Let Them Stand Alone In The Conflict

"You don't have to resolve conflict with every person. Some people don't want to be at peace with you. Don't waste your time fighting battles that don't matter. Only God's approval matters." Unknown

Conflict. Disapproval. Bitterness. Unforgiveness. Resentment. These words can describe some of the ugliest emotions and chains we put ourselves in. We allow something somebody said or did to us to completely rule who we are and what we stand for. We can't truly completely love like God if we are holding on to any of these awful things. We can't love even ourselves if we aren't loving others.....EVEN if others refuse to forgive you, refuse to move forward with you in love, refuse to accept their own mistakes and painful actions and even if they want to continue point the finger at your faults and your wrongs.

If you have been in conflict with somebody, you have to come to a point where you leave that person alone in that conflict. You make the decision to step out of it and move forward with your own life. It's OK if somebody doesn't want to resolve and have restoration with you. It doesn't mean you are bad or that you are unloved. It means that person is happy in the conflict and it's time to separate yourself because that relationship will be forever unhealthy and ungodly. Their opinion of you will NEVER ever take away God's love for you. It's a battle that isn't yours to fight and needs to be handed over to Him. He will fill that void of lost love and He will always approve of you and love you!

Don't walk away angry, or in hate or bitterness. Forgive and love from a distance. Sometimes that space is what God needs to work in both hearts! He is a God of love and restoration and sometimes we have to give Him the space and time to work!

I'm doing this today. I'm walking away from the hurt I have shackled myself to. I am no longer living in my own guilt or past mistakes. I have hurt people. I am not perfect, neither are you. I too have been hurt but I forgive you. I also forgive myself. Your conflict with me is no longer my concern and you are standing in that conflict alone. I am finally freeing myself from guilt, pain, other people's disapproval and walking into His loving arms and acceptance! Other's words and opinions of me can no longer hurt me because I.AM.HIS.

"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Ephesians 4:26-27

66 Ways God Loves You By Jennifer Rothschild - 5 Stars

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This book.....OH, this book! I was moved, inspired and fascinated. This book reminded me that His love and grace is written all over the Bible! I couldn't quit talking about this book with my Women's Bible Study! I encouraged each of them to purchase it! Thank you Jennifer, you once again moved me and inspired my heart! This world needs to be reminded more of His love and this book does just that!

So many parts of this book completely wrecked me! I needed the reminders and I didn't even know how much! On page 52 Jennifer describes the Book of Ezra and it moved me in ways I can't even describe. After I miscarried, we decided to honor our baby by naming him. We named him, Ezra. Her opening to Ezra was, "In Ezra God's Persistent Love Restores Me". She then writes about Ezra and the Israelites and the slow process of restoration after the temple and the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed. Even through the slow process, we have to remember that God loves us and is rebuilding and restoring. After our miscarriage, I felt lost and broken. Since then, we have struggled with infertility and was reminded in this book of God's love during the restoration and rebuilding process. It's so easy to forget when you're in the middle of it but thankfully, He never forgets us!

This book is such a good way to understand what each book of the Bible is about and how God's love is exhibited in each of them. It can also be given to somebody who has a hard time understanding the Bible. I'm certainly not saying it should be read instead of but definitely in addition to the Bible. It's a good reminder of the love presented in each book! This is a must read and a book to keep on your nightstand for frequent revisits. Five stars all the way!  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Addis Family Move

January was a crazy month for the Addis clan!! Darin accepted a job offer in Portland, OR!!! Thus our journey to packing and moving began!

On January 11th, Darin hopped on a plane to Portland, OR to interview, solidify things and find us a home and I hopped in my car and drove to Bentonville, AR! I visited with some friends and went through my storage unit. It was nice to see my friends again! I have missed them dearly!

Then I made a stop in Oklahoma to visit my sissy!!! We had lunch and some awesome sister time!!!

The days following were chaotic, busy, exciting, nerve wracking, joyful and HOPEFUL!!! Last year Darin and I started our year with loss. This year we started it out with hope and excitement to a new beginning! I'm thankful for the family and friends that surrounded us in our last days in Texas!! We love you guys and miss you all like crazy!!!!

We left Lubbock on January 22nd and arrived in Vancouver, WA January 25th. The move took us four days and three nights. It was the hardest thing I have ever done! It was an adventure, it was awesome to see so many different places, it was scary to drive through so many different weathers but it was freeing! I didn't know I had it in me to do such a move!!! I'm thankful for God's Hand on us....He protected us and kept us in peace! I got to see so many places for the first time and added five states to my bucket list of seeing all 50 states in the USA! We also spent an evening in Vegas with my brother and sister-in-law! It was SO much fun!

When we drove into Portland, I knew the decision we had made was the right one. God confirmed this with the beauty He has created.

We have enjoyed ourselves these past couple of weeks! I miss my family and friends dearly but I'm thankful for technology and I get to FaceTime, Skype and video conference with them!!!

God's Beloved Daughter By Merrilynn Grodecki - 2 Stars

This daily devotional had many moments of encouragement to be a Godly woman who is peaceful, tranquil and feminine. She spoke about forgiveness, healing, and having a gentle spirit. There were a few moments in this book that completely moved and wrecked me and made me really think about my own life!

Even though this book had moments of great points and fine writing, I can't give this book a positive rating. There were too many things written that did not align with scripture and making sure writers are giving the reader solid Biblical information is important to me. One particular day in this devotional stood out to me, April 29th Merrilynn writes that being in poverty is a disgrace to the Lord. I don't agree with this statement. James 2:5 and Proverbs 22:16 tells us that the Lord will protect the poor from those who try and prosper from them. Proverbs 19:17 teaches us that when we help the poor, we are helping the Lord Himself. If God found poverty disgraceful, He wouldn't speak of poverty so lovingly and eloquently in scripture. There were other times in this book that things did not align with scripture but this one for some reason really stayed with me.

Merrilyn's writing is very inspiring. I just feel it needs to align more with scripture than what it does.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Poof Pets

Hi  y'all!! I'm back! It's been a bit since I've written in my blog! Darin and I just recently moved to Vancouver, WA so as you can imagine, we have been BUSY!!!!! I'm finally settled in a bit and getting caught up on things! One of those things being, my handy blog here! With that being said, I would like to introduce you to Poof Pets! I recently posted an introductory picture on my Instagram (follow me @cryssieaddis)!

Poof Pets is an activity tracker for animals! Yeah, seriously! Isn't that cool!? We have our fit bits and apple watches and our pets can have Poof Pets! I got this in the mail a few weeks ago and I was ecstatic to try it out!!!!

I opened the package and put it together and decided to use it on Daisy. Daisy is my older Yorkie and I really wanted to track her activity and meals as she is a little overweight.

You then download an app that shows you their activities. As you can see, on this particular day, Daisy rested a lot. It's been freezing rain outside so we didn't get any dog park time.

 This has helped me to see that Daisy wasn't getting enough activity! It's been AWESOME! 

Daisy has really enjoyed more activity! It's been neat to watch her getting healthier! Thank you Poof Pets!!!