The Attic

my few finds
nylon floral print shirt
love the detail along the hem

Hope you had a great Friday! On my way home from work I stopped at one of my favorite places here in Glendive, The Attic! The Attic is a thrift store that is run by elderly ladies that volunteer their time pricing and organizing clothing and household items. It's the best place to grab a cart and wander up and down the isles. These ladies mean business too. They are like busy bee's all around, sorting through anything you can imagine, and putting it out on display. All the donations go to the Glendive Hospital for medical research, which is wonderful knowing when purchasing the treasures found here. Along with a pair of lovely mustard yellow salt and pepper shakers, some drinking glasses, and a beautiful green vase, I found a few numbers to add to my closet! My favorite of them all is this ivory crochet cardigan. It is the perfect mixture of chic and dainty. I can't wait to wear it :)

Trev's best friend Joel came over tonight to dine with us. It was "pizza & wing night", my favv. Look forward to a post tomorrow!

hearts are delicate,

//ria//

tender greens

I am learning more about myself these days. One thing i've learned is I really enjoy plants. Also I found I leap with excitement when I can find a "precious find" of a vase to go along with it! May I present to you my latest purchase from the Flower Basket (the flower shop I work at), Mr. Owl. He is quite the handsome hooter ( can I say that?) may I add. When I saw this little one, I knew I could count on him to help me take care of my tender greens that would be coming home with me from work. It was worth spending about $15 dollars to bring some character in our home. Mr. Owl will always be a part of the Hilman family now.

John 15 has been stirring in my heart this morning. He is our true source of life!

//love// ria

Glendive, MT

Here we are! Glendive, Montaaana! These are just a few pictures I took. Montana has a very distinct beauty doesn't it?. Very rustic like, and natural. God has been so faithful to us in this new season of moving here. I have never been to a place like this. I am so excited for the things to come, and to see how our season here will play into the future ahead. I hope your having a beautiful Wednesday! xo-ria

comfy cozy in my heart

today is beautiful.

this saturday :) i hung out with my lovely natalie, and we decided we wanted our saturday to be comfy cozy. sitting in the comfy cozy starbucks chairs, sipping on a hot soy cinnamon dulce latte, reminiscing about where Jesus has hidden His treasures through circumstances and trials. It was beyond refreshing to my little heart. our saturday day consisted of rest rest, rest. rest for the soul, rest for the body, and rest for the sleepy eyes.

R- revive, regenerate. E- ease. S- sooth. T- tranquil.

after starbucks, we proceeded to do some minor shopping then went to the house natalie is house sitting. I fell in love their boxer named roxy.

she was the third lady to join us for our comfy cozy day :)

we all cuddled up on the couch and ate pretzels, yogurt raisins, sushi, and grapes.

our hearts were glad this saturday.

it's in Jesus we find true rest..

yet He blesses us with other things

because He knows us and cares.

Jesus is alive living in me and i'm rested

knowing i am loved and i love Him dearly.

thank you Jesus for Your rest, friends, and precious gifts.

so it begins again

She's baaaack! It's been a while since i've blogged; a month shy of a year! Blogging has become quite the trendy hobby i'd say. Not to mention, twitter has blown up and made it's way to almost every phone and computer! I'm making it a point to blog. Here are my top 10 reasons why:

1. It's easy. 2. It allows for creativity. 3. brings people up to date. 4. something to do. 5. helps typing skills. 6. gives ideas. 7. saves paper. 8. saving paper, helps the earth. 9. it's cool. 10. it's for everyone! (sigh) God is constantly working on hearts. I am learning it is the one thing He is after! Home is still Maui, and nothing gets old living here. I invite you to peer into my life as I share! So it begins again...

hope

here it goes....

Father you are good. I know you are. I just know it. But I have never felt darkness so tangible in my life till this season.

But just as close as I feel darkness, I feel you closer... I do. I believe I do.

I can only hope for great things to come walking with You through this time.

I see everything that hinders me from you, fall off as I take each step towards you.

How can I disregard that?

It's a huge deal Jesus.

Your blessings come in disguise. Your ways are mysterious.

There are days when I feel I want to scream WHERE ARE YOU GOD!?!?

But then I open my eyes, and I see you... everywhere.

How can I doubt you Jesus? Easily i've noticed. Every time I give one ounce of faith to fear, or power to my insecurities, my knees give out from under me. I find myself powerless on the ground, lost. But it is when I am on my knees, I find myself at your feet, asking you, pleading you for grace, and strength to get back up. GET BACK UP! Jesus with you on my side, nothing can harm me. Nothing can conquer me.

How beautiful that I desperately need you Jesus!! May that be the anthem of my heart in both the good and trying times!

Apart from YOU I have no good thing!

Through pain, love has overwhelmed my soul! Love for you Jesus! Love for your will, your precepts, and your word!

I wait. I wait father. May your glory be revealed. This is my cry...

I HOPE IN YOU ALONE!

Abba's Child.That is the core truth of our existence.

I have to confess...
I question daily where I truly belong?
Truth is.. I belong in His presence. In His will. In His hands.
No matter what my physical surroundings tell me.
No matter what the future holds, or what the past has recorded.
I am learning that I would rather be in the valley,
in His will, growing, changing, than in an "easy" place.

The most radical demand of the Christian faith is to say "yes" to the present.
Our life as Christians is lived more in the valley than on the mountaintop.
Faith is NEVER doubt-free. The surest way we can know God is as utterly unknowable.
He is beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine!!!

The present sometimes may feel like we are walking in utter darkness.
Not being able to see the faintest silhouette of anything.
But it is in these valleys, the times of utter darkness, if we allow Him, our Heavenly father is able to show himself in the most powerful of ways.

More fruit is able to be gathered in the valley rather than on top of the mountain.

But don't get me wrong.

I always want the mountaintop experiences. They feel so good!
As human beings the top of the mountain is where we can physically see the fruit of God's faithfulness!
It is there where we have those awe moments where we say " Wow God you are real!"
We want to tell the whole world!

But here is the challenge.

Why can't we be just as excited in the valley as we are on the mountaintop?

"Hope knows that if great trials are avoided, great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of the soul is aborted". Brennan Manning

To be thankful in the toughest of times is completely contrary to what our human nature says to do. This is something the Lord is walking me through.
To rejoice in His love no matter what the circumstances are.

But I don't have enough strength!!!

Truth is... It is in our weakness the Lord comes in to flood our spirits with His strength, His love, His wisdom, and hold us tight. He loves to save us everyday. He is just waiting for us to simply ask.

Too often I try to go about on my own. I tell myself to be strong. Hold it in. Move forward.

No.

It is in these moments, the Lord has me right where I belong.
In his arms, surrendered, broken, thanking Him for his grace and mercy.
It is in the valley where I grow. It is on the mountaintop I will expose the new.
It is on the mountaintop I will rejoice!!

I will thank you Abba for the transformation you are doing in my heart in this valley. I will rejoice for I am becoming more like you. I will be thankful for the circumstance because it is preparing me for the calling you have on my life.

Made to Love

In this world we fall into meaningless things. Our culture today tells us we need more to feel more;be worth more. In Ecclesiastes we see the passion king Solomon writes with stating "Everything is meaningless!" Solomon was a man who had everything under the sun and still acknowledged it all meaningless without having the first commandment in it's place. Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind and soul.

Our Father's heart is not for us to give into shame for the things we have pursued or fed on, but He desires us to press in;to claim LOVE in our lives. Our Father desires us to be obsessed with Him as He is with us. He wants to take over our passions, desires, our longings. He is looking for hearts that are loyal to him. We were made to love Him. He is looking for love in our hearts towards him. In God's goodness he gave us free will. I believe it to be one of the most valuable things God could grant us. Love is not love unless it is a choice. He desires for us to choose Him! Just like we choose all the things we love on this earth, He is waiting for us to choose to run to him for satisfaction. I am realizing the only thing that will be of value on the day Jesus comes for his bride are the things I did to expand my love for Him. My relationship with Him. My knowledge of Him. God isn't asking us to step away from the things that distract us from him for the sake of obedience, but for the sake of holiness and deep love for Jesus. He desires to nourish us on eternity with Him. That is what will satisfy!

Just as we pursue meaningless things in our life, He pursues our hearts. We were made to love. On that beautiful day when God created man, his heart was overflowing with LOVE and anticipation for the amazing relationship He desired with Adam. The relationship between God and Man was the most purest of pure before sin came. Today God is looking for a church that is IN LOVE with the son of Man. Thousands are to come to Jesus through hands of people who want to catch a glimpse of the man we are IN LOVE with.

As we pursue our purpose to LOVE and be LOVED, our lives will begin to change. The addictions of the American lifestyle need to be broken. Everything that stands in the way of the first commandment will be removed. The center of the universe no longer can be ourselves, but the center of this universe will be Jesus Christ. Jesus is committed to the church that loves him.

"What is more. I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" Philippians 3:8

Lovers always out do Workers.

brazos de amor

we are a generation that is craving for love.
love is the essence of who we are.
we were created by love.
we were created in love.
we were created TO LOVE.
being created to love is a beautiful yet difficult truth. there are those that are easy to love. then there are those that are a little tougher around the edges. our father said to LOVE our enemies. in Luke chapter 6 he explains it is no credit to us when we love those who love us. even sinners love those who love them. it means nothing to do good to those who do good to us. we are to do good to our enemies! we are to LOVE our enemies. we are to love those who reject us. we are to love those who strike us on one cheek, then turn to him the other. we are to love those who curse us, misunderstand us, hate us, decieve us, abuse us, lie to us, take from us, judge us, etc. the father promises our reward will be great. I believe there to be many rewards for those who CHOOSE to love. rewards in our character. rewards in our relationships with people. rewards with the Lord. rewards in our life to come in heaven. I want to love those who hate me. I want to have arms of love for those who reject me. reality is I AM deeply loved by the one who CREATED ME TO LOVE. its an upside down world for us who choose to follow the words of Jesus.

"brazos de amor" means arms of love.

love her/him today.

life unseen

My alarm woke me up at 6 this morning. Ofcoarse I was midway through a dream, I quickly pressed snooze and fell back asleep. I always dream something very significant, but I can't remember anything. I am left with that haunting feeling. Something was trying to speak to me, but about what? I prayed this morning. God let me dream again, show me what "it" meant. I start growth group today. Typical, we are reading a book. In the midst of the title of this book, the word "thighs" is present. Typical. Just from that word it is obvious what will entail in our conversations. It is a humbling thing to realize as woman we are so prone to deception. The culture we live in today demands a size 0-size2 to be the standard to which we compare our thighs to. I know I compare all the time.
Geez. This should be good.
I work in an office with 9 other people . I am in here now preparing for a shoot I will be doing this afternoon with a few precious ones who will bare there hearts on camera for a promo I am making for a school called School of Biblical Foundations and Missions. I love video. I love photography. I love anything of that nature. My constant hope is to become more and more skilled in this area. I want to use it for a greater purpose. I want to effect this world in some way. Only papa knows.

I miss fall leaves.

all my love.
murea

A blessing in disguise

Failure.

A blessing in disguise. we were destined to fail from the start. Thanks to papa Jesus, we see victory painted all over the cross, smeared in failures face. Jesus knew what we were destined for. He showed up and replaced death for life. Replaced the old for new. Signed Victory on failures dotted line. I am learning it is far to easy to allow my human failures pave my path towards the future glory that is to be revealed. Jesus is the way the truth the life. He is the light to my dusty rugged path I trail on. He places my feet on level, steady ground. Failure tries to come and distract me and get in the way. It tries to lie in my face, and become a heavy dark shadow over the light that is within me, But if it wasn't for failure, the reality and truth of the victory I have in Christ would become stale and tasteless. Failure is a blessing. we fail to have victory in Christ. we fail to learn what is right. we fail so victory tastes like a 3 course meal of defeat. we fail to see Christ's spirit to be alive in us.

all we need is love.

trust

Hold On

I'm feeling something different.
In this life I've gone through stages where I don't feel the Lord's presence.
Or maybe I do feel, but I am not aware.
The coolest thing is to feel His presence.
To quiet myself. Look inside.. there He is. He dwells inside.
He is more near than I think. He is more interested than I think.
He is more determined than I think. He desires to constantly be near.
But too often I get so caught up in the mess of my human independence.
Thinking that I am strong enough. I can do this on my own.
When deep down inside my true heart longs for is a constant companion.
Someone to sit down with and share my heart who feels compassion and cares.
I was reading this morning Romans 8.

Hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Why do we hope for something we already have?
The things we do not have and that we hope for, we wait for them patiently.

Later on in the chapter Paul talks about how we are MORE than conquers in Christ.

I am more than a conqueror in Christ because He loves me. There is not one thing
that can separate me from His love and His presence. Paul starts giving examples such as death nor life, nor angels or demons can separate us from His love. But the biggest thing that stood out to me was "neither the present nor the future" can separate us from His love.

Nearness is all I am waiting for.
Just like the watchmen wait for dawn.
I will wait Lord.

Where I belong

Abba's Child.

That is the core truth of my existence.

So just for the record, the Lord has been doing radical
changes in my heart in these past few months.

This is a big deal!
I finally have found where I belong.
I belong in His presence. In His will. In His hands.
No matter what our physical surroundings tell us.
No matter what the future holds, or what the past has recorded.
I am learning that I would rather be in the valley
in His will
growing
changing than in an "easy" place.

The most radical demand of the Christian faith is to say "yes" to the present.
Our life as Christians is lived more in the valley than on the mountaintop.
Faith is NEVER doubt-free. The surest way we can know God, is as utterly unknowable.
He is beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine!!!

The present sometimes may feel like we are walking in utter darkness.
Not being able to see the faintest silhouette of anything.
It is in these valleys, times of utter darkness, if we allow Him, our Heavenly father is able to show himself in the most powerful of ways.

More fruit is able to be gathered in the valley rather than on top of the mountain.

But don't get me wrong.

Those mountaintop moments are so rewarding.
As human beings it is when we can physically see the fruit of God's faithfulness.
We want to tell the whole world!

But here is the challenge.

Why can't we be just as excited in the valley as we are on the moutaintop?


"Hope knows that if great trials are avoided, great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of the soul is aborted".
Brennan Manning

To be thankful in the toughest of times is completely contrary to what our human nature says to do.
This is something the Lord is walking me through.
To rejoice in His love no matter what the circumstance takes a lot from within.

I don't have anything strength!!!

But it is then the Lord comes in and flood our spirits with His strength, His love, His wisdom, and hold us tight. He loves to save us. Everyday.

Too often I try to go about on my own. I tell myself to be strong. Hold it in. Move forward.

No.

It is in these moments, the Lord has us right where we belong.
In his arms, surrendered, broken, thanking Him for his grace and mercy.
It is in the valley where we grow. It is on the mountaintop we expose the new.
It is on the mountaintop we rejoice!!

In the mean time, I will thank him for the transformation He is doing in my heart. I will rejoice for I am becoming more like Christ. I will be thankful for the circumstance because it is preparing
me for my calling.