Pair of Heirs: Weekend Warrior

I spent last weekend with 20 young adults in South Dallas with the sole purpose of sharing God's love with others through a ministry called Unashamed. In the weeks leading up to the weekend, I prayed fervently and specifically. I knew that a weekend like Unashamed would be full of spiritual warfare and the enemy doing his best to thwart our plans so I prayed against that. Some call this "waging war" because that's exactly what life as a Christ follower is like, a battlefield. This isn't your typical war zone though since "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

This war isn't reserved only for weekends like Unashamed. It happens every day and most of the time it's happening in our minds. I love the vivid picture that 1 Peter 5:8 paints: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Notice how Peter's warning starts off by telling us to prepare our minds. How do we do this? If you continue on in Ephesians 6:13-18, you'll find that the answer is to put on the full armor of God, both the defensive armor – belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation; and the only offensive weapon – "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (v. 17b). While the defensive armor is so important because it protects us, our sole means of fighting back is God's word.

Knowing scripture has benefited my life immensely especially in the battlefield that is my thoughts. I think that all women can agree that our brains and emotions are all over the place. I have the uncanny ability to take one tiny thought and dwell on it to the point that it totally ruins my day. Can I get an amen?! These thoughts can start off good but then down the rabbit hole we go... These thoughts vary from feelings of insecurity or inadequacy to fantasizing about a fictional future life. Both are dangerous because they result in negative ideas about who I am today and ultimately a lack of trust in God. Because I know this about myself, whenever I feel my thoughts spiraling, I simply stop and refocus my thoughts on TRUTH. This is where memorized scripture comes in but even a basic understanding of what God's word says about who you are is helpful!

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

-2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

-Psalm 144:1-2

It's hard to know what to wear this time of year when the mornings are a little crisp but the afternoons are still in the 90's. Plus it's mid-October and all the magazines and Instagram posts of our fashion icons are adorning fall looks. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to break out the booties and sweaters! A great way to dress for this fickle weather is to wear an open toe bootie with a bare leg. T-shirt dresses are not only super comfy but great pieces for this "in-between" season. They can also be dressed up or down so easily!

For my work look, I added a long, oversized lightweight sweater vest from Michael Kors and of course, open toe booties from Vince. I chose this large Jason Wu tote bag because it can hold everything I need for work- laptop, files, glasses, etc. - and the shoes and hat I need for a weekend getaway! All I had to do to change this look was take off the sweater vest, switch from heels to sneakers and add a floppy hat. This is something I'd wear to work on a Friday that I'm planning to leave straight from the office because I'm all about comfort when traveling and keeping things simple.

What about you? What are some of the tricks you use when transitioning from work to weekend?