Category: In the Life of Leigh Leigh

Quarantine and Personality Type Tests

My quarantined heart has been receiving an overhaul the past two weeks!

I did finish my spring cleaning, and managed to escape my mini melt down from my last blog post.  My wheels have been spinning for about two weeks now. That restless feeling has creeped back inside my mind, that one that bullies me into starting a thousand projects because I feel like I must be doing something, anything but sitting still. So, with that being said, I have started about 4 doodle drawings, made beaded bracelets to give away, and I started what is going to be huge granny square crochet blanket. While all these creative outlets are being opened one by one, there is also this desire to write a book or really pursue my writing with my blog. Welcome to the secret life of Me! I am all over the place diving into new projects but never able to finish one. Ha, Look at this blog for example. My heart is to be consistent and really develop a voice, but I lose interest. I have learned through taking a personality type test that I am very FEELINGS driven. If I lose interest or no longer associate happiness with what I am doing, I must then move on and start something else. But I must stop this madness! I must try and attempt to be consistent and finish a project I have started! This will be one of the biggest challenges for me, as it is deeply rooted into the design of my personality type.

I would like to encourage you to at some point this quarantine to take a personality test and start to get to understand what makes you uniquely you! There are many different personality types. I went to http://www.16personalities.com and took a free test. I think these results are interesting because they have been so spot on, however with that said, I don’t believe that just because this test gives in depth information of our personalities we don’t necessarily have to continue to behave this way forever. I would just use the test results as a healthy self evaluation of yourself, and to better understand how others may perceive you. I find it fascinating that God has created us all each unique and one of a kind, and he uses every aspect of our personalities to love those who are in our lives. Think about how boring the world would be if we all looked, acted, felt, processed, thought, loved, and responded to others the same way!

For me learning that my personality type entails believing that I can make this world a better place is a huge validation to this restlessness I was talking about above, and the drive behind it all. I am just wired to always have the need to encourage, help, and fix things and people around me. I now also understand why it hurts me deeply when some people just refuse to let me help them and reject me.

If you find things about your personality type that you don’t like, you can take it to the Lord in prayer and have him walk you through changing whatever it is you don’t like. The Holy Spirit will always guide and reveal things to your heart out of love. If you have trust issues, or control issues, you can take these to the Lord and exchange them with his faith, his love, his control, his safety, his provisions, his guidance, etc.

Just know moving forward when you read my content, it is shaped through the lens of a woman who truly loves people, and truly wants to help encourage you! It is my hearts desire for you that you would be drawn to Jesus and grow deeper in your relationship with him.

❤️ Ash’Leigh Harris

Live a life fully dedicated

Exciting

Journal entry April 15, 2020

These scriptures come from John 17.

Passion Translation Bible.

Jesus dedicated his existence to God to save us! In return we get this awesome opportunity and privilege to dedicate our lives to God as well so that we may lead others to Jesus, the Savior! ✝️👑🔥❤️

Ramblings of a Quarantined Heart

Journal entry: April 13, 2020

Where there is no vision, the people perish; Proverbs 29:18

I have a vision. A vision that overwhelms me!

This reset has had me restless if you will. What should I be reflecting on Lord? What do I need to let go? I keep praying, waiting on the answers.

The thought occurred to me this morning that I am busy, I am so busy, but the reality of this issues is I MAKE MYSELF and KEEP MYSELF Busy ON PURPOSE. I am always searching, always looking, never able to find rest. Do you feel this way?

Let me clarify. I am not even necessarily busy doing things of importance. Busy checking social media, busy occupying my day with things that stimulate me, busy snacking, and busy keeping myself entertained.

So as I look around my home this morning I am starting to feel like I am becoming suffocated because of my business.. My loose ends, my unattractive flaws of always having my hands in something for the sake of feeling in control are officially caving in on me, and I am about to SCREAM!

But I don’t know how to stop!! I don’t know how to not keep my self busy doing things to keep me busy for the sake of it. I do not know how to simply this life I live. I am clueless, I am dumb. I need help!

I need to absorb some grace for this in this season. I need prayer for this vision, and wisdom to be guide.

More to come!

 

Shelter in Place

Journal entry 3/26/2020

The World has gone Mad!

Journal entry 3/26/2020

The World has gone Mad, we are experiencing a toilet paper shortage crisis, and Moms and Dads across the country are trying to not lose their ever loving minds and their patience homeschooling their children.

We have been hankered down in our home for almost 2 weeks now. I technically have not been to work, and the children have not attended school for almost 3 weeks now! Our spring break was just about wrapping up, when our School District announced we were not allowed to return until April 6th. I just received a letter this morning that we are now not allowed to return until April 13th. We shall see if this continues to get pushed back or not in a few weeks I suppose!

For documentation purposes I must state the reason our world has been flipped upside down is because of this little nasty virus called COVID-19. When first released in China the media was calling it the Corona Virus, but now we call it COVID-19. There has been speculation that this virus came from a bat. I however believe that this was man made in a lab, and used as a bioweapon to attack the general population of the world!

Maybe in the near future truth will be revealed, until then, I will just keep trucking along doing my part to not spread it.

I have been making good use of my time in worship and prayer, keeping up on the house work and laundry, homeschooling my daughter because my son has outgrown my help with his Middle School education, doodling, reading, taking walks outdoors, sleeping in, working a little from home, enjoying time with my kids at home; think movies, puzzles, games, cooking, etc.

I plan on dropping some pretty cool to me revelations I have received over the past year from the Lord. They are safely stored on my phone, patiently waiting for me to edit and transfer here onto my blog, aka their SPOT LIGHT!

I would love to hear how this historic time in our lives has effected you personally and what you are doing to stay sane not being able to have the freedom to do what you normally would do; work, shop, seek entertainment, etc. Please drop a comment below, and as always, feel free to follow me on instagram @Absorbing_Grace. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving Thanks to God for The Year of the Endless Possibilities 2019

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I happen to be off from work so why not blog on how much I am truly thankful to be alive in 2019?

I asked the Lord for a word for this year back in December of 2018 and he told me Endless Possibilities. My BFF, Kathleen, was kind enough to paint it on a little piece of wood so that I could keep my eyes on it for the coming months. I had big dreams, big God Dreams with my art, and I was even planning on starting a coloring book over the summer. I had so many carnal dreams and ambitions. I still long to be able to sell something I create to others. This desire has and will always be a dream of mine.

But, I believe God had better things in store for me. Things that were not in the natural so to speak. Things that can not be bought with man made money, nor sold.  In 2019 he has given me endless possibilities to know him more fully, to trust him steadily, and to seek him in all things. He has called me into a deeper love with him, and he has shaped and molded my beliefs to become more aligned with his word. He has assembled my faith so strong, and he has put me through the fires, so to speak, to teach me to sincerely trust what his word says, and to trust in his faithfulness.

The coloring book did not get a running start, nor did any art hooks ups ever come my way. I did happen to meet an Artist downtown, and I really thought hard about taking an art class. These leads just never seemed to get me walking in the right direction. I had to come into my own and stop comparing myself to others. I had to break free from some lies, self doubts, and insecurities. I had to taste true freedom in discovering my identity in Christ and become who he created me to be. The beautiful things is, I think it takes our whole lives to “become” who he originally created us to be, and that is the beauty of walking with him every day in this life.

Seasons come and seasons go, and as we learn and receive more wisdom and revelation of his love for us, we evolve; we change. I don’t ever want to stay the same, stuck in repetitive patterns of thinking that could be toxic to my soul.

I want grow in grace each year, becoming more and more like my original blue print.

I want to love deeper.

I want to express my love more willingly.

I want to share the love of christ with everyone I meet, and I want my life to be a beautiful dance of worship to the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, JESUS.

I want to give myself to my gifts and callings, and I want to see his will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

I want to speak the words he gives to me others eloquently and full of faith.

I want to be lead by the Holy Spirit.

I want to be a light that shines bright in a dark place.

I want to see the love of God heal broken people.

I want to see the love of God set people free from bondage.

I want to see the love of God transform people and change their whole trajectory of life.

I want to see generations rise up and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

I want to see a church on fire for God.

I want to see mountains be moved in faith.

I want to see hope in the hurting, and I want to see miracles, signs, and wonders follow all of those who truly believe in Him.

There is so much to be done, with such a short time span to be here on this earth to see it come to pass.

So as I sit here and pour my heart out into this post I just sit in awe and I give thanks for all that God has done in my life. I give thanks for the seasons of the hills and the valleys, because they teach me more of how much I need dependency on God and less upon myself and others.

2019 wasn’t a walk in the park. 2019 was a hard year of loving people who do not love me back, and doing for others expecting nothing in return. It was a year of dying to myself, a year of seeking first the kingdom and what God has assigned to me for this time. I trust he will give me all the desires of my heart, until then I will give thanks for all that he has given me in the present, and I will continue to seek him, to love him more, to grow more mature in him. Thank you King Jesus, thank you for loving me, and allowing me access to you and the Father through your Holy Spirit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Ash’Leigh Harris

Giving up social media 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ & People who annoy me lately

Errr ummm well… I kinda really been seriously thinking about this. Although I do use my Instagram as a bridge to get to my blog. Idk 😐 just been doing a lot of soul searching lately and realizing that as much as I love having FB and IG apps on my phone they are the constant go-to when I am just sitting idle. Maybe I would actually have more to write about if my nose was not on the phone screen?🤷🏼‍♀️ Maybe then would I have time to daydream and imagine? Yes, that actually sounds good. Maybe just delete FB and only have one IG to just post on? Lol, I sound like an addict trying to not have to quit cold turkey. However, with all the self-pity and denial of the thought, I am actually pretty good at quitting things cold turkey 🦃!

On a side note what is on my mind lately… can we talk about how being a Christian in today’s world seems to be so unpopular and demonized? And what’s up with Truth these days? With Truth so completely falsified, it’s ridiculous to even fathom how people are okay with the new norm for our modern society.

Heaven forbid someone new comes to Christ who is famous, has a radical transformation, and now everyone is like watch out for him. First of all, we are to not put our faith in man, but in God himself. If your looking for an actual man leader look to Jesus, he is the only man leader who was an example of his father, God.

We are to support, to encourage, and pray for each other. We will all come into temptation we will all fall short, make mistakes, guys we are humans! It’s the “next” or the “after ” that makes us. God’s grace saves us, friendships protect us, Holy Spirit guides us. We don’t stay down. We repent and move forward walking out God’s grace, mercy, love, kindness, and forgiveness. We may lose our identity temporarily but if you surround yourself with enough Jesus loving friends who love you the same, they will be there to dust you off and help you pray away fear, doubt, depression, and sin. The world says it takes a village to raise a kid. We are God’s children, and we need our own villages to raise us until we are all finally home! Stop listening to the naysayers, stop listening to whoever is on the radio, your social media news feed. Who are they anyway to form your opinions of others? Those calling people hypocrites -are they walking the straight line themselves? Are they being the example? What about the self-righteous people? The religious spirited people, yikes, those are the worst. Who are you letting influence your beliefs and your faith?

Jesus says to love one another period!

❤️-Ash

Wasting your time

Value of the present

If there is one thing I feel like God has been trying to teach me in the past year it is the value of time, but not only that, specifically the value of time in the present. Your present tense right now, not this afternoon, or next weekend, but right now, right here in this very moment. Each breath that is taken before each exhale is precious and it is purposed for this moment. Sadly most people don’t realize the importance of the present to actually spend their time wisely and earn a dynamite return on their investment if time was money.

You see when we are waiting for the big dreams to happen we put so much stockpile into savings, hoping that when the big moment happens we will cash out all we have in exchange for happiness. Meanwhile, we are hoarding what we could be given along the way. When God gives you a dream don’t you think he will supply all your needs until payday comes?

Do you feel like you are always anticipating what is on the horizon? Are you fastened in feeling that your missing your purpose today?

Ask yourself these questions:

What can I do at this moment to glorify God?

What can I do at the moment to share Christ’s love with others?

Even the cheapest thing you own, a smile, can change another’s attitude and make their day! No matter what you may believe each time you share love you are bringing the Father glory!

❤️-Ash’Leigh Harris

Say Something

Blank Page

So empty
So calm
So peaceful.
Endless possibilities
No expectations
No disappointments
Nothing
Spotless
Clean
Free from impression.
What will you mark?
What will you say?
Something positive?
Something negative?
Something exciting?
Something daunting?
Something beautiful?
Something ugly?
Something colorful?
Something glumly?
Will you write?
Will you doodle?
Scribble scrabble?
Lie or tell the truth?
Pour out your soul or
joke around?
Your the creator, make it yours.
Don’t sell out, don’t be a fake or a phony.
Just be authentic, transparent.
Be true to yourself always.
Never compromise for acceptance.
Be you!

Standing steady

October 25, 2019

Today I feel joy, and contentment. God has been so good to me and today I chose to celebrate him and the goodness he has brought into my life.

I am still in a season of being put into the fire but I, finally in my maturity, let God just sustain me and fight my battles. It’s been amazing and I say this after his grace washed over me and gave me a new song to sing in this chapter of my life.

If I would have wrote down my thoughts a month ago I would have had to write from a place of dissatisfaction and hurt. My Words would have had thorns in them, razor sharp to the touch.

A little over a month ago I threw a fit. I yelled, and I bawled, and I expressed and confessed to God how deeply I was in pain. I couldn’t see a way out, and I felt so lost inside the hopelessness that felt like my present reality.

We don’t have to hold our feelings in all the time. Know that even if your a God’s daughter or God’s son you will still experience feelings of hurt, persecution, rejection from others, and pain. We are not super human with the ability to cast off human emotions. Don’t let pride tell you that you are not allowed to feel emotions. I have spent a long time coming to terms with this. I use to think that if I let others hurt me I wasn’t trusting God enough to heal the pain, but this was just the devils attempt to deceive me into thinking emotions were bad and a sign of doubt and weakness on my part. So what did I do? I stuffed and stuffed and stuffed some more, until I was so full of pretending all my feelings came spilling over like the rushing waters in a spill way. Tears flying galore!

We are allowed to feel but we are not allowed to let those emotions cause us to sin. Anger leads to danger extremely quick! Depression leads to isolation. Rejection and pain can make you be more inner focused which leads to being selfish and self absorbed; the victim who feeds on self pity and any attention we can get our hands on from others.

I finally made my mind up that I would wait on God and I would see the victory because I can chose to stand on his word. His word says that if he is for me, then who could be against me? His word says that the lord will fight my battles, all I have to do is be still. The lord says he will prove to be false the words that rise against me in judgement. I had read them all so many times before but never did I once just hold on and wait it out trusting him and keeping my cool.

Instead off letting the world know I was wobbly and falling apart, I went to the quiet place, and prayed and praises God for what he was doing and will do even if I can’t see it now in the natural.

My battle isn’t over but my fighting strategy is new and is still in play. This strategy of keeping my peace and being true to myself has given me a clear conscience and a mind that is free of fear, and always assuming the worst outcome.

I’m steady…. I am strong because in my weakness he is Strong, and the joy of the Lord is my strength! ❤️

Leigh Leigh

He is in the Waiting

Think about what transformations could be made in our hearts if we could just wait upon the Lord in our difficult seasons. What if we could really take him at his word and trust him? What if we could become closer to him in friendship, what if we could draw strength we never knew existed? What if we could experience joy in our sorrows for real?

WHAT IF WE DID or Do??

Like for real- not just what the psalmist sing about?

I am ready to trust deeper and love deeper. I’m ready to be willing to surrender my control over and truly be in the blessing of the waiting. The blessing is the transformation, it’s the victory of overcoming what the enemy tries to throw on us- depression, anxiety, and fear.

Doodle Inspiration from 🎼the Song🎤Take Courage by @bethelmusic #propheticart #trustgod #waituponthelord #sharpieart

❤️Ash’Leigh Harris