every issue that arises in my own strength, energies and abilities.

Let your roots grow deeper everyday, trust in the Lord and the difficulties come, you will be strong and able to withstand anything.

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Monday Morning Commentary

Monday May 14, 2012 | Monday Morning Commentary

This Mother’s day weekend my husband’s sermon was called Frustrations of a Fixer. The sermon used the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 and her desire to have a child. Her husband Elkanah tried tirelessly to make Hannah happy but he could not because he could not give her what she wanted, a child.

My husband used this passage to tell us that sometimes we have to realize that our loved one’s unhappiness is not about us. Hannah’s dysfunctional brokenness was not about Elkanah. It was not a person that was frustrating her, it was a purpose.

I loved when my husband said, “God wants his job back.” My job cannot be to fulfill my loved one. That is God’s job. And when I let God do what only He can do, I can become an instrument of His healing process. He also put it like this, “Don’t try to do a job for God that He’d rather do through me.”

He closed the message by saying that Hannah had to dedicate her desire to God before she could dedicate her son.

This message really freed me up to realize that God does not want me to fix the people in my life. Not even the little people in my life. He simply wants to use me as an instrument in His purpose for their lives.

You can listen to the message today at the Elevation Network, on our Podcast and in our archive.

Have a wonderful Monday!

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