So sorry for my absence! This past month has been nothing short of AWESOME and CRAY-CRAY-CRAZY! As you may have read in a few of my previous posts I've been in this thing at our church called "Camp Meeting," it was originally going to be just for a week... and then it got extended... and then extended again... and extended one more time! One week of two meetings a day turned into an entire wonderful month of two meetings a day! Between taking care of Jojo, keeping our house somewhat in order, and spending an average of 8 hours a day at church (which sounds radical and a bit crazy, but I promise it felt like it was only an hour), I've clearly had time for nothing else. But I'm back, and my schedule is somewhat back to normal again.
The time away from the blog has really helped me get the chance to re-evaluate a few things about The Made-up Mom. I've decided to take the pressure off of myself having to do a post every day. I hope to post every other day and do some fun "makeup of the day" photos (or something like that) on my "days off" from posting. Is that something you'd all be interested in???
I've also decided to do more step by step photo tutorials and possibly a video here and there! I realize that some things would take FOREVER to try and type out the explanation when they could just take a few minutes to show and tell in video format. Are you all up for that!?
Heads up- I know VEEERRY LITTLE about camera's, filming, and editing- so I'd appreciate your patience and support as I figure all of that out. I'm a point and click kind of girl- anything involving more than that, I'm likely to push a wrong button and break something. I definitely hold the record for breaking things in this house! Charlie lovingly calls me "quality control."
There have been several requested posts over the last month, so keep your eyes peeled for your request! Your answers will probably be up in a post some time in the next two weeks!
So- you may be wondering what happened at Camp Meeting! It was AMAZING! My life and my walk with God will NEVER BE THE SAME! Everything just got turbo charged into high gear! God showed up and blessed my jacket off! Literally! It's a long story, but the drive through version is- I gave away my favorite jacket, because God gave us his best and I just wanted to give him my best in return. It's all his anyway :) God then blessed me for giving my jacket and I practically got an entire brand new wardrobe!!! It was AWESOME!!!
I feel compelled to share a bit of my God story...
I grew up in a Christian household. My parents were strong believers in Christ Jesus long before I came along. And as a kid you tend to follow suit with whatever Mom and Dad believe. For a while...
Then you typically hit an age where you feel you have to start figuring it out for yourself. You end up asking yourself, is what they believe so strongly going to be what I also want to believe? I honestly didn't know the answer to that question for a very long time.
I love my Mom and Dad, but if I'm being totally honest- I definitely knew that I didn't want to be like them. They were super old school, traditional, and down right religious. I didn't want any part of that! Pile on top of that the fact that I'm Egyptian! Oh yeah, I'm Egyptian...
You wanna talk about OLD SCHOOL!? If I blinked wrong when I looked at my mom, I was in for it! Whatever she could get her hands on that was detachable, you better start running, because you were about to get the spanking of a lifetime with that object! Haha! The wooden spoon she was cooking with or her hard bottom slippers where the residing favorites. One time I out ran my mom and ran into my bedroom and locked the door behind me... WhooOOooOOoaaAAaa! NEVER DO THAT! HAHA! It slipped my mind that our door handles can be unlocked from the other side... I don't think I will ever forget the look on my Mom's face when that door opened! If my brother and I ever did something wrong that we knew we were going to get in trouble for, we just started putting on layers of undies and pants to try and pad up our behinds! Just to name a few things of what we weren't allowed to do- we weren't allowed to watch any TV, we weren't allowed to go to sleep overs (unless they were family), and never-mind "play" makeup-- I wasn't even allowed to wear colored nail polish... It was as if nail polish came straight out of the pit of hell!
I thought that if I believed what they believed then that was my future. I was going to grow up and have to be a strict, nail polish-less, control freak for the rest of my life! I thought that God was like how my parents were. That when I prayed he was just pouring out judgement on me. The only part about God that was real to me in my adolescence was that he was mean and scary. I didn't want to serve a mean God.
When I got older I started "seeking" for God on my own. Which mostly consisted of doing what ever I wanted... One night I was in the middle of doing some not so awesome things and out of NOWHERE I just felt the presence of God come over me. I have no idea how to explain that other than just feeling an indescribable peace. And in that moment I knew that God had never left me through all my shenanigans during the time I was "searching." I somehow felt loved and taken care of...
About a year goes by, and my brother and some of our coworkers (we all worked at a restaurant together) were invited to attend a youth service at a church where one of our other coworker's Dad was the Pastor. One Friday night I decided to tag along, and I saw a group of people my own age (ranging from 17+) wrapped up in worship so deep that it was like no one else was around. And in that moment I realized that God to them was so different than what God was to me. There was so much more love and compassion than I ever noticed before. That was officially something I wanted to know about and be a part of.
Around that same time I began to see my parents start to understand more about God themselves, and I'm happy to report that they are no longer the crazy religious people I grew up with! Although they have their moments with breaking some traditional, religious mindset things, it's generally a whole different story nowadays! My Mom and I have shared a ton of laughs over how crazy they used to be! Over the years I have resurrected my personal relationship with the Lord, and in the process I have been breaking every lie that I ever believed about who God is. I've realized that God never intended Christianity to be a religion full of tradition and judgement; but to be a relationship with him! A relationship full of compassion, love, and mercy. I've opened myself up to him and he has made himself real to me! And I am standing here as a witness to tell you that I serve an INCREDIBLY AWESOME GOD!
Over this past month everything has been intensified and I can no longer just walk around or type this blog post without sharing with you how much God loves you and how he is totally crazy about you! You need to know! And just as you may long for love and acceptance (like I did) that is all he longs for from us in return for that from him! He has a wonderful and amazing plan for your life!
I just pray that the Lord blesses the socks off each of you! And he blesses you and your families with long and healthy lives! And that Jesus makes himself real to you, just as he has made himself real to me!
Love and Blessings,
Michelle
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