I just purchased two Ebooks that I think are going to be good:) The first is one that I hope can enlighten me on how to get my suddenly disobediante newly 4 year old girl to OBEY! Its called conveniantly enough- Getting your Children to Obey and its by Kelly at Generation Cedar. If you don't know about this family and their current situation. Please hop on over to A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and read about how God is Mighty to Save!!!

The 2nd purchase I made this morning is 31 Days to Clean by Sarah from Like a Warm Cup of Coffee. Iv already paged though it and I think that this will be a real blessing for my home!

Okay, I'm off to do some reading! Please pray for all those who have lost life and homes in the ravaged states in the South. And please be generous with the blessings God has given you by passing it on to those in need.
     Feed the hungry,
      and help those in trouble.
     Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
      and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
      The LORD will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
     You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.
Isaiah 58:10-11

Sense of Community

Where has our sense of community gone?? I mean really this has been bugging me so much lately. Let me state first off that I am not, I repeat NOT a social person naturally. I have to really try to put myself out there and deliberately take action to interact with others outside of my little family. I know though that the Lord wants us to be in community with each other and this is something that He has been working out in my life. So I guess it makes sense that He has sparked this desire in my heart to see people come together.

Recently my grandmother said these words to me..." I never see you guys anymore and I feel like I'm being pushed out". Wow that cut me. Why, regardless of her own motives in saying that to me, should my children not be seeing their GREAT grandmother on a regular and frequent basis??? Most people I know never even knew their great grandparents.
And then the other night Big Daddy and I were talking and he was saying how he'd like to see more frequent potlucks at our church.
Then I posted something to the effect of wanting to plan a monthly get together on Facebook and my cousin said her husband has been thinking the same thing.

Why is it people spend so much time working to get the things they want only to of lost so much time with the people they love??? Its just so silly!

So I'm going to try to plan a eat out for June. Weather should be good and kids will be out of school. I hope its something that will catch on.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

Protect our girls-

"Girls, like those on Toddlers & Tiaras, that are throwing tantrums, calling themselves divas, and saying to their mothers “I can do whatever I want” will grow up to be women who are brash, conceited, self-worshiping, and find value in their sexuality. They will be the queens and princesses on the throne of their heart, unless they let God become ruler of their hearts."

 Read the Full Article Here

1 for 2011

She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness. 

So this year I have a goal of seeing our family's routine go from sketchy to wonderful!
Its not that we have to be boring about it or stick to our routine and system like its law. But a good household routine and system for getting the things that need to be done in place helps make the rest of life more enjoyable.

I've been reading Large Family Logistics.
And its given me some really great tips and ideas! So Iv been trying to implement some new routines and home management techniques to keep things running smoothly around here. So far, the house is looking better then ever, I feel less stressed and the children are doing well with there routines also!
I highly recommend the book, even if you only have one child.

Another tool Iv found that I just love is Money Saving Mom's Daily Docket. Love it!!! You can customize the PDF file to fit your life and it has really helped me out big time!!

Lists, To Do's, Planning....

So I think instead of nesting in this pregnancy, I'm listing;)
I have this insatiable need to make al sorts of lists. Calenders, to do's, schedules, plans. But this is a good thing...well actually its a great thing! Because for me there is nothing more satisfying then marking off a item on my to do list!!
So although I don't have the urge to nest (just yet) I have a list of nesting items on my to do (in fact I have a 8 week schedule of tasks, it started today)and each item I get to mark off is so one more way I can prepare for Baby:)

One list I have and will be starting to check off is a freezer meal plan.
Here are some things that I will be cooking and freezing for after baby's arrival.
Seasoned taco meat
Meat Loaf
Chicken and Dumplings
Potato Soup
Mashed potatoes
Meat ball marinara
Chili
Chocolate chip cookies (for the holidays of course)
Banana nut bread
Blueberry muffins
Pancakes
Chocolate chip butterhorns
pie crusts (again for the holidays)
And I'm stocking up on things like frozen veggies, shredded cheese (it freezes great in small portions), canned items such as refried beans.
Anyway, that is just the start of my list, I "plan" on having a month worth of meals, plus some extras premade for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Oh yeah I'm also addressing Christmas cards this week!

Proverbs 19:14, says, "House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, BUT A PRUDENT WIFE IS FROM THE LORD."
Im sure Big Daddy will appreciate all the meal prep when baby is here, after all I know I'll be spending my time feeding baby and not cooking in the kitchen:)

Completling Him Challenge!

Here's a great summer challenge that will undoubetly improve your marriage!!

This summer from June 7th to August 9th, Courtney over at Women Living Well
is having a wonderful challenge! Check out this video that gives a run down on the fun-


Hope y'all will join in, head over now to link up!

Memory Verse

I just stumbled upon Good Morning Girls! this morning and I am so happy I did!
Although I'm not part of a group in my area, I'm still looking forward to learning and growing over the summer with some help from this website!
Check it out, you'll be glad you did!

This weeks Verse to memorize and meditate on:

Galatians 5:22,23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Go visit the website for great tips about memorizing scripture and why you want to do it!

NEWS

We are happy to announce that we are expecting baby #3 this November!!!!

How do you Run?

How do you run? Im not talking about exercise here, because frankly I look really funny when I run.
I mean how do you run from God? Is it through false doctrine? Excuses? Living for other people instead of Jesus? Comparing yourself to others instead of Jesus?

When God calls on you how do you respond? Have you read the story of Jonah?

Just as Jonah ran from God’s presence, we run from His presence and just as God pursued Jonah and brought him to the end of himself, so too, God in His grace, brings us to the end of ourselves and offers us Himself instead.

Great Sermons here at the Mars Hill Church website.

Why I choose to believe the Bible.

"I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies, and they claim to be divine rather than human in origin."
Read more HERE.

Im Back!!

Well I'm back after a wonderful week! I have to say I'm surprised I that I didn't miss the internet as much as I thought I would. Now that TV I had a little bit of issue with, mainly because I normally watch the news early in the morning after Big Daddy leaves for work, and I found it to be a little too quiet and well...creepy with out the TV on!
But I got over it;)
Other wise I spent much more time with the kiddos and in the kitchen this week. I actually had an empty...yes EMPTY laundry basket for most of the week. Since I washed, folded and put away ALL of our laundry on Monday!
I have to say that I am much more sensitive to the internet this morning though. Of coarse I wanted to catch up on Facebook and Gmail, but I really didn't want to get sucked in. I highly recommend doing a media fast, it was one of the more interesting and productive things I have done with my time this year so far:)

Anyway, husband and I have been talking more about starting a ministry group. Ill tell you more about that another day.

Media Fast!

7 Day Media Fast

Won't you Join Me?

Next Week January 17th - 23rd

I believe as a Christian we need to cleanse our minds and hearts at times.

A refresher. A time of Repentance. Devotion. A time to regain our strength from Jesus.

Usually it can come in the form of prayer and reading God's Word.

When we prepare for Christ's Death, Burial and Resurrection by fasting before Easter, we limit food and give up things for Lent. It helps us cleanse our body and focus on what Jesus did for us sinners.

The kind of fasting I'm proposing is a media fast. A renewal, refresher, a cleansing of the mind.

We live in a culture of depravity, sex and therefore sexual sin is everywhere!

I think we have become desensitized to it, and there for more accepting of those sins we see and probably even do on a regular basis.

So between Next Sunday and Saturday turn off you TV (no dvd's, or game systems either), Don't use the internet, yup that means not even for Facebook or email (only respond to necessary work emails) or blogging. No Radio, not even talk radio. No MP3 player (its in the music we listen to also!)No magazines or newspaper. And for some this may also mean no text messaging, because lots of things get sent to our smart phone we should not be looking at or reading!

The only acceptable exception to the above rules would be listening to sermons or perhaps some previously chosen music.

I know it will be tough, especially for those who rely so heavily on Facebook, email and blogging to stay connected socially. But I promise you if those people are really your friends, you can pick up the phone and call them! Even for you bloggers this may be a great opportunity to make some real connections.

So what will you do without TV, Internet, and radio? You work like usual, come home spend time with your family pray and read the bible. That's it. What, sound boring? Its not, your just use to those sinful desires being fulfilled. You may even get creative and do somethings with your family you never had time for before.

I hope you will join me. By the following Sunday I believe you will look at the world a little different.

Where is your sin?

My husband and I recently sat down and confessed a few sins to each other. This may sound odd, especially to a non believer. But it has been one of the best thing we have ever done in our marriage.
I won't be sharing those confessions here on the blog, there is a time and place for everything, and sin confessed should be between you, God, your pastor and the person you sinned against.
For many years I thought that as long as I confessed my sin and repented with God, all was forgiven. No need to share those things with my husband of all people! But when Im wrong Ill say Im wrong!!! I was wrong. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin and was not going to let go until I confessed to my husband. And as painful as it was, once I confessed and repented for those sins, the result was glorious.
If you've sinned against your husband ladies, I urge you to prayerfully seek to be convicted of those sins, confess and repent. My husband has forgiven me for my sin and is lovingly encouraging me to change so I will not sin in those ways again.
I think alot of the time us ladies (well and men, but Im appealing to the woman here) don't even realize they are sinning against their husbands.
Here is a short list of ever so silent yet powerful ways we sin against out husbands.
Gossip- we talk about them behind their backs. We complain to our girlfriends, sisters, moms about all the things our husbands don't get right in our minds. Even the smallest statement. Example- " Oh He forgot to take out the trash, again!" heard by another and thought in our brain will bring negativity to our marriage.
Rebellion- we don't trust our husband's decisions. If your husband has a bad track record I understand you may have some fear of trusting his decision making skills. But lets face it, sometimes we think that the best way to do something is the way we do it. Example- you ask him to help out with something around the house, or with the kids, but you keep on questioning his actions...big no no. Let him do it his way, I promise the world will not come crashing down. And he will feel more confident and respected when you tell him how much you appreciate him afterwards, without jumping in to do it yourself.
Another way we sin against our husbands is- with Shame. We don't let them touch us the way they want, we don't let them see us when they want. Mark Driscoll in Song of Songs sermon, says we should be visually generous with our men. They are visual people and need to see, let him see. Don't let shame creep in and stop you from sharing with your husband that which is meant for your husband.

I would love to go into more about sexual sin on here...but I don't know how well it will be received. If anybody is reading this and is interested let me know by leaving a comment!
I leave with a quote from Martin Luther-
“our Lord and Master Jesus Christ . . . willed
the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

This post is rated R

Iv been wanting to share this on my blog for awhile now, but I really didn't know how to do it. I know you can find sex and everything you ever wanted or didn't want to know about it with out even searching for it on the web!

But this is about Biblical Sex! Did you know the bible actually has lots to say about sex? Well it does. Go read Song of Songs...and you might even blush;)

I encourage any married or single persons to go Here, Mars Hill Church Website, and watch or download and watch this sermon series on the song of songs. It will give you an eye opening view of sex according to the bible. And if you are a married couple, this series should be watched with your spouse. Trust me when I say that if you start looking at your sexual relationship with your spouse the way God intended it to be, you will have an amazing love life!


To be clear I'm advacating sex WITHIN marriage between a MAN and a WOMAN. And no where else. If you are a single person this sermon series will give you a better understanding of the opposite sex and what to prepare your heart for when you are married.

Here's a clip of some of the questions that are answered in this series.

My Goals 2010

So here is our goals for 2010-

First and foremost our financial goals.

Paying off the rest of our debt outside of our Home and car loan-

Which consists of,

Lawyer fees from last year- $800 ($100 p/mo Jan-Mar, then $500 payoff Mar 26th)

YAY!United Rental $287.97 -Jan. 8(this was the amount after Ins. paid for the accident that we owe)

Hospital balance from L/D with Madi- $1,145.87 ($100 p/mo until paid full)

Suburban- $1,200 ($400 ea mo for the next 3 months)



Put $200 in saving per month= $2,400 in Savings by December



Next Family Goals.



Better nutrition. More variety for all of us. More organic foods, better base ingredients, more fresh veggies.

Work on reading with Madi.

Less TV/internet



Marriage Goals.



Date night at least once a month.

Be more involved with Church groups.

less resistance for each others affection/ideas/plans.



Personal goals.



Me-



And this of coarse is a financial/family/couple goal, but because Ill be the one doing all the work- have baby #3!

improve sewing skills.

exercise regularly (normally I have the lose 5 lbs on my list, but this year Im going for general health since Ill be pregnant in a few months.)

read the bible in its entirety.

become less cluttered and more organized.



Russ-

Get out of debt

exercise regularly

outfit all weapons (okay I know this sounds weird, but what he wants is for his hunting rifle and shotgun to have the things on them/for them to improve their function.

Become more involved in the youth ministry at church

Master Auto LISP (its programming software he uses at work)



Of course there are many other things we want to do in 2010, I would love to take a trip to WA, but I also want to get out of debt, so if finances allow I will also go to Seattle this year.

Advent Conspiracy

Frugal Friday- Being a One Income Family

We have been a one income family for over 3 years now. Before that I had a part time child care position at our church and prior to that I worked retail. I was happy when my husband and I decided that I would exclusively stay at home with the kids. At the time I was 5 months pregnant with Madi and picking up the kiddos at the church was getting increasingly difficult. A short time after Madi was born I toyed with the idea of getting a part time job again. But the LORD lead me to continue to devote 100% to my family and my home.
And its one of the best decision we have ever made.
I think every family can do it given the right set of tools.
What tools are needed to not only survive but thrive on one income you ask? Well here's my thoughts.

Let me preface this by saying the method of living on one income when you are a family of more then two, so a Dad, a Mom and child(ren) works best when you are following Jesus, and by following Jesus you are living or trying to live biblical. So you accept and embrace the roles GOD has defined for us. Real Men and Real woman are the ones who do best and thrive on one income (aside from the wealthy of course). So the tools that have worked for us-

1. Humility. You must humble yourself to let go of all the things that you think life should look like and hand it over to God. Be humble and ask for HIS help. You can't do it on your own. Staying at home day in and out with your children is trying at the very least and you can't do it without HIS help, period.

2. Get Organized. Not just financially, but through out your home. Recently we made about $900 on EBay from selling stuff that we discovered by simple organization of our stuff! There are tons and tons of great advice and help online to get you organized. If you need links let me know!

3. You have to be Disciplined! We could have very easily taken the earnings off EBay and bought any number of things we wanted. But instead we are saving it for things we need. And you have to be disciplined enough to say no to the things you want and smart enough to know the difference between things your need and things you want.

4. Wise. You have to be prudent and seek wise counsel not only from GOD but from others who you know have their stuff together when it comes to finances. Don't seek advice about how to structure your budget from a working parent of a two income household who is drowning in credit card debt! Go to someone who's been there where you are now, perhaps a fellow member of your church, or perhaps it your own Mom!

5. You must be deliberate, not hasty. When it comes to living on one income this is important. You cannot make hasty decisions when it comes to your money or your time. Talk it over before you buy anything or schedule anything. Once you work on a budget, your not just done with it. Its a continued process, just like your schedule. Your time must be handled carefully also. You may make the mistake of thinking because you will now be staying home, you'll have more time..trust me that couldn't be farthest from the truth. So consider your time spent carefully. Before you schedule that dance class for your daughter on a whim look carefully at what time of the day it falls...is it right around dinner time? Husband decides on a dime to have appetizers with the buddies after work without talking it over with you first? Things like that can really through a wrench in your schedule.

6. Full disclosure. Talk about everything with your spouse, everything. Even the lunch date you have with your girlfriends or the cute shirt you saw and thought about buying. Full and open disclosure of every cent spent is necessary when you are first starting out. Because see most people who have two incomes sometimes spend extra without really talking about it with their spouse simply because they think they can cover it with their income.

7. Stop being a consumer! Start being a producer! You must turn away from the old ways of figuring out how to get more stuff and start figuring out how to produce a meaningful and lasting legacy for your children and YES it can be done on ONE income. There are so many frugal ways to buy the stuff you need and even the occasional thing you want in a frugal manner where you don't have to break the budget and you will actually get ahead more so on one income then when there was two!

8. And this may be the most important yet the hardest one to do. Be CONTENT. Stop comparing your house to the one down the street. Stop wishing your had a newer car, or nicer clothes or a new pair of shoes. Just be content in whatever situation you have and live and make the most of it. Once you start doing that and maybe even trying to give some of it away you'll find that living on one income is so easy!

Oh and since you will be staying at home now...consider homeschooling those kiddos of yours huh?:) Okay did I go to far?? :)

Okay next Friday Im posting more about transitioning from a two income to a one income household. Come back y'all!

Works For Me Wednesday

I recently read a post about the struggle to make Sunday the day of rest. The Sabbath day. Keeping that day Holy is difficult. Especially for Mom.
Between cleaning, cooking and caring for your family were does a loving Mom get her rest in?
Well here is what works for me.

1. Make Sunday meals simple. One pot meal for the big meal, rather that be Lunch or Supper. Also known as Dinner and supper 'round these parts:)
The crock pot is my best friend on Sundays. Chili is the one thing that seems to work the best. You can throw in in the morning, it will be ready by the time you get home from Church and you can do a variety of things with it. Chili dogs, Frito pie, or just keep it simple and serve it with some crackers.

2. To reduce dishes...use paper. I know not very fancy,but we are looking to reduce our work load here!

3. Dress simply. Keep you clothes and your kids clothes easy. Casual dress but no jeans is usually the rule for me and my kids. And I stay away from things that need to be ironed, and if it does I do it the night before. Plus lay the clothes out the night before so your not searching through the closets that morning. Oh and let the kids dress themselves if at all possible!

4. Because we are a home school family and get to do whatever makes us happy:) LOL
We do a 4 day school week and leave Mondays as our chill day. Another words Monday is the day mommy catches up on the things that didn't get done on Sundays. The girls usually do crafts and art, watch movies and play on Mondays.

5. Keep things in perspective. I know for me I can look around the house by Sunday afternoon and just be disgusted at the amount of mess there is. I mean I just cleaned yesterday! But really its because my house gets lived in, the kids play, we eat, we hang out together and focus on our family and the Lord on Sundays not rather or not the kitchen is clean.

And it works for me!

Once a lady went to visit her friend. During the visit the children of the friend entered the room and began to play with each other. As the lady and her friend visited, the lady turned to her friend and said eagerly and yet with evidently no thought of the meaning of her words: “Oh, I’d give my life to have such children.” The mother replied with a subdued earnestness whose quiet told of the depth of experience out of which her words came: “That’s exactly what it costs.”
Simply the BEST article Iv read about Motherhood.

Thankful Thursday

" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Last night I laid in bed and just had to Thank God over and over for the life HE has given me. Through my life I use to think that I was the one in control, the one who was making all these big decisions. When in fact HE was in total control at all times. When the things that were happening didn't make sense.
Im not saying the I didn't make some choices, some very poor choices, because I did. But even then God used those sins to change me, to lead me down his path further.

Who knew! God had a plan all along for a lonely little girl who was born from irresponsibility and rejected from the very beginning of life.

Through out my childhood I sought acceptance and unconditional love and never received it. From a very early age I realized that the love that was in my family was conditional. I felt it at such a young age, maybe around 4-5 years old. I thought that if I did something wrong or something that my Mother didn't approve of, I would be shunned. I wouldn't be worthy of love anymore. And even when I was walking on the thin straight line my family expected of me, I still felt unloved. I needed to do something special to be loved. So I started lying, telling stories. Anything that would shine a light on me. So I could be noticed and they would realize how special I was and that I deserved love.
Even as I grew older it didn't stop, even when I knew that there was nothing I could do to receive that unconditional love from them. I still seeked it out. But then it was from others. Men, friends, employers. I got married at a young age. I also got divorced at a young age. Life was so crazy back then. Little did I know God had a plan to get me out of that place and give me all the love that I so craved in life.

Once I met my husband I had been down in a pit so long that I didn't believe it was possible to be pulled out of it.
But I took a leap of faith and followed God's plan instead of my own. It took me to Texas. So far away from all I knew and thought I wanted. It took me to Motherhood, something I thought for sure I never wanted. God's plan gave me love like I never thought was possible.

When I had Cheyenne I finally realized that there was nothing she could do to earn my love and there was nothing she could do to make me stop loving her either.
I realized all that time I spend trying to please my Mother and family was pointless. It wasn't anything to do with me. It was all them. I was always worthy of love and acceptance. And the fact is I had always had it, I just was looking in the wrong places.
I tried my Mother's way for raising my child for a short while, but was left feeling so empty and torn from my actions. I finally asked God to use me, to use my brokenness to make me a better mother. And HE did!
I tried those same mistakes with my husband and again it didn't work out very well. And again I prayed asking the Lord to forgive me and heal me and my relationship. And HE did! My marriage has never been stronger! Of coarse these things took lots of work, but the Lord gave me the ability to change!

Through out all the hard times God always had a plan. A plan to pluck a lonely little girl out of her circumstances and put her in a place where she would have more love and acceptance then she knows what to do with!

GOD is Good!

"Circumstances aren’t the barometer of God’s love and goodness—the cross is."