"I will live with a heart of integrity in my house." Psalm 101:2b

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'Hope you'll stay a while!

About Me

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I am a student of Jesus, the wife of a wonderful rocker, Tracey, and stay at home momma to our two sweet things, Remy & Halle.
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Monday, April 30, 2012

Monday

Happy Monday, lovelies! I hope y'all had a great weekend. I was actually down most of it with a sinus headache... no fun, but I'll survive. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who allowed me to be extremely lazy and rest while he managed (and by managed, I mean wrestled!) the little ones.

Before the headache hit, Friday night we had a Girl's Craft night at our church. This is the second time we've done it, and we just get together to make a few different crafty projects, hang out, and of course eat. And I have to tell you about the snack that just might change your life... (drumroll...) Cake Batter Puppy Chow. This stuff is amazing, and I seriously ate so much that I was nearly sick. So good and easy! I ran into the recipe on pinterest, and threw it together in just a few minutes.
Photo courtesy sixsistersstuff.com
My brain is already thinking of different cake mixes, cereals, and whatever else I could throw into a mix like this... a whole new world.

We also made some homemade laundry detergent, which is something I've been wanting to try for a while now. I have been using it (in my HE, front-loading washer!) for the last several days, and it's working great! I am excited about saving money in this area of the budget, as we know the laundry won't slow down any time soon.

Looks like we're in for a rainy week here... But at least it's looking a little less hectic than the last few, for which I'm extremely grateful. I'm looking forward to spending this rainy day inside playing Strawberry Shortcake with my curly girl. We have some macaroons in the oven and tea brewing~ sounds like a great little tea party is on the horizon for me! Have a great day!


miscellany monday at lowercase letters

Friday, April 27, 2012

On Community


Happy Friday! Joining up with the Gypsy Mama... Five minutes on the topic, no editing or rethinking... just write. You know the drill~ click over and link up!

Today's word: Community

I never thought I needed it. In my darkest moments, the ones where I struggled with the voices in my head, the minutes that clicked by as I sobbed in the tub after putting two tiny people in their beds... those alone seconds that ticked past... I thought that those were the times I least needed people. I thought that my imperfections made it so important for me to hide. Because I couldn't mask it anymore, and I was so afraid someone would see.

Then we moved to Illinois. Our path changed direction, and we were thrown into this wonderful mix of people who weren't willing to let me sit on the sidelines. God wasn't willing to let me sit back and blend in any more, but rather He kept using other people to draw me out. And suddenly I had family. I'm not sure the exact moment that it happened, but one day after a few months I looked around and realized that in letting these wildly imperfect people into my life and my heart, I had grown.

And I still have faults, we all do. But in recognizing that God loves me in spite of them, and in being embraced just as I am by this crazy family, I realized that community was just the thing I needed. Jesus knew this. And I needed to know it too. Life isn't meant to be lived alone because we can walk through so much when we do it hand in hand.
 
I hope you have a great weekend! And don't forget to enter my Hearts at Home Book Pack Giveaway!!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Hearts at Home Book Pack Giveaway!

Hey, y'all~ Happy Thursday! In honor of my first week here in this space, I thought I would host a little giveaway. Some of you know from my last space that Hearts at Home is a ministry that holds a special place in my heart and my life. If you aren't familiar with Hearts, they are an organization that seeks to encourage and equip moms at every stage. I actually am blessed to be part of the marketing team.
So just in time for Mother's Day, I have two great Hearts at Home books to giveaway to one lucky winner. The first is 'Real Moms... Real Jesus' by Jill Savage and the second is 'Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God' by Mary DeMuth. Two great books that will help you to embrace your calling as mom, remember Whose you are, and help a tired momma find encouragement, especially on the days when you feel like 'just a mom'... there's no such thing!

From the website:

What does Jesus know about the peanut-butter-and-jelly life of a mom? Plenty! Jill Savage, founder and director of Hearts at Home, introduces the real Jesus to real moms. In chapters that examine key behaviors and decisions Jesus made during His life on earth, Jill brings those lessons right down to the laundry-filled, sticky-fingered days every mother knows.



You may feel like an ordinary, everyday woman, but you're not. You're a woman with an extra ordinary call on your life - motherhood - and you have an extraordinary God to run to when you need emotional, mental, and spiritual renewal. Sixty of Mary Demuth's wise, funny, and Scripture-filled devotions will lighten your spirit and encourage your heart even when laundry threatens, kids are clamoring, and you don't know what to do for dinner.



You have two chances to enter, and the giveaway will end on Sunday night, with the winner announced Monday. (I'm trying out Rafflecopter for the first time... hopefully it works!) The mandatory entry is to leave a comment on this post. You can also like this shared life on facebook for a second entry.  Good luck!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

On being face to face

"A house is built by wisdom, and it is established by understanding; by knowledge the rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure." Proverbs 24:3

"Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands." Proverbs 14:1

I have been studying a lot in Proverbs, and have been really digging in on verse about building a home. God has been showing me so many ways that I have the ability & influence in my home to either build it up or tear it down. It's remarkable, isn't it?!

I've got to tell you that this morning I'm missing my family. I'm sitting here at Panera, trying to enjoy two child-free hours, and I find myself thinking that although I have lived near Trace and the littles this last week, I haven't really seen them. And what I'm learning is that sharing life together does not mean just being in close physical proximity to each other. It means spending time, spending yourself. It means looking into each others eyes and really seeing each other.

Jesus knew this. There are so many stories in the Gospels where He touched sick people. He looked into their eyes, He healed their eyes so that they could see. I think of the woman who had suffered for 12 years with bleeding in Matthew 9:20-22. She touched His robe to be cured. And while that touched would have been enough, 'Jesus turned and saw her'. (verse 22, emphasis mine). Often Jesus withdrew from the crowds to be with and teach His disciples. He wanted to connect with this small group on a deeper level.

Life is busy, no? We had some amazing guests come to our church this weekend. And them being here meant that we spent time and shared meals at the church and had evening meetings filling our time. The time spent was wonderful, in a sense, because we were able to connect with them. But then this morning, as my family went out from our home to school and work, I realized that we hadn't really been at our table, just the four of us, since last week.

So if it was important to Him, it has to be important to me. I'm so excited for dinner tonight. The food doesn't matter (okay, well maybe it does a little...), but what I'm most ready for is the coming face-to-face with these sweet people who deserve my complete attention. It's so hard to balance some days because busyness just has a way to creeping in, and the hardest part is that all of the busyness consists of 'good things', of ministry even! But His calling to me as wife and mom is that these three people are who I'm called to do life with first. This is my ministry!



Monday, April 23, 2012

First

Welcome to this shared life! A few months ago I wrote this post on my original blog about a sort of 'lightbulb moment' I had from God about the ministry to which He's calling me. Since then, I've been in the thick of an intense time of prayer and listening. He's allowed a deep awakening in my soul about how He wants me to live and serve my family, friends, and others. It was about three months ago that this shared life was 'born' in my journal.

God is calling me at home, literally, and here online, virtually, to share life around my table. The verse you see above has become especially important to me in the last few months, as I've been listening. He's encouraged me to encourage other moms and homemakers (and aspiring ones!) with the gifts He's given me of hospitality and teaching His Word. I hope that this place is one where you might 'pull up a chair' and find rest, encouragement, peace, hope and much more as He guides & equips us to share life together with our families first and then with those He brings into our lives.

Have a lovely Monday, I'll be back soon!