FMF: Gratitude

Happy Friday, most lovely friends!

Today is that special day of the week: Five Minute Friday!! Every week Lisa Jo Baker sends out a one word writing prompt. We, the masses, then have 5 minutes to write on that word! No thinking, no editing, and no looking back. 

I love FMF because I just get to heart and brain dump and share that mess with a giant FMF loving community! I hope you will jump in as well!!

This week the word is: GRATITUDE.

GO!

Let me share this verse from Deuteronomy 12:7 the NLT:

There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.

This week I shared about celebrating Thanksgiving in April. This verse was a driving force behind my reason to host it for the second time this year.

Is God not our GOD? Aren't our lives to be poured out as living sacrifices? Trust me, I am still learning TONS about God and how to do this myself. But I still find Him so deserving of my praise. When I gathered with my family to feast and celebrate what we were thankful for, it was a small token of praise. To announce publicly that I am thankful for friends, family, and overabundance of food.

The Lord has blessed me so very richly. That is not to say that I don't have problems, just like everyone else I do. But I yearn to find that little nugget, that tiny piece of joy in every day. Reminding myself of the goodness of God, of what He has blessed me with, changes my perspective every time.

I rejoice in what God has blessed me with. It is all, every little bit, HIM. If I could host a thanksgiving meal everyday with my family, I would! Don't wait once a year to tell God and others why you are thankful; do it every day.

My heart is full of gratitude for a God who cares for me so much.

STOP!

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Thanks for stopping by The Christian Sugar Addict!

Thanksgiving in April

It all started last year. April 2013. Our baby was six months old. The weather was horrible. It kept snowing and snowing and snowing and we were trapped indoors with a young baby. We needed something to look forward too. At least in the winter there are holidays to celebrate to distract from the cold and the snow. But here in Spring?? Easter had come and gone. We had nothing to look forward too. 

So we made up a new holiday: Thanksgiving in April. We bought a turkey, invited over the family, and we all crammed into our tiny dining room and living room. Together we sat down and broke bread. I had a six month old baby, and I invited over my entire family. I cleaned, I baked, I colored, I crafted, I raised a child.

And it was wonderful. Just having that something to plan, to look forward too, raised the spirits of everyone. We could squeeze together as a family and talk and laugh and eat in the middle of a very snowy April. 

Cookie-ception

So around comes April 2014. The weather is less snowy, but still cold. And I have this desire, this ache to gather with my family once again and just give thanks. Give thanks for the returning birds, for a healthy child, for a family who loves me. So once again, we planned Thanksgiving in April. We bought a turkey, invited over the entire family, and we all crammed into my tiny living room and dining room. 

Leftover pecan pie

This time I wanted the focus to be on God, on giving thanks to Him in all things and for all things. I put together a few Bible verses and tucked one at each place setting. I asked them to share what they were thankful for. As we ate dinner, my family would read those Bible verses aloud, one by one. 

And I could feel it inside, a warming from the inside out. A joy. A love. A gratefulness. A gratefulness towards a loving and kind God. To a God who has blessed me so completely with a great family who loves the Lord. 

Throwing this dinner involved some work, but it was so worth it. To see my smiling family gathered around reading Bible verses aloud, proclaiming His goodness, giving thanks for His blessings. Thanksgiving shouldn't just be something we celebrate once a year. Stopping, pausing, Selah, is something we need in our lives on a day to day basis. Our Lord deserves our gratitude and praise on a day to day basis. Not just once a year! We need to make it a focus, to train our minds to see His good. 

For me, celebrating Thanksgiving in April is just a small way to keep my mind focused on being thankful. A reminder that hey, November has long been forgotten and is still a long way off, but we can, and should, stop and give thanks. 

I forgot to take pictures of the fam :/ Here instead a just a few of the dishes

Do you remember to give thanks to God in the day to day?? If so, how does this look for you?? If not, what is one thing you can plan today to make gratitude your focus??

A Small Picture Tour of inRLMN 2014

Here is a very brief picture tour taken with my Galaxy s4 of the in(RL)MN 2014 meeting:

Quotes from the (in)courage team were everywhere

The ladies had each table decorated so beautifully. Much need in this dreary MN spring

Our crafts were jars covered with book pages. Inside each one is a tealight

I love how mine represents me. Some ladies had perfectly organized

jars with verses or themes. I just wanted mine to be completely

covered with Christian words. "Imitators of God", communion

love, Jesus, friendship, God, and Bible verses. 

Worship. How wonderful to hear our voices praise the Lord together!!

I'm in there somewhere!! :) Note THREE babies! 

Well, I DID warn you it was going to be brief :) But I just wanted to share even just this small glimpse into what (in)RL was like, and maybe to persuade you into attending next year :)

in(RL) 2014

It has come and gone! In(rl) 2014 went by far too quickly. This was my second time attending and I was a lot less nervous than the first time. This time when I walked into the room, I was greeted by familiar faces. But I confess: I was disappointed that many faces I wanted to see weren't there. Instead there were many fresh faces. Only a selfish person would be disappointed by that. 

But God was working.

The ladies seated at my table were people I could connect with. Two other ladies have husbands who have deployed. One lovely lady I knew from the previous year and every time we chat I fall in love with her honesty and grace. Another girl and I connected over our daughters, both girls close in age. I think we could both sense the toddler-age craze in each other's eyes. We even have tentative plans for a play date!

Each lovely lady brought something wonderful to our table and our discussions. I was blown away by how God orchestrated events so I could chat and connect with these particular women. I would have loved to meet and get to know all of these ladies! But God knew who we all needed to connect with the most. He is ever faithful! 

That's not to say in(RL)MN went off without a hitch (anyone else still have ringing ears??). But lovely Amanda kept it all running so smoothly. We hardly noticed, and I dare say everyone had a fabulous time!

The theme this year was about telling our stories. I have heard and seen such wonderful bravery as a result of this conference. I am not sure I am ready to tell all of my story just yet; I think I am in the middle of mine and am still struggling to figure it out, what it is and how to work through it. Hearing all the testimonies from the lovely ladies on the video was incredibly (in)couraging. They all had such beautiful things to share. I have pages of notes and quotes in my journal!

The in(RL) conference was worth it. Make time for this conference next year, ladies. Mark it on your calendar now. Make community and relationship an importance in your life today!

Have you shared your story in real life? Have you been willing to go deep with others? Are you willing to go beyond the shallow? 

We all have a story, and I am desperate to hear yours.

1 John 1:9

Join the GROW linkup with Faith at Faith, Fun, and The Fergusons!! This past week we spent time meditating on 1 John 1:9. 

Way back in the day we looked at 2 John 1:9, so now we jump ahead exactly one chapter to 1 John 1:9!
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (NLT)

So lovely people, this week has happened. Things have happened. And so I present to you some bullet points :)

• What God calls us to do: confess. Simply confess. If we don't confess, He can't forgive. Confessing means we feel bad, contrite, about our actions. We understand we did wrong and want to change. Actually admitting and coming to terms with our wrong (aka sin), softens our hearts and we are ready to receive God's gift of forgiveness. If we don't acknowledge our wrongdoing, well...why should we be forgiven?? We obviously don't feel bad and we don't want the change. 

• Well, why do we need forgiveness?? Ooo buddy is that an important conversation. I can only offer a short reply here: Sin separates us from God (Eph 2:12) and leads to punishment (Matt. 25:41). Forgiveness leads us back to holiness (aka GOD) and eternal life (Romans 6:23, Titus 3:7). And if God is Love (1 John 4:16), that is where I want to be! Loving and being loved for all eternity?? Sign me up!! And isn't that how that famous quote goes: "The greatest thing in life is to love and be loved.." My answer: more JESUS

• God is faithful and just==can I get an AMEN??! Interesting that it is tied to our confessions and forgiveness here. I think it relates to Philippians 1:6 which says "For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." See my co-relation there? No? Well, God sees our sin and he can't stand sin. God wants us to be holy, just like he is the very Holy (1 Peter 1:16). He wants to perfect us, He wants us to be our best, but like I alluded to in bullet point #1, we have to be willing. God is faithful to not leave us where we are at. And thank God (thanks God!) that that is the Gospel Truth!

How did you like my bullet points? :) But I hope that both you and I can drive this point home. All we have to do is admit we did something wrong/bad/sinful. That's probably the easiest part, right?? To realize we aren't perfect and made a mistake? Okay, well not always. But it IS pretty important. If we want to grow and have a booming relationship with God, we need to start with confession. 

Do make a point to confess regularly? I know it is an area I need work in! Even more important, do you believe the truth of Philippians 1:6??

Matthew 6:14-15

Join the GROW linkup with Faith at Faith, Fun, and The Fergusons!! This past week we spent time meditating on Matthew 6:14-15.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)

These verses are pretty hefty! Both verses seem to carry a "If, Then" statement. If you forgive others, then God will forgive you. However, I don't think Jesus was laying down a conditional statement. He wasn't trying to hold something over our head and make us work for it. The Bible makes it very clear that we never have to work for our redemption (Eph. 2:8-9). We only need to accept Jesus as our Savior, and then we get to approach God's throne boldly knowing we are a Child of God (Heb 4:16). Rather, I think that if we aren't forgiving others two things will result:

1. We will have a hard time receiving and understanding God's forgiveness for our own sins. If we live with hard, hurting hearts, what will make us believe we ourselves are truly forgiven? Instead we feel like we have to work for forgiveness, to make up for our wrong, until we see ourselves as 'even' again. This is not God's intention! Jesus came to Earth as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), to be slain and take our sins upon himself. If I may be so bold to say, in not forgiving, we are reserving judgment that should be God's alone (Ecc 12:14) and thus setting ourselves up to be equal to God. *gulp!!* Instead, we should humble ourselves and accept the Lord's free gifts!! Let us rejoice in being made clean in the blood of the Lamb! (a reminder to all that I preach to me before anyone else).

2. By not forgiving others we are committing sin! Jesus tells us specifically to forgive others (Matt 18:21-22) over and over. So by not forgiving others we are committing a sin that drives us farther away from God! eep! Cyclical. Having a hard heart creates a wedge between ourselves and God. What a bummer. Ultimately, when we sin, we are only hurting ourselves. The reason God warns us away from certain things is because they are harmful to us. --->that alone could be a whole different topic!

Major Takeaway: God tells us to forgive others to save us from a hard heart that will ultimately hurt us more than it will hurt the one we are angry at.

I am not downplaying anyone's hurts or trying to make it sound like it is easy to forgive. If anyone can hold a grudge, it is me! Half the time I don't realize I'm holding a grudge until I lash out :( But here, in these two short passages God tells us, me, how important it is to forgive, and receive forgiveness. I shared some brief, and very heavy, stuff today. Forgiveness is an important and vast topic. I am merely looking at a snippet in these two verses.

Before I sign off...take a peek at the verses right before Matthew 6:14-15....it is the Lord's Prayer! I think it says something that immediately after teaching the apostles to pray, Jesus tells them to forgive. But that my friends is another thought for another day :)

Have you linked up with GROW yet?? I'm jumping back in full force and can't wait to read all the wonderful posts talking about forgiveness. If you have any tips or resources on forgiving, share them below! We could all use help in this area! :)

Thanksgiving Day Thoughts

Guten Tag Bloggy!

I joined in with Good Morning Girls the past 2 weeks to study Thanksgiving in the Bible. It was the first time they offered one of their plans on the YouVersion Bible app. This was SUUPPER helpful because I had the plan and verses on my person always (what does that say about me and my phone??).

As we reflect on giving thanks this Thanksgiving Eve, I couldn't help but share my S.O.A.P. thoughts on 2 Corinthians 9:11-12. Much of the first two weeks were spent thinking about what it means to give thanks, how thanks and praise are always hand-in-hand, and making sure God receives the glory of our thanksgiving. This verse, however, shifted our focus on to helping others give thanks to God as well. 

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 (NLT): "Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those in need, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving--the needs of believers...will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God."

I hope just by reading those wonderful words alone you can feel the meaning and action they call for. If not, let me help you think of it another way by sharing my observations.

First, this isn't a verse that is about me giving thanks to God, but rather helping others 'joyfully express their thanks to God'. 

This is magnificent. Personally, we have too much to give thanks and praise to God about, but don't we want others to find joy in the same way?? Shouldn't our friends and family find the same joy we do in giving thanks to our Lord? And as a friend and family member we should help them find joy!

This verse claims we will be enriched (by God...our personal blessings!) so that we can be generous towards others with those same gifts. Our blessings are not to be harbored, put up on some sort of shelf to admire and dust off every few months when we remember. God blessed us in every way so that we can turn around and be generous! And this doesn't just apply to our blessings of time and money. Too many people think 'God hasn't blessed me with an abundance of money lately. Oh well!' and forget that we can share any and all blessings God has given us. Do you have the blessing of a new stove?? Bake a gift for a friend who is down in the dumps. Did God bless you with some sweet new knitting needles? Knit some baby hats to donate. Did God bless you with two bathrooms to clean? Share them with neighbors or pamper a new mom. The possibilities are endless! 

And when we share our gifts with those in need, they in turn will turn to God with thanks and praise. That should be our goal and motivator. Not the warm fuzzy feelings we get for helping others, but for the fact that our generosity could bring glory and praise back to God our Father. 

Before we part ways and celebrate by eating 100s of pounds in food, may I suggest two things?? First, consider checking out Compassion International's Gift Catalog. They have so many wonderful options for helping others around the world at different price points. Consider donating and making it your gift for a family member! 

Also, Good Morning Girls are doing a similar study for Advent! It also will be offered on your YouVersion app! Surrounding myself daily with verses on thanksgiving was such a blessing and really kept my mind on the season and God. Join in! It starts next Monday!

Undivided Mom Launch Week!

Undivided Mom: Finding Christ in the Chaos of Motherhood by Kayse Pratt
Visit the launch page!!
Amazon Description:

If you’ve got motherhood all figured out, this book isn’t for you. Carry on.

If you’re one of the rest of us, struggling through the miracle, you’re in the right place, friend.

Undivided Mom is a devotional for moms who feel distracted, pulled in a million different directions, and really just desperately need Jesus to keep them from losing their ever-loving minds. It’s about mothering with a vision, with a purpose, for His glory, and through His strength.

This is a book for anyone who is longing to find a glimpse of Christ in the chaos of everyday motherhood.

It’s for you. For me. For all of us.

 I was a part of the launch team for this ebook! Purchase the ebook on Amazon for $4.99. (10/913)

My Thoughts:
Let me first state: This book is WAAAY too short!! Kayse Pratt does a fantastic job in this devotional. She easily covers all bases; Biblical devotions mixed with life devotions 50/50. This 14 day devo uses it's odd days to study verses from the Gospel of Luke and it's even days to help moms glimpse God in the everyday chaos. The odd days also include some "Think it Over" points to help you carry God's Word throughout the day, this is a MUST for a great devotional. I just fell in love with Pratt's writing and wished for more!

Personally, this devo was a challenge for myself.

 

Grab a cup of coffee and join me over at Sunrise Avenue to check out my review on this fantastic resource from Kayse Pratt!

Psalm 19:14

Join the GROW linkup with Faith at Faith, Fun, and The Fergusons!! This past week we spent time meditating on Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (NLT)

Last week we looked at how our tongues can misbehave and 'ruin everything'. This week is the complete opposite side of the coin. Our words do have heavy power over our lives, but they can bring good and blessings just as well as curses and hurt. After feeling the conviction of misusing my words, it is relieving to turn around and find a positive way to use them instead.

In this verse we are reminded that our words are like an offering to the Lord. We want our words to be pleasing to the Lord. This should be a daily prayer! "May the words of my mouth be pleasing to you today, God. Let me speak sweet, soft words the encourage and uplift." Ugh. How many days do we regret something that we have said? How many days do we find ourselves wishing we would have whispered this prayer before getting out of bed? 

Doing this for my family, is hard. Let's face it family can get on your nerves like no one else. It can be incredibly easy to snap at them when they day is loud and hectic and the house is chaos. Speaking pleasing words for my own sake, doing it for a challenge or just doing it on my own, would be even worse. I wouldn't even last one day. But our motivation is this: "..be pleasing to YOU, O Lord.." My motivation for speaking soft words instead of sharp words in the moment of chaos, is to please the Lord. When we can do that we are truly emanating Jesus, because only by the grace of God is it possible. Choosing kindness in a heated moment is contrary to our human nature. It is not natural, it's supernatural. 

Is this still a challenge? Heck yes! But once I look at it as a way to please the Lord, I am much more willing. Our heart's cry should be to pursue holiness and please the Lord; to hear God say "Well done, faithful child" when we reach our earthly end. If by choosing my words more carefully can make God smile down on me, I know I must do my best, I must take it seriously. 

Again in this verse, we see the mouth and heart connected. What comes out of our hearts will lead to our mouths so both must be pleasing to God. We can only speak these pleasing words, if we place pleasing words in our hearts. Spending time in God's Word is essential. This one, simple, profound fact is what is at the root of all our word verses. Tongues flowing with honey is simply not.possible. without first planting the Word of God in your heart. 

Conclusion? We've already learned that our tongue can easily ruin our lives. Now we see how what we say can bring a smile to God's face. Quite obviously, the tongue is something we really must quick a tight bridle on! The importance of these verses is hitting me smack in the face and I know this is something I need to pray for stat. Psalm 19:14 is going to become my morning mantra. I pray it becomes yours as well. 

Thanks for stopping by friends! Do you pray over your word choices? Will you start now? 

Proverbs 13:3

This week's GROW verse was Proverbs 13:3 "Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,

    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin." (NIV). This week, I really enjoyed a mash up of NIV and NLT verses. I will add the whole NLT here:" Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
    opening your mouth can ruin everything."

Zech Mash Up Translation: Those who guard their lips preserve their lives; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

This month as GROW focuses on the words of our hearts, I am feeling particularly convicted. I don't want to admit to myself, much less a lovely group of women, how awful my tongue is. There is no guard on my tongue. I get angry, I try to bite my tongue, but it builds up inside and end up spewing even worse. I need a guard, and that guard is the Living Word of God, so this month I am challenging myself to listen. To not shy away. To not avoid. God may convict, but He does not condemn! 

What is the importance of guarding my lips?? It preserves my life!!! This doesn't mean that if I speak a harsh word I will keel over on the spot. I am sure we have all referenced Luke 6:45 at least once "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (NIV).

When I speak harshly, I am displaying what is really in my heart. If my heart is really full enough of anger to speak harshly, I do not have enough Jesus love in my heart. If I do not have enough Jesus love in my heart, I am sinning, sinning, sinning and thus slowly dying, dying, dying. The Word of God brings life! Yet if I do not have that stored in my heart I am not truly living. I guess that makes me some sort of zombie!!

So guarding my lips preserves my life, both here on earth as I work to keep my lips and thus heart clean, and in the afterlife, 'storing up treasures in heaven'. THAT seems rather important. 

The second part of the Zech Mash Up Translation seems pretty apparent to me. "Opening your mouth can ruin everything". Everything. Everything. Your children, stung by harsh words. Your friendships, over in a blink. Your marriage, slowly corroded by bitterness. Your walk with God, losing life with anger instead of gaining life through storing up the Word. Everything in your life will be touched and affected, unless you can guard your mouth. 

If this week's GROW verse doesn't show us the importance of watching what we say, I don't know how we will ever get the message. Watching what we say will be hard at first, sometimes we may literally need to put our hand over our mouth to keep from saying what comes up. But by replacing those words with His Words.....slowly, but ever surely, we will get there. Our first response will one day be soft, gentle, God-filled words. And they will bring life.

Anyone else further along the path on this than me?? Share your tips, helpful verses, or other thoughts below! Meet you there!

Hebrews 10:24-25

Hello, all my lovely GROW friends! I missed you all last week! I got pretty sick and didn't do much of anything Internet related for the whole week. Even still I am under the weather. I am also trying to draft this post with Hubby and Baby Girl hanging on me, so please bear with any incoherent thoughts. This will also probably be short! But, I didn't want to miss out on another GROW linkup, especially in light of this week's verse!!

The verse this week was Hebrews 10:24-25: "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." 

Uff-da! Is it just me or are these verses just heavy?!

Verse 24 is just fantastic. I feel like it should be the motto of my life. Let us think of ways to motivate one another. Okay. Let's get real, friends. How can I motivate you to acts of good works?? In which ways can I help you in acts of love?? God didn't want us to just say "Ah, what a mighty good verse. We should do that" and part ways.

Let's get practical. 

I feel that the GROW link-ers are pretty close. Each week we spend our time contemplating the same verse, looking at it from all angles, growing close to God, and sharing our thoughts and insights with each other. GROW is one way to motivate each other. But who is willing to take it the next step? Our GROW posts motivate us to think about God and grow in our walk, but how can we motivate each other to acts of love and good works? This is where God really wants to take us.

I am dying to read everyone else's posts on this verse!!

Verse 25 is just as involved. We cannot neglect meeting with each other. It's why I am here, writing brief thoughts to share with you. I didn't want to neglect meeting with you again. The importance of meeting with other Christian friends hides in the last bit "especially now that they day of his return is drawing near".

I think we all know how much of a struggle this life can be. Motherhood is tough. The world is changing so fast. Our children will be growing up in a world where videos like Miley Cyrus' latest is the norm. We need to be meeting together and encouraging one another. As the day of God's return draws near, it is going to get worse. As Christians, we will have nothing but each other to turn to on this earth, to look to for parenting help, homemaking help, work place help, educational advice... But if we become wrapped up in our own little busy worlds, if we neglect our time together, we miss all of that, and we miss community that God intends for us.

We need to stick together, we need to be a team, we need to be community. Not where we just check in, get something for ourselves, but where we check in, connect, spend time, pray, and pour into others.

This verse motivates me! I hope it motivates you as well :)

How can we get practical?  Share some ways I can help motivate you to acts of love and good works!! 

September 2013 Goals

First, a review of August!!!

Ten Goals for August 2013

1. Read at least 5 fiction books.

2. Read at least 3 non-fiction books. Read 2: 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge and Desperate. 

3. Workout at least 2x a week.  I did once a week! Go me. I went on frequent walks with hubby, but don't consider it a workout per se, because we bring baby in stroller and stroll around. 

4. Have "mommy time" 1x a week.  Not even close ://

5. Complete 1 ''big'' cleaning project each week.  mostly :D 

6. Finish season 6 of Doctor Who with Hubby.  And beyond! We should be finishing season 7.2 soon!

7. Complete the "Anything" study from GMG (although I finished the book I didn't finish the study. Oops.)

8. Try 2 new recipes. I tried a new banana bread glaze and an orzo recipe. 

9. Choose 5 signs for Selah and really focus on them all month long. (I have been signing with Selah since 6 or 7 months old. She recognizes "eat" and kind of "more", but I really want to put more focus on this to cut out some frustrations) I stuck with the two signs, 'eat' and 'more', but when I do other signs like 'book' or 'ball' she watches intently.

10. Complete one large craft.   I did some glass painting on my tall drinking glasses. I will try to remember to share a picture soon! 


So, five of my ten goals were completed. Others made good progress and came close. Others weren't even touched. In lieu of this, I think I am going to cut back on my September goals, setting only 5. 

Five Goals for September 2013

1. Workout 2x a week.

2 . Read 3 non-fiction books.

3. Plan and craft for Baby Girl's 1st Birthday Party

4. Complete one large craft.

5. Try 1 new Crockpot Recipe

A short list mayhaps, but hefty goals. #3 will require lists upon lists of its own! Since it is her first and it is really just for me :) I want to plan something nice. Her birthday is in October, so if I can get some of the craftiness done in September, I know I can do some nice things by hand to keep costs down. 

Tell me, what are your September goals? Have any End of the Summer plans? Any Fall Bucket list items you can't wait to check off??

Colossians 3:16

Time for another fantastic GROW Tuesday! I added my GROW graphic late this time around, just yesterday. I have to admit: I am very disorganized this week. I usually write out my posts the weekend before the week starts, but I didn't get a chance to do that this time. I had a busy, albeit fun, weekend full of family, food, and friends. So I am BEHIND! It is why I am writing and posting this post so late. I also probably won't be able to read the other great blogs until tonight or tomorrow. Maybe as a result this will be a short post?? :DD

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." 

First, I got hung up on the words 'dwell' and 'richly'. What does it mean to dwell richly?? Dwell means to 'retain for a time' 'to keep attention directed' or 'to speak or write insistently'. Wow. Already I could add layers of meaning to this verse. But still I continued...

Webster says richly is defined as: -in a rich manner -in full measure or similar to AMPLY: -generous or more than adequate -generously sufficient to satisfy a requirement or need. 

And right there, I found myself inundated with meaning. No need to go further into the verse, I am stuck here. So let's be stuck together.

Zech Translation of Colossians 3:16a "Let the Word of God remain in you, keeping your attention focused, speaking and writing continuously of it until it becomes sufficient to satisfy your God sized hole."  

This small part of Colossians 3:16 feels like a cumulation of 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 John 1:9. First, we learned what scripture was useful for, then we hammered home the importance of learning Scripture, and now I feel we are looking at what to do with the God-breathed Word.

What do we do with it? We remain in it. That means we stay, we park, we don't move from. This is exactly what GROW is all about. One verse a week and we set up camp and we remain. As a group and individually we keep our attention on this verse until God speaks life into us. Goosebumps here folks.

Then we speak and write continuously. When the Word is etched on our hearts, it will overflow out of us, we won't be able to stop speaking and writing about God. We will tell our friends about what we have learned, we will tell Facebook and Twitter, we will gush about God to our families. Then our hands will itch for the pen and fresh, blank page and we will write. We will write our verses back out to God, simultaneously writing them onto our hearts, burying them in our minds. Our relationship with God will GROW (see what I did there?) and our lives will never be the same. Soon our fingers will take the words to our blogs and online journals and the world will glimpse our learning words. Hopefully it inspires, hopefully they are interested and the Living Lord takes root in their hearts as well.

Praise the Wonders of God!!

Before I run off and sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God, I better explain the last thing we can do with 3:16a. We let it become sufficient in our lives. I never liked the word sufficient much. It just doesn't sound strong enough. So forgive me as I use 'more than enough' in place of 'sufficient'. As we write and speak and share and GROW ;) we let the Word have a home in our hearts. And those God shaped holes I touched on last week, are filled. Instead of searching for ...just stuff we search for only God. We begin to realize and see how He is more than enough for our lives, our problems, our joys.

I am beginning to see how the Word is more than enough for my life.

Before I close: I am stressing about life right now. I coach cheerleading and the school season kicks off next week with practices during baby's naptime and football games during baby's bedtime. Hubby works at night and can't watch her for me. I need to keep the job to pay for tickets to my lovely friend's wedding in February. I am not sure what to do, I am not sure how it is all going to work out. I have been stressin', avoidin', bitin' my nails.......but maybe. just maybe. I can let the Word be more than enough in my life. So if you have a moment, a second, would you pray? Would you pray that I can learn to let the Word of God be more than enough in my life? Thank you dear friends :)

Thank you for stopping by friends. I do so hope you join us for the GROW linkup if you haven't yet. Start this week and add your thoughts about Colossians 3:16 to the Facebook group or link up next week with a fresh verse!! See you there!

Bible Verse...Monday!!

Late again. Who here is surprised?? :D

The GROW linkup verse of the week is Colossians 3:16 "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts."

So much goodness here!! I can't wait to read everyone's posts and thoughts about this rich verse. I feel like I need to do three separate posts, one for each sentence!

Image courtesy of Nuttapong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Life blurb: Spent Sunday afternoon at the Great Minnesotan Get-Together! And it was HOT! Oh my word. Normally I can go a whole day, but yesterday I made it only four hours before the heat gave me a headache and I had to head home. I also didn't get to eat much. As soon as I walked in the gates I made a beeline for the Food Building and bought the best cheese curds money can buy. Then we trucked over to Big Fat Bacon, on a stick of course. Best bacon of my life. I wish I had pictures to share, but I took them all on my phone and they won't sync up with my computer :((( YET

Eventually we met up with some of our lovely, great friends. It made my day to insert some Doctor Who into the conversation :) Nothing new there! We all ate and walked and talked and ate and walked. I am so glad I got to go this year and even more thankful that I got to go with friends! 

Sadly, I didn't make to any of the animal buildings which was especially sad because they had rabbits yesterday. I also didn't get to see any of the newscasters in action which is always great fun. 

People---I don't know if you know this but the Minnesota State Fair is the BEST! We don't ask IF you are going to the fair we ask WHEN you are going. Most Minnesotans would consider these 12 days close to sacred and right up there after Christmas and Thanksgiving. I haven't always had a chance to go, but when I do, I eat until I am stuffed and love every minute!! 

Does you love your state fair?? Tell me your favorite part!!

2 John 1:9

Time for another GROW Tuesday! This week's verse was 2 John 1:9. I am going to be open and upfront: I struggled more this week than last. I read the verse several times made my little verse graphic, but I just wasn't connecting with it. Then I finally got the bright idea to read the verse in another translation :) The NLT version opened up my eyes a bit more; I felt like I could finally focus.

NLT: "Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son."

Zech translation :)) Anyone who wanders away, distracted by earthly things from the God-breathed Word, has no relationship with God, and is in a hell. BUT! But if we abide and obey the God-breathed Word, we are loved and known by Father and Son.

Two words or phrases stuck out to me this week. The first is 'wanders'. To me, wanders means gradual distraction. When I wander about the house, I feel aimless, unattached, easily distracted by shiny things. Webster defines wander as "to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal". Other synonyms it gives are ramble, meander, stray, err.

I understand this completely.

I've laid out my pens, my journal, my Bible, my Bible Study. I got my HelloMornings spotify playlist going in the background. Baby is asleep. Ah. Time to connect with God. Before I get started though, I should check my email one last time so it won't distract me later. Wow, someone mentioned me on Twitter, better find out who otherwise it will bug me. Oh that was sweet of her, I better Tweet back. Yay! She is on! AND I was supposed to Facebook my other coach back......which reminds me I better message the captains about bows....I have to find my etsy link for that list.....wow, look at this bow, or THIS bow! It'd be PERFECT! I better message all of them right now...

Ok, ok. I am sure you get the point. This happens to me just about every time I sit down to study God's Word. I have to forcibly remove myself from these things and make time for them AFTER. But perhaps wander isn't just about the small things, perhaps it is about the big things as well. Perhaps we tell ourselves, this time our walk with God will be different, purposeful. But then again, just like all the other times, LIFE gets in the way. Jobs, kids, husbands, cleaning, planning. Next thing we know, we look around and we are so. far. from. God. 

John said we aren't just far from God, but that we have no relationship with God! This would be horrific. Relationship is the second word that stuck out to me as I read through this verse. I don't think I have to explain or define this word. It is something we all innately crave, relationships with others. We want to be known, we want to be loved, we want to be truly known and loved anyways. Why do you think so many women sign up for HelloMornings, Good Morning Girls, book clubs, MOPS, and mom's groups? But the relationship we truly crave and can only ever fill that hole in us, is God. I preach to me first here.

And John tells us that if we wander, meander, ramble aimlessly from the Word...we will not have relationship!! Are you scared yet?? I can't imagine not having a relationship with my husband, or daughter, but then I think about the Creator of the Universe and how badly I do need Him. I never want to be away from Him! But the great news?? We don't have to lose this relationship at all! We can make a choice!!

And here is where it finally gets practical: We need to be reading the WORD! 2 John 1:9 tells us that if we remain in this teaching we have a relationship with Father and Son. All we have to do is read the Bible. Sometimes that seems overwhelming, that is why something like GROW or SOAP is so great. Just pick one verse, one tiny verse and read it, try to apply it to your life, and then pray. It doesn't have to be fancy just "God be here, show me You in this verse. Amen." If you pray and read the Word, God will respond!!




So, if you made it through this essay. I love you. If you read the highlights, we are BFFs. If I rambled (wandered? :) ) on too much, I am sorry. I write to figure things out myself; I can only hope I am coherent. 

How I Blog!

As you may have noticed, I am a fan of How They Blog by Kat Lee. I shared her blog planning kit HERE and I am still using it! Recently, Kat sent out an email asking us to fill out a form about how we blog if we wanted to be considered for a feature. As cool as that would have been, I don't think I have awesome enough knowledge to share with the fabulous bloggers out there in the world. Still, I thought it would be fun to answer some of the questions here on my blog, for funsies. 

My blogging story:
Well, it honestly started when I was back in high school. Probably when I was 16, so ten years ago? Wow. My friends and I all had a blog at livejournal, which TRUST ME was very different 10 years ago. We all had a 'blog' where we shared our innermost thoughts and then we read them all and chatted. Very odd. Very angsty teenager. Eventually the site notified everyone that they wanted to become a pay-to-use site. All our posts were instantly lost! No grandfathering in.

Jump ahead to August 2011. I had been reading some blogs about being a wife and Christian and decided to jump in. I started with sharing random tips, baking, and thoughts about my walk as a Christian. As the years have passed, I have tapered off, and then came back, and tapered off, and etc. I really enjoy the idea of blogging and sharing in community with other wonderful women. Last month, I also started a book blog which I am LOVING! I have always been a book nerd and it is so wonderful to have a place to be truly nerdy with like-minded nerds :)

My Writing Process:
Not very detailed. I keep my ideas on a lovely blog ideas list. You can find many of these all over the web, including one in the How They Blog planning kit. I prefer color and so use the one found HERE. I also keep a running list on Evernote. I love how I can access that list on my computer, phone, or Ipad.

Sometimes I rough draft or outline a post in my blogging journal, sometimes if I have time I write out the whole thing. Then I open up my blogger and type away! I have never lost a post accidentally, but I am sure my time is coming :) I then give it a quick edit, label it, and either save as a draft or publish! Most posts take me 30 minutes to an hour to type up. I am not a 'fancy' blogger, so I don't always have tons of photos to edit, or SEO to follow.

Some of my favorite gadgets and apps:
The only apps I use on my phone (Galaxy s4 represent!) that relate to blogging is Instagram, Twitter, and Hootsuite. I mentioned that I use Evernote for keeping lists, ideas, and half drafted posts sometimes. I also frequently use Feedly to catch up on blog reading when I am out and about.

I don't have a DSLR and I am no longer enjoying the quality of photos my point and shoot produces. Almost all pictures I take these days are taken with my phone. I edit photos in either PicMonkey or Ipiccy, depending on my mood. I also use Evernote and Hootsuite on my laptop, which is not a Mac thank goodness, but a Asus something something with Windows and Office 2000 on it. Not having at least the 2007 suite is killing me!

How I manage social media:
This is still a work in progress. I usually read my Feedly in one bulk go. This means I am processing several wonderful blog posts that I would love to share on Twitter. I often use Hootsuite to schedule these for the day, sometimes 2 days in advance. I do feel bad about not actually being present on Twitter then, but I like promoting good reads and bloggers. This can take me about an hour every few days, combined with the actually reading as well. I try to spend no longer than that catching up on Feedly in one go.

I don't use Facebook for my blog, but do follow several blogs with my personal account. I will usually check this in the morning and give it a quick glance through. Any links that catch my eye I open in a separate tab and read over breakfast or while drinking coffee. These are usually the posts that I am most excited about. I consider Facebook, then, as a sort of preliminary Feedly check.

I do spend waaay too much time reading emails and other blogs. Especially now that I write on two different blogs and follow two different 'niches'. I check my phone all the time and do quick deletes and save other emails or posts for later. I do this while running errands or laying on the floor with Baby Girl.

Wrap up!
Well that is pretty much my blogging in a nutshell. I will have to share more details about my blogging journal and binder another time. I can't share awesome pictures of my office space with you because I don't have one! My laptop, binder, journals, pens take up my tiny four sitter square dining room table. When guests come over the laptop and papers sit on the printer...on the floor. Hopefully this will change in the somewhat near future!!


Thanks for reading my How I Blog :) I would love to hear your writing process! What are your favorite apps and gadgets??

Baby Girl Update :)

Baby Child is now 10 months old!! One more step closer to 12 months! EEP!

Getting photos of her this month was tough as she kept trying to throw herself off the couch. Thanks to her daddy for teaching her that one. 

Well she is a crawling, yelling, standing, eating fiend. Sometimes she fusses over eating with a spoon and only wants finger foods so I am having a stressful time trying to find a safe variety of foods for her. No hubby, peanut butter toast is not okay. 

She is getting smarter and smarter. Baby Girl recognizes 'eat' and 'more' in sign, but still refuses to do them back. Once I do the sign, she gets excited and then goes into whinny mode til she gets her 'more'. We watch Baby Signing Times 1-2x a week together.

Another sign she is growing up: she has been wanting to put herself down for her naps and bedtimes. But only sometimes. So suffice it to say, naps and bedtimes have been a bit stressful for me lately. I never know when she wants to put herself down, and when she doesn't, she resists like the devil. 

Baby Child is making friends left and right. She loves other kids and babies and tries to hand them toys and smack them on the face out of love. I am glad she already has a little 'network' of friends, a little boy younger than her and a girl older than her and yet the same size. I am also looking at a MOPS group and mom's group at a local church where hopefully she can make more friends. 

Next month I am going into full out birthday planning mode because I won't be able to wait much longer :))

Have a lovely weekend friends!

A Bible Verse Wednesday Day GROW Edition

*UPDATED*

For the rest of August my Wednesday quotes will be the GROW verses. See THIS PAGE for the deets on the GROW linkup.

This week's verse is 2 John 1:9

I like doing this, it gets me starting to think about the verse for the week! 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

GROW Linkup!

Hello loveys!

GROW is a brand new linkup started by these lovely ladies:

Kelsey from Faith, Fun and the Fergusons
Faith from Artistic 31 Mama (soon to be Artistic Hands of Faith)
Melissa from Numbering Our Days
Vanessa from Hearts on Guard

GROW is an acronym designed to help us study scripture.

Check out my own pinnable graphic HERE.

Each Tuesday these lovely ladies will give us a verse. We then have a whole week to meditate on it before sharing our thoughts on it the next Tuesday. Here is an example post from Kelsey @ Faith, Fun and the Fergusons. This week's verse was 2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness."

God's Word is alive, active, relevant to my life and the world. There are verses to lead me, verses to reveal my rebellion, verses to guide me back to the path, and verses to lead me into righteousness and holiness before God.

I need to take advantage of this free and loving gift, to wrap my arms about it and hold it so close it melds into my body, heart, soul. 

I am looking for guidance in my life. I am reading through Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. I'm struck with how I am the ''crazy, desperate'' mom model. I thought this was normal! And of course they are talking about mentorships and mom groups, but as I think about this verse, I see how the teaching I'm looking for can be found right in my Bible. Bibles are so accessible these days. I have about 80 in my house and then of course the one I use the most is the one on my phone :/

Then there is the part of me that sees what I read and feel overwhelming pressure to do it all. To live right, avoid sin, exude God's love and peace, raise Godly children. It's then I need the rebuking and correcting that God provides. I'm not meant to do it all or wait til I have it together. I need merely be still, accept Jesus, and let Him do the work for me. He already has.

I need to learn to slow my pace, work on one thing at a time, as it were, until its fully learned. Training is like teaching, but tempered by correction and the leading of God. To stop, slow down, and train myself in righteousness til patience, kindness, gentleness are first nature. Yet keeping in mind Who is really in charge and Who I surrender my obedience too. 

As Paul teaches Timothy, all Scripture is God-breathed. This means living and active and relevant. Each verse a treasure trove of God wisdom waiting to find a home in my heart. I pray I can keep the Word a priority and let it teach, rebuke, correct, and train me. 

What are your thoughts on 2 Timothy 3:16? Is Scripture real and relevant in your life??

And MAKE SURE TO LINK UP! It's open all week! :)