Deal of the Weekend

Two posts in one day? Chyea. It's happening. 

If you follow me on Instagram (@sweethomesb), you know that it's no surprise that I love me some shopping. And because I don't have an endless bank account, I have to steer towards the good deals if I want to be financially responsible. 

I love sharing my heart and my passions on this here blog, and so I'm excited to announce that I'm starting a new weekly series called Deal of the Weekend.

My goal is to give mad props to the places with the right prices, and to devote some more space to my passion for fashion (ya like that rhyming right there?). 

So without further adieu, this week's deal of the weekend:

Lush Couture is a women's clothing store in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. If you find yourself in the desert for a vacation, do yourself a favor and stop by this little piece of clothing heaven! 

Besides shoes and accessories, everything is $16. You read that right, $16 for dresses, tops, pants, everything.  And they have cuuute things! I may have snagged myself a dress to wear to a wedding next week. (And some jewlery, too). 

I'm so excited to launch this new series. And I'd love to hear if you found any good deals this weekend!

Reed Sister Vaycay

I probably should have warned you that I would be blowing up your Insta and Twitter feed this weekend. Some weekends just deserve the obnoxious over-social-media-fying, and the possibility of losing a few followers. 

This was one of them. 

It was also a weekend that doesn't require much words, because the pictures do the talking.

What the pictures don't show is how much I learn from this little 8 year old. 

I am fairly certain that God gave me Milissa to give me a glimpse into the wonderful, challenging world of parenting. And while I know I am soooo far from understanding it all, I also know that I'm thankful for what I've learned through my sister. 

I've learned that you need grace. The moments where you get frustrated, where you say the wrong thing, and what grips the heart the most: when you walk away feeling like you didn't love the way that they deserve to be loved, there is grace. 

I've learned that most of what you teach, you still need work on too. I preach the importance of patience, and before I know it, I'm losing mine. I emphasize that your worth and value come from who God made you to be, and not what you look like. And two seconds later, that self consciousness is creeping up on me because I ate too much and feel gross. The learning never stops. 

I've learned that the most important thing, more important than teaching or having fun or providing, is to love. And love well. The fact of the matter is, we'll never get this loving thing down pat. We're human, we mess up all the time. But that doesn't mean you stop trying. You keep trying, because the love will shine through the mess ups. 

And I hope this does not sound like parenting advice, because I fully understand that having an 8 year old sister does not make me a parent. 

But I also understand the importance of documenting what you learn, and this is what I've learnt from my relationship with my beautiful baby sister, Milissa. 

This was so much more than a Bucket List item checked off. 

For Your Friday

This video is an excerpt from our pastor's sermon "When Sparrows Fall." He gave this message shortly before his 8 year old daughter passed away from cancer, and it is probably one of the most powerful sermons I've ever heard. 

If you have the time today, watch this video. I can promise you those 6 minutes will leave an impact that will last much longer. 

Be encouraged, my friends. For He is with you. 

THAT song, THAT moment

Good morning, lovelies! Today, I am so excited to announce a link up that I will be co-hosting with the gorgeous Leah of Beautifully Molded. 

Leah is a worship leader in her church. I am determined to hear her lead worship some day (it will happen, Leah!), but in the mean time, I will settle for reading her heart felt words on the topic. She wrote a beautiful and honest post this week called "When I don't feel like worshipping" and discussed how the Lord is so faithful to meet us in moments of worship, even when we don't feel like we're all there. 

Her post really resonated with me, as the Lord especially moved in my heart during worship this past Sunday. It was an emotionally draining weekend, to be honest. I brought myself to church in a broken state, knowing that I needed the Lord to fill my heart. The tears started flowing before the first set of worship, ya'll. Before. 

I couldn't even tell you what the first few songs were, cause I was too preoccupied with kleenexing the tears before I made my very own puddle. But then, it happened. 

THAT song came on. 

And THAT song is different every time, THAT song is God's way of expressing His love for me when my mind can't possibly understand. 

This time, it was "Oh how He loves us," and oh, how He loved me indeed. It didn't matter that most people wait until second set of worship to go kneel in the front. I brought my teary face and handful of tissues right on up to the prayer carpets, plopped myself down, and sang at the top of my lungs. 

And because I'm not very good at condensing blog comments, I pretty much told that entire story in the comments section of Leah's post. 

She had the brilliant idea that we come together and share the songs that have spoken to us at just the right moment. Because I think we all can agree that THAT song in THAT moment can make the world of a difference. THAT song in THAT moment can remind us who we are in Christ, and why we are here in this world. 

So join us next Thursday, August 15th, for a link up all about the power of worship. 

I know it probably seems like I just shared my moment, but lucky for this link up, I seem to have THAT moment all the time. How easily I forget how much He loves me, and how faithful of Him to always remind me. 

Happy Thursday, friends!

Anger, is that you?

A few weeks ago, some girlfriends and I started a study called Stuck. 

The 8 week long study is all about addressing the areas in our lives where we get stuck, but often continue on as if nothing is wrong. It's like something inside of us is convinced that we are the only one that could possibly be struggling, and so we neglect to address the issues that often have the firmest grip on us. 

This week's topic was anger. 

I did my best to make angry faces to accompany this post. You're welcome. 

I've been thinking a lot about anger lately. I've been paying more attention to this emotion when I see it in myself, and when I see it in others. I'm starting to notice a trend. I would dare to say that

anger seldom travels alone. 

Anger is often accompanied with pain, heartache, insecurity, and/or fear. I would even dare to say that these other emotions are typically paving the way for anger, they can be the seed from which anger grows. 

Realizing this has helped me to see anger in an entirely different light. When I am feeling angry, I ask myself why. Where is this emotion coming from? Often it's not even anger that I'm feeling, but rather hurt. And once I understand this, I can rationally see that lashing out or building bitterness is not going to do anything to help that pain. If anything, anger or bitterness will cause the pain to grow. 

And once I've figured out exactly what I'm feeling, I can take the time to analyze if this is even a rational feeling to begin with. Perhaps I'm feeling hurt by a friend's actions, or lack of actions. Maybe I am feeling insecure because I'm fearful that I care more for a person than they care about me. 

This is where God stares me straight in the face and reminds me of the fact that my identity lies in Him. The fact of the matter is that I am probably more cared about and loved than I will ever know, but when I am looking to others for worth or value, it will never feel like enough. 

As I let this truth wash over me, I can see myself uprooting the anger and bitterness in my life. Because it was never anger or bitterness to begin with, not really anyway. It all came from the deep seed of insecurity, and simply manifested itself into an entirely different monster all together. 

In Stuck, Jennie reminds us that Jesus Christ was misrepresented, mocked, betrayed, beaten and murdered unjustly while on this planet, and yet He rarely displayed anger. 

I really can't wait to meet this incredible Savior of ours one day. 

***

Oh, and PS: thanks for your answers yesterday! They really were so fun to read, you guys are awesome. Love you all!

Happy Humpday!

It's Your Turn!

Tables are turning, ya'll. 

A few weeks ago, I opened the floor for any and all questions. I had so much fun answering what you guys came up with, and it seems like you all enjoyed getting to know me better! So I want to get to know you better. 

Even if we're basically already bffs and you feel like I know the answers to these questions, I would still love to hear from you! And newbies, show yo'selves!

Who knows, maybe you'll find a new friend in the comments section. :)

Ready, set, dish the deets!

1. What's your name? We'll start real easy.

2. Where are you from? Gettin' a little more personal, now.

3. How long have you been following? 2 years? 2 months? 2 days? 

4. How did you find me? Are we friends in real life? Did you find me from another blog? Instagram? Twitter? I wanna know!

5. How can I find you? Do you have a blog? Twitter? Instagram? Basically, I want to know how to stalk you. It's a part time hobby, no big deal.

6. What are your favorite posts to read on here? Faith? Fashion? Running? The real serious shiz? We've got a little bit of everything here, what's your fav?

7. Describe yourself in three words. Because this is just about my all time favorite interview question. And everyone loves interview questions, right?

Can't wait to read what you have to say. Love you guys! You make my life a gazillion times better.