He Makes All Things New

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

---

Every new year we are set on making new resolutions for a new year. Things that perhaps we failed at or have been waiting for a chance to start over again. It is a time for new things and a fresh start. The greatest thing is that it does not take a new year to have a fresh start with God. When we mess up, we need to confess and He gives us a new start. There is nothing He cannot make new-Nothing. So as you read these verses from Isaiah they should bring us hope. They apply to us. I have written them as I believe the Lord would be saying them to us personally today. Hope you enjoy and have a blessed New Year!

My child, forget about all things that have happened in the past. Forget missed goals, marks, and disappointments. Quit letting them rule your mind. Give those things to me. They are too much for you to carry. You were not meant to carry them. They are done-finished. Don’t give them another thought.

Look at me. I am doing something new and amazing in your life. Trust me my child. It will be great. Keep focused and watch me. Hear me and listen. I will show you the way. When I do things they are on purpose and planned. I do things very good. I make no mistakes.

You know those dry places in your life? I am going to quench them with my living water. Wait for me. There are things you may not understand but I know. I see. You know those decisions you are not sure of? Yes, my child, I am going to make the path clear. That place that seems so unsure to you? I will give you assurance.

Keep your eyes on me and look to me. I will make all things new. You are after all a new creation in me. Live that way and believe it my child. You are mine and I love you deeply. I am always with you. I direct your steps so just follow me.

Book Meme

Angie at LSOF tagged me with this book meme. I love books so here we go.

1. One book that changed your life - The Bible. And a book that has truly changed and impacted my life was "Falling in Love With Jesus" By Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli. If you ever struggle with God's love this is a must read.

2. One book that you have read more than once - The Bible-I do not usually read books more than once unless it is for a quick reference or I skim it. If you are like me if is a discipline to not read the Bible in the same way.

3. One book you would want on a deserted Island - "Jesus the One and Only" by Beth Moore.

4. One book that made you laugh - "Mommy's Locked in the Bathroom: Surviving Your Child's Early Years with Your Sanity and Salvation Intact!" By Cynthia Sumner.

5. One book that made you cry - "I Surrender All" by Clay and Renee Crosse-They have a wonderful ministry called Holy Homes. Well worth checking out.

6. One book that you wish had been written - An instruction manual that is specific to each child given. It should come at the hospital before you leave and be specific to each child. :)

7. One book that you wish had never been written - Anything trying to accomplish evil. Words have the power of life and death.

8. One book you are currently reading - "Boundaries With Kids" by Cloud and Townsend and "Managing Your Moods" by Mary Graham. I will probably pick up a few others. I read several at one time. Not sure why I do this.

9. One book you have been meaning to read - "Forever in Love With Jesus" by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli.

I am tagging Sanya, Kathy, Jodi, Cheri, and Lee.

Perspective

All of a sudden a white flash distorts my view. It hits without any warning. It can happen anytime of the day or night. There is no rhyme or reason to it. It just hits. Sometimes it is kind and other times not so kind. Sometimes with pain and others times without any. One thing that is consistent is that it distorts my view. It moves slowly over until all I can see is it's glare. Then moving on slowly leaves like it came. I do not understand it.

As with the aura that comes from migraine is our earthly perspective. Sometimes in a flash things can change and we not even recognize it. All of a sudden in a flash the way we see things can change. Innocently and perhaps unknown our perspective is skewed. It is not seen in the right light anymore. Something knocked it off balance distorting our view of things. It can be painful and unkind. But the way we see things are not as they always are.

The right perspective all the time is God's perspective. Oh, that He would give our hearts eyes to see Him clearly. Then perhaps our eyes will see others in that same light. Things are not what they seem. The prophet Jeremiah states, "our hearts are beyond understanding and cure." Yet God knows us and gives us a solution. Hebrews 4:12 states, " For the word of God is living and active...............it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Let us measure all things to His word so that we avoid the spiritual migraine by keeping the proper perspective.

Will You Know Him?

“Moved by the Spirit, he [Simeon] went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God. Coming up to them at that very moment, she [Anna] gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:27-28,38).

---

Have you ever given a person the silent treatment? You know that behavior where you just ignore them and go around them without talking to them? Well, that is what it felt like to Israel from God. They went 400 years without hearing a word from God. 400 years! Wow-I cannot go silent for longer than a day so 400 years is just unfathomable to me.

After that period of exhaustive years with no word from God the silence was suddenly broken. Through the cries of a newborn baby, the Savior of the world had finally come. However, many people missed it. Perhaps the most surprising people who missed it were the priests. How could this be? They studied the Scriptures. They knew a Savior was to come. All their head knowledge was not enough. They missed it because their hearts were not searching for Him.

There were two people however who were diligently searching and seeking after the Savior. They were Simeon and Anna. They recognized Jesus the moment they saw Him.

What an amazing privilege to see God wrapped in the flesh of a baby boy. The temple would have been a busy place full of people. Perhaps other parents were there with their babies doing the same thing the law required. The baby Jesus was nothing more spectacular than the others in physical appearance. There was nothing to make Him stand out among the others. He was ordinary and just like any other baby who had to come to the temple for consecration. Yet Simeon and Anna knew. They knew things others didn’t because they were seeking God.

How about you? Are you seeking God with all of your heart? Do you recognize His voice when He is speaking to you? Are you devoted to Him alone? Will you know when He is trying to get your attention? Let us be sure we do not lose sight of the most important thing this season!

Father, help us to be like Simeon and Anna. Help us be a people who seek you with our full hearts. Help us to recognize You when You are seeking and directing our lives. Thank You for saving us. Thank You for humbling Yourself by putting on flesh to walk in our shoes. Lord, You amaze me. I love You. Amen.

Merry Christmas

Photo courtesy Liz Power Photography.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!
Remember the reason for the season-A gift from God, our Savior wrapped in flesh and in a manger. Bringing joy to the world through salvation made available to all who would receive it. We are ready for a big birthday celebration. We have much to praise Him for. Praying you all will have a great one.

Wellness Wednesday

To see others progress go to Darlene's blog.

My goal until we meet next is drinking more water. I am focusing on increasing my water intake. I am doing this in all areas. Physical drinking water. Spiritual drinking in of the Word.
This is God's temple and taking these small steps should start to help me feel better. Then I plan on trying to get back to the work out slowly. I will be listening more to my body than to "experts." This is a tougher battle than I ever thought it would be but God is in control and with Him all things are possible.

Christmas Ponderings

Today my pastor spoke about the people who missed Jesus that first Christmas when Jesus was born. People who should have known--missed it. The very priests who researched the word-- missed it. They were in a 400 year period of silence. A long time not hearing a word from God. How could they miss it?

When God seems silent in my life I know that I draw even nearer to Him. I know He is there and I hold tight to His very word through the Scriptures just desperately searching for Him in this silence. Why did they not have that same desperation?

God is so good to us. Let us not miss Him. We can miss Him this season as well when we are caught up in other things. Things that really do not matter. If you get a chance go over to His blog. My pastor's wife is writing a story about their son. He had cancer when he was a little boy. Her story is so heart warming. God is the God of miracles and if you get a chance read it. Their son is such a neat young man and boy can he lead worship. I cannot wait to see what all God has in store for him.

Proverbs 31 GiveAway!

Hey all. Here is a really neat Christmas give away. If you have never checked out Proverbs 31 Ministries you need to. This is a really neat ministry of women and this is a great way to get to know them. There is a drawing everyday I think. Go to Lysa's blog and enter a comment there. Then she is featuring someone elses blog where you go and get another chance to win. It is a way to get to meet them. It is worth your time.

Daughters Anyone?

Hey all. I just want to ask anyone with daughters to please go over to Vickie Courtney's blog.
She is trying to make a decision about which cover she should use for her new book, 5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter. It looks very interesting. Please help her out. Plus it will enter you into a drawing for some free stuff!

She is the author of "Your Girl." If you have never read this book you need to go out and get it. It is a book that you should read about once a year.

Great announcement!

Scenic City Women's Network

New Book Release

"Standing On God's Promises"

is launching soon!

FOREWORD by JAN SILVIOUS

SCWN'S first Devotional book "Standing on God’s Promises" is almost ready. God laid this book on our hearts several years ago and it is so exciting to see it come to fruition. Camille Platt, SCWN Board member is our editor. She has worked many hard and long hours in getting this book put together. She has done a wonderful job! Thanks Camille!!

As Scenic City Women's Network collected submissions for a new book of devotionals written by Chattanooga women, I have been astounded by the thoughtful entries. Some of the writers are experienced and have had their work published before. Others are novices. Some write about how God has revealed Himself through personal experiences. Others expand on a favorite piece of Scripture. Participating women come from different backgrounds, different careers and different parts of the city. Their simple messages of God's attributes testify to His unchanging character.

The world does not offer a platform to give God credit where credit is due. This book, "Standing On God's Promises," changes that. If I've learned anything through the process, it has been that you do not have to witness the parting of the Red Sea to have an amazing story about God to share with others. He deserves praise for big and small miracles alike. And you do not have to be a professional speaker or writer to get the message out. Let's focus together on God's amazing promises!

This is a one of a kind collection of God's Promises.

We have a limited number of first edition copies available.

Perfect gift for any woman who passionately pursues God.

ONLY $10

I have some devotions that will be published in this book. Stay tuned because in a couple of weeks I will be doing a drawing to give one away to share in the joy. There are many gifted women writers and I am so humbled to be included in print alongside them.

Believe

"The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." ~Psalm 145:18

Believe. That is something we tend to hear about a lot this year. Not necessarily in regards to Christ but in regards to Santa. Whenever I hear this I always think about God. I think about how belief is so important. Faith is such an important thing to God that it is impossible to please Him without it. It is so important to believe God by taking Him at His word. By believing that He does reward those who earnestly seek Him.

God is so good. He never changes. He is always the same. This verse was a great reminder to me. The Lord is near to all who call on Him. The second part is those who call on Him in truth. That word listed there for truth means "in belief." We need to not only call on God but also call on Him and believe He hears us and will answer us.

So when you hear Believe this season I want to challenge you to have faith that God is near, He lives in us by His Spirit if we are His. He hears us if we call on Him. He answers us. He is a God who works in our daily lives. He is a God who loves us completely. So what a great gift to give God this season--Belief or Faith in Him.

Give Him all the concerns in your life by faith. Give Him all the hurts by faith. Give Him all the joys by faith. Whatever it is He wants to be part of it. He loves you. Praying we will not be a people of unbelief. Let us make this the best birthday bash ever for our Savior. He is worthy.

Wellness Wednesday

Well, this week has been uneventful so say the least. I have seen no changes as of yet in my weight. I have noticed that my clothes are loosening up some so that is a sign of progress. I have been trying to get a good nights sleep but every day this week-no kidding-some one has got up in the middle of the night and got me up with them as well. Every single day. Now, the problem with this is getting back to sleep. So I just struggle with laying there for hours. So I have not been resting well. Perhaps that is contributing to the health issues.

Due to those health issues I am stopping the harder physical activity until I can get properly checked out and get a plan together with the doctor. I will be more focused this week on eating right. So far that has been going pretty good.

Go over to Darlene's blog to read her great article. Also, check out what the other inspiring participants are saying.

Special Gifts

I just have to tell you all about some gifts I got for my birthday that meant so much to me.

First, my hubbie took off half of the day and took us girls to see "Enchanted." He deserves big applaud for that. He is quite the man. He even enjoyed himself. I often wonder what it would be like to be in his shoes here in girl world. We love him so dearly.

Then, I got a special card in the mail from my grandmother. The one I posted about who was out of our life for about fifteen years. She sent me a letter with an old silver certificate in it, which basically is a dollar that is redeemable for silver, that was from a bet she and my grandfather had about whether I would be a boy or a girl. My grandmother won. They wrote down my name and the bet details with the date and time I was born on it. To think she kept it all these years is so sweet to me.

Next, one of my sweet friends in our Sunday School class remembered my Starbucks Mocha fast. She bought me a gift card for a mocha since I said if someone gave me a gift of one I could have it but withheld it because she didn't want it to be a temptation to me. She gave it to me the other day as a birthday present instead. That is also a great gift because after all that is my love language! Thanks girl.

Then I got sweet cards with words of love and a willow tree angel ornament(which I love) that says to love and be loved. This meant so much to me because God has been teaching me to love well for quite sometime now. Only a girlfriend who has walked this path with me and who has seen God's miraculous work in my life could get me something so sweet as that!

Then the final gift came in the mail. Guess what it was.......Not one but two gift cards to Starbucks! Oh my, I seem to be set for a while now. Thanks mom and dad!

Thank You Walmart

Well, apparently Walmart's recent money saving advertising campaign is working because whenever I say we need to get something or whenever the kids want something I always hear, We can get it if we get it at the Walmart price.

Seriously, what is that about? It still all costs money! Apparently now they think if we go to Walmart we can get whatever we ever wanted and it will be okay because it is at the "Walmart" price. What is up with that? Apparently we are watching a little too much tv.

On a positiver note, perhaps this will make trips to Walmart a little more enjoyable with the wonder of it all.

Make a Choice

Every since I heard his song, Lost at Sea, I have really liked Jimmy Needham. This song however sealed the deal for me. It is called Fence Riders and really speaks to how I fell much of the time. When I look out into the body of Christ I see so many people riding the fence. I just want them to make a choice already. You are either for Christ or against Him. There is no halfway. It is all or nothing. So just make a choice.

I think it strikes me hardest because there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, I can do about it. My tendency is to want it so bad for them I end up suffering much pain over it. However, as I observe, I pray and that is one action that can be taken. I need to remember that the Holy Spirit is at work in ways unknown to me. In ways that are not my business. Anyway, forgive me for my passion. Just make a choice already-one or the other and get off the fence! Just give Him everything. Your life would be better than you can even imagine. Your life would be that awesome adventure you long for.

Enough of my vent-just go listen to this song here. I am putting the lyrics below. Enough said. Thanks Jimmy. I am with you, boy! Keep it up.

Fence Riders
Am I foolishness too you?
And is it laughable the things I do?
Can your callused minds see past yourself to His divine?
Am I foolishness to you?

(Chorus)
Can I sing about my maker and have you not roll your eyes, Can I weep about my Savior and the way He died. I know it don't make sense to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ.

You call it loosening up.
Loosening up. I call it Spiraling down. Oh Only one things the same. Only one thing remains Jesus, Jesus.

(Chorus)
Can I sing about my Maker and have you not roll your eyes, Can I weep about my Savior and the way He died. I know it don't make sense to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ.

Your all asleep yeah. Oh Your all asleep yeah. Your all asleep all children but he's over needed. You , you don't see it no.

(Chorus)
Can I sing about my Maker and have you not roll your eyes, Can I weep about my Savior and the way He died. I know it don't make sense to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ.

What Are You?

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Wellness Wednesday

Just some thoughts. Some of you have read previously of my battle with Lyme disease. It was a beast. I cannot think of a worse thing to go through. After seven years of fighting this battle, God just took it away one day. It was the most wonderful thing. I had no symptoms at all--so I thought.

God spoke two times very clearly through this battle. The first time He said that "this would be for a season". The second was that, "He healed me but it would be a long time until I was back to normal physical health". I have struggled to understand what that meant. I felt great after that very moment He healed me. Though I was symptom free, I understood some of what that meant. I do believe God was wanting me to start working out to get my body back in shape but two years passed from then.

It is finally nine years later that I am starting back. Every time prior I started something happened to me to make me stop. This time has had it challenges but I am pressing through. I am more sure now than ever this is what God would have me do. He worked to many things out in that direction to confirm it.

I do press on. I am beating my body into submission to this. It has not been easy. I do have some heart damage that resulted from the Lyme disease. My heart beats faster than normal and this has been a little bit of a problem with my exercise routine. I am learning how to control it to make it stronger. God can heal that part completely too. It may be one of those things that takes time. I just want to be a good steward of what God has given me.

With that all said, my goal has changed slightly. I know those extra pounds will shed because of what I am doing but the goal now is one of getting heart healthy. God gave me this body and if I am to serve Him well, I need to be in good physical health. No excuses. He will give me what I need to get there. So, no selfish ambition here where there may have been some earlier. This is about me and God rebuilding this temple. Slow and steady. I am praising Him for my friend who keeps me accountable and her trainer who understands.

See what others are saying at Live Well Wednesday.

Starbucks Mocha Fast

Well, my 40 day Mocha fast is about to end. I have had two that were bought for me as gifts and that was part of the exception rule. The first gift was from my hubbie at our marriage conference and that was sweet of him, especially since it is my love language!

The second was when I was with my brother over Thanksgiving. We are lovers of the mocha and I think he thought it would not be the same if we didn't partake together! :) I rarely get to see him in person, usually we talk while in the drive thru over a cell phone!

I love fasting because it does seem to break strongholds. With both of those I received I did not have that addicted desire. I also do not feel like I have to run out and get one. That is a great feeling to be free. I have to do this from time to time with things that seem to get out of order in my life.

The sweetest part is that unknown to me the day I can partake again happens to fall on my birthday! God is so good. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. So, on that day I will partake and we will see where it goes from there!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Blanket Philosophy or rather Little Blankie Ponderings

While watching the Charlie Brown Christmas last night on television dad says, "Hannah, you are like Linus. See his blankie?"

Apparently Hannah was way ahead of us on this because she instantly protested, "No I am not. I do not drag mine on the ground!"
Now this is hilarious because she used to and I see it happen sometimes and it grosses me out! I tell her to keep it off the ground. This blankie gets dragged all over the place and looks so nasty to me. I rarely get to wash it without a huge protest. But I suppose it is all about perspective.

Then she goes on to say (even though it is not always true), "I do not take my blankie out of the house because I lost one and I don't want to lose my others."

This conversation went on for a while discussing many blankie options and theories. Yes we are very intellectual people here! Then mom asks,

"Well Hannah, when will you not carry your blankie anymore?"
And Hannah replied, "I think when I am like 13."

Not sure how she got this age but it works for now! :)

See what others are saying at Not Before 7.

Marriage Monday-What Makes Marriage Christian?

Go over to e-mom's blog to see what others are saying.

Ephesians 5 is one of my favorite marriage passages in the Bible. It is such a perfect example of how a marriage should look. If we all took the time to surrender to the Spirit and walk by Him in our marriages the pains of divorce would be mostly non-existent. Walking by the Spirit involves dying to our selfish desires and living for Christ alone. This is completely impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit in us if we are believers and that makes all things possible through Him, that is surrender.

Marriage is Christian in origin because God established this relationship for what it was suppose to be in the garden when He created the first two people on earth, Adam and Eve. As with every thing God has established for our good, there is always a bad that goes along with it. That is, marriages not being lived out in a godly manner. Not lived out in a way that should represent Christ and the church.

A marriage relationship is a representation of Christ's relationship to the church. So, in our marriages, do we represent Him well? Are we being great examples of Christ to others when they see our marriages? Wouldn't it be wonderful if people could just look at us when we are out with our spouses and just know there was something different and that something is what we all need--Christ. This could be the greatest witnessing tool of all for our society. Why don't we all ask God to give us hearts to submit to Him? Let us see what a difference our lives will make in the world just by a true example of living by the Spirit.

The Process

When I was 22, God started pulling me toward Him like never before. A pretty worldly kid, by the grace of God, started work at a wonderful ministry. It was here that I was challenged by God more than ever. It was here that God started to show me what I really was.

I decided at this time to fully surrender myself to God. Although my hearts intent was pure I realized this growing more into the image of God was truly a long process. There was much grace given in this period. Then I prayed that prayer, Lord do whatever it takes for me to be what you want me to be. At this surrender, boy did God really start working hard on me.

Psalm 42:1 (that we founded our Refresh My Soul Ministry on) states, "As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul thirsts for you, Oh God." This is what God started showing me. My soul started to thirst for God. At times I would be quenched by His living water, at other times I would feel like a dry and cracked ground. Desperately needing a downpour of Him.

It was after I had my first child that God started to really show me my true self without Him. Boy did I mourn over this. Without Him, I was vile and filthy. No pure thing was even in my heart. It is so important to see ourselves this way. God moved HUGE in this time. I call this my sack cloth and ashes period.

When He knew I had all I could He transitioned me into the love period. It was during this time that God showed me how much He really loved me despite myself. He was the one working on me. He was the one who purified me through His son. I was just to continue to surrender. He truly lavished His love on me during this time. It was such a sweet time of fellowship.

Today, as I am about to turn 32, I am in a quiet/reflective period. I am not sure what it is all about except for even deeper reflection. I have a new found interest in the classics. I am enjoying the company of George Mueller, Oswald Chambers, and E.M. Bounds. I just thirst for that pursuit of God. As I read of their lives I see a process they had to come through as well. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is a continual moment. A continue work in progress until our last breath. At this moment, God is peeling away layers in this time of quiet and refection. I have grown to enjoy it. I have also learned that as soon as I seem to finally enjoy the period God has me in, He moves me in another one.

I just pray for each one of you today. I so enjoy reflecting on your blogs and words. They inspire me as I lift you up in prayer. I desire to continue to see God moving in each of our lives, growing us up together in Him. Making us all look more like Him as we decrease so He can increase. We are all somewhere in this process so it gives us all something in common. May we continue to spur one another on in Him.

Pictures!

Well, we had a huge blast over Thanksgiving and the weekend before. Tony and I ended up at a Weekend to Remember Marriage Retreat. We had a great time together. And good news, we do still love each other! Even more now than ever. :)

My children stayed with their grand-parents and loved it. They had a great time together and did more things in 48 hours than I have ever attempted!

My brother came in with my niece too the day before Thanksgiving and it was so much fun. The whole family was together. That is always nice and rare.

The day after Thanksgiving my bro and I went at the crack of dawn to the after Thanksgiving day shopping and had so much fun. We could not stop laughing. We almost got killed twice-drivers are much more crazy where we were. I got a new camera so I am hoping to post more pics that I take.

We are home and getting back into the swing of things. So I will be blogging really soon. I have more to post but this is all for now. Kids running around and hungry. So, as I leave you I will give you a link to check out a few of our family pics. Liz Power and family are an awesome team of photographers so if you are in the Chattanooga area please check her out! Check out the other pics too while on there. They are such great works of art.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are so many things that I am thankful for! Please remember those things during this holiday. It does have Christian origins. Look it up, it is worth your time.

Just posting to let you all know I will be off this week. I am devoting all my time to family. I get to see many of them this week so I will not be blogging.

Lifting a prayer for you friends! Enjoy this holiday.
Much love,
Angela

Live Well-Wednesday

Things are falling into balance pretty well this week.

I am on a three times a week one hour work out plan with my friend, Shannon. She is such a blessing to me. I would not get up to do it if it was not for her. Plus, she is paying for the gym membership so without her I could not even get in. We have a wonderful personal trainer who adopted me alongside my friend. It is a great blessing. I have not seen any real weight loss yet but my clothes seem to be fitting better. The most important thing is I am becoming more healthy and feel more energized.

Eating has been in balance too.

Bible reading and prayer has been pretty balanced too.

The house is coming along in order, I may actually buy some Christmas presents for my children now! Huge steps of improvement have been made.

One other thing is required for balance. I am completely surrendering my writing/speaking to the Lord. He has been pulling me out for right now. I am in a season of quiet. I am really enjoying this time. I am giving this all to Him. He will move when it is time. As for now I am enjoying every moment of the journey. Where He leads I will follow. As for now, it is a period of silence.

I am on my way to improvement and balance but there is an enemy who is seriously attacking my efforts. It seems that I continue to get sick while I am making this commitment. I push through the work outs any way and seem to feel better because of it but just pushing through has been hard. Perseverance is definitely the key right now. Please lift a prayer that things will work together for balance.

Too see how others are doing and to read a really uplifting post go to Darlene's blog.

Marriage, Duel or Dance

There is a local church in our area where I saw this title to the sermon listed. Marriage, Dual or Dance. I think that is such a great title. Marriage can be a dual or a dance. We talked about submission on Marriage Monday this last week. The fact is wives are on the same team as their husbands, though at times marriage can seem like a dual. Those times in my life it has been that way have been times when I did not let my man lead. I am sure glad things are looking more like a dance now.

My husband and I are going to one of those weekend to remember marriage conferences here soon. It will be 48 hours alone with my man. My kids will be watched and loved by their grandparents. All things are in place, yet I am somewhat scared. Not of leaving my children because they will be in good hands. My fear is coming from being alone with my husband. It has been over six years since we have had more than two hours alone together. Now, I am looking at a full weekend. We are so different now then when we were married. I am scared of that. Scared of what he thinks of me now. What if I am just too different now? All those kinds of worries and thoughts swim around my mind. I know they are all thoughts that need to be taken captive. Thoughts that need to be made obedient to Christ. I know this will just be a great step in our marriage.

When I shared my fears with my man he said that we have God in common and that is all that matters. He knows it will be a great time. His confidence sustains me. It will be worth it.

A Great Quote

"Man is looking for better methods. God is looking for better men. Man is God's method"
~E.M. Bounds, The Power of Prayer

The Counterfeit

It has been sixteen days of my forty day journey without a cafe mocha. It was a challenge at first. But it is getting easier. So today I went to Starbucks and decided to get a peppermint Hot Chocolate. The lady who served me said, "Are you not a coffee drinker?" "Because we have a very delicious Peppermint Cafe Mocha with right espresso mix. It is delicious." I just thought, oh yes I know, all too well.

The Peppermint hot chocolate was good but it was not the same thing. It is a counterfeit of the best thing. I think that is very true of how satan tries to entice us with things. For every good thing that God has provided, satan will come up with a counterfeit. Be aware and keep your eyes opened to his schemes.

Through Christ we have the victory and He came to give us life most abundantly. He gave us the best thing not the counterfeit. If you are living with counterfeit then turn around and go after the real thing. God wants nothing less for us but it is a choice to go after it. The abundant life is ours for the taking but it is only ours when we chose to walk in the Spirit and not gratify the desires of our flesh. It is a choice. A choice only each one of us individually can make.

Do Not Forget

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

~Joshua 24:14-15

What will you choose? Whom will you serve? You cannot serve God and the world. You have to make a whole hearted choice. Have you done that yet? Joshua did. I am saying the same thing as Joshua. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. But overall we will be a household who serves the Lord above all things.

This Sunday is set aside for a special day of prayer for the persecuted church. Would you please remember them? We have it so easy here. I pass by four churches on the way to my own on a Sunday. It is only a ten mile stretch. If I get tired of this one there are plenty to chose from. But the people who God has called to serve in those places where Christian's are persecuted for their beliefs sometimes have to meet secretly. There are many dangers that lie around them. Please do not forget them. God is doing great things through them for a lost world. The least we can do is join together in prayer for them.

When you get a chance go check out the persecution blog. It will move you. So many people are making huge sacrifices for what we have for in the states for free. I admire them greatly. They are the true heroes of the faith. Lord, please never let us forget them. They inspire me to be faithful and keep moving forward. I hope their stories will do the same for you.

Live Well-Wednesday

I am just loving these posts by Darlene. Go over and check out here words of encouragement on Living Well. This is filled with meat. God for the soul! It has been a great encouragement to me.

I am doing great. God has given us these bodies to be stewards of and He is teaching me balance. Seriously, the first day I worked out I got into my car and thought I want to keep doing this. It took all that I had in me to return home and not go back into the gym again right at that moment.

I am learning I have a tendency toward an addictive personality. I have to intentionally limit myself from excess. No matter what it is. Food, Books, Mocha's, shopping, weight, whatever it is I have a tendency to go for the excess. It used to be because I was a perfectionist. But God stripped that one away. I am learning to beat my body into submission to Christ like Paul tells us to do in running this race of life.

Everything that seems good is not always good if it is in excess. So in living well, my purpose is to find balance in mind, body, and spirit. I want to live and walk completely submitted to the Holy Spirit. I want to walk in the Spirit on all occasions so I do not fulfill the desires of my flesh. When I submit I do not fall into the sin of excess.

Tiny Talk Tuesday!

Thanks again Mary for hosting this. Tiny talk can be so funny. There are so many funny things I hear and forget but this is what our theme has been lately with dear sweet four year old.

H: Mom, there are a bunch of humans over there! (Statement while we were out and about.)

H: Mom, will there be many humans there? (Asked when talking about taking sister to art class.)

H: I have 4 humans. (Counting her toy dolls).

I am not sure where she got this from--we are not trekkies or anything. It is interesting anyway and kind of funny.

My oldest says:
Mom, why do we have to go to the doctor and get shots everytime its our birthday?

I thought this was funny because those were my exact thoughts. What a great birthday present!

Marriage Monday-Submission is a Choice Not a Dirty Word

I just love Marriage Monday! Chrysalis is now hosting this once a month. Go to her blog to check out more and to see what others are saying.

I have to do what? Those were my exact thoughts the first time I read Stormie Omartian's book "The Power of a Praying Wife." I remember it well. An older woman who took interest in us younger married women got us together for Bible study revolving around this book. This idea of submission was foreign to me. What about being the strong independent female? I did not need any man, let alone one that I would have to submit to. What was this nonsense?

The first chapter was incredible. It focused on my heart. Not changing my man but changing me. Are you kidding? Have you met my husband? I am the only proper one to train him, aren't I?

As you can see I got off on a hard start. But I stuck in there with this group (perhaps it was the peer pressure). Little by little God started to change my heart. It began to soften. It became pliable. God did start to change me. Little by little, bit by bit the hardness of heart and pride of self sufficiency chipped away.

Submission is like a dance. If you have ever seen a partner dance then you know there can only be one leader. If they both try to lead they step all over each other and they do not flow. Marriage is much like that. Ephesians 5 tells us to respect our husbands. We need to respect them enough to allow them to lead us in this dance of life. It is their God-given responsibility. They are the ones who are accountable to God for how they lead. Our job is to respect them. We too will be accountable to God for how we respected them. Our men need our support. They are in the hard, cold world every day all day long. They need to know when they come home that they can come to a safe place where they are loved and respected no matter what.

I used to play Holy Spirit to my husband. I thought it was my job to make sure he was doing all things right. Then one day someone told me that I was not my husband's Holy Spirit. I needed to release him to God. It is God's job to do the changing--not mine. I will never forget those words. When I actually followed through in this way, God did amazing things. My husband did start to change. I have to tell you as soon as I got out of the way, God moved in mighty ways.

I am happy to say it is a joy to submit to my man. It was not always that way though but now I know how to trust God. My man is a gift to me. A God-given gift. God only gives good gifts. So I trust God enough to trust the man he gave me. My sweet man always asks my opinion which is part of the dance. He also makes mistakes and wrong choices. But God uses those to grow us and move us and keep us paired perfectly in this dance of life. Somethings may need more training than others but I love every moment of it-the good and the bad. And what a parallel this is to our dance with God. I love the great mystery of it all.

Friday Thoughts

Thanks for praying everyone. I have made it to the gym two times now and tomorrow will be my third time. I am going for three times a week. I have been making us (our family) some wiser food choices. I have been enjoying it all the way. Now I will not lie though, it has been hard and boy have I wanted to treat myself to a mocha for my hard work! :) But I have not because of the 40 day commitment I made to not do that. It is quite a fast of sorts and the fact that it presents itself to be a harder struggle than I thought just goes to show that I probably had some addictiveness or perhaps even co-dependency on those drinks.

My biggest struggle is now being consistent in the word. That is never really much of an issue for me because I love it so much but this trying to find balance has thrown me off some. Please continue to pray for balance. That is what I am going for. I am also making some progress on the home as well. So we are on a good start.

Also, the publisher I was suppose to hear from by October 31st or sooner, I heard nothing as of yet. This has to be the most discouraging part of the publishing process. I just would love to hear a yes or a no. That is all. I am okay either way. Just the not hearing and the LONG process is killing me. I give that to God though. I am only doing this because He has called me to. Through it I found I really enjoy it. However, I get confused about the next steps. I know confusion is not from Him so I will just move forward with whatever next step He gives in His time.

If you would like to read some great encouraging words for the soul today check out Kathy's blog.She always posts the best stuff. Well, I am lifting a prayer for you all my blog friends. I am off to get some time into the word before the day officially takes off. Enjoy your weekend.

Wordless Wednesday-Aslan

This is absolutely one of my favorite paintings. The artist is Sally Brestin. There is a lion and a lamb in this picture. You can hear more about it (which is fascinating) or purchase it here.

More WW go here.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

For more posts on Tiny Talk Tuesday visit Mary at Not Before Seven.
____________________________________________________________________
When being disciplined for jumping off the bunk bed ladder our little one could not understand why this was a problem. After explaining things that could happen to her if she fell the wrong way she was okay with it all even to the point of death except for this:

"Daddy but I want you to get hit by a bus so I don't have to go to Heaven alone."

Where do they get these things?! She is the stunt girl in the house so you never know perhaps she will be jumping off buildings for a living! :)

Refresh My Soul Weekly Devotional

Hey all. I write a weekly devotional for our ministry. If you are interested, go check it out here.

We are out of control!

Okay y'all. I must post this along with my other challenge. I am at my boiling point, seriously. I have finally realized that we have too much stuff. To simplify is key. My children drag their toys out day by day and leave them all over in every room of the house every day. This creates so much work for me when I have to pick them up. They have so much stuff that it is impossible to keep up with it all. So as I work on getting my body in shape, I will also be getting these things in shape. I am just sick of it. I cannot stomach it anymore.

I am so thankful for God's blessings and every good gift He has allowed us to have. It is a HUGE blessing. I have been thinking so much lately about those people who are less fortunate. Those children who have only one toy. They cherish that thing. They take care of it. That is not the case here. So, it is time to take drastic measures and simplify. There are many nice things that can go to others in need. Things that have barely been played with. Clothes that have never been worn. I want no new gifts in this house until the old are out. Folks, I have spoiled my children. Oh, Father please forgive me and help me get things back on track.

All of that frustration has got me thinking too about how little food they have in other areas of the world compared to how much we have here and indulge in. This next period of 40 days I am wanting to do a fast to bring me back to reality. I am not sure how this will take place or what specifically I will fast but I will be praying and following God's lead on this.

Okay, thanks all for letting me get that off of my chest. It is just so sad to see how we have it so good. We have all we need and then some. But we still want more. I am thinking of turning off all commercials-that just feeds into the appetite of wants.

I am thankful for all we have but sometimes we need a reality check and that is what is coming to us. I am hoping it will forever change me and with the money saved perhaps we can help out those others in real need. Thanks for bearing with me on all of this. I will post at least once a week about this journey.

Chicken Soup for the Soul-Homeschool Edition

Lisa over at Apples of Gold put in a request for this book to be done. It would be a great encouragement for us home schoolers out there. Go over to her site to check out the details and give her some feedback on this if you are interested.

A New Challenge

Okay y'all. I have started a new challenge. See the Live well button on my sidebar for more details. If you are interested in doing it too please let me know we are in this together. But seriously it is time for me to do this.

This challenge is a great one. It deals with mind, body, and spirit. My mind and spirit parts are in pretty good shape as far as I can tell. But my body is not. You see, after God miraculously healed me two years and four months ago, I have put off getting back into shape. When your body is in stagnant position for seven years this is a hard thing to do. God has been speaking to me about this for awhile now. He wants this for me so badly that He even set up a free gym for me to go to. Now tell me, is that above anything I could imagine or ask (Ephesians 3:20)? With this gym comes a friend who will help me stay accountable. A prayer partner who will pray for me to have the strength.

I really think I need to shed 30 pounds. Although I am not weight focused, that is my personal goal. My outward goal. My inward goal is that I become healthy. That will also start with making some different eating choices. I will be cutting back a lot of sugar in our home which will also help with my daughters and husband in the long run.

Posts like Kate's (Small Scribbles)on how much sugar American's consume and Susan's (Adventurous Living) on her son crying about eating one carrot have really got me thinking a lot about wise choices. God gave us these bodies to use wisely. We need to take good care of them.

So the challenge begins. Also, I am sad to say this, but this challenge is also requiring me to give up a love affair that I have. It has become unhealthy at this point. It is not forever but only until it is under control. That love affair is with Starbucks Cafe Mocha's. My drink of choice. Due to the cost of them and my constant habit, I will have to give them up this month. Now, if someone buys me one as a gift or something (because that happens) then that will be the only exception to this but I will not be buying one for 40 days.

I will be giving weekly updates on how I am doing and I do hope you all will partner with me in prayer over this.

Are You a Frog?

Our school lesson this week has centered around frogs. The premise of it is, "Be wise like the frog who does not use his tongue unless it is necessary." We too should be like the frog and use our tongue sparingly. This was a good lesson for me. The tongue has the power of life and death. Just as the old saying goes, If you do not have anything nice to say, say nothing at all. There is wisdom in that. So this week we have been tracking our words. It is pretty scary to see all the words said versus all the words needed.

What about you? How many words do you use wisely?

A Story I Did Not Want to Tell

Well, I finally hit my 100th post! So I am sharing a story that God used to really humble me. A story to really learn to trust Him in obedience. To learn to trust Him in His answer. This situation helped me grow in many ways. More ways in fact that I could ever use one post to explain. But I am thankful for it. I hope it encourages you.

I was hurt. Really hurt. I did not realize something so small could have crushed me in such a big way. We were returning from our retreat last year with the college group. We were being transferred in a school bus. Apparently the driver was not a Christian so I desperately wanted us to be a good example. He was cranky. He was a driver who did not like to stop. We had a group of 30 with us including two small children so it was inevitable that we must stop about every two hours. Oh but that was not acceptable for the bus nazi. Oh no he was driving hard. So hard in fact on the way back through Georgia we lose the air conditioning. (Any of you southerners out there can appreciate the importance of air conditioning in the middle of August. I mean this is a HUGE deal. August in Georgia and Tennessee is the worst of all months. There are days that it is so hot and humid that I find it difficult to breathe. We were in a serious situation.)

I am holding a child who has contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease who I believe is feverish. The other is sweating profusely. Students in the back are very hot, especially the ones sitting over the engine. We are about to blow. We were in a very tense situation ourselves.

In the back grumbling starts to rise up. This is no fun ride. God did such great things in each persons life on the retreat. Now this. It was definitely a blow from the enemy. Something within me stirred so strong. I believe it was the spirit in me. I jumped up to my feet and said, “NO! We are not going out like this! We are going to pray over this air conditioner and we are not going to complain. The enemy will not steal the ground that we gained while we were away. He will not have it!” I proceeded to tell them to lay hands on this air conditioner. I prayed a come back Jesus sort of prayer over this thing and I knew it would start right back up. This is not what happened.

I told the students to start singing praise songs to God. They started playing and singing. I took back my seat and wept. I think I wept for several hours. The air did not start working again. So now, what will they think of me? Most importantly, what will they think of God? Did I hear Him right? Did I let Him down? Did I pray wrong? I just know I freaked out the bus nazi. Will that turn him farther away? I also freaked out some of the students. Apparently my praying in authority is something that they had not seen before. Which is sad with people who have grown up in the church.

This story made a lasting impression. The story still circulates. You see, I have seen many powerful answers to prayer. I believe God for big things.

I could not understand why God left me hanging out there like that. It took me months to recover from this moment. I am not sure why it took so long but it devastated me. It hurt my relationship with the one who I trusted so much. I spoke to the bus man. I told him I just had faith that God would fix the air. He said it would be good if he did but I know he did not believe it. What kind of a witness was this?

God keeps telling me not to worry about it. He keeps reminding me that I have no idea what He did in that instance. I often see that bus and the driver. I continue to pray for his salvation and his heart to be softened. That after all is the most important thing. Because I do not know the end of this story-I do not like it. But I must believe in faith that something happened from this act of obedience.

A friend of mine said it was a good story and it encouraged her. So I am posting this in the hopes it will encourage others too. God hears all our prayers if we are right with Him. I believe He answers each one too. Maybe the answer was no that time. Maybe it was wait. I have no clue what God is doing in the lives of the others who experienced it but I can tell you this, I still love Him and I still trust Him. I realize that our ways are not His. And that is okay with me. I would rather be a fool for Christ than nothing for Him at all.

Podcast Delay

Hey all. I am sorry to announce that the podcast to be out today has been put on hold. I will let you all know when it will be available. We need some real wisdom from God about how to proceed on this. He will show us and at that point we will move ahead. Until then thanks for your patience and please do lift a prayer.

Please pray too for another friend of mine who is in Japan for an extended period.

Also some friends of ours in Ukraine who are about to deliver a baby.

Continue to pray for my other friend overseas on bed rest about to deliver soon.

My weekly devotional is out too at Refresh My Soul Ministries if you want to check it out.

Blessings and love,
Angela
-Stay tuned for my 100th post! :)

Urgent Prayer Request

Hey all my blog praying friends. Please lift prayers for my sister in Christ, Katie. She is about to deliver her first baby and is in another country with different customs than what she is used to in doing this. She is really hurting and needs our prayers. It is emotional enough to deliver a baby with a big support system. However, she is in a place where she has no one but her husband and God. She is there because of her following God's call. So please lift her up in prayer.

She had a plan and everything to be moved to a big city hospital but then went into pre-term labor. She now is in a strange place and it is very complicated. Please just pray. She really needs it now.

Live a Life of Love

Live a Life of Love

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”
(Ephesians 5:1-2).

---

I was at Hallmark today and I found a bracelet that I really wanted to buy. It had a simple message. There was a silver piece that had love 24/7 engraved on it. God has been teaching me so much about love this past year. I know I do not love the way I need to. I need a reminder. I to well aware of my internal faults to judge, criticize, and even turn my noise away from others.

But the spirit of the living God is inside of me. He will not let me live a life that is characterized by unloving character. I have the best model to follow to get this right and that is in Christ Jesus Himself. He lived a perfect life of love. I too can live the same life as I follow Him.

God’s word says in the end people will become cold and unloving. I see this all over the place. But God has called us as Christians to live a life that is different. We are not called to be like the world. We are to live in it but not be of it.

Christ gave everything up for us because of His great love for us even to the point of His very life. We will never know fully how much that cost Him until we get to Heaven. His life, death, and resurrection are the perfect example of a life of love.

I am so selfish so much of the time, wanting my own way. I think about me way too much. Right here and now I am tired of that. I want to only live a life that glorifies God. A life that is a powerful example of Christ. When I come to my end of days I want others to remember me as someone who followed Christ without compromise. Someone who learned how to love not conveniently but sacrificially. Someone who loved well.

Father, forgive me for not loving the way I should. I give you my heart, my very life. Lord, move in me to bring glory to You in all things. Please make me less and make You more. I want people to see You as I disappear. Give me a passion for selfless living. Thank You for Your sacrifice which is everything to me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

The Real Deal!

What I ended up doing today was spending three hours in the beauty salon! I am not joking. I wrote a post about being the big hair freak earlier that explains it. So, today in an effort to shed some of that big hair, I cut a bunch of it off. This is me under the dryer! I was trying to pass time and took my picture. I hope to post a good pic of me on here one day but that is hard to come by! Plus, looking at this I am noticing a few chins! So, just for fun and humility's sake here I am all colored up, make up free (mostly), and before the brow waxing.

Seriously though, a beauty salon can be such a tempting place to gossip. Especially since half of my church goes to my hairdresser. But this experience could not be further from that. We have church up in there! Mary is a woman who loves the Lord and follows after Him. We talk about what God is doing in our lives and share how we have seen God since the last visit. I just love it. It fills me up and makes me want to serve Him more. So not only is she helpful for beautifying my outside person but I get a two for one deal of my inside person too! Please pray for her, she has some health issues but you can never see it.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen"
(Ephesians 4:29).

We Saved the Squirrels!

After much time had passed, a nice collection started. When I asked the girls what they were doing they responded that they were helping the squirrels collect food for the winter. So this is our contribution to wildlife preservation for the week. :)

This is our end product. As far as I know squirrels cannot survive on sticks and rocks but the acorns will probably work! :)

Wordless Wednesday-Refresh

I am NOT Religious!

I am not religious! I am in a love relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion and relationship are two different things entirely!

Here is some food for thought from my pastor's sermon today:

• Religion attempts to make bad people good while Christianity makes dead people alive

• Religion is man's attempt to get to God. Christianity is the historical reality that God came down to man.

I just love those statements. I love that we have a God who pursues us. A God who desires to be with us. A God who does not force Himself on us. A God who sees us for what we are but refuses to let us stay the same. I am praising Him for making me alive!

Podcast

Kara at Mommy dot com and I are starting a new podcast where we will be studying books of the Bible together. Our first book will be James. We are preparing devotional guides that will be available to accompany our podcast series. If you are interested in receiving this please let me know.

Our hearts are to help prepare the bride of Christ to be ready and help others to be refreshed by understanding the Word of God. We started doing this about a year ago now and only did one test podcast with eight children in the house. That is what you find on our ministry page, Refresh My Soul. Please stay tuned for our scheduled launch date of Monday, October 22nd.

Please pray for us as we take on this new venture. We are very excited to do this and will be humbled by anyone who will come alongside us on this new journey.

The Rocks, the Drain, and the Restaurant

We were just sitting there minding our own business. Then we saw them. A family came out of the restaurant. They looked like a normal family. Nice enough I would say.

I then saw their little girl run impulsively to the huge water drain in the ground. She proceeded to get the big rocks from the landscape and drop them into the drain. Her mother watched for a minute then said something to her. Whatever her mother said seemed to agitate this girl a bit.

Her father and sister had already made it to their vehicle while the mom patiently tried to get her child to come. When she persisted to disobey her mothers command, her mother called to the girls father. He came forth and said something as well but it seemed to agitate the little girl even more. For some reason she was fascinated, no fixated, with throwing rocks into this drain.

As her father approached her to take her to her vehicle, she picked up one of those rocks and launched it at him. She had no regard for other cars driving by, other people around, or anything else but the rock and her persistence to have her way. Her father then agitated scooped her up and carried her to the car while she hit and kicked at him all the way. It was quite an interesting scene. I made me wonder about this family.

The above narrative is written from the perspective of someone watching our family. It is only a small bit of what I could imagine they see when they watch us. This is one of the things I am speaking about with my youngest daughter. She seems to have a hard time shifting from one thing to another.

This week for school we have been studying rocks. When we arrived at the restaurant she was intrigued by the beautiful white rocks that were outside this restaurant. Then she saw the drain which had many in it as well. She thought in her mind that the drain was suppose to be filled to the top. In her mind she is thinking she is helping out.

After we finished eating and returned back outside the restaurant her mind was set to do again what she was doing before with those rocks. The patterns she repeats are hard to break. When she has to switch to something else she doesn't know how to properly do it. As a family we need to teach and train her how to do this.

Onlookers do question us. They question our methods. They criticize what they do not know. It is okay though because she has and is teaching me love, patience, and perseverance. She will eventually learn to process things correctly and she will learn better by being loved through it. By being patiently instructed and taught. She will get it and she is all that matters. We are accountable before God with how we handle her so what others think does not really matter.

Discipleship Award

The Mathetes Award originated at management by God. Mathetes is a Greek word meaning “disciple” and is given to those seen as “acting in the role of a disciple of God.”

I have been awarded this from Kathy at Sumballo which is a high honor because she disciples me in a huge way through her posts. This means so much to me because all I want my life to be is an example of Christ to others. Discipleship is so very important to me. Not only is it what Christ calls us to do in making disciples, but I do really see it as my life's mission. Most of you wonderful siesta's out there see your lives as this too. Your relationships have blessed me so much. I see all of you as disciples to me in one way or another. However, this award is only to go to five people.

So these are the five I am awarding this to:
Amy at Adore, Amplify, Admire
Although Amy has not had much time for blogging lately, keep watching them because she has much insight and wisdom to bring to the table. I am honored in serving with her in women's ministry at our church. I am blessed by her. I hope to see her blogging more soon as God allows.

Susan at Adventurous Living
Although I just found her blog a few weeks ago, she rights with great insight. I just enjoy her writing. She has come along side me to be a wonderful encourager by going out of the way to reach out. She is a blessing.

Stephanie at Notes from the Soul.
Stephanie will always be an encouragement to me. She is probably the most humble woman I know. She is an excellent song writer and worshiper of God. She is full of wisdom and insight. She always knows how to encourage and uplift in the Lord. I have been honored to serve alongside her building our women's ministry at our church. I loved laboring alongside her. She is a joy.

Kate at Small Scribbles.
I have also had the pleasure to labor alongside Kate. She is such a blessing to me. I am so encouraged by her writings as well. She always makes me want to be a better mom.

Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.
Lynn is living a life that I once lived. I was once also married to an unbeliever. She lives the life with such grace. She is such an encouragement to others in this hard life situation. She can still praise God for where she is and that is a huge encouragement. She encourages me to love.