Rest - A Book Review

I was excited to get this free book from the publishing house for review. Keri Kent really has gotten my mind a stirring! A Sabbath rest is something that I have given much thought to throughout the years but have not been very successful at it. Plus, God has been putting this in my face for a little while now.

One of my problems is my type A personality. It is very hard to just come to a stop sometimes. Yet this book is a practical example of how to do this. There are very simple steps that each of us can take to observe a Sabbath rest.

I have tried this for our family over the past few weeks and it has been a great thing to practice. Slowing down is a good thing and it does give us more time to intentionally focus on God together. It is a great read that will get you to thinking if this is right for your family.

You can get a copy of Keri's book at Amazon here.
You can view her blog here.
See what others on the tour are saying here.

So I do want to pose a question to you. Do you observe a Sabbath rest? How does it look to you?
God has really burdened my husband and my heart to really live in more simplicity. So we are taking some drastic and painful changes yet they will benefit us all in the long run. I will update you all on this too from time to time.

Life in the Kingdom - Part 4

There once was a girl in this cold hard world that walked the earth with hope and wonder. It was not too long before she recognized that life brought with it many losses. In this life she had the chance to wonder around to many different kingdoms. Though losses came with each hard move, God had better plans.

He was King. Though there are many small kingdoms there is only one King who rules them. Some are following Him while others follow other paths--motivations very different. Seeing different kingdoms near and far has shaped a deep love inside her.

She walked with the King so very closely before she was in a kingdom. Then as kingdom life took place she struggled at each place. Things at first always seemed good but after time things happened. Whenever a kingdom takes its eyes off the King the kingdom soon will crumble.

God is big and uses all things to grow each of His children. Kingdom drama can grow a heart that yearns for unity. So the girl walked along and learned how to trust and bring these things to her King. He walked with her no matter where it was He had placed her. He tenderly spoke sweet encouragement in her ear, “this is not the way I want it either, but the world is fallen and one day the perfect kingdom will come on earth as it is in Heaven. Hold tight sweet child, keep your eyes on me because when you don’t that is when you will wallow. I have greater plans for you and unity is among them. Hold tight sweet child hold tight for that day will soon be coming.”

Disney - Day Four - Magic Kingdom

Day four was to the Magic Kingdom. The hit was seeing the castle!!
Me and my sweet girls!
Their first time driving!
Our tea cup adventure!
Now this was really cool. We had to go into a tunnel and turn really small so we could visit these fairies! Hannah's favorite, Fawn.
Kaitlyn's favorite TinkerBell.
Now this one is just too sweet. Hannah was mesmorized by the princess and her sweet and kind heart and manners. She was so sweet. I spoke of how Jesus has made us His princesses and He wants us to act this way as well.
Another sweet pic.
Oh and princess Belle! Autographs all around.
Sweet girl! We are getting tired in this heat!!!

Memories

Yesterday my husband and I cleared out a closet in our basement. So many memories were found in that closet.

Do you remember those HUGE cell phones that they offered when cell phones advanced from the bag phone? Yes we had one of those!

Do you remember when the computer took those square disks called floppies? Well we found a HUGE amount of those too!

Memories can be fun but also painful. Going through the stuff we found many old pictures. My sweet hubbie and I have been through so much together. We are looking at our 15 year anniversary next March but we have been friends even longer. The old pictures were funny and helped us to remember the old us.

We have changed so much. In shape, in age, in goals, but most importantly in Christ. I love seeing how God changes things. How He touches something and turns it into a beautiful masterpiece.

God is so good to us. Even though there have been so many rough times to balance to good, I would not change a bit of it. God is good and His grace is sufficient. I used to be ashamed of some of my old life and choices I made. However, I can see on the other side the beautiful work that God has done in my heart despite of it. He has been there all along moving my heart closer and closer to Him. I am not ashamed because of His blood I am who I am and completely free in Him. To His glory and praise. If God can reach out to me then there is hope for anyone! He is good!

Seriously, is this discipline working?

I am over at The Heart of the Matter today. If you are feeling discouraged as a mom then go over and read this post. It is from the heart and a very honest post for those hard days of motherhood. I hope it encourages you. It can be found here.

Disney - Day Three

These are pictures from Animal Kingdom. This is my favorite park. I just love God's creation. We loved the Safari ride the best. It is so realistic to us. This was probably one of the hottest days as well. We were hit with a high of 98 degrees. This was MAY! It was not suppose to be that hot but it was. So a small and crowded park, high heat, and whining can be very challenging but we had a great time and went back to the pool to cool off!

Life in the Kingdom - Part 3

Once there was a man in the kingdom who wore the colors of the King. He seemed to be part of the royal family yet a time came when he betrayed those who were his closest brothers and sisters. Then the biggest mistake was made. Instead of bringing honor to the King his main objective became bringing honor to himself. He started to scheme different ways in which he could elevate his position. Deep in His heart he wanted to be King.

Make no mistake; the King will always be the only King. He will never give His glory to another. The King desires the best for His family. Sometimes that may mean that His subjects must wait on Him. He will decide who He elevates and who He leaves low. It is all in the King’s hands, yet misguided subjects often think their way is better than the Kings. After all at times waiting on the King’s timeframe can seem like forever. So self-focus and building their own kingdom comes as the way they believe they will get ahead.

The true subjects of the King know that this way will never work. The King always knocks those down who make it their focus to be above all. In His time the King will correct this, yet again, it takes time. Faithful subjects in the kingdom need to be reminded of this fact because it can be very discouraging to watch the evil rise up while the faithful get knocked down. Yet in their faithfulness to the King, He will restore and make things right. So wait faithful one. Wait on Him. He sees you.

Florida Trip - Day 2 - Sea World

On day two of our trip to Florida we took a break from Disney to hit SeaWorld. My favorite thing is dolphins. So we had a great time just observing them and I got to feed them. It was a fun time. Here are our pics from day two. Sorry it has taken so long to post! My sweet friend reminded me I said that the pics would be up shortly! So here is day two and the next set will be up soon as well.




Some cute ones of the girls....
A good one of the dolphins. I just love watching them. God's creation amazes me.
It was about 98 degrees this day! The girls had their personal fans on!
Me and my girls!! I am the most blessed! They are great!
Me and sweet hubbie! Again, blessed because he is great!
We sat in the middle front of the show because we really wanted to get wet because it was so hot. People all around us got soaked and we got nothing!!!! I could not believe it. We stayed completely dry. That was too funny.

I Feel So Fake Today

Oh can I just tell you that I am struggling with some kind of anger. It is just under the surface. I have been pondering and praying about this and God has been showing me some of the things in my heart. I need to be honest, this process is very painful. Yet God only shows us things and lets us feel things that will drive us closer to Him.

Today, I had to get my children some new tennis shoes for camp. Though I wanted it to be a fun experience I felt myself becoming annoyed with my children because our time was short. I didn't want to feel this way and I prayed but I found myself too easily snapping at them. That is not what they needed. Especially since they will be away from me for the entire day.

When we arrived to camp in their anxiety I found myself annoyed with them yet again about feeling insecure. Instead of being a safe place for them I let them down. I feel wretched and awful. I feel like the absolute worst mother of all. But in my lacking God is there for them.

God revealed to me that because most every thing in my life is unstable right now, because of uncertain choices, I am having a hard time trusting. I am having a hard time taking His yoke upon me. His burden is easy. I am taking on too much myself. I do this without knowing it. The instability has shaken me to the core but in that it reveals what is in my heart and where my security has been. God is our Rock and in Him alone is where we need to place that.

Father, forgive me for the things in my heart. Purify it. Lord, forgive me for not trusting you enough. Lead me into Your yoke alone. Lord, thank You for being the solid Rock upon which I stand. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Just Say No - Radical Revolution

Hey Y'all! I am over here today!
Here is a preview:
Genesis 4:6-7, “So the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’” (NKJV)

Have you ever seen a person that brightly shined for Jesus? We might say that we see that brightness in his or her countenance, or the expression on his or her face. There are some people that I just love because I can see that “God glow” all over them; it is very evident that they love the Lord with all they are.

Read More.

Featured on Virtue Alert - Confessions of a Former Mean Girl

Check it out! Go over to Vicki Courtney's site for teens, Virtuousreality.com to see my article! I won a writing contest over at her blog a while back. I won the chance to have my article featured on the site. While you are there check out Vicki's blog as well. She is yet another wonderful woman of God that I highly respect.