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Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 New Year Goals

Hmmm...thinking about my goals for the year....
 I thought I'd take a minute and share my 2013 goals with you all.  Many of them are similar to last year.  In some cases, that's because I didn't finish them last year.  In other cases, that's because they were so beneficial that I want to continue them this year!
Happy 2013!!!!
Hope your year is happy and blessed!  What kinds of goals have you made for yourself this year?

Relational Goals
*Walk With Jesus*


1.    Work Through Elizabeth Prentiss Study


2.    Establish morning Bible study & journaling

3.    Listen to praise/worship music on my stereo while doing kitchen chores
4.    Spend time in prayer using prayer journal
*Marriage*


1.    Remember that Jamie desires a sweet spirit above anything else
2.    Pray for his goals:  health, career search, intentional leadership of our family
 
*Children*


     1.   Homeschool consistently Jan-June; take short summer break; continue Aug-Nov


     2.   Be very choosy about outside activities; instead, focus more on building solid characters and obedience training at home
     3.  Pray for them specifically using prayer cards/journal


*Ministry*



     1.  Remember that my ministry is my family.  Anything else is extra and not mandatory
     2.  Focus even more on my online ministry:  blog, Facebook, websites I contribute to

Hobby/Creativity Goals



*Writing*



    1.   Post at least three times per week:  Sundays---Christian Home article, Thursdays---Vintage Thursday, Fridays---Homemaking LinkUp/Pink Saturday;  also post once weekly at my other blog, Obedient Joy


    2.   This year, I'll begin contributing to another site based on strengthening marriages.  I want to be in prayer about my articles on a regular basis.


    3.   Pursue other writing opps as I have time throughout the year.  Be choosy about what I take on to make sure the atmosphere of my blog is not compromised.


*Etsy*



    1.  Continue adding crafty items and vintage/antique items.  Spend time shopping for resale.



*Sewing*



    1.  Really focus on finishing up projects I’ve started and using up my stash.  
    2.  Lynzie received a sewing machine for Christmas.  I want to make time to teach her to use it well.
 


*Crafting*



    1.  Work on using up stash


    2.  Host a CTMH party in early spring


    3.  Try and do some crafting days with Mom


*Musical*



    1.  Decide which instrument of my 3 that I want to learn first:  Celtic Harp, Cello, A/E guitar?  I think I’m leaning toward Celtic Harp


    2.  Patiently accept Jamie’s help in learning it!

    3.  Establish routine of singing hymns with kids before bed...Jamie is interested in this too :)



*Reading*



    1.  Read 50 books
 
    2.  Be more involved in BookCrossing


    3.  Read regularly with the kids



Homemaking Goals



*Home *



1.    Plan meals and grocery lists several days before shopping trip
 
2.    Reassign chores to allow Cainan and Selah to take on more responsibility.


3.    Continue working on my kitchen to make it a more pleasant place to work


4.    Focus more on healthy homemade recipes.

5.    Declutter, sell or giveaway unneeded items...a place for everything and everything in it's place


Health Goals


*Physical*


1.    Drink plenty of water daily


2.    Set up small challenges for myself and reward myself when I accomplish them


3.    Ride my bike when weather is nice

4.       Go for walks…by myself and with family


Hope In Every Season is on Facebook now!  If you enjoy the articles you read here, please hit the "follow" button in the sidebar.  Thanks so much for visiting---every one of you is a blessing to me!

Linking with:
Wisdom Wednesdays @ Simply Helping Him 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

I Heard a Bird Sing...Welcome Baby Brenna!

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember." ~~Oliver Herford

 I'm happy, blessed, relieved, thankful to announce our newest little blessing, Brenna Evangeline, has been born into the world!
 She arrived safely, quickly, and healthily yesterday morning, December 21, 2012, at 10:25 am.

Today all her brothers and sisters get to come meet her and she'll be home just in time for Christmas!
What a wonderful gift---thank you, Jesus, for our baby Brenna! 

Linking with:

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Have You Had Your Sabbath Today?


Some days I feel really overwhelmed! It's not really a bad kind of overwhelmed, and I usually don't let it affect my good mood too extremely, but I often feel that there's a lot more to process than I'm willing to give attention to at the time!
 

I was reminded today that I need to rest! I'm not talking about sleep--that thought is just a funny joke right now with our newest blessing due to arrive any day and me finding it impossible to find a comfortable position to be in! I'm talking about that stillness we're supposed to experience with God. That "Sabbathing".

God, himself, gave us the example of the Sabbath or "rest" day in Genesis 2:3: "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." We know our God didn't need a day of rest, but he knew we would need one---in fact, we would need many!

There are some who practice a strict Sabbath day once a week (usually on Saturday or Sunday), where they do no work, no cooking, no entertainment---actually, I'm not really sure what they DO, but I know the Sabbath is, for them, a specific day with specific "rules" that is and are unchangeable.

While I don't think God intends for us to be that legalistic about the specific day or numbers of hours spent doing nothing, I can see how planning for and taking this day can be a peaceful and restful thing to look forward to!

The way I see it is that God wants us to have many "Sabbath days"...even "Sabbath hours"! One of the many similar definitions for "Sabbath" is "to rest". Feeling sick? Take a Sabbath. Want to contemplate God's many blessings on your life? Take a Sabbath. Feeling overwhelmed by absolutely nothing? (Why, yes I am!) Take a Sabbath!

I'm physically tired but I don't necessarily need a physical nap. Let's face it, I've got nine children---one of them squirming around inside me at all hours of the day and night---and all of them 12 years old and younger. I'm not going to get that nap! What I need is time to rest in God. I need to meditate on verses like Proverbs 18:10: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe." I need to memorize promises like 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

There's a quote that says, "Don't be so much a 'human doing' as a 'human being'." There's no reason to overload myself with neither thoughts nor activities. When I feel this overwhelmed feeling coming on (especially when I don't know why!!), the best thing I can do is cast all my cares upon Him because He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7)...and rest!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Putz House Banner and Pretty Christmas Pinks

Happy Friday everyone!  Hope you're feeling peaceful and blessed as you prepare to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

A couple weeks ago, I bought an adorable pdf off of Etsy of these cute Putz House Christmas scenes.  This morning, I fixed up a cute banner for my pink Christmas shelf.   

You can find the pdf on Etsy at Pink Pearl Studio.  I plan on adding a little lace or something to the top of each banner piece but need to find just the right trim before I finish them off.

Most of our home is decked out in traditional Christmas colors but I wanted a little shelf of my own to make all pink and pretty!  Here are some of the other things I've got up there:
I love this pretty vintage angel tray.  I'd love to find some more like it but all the ones I've found so far have been black and gold.
I found this cute little winter girl at a yard sale last summer.  I'm also collecting these vintage tree toppers.  This blue one looks pretty with my tray.
Today at Pink Saturday, we're showing off our Christmas treats.  I've been making these yummy pink-wrapped carmels and selling them in my Etsy shop.  Yum!  What a great gift idea, wouldn't you agree? 
 Tonight we're headed out to get our Christmas tree!  Each year, the Boy Scouts sell them just a couple blocks down the road and we always get ours from there.  Daddy will put up the lights tonight and tomorrow night we'll get it all decorated.  Each year, we give the kids a new ornament and my husband and I buy them for each other.  Someday when they're married, I plan on giving each of the kids their ornaments on their first Christmas.  After we decorate the tree, we always have hot chocolate and candy canes and watch the lights on the tree.  That's a fun tradition my mom did with us and my kids enjoy it every year.

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I hope you'll link up your favorite posts with today's Homemaking LinkUp Weekend.  Please also share the button on your blog so your friends can join in too.  Have a great week!

Linking With:
Beverly's Pink Saturday


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Hope 2012

For this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend, I'm sharing this short story I wrote in honor of the baby we lost in November 2007.  Each year around November 29th, I repost it and am always so glad to hear that it still ministers to others. I hope it blesses you today.  Please link up your favorite posts below!


Hope sits still and serene at the edge of a melodious river, dangling one bare foot into the warm, blue water. Her lovely blonde ringlets reflect the light of the afternoon sun and form a shimmering halo around her young head. Though she can’t help but raise her eyes every so often to the far-off hills, He has told her to wait patiently and so she will. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” He’d promised. If she has learned anything from past experience, she’s learned that time is relative no matter where one is. Even in this youthful body, she knows that the time it takes to endure is well worth the rewards that fortitude brings.


Since patience seems to be coming much more easily than normal this day, she begins to take inventory of her new appearance. Strangely, she can not see her reflection in the water in front of her. From the moment she arrived here in this glorious place, she’s wondered about herself. There isn’t much she can learn about what’s inside; about her dreams, wishes and longings. She’s treasured all of these, along with many thoughts and questions, since the day she was conceived. It’s her outside that is so new and clean and unfamiliar.


With a little shake of her head, she can see that her hair is golden and beautiful. She reaches for a curl and lets the silky strand slide around her fingers and over the back of her hand. As she moves to examine the hand more closely, she spies a simple white butterfly hovering near her knee. She watches with innocent interest for just a moment before it flutters over to a nearby snapdragon and gracefully lands beside it in the grass.


Lifting the small, delicate hand up to eye-level seems so simple now and she marvels at the lightness of it; both in skin tone and in weight. Turning this hand right-side up, she examines the lines upon her tiny palm. Amazing, she thinks, and so real.


Her eyes follow the motion as she slowly places the hand back in her lap. Fixing her gaze on the arm for just a moment, she changes her mind about resting it and, using her newly-nimbled fingers, explores the length of the opposite arm. Leisurely, she runs her fingers up and back down. Tickles, she says to herself, as even now the new word tickles her tongue.


A slippery smoothness is caressing the bottom of her one wet foot. Her brown eyes settle on a long and shiny creature gliding through the water. Father loves fish, she thinks to herself. But just as quick as it caught her attention, the creature is gone and her mind becomes occupied elsewhere.


“She’s here,” the butterfly whispers up to the snapdragon. The flower shivers with a sudden air of excitement and replies, “So soon? I didn’t realize we’d get to see her so perfectly formed so early!” The butterfly sighs. “Yes, she’s a beauty, isn’t she? She’s just the image of perfection!” She flurries up to give the snapdragon a butterfly kiss and then takes off back into the sky in search of a honeysuckle treat.


The snapdragon proudly pulls herself up to her full height--six inches at last measurement. As she stretches her lush leaves against the warm sun’s rays, a tiny yawn escapes from her delicate, pink lips. Lifting her head to peer over the sleeping marigolds, she stands upon the tips of her toes (which are firmly rooted in the ground, of course) and sees, just over the nearest hillside, exactly what she is looking for.


“Come children, come quickly”, the Man says as he ascends the last mound of lush, emerald hilltop. He takes care not to hurry the young family, most of them less than five years old. The Man turns to face this great group of children, His very presence commanding their complete attention. He smiles warmly and lovingly, sits down on a nearby rock and takes a young Asian boy on his lap. “Children”, he says, “I want you to remember back to the first time you realized you were in Hope’s place. Be patient, be kind. Be gentle and show her love. Come. Let’s go down to the river.”


The friendly party makes their way across the honey-scented meadow. “Look”, cries the Man, “there by the water!” He stops the children and they all stand still, amazed at the way the sunlight bounces off her flaxen hair. “She looks like my Angel”, says a little Irish red-headed girl, “only my Angel is a lot bigger than that!”


“Come”, says the Man, “Let’s take some time to offer our welcome wishes to this newest reflection of me. There’s a new child in Heaven today.”

More:
When Life Breaks

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Surprised By Joy! Overwhelming Thankfulness...

I've never read C.S. Lewis' story of salvation, Surprised By Joy, but that's the phrase that came to mind this morning as I was thinking over the good things God has done in my life.

It's really been on my heart lately how God has directed my 15 years of adulthood onto paths that I never would have imagined.  How would I have reacted on the day my husband proposed, had I seen my life as it is now?  I could have never dreamed of the happy life we would share, living as best friends with our nine sweet children---a family dedicated to one another and to God.
This weekend's Homemaking LinkUp Weekend thought is simple and sweet:  I'm thankful.  So very blessed and thankful for this amazing life I've been given.  I pray I really recognize this goodness and not take it for granted.

No matter where you are in life, there's always something you can be thankful for---what is the most simple or profound thing you are thankful for today?

Please link up your favorite posts below and display the button on your blog to direct your readers back to the party!


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Also, today I'm the featured blog at Beverly's Pink Saturday!  I'd like to welcome all my Pink Saturday friends and thank you for being such a sweet influence on my life.  Happy Thanksgiving Weekend and HaPpY pInK sAtUrDaY!

Linking with:  

Sunday, November 18, 2012

God is NOT on Our Side!


Joshua 5: 13-15-- "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so."

A pastor friend of ours posts daily Bible studies to his Facebook page. One day I was reading his notes on these verses and was struck by this: "God is not on our side. We are on his." Or rather, we should be on his. Often times, when reflecting on a crisis situation for example, people will say, "Thank God we had the Lord on our side." However, that's not exactly the case. It's not like God looks at a situation and chooses which side to be on. God is good and true and right and just in all sides and situations.

When we come over to God's side, we often reap the benefits and blessings of his protection so it would seem that he's pleased with us for "doing right" and is rewarding us by being on our team. The problem with that logic comes when we try to see the flip side. If he's rewarding us by being "on our side" and allowing us to live a happy, easy, blessed life, then what does it mean when life turns scary, ugly, difficult and unfair? It must mean that God's not on our side anymore, right? These bad things must indicate that God is mad at us and punishing us by removing his blessing.

That is SO not the case! While it's true that we will reap these bad "side effects" of disobedience, often times bad things just happen to good people (completely different topic---not goona go there tonight!) The Lord promised never to leave us or forsake us (Josh. 1:5). David encourages us with this thought: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me" (Ps. 23:4).

However, God is not going to sanction sin--no matter how slight or unconscious. That's why he can't be on our side--we are sinful beings. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We fluctuate between good days and bad days. We have our own wills and they're usually self-centered. How wise we'd be to come over to the side of the one who is steady and unchanging!


This article was published in Issue #89 of The Christian Home Magazine.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas...Homemaking Link-Up Weekend

Hello and Happy Weekend!

I must confess that I've spent WAAAYYY too much time on Etsy today looking at lots of beautiful pink goodness!  I'm so inspired and, ok, a little covetous too!

For this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend, I thought I'd share some of my gorgeous finds!  First up is this CUTE little cottage.  It's Red Riding Hood's Cottage!  Isn't that adorable?
Red Riding Hood's Christmas Cottage by TheUglyDuckling1962
 As I was looking for more pink houses, I came across one of Pink Saturday's favorite girls!  Olivia from Olivia's Romantic Home is offering up this stunning deer to go along with her adorable cottages.


Gorgeous Deer from Olivia's Romantic Home
Here's a fancy house for a fancy price!  Looks edible to me...ha!
Pink Christmas House from PerlillaPets

I also came across this really neat banner from Pink Pearl Studio.  She is selling the pdf for 6 designs and you just print it out yourself, mount and decorate!  I'll be buying this today!


Christmas Banner from pinkpearlstudio
I think I'm going to use some of the ideas I've found online today and see if I can create my own little Christmas village!  I'll keep you posted on my progress!


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I'd love for you to join in with my Homemaking Link-Up Weekend.  Feel free to link up your favorite posts below and make sure to grab a button for your blog so your friends can join too!

Linking with:

Friday, November 9, 2012

Homemaking Link-Up Weekend

Welcome to this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend!  It's been a great week for our family as we're enjoying the cooler temperatures, lots of soup, and the crafty bug that always hits our home this time of year!  Please feel free to link up your favorite posts below and display this cute button on your blog so your readers can come visit too!
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Last night for dinner, I made my yummy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna.  My family loves this---it's so flavorful!

My birthday was October 23rd---the day my husband and two oldest sons went elk hunting for a week.  The other kids and I drove them up and stopped off at our cousin's new shop, The Dancing Elephant Gallery in Baker City.  Because it was my birthday, and because I wanted something to remember our first visit to the gallery, I bought this cute vintage PINK vase!  Isn't it pretty?  I finally unpacked it yesterday and put it up on the highest shelf---far from little baby fingers!


As Amy (owner) pointed out, one usually finds this style chipped in places---but this one's in perfect shape.  I love it!
  My little blog hit an exciting milestone this week as I had 750 visitors in one day on the day after elections!  This was my most popular post this week---and most popular of ALL TIME with over 1,000 hits in just 6 days!
My favorite post from last week's link up was this one for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls from Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose.  I make a recipe similar to this and it inspired me to put together a batch for our Saturday morning breakfast tomorrow!  Please visit Stephanie to give your compliments and, if you are Pinning, please make sure to pin from her blog to direct traffic her way!

How do you plan to spend your weekend?  Today I'm going to clean my room and stock my Etsy shop.  Then I'm planning on making some skirts for my daughters and I over the weekend---as well as doing a major de-junking in the boys' bedroom!  

Hope your day is happy and blessed---please link up below and join the party!

Linking With:


Wise-Woman-Builds

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Femininity vs. Modesty...What's the Difference?

Recently, I had a conversation with another Christian woman who asked a question similar to this:  

"What standards do we, as Christian women, use to decide what is modest when it comes to dressing? Islam and Judaism both have very specific laws, but Christianity, as a spiritual system of relational obedience in freedom, has no such standard."

I think this question can be answered by thinking, as this woman pointed out, about one of the biggest differences between Christianity and other religions. In Christianity, we live by relationship rather than law. We obey God's laws, not out of fear or tradition, but because we have relationship with him and love him. Because we have this relationship, we are able to go to him with our questions about modesty and ask him what this looks like for our own lives. 

The Bible gives us very little to go on as far as what to wear. It is clear that we are to be modest (1 Tim. 2:9), we are to dress "like women" (Deut. 22:5), and that we are not to be obsessed or proud (as in not humble) about our appearance (1 Peter 5:5-6). I think it's clear in the heart of any woman who desires to dress modestly that she should be "covered up" in the essential places with clothes that are not tight-fitting. After that, I think a lot of it is dependent on what God knows we need to do to make our own hearts right and, in some cases, what the people around us need to keep theirs right. 

For instance, I don't think a woman in slacks and a button down top is dressing immodestly. I don't think it's the most feminine outfit---but it's modest as far as "avoiding lust of the eyes" goes. 

I think that many Christian women, when discussing modesty, confuse it with the issue of femininity.  This is where a lot of the bickering and belaboring of details comes in that those of us who discuss this face.  No Godly woman wants her femininity questioned---but that's exactly what ends up happening when we confuse the two terms.

Modesty: "Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior."
Femininity:  "A characteristic or trait traditionally held to be female."

I don't think that any true, Bible-believing woman would question the need for modesty.  This is of pretty obvious importance in Scripture, as well as in the conscience of anyone who has Jesus dwelling in her heart.  It's the femininity question that needs to be answered and I truly believe that is a personal choice based on interpretation of both the current culture and the voice of God in ones heart.

Before you get all up in arms that I mentioned our culture having an impact on what we consider to be feminine dress, just think of men in togas...or men in tights, if you'd like!  How about salwar kameez?

For me, I know that I need to be in skirts and dresses because of how it works in MY heart. When I am dressed in what I consider to be more feminine clothing, I automatically act more feminine. I function in my roles of wife and mother better and I speak, act and carry myself in a more peaceful and kind way. I know what God wants for my own personal walk---because I have relationship with him and can ask him! 

Does this mean you should also adopt a wardrobe of skirts and dresses?  Of course not.  You should, however, make sure that what you are wearing makes your gender obvious and is following the standards of modesty that you know in your heart to be right.  I don't need to spell those out for you---just ask God, He'll make it perfectly clear for you! 


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Does God Ever Give Us More Than We Can Handle?


One morning, after being woken up and trying in vain to get back to sleep, I headed out to the living room to read my Bible for awhile. I read Acts chapters 21-24 and was really encouraged by the stories of the Apostle Paul. These chapters tell about Paul's imprisonment over a course of several years and his appearance before several prominent leaders of the times to "plead his case".

It struck me that by holding him in prison and taking him from place to place, Paul's accusers may have thought they were silencing him and the message that he was spreading. After all, they'd got him off the streets and away from citizens who may be swayed by his teaching. Yet, on the contrary, God was using Paul's time in bondage to witness to some of the highest ranking authorities in the land.

Acts 23:11 confirms the Lord's hand in this: "But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, 'Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.' "

This encouraged me in the thought that when we dedicate our lives to God and to his service, we never have to be afraid of where we "end up". Whether it be at a job site, at home, or (hopefully not!!) in prison, God's directing hand will always place us exactly where he wants us.

A lot of people like to quote what they think is a Bible verse: "God will never give us more than we can handle". That's not necessarily the idea and those words in that order are not actually found anywhere in scripture. What people are probably referring to is a misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

The Bible is not saying that God will never give us more than we can handle---just ask Paul or Jeremiah or Job and you'll find that there are examples over and over in the Bible of those who were given more than they could bear on their own.
What Paul is saying is that God will not give us more than we can handle with him. As long as we are in right relationship with God and attempting to walk within his will, we will be able to recognize him right there beside us, guiding and directing through the most difficult of circumstances.

Paul describes God's provision of help in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9: "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."


Many of us will go through trials of different sizes and severities and many of them will be impossible for us to bear on our own. We are very weak children. However, we have a great big God who delights in carrying us through the impossibly stormy times. What better place to be than right within the will of God!

This article was published in Issue #88 of The Christian Home magazine.

Linking with:
Wisdom Wednesdays @ Simply Helping Him 
Growing Home
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