Lessons Learned From My Brother's Death

To Live Like You Were Dying .....

One year since the call that brought me to my knees.

One year since I melted into my husband's lap and sobbed on our kitchen floor.

When someone you love dies, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere - it hurts. It takes a long time to navigate through it all, to process it, if those are even the right words.

I'm still processing, and as we come up to the first anniversary - I'm finally at a place where I'm ready to write ... a little anyways ..... So here we go!

A few days after my brother passed away, I was back home in Columbia, SC, and in my hurry to get home to my family, I realized I forgot to pack any dressy shoes to wear to his service. So I went out to the mall ..... and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

While my world has suddenly slammed to a halt, the rest of the world was still spinning - business as usual!

I remember aimlessly walking up and down the aisles of shoes in Belk, tears streaming down my face and wanting to scream at the strangers around me, 

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT MY HEART IS GOING THROUGH?!? 

HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING AS POINTLESS AS SHOPPING? 

LIFE HAS TO BE SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS!"

What I think I really wanted to scream was,

"DOES ANYONE NOTICE OR EVEN CARE ABOUT MY PAIN?!" 

My husband and immediate family were there, they cared obviously, but they were hurting too. I still felt like I needed help, someone who could make sense of it all, come and help me to pick up the pieces that had suddenly shattered all around me!

Surrounded by people, I was suddenly aware of how desperately alone I was.

I began a journey, trying desperately, to figure out how to live life to the fullest, in real - every day life.

Think for a moment .... 

How do you live life to the fullest when the laundry needs to get done, dishes are piling up, your job demands more and more of you .... 

I'm too busy to live like I am dying!

Life has sped on, and here I am, exactly a year later, and I am surrounded by death again.

I am currently watching my dear friend/Huntersville Dad/Pastor,
sit and wait for his beloved wife to go and be with Jesus after a long battle with cancer.

I remember how it felt, how I thought I needed someone from outside of my family, who wasn't feeling the pain as much as I was, to come and just help me! - This is the urge I had to help my dear friend. As an "outsider" of the immediately family, my heart broke for him, what could I do? How could I help?

Well while he is away, I am the "Pretend Pastor" as I like to call it. So, just like the people in the mall that I hated a year ago, I am now the one, having to carry on business as usual. Writing a sermon, figuring out the lineup of Worship Service, Writing a prayer - it all seemed so pointless, so "little" - I felt guilty for carrying on with life.

Crazy enough, writing this "pointless" sermon turned out to change my life.

 As I was sat in my dear friend's chair, in his office, soaking up all of the Holy Spirit (that I swear is much more powerful in this room) - Jesus laid something powerful on my heart!

If you wait for things to get perfect, before you start living life to the fullest ... you'll be waiting forever.

As I wrote this sermon, diving deeply into scripture - Jesus knocked me over the head with Luke 5:11 

"So they pulled their boats up to shore, left everything and followed Him"

At the end of the message, I asked our congregation to fill out "Going Deeper," Cards, to physically write out what it is that is holding them back from trusting Jesus, from going deeper,  from finding join every day life....

I walked down from the pulpit, sat down next to my dear Pastor friend, who squeezed my knee and handed me his card .... "Let my wife go to Jesus"

Tears streaming down my face, I realized that just as he felt that he was the one in the way,

 I too, am in my own way. 

I am what is preventing me from finding joy and living life to the fullest!

I am my own problem when I let the "concerns" steal my joy.

What I needed that day in the mall, 

what I need while I'm stressed out while my husband travels, trying to work myself and care for a wild and active three year old, 

what I need as I lay in bed at night beating myself up over the day's mistakes .... 

what I need is to get out of my own way - to silence the lies ...

I am my own problem when I let feelings of inadequacy, and guilt make me feel unworthy - not good enough!

I was allowing Satan to steal my joy, to trick me into thinking that I couldn't live THIS life to the fullest ... not right now!

But boy, was I wrong!

I, from that day forward, am choosing to live my life with Jesus in control. 

I am CHOOSING to get out of my own way, to step back each day and find joy - 

joy in the small things .... and MOST IMPORTANTLY 

to let His Truth - His Words control my life. 

I wake each day and spend time meditating on His Word. I'm realistic, remember I'm a working mom and wife, some days this time is shorter than others ... 

but I make the commitment to going deeper, by PURPOSELY removing the lies, and replacing them with His truth. I've got to practice, have to work for the life I want.

If you want to live life to the fullest, to live like you were dying .....

It's time to go out into deep water.

What is it that God is laying on your heart - highlighting for you as the sinking boat, keeping you from enjoying life to the fullest??

Whatever this sinking boat is in your life, 

it's time to pull it to shore, 
LEAVE it

and Follow Him!

My dishes might not get put away, the laundry may overflow,

but I am CHOOSING joy and truth over being busy.

I am choosing to live each day as it if were my last, meditating on God's Word, enjoying my family, laughing, relaxing, and getting out and living this beautiful life that Jesus created for me to live!

And remember, no one said that Living Life to the Fullest, had to look perfect!

STOP Living Life Defeated!

This was my sermon from yesterday. 

You can listen to it here.

The first portion of the sermon you'll hear one of my precious youth sharing on Jesus as a young boy, and then you'll hear me come and share what I have also summarized below:

The thing about temptation is it never goes away!

Someone may finally throw out that cake that's been taunting  you for a week, and you think phew, that temptation is done, I survived! .... But inevitably, someone will bring in cookies to the staff lounge soon enough!

Temptation goes beyond food, and has been around forever!

Satan is and always will be at work in this dark world, trying his best to slip you up, and push you away from God. (That is his purpose and ultimate goal after all.)

I want to look to Jesus' time in the wilderness with Satan. As any good football coach will tell you, the best way to prepare for a game is to study your opponent, learn their moves and trick plays, and then formulate a plan of attack with that knowledge.

From Luke we see 3 Temptation Strategies that Satan used against Jesus, and continues to try and use against us today. 

1) Satan attacks us at our weakest points. (Luke 4:1-4)
For Jesus he was appealing to his human need of food after a time of fasting.
For us, he also appeals to our human nature when we're in a weak moment. (For example, when someone has offended you, he tempts you to hold onto that anger, to lash out.)

It is human nature to be defensive, to break the rules just to get what you want when we feel we are back into a corner, to lie, to steal, to cheat  …..  but just as Jesus says, “Man shall not live on bread alone,” we too are not to live by our human needs and desires alone either – not if we want the life Jesus created for us that is.

2) Satan appeals to our earthly dreams and desires. (Luke 4:5-8)
Satan tempts us through social media, “oh look, your friends are way better mom’s than you are. They have well-behaved children, delicious home-cooked meals, and a Pinterest craft done each afternoon. – You’re such a failure!”

Maybe you’re like me and don’t necessarily care about fame, but popularity – I’m a people pleaser and Satan uses this to my demise all the time.

We all have dreams – maybe Satan tempts you with a shortcut to that promotion – even though you’d have to lie first.

And Satan saves the worst temptation for last:

3) Satan tries to make you think that God doesn't care about you. (Luke 4:9-12)

I talked about the answer to life's difficult "why's" in a previous post, Earlier Post

When you're in the middle of a really difficult time, he loves to make you think that God has abandoned you.      Here Satan whispers, “I thought God said, He had you, He loved you, He’d protect you.”

But as Jesus responds, we have to stop putting God to the test. (Let me clarify ...)

We test God all the time by measuring him through eyes of this world. Based on worldly views, He can’t heal! The proof is that people are dying, and diagnosed with new diseases every day!

He’s failed at eradicating hatred, there are wars being fought around the world, innocent people and children killed, simply because of  that hatred. God’s certainly not winning that battle.

BUT …. You see, God is not really all that concerned with this world.

In fact, He created us, not for this world, but for His!

On earth, we have breakable bodies, we live in a sinful, fallen world that will know trouble. But what Jesus promises, while we're still down on earth, is "take heart, in this world you will know trouble ... but I have overcome the world!"

In overcoming the world, we were given the most amazing gift we could possibly imagine, the gift of the Holy Spirit, dwelling and living in your heart.

He created you,

 your soul, your heart, the very core of who you are .... 

not for this world! .... 

but for His!

He sent His Holy Spirit to guide you, strengthen you, lift you up when you can't fathom taking another step. 

This is why when people are at the lowest point of their lives, looking at their wife in a hospital bed, begging her to open her eyes ... they find the strength to get up, to keep moving, to keep living.

The evidence that Jesus has overcome death, defeated Satan is in the fact that a widow wakes up, and continues living, caring for small children after her husband doesn't return home from war.

To find evidence that Jesus has defeated Satan, overcome death ... just look in the mirror! Your life has daily examples of Jesus helping you, guiding you through difficult situations, protecting you, loving you, lifting you up!

He hasn't abandoned us, He is and always will remain in our hearts, we just have to be spiritually fit enough to recognize Him.

To fully access the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have to be in top spiritual shape .... and the only way begin is to open your  Bible!

I'm offering you a completely personalized Bible Study experience, in which I will help you jumpstart the faith life you've been wanting! We will walk through this adventure together, get over our excuses (the biggest being that you just don't have time .... no one has time, they MAKE time!)

Let me show you just how easy it is, by creating a fully customized plan that meets you where YOU are in your life, on YOUR schedule, with what works for YOU!

Simply shoot me an email to get started!
christinelekovich@gmail.com

With My Love, and HIS Blessings,
Christine

JOIN NOW

Beginning THIS Monday January 16

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Send me a message (To the right ....)

An Email: christinelekovich@gmail.com

Or Text: (803)730-4117

Just Trying to Make It Through? When There's Too Much Noise in Life

I'm beginning to think I sound a little like Charlie Brown's Teacher over here "woh, woh, woh," .....

Not really sure if my words are reaching anyone outside the walls of my own mind.

If you're one of my faithful followers, first bless you, but you know this blogging thing is new for me.

God laid a dream on my heart, I'm faithfully following through, but often wonder how "good" at it I am?!

The thing is, the messages that I have to share, they aren't my words, but His. I prayerfully read through scripture trying to decide what messages to share, what message YOU, my dear friends, need to hear.

So, in reading today, 1 Corinthians 13, vs. 1 spoke to my heart .... "If I speak in the tongue of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol."

I have love in my heart for each of you reading this. God needed to remind me that my purpose was to let you all know how loved you are, how precious you are to Him.

Even though I may be just another noise in this busy life .... 

may His words, 

His truth 

break through, and reach YOUR heart!

So while I am getting discouraged, I am feeling overwhelmed and even defeated in some cases - no clue how to navigate the tricky blogging world .... I still feel this is what He needs me to do.

He needs you to know that you are loved, right where you are -

As you're cleaning spit up off your shirt, 

As you're watching the clock with toddlers, struggling to make it through the LONG afternoons,

As you're eating lunch in your car between carpool line to soccer practice, 

As you lean over the sink exhausted and in despair over a burnt dinner that your kids turn their noses up to.

He's there with you as you navigate this tricky, beautiful life. He's there with you as you care for everyone else - always, always putting yourself last.

He just wants you to come to Him, at the end of the day, crawl in His lap, and let Him hold you. He wants you to find that strength, courage and peace in His presence.

He wants you to know that you're not alone! I have specifically been placed here, in this moment with you to help you - guide you - love you - and pray with you!!!

You'll notice a new gadget on the side of my blog. It's where you can submit private information to me. Prayer requests, difficult questions, whatever it is - I'm here for you!!!

Please reach out to me today!

With my Love and His Blessings,
Christine

If God is so Good, Then WHY?! - Getting Real with Life's Tough Questions

My brother passed away this past January and from time to time I struggle with "why?"

(More on his story later)

But I'm not alone, we all ask tons of "why's" ....

Why do some women, desperate for a baby, struggle through infertility?

Why do parents have to bury their children?

Why in the world do good people get diagnosed with cancer? 

Why do brave soldiers never make it home, leaving behind a young family?

***If He has some great plan, where on earth would famine, disease, war, car wrecks, terrorist attacks .... where exactly do those fall into His "Great Plan?"

I'm calling BS on the cliche answers, "God has a reason ... God just needed another flower for His Garden in Heaven!"

Sorry! But nowhere in the Bible can I find anything about God taking my brother away for some "reason"! - Other than the fact that my brother, you, me ....  none of us were created for this earth.

While I too don't really love the idea of "just wait until heaven," I mean - don't get me wrong,  I do long to know Jesus and be with Him forever .... but for now I'm doing ok down here - thanks! Not quite ready t go to heaven.... that is part of the answer.

So where is the rest, where's the answer to these "whys?"

Well, I think we first have to look at the ways in which we've tried to answer the question for centuries. We try to find meaning in God, His "actions," based on worldly standards.

And when you look at it this way, yeah - it really doesn't make sense ...

"God can't heal," is what we'd believe .... just look - thousands of people are dying and diagnosed with new diseases every day!

"God can't defeat evil," is what we'd believe ... just look at the hatred and evil in terrorist attacks and wars happening around our country .... look at the evil in some marriages, in the way we talk to and about one another ....

"God can't defeat death," is what we'd believe ... because well we die! It's a simple fact of life!

So where do we find the answers we need .... well, we need to remember that while we all have breakable bodies that succumb to alzheimers, ALS, Lymphoma, and can't withstand the impact of a car crash ..... our souls, our hearts - they weren't created for this world.

You and me, as God's precious children, we at our core, were not designed for this world! That's why it pains us so much sometimes!!! We're longing for something greater, we're searching for answers to the unexplainable ... we're just looking in the wrong places.

While we are in this world, Jesus says, "you will know trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!"

Through His death on the cross, He defeated Satan, He defeated death - so that He could live in our hearts, He could be in our souls, the core of who we are ... that is where He is.

He died to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit .... for the now.

We're still down here, and He cares about us so much, He died on a cross, so that He could send the Holy Spirit to be with you, as you're lying next to that hospital bed, begging Him to heal your loved one.

He's living inside of your heart to comfort you when the phone rings with that horrible, life-altering news.

He's living inside of your heart so that He can hold you up, give you the strength to put one foot in front of the other when you're so exhausted you can't fathom doing it alone.

He is that inner strength, that inner peace, that inner joy - that simply can't be explained.

"In this world, we do know trouble," but He doesn't leave us down here to figure it out! He is lovingly guiding you, grabbing hold of your heart and begging you to come into a deeper relationship with Him!

Y'all - I can't imagine having to fight this world alone. I've tried, and it's just so dang hard on my own!

I need Jesus to be my light, my comfort, my shield and my guide.

And the real answer I've discovered ....  the more I seek Him, the easier I find Him. The more I see His presence in my daily life, the more I see Him at work - instead of blaming Him for what's going wrong.

I invite you, friends, if you're ready to dive a little deeper, get to know Him a little better .... even if it's just to understand one of your "why's" a little more ..... join me next week on a journey!

I'm going to be leading an extremely simple Bible Study through parts of Romans.

We will take 1 to 2 verses a day (THAT'S IT!) and I will guide you through meditating on these verses, praying these verses, and listening for what God wants to tell you, specifically, YOU, in those verses each day.

It's 10 weekdays, short and sweet - but I promise you'll walk away changed, if you really open up your heart.

Please comment below, email, text, or call me if you're interested!

Love and Blessings!

Recipes that Helped Me Lose 10 inches in 3 Weeks

Just to state from the beginning - I am not selling you anything with this post!

I did complete the 21 Day Fix Challenge, which I'm happy to talk with you about if you like,
but these delicious, and healthy recipes are amazing whether or not you're on a 21 Day Fix.

First of all, I am a "routine eater," meaning that I eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and snacks most every day. I've started to crave a little variety in my lunches ... but, I was and still am the kid that brought a PB&J to lunch every single day, for ALL OF MIDDLE SCHOOL! No joke y'all, I was terrified of the food line!

I know what I like, and I'm good with it! However, I'm learning to expand my horizons a little bit and in healthy ways!

So the recipes ....

Breakfast: What was my breakfast routine??  A bowl of cereal swimming in milk every morning of my life for as long as I can remember!

Seriously .... I'm a cereal addict! Starting this new routine, I was terrified of how I'd get through my day without cereal .... BUT ... I found a new favorite that I can't imagine starting my day without .. its's delicious and so much better for me! .... And I just realized I haven't had cereal in over a month and haven't thought twice about it! Woot Woot, go me!

These are Banana Muffins with Vanilla Shakeology - I'm really sorry, the rest aren't 21 Day Fix specific ... but you do need shakeology for these .... I'm thinking about trying a batch without it, and see how they turn out - I'll let you know.

Here is the link for this recipe: 21 Day Fix Banana Muffins

LUNCH:

Ok, I've actually just gone back and forth between two lunches the past few weeks. With Food Prep, the awesome thing is you cook it once (on Sunday's for me) and then have lunch done and ready in the fridge for the week! It's amazing!!

I do combine the two following recipes with 1/2 a green container of broccoli and 1/2 a yellow container of brown rice. 

***The first one is Turkey Lettuce Wraps. I have put these in a lettuce wrap, and also, just eaten the mixture on it's own .... both ways are delicious! :) 

Link: Turkey Lettuce Wraps

***My other go to lunch, and my absolute favorite is Egg Roll in a Bowl!

Y'all it is so yummy - my husband asks I make this for him now too!

You will see there are some special ingredients that normally just in the pantry  .... But once you buy the Liquid Aminos (or you can just opt for soy sauce if you're not that strictly following 21 Day Fix) and the Rice Vinegar is that once you have it, you can make this recipe many times! - Plus they weren't but a few bucks each. It's not an expense thing, just a shorter shopping trip thing.

Link: Egg Roll in a Bowl

Dinners:

Ok I've tried several dinners over the last month, some are better than others so here are my absolute favorites - that again, my husband LOVED too!!

Chicken and Broccoli: I served this with a yellow container of brown rice.

Link: Chicken and Broccoli Recipe

Cheddar Baked Potato Soup: I actually doubled this recipe and invited our good friends over for dinner and it fed us all with left overs ... and again, non-21 Day Fixers - LOVED IT!!

Link: Cheddar Potato Soup

General Tso Chicken: This was a little spicy for me, but again I have the palate of a three year old, my husband LOVED THIS!! 

Link: General Tso Chicken

Chicken Parm on Zoodles or Regular Noodles ... your choice :) 

Link: Chicken Parm

Crockpot Turkey Chili - AMAZING!!!!!

Link: Crockpot Turkey Chili

Hope you enjoy these, let me know if you want more recipes, tips and tricks for weight loss!

Love and Blessings

Christine

I Can Give You More Hours in a Day, More Joy in your Life, More Love in your Heart

Have you ever looked in the mirror and realized life has been moving so quickly, you don't even recognize yourself anymore? 

Ever feel like you struggle from one day to the next? And it's not just one struggle, it's 100 (all at once!) 

Ever feel like you just can't hear God, can't connect, don't feel His presence - no matter how hard you try?

Well, you are not alone!

Life is a journey (yes I sound cliche .... but seriously, it is!) 

And we weren't intended to navigate it alone.

That is the reason I've decided to start this blog. We're all on this amazingly fast-paced, stressful, fun, beautiful, scary, sad, and joyful ride together! -- Unfortunately we just don't have time to physically get together like we want/should. We don't have the time to have those conversations we desperately need for our sanity. 

My God-given purpose for writing is to help you, 

YES YOU! 

I want to know what your struggles in faith and in life are.

I want to write posts and even communicate on a one on one basis with you about the things that you need help and guidance with. Like I've stated in the description for this page, consider this the virtual coffeeshop where we can just sit, chat, and work through life's issues together.

So.... what's next?! ..... I'd love to hear from you, I NEED to hear from you!

Comment/Email/PM/or even text .... what topics would you like me to address? Would you like to join a virtual small group? Want to be a part of an encouraging challenge group? Have prayer requests you need to share? Questions you need answered? Someone to just listen .... whatever it is, I am your girl - and this is your place! 

I look forward to hearing from you, my sweet friends!

Love and Blessings,

Christine

christinelekovich@gmail.com

(803)730-4117