#Sunday | Time With God Episode 36: Step by Step with God #JesusCalling #LeadTheWayGod

Sometimes it may seem a bit outlandish to think that a spirit such as God exists and wants to be our provider, protector, confidant, and healing Power. However, God gives us SO many examples in His Bible, His Word, to show how much he loves us and wants to lead us step by step throughout our day and lifetime here on earth. 

We have a beginning when we were born and we have an end when we die. In the middle there is the dash, where we spend most of our time on our own journey in this life. God wants us to include Him in our dash. He wants to lead us to our purpose and use us to bless other and uplift others in His name. Since we have all of the time where the dash sits, then we might as well use it wisely and give God a shot at leading the way on our personal journey while we're still here.

In this Story Time Sunday, Time with God, Episode 36, we learn how God will be there to lead us step by step. I am continuing to read from the daily devotional, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence  for February 26, 2017. The video below breaks down the daily devotional for today.




The scriptures mentioned today are below. You can follow along with your bible or bible app.

♥ Deuteronomy 29:29
♥ Psalm 32:8

YouVersion Bible App mentioned in the video can be downloaded FREE to your phone, computer, etc. Get more information here: https://www.youversion.com/apps

#VLOG: New Farm Fresh to You Delivery! #California #OrganicProduce

Early this morning I received a new delivery of Farm Fresh to You organic produce. I was SO happy to see those boxes because I had eaten all of my fruits and vegetables this go-round. I get my boxes delivered every other week because I normally have some vegetables left in my freezer. However, this time I included lots more vegetables in my meals so they went a lot quicker. I'm not mad about that at all...lol!

This week, I received some produce that I have never tried before. Since getting these boxes I am more curious to try new vegetables and I am finding that they all have been tasty too! I would have surely passed some vegetables up in the grocery store if they were not recommended to me on the Farm Fresh to You website. While customizing my boxes last week, I also added some Medjool dates from their a la carte section and those dates were DELICIOUS! I have been eating those like candy. I'm going to see about making a vegan dessert with them too over the weekend.

Here's a look inside my Farm Fresh to You organic produce boxes. I have been receiving this service for 1 year now, if I'm not mistaken. Time sure does fly by. 

If you live in California, you can get $15 Off your first box with coupon code: SELE8487 

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Plug it in at checkout and then after you receive your first box of produce, they will apply the $15 discount to your order on that Sunday, when they process your payment. 

Comment Below
If you decide to give them a try, share your experience in the comments below. Enjoy!

#Sunday | Time With God Episode 35: Dealing with Our Problems #JesusCalling

What do you do when problems come your way? In this Story Time Sunday, Episode 35, we learn how God feels about our problems and how to work through them with Him. I am continuing to read from the daily devotional, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence February 19, 2017. 

The video below breaks down the daily devotional for today, discussing how this message touched me and hopefully will help you as well.


The scriptures mentioned today are below. You can follow along with your bible.

♥ Exodus 3: 14
♥ Habakkuk 3: 17-19

YouVersion Bible App mentioned in the video can be downloaded FREE to your phone, computer, etc. Get more information here: https://www.youversion.com/apps

Volunteering on Valentines Day 2017 with #BagsofLuv #FeedTheHomeless #LosAngeles

I felt SO fulfilled on my Valentines Day this year. I decided to volunteer with #bagsofluv to feed the homeless. I hadn't done it in a while so I felt led to do it this time. I saw the post on Facebook and decided to jump in and help support the idea and cause. 

I purchased items from the grocery store to make sandwiches and I purchased chocolates as well to help fill the bags. I was able to make 24 sandwiches! We ended up preparing 100 bags with sandwiches, a cookie, chocolate, and bottled water. There were 100 more bags for personal care items for men and women. The personal care items were donated and other people donated food to the cause even if they could not volunteer to pass out the bags themselves on the streets of Los Angeles, Ca. It was a blessing how we all came together in less than 1 week to make this Bags of Luv campaign a success!

Here's a video blog of my experience, volunteering with Bags of Luv in LA, below:

This goes to show that 'We The People' can create the change that we want to see. It all begins with an idea, thought, or inspiration, and then the will to take action and follow-through. All of the pieces will fall in place as they should!!

#Sunday | Time With God Episode 34: Delight in Christ's Closeness #JesusLove

Valentine's Day is soon approaching and a very special time when we can show family, friends, and loved ones how much we care and appreciate them. That same bond that we have for them is the same closeness that Jesus has for us and desires in return. In the daily devotional, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, the first words spoken were:

"I AM EVER SO NEAR YOU..." 

How wonderful is it that Jesus loves us this much. He hovers over our shoulder, reading our thoughts and then planting thoughts in our minds through the Holy Spirit. It gives us love so that we may share it with others. Our spiritual connection with Christ spills over to those we love, care for, appreciate, and randomly meet! In return, we all are fortunate and blessed ;)

In this week's Story Time Sunday, Time With God, Episode 34, we learn even more about God's views on how we focus our love and attention.

You can follow along with your bible or bible app as I mention these scriptures and read them in the video below.

♥ Psalm 37:4

♥ Matthew 1:23

YouVersion Bible App mentioned in the video can be downloaded FREE to your phone, computer, etc. Get more information here: https://www.youversion.com/apps

#Snapchat with Maybell: Who Should Pay When on a Date?

Selena Thinking Out Loud invited Maybell to chat with you on YouTube this week!
Maybell:

"Hi yaw! It's Maybell. While I was knitting, I was on Facebook watching videos and such. Then I saw this young man talking about first dates! 

He wanted to know: "Should a man ALWAYS pay when on a date?"

Here's my perspective on it in this video below. Share your comments down below about the question so that we can all learn from each other."

I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day...it's coming soon!!

Save Up to 53% Off #Valentines Bulb Gift Baskets from BloomingBulb #Gardening #GreenThumb

This Valentine's Day, BloomingBulb has Gift Baskets available for loved ones in your life who have a green thumb. I have purchased many of my seeds and plants from BloomingBulb to include: Amaryllis, Strawberries, Hosta and more. They are very reliable and everything that I have purchased actually has grown. They do a nice job of delivering my plants, bulbs, and seeds at just the right time during the year. So your loved ones will enjoy a nice plant from BloomingBulb throughout the year and especially on this Valentine's Day.

You will find all of the Bulb Baskets they have available now below. Click on a particular plant's title to get more details and to apply the savings.

Amaryllis White Wonder Basket

Regular Price: $60.95
On Sale For: $28.82

Blue Moon Rising Gift Basket

Regular Price: $60.95
On Sale For: $36.48

Colorful Spring Basket

Regular Price: $45.95
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Fairy Garden Basket

Regular Price: $40.95
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Lovely Lavender Basket

Regular Price: $45.95
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Red & White Wonder Bulb Garden

Regular Price: $45.95
On Sale For: $23.43

Spring Delight Basket

Regular Price: $50.95
On Sale For: $30.77

Spring Wonder Basket

Regular Price: $54.95
On Sale For: $33.45

Springtime Bulb Garden

Regular Price: $45.95
On Sale For: $28.95

Touch of Spring Bulb Garden

Regular Price: $64.95

On Sale For: $35.84












Subscribe to BloomingBulb Newsletter and Receive 10% Off your Next Order. JOIN NOW.


Disclaimer: Selena Thinking Out Loud is an affiliate of BloomingBulb. There may be affiliate links in this blog post and if clicked, this blog will receive a small commission for sharing these items on this blog.

#Sunday | Time With God Episode 33: Seek Christ for Peace in All Things

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Before I enjoy some football, I had to take some time with Christ. In this Story Time Sunday, Time With God, Episode 33, we receive a reminder to Seek Christ for Peace in All Things. In the daily devotional, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, we are reminded that Christ is always available to us and that we must control our urge to think other defeating thoughts.

You can follow along with your bible or bible app as I mention these scriptures and read them in the video below.

♥ Romans 8:6
♥ Psalm 46: 1-2

$25 Valentines Day Chocolate Gift Card #Giveaway to Coracao Confections (Open WW) Ends: 2.14.17

Since becoming vegan during the middle of last year, after being vegetarian for 15 years, I wanted to know if I could find a nice tasting chocolate that would still satisfy my taste buds. I have grown to enjoy dark chocolate since becoming vegan but I wanted to shake it up a bit to see what other options were out there.

 So, I heard about Coracao Confections a while ago now and jumped on their mailing list but just got around to ordering some of their individually-packaged pieces of chocolate. By the way, if you join their email list, you have a chance to win $100 worth of their chocolates. They do their drawings monthly for one winner.



They are located in California and have a nice variety of handcrafted chocolates. One of them that I received complimentary with my Valentine's Day pre-order purchase was a bit outside-of-the-box, in flavor, but it was nice that I gave it a try too. It was the Salted Almond Butter Chili Cup. It had a kick of spice from the cultured chilis with the almond butter and coconut sugar filling. There was also Balinese sea salt sprinkled on top. 



All of the chocolates came in a small box, wrapped in pink tissue paper as shown in the images below. I also liked that you could see the ingredients for each chocolate, which is nice to know.

Of the two that I purchased, I really liked the Golden Galleon. It is also one of their customer favorites and I see why. It has whipped cashew butter caramel, nuts, and is nice and chewy. One customer said that it reminded her of the Samoa Girl Scout Cookie. I kind of could taste that but this is much softer and oozing to me ;) I could taste the coconut too, which I love anything coconut!! I will be purchasing more of them in my future orders every time they are available. Highly recommend.

Like I said about the dark chocolate earlier, I have grown to like it, but I'm more of a sweeter-chocolate gal for sure. However, their Berkeley Bar is still good because I enjoy chocolate and nuts together. This piece of candy has whipped cashew butter with crunchy, salty almonds. It's their take on the Snickers if you enjoy them and it has 81% dark chocolate on the outside.

If you would like to purchase any of their chocolates for Valentine's Day, get 5% off your order with Promo Code: CHOCOLOVE

Now...the giveaway!

$25 Valentine's Day Chocolate Gift Card Giveaway

PRIZE

One (1) Winner will receive a $25 Gift Card to Coracao Confections (*International winner will receive $25 via Paypal)

RULES

Must be at least 18 years old or older

Giveaway Runs: Feb 3 - Feb 14, 2017, 12AM/EST

Open *Worldwide

HOW TO ENTER

Enter using the Rafflecopter Entry Form below. All entries will be counted on this form Only. All entries are optional. No purchase necessary to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This blog Selena Thinking Out Loud is responsible for delivering the gift card prize to the winner. Coracao Confections is not sponsoring this giveaway. This gift card can only be used at Coracao Confections. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, or any other social media platform is not a participant of this giveaway event. All entries will be verified and the winner will be contacted with the email used to submit their entries. Email address will not be used in any other format. If you would like to have your product showcased on Selena Thinking Out Loud, please email advertising [at] selena brown dot com or visit the Advertise With Selena page for more details.