What Is Hope & How Do We Find It?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  Hebrews 6:19

Picture Source

I would imagine you've not only heard this verse but seen an image with an anchor and this verse recently!  Not only is it trendy but also wonderfully encouraging.  But what does it really mean for us?

Hope is our anchor because it keeps our eyes fixed on God.  Because we hope in His promises, we aren't drifting around, tossed about by the sea of life with no real confidence of what's to come.  Even when things in our lives are frustrating or painful we know that he will deliver us in his timing with his powerful grace.  And we wait in hope for him, knowing that one day we will live with him in heaven where there is not more pain, no more tears, no more illness or disappointment. 

Psalms 33:18-22 says: But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  We wait in hope for the Lord; In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, oh Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

I think as humans we have been disappointed by someone or something that we have put our hope in so it can be hard to really place our hope fully on God.  So how do we find this hope in our lives?  Reminding ourselves of his truth constantly.  We have to know his word and his promises and make a habit out of speaking God's truth to ourselves.  This gives us hope!  There's a song I really like because it speaks his truth.  It's from the Passion album featuring David Crowder, titled "Here's My Heart." The lyrics say:

Here's my heart, Lord Speak what is true

I am found, I am Yours, I am loved, I'm made pure

I have life, I can breathe, I am healed, I am free

You are strong, You are sure, You are life, You endure

You are good, always true, You are light breaking through

You are more than enough, You are here, You are love

You are hope, You are grace

You're all I have, You're everything

Here's My Heart You Tube Video

(Please ignore the ad in the beginning!)

So you guys, I encourage you to find out what the truth is about who you are in the Lord and who he is in our lives and meditate on that.  Speak it to yourself and to the Lord and let it be the hope that anchors you in this life, that gives you encouragement and a reason to keep going.  (And never forget we are here to pray with you if you are struggling to find hope or believe in God's promises for you.  Message us here or on Facebook!)

Lots of love,

Our Relationship With Love

"...there is no real reality, no full life, outside of the relationship with Love,

because God Himself wraps Himself eternally in relationship; God the 

Father, God the Son, and God the Goly Spirit existing in relationship, an 

encircling dance of communion sweetest.  

God is love - everywhere! everything! - and He can only be love

because He exists in triune relationship...

I can't simply ignore His serenade because I'm unsure, uncomfortable, 

uninterested, thinking I've claimed Christ as my Savior already anyways.

God is relationship and He woos us to relationship and there is nothing

with God if there is no relationship."

Ann Voskamp, 1,000 Gifts

Happy Friday all!  I am just wrapping up Ann Voskamp's book, 1,000 Gifts, and it has been soooo good!  It has brought so much perspective to me on faith and thankfulness and intimate relationship with my Savior.  The quote above struck me because so many times I've believed the lie that "I've claimed Christ as my Savior anyway" and forgotten that I have nothing that really fulfills me outside of real and intimate relationship with Him.  Lord how I've failed to wrap myself up in you even though you constantly pursue me!

Forget about the rules, the traditions, the ideas of how things should be for a moment.  Put aside judgments of what a real Christ follower should look like or sound like or act like for a moment and just BE with the Lover of Your Soul!  Find your peace and your joy in relationship with your Father.  Nurture your relationship with Him like you would with a boyfriend or husband or child.  Spend time getting to know Him.  What is His personality like?  How does He really feel about you?  He will meet you right where you are at and He will fill you like no other on Earth can!  I promise you if you take the time to find your identity in real relationship with the One who created you, your life will change.

God is in the Darkness

"Trauma's storm can mask the Christ and feelings can lie.

I draw all the hurting voices close and I touch their scars with a whisper:

sometimes we don't fully see that in Christ, because of Christ,

through Christ, He does give us all things good - until we have

the perspective of years.  In time, years, dust settles.

In memory, ages, God emerges.  Then when we look back,

we see God's back.  Wasn't that too His way with Moses?

 "When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and 

cover you with my hand until I have passes by. Then I will 

remove my hand and you will see my back" (Exodus 33:22-23).

Is that it?  When it gets dark, it's only because God has 

tucked me in a cleft of the rock and covered me, protected, with

HIs hand?  In the pitch, I feel like I'm falling, sense the bridge giving

way, God long absent.  In the dark, the bridge and my world shakes, 

cracking dreams.  But maybe this is true reality: It is in the dark that

God is passing by.  The bridge and our lives shake not because 

God has abandoned, but the exact opposite:  

God is passing by.

God is in the tremors.

In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging HIs perfect and right 

will.  Though it is black and we can't see and and our world seems 

to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us, 

I-beam supporting in earthquake.  Then He will remove His hand.

Then we will look.  Then we look back and see His back."

Ann Voskamp

One Thousand Gifts

A Little of My Story

Hi all!  I feel like I have been absent from you for a while and I apologize.  I've missed sharing what the Lord has been teaching me so let me tell you what's been happening lately!

We (Tiffany, our friend Sybil and I) just completed a study by Jennie Allen titled Restless.  This study blew my world right open and turned it upside down - in a fabulous way!  This study helps us to intentionally begin to recognize the threads in our lives that are floating in the breeze so to speak.  Threads are moments in our life that have had an impact on us either positive or negative.  The challenge was to look at these moments and figure out how the Lord has brought us to this point in our lives through all that we have gone through.  This book met me right where I was at.  Over the last several months I have been trying to narrow down what it is that my calling is.  What is my purpose?  How does my Father want to use me to impact this world?  I am one of those that wants to do EVERYTHING! If you are a multi-tasker like me with a broken heart for the lost and the hurting, it can be easy to jump from one ministry to the next without actually developing and growing in the area where the Lord has called you to be.

About 13 years ago at the age of 18, I went through the darkest period in my life.  I was dealing with a very difficult betrayal in my family and my world as I knew it was falling apart.  I strayed from the Lord for a while as I sought to drown my pain however possible.  Through counseling and support from my friends and family, I began to work through my pain.  Over the course of a few years, the Lord healed myself and my family in a way that is nothing short of a miracle.  The enemy could have used that very dark experience to break me - and he almost did.  But my God is so much bigger than that and out of that experience has been born in me a desire to help families struggling in the same way we did.  I told the Lord a few years ago that however He wanted to use me and my story to help others, I would do it.  For a long time I felt the urge to write out my story.  I had told it in many different forms to different people but wanted to get every single detail out in one spot.  I sat on that idea for a long time.  One morning in church the Lord said to me, "Now Julie".  How do I know it was Him?  It was an undeniable voice and it seemingly came out of nowhere... I knew I had to sit down and write it out.  I figured I would write it as it came to me and then I'd have to go back and cut and paste to make it all flow and make sense.  After three separate sittings at my computer I had gotten it all out.  I sat back and read it and it was perfect.  Right there in front of me was my story in the perfect order with all of the details just as I wanted them.  How did that happen?!!  I knew what I needed to do next... I needed to send it to someone.  I sent it to a few of my close friends and then I sent it to my pastor.  I said in my email to him that I was just being obedient to the Lord and if he could think of any way my story could be useful then to let me know.  A week later he emailed me back and said that they were preparing to film some testimonies on relational healing for an upcoming sermon but the lady they had in mind had backed out.  He asked if I would like to share a little bit of my story.  I was scared but I agreed.  My church is a large one with a congregation of about 2000 including all of the services.  On the day my testimony was shown in service I had my whole family sitting next to me in support.  I know that what I had to say was powerful and that lives were touched.  Since that day a few years ago, I have had several people find me and ask me to speak.  I have never sought out any speaking opportunities!  I have only been obedient to say yes when they ask.  I almost chicken out every time I'm about to speak!  But, I refuse to let the enemy stop me from using what he intended as destruction, to bring life to others who are hurting.

All that being said, I'm now at a point where I know I need to take the next step in reaching people.  For a long time I've had an idea in the back of my head that I've been sitting on.  A couple of weeks ago during a rare quiet moment with the Lord (I've got small kids, believe me those moments are hard to come by!), the Lord said to me again, "Now Julie."  I knew it was time and I feverishly started writing notes.  My dream right now is to write a curriculum and start a support group for girls who went through what I went through 13 years ago.  I've searched and found nothing quite like it anywhere yet.  I've learned through our study that when something is God's will, it's most likely not going to be mapped out cleanly in front of us.  We most likely won't be able to see the big picture.  We need only to take one step at a time in faith that God will lead us.  So I am taking one step at a time, and I'm excited!  I didn't think this would be a big project or one that would require much of my time in the future, but in another moment of clarity the Lord said to me, "How do you know?"  I've twice found myself putting God in a box regarding this project.  The reality is, I don't know how the Lord's going to use me, I know only that He's called me and that's good enough for now.   I'm learning to not rely so heavily on my need to plan everything to a T but rather say, "What's next God?" And then take the next step.

I'd love to keep you updated on how this goes.  Part of my purpose for writing this post is so that I can look back and say, wow, look where I was 6 months - a year ago!  Would you ask the Lord what the next step is for you?  I guarantee you were put on this Earth for a VERY specific purpose and I know for many it's a struggle to discover just what that is.  Ask the Lord to remove things in your life that are a distraction from what He really wants you to focus on and if you'd like prayer for this very issue, let us know!  We'd love to partner with you in prayer.

Have a blessed day,

You Are NEVER Alone!

Happy Friday girls (and guys too, heck why not!)!

This last Sunday as we were singing a song in church I had a most wonderful "lightbulb moment".  Some of you may know the words... 

I look ahead, believing you are able, I will look back and see that you are faithful...

I had a picture in my mind of my God walking before me, clearing a path for me, making sure there is nothing for me to stumble on, defeating my enemies before I ever reach them.  I also looked back and there he was, bringing up the rear, making sure nothing could surprise me from behind.  I thought about where I would want to be if I was walking through something unknown and possibly scary… I wouldn't want to be in the front of the pack or the back of the pack - too vulnerable!  I'd want to be right in the middle of the pack, the safest and most secure spot.  This is how I walk through life when I have the Lord!  

Maybe you've heard this song…

I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies is always by my side. (Amen, hallelujah) 

I began searching for scriptures to support this idea.  Do you know what I found?!  He also walks beside me, spreads his wings over top of me and bears up under me!  He surrounds every part of me as I make my way through this life of unknowns.  Wow!  What wonders this does for my confidence and security.  Take a look at what the Bible says about this:

He goes before me:

Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

Psalm 18:30 As for God his way is perfect; the word of God is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in him.

He bears up under me:

Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains (bears up under) me.

Deuteronomy 33:12 Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure on him for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.

He covers us with his wings:

Psalm 36:7 How precious is your loving kindness oh God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 57:1 Be merciful to me, o God, be merciful to me!  For my soul trusts in you; and in the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge until these calamities have passed by.

The Lord stands by our side:

Psalm 121:4-8 Indeed he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  the Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.  The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go both now and forever.

He is all around me!

Job 1:10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?

Psalm 139:5, 7-10 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me… Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Friends are you grabbing onto this?  He surrounds us with his presence and NEVER sleeps.  Ahhhhh… I can rest and let him fight for me.  My challenge to you is to take at least one of these verses, if not all, and post it somewhere where you will see it.  Next to your bed would be perfect if you tend to worry instead of sleep!  On the bathroom mirror, refrigerator, car, wherever, just make sure that you meditate on the truth that your God goes before you, stands behind you, walks beside you and covers you from above and below.  You are never alone!

He Will Sustain You

Happy Friday friends!

 I won't keep you long but just wanted to share a quick little bit of what's been on my mind with you.

Over the past two weeks I have walked through something very difficult for myself and my family, counseled a close loved one through some difficult emotions and found out just today that another dear and precious family member is struggling through something difficult as well.  There is one verse that has been ringing loud and clear in my head:

Psalm 55:22 

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.  

He will never let the righteous fall.

When I came across this in a study a few weeks ago I looked up the definition for the word Sustain.  I have a general knowledge of the meaning but I wanted to know more.  Here's what I found...

Sustain: To give support or relief to, to supply with necessities or nourishment,  to support the weight of, to bear up under, to encourage, to support the spirits.

Each of these has such profound meaning to me as I sit and take in the reality that my God does ALL of these things for me.  My big, powerful, capable, loving God!  I'm especially struck by this, "to bear up under."  I literally see the Lord scooping me up in His huge hands and holding me up when I am suffering.  Will you allow the Lord to sustain you through your difficult times?

True Love

Happy Friday! I've been waiting to share something

with you that speaks everything my heart feels!  Oh

how I wish that I had written this, but it's actually a

hymn that was written by a woman named Francis

Ridley Havergal, in 1873.  One night she had a dramatic 

experience which stirred her to complete surrender

to God and she wrote these words.  Soak them in...

does your heart long to give every part to Him?  It's

true love to be surrendered to your Creator and

longing to follow Him with every breath you take!

Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee.

Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing, always only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be, filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine. it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart; it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne,

Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only all for Thee,

No More Shame

"Anytime We feel diminished or accused of being unworthy, those are Satan's words.  Jesus said in Revelation 12:10 that Satan is the 'accuser of our brothers.'  We can recognize his creepy voice anytime we feel accused.  The Holy Spirit woos us, loves us, and moves us to a place of understanding.  He never undermines us, his children, with derogatory messages that make us feel worthless.  We are worth the price of Jesus on the cross, which makes us acceptable to a holy god just as we are."  

-Marilyn Meberg

DIY Car Freshener Redo

This project will literally take you about 10 minutes!

 The other day I was admiring a pretty cross hanging from the rearview mirror of the car in front of me in traffic.  I glanced at the scented freshener hanging from mine and a little lightbulb went on... that thing is like a blank canvas!  I decided to take it down and decorate it to make my car a little more personalized and homey.  You can do this with any size/shape you've got.

I knew I wanted a picture of my boys on one side.  I was going to type out my wording for the opposite side of the picture, but my dang printer wouldn't work sooooo, I wrote it by hand copying the fonts that I liked!  If you have a hard time with lettering, by all means print it out, or you could even cut something out of a magazine or old book.

Trace the images you want using the air freshener and then cut 'em out.  I used double sided sticky tape because I didn't want to mess with glue but use whatever works for you.  I went the extra mile and added some glitter because I have a slight obsession with sparkle.  This was a seriously simple project but I'm so happy with the result!!  This would make a great grandparent or Aunt/Uncle gift too :)

I know this next pic is a little tricky to see but I loved the reflections off of the window!

Letting God Fill Every Room of Your "House"

I heard a sermon once a couple of years ago that really stuck with me…

The pastor gave the analogy of our lives being like the houses we live in.  He was challenging us to understand that God has huge plans for us but often we live in a box - or we only live in one room of our house.  We limit God by not trusting in him to do big thing in our lives.  Wy would we choose to only live in one room of our house when we have a whole house available to us?!

This image came to mind recently when I was thinking about allowing God to be present in every single aspect of my life, not just certain areas.  I began thinking about the blueprints for a house in my mind, somewhat like the one below…

The different rooms in the house began to take shape in the form of all of the different areas of my life.  As I thought about it, I realized that His Spirit is very present in certain rooms of my "house" (my life) but I shut Him out of others, which I believe allows a foothold for evil to dwell.  Wouldn't you love to know that the Spirit of the Lord fills every square inch of your house (and life) to the fullest, and likewise, that evil is completely shut out?!!  Walk with me for a few minutes here as I explain what I think are some very important areas that we need to allow God's presence to fill.

The Living Room:

Here's where we spend time relaxing with our family and where much of our entertainment takes place.  We like to watch t.v. and movies and play games in our living room.  In our family we like to turn on the stereo and dance too!  Are you allowing the Lord to dwell in your entertainment choices?  There have been many times in my life where I have uninvited the Lord (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes consciously) from movie dates because I want to see what I want to see.  What are you filling your mind with?  Would you sit down with Jesus and watch a movie (or read a book) with steamy sex scenes or crude language/jokes?  I don't talk this way in my every day life because, you know, I'm a Christian!  So maybe I don't need to fill my thoughts with these things for entertainment purposes.  Matthew 15:8 These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  Oh Lord I don't want to be one of those people!  The more I allow God into my everyday activities, the more I'm uncomfortable watching (and reading) things that aren't healthy for me to see.  Same goes for the music we listen to.  Are the lyrics positive or dark?  Do they degrade women or elevate the kind of love that is good for us in our lives?  Something to think about!  I believe when we choose to leave God out of our entertainment choices, we leave a foothold for the devil to come in and attack us.  I find this to be true with horror movies.  When I watch things that fill me with fear, I have nightmares when I'm asleep and feel anxiety at night when I'm alone - spiritual attack! On another note, don't forget to add friendships to your living room as well!  Is the Lord dwelling in your friendships?  Are they enriching your life?  Are they good influences for you? God gives us one of his greatest gifts in our friendships… don't forget to allow him in!  2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

The bathroom:

Our self-image/self-esteem.  Do we allow the Lord into this area of our lives?  Or do we shut Him out because we feel less than adequate, or worry far too much about others' opinions?  Did you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)?!  What do you say to yourself in the mirror as you get ready in the morning?  It is so important that we learn to tell ourselves the truth about who we are in Christ.  The world feeds us so many lies and it's often in the mirror that we repeat these things to ourselves.  Let the Lord fill this space in your life!  Don't let the enemy maintain his foothold in your mind over your self-image.  This may require help… reach out for support or counseling if you need it.  Tape special scriptures to your mirror that you can memorize as you get ready.  Listen to worship music to get you started in the morning.  Replace your fears with His presence and invite peace into your life.

The Bedroom:

Yikes, now we get personal!  This is our space. Our retreat.  Our reprieve from the world.  To me this area represents our purity if we are single, and our intimate relationships if we are married.  Bear with me because this can be a difficult subject.  If you are single (in this case casually dating or in a relationship but not married), are you allowing God to dwell in this area of your life?  Are you walking with Him in other areas of your life but leaving him out of your physical relationships?  Purity can be so incredibly difficult but also so incredibly important and rewarding for a healthy marriage down the road.  You can begin by just asking the Lord to show you what he wants for you in your relationships.  If you're shutting him out because you know you're not honoring him in this area, don't!  He created your inmost being.  He knows your every thought.  He wants you to talk to him, to share your feelings, joys and struggles with him.  Don't forget, the Lord created sex to be the amazing, wonderful, mind-blowing glue that bonds us with our spouse for the rest of our lives.  This brings me to married women.  Are you honoring God and your husband in this area?  This can be a struggle for many, especially those who have experienced past abuse or even for those of us are just really exhausted at the end of the day.  This one kind of struck me as I was thinking about it because I realized that I don't often invite the Lord into this area of my life (as a married woman).  I need to be thankful more often for this amazing bond that I share with my husband and always ask the Lord to show me ways that I can improve this relationship with my husband.  Do you talk to the Lord about your sex life (gasp!)!!  This is important, don't shut him out of your bedroom!  If you do, you may invite the enemy to enter in and I don't know about you, but this is one safe room in my house where I want the presence of the Lord to shut out all evil.

The Kitchen:

How many of you love the kitchen?  How many of you have a love/hate relationship with the kitchen?!  Are you taking care of your health?  Guess what?  God wants to dwell in this area of your life as well!  I have slowly started making some changes in my diet and cooking habits in order to not only take care of myself, but also keep my family healthy as well and it helps my mood when I'm eating healthier!  Do you struggle with your eating habits?  Do you overeat or under eat?  Do you struggle with guilt over food choices or feel a lack of motivation to exercise?  How about what you drink?  Does your one glass of wine with dinner turn into half the bottle by bedtime?  Believe it or not, these things can be related to your spiritual life as well.  We need to take care of our bodies just like we need to take care of our spiritual lives.  Talk to God about this.  Begin asking Him to show you what he wants for you in this area.  

1 Corinthian 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink of whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.

Our Office Space:

Last but not least, the place where we get our work done.  In our lives this represents our work.  Do you allow God to go to work with you or do you leave him in the car??  Do you pray over your work and for your work relationships with your boss and co-workers?  It doesn't matter what you do, there is ALWAYS a way to honor God through your work!  Do the people you work with know that you love the Lord?  This doesn't mean that you have to be pushy or even talk about it on a regular basis, it just means that your life should be consistent at work with the life you live at home and at church or with your friends.  If your job, like mine, is to run a household, care for you children all day and everything that being a stay-at-home mom entails, are you allowing God to infiltrate your day?  Are you showing his love you your children?  What's your attitude like?  Eek, don't ask me about my attitude!!  Lord, I want you to be a part of my day all day every day.  God help me to create a home that is a refuge for my family and where other people can come and feel your sweet presence.  Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Rest in the Lord

Happy Friday girls of God's heart!

We are now about a week and a half away from Christmas... the birthday that we anticipate all year as believers in Christ.

This is my most favorite time of the year!  I however, will admit that it is a struggle for me to not become overly busy during this month.  Do you struggle with feelings of chaos and stress around the holidays?  Do you have the added emotional turmoil of dealing with difficult family or grieving the absence of a loved one?  I know that the holidays can bring many unwanted thoughts and feelings for some of us as well.

I recently read something that really impacted me.  It's a quote by a woman named Hannah Whitall Smith, who lived in the mid 1800's to early 1900's.  Read what she has to say and see if you can take something away from it to soothe your soul...

"Do you recollect the delicious sense of rest with which you have sometimes gone to 

bed at night, after a day of great exertion and weariness?  How delightful was the 

sensation of relaxing every muscle, and letting your body go in a perfect abandonment 

of ease and comfort.  The strain of the day had ceased for a few hours at least, and the work 

for the day had been thrown off.  You no longer had to hold up an aching head or a weary 

back.  You trusted yourself to the bed in an absolute confidence, and it held you up, without 

effort, or strain, or even thought on your part.  You rested.  Let this analogy teach you what

 it means to rest on the Lord.  Let your souls lie down upon His sweet will, as your bodies 

lie down in your beds at night,  Relax every strain and lay off every burden.  Let yourselves 

go in perfect abandonment of ease and comfort, sure that when He holds you up you are 

perfectly safe."

pic source

Our Thankfulness Tree

The beautiful Miss Kelly posted some ideas yesterday on how to be creative while being thankful this month.  I thought I'd share with you what our family does for the month of November!

We started this tradition last year when my oldest was 3.  All it takes is a big roll of brown paper and some colorful leaves!  Last year I found a beautiful dark gold/brown roll of wrapping paper at the .99 cent store and I traced and cut out my own leaves from construction paper (super time consuming to make 30 leaves that way!).  This year I found a roll of brown bulletin board paper for a classroom for just a few dollars at a toy store and bought a package of foam craft leaves from Target for about $5 - not so cheap but waaaay easier!

(You'll have to excuse my funky looking tree - I'm not an artist!)  Every day my little guy finds something that he is thankful for and I write in on a leaf.  He gets to stick it on the tree!  It brings me so much joy to hear what he is thankful for.  Towards the end of the month he really has to think and be creative to find new things to put on his leaves - we don't repeat anything for the whole month!

Here is our finished tree at the end of last November...

We get to practice thankfulness and add some colorful decor to our home!

Forgiveness

I teach a class on conflict resolution every Monday morning at an 18-month rehab program at our local women and children's shelter.  I love spending time with these women each week because I feel like I am learning right along with them often times.  Each week I have started writing on the board this quote during class: "When we consider our debts to each other, they pale in comparison to the debts that the Lord has forgiven us each and every day.  We have been forgiven so much!"  

Sometimes we become so wrapped up in a frustrating or painful situation that we forget that every single day God forgives us over and over.  He forgives the "little" sins each day... the judgmental thoughts that cross our mind, the sarcastic response to our co-worker, spouse or child, the little fib we tell to get us out of a sticky situation, the curse the slips out when we stub our toe or our failure to truly love our neighbor as ourself.  The list is endless and I'll be the first to admit that I don't even realize the amount of sins I commit every day!  Thank JESUS for his forgiveness!  Not only is he constantly forgiving these sins but he pardons my greatest sins... the deep dark ones that I hide from the world.  His blood covers my most painful mistakes, my ugliest of choices.  When I stop and thing about the depths of His love for me and the price that He paid to forgive me every day so that my sins wouldn't kill me, it becomes harder to hold grudges.  That harsh word that was spoken to me - I've said worse to God.  The person who cheated me out of what was rightfully mine - I've been forgiven for doing this as well.  The person who didn't show me the love and affection I craved?  I often ignore God, I am forgiven for that as well.  I know that some deep hurts take time and healing before we are able to come to a place of forgiveness but are you holding on to something out of stubbornness or pride or spite?  It might help to take a moment to remember just how much you have been forgiven for!

The Truth Is - Free Printable

I love printables!  They are such a great way to decorate and it costs next to nothing. 

 Grab a frame or a clipboard or a magnet and you're set!

Do you need a daily reminder about who your 

Creator says you are?  The truth is...

 Get your free printable here!

From us to you. For personal use only please :)

Easy Fall Gift Jars

Want a quick and easy gift for a teacher, friend, neighbor, favorite kiddo or even a party favor for your halloween party??  Look no further!  These mason jars are the perfect way to package a sweet little gift!

I found these jars for $1.49 each at Michael's craft store.  I already had the burlap and ribbon on hand.  The spider rings are from the Halloween section at Target.  You can fill yours with whatever you want... I chose candy corn, candy pumpkins and peanut butter M&M's in Halloween colors for one jar, and socks from the dollar section at Target with candy corn for the other.

 (Notice the candy bags are NOT full... It took me several days to get to my crafting after I bought the candy and, well, I couldn't keep my hands off of it!!)

For the candy jar I simply cut a circle from the burlap a little larger than the lid and tied it on with my orange ribbon.  I then stuck the spider ring on for a little extra bling.

Tada!  I love how it turned out!

For the sock jar I added a couple of handfuls of candy corn to the jar first, then rolled up the socks and stuck them in.  I added a little more candy corn around the socks as a filler.  I used a twist tie to hold together the ribbon design on top of the lid but it felt a little naked with just the ribbon so... I added some glue and glitter!  If it sparkles I'm happy :)  I used hot glue to attach the ribbon and voila!  I may like this one even better (I think I like cute socks even more than candy).

A Few of My Favorite Reads - Christian Book Review

I love to read!  With two busy little boys entertaining me day and night I can't always find the time so it's a treat when I get to sit down and enjoy a good book.  Below I'll share with you some of my favorite Christian books, including a quote from the book and a little bit on why I like it...

1) For Women Only ~ Shaunti Feldhahn

"Men want to show us how much they love us and long for their women to understand what is going on inside, even though they sometimes can't explain it well.  More than once I have seen men tear up as they read the draft of this book, moved by the though that their wife might be able to -or want to- understand them."

This is the most recent book that I finished and I must admit that I cried at the end!  The author, Shaunti Feldhahn, did extensive research with thousands of men to find out how men really feel - who they really are on the inside.  Some of the information was not necessarily new to me, some blew my mind (hello chapter 5)!  Really it gave me a renewed appreciation and sensitivity for the man that my husband is and an understanding of how much he really depends on me as his wife for his self esteem and emotional well-being.

It's broken up into 9 chapters and is a pretty easy and quick read (it took me two days).

Chapter 1: Lightbulb on!
  How I Woke up to What I Didn't Know About Men

Chapter 2: Your Love Is Not Enough
  Why Your Respect Means More to Him than Even Your Affection

Chapter 3: The Performance of a Lifetime
  Why Your Mr. Smooth Looks So Impressive but Feels Like an Impostor

Chapter 4: The Loneliest Burden
  How His Need to Provide Weighs Your Man Down, and Why He Likes It That Way

Chapter 5: Sex Changes Everything
  Why Sex Unlocks a Man's Emotions (Guess Who Holds the Key?)

Chapter 6: Keeper of the Visual Rolodex
  Why It's So Natural for Him to Look and So Hard to Forget What He's Seen

Chapter 7: Chocolate, Flowers, Bait Fishing
  Why the Reluctant Clod You Know Really Does Want Romance

Chapter 8: The Truth About the Way You Look
  Why what's on the Outside Matters to Him on the Inside

Chapter 9: Words for Your Heart
  What Your Man Most Wishes You Knew About Him

2)  Piercing the Darkness~ Frank E. Peretti

"Tal scanned the horizon and could see the thick hedge of angelic warriors that surrounded the town, sealing it off from demonic invasion.  They were there to serve the saints within, responding to their prayers, widening doors of opportunity to minister.  The town was not perfect, not without problems; it still had its taverns and turmoils, its scrapes and its sins.  But the Lord was working in Ashton, its saints were praying, and for Sally Beth Roe it was safe."

Piercing the Darkness and its predecessor, This Present Darkness, are two of my all time favorite Christian novels!  The books center around fictional battles between good and evil, on earth and in the heavenly realm.  The author's vivid imagination of how the Lord's angels and the Devil's spirits look, act and speak are captivating.  We get to see what is happening on earth and how simultaneously the spiritual realm is responding.  I often visualize the spiritual realm as exactly how I've read it in these books, picturing the mighty warrior angels surrounding a city or a room in a house!  I love how, as in the quote above, the story shows the heavenly hosts grow stronger as the people on earth gather to pray and alternately how areas in the grips of darkness and sin have a much stronger presence of evil spirits.  If you love a good read as much as I do you won't be disappointed with this one!

3)  The Case for Christ ~ Lee Strobel

"'I'll be honest with you," I said to Metzger. 'When I first found out that there are no surviving originals of the New Testament, I was really skeptical.  I thought, if all we have are copies of copies of copies, how can I have any confidence that the New Testament we have today bears any resemblance whatsoever to what was originally written? How do you respond to that?'"

This book is a classic book on apologetics.  I actually found this book at a thrift store and bought it out if curiosity.  I was quite surprised at how eye opening it was to me and how much I learned about my faith that I had never known despite being a life long believer in and follower of Christ.  If you (or someone you know) have hard questions about the Bible and who Jesus was, like the one above, this would be a great book to check out.  It was written by a self-described atheist who set out on a journey to find out for himself whether there was any merit to Christianity after his wife came home one day and told him that she had become a Christian.  He was disappointed at first until he began to see the changes that had taken place (for the better) in her life.  Being a reporter, he decided to go on a search for facts to support or refute the legitimacy of Christianity, and after two years put his findings into this book.

4) Rekindled ~ Tamera Alexander

"Larson's heart pounded out an erratic rhythm.  He blew out a steadying breath.  Kathryn's gasp at seeing him had wounded him more deeply than he could have imagined.  Certain she was gone, he raked his hands over his face.  He didn't know which hurt him more - her reaction to him or the raw truth that she hadn't recongnized her own husband."

Aghhhh!  This book, I can't say enough about how much I loved this book!!!  This is a romance novel better than any I've read.  I find it hard to find a romance novel that is clean and not crude but that also makes my heart pound and eyes tear up.  I could not put this book down.  It takes place in the mid 1800's, a story of a husband and a wife, unmet expectations and a journey of discovery.  There are unexpected twists that will keep you turning the pages and wanting more!  

5) The Five Languages of Apology ~ Gary Chapman & Jennifer Thomas

"Without apology, the offense sits as a barrier and the quality of the relationship is diminished.  Good relationships are always marked by a willingness to apologize, forgive and reconcile.  The reason many relationships are cold and distant is because we have failed to apologize."

I would imagine many of you have heard of the book, The Five Love Languages?  This book is written by the same author.  The Love Languages concept had a huge impact on me and the way I strive to relate to my husband so I thought just maybe it would help us in the area of apologizing (not one of our stronger points)!  The information in the book is laid out so simply - it is quite an easy read - and it just makes sense!  The basic concept is that we each speak different "languages" when it comes to apology.  While one person might simply need to hear I'm sorry to really feel the apology is sincere, another person may need to hear, "I know I was wrong, would you please forgive me?"  The book gives many examples of how couples or co-workers or friends got stuck in a conflict because they truly felt that the other was not genuinely sorry.  According to the book in one survey 75% of couples spoke different apology languages!  This means that 3 out of 4 couples needed to learn a different way to convey their apology to make it meaningful to their significant other!  Here are the 5 basic languages of apology:
1) Expressing Regret, "I am sorry"
2) Accepting Responsibility, "I was wrong"
3) Making Restitution, "What can I do to make it right?"
4) Genuinely Renting, "I'll try not to do that again"
5) Requesting Forgiveness, "Will you please forgive me?"

6) Choose Joy - Because Happiness Isn't Enough ~ Kay Warren

"Then I wonder, if all of creation sings, why don't I?  If the trees, the flowers, the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, and the animals are praising God's name every day, why don't I -the crown of his creation- sing praise to him?  Do I hold back my songs of praise for trivialities as small as no parking space at the crowded mall?  My hair didn't curl the way I wanted it to?  It's raining?  The price of gasoline went up again?  All of God's works sing for joy before him, and when I meditate on what he has made, on his stunning abilities as the maker Creator, I too sing.  I too shout for joy!"

This book...  This book had a huge impact on me just a little over a year ago and ever since, "choose joy" has been my mantra.  At the time I was going through some trials in my life (which I wrote about here) and realized that I had a choice to make.  I purchased and read this book as my church was doing a message series based on it.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever faced any trials of any kind in life (um, hello... EVERYONE!).  Kay writes from such an honest place and is so encouraging about being intentional when choosing our attitude towards life.  We ALWAYS have the ability to choose joy and the Lord longs for us to experience joy in our lives - the fullness of his joy, not just situational happiness.

*** We would love for you to share with us what your favorite Christian books are! If you've read a book that you would like to share with us, leave us a comment... it might just be the next on our reading list!!